The Siren Depths

Chapter Fifteen

As Moon predicted, Rise came to him around mid-morning to tell him that Malachite had agreed to Lithe’s plan.

After that, there was a flurry of preparations.

The spot chosen to set the trap was a flying island floating over the plain less than a half day of warriors’ flight from Aventera’s plateau. The group who would go and wait in hiding near it was small: Stone, Malachite, two of Onyx’s daughter queens, and some of their warriors. The Opal Night warriors were among those who had been examined by the mentors for Fell influence, but they wouldn’t be told where they were going or why until they reached the spot.

Jade and Balm were also going, though Moon wasn’t certain how Jade had managed it. He doubted Malachite had changed her opinion of Jade over the course of the morning.

Before they left, Moon managed to see Jade alone for a moment, catching her attention from a cubby off one of the colony entrance passages while the others assembled outside.

Jade glanced down the corridor cautiously as she stepped into the cubby. Moon asked her, “How did you get Malachite to let you come with her?”

Jade bared her teeth in frustration. “I didn’t, I’m just going. As a queen, I have every right to help defend the Reaches. If she tries to stop me, it’ll cause more trouble than it’s worth to her.” She hissed. “Of course, it’s hard to tell if she knows I’m going or not because she’s pretending I don’t exist.” She squeezed his wrist and said, “Are you really staying behind?”

There had been some discussion over whether Moon was well enough to go on the flying boat to Aventera or not, or if he should stay here. Moon was handling it by waiting until everyone with the authority or physical prowess to stop him had left to set the ambush, then he was going to join Delin and the others on the boat. This seemed to be the best way to avoid loud, emotionally-charged arguments. He had had too many of those lately.

“Probably… not,” Moon admitted reluctantly.

Jade twitched her spines, but didn’t object. Possibly she didn’t feel she had much right to argue with him, considering how she had inserted herself and Balm into the ambush portion of the plan. “Just be careful around those groundlings. You don’t know what the Fell have made them believe about us. And remember that Lithe is the bait, not you.”

It meant a great deal at that moment that she hadn’t tried to order him to stay behind or to talk him out of it. He managed to say, “You be careful, too. And Balm.”

Jade said, “We’ll be fine.” She pulled him close, nipped his neck gently, then slipped away.

Moon waited until Stone and the queens left, then went to the flying boat.

Delin’s crew of twelve young Islanders, most related to him, were not keen on the idea of letting him sail to Aventera alone, even with the help of friendly Raksura. Moon wasn’t sure how Delin convinced them or forced them, but they were reluctantly leaving the boat by climbing down a long rope ladder to the platform in front of the colony’s main entrance. Most of them carried small bags of belongings.

Feather and a few other Arbora waited for them down on the platform. Moon asked her, “Have you ever spent time with groundlings before?” He had suggested Feather be the one to take charge of Delin’s crew while they were here, to make sure they were comfortable and had access to food they could eat. Moon had chosen her because she was the only Arbora he felt he knew here. It also helped that she spoke enough Altanic to be able to communicate with them.

“No.” She smiled a little, glancing up at him. “It’ll be a good distraction, while we’re waiting.”

She meant waiting to see what the Fell would do. The court knew Malachite was acting on some sort of plan, but not the details. He said, “Hopefully it won’t be long.”

He shifted, and sprang up to catch hold of the boat’s railing. Below, Feather called out, “Be careful! We’ll see you in a few days!”

Moon swung down onto the deck and found himself facing Chime. “You’re going?” Chime stared. “I thought you were staying behind because you still needed to recover.”

“That’s what everybody thought,” Moon told him, and changed the subject before Chime could argue. “Where’s Celadon?”

Chime swallowed his objections with effort, and said, “Down in the hull.”

Moon went down the steps and found Celadon in the large common room with Delin. They had a piece of the pressed reed the Islanders used as paper spread out on the table, and Delin was drawing a rough map to Aventera from Celadon’s directions.

As Moon walked in, Celadon glanced up, surprised to see him. Then she frowned. “We should be leaving soon. Did you come to see us off?”

“I changed my mind,” he said. “I’m coming with you.”

Making a notation on the map, Delin raised a brow. “There was a question? I assumed you had always intended to accompany us.”

Celadon eyed Moon a moment, then sighed. “I’d argue with you, but I know that’s like arguing with a rock and I have to save what’s left of my patience for the Aventerans. At least, unlike the warriors, I know you’re not afraid to fight Fell.” She ruined it by adding dryly, “And if you collapse, we’ve got Lithe with us.”

