Xiantha (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 3)

Chapter 9

THE CANTHS MADE the journey unforgettable. Instead of worrying about the lack of roads their riders had nothing to do except look around them at Xiantha. The canths traveled in a direct line, taking their riders cross-country. There were small compasses set into the saddles to show them the north, and the man who kept canths had given them all detailed maps, so it was an easy matter after consulting the maps to head their canths in the right direction. As they made their way towards the Emerald Lake, through the Great Plain – a sort of hot and arid plateau with very little vegetation, Six could feel the stress of the recent fighting on Kwaide and the tensions of Pictoria and Valhai easing away, as he slowly began to relax. Even the blisters from the cart seemed to disappear in the comfort of the canths’ saddles.

The girls were apparently enjoying themselves too. Instead of the tight worry of the recent months they were laughing and giggling, exchanging shouts as they spotted particularly pretty views. They all, he felt, seemed younger than they had a scant few hours ago. He found he was really looking forward to this trip. He wondered what a holiday would be like. What did these Xianthans actually do on a holiday? It was all a bit of a mystery to him. He set a course for the Emerald Lake, though, and watched the countryside go by with interest.

They kept going at the steady pace the canths had set up for three hours, but they knew that they would have to stop soon for food, and to sleep. Six kept a sharp eye out for the first signs of the Emerald Lake, and then, when he did see it, realized that nobody in their right mind could possibly have missed it, because it was set like a jewel – shining in the midst of the dry Great Plain. It was by far the most beautiful place he had ever seen, and they all reined in their steeds to gaze down at it.

The lake was in the hollow of a ring of green hills, basking in the sunlight and surrounded by the tallest trees they had ever seen. Set between the trees nearest to the lake, which shimmered, aquamarine, were thousands upon thousands of flowers, of all colours. The total effect was so strong that they had to close their eyes.

They grinned at each other, and gave the lightest of signs to their canths, who needed no urging to race down to the edge of the lake. There was a track which wound down through the trees, and the new riders found themselves whooping like young children as they came plunging to a halt in front of the water.

“Look!” Diva pointed up at the trees. Set half way up each frontline tree was a tiny wooden cabin, just big enough for one person, and reachable by metallic stakes set into the tree trunks at regular intervals.

Six pointed to the very tallest tree, and the cabin perched half way up. “That’s the one I want!” he shouted.

Diva looked at Grace and laughed with glee. What a place! “I’ll take the one on the left of Six’s,” she said. “You can have the one on the right, Grace.”

Grace nodded. “Fine by me!” she said. “I don’t think I have ever seen so much colour in one place!” She found it overwhelming at first – especially when compared to her native Valhai. She thought that if she lived here she might end up missing the dark slate grey of her home planet. But for a holiday . . . for a holiday it was absolutely, blissfully, completely and utterly PERFECT!

THE CANTH KEEPER had insisted on giving them some peculiar garments as a gift, telling them that they would come in most useful at the lake. They turned out to be swimming garments, light pieces of fabric which covered the minimum of necessary places, but which could be relied upon, he had said, to dry out almost immediately.

They each made their way up to their cabin, and agreed to meet in five minutes’ time for a swim. Diva and Six made a competition of climbing their trees, of course, each determined not to let the other get there first. Grace laughed as she watched them swarm up the thick trunks. She didn’t know who won, and definitely didn’t care. She didn’t think they really did, either. It was more a comfortable habit they had got into. She found herself taking her time, enjoying each rung set into the tree. It was quite easy to climb up to the cabin, because the rungs were very solidly set into the wood, and smooth to the touch. And the height – to somebody who had scaled skyrises back on Valhai and caverns on Pictoria – was nothing.