The Elementalists

Chapter 27

Rai

*Part 2*

*

The climb allows Kass to fill Sammi in on everything that happened with Fina and Eldred in the Living Caves. I leave them to it, kicking off from the rocks and Henry darts into the air like a cork from a bottle. Something is definitely wrong; his insides are making curious crunching noises and he keeps jerking to the left, beeping balefully at me. But there's nothing I can do about it. I'm amazed he's flying at all.

'Just a bit further, that's it.' I pat him on the side and lean forwards, trying to make myself as streamlined as possible as we swerve through the mist, up towards the summit.

I bet Mount Terrebon was once beautiful. Even at such a high altitude, it's still scattered with ancient tree-trunks that a hundred years ago must have looked incredible. I imagine, for a moment, lush green leaves and pink blossoms, the ground covered with soft, feathery moss and blades of tickling grass, the odd trumpet of steam escaping through cracks in the rocks.

But if any of that ever existed, it was a long time ago. There's no life in the magnificent beast now; it's been abused, overworked, for far too long. I feel a stab of sympathy for it before I shake my head, banishing the feeling back to the underworld of wherever exiled feelings go.

Terrebon rumbles, a deep furious drum beat below the earth. It's a monster beating its chest, growling and snarling at us to get away, right now. Pebbles and stones skitter across the surface as the ground quivers, like the rocks are shaking their fists at Henry and I. Henry's lights fade.

The higher we fly, the more concentrated the mist becomes; I cough, shielding my face with my arm as a cloud of scalding ash and smoke spurts from a crevice. Henry swerves to avoid it; I cling on with my knees and hold my breath, my hair sticking to my cheeks.

Maybe I won't find the flag? The rumbling is getting worse, with more bursts of boiling ash spraying from the rocks with every passing minute. I can barely see through the smoke. Even with our powers, I realise, there's no way we can stop a full-blown eruption. We just aren't powerful enough. Maybe, if Fina was with us. But the three of us don't stand a chance.

Just as I'm starting to lose hope—there. Near the top, nestled between two steep rocky peaks is a crater; I duck down, steering Henry lower so that I can see over the rim and find out what's inside. My heart leaps. It's a lake. I've never been so glad to see water before. Next to the lake is an enormous silver block, a giant boulder, topped with a blue flag. It shines as the light hits it, but for all it masquerades as metal, I know what it really is.

The last visinium capsule.

I fly back down to Kass and Sammi, who are still struggling up on foot. 'It's up there! There's a lake and the capsule's behind it!'

Kass is already panting and coughing. If he's this bad already, I dread to think what he'll be like at the summit.

'Great,' he wheezes. 'Fancy giving us a lift?'

'I'm not sure Kass will make it, otherwise,' Sammi says, wiping sweat off her forehead as I land beside her.

I fly Sammi up first, leaving her by the lake to go back down for Kass. I know she can take care of herself, but I still feel uneasy leaving her up there all alone.

'What if it blows before we get there?' I shout into the wind. Kass makes a much worse flying partner than Sammi—he clings on far too tight around my waist, grumbling into my neck.