Free The Fifth Magic (Book 1) by Brian Rathbone Page A

on erecting the ladders. None of them was having an easy time of it. Martik's pride would normally have prevented him from accepting Bradley's help, but this was life or death. If someone fell and was swept away by the current, there wasn't much hope for survival.
    Grateful instead for the support, he felt a little better when Bradley slipped. He shouldn't have smiled at that, but he did anyway. The entire scene was surreal, and the dim amber light danced across the water, making the stone move like a living thing, writhing beneath their feet. Those holding the makeshift structure looked less than confident, but Martik committed himself to climbing spindly ladders atop a giant rock wheel to pull a stone plug and turn off the waterfall. It was the kind of thing no one outside the hold would ever believe.
    Though reaching high enough for Martik to grasp the stone shaft, the ladders flexed and moved in alarming ways.
    "Let me do it?" Bradley begged, but Martik was determined.
    The higher he climbed, the more it flexed and swayed. He decided to move more quickly, which worsened the problem. Finally, though, he was able to steady his weight using the shaft itself.
    The force of his weight overwhelmed the vacuum. The shaft moved downward gradually at first but then fell without resistance. Martik did his best to hold on to it and had to grasp it with both hands, his legs trembling from the exertion of staying upright on an unstable structure. The lives of those below him were at stake, and he gave his all to hold on to the heavy shaft.
    Though he secured it, his weight was on his heels, and he started to fall backward. Trying to shift his weight to his toes and failing, he had to reach out with one hand and grab the ladders. The shaft nearly slipped from his grasp, but the water flow had already begun to abate.
    Once steadied, he shifted to a comfortable position, and Bradley met him halfway. It was an awkward exchange, but the stone was handed down, and Martik was able to use both hands to climb back to relative safety. The water was receding, which was good except for glistening silt now covering the entire surface in a thin layer. It moved and shifted under their boots and sent Martik to his knees.
    He hoped it would be manageable when it dried and was pleased to see the source of this material had been the cement like sediment holding the debris together. What remained were big chunks of stone, which should be relatively easy to relocate.
    After a slippery climb down, Martik was somewhat vindicated. He was now several steps closer to solving the mystery, and he could hardly wait.

Chapter 6
    Passion razes kingdoms.
    --King Venes
     
    * * *
     
     
    Martik sat with his legs crossed, watching the ancient wheel turn. It made no sense. After clearing the debris, the giant stone wheel began to move, the water filling the pool around it giving it buoyancy. It didn't spin; it bobbed. Bradley and Martik inserted the remaining shafts, which were sucked into place, and the mighty wheel shifted. A loud grinding noise followed by a thump made Martik's teeth hurt.
    Nothing at all changed at first, but then it was clear the wheel was turning, albeit slowly. Little by little, the speed increased, and Martik wondered how fast it could go and to what purpose it moved. The wheel's movement had no perceptible effect. He had to be missing something. Bradley stood nearby and Martik knew the young man was worried about him, but he just needed to think it through. This was a complex machine, and there was no shame in not understanding it. The ancients surely knew things he did not. They had left him a puzzle, especially since he could find no way to gain access to the mechanism. The only possibility he could envision was to move the great slope behind him and fill the entire city with water, which stretched the imagination.
    "There has to be another key," Bradley said.
    Though he'd considered that before, Bradley's words made him stop and look at