Moon decided not to succumb to the urge to protest his health. He sat on the edge of the table and studied the map. “Did someone come up with a story for the court about where Malachite and the others were going?”

“We said they were going to plan the attack on the Fell.” Celadon didn’t look particularly satisfied with the explanation.

“It’s not as if anyone in the court is going to believe anything else,” Moon pointed out. “Simple lies are always better.”

Celadon lifted her brows, possibly at this evidence that Moon knew a lot about the best way to lie convincingly. “I see.”

Fortunately, footsteps came down the stairs at that point and Lithe stepped into the doorway. She had her satchel slung over her shoulder and wore an extra shawl over her work clothes. She looked around the room, curious and a little uneasy. Moon realized this must be her first time to leave the area around the colony, let alone to be on a flying boat. He didn’t know what to say to make her feel more comfortable, so he just asked, “Ready to go?”

“Yes.” Lithe took a deep breath and managed a wan smile. Above their heads the deck creaked as more Raksura landed. Moon assumed it was Celadon’s warriors. Lithe started a little at the unaccustomed sound of people walking on the thin wood above her head, and said, “I didn’t expect it would be so… odd, to think of leaving the colony, even for a few days.”

Celadon told her, “It’s brave of you. And if it works the way we hope, we’ll know what brought the Fell here.”

If it works the way we hope, Moon thought, and tried to suppress the urge to again mentally list everything that could go wrong.

Then someone dropped down the stairs and stepped into the doorway. It was a young queen about Celadon’s size, with a slender build. Her scales were a light gold webbed with copper. She saw Moon first, and acknowledged him with a tilt of her head and an opaque expression. Moon thought at first he had never met her before, then realized he had seen her with Onyx. She must be one of the other Opal Night bloodline’s daughter queens.

“Ivory,” Celadon said, sounding suspiciously neutral. “We’ll be leaving in a moment. Are your warriors aboard?”

“Yes. It’s a very strange craft.” She nodded politely to Delin. “This should be an interesting trip.”

Ivory, Moon thought. The queen that Onyx had gotten Umber to suggest as a possible match for Moon. Of all the things that could go wrong, that hadn’t even occurred to him as a possibility.

Under Delin’s direction, the warriors helped the flying boat cast off, while the Islander crew watched worriedly from the colony’s landing platform.

As the ship lifted above the ridge surrounding the split colony tree, Moon managed to catch Celadon alone in the bow, out of earshot of the others. Before he could speak, she said, “We thought it was better to have two queens aboard, in case the Fell struck before we reached the others. I didn’t know you planned to come. This is not my fault.”

That invalidated most of what Moon had been about to say. He fell back on, “Does she know I turned her down?”

“Yes. And more importantly, she knows Malachite does not approve of her offer.” Celadon hissed impatiently, then turned to wave to Delin in the steering cabin, indicating he should turn to the right more to avoid the branches of the standing portion of the tree. “You can’t be afraid of her. You saw Malachite’s reaction to Jade, the queen you want. What do you think she’d do to one who tried to touch you against your will? And besides that, I’m your clutchmate and I’m right here.”

“I don’t know how you can be my sister,” Moon said. “You’re so damn naive.”

She showed her fangs. “Just let her get to know you, then she definitely won’t bother you.”

The boat successfully navigated the colony’s valley, and made its way into the sparse forest of mountain-trees and rock that marked the fringe of the Reaches. The afternoon and evening was occupied by avoiding obstacles and in teaching the warriors how to help Delin sail the boat. Chime and Root already knew quite a bit from their previous trips on wind-ships, Chime because he still had his mentor’s curiosity and Root because his memory, honed by keeping track of everything everyone had ever said in his hearing, was as good as a written book.

Balm was the only Indigo Cloud warrior who had accompanied Jade. Besides Chime, Root, Floret, and Song, ten Opal Night warriors had come along on the boat. Five of them had come with Celadon on their previous trip to the city, and they treated Moon with a combination of wariness and respect that made their company undemanding. The other five belonged to Ivory and were led by Saffron, the female warrior Moon had ordered off the flying boat. Moon reminded himself that he was getting what he wanted, another chance to tell the Aventerans how to fight the Fell, and objecting to the company was pointless.

None of the tasks aboard the boat were difficult for Raksura, who were physically stronger than the smaller Islanders and had no fear of falling, so Moon left them to it. He found a spot up in the bow, where he could sit on a cask tied off to the rail and watch the forest go by.

