“Oof! I think we deserve a rest.”
Milo pointed. “What’s that?”
At the edge of the forest there was a twisted tree with grey, prickly leaves, and its dull colors emphasised the brightness of an orange-red creeper that grew around the trunk; with its almost luminous colour — it also had streaks of green and yellow — this looked like some exotic fungus. From the top of the creeper, where it vanished into the branches of the tree, hung several bunches of a semi-transparent green fruit, not unlike bunches of grapes.
Simeon caught Milo’s arms as he advanced towards it. “Careful!”
“Don’t worry.” Milo picked up his Reaper, and held it at the ready as he walked towards the tree. Niall, also intrigued by the striking colours, went with him. Simeon came and joined them. The creeper was undoubtedly beautiful; its tints were as rich and varied as trees in an autumn landscape. Simeon leaned forward to peer at the grapes.
“I wonder if they’re edible?”
As he spoke, Niall made the effort to induce double vision; his fatigue made this difficult, and he had to screw up his face and concentrate before he could bring about the gear-change of inner-perception. But as soon as this happened, he was overcome by a sense of danger; both the creeper and the tree were living creatures that were fully aware of their presence. As Milo stepped forward, reaching out towards the grapes, Niall seized his arm.
“Don’t go near!”
As he spoke, the bottom of the creeper — which had seemed firmly embedded in the ground — uncoiled from the trunk and snaked out towards Milo; appendages like hairy roots coiled round his wrist. Milo jerked violently backwards, and the roots lost their grip. Then the tree shook its dry leaves, as if quivering with disappointment.
Milo said: “Filthy creature!” and raised the Reaper. But as his finger tightened on the trigger, Niall pushed the barrel down. “No!”
Milo said irritably: “Why not?” He tried to raise the barrel again.
“Don’t.” With both hands, Niall forced the barrel down so it was pointing at the ground. Milo gave way with a bad grace.
“I don’t see why not!” He shrugged angrily.
Niall said: “Do you want to get back to the coast alive?”
Milo dropped his eyes. “Of course.”
“Then don’t use your Reaper.”
Milo grunted, and went and sat down.
Simeon asked Niall: “Why do you say that?”
“Because all these plants are aware of one another. If you kill one, they all feel it.”
“But would that matter: It would only make them more cautious.”
“That’s not true. They’re more destructive than wild animals because they lack power of movement. As soon as one of them is killed, they all begin to look for ways of destroying the interloper. ”
They were seated now, opening their packs. Simeon asked curiously:
“How do you know all of this?”
Niall shook his head. “It’s hard to explain. I just feel it.”
“Is that why you told us it would be safe to use the valley?”
“Yes.”
Doggins smiled with a touch of irony.
“Is that why you threw our Reapers in the river?”
Milo gaped at him. “You threw the Reapers in the river?” Niall nodded. “But why?”
“Because. . .” He found it difficult to select the right words. “Because if you want to stay alive in the Delta, you have to become part of the Delta. It has to learn to trust you.”
“But what happens if something attacks you?”
Niall was finding it difficult to argue; their minds were too far apart. He said, shrugging: “I can’t make you understand.”
But Simeon was looking at him with a curious expression. “Why not try?”
Niall took a deep breath. He was not sure where to begin. “Everything in the Delta has its own weapons of defense and attack. But the Reapers. . . are too absolute.” Milo started to interrupt, but Simeon waved him to silence. “They’re so powerful that they give us a sense of. . . false security.” He felt he was expressing himself badly.
Simeon said: “False power?”
“That’s right!” He was relieved to find himself understood. “Yes, it’s false power. They make us feel more powerful than we really are. And so they stop us from becoming aware of our real power. . .” He tapped his forehead.
Simeon said quietly: “But the spiders have developed more of that power than we have.”
Niall shook his head, “If that were true, they’d deserve to be the masters. But it’s not true.”
Doggins, his mouth full, said: “Let him eat his food.”
But Simeon was looking at Niall with deep interest.
He asked: “What do you mean about the spiders?”
“They don’t really possess greater powers than we do. It’s just that we haven’t learned to use ours.” He shot a defiant glance at Milo. “And we never shall while we rely on the Reapers.”
Simeon asked: “But how can we fight the spiders without the Reapers?” He added: “Or perhaps you don’t think we ought to fight them?”
Niall said: “We have to fight them. But on their own terms. And sooner or later, we have to learn to live with them.”
Doggins looked at him with astonishment. “I thought you wanted to destroy them.”
“I did. But that was before I came to the Delta.”
Simeon asked: “So now you don’t think we should use the Reapers?”
Niall said: “We mustn’t use the Reapers.”
“Why?”
“Because if we do, we can’t help destroying them.”
Milo asked: “And what do you think we should do with the Reapers?”
Niall shrugged. “If you want to know what I think. . .” He hesitated.
Simeon said: “Yes, we do.”
“I think we should throw them in that pool.”
Milo gave an exclamation of astonishment. Simeon gestured him to silence, and asked quietly:
“And what good do you think that would do?”
Niall found himself looking into Manetho’s blank eyes.
“It might cure Manetho’s blindness, to begin with.”
Even as he said it, he was startled by his own words, and immediately regretted them. They seemed to have slipped out before he could stop them.
Doggins looked at him sharply. “Do you really think that’s true?”
“Yes.” But Niall felt like a child who is trying to save face. He felt ashamed to look at Manetho.
Simeon said slowly: “In that case, perhaps we ought to try it.” He looked round at the others.
Niall’s heart sank; he wanted to protest that he hadn’t meant it. Then, for the first time, Manetho spoke.
“I don’t want anyone to make sacrifices for me.”
His voice was flat and expressionless; but his words revealed that Niall had aroused his hopes.
They looked at one another, then at Manetho. Each one of them felt guilty that Manetho was blind while he was still able to see. Simeon raised his eyes towards the sea.
“The worst of the journey is behind us. With luck, we should reach the sea in two hours.”
They all looked at Doggins. He pretended to be preoccupied with his food; but all knew he was aware that he was being asked for a decision. Finally he shrugged.
“All right. Do as you want to.”
Milo said incredulously: “I think this is mad!”
No one answered him. He turned to Niall.
“Do you think this will help Ulic?”
Niall shook his head, but said nothing. Milo gave a helpless shrug and turned away.
Simeon held out his own Reaper to Niall.
“Will you do it?”
Niall took it without speaking. As he walked towards the pool, he uttered a mental prayer, and looked towards the empress plant. From this angle it looked curiously anonymous, like any other hill. He walked to the eminence overlooking the pool, raised the Reaper above his head, and threw it as far out as he could. As he did so, he experienced a strange exhilaration that contained an element of malice. Then he turned round. Simeon handed him the second Reaper. Again, Niall threw it with all his strength. It struck the water with a splash and vanished immediately. Simeon took the third Reaper from Milo’s hands; Milo relinquished it unwillingly. Niall sent it spinning towards the centre of the pool. As it vanished with a splash, the surface was disturbed by a bubbling noise, followed by a sudden swirl of movement. Doggins said grimly:
“There’s something in there.”
Milo said: “Let’s hope it’s not hungry.”
They all looked at Manetho, whose blank gaze was turned towards the centre of the pool. Then Simeon took him gently by the arm.
“Wash your eyes in the water.” Manetho started to kneel, unaware that the water was six feet below him. “No, not there. Come over here.” They led him to a spot where the ground sloped into the pool. Manetho knelt down and lowered his spread hands until they touched the surface. Then he bowed his head and splashed some of the brown water into his eyes. He gave a scream of pain.