Above the Veil (The Seventh Tower 4)

He looked at Crow, but the older boy was paralyzed, staring down at their enemies, the Red Keystone loose in his hand.

Tal saw it and had a sudden thought. He acted quickly, snatching the Keystone from Crow's slack grip.

Instantly, Crow turned, his knife in his hand. "Give it back!" he snarled.

"What's happening?" came a plaintive voice from the Keystone, as Tal backed away.

"I need it to get us out of here," Tal explained, speaking as fast as he could. "Unless you want to meet those Spiritshadows?"

Crow hesitated, then lowered his knife.

Tal stared at the Keystone. He could see Lokar, suspended in Red light. She looked like she was treading water. Obviously it took some effort to make contact with the outside world.

"Lokar," he said urgently, "there are heaps of Spiritshadows coming up the outside of the tower. Is there anywhere here we can hide, that will be safe from them? Can they come through the arches?"

"Yes, if they have been given the Words," said Lokar, frowning in thought. "You will not be safe here. What is your Spiritshadow? Can it fly?"

"A Storm Shepherd, so yes, but there are flying shadows, so we will be pursued." Tal looked up at Crow, who was still standing there, watching him suspiciously. "Crow! Keep watch. Tell me when they're about fifty stretches away!"

Crow reluctantly went to look over the side. "You look young," said Lokar. "Have you mastery of the seven colors?"

"Not exactly mastery," replied Tal. "But I can do things… I've done things…"

"Ninety stretches," shouted Crow. "There are hundreds of them!" "Can you combine all seven?" asked Lokar.

"Yes," said Tal, almost before Lokar'd stopped speaking.

"Then you can make a miniature dark veil to hide beneath," said Lokar. "Find a corner, crouch in it, and I will tell you how to weave a veil. Quickly!"

Tal looked around widely.

"Fifty stretches!" shouted Crow. He looked at Tal, wide-eyed and clearly frightened. "Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly."

"Let's fight!" boomed Adras. He leaned over the railing and fired off a bolt of shadow-lightning. A sudden, ghastly squeal announced that it had found its mark.

"No, Adras!" shouted Tal. He went to the wall and tugged at a downpipe that carried rainwater from the dome high above. "Help me pull this off!"

The downpipe was set into a recess in the wall. If they could crouch down there and weave a veil, there was a chance the Spiritshadows wouldn't be able to find them.

Crow didn't know what he planned, but he rushed to Tal's side and pulled at the pipe, too. It gave a little, but it wasn't until Adras reached above them both and tugged that it tore away with the screech of metal on stone.

"Quick!" instructed Tal. "Crouch down here, as close as we can get!"

He pushed into the recess with Crow. Adras made himself as thin as possible and slid in behind Tal and up the wall.

"What now?" said Crow.

Tal didn't answer. He was looking at the Keystone, watching Lokar, and focusing on his own Sunstone at the same time.

Crow and Adras watched the railing, expecting to see a Spiritshadow leap over and attack at any moment.

"Hurry up!" Crow murmured. Tendrils of differently colored light were starting to rise out of Tal's Sunstone, but very slowly.

The tendrils issued out and wove together in front of the pressed-in trio. As they wove together, a patch of darkness formed in the air. It spread rapidly, curving up, down, and around.

"Faster," whispered Crow. He saw a taloned shadow-hand grip the railing, behind the forming veil. "Faster!"

A Spiritshadow leapt over the railing--a huge Waspwyrm, shadow-wings still beating, sting looking all too solid in the Red light.

Crow saw it, and he stopped breathing as its head slowly swiveled in his direction. The veil was almost blocking his view. It would be so close. Would the Spiritshadow look first or would the veil be formed in time?

The miniature veil spread across and seamlessly joined to form a perfect sphere around them, a fraction of a second before the Spiritshadow turned its head.

Crow shivered and was startled to find he needed to take a very deep breath.

"Don't do that," said Tal sharply.

"What?" Crow asked softly. He wasn't sure if sound traveled through the veil.

"It's fine to talk," said Tal. He touched the veil, and his finger rebounded as if the veil were tightly stretched cloth. "Just don't breathe too much."

"Why?" asked Crow. "I was in a hurry--" Tal started to explain. "What?" asked Crow.

"I made it too solid," said Tal. "I don't think there's any air getting through."

"What?" Crow gasped. He reached out and his fingernails scraped down the veil.

It was solid.

"We have to get out," Crow whispered. "We'll die in here."

"There's enough air for a while," said Tal. He was fighting to stay calm. Just knowing that their air was running out was making him feel terrible. Weak and pathetic. "We have to be still."

Crow looked at him, panic in his eyes. He raised his hand and Tal cringed thinking he was going to punch him. Then Crow pulled back.

"Sorry," he said. "I'll… I'll be still."

They sat in silence for a while, then Crow suddenly looked at Tal.

"Where's Adras?" he asked, craning his head around. There was no sign of the Spiritshadow.

All the color drained from Tal's face. No wonder he felt so terrible.

"He must be outside! They're killing him!"

"No, he isn't!" said a small voice from the Keystone. Tal hurriedly peered down at it.

"He's in your veil!" exclaimed Lokar. "You wove him into it and he has no light!"

CHAPTER THIRTY "No air for us, no light for Adras," muttered Crow.

"It's better than getting killed by Spiritshadows!" Tal retorted. "Besides, we only have to wait till they're gone."

"We might be dead by then," said Crow. "How will we know when they do go, anyway?"

Lokar said something both boys missed. They leaned down at the same time to hear better, and cracked their heads.

"Dark!" swore Crow. He snatched the Keystone back and said, "Be more careful!"

Tal raised his Sunstone for a second, then thought better of it. He didn't want Crow to have the Keystone but the

re wasn't much he could do about it now.

"What was that?" Crow asked Lokar. Tal leaned forward again, more carefully.

"You both need to save your breath," said Lokar. "As far as I can tell from in here, Tal has made this veil too well."

"What do you mean?" asked Tal.

"Not only is it too solid," said Lokar. "I doubt that you can unthread it. You'll have to wait till it frays of its own accord."

Tal and Crow looked at each other. Words seemed at the tips of their tongues, but neither spoke. Instead they settled back and exhaled slowly at the same time.

I wish I'd learned Milla's Rovkir breathing, thought Tal as the minutes slowly passed, marked by the spark of his Sunstone. It was getting warmer and stuffier, and it seemed to him that Crow was using up too much of their air.

He glanced across and saw Crow's eyes glittering. His hand was on his knife. Clearly he had the same thought. There, might only be enough air for one of them to survive.

One must die for the other to live. Crow pulled his knife out an inch.

Tal raised his Sunstone though it felt like a great weight and shook his head.

Crow eased the knife back in. Tal lowered his hand. Both kept watching each other, alert for the slightest movement.

At least Tal thought he was alert. But he suddenly realized his head was on his chest. He snapped it up, only to see Crow's head lolling sideways.

The Freefolk boy seemed to be unconscious.

For a moment Tal was tempted to finish him off, so he would have more air. But only for a moment. What was it his great-uncle had said to him?

"Do not be a caveroach."

It would be a caveroach thing to do, to kill Crow for a few breaths that might not be enough anyway.

Instead, Tal feebly pressed at the dark veil. As before, his fingers bounced off it. It seemed as strong as ever, and he could feel

Adras trapped inside. Fading with every moment.

Tal took a shallow breath and closed his eyes. It was much easier just to go to sleep.

As Tal's eyes closed, Crow's opened. He touched his knife once… twice… then slowly closed his eyes again.