The flying boat’s steady but more leisurely speed allowed for close observation of everything they passed, and it was fascinating to be able to study the individual mountain-trees, their shapes, the flowers and the riot of vegetation on their platforms, and the life that occupied them. Since the trees were further apart here, more light reached the ground far below, so Moon had a better view of the rocky gullies and gorges, the different levels of the jungle deep within. And there were occasional intriguing glimpses of the creatures that lived down in the shadowy crevices.

After a while, Chime wandered up to the bow, leaned against Moon’s side, and sighed heavily. Moon asked, “Everything all right?”

“Yes. It’s just… the waiting.” Chime admitted reluctantly, “I’m afraid to see Fell again. Not that I’ve seen them as closely as you have. But… I’d rather not.”

A hesitant voice said, “What are they like?”

Moon glanced around and saw Lithe sitting on the deck a little distance away, her back against a support that helped anchor the cables stretching up to the central mast. She had her shawl wrapped around her and looked forlorn. It was a strange question to hear her ask, and Moon and Chime must have had similar expressions. With a little asperity she added, “I may be half-Fell, but I’ve never seen one. Just drawings in books.” She leaned forward. “Tell me. I don’t want to be unprepared.”

Chime said, “They’re very frightening.” He made an impatient gesture, as if annoyed with his own words. “That goes without saying, but… We all know there are a lot of things out there that want to kill us and eat us, but there’s something different about Fell. Maybe it comes from being descended from the same species.”

There was a lot Moon could say, but he decided to try to get across the most important point. “Fell don’t just want to eat you, they want to own you. They act like they already do own you.”

Lithe hugged herself a little tighter. Chime hunched his shoulders unhappily and cast an uneasy glance out at the shadows under the mountain-trees.

Moon continued, “Almost everything they say to you is a lie, and it probably won’t be that hard for you to tell it’s a lie. But it’s worse when they tell you the truth.” Moon felt Chime draw breath to ask a question, then let it out as he thought better of it. “Even if what they say is true, you can’t let it matter to you. Don’t let yourself be trapped by it.”

Lithe’s expression was intent. “I think I understand.”

“You sound as if you discovered that the hard way,” a new voice said.

It was Ivory, standing on the deck a few paces behind them. She was in her Arbora form, her head inclined at a thoughtful angle. Celadon was nowhere in sight.

Moon eased down off the water cask in case a quick escape was called for, but Ivory stayed where she was. Lithe was watching him expectantly, and Chime looked uncomfortable but curious. Moon hadn’t intended to answer, but maybe Celadon was right: if Ivory got to know him better, she might lose interest. He said, “Before Indigo Cloud found me, I had never seen another Raksura. The first time I saw Fell, when they attacked a groundling city, I thought I might be one. So I asked one of the rulers if that was true.”

Lithe hissed in dismay. Ivory’s tail stirred in agitation, but she kept her voice under control as she asked, “And what did it say?”

“That I was a Fell.” He let that hang in the air for a moment, then said, “I didn’t believe it. I killed it to get away, but it shared the knowledge with other rulers before it died. The Fell followed me to Indigo Cloud, because they wanted to make more Raksuran crossbreeds.”

He was hoping Ivory would retreat in appalled horror, or say something that would make her disgust clear. Instead she just watched him thoughtfully. She said finally, “Thank you for telling me that.”

Damn it, Moon thought. He should have realized that being stalked by the Fell just wasn’t as shocking to the Raksura of Opal Night as it had been to Indigo Cloud. Before he could consider a precipitous retreat, Ivory said, “Lithe, I came up here to look for you. Celadon wants to speak to you about doing an augury.”

Lithe got to her feet and followed Ivory away toward the stern. Watching them, Chime said, “Celadon didn’t send another queen to fetch a mentor when there’s fourteen warriors on this boat with barely anything to do.” He added darkly, “She’s better at this than she seems. Be careful.”

“I know,” Moon muttered. He remembered Umber’s comment that Ivory would consider Moon a challenge; he had the feeling that this ostensibly subtle campaign might just be the first step. It had also belatedly occurred to him that Malachite might be enough of a strategist to express disapproval of Ivory’s proposal, both to lure Moon into a false sense of security and knowing that her approval would only make his resistance more stubborn. “It’s not going to work.” But he was very glad that Jade had come to Opal Night.

The flying boat had moved out of the fringe by the time the sky was starting to darken toward evening. The wind carried the rich scents of sweet grasses and a number of strange grasseaters.

As they crossed the plain, Moon saw a rock formation far ahead where bleached white pillars stretched up into arches, almost high enough to reach the boat’s hull, like the ribs of some giant creature. He hadn’t noticed it on their earlier trips back and forth across the plain, but they had come out of the fringe a little further to the north, and from so far above that the odd shape of the formation might not have been as apparent.

When they drew close enough for it to be visible to groundling eyes, Delin left Song in charge of the tiller and moved up to the railing beside Moon. That was when Moon realized the white shapes that looked like ribs were actually ribs. The ship was passing the skeletal remains of an enormous creature, collapsed and lying half-buried in the vegetation covering the plain.

The boat grew quiet, everyone staring. The head and most of the body were buried in grass as tall as small trees. The ribs were each as wide as the flying boat, weathered and cracked. Moon spotted movement and his prey reflex made his whole body twitch. But the motion was a groundling who had used ropes and climbing spikes to scale one of the arching ribs.

The groundling had dark green fur and its body was shaped like a treeling, but it had a bag slung over its shoulder and hammered on the bone with an ax-like tool. Holes all over the ribs indicated this activity had been going on for some time. Mining, Moon realized, cutting into the bone for the dried marrow inside it. He saw more movement in the tangle of greenery at the skeleton’s base; there must be more groundlings at work down there, maybe a camp, or some means to transport the marrow.

Astonished and caught unaware by the craft’s silent approach, the climber stopped hammering to stare as the flying boat drew even with its position on the rib. It lifted its free hand hesitantly in greeting; Delin lifted a hand in return as the boat drifted past.

The groundling continued to stare after the boat, leaning down and angling its head for a better view of the underside of the hull. Moon watched it until the skeleton vanished into distance and twilight; it was a reminder that other peoples were depending on them to destroy this Fell flight, whether they knew it or not.

For her part, Ivory had scrupulously done nothing to annoy Moon or to pursue her interest with him. She never stood too close to him on deck, stepped aside to let him go through doorways first. This should have been reassuring, but it had the effect of making him acutely aware of her presence at all times. Moon didn’t think it was unintentional.

Leaning against the rail, Celadon watched Moon regard Ivory with deep suspicion, and said in exasperation, “I don’t know what Indigo Cloud is like, but neither Malachite nor Onyx would ever tolerate the kind of behavior you seem to expect from Ivory. We weren’t raised that way.”

Perversity made him ask, “Did Malachite beat you for misbehaving?”

“Hah. If you had to sit in front of her and Onyx, explaining exactly what you were thinking when you decided it was a good idea to pick a fight with one of your clutch cousins, you’d wish for a beating instead.”

Moon found himself mentally storing that tactic away for use on Frost, and reminded himself his future at Indigo Cloud was anything but secure.

Night settled over the ship. They were close enough to the ground to hear the hum of the evening insects, but not close enough to be troubled by them. A wary Saffron brought an invitation for Moon and Celadon to eat with Ivory. Moon told Saffron he wasn’t hungry and went to hide below decks.

Ivory’s and Celadon’s warriors had divided up the duties of the boat and of standing guard, so there wasn’t much for the Indigo Cloud warriors to do. They all ended up with Moon in one of the smaller sleeping cabins.

“This is frustrating,” Floret muttered, as she settled on the floor near the doorway. “They’re doing all the work. We look like useless hangers-on.”

“There’s still the Fell to worry about,” Song pointed out, as she pushed Root over to make room for her blanket. “If we’re lucky, we’ll have a chance to fight.”

“You’re both insane,” Chime told them. “We’ll be lucky if we never see a Fell again.”

Moon agreed, but he didn’t think it was likely to happen. There was more grumbling, and complaints, but eventually they all settled down. The wood of the deck was soft and springy, and it made a good bed. With Chime cuddled against him and surrounded by the others’ familiar scents, sleep came quicker than Moon would have thought.

Sometime later Moon jolted awake, accidentally elbowing Chime. “Umf?” Chime asked, blearily.

Moon shushed him. None of the others had moved, but he could see Floret’s eyes were open. Moon whispered, “Did you hear that?”

“Yes.” Moving carefully, she pushed herself up on one elbow. “Something just below us?”

“I heard it too,” Song whispered.

Root began, “I didn’t—”

It happened again—Moon felt it more than heard it— a surreptitious scrape on the wood below. On the underside of the hull, he thought. Chime hissed. Moon leaned down close to the planks and took a deep breath, tasting the air. But the hull was too thick here and all he could scent was Raksura.

Moon pointed up to the deck and said softly, “Move quietly. One at a time.” He climbed slowly to his feet. Stepping carefully around Chime, he picked his way silently across the floor to the doorway. He shifted, then scaled the doorframe to the ceiling, hooking his claws in the narrow bands of wood, and swung out into the hall. One of Ivory’s warriors, a big female named Fleet, was on guard in her shifted form, hanging from the doorway. “What—?” she started to ask.

“Quiet,” Moon hissed. “There’s something underneath the boat. Warn the others.” He climbed up the stairwell to the deck.

It was night; a cool breeze blew across the bow, scented of green grasses. There was no hint of Fell in it. Lamps hung on the bow and at the steering cabin. Delin, Celadon, and Lithe sat in its doorway, talking softly. Delin was making notes in one of his books. One of Celadon’s warriors crouched atop the cabin, keeping watch.

They glanced up as Moon appeared, and Celadon’s spines lifted as she sensed his tension. He crouched down beside her and said, low-voiced, “There’s something on the bottom of the hull. We heard it move.”

Celadon hissed under her breath and uncoiled to rise soundlessly to her feet. Lithe’s eyes widened and Delin calmly closed his book and pushed it inside the cabin door. Chime, Floret, and the other warriors crept quietly up from below. Ivory and her warriors followed.

Celadon motioned them all to come close, and whispered, “Ivory, take your warriors out along that side of the boat and get ready to climb down. My warriors come with me.”

Moon started to follow Celadon, but she added, “Moon, stay with Lithe.”

Moon grimaced, but obeyed, retreating to the cabin. Lithe stood in the doorway, bouncing nervously. “Do you scent Fell?” she asked. “I can’t.”

Moon shook his head. “No. It may be something else.”

Chime, Floret, Song, and Root gathered around the cabin, all shifted and braced for trouble. It was a clear night and the moon was nearly full, silver light shining down on grassland broken by clumps of rock, some wrought by weather into smooth rounded shapes, like the towers of a ruined city. Several flying islands of various sizes dotted the sky above, their shapes blotting out the stars. Moon had a flash of memory, of the furred groundling hanging from the giant rib bone, leaning down to peer under the ship’s hull. He cursed under his breath. It wasn’t just curious, it saw something down there.

“What?” Chime whispered nervously.

“Nothing,” Moon said. Then he heard Celadon’s voice, getting louder as she climbed up the side of the boat. “…You little idiot! I can’t believe this!” She swung herself over the rail onto the deck. “What is Malachite going to say to you? What is she going to say to me?”

A dark shape followed her, and Moon heard rather than saw it shift. Then another familiar voice said, “It’s not your fault.”

Shade. Moon clapped a hand over his eyes and hissed. Malachite was going to go insane. They would be lucky if she didn’t order them all back to the colony the instant she saw him.

Chime said, “Him? Uh-oh.”

Lithe said, glumly, “Oh, this isn’t good. Malachite is going to be very upset.”

“No kidding,” Moon muttered.

“But who is this?” Delin asked, peering into the darkness.

As Lithe explained who Shade was, Moon shifted to groundling and went to the group at the railing.

The warriors gathered around as Celadon demanded, “What did you think you were doing?”

“I wanted to help.” Shade sounded embarrassed, at least. He was in his groundling form now and had clearly prepared for the trip with a small pack over one shoulder. This hadn’t been a last moment impulse, then. He said, “Hello, Moon,” and added to Celadon, “I’ll make sure Malachite knows it was all my idea.”

Sounding grim, Ivory said, “When Malachite sees you, she might order us all back to the colony.”

Shade protested, “She won’t. This is a good plan. She won’t stop it just because I’m here.”

Celadon folded her arms. “Sure of that, are you?”

“Yes.” It could have seemed arrogant, but coming from Shade it just sounded earnest and naive.

Ivory’s spines rippled in annoyance. “We can send him home with an escort of warriors.”

“You need all the warriors with you,” Shade told her. “Besides, I won’t go.”

There was general hissing and spine-flicking from everyone standing around, but no one disputed the point, and no one seemed to know what to do. It was clear from Shade’s behavior, and the reactions of the queens and warriors, that he hadn’t done anything requiring rebuke since he had left the nurseries. Obviously Malachite’s potential wrath wasn’t threat enough to force him to go back to the colony.

Moon had had enough, and didn’t see any use in continuing to argue. He said, “Shade, let’s go down to the cabins and talk.” He caught Shade’s wrist and hauled him out of the circle of queens and warriors.

Shade meekly followed him down the stairs, but once they were in the belowdecks passage, he asked, “Are you angry with me?”

Moon stopped in the doorway to the sleeping cabin. He didn’t want a half-Fell half-brother who seemed determined to force the relationship which they had had for all of a few days, but he was stuck with one, and there seemed no way out of it now. And Shade was sheltered and innocent, and yet seemed to have no illusions about what he was. He said, “Yes.”

Shade followed Moon into the cabin, and managed to look contrite, though it appeared to be an effort. He had dressed in a plain, dark-colored shirt and pants of the same light material used for work clothes for hunters and warriors. The small pack he carried couldn’t have held much food, but he had at least left his good jewelry at home, and wore only a copper bracelet and an anklet with copper and ivory disks. He said, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry you did this?” Moon folded his arms. “I don’t think so.”

Shade didn’t argue that. He offered, “I’m sorry everyone’s upset.”

Moon hissed under his breath. “If Malachite sends us all home, will you be sorry for that?”

“She won’t!”

“You don’t know that.”

“But the trap is better this way.” Shade seemed utterly certain of this. “It may not be Lithe the Fell want at all. It may be me.”

“That’s exactly what Malachite is afraid of.”

Shade appeared to at least consider this, looking a little troubled, but he didn’t volunteer to return to the colony. “I was hanging onto the bottom of the boat all day. Can I have something to eat?”

Moon gave in. “Come on,” he said wearily, and took Shade to the main cabin for food.

By dawn they had an escort, one of the flying bladder-boats. It was a fairly big one, with several balconies built out from its boat-shaped cabin, possibly for firing weapons. No one shot at them or appeared in any of the doorways, but Moon spotted several faces peering at them through the glass windows.

“It’s a primitive contraption.” Delin studied it through a copper spyglass. “I wonder how they steer it.”

“With great difficulty?” Chime suggested, leaning on the railing beside Delin.

“At least they aren’t trying to stop us,” Moon said. The occupants of the bladder-boat had to know the Raksura were returning; several of the warriors in their winged forms perched on the cabin roof, the railings, or up on the lookout post atop the mast.

Moon looked toward the bow, where Celadon, Ivory, and Shade stood. Just coming into view was the seated statue carved out of the plateau, the lake at its feet, and other bladder-boats making their slow way toward it. Shade gripped the railing, his whole body language expressing rapt attention. At least he’s enjoying it, Moon thought, still feeling a little sour about the whole situation.

The wind grew gusty and strong as they drew near the city, and Delin ordered the warriors to help him close up and fasten the sails. Depending on the lines of force that crossed the Three Worlds, the ship was less at the mercy of the wind than the Aventerans’ bladder-boats. But it could still be torn apart in a bad storm, and the harsh gusts made it difficult to maneuver.

An Aventeran, wrapped up in a heavy coat, stepped out onto one of the bladder-boat’s balconies and shouted at them in Kedaic, telling them where to land. Since flying boats didn’t actually land on the ground, this could be a problem. Grumbling under his breath, Delin sent Chime to the steering cabin for something he called a speaking tube, which turned out to be a cone that amplified the voice somewhat when you shouted through it.

Leaning over the rail to look at the platform the Aventeran had indicated, Moon asked, “Can you even get the boat down there?”

“Eventually.” With an air of dissatisfaction, Delin examined the spot with his spyglass. “They have some hooks and rings for tying off their own craft. I would have to drop the anchor blocks, tie off to secure them, and then winch the ship down.” He lowered the spyglass and frowned. “It would be easier if we tied off at this level and one of you flew me over to a balcony.”

Celadon and Ivory had come over to listen. Celadon said, “Tell them that. Depending on the conversation we have, we may not be staying long.”

Delin took the speaking tube from Chime and conducted an argument with the bladder-boat. Finally it gave in and they were directed to a broad, relatively sheltered balcony just below the right shoulder of the giant statue.

As Delin maneuvered the boat closer, Moon saw several Aventerans appear on the balcony. He recognized Ennia, but Havram was absent. Hopefully that was a good sign. From their grim expressions, none of the Aventerans were particularly glad to see them.

Ivory studied the balