Page 177 of Circle of Days

She repeated the number.

Seft looked at the sky, and Joia did the same. The sun was sinking in the west. Seft said: “I don’t know…”

“Nor do I,” said Joia.

Ani was at the Monument, looking out for the volunteers and the giant stone.

Seft’s track skirted the village of Riverbend and approached the Monument from the north across the plain. It ran through the entrance to the Monument all the way to the large hole in the ground where the giant stone would be erected. Ani could hardly wait for the sight of the sled appearing in the distance, pulled by a crowd of excited volunteers with Joia at their head, and storming over the plain like a cloud across the sky. Even more thrilling would be the knowledge that her daughter had achieved the ambition that so many people had thought unattainable.

Ani was not the only one eagerly waiting. Her daughter Neen was here to greet her man, Seft, and their three children were looking out for their Dadda. A crowd had gathered at the Monument in the late afternoon. They were sitting or standing on the earth bank, all looking north. This was easily the biggestevent of the year, if not the biggest ever. Just about everyone in Riverbend was here, and some from more distant villages.

There was a smell of roasting meat, but it was not for the crowd. Chack and Melly were preparing a meal for the exhausted volunteers when they finally arrived. Expecting a wait, some families had brought their supper with them. Neighbors chatted, youngsters flirted, and children climbed the bank and rolled down again.

And there were some hoping that Joia would fail. Scagga was present, wearing the scowl that seemed now to be permanent. He had his family around him: they always supported him, though sometimes with a lack of enthusiasm they could not quite hide.

She wondered what was behind Scagga’s hostility. It was likely he resented Ani, who was the longest-serving elder after Keff and was generally expected to be Keff’s successor as Keeper of the Flints. He probably thought he should be Keeper of the Flints, and felt unjustly overlooked. Ani’s influence was all the greater for having a High Priestess as her daughter. And Scagga’s belligerent attitude did not win him many friends.

Keff appeared and sat beside Ani. “Well,” he said, “will she do it?”

“Or die trying,” Ani replied. She looked west, and saw that the sun was setting. “Although she doesn’t have much daylight left.”

“We need people like her,” Keff said. “Sometimes she upsets folk, but she tries new things, and such people are essential. They keep us from becoming complacent and lazy.”

“I’m very glad you think so,” Ani said sincerely. She was pleased when people appreciated Joia’s strengths.

The spectators began to drift away, taking children home tobed. Scagga came over, looking as if he had been vindicated, and said: “She’s not here, is she? Nor is there a giant stone.”

Ani said coldly: “She’ll be here.”

“I said it was impossible.”

“Indeed you did.”

“Well, perhaps you’ll listen to me next time.”

“I always listen to you, Scagga.”

“Huh.” He walked away and, a few moments later, left with his family.

Chack and Melly, looking frustrated, put out the fires under the spits. Chack said: “The meat will still be warm in the morning,” and Melly added: “But it won’t be as tasty.”

Keff got up, but he stood silent for a few moments. At last he said: “When do you think Joia might get here?”

Ani stood up too. “Right now,” she said, “I have absolutely no idea.”

The volunteers were tired, and the stone moved slowly now. They knew they could not reach the Monument today, and that disheartened them. When darkness fell, they dropped the ropes. They lay down where they stopped, too tired even to look for a comfortable place to sleep.

Joia half expected some of them to give up now and disappear back to their homes. But it was dark and they needed rest.

The frustrating thing was how close they were. The track was just about to divert from the river and head across the plain. Their destination was not far away. They had almost made it.

She spoke to Boli, who was a quickrunner, a tall, slim woman with muscular calves. “I know it’s dangerous to run in the dark, but could you find your way to Riverbend, just walking fast?”

“Sure,” said Boli. “There’s starlight, and no cloud.”

“I need you to speak to my mother.”

“That’s easy. I know where Ani’s house is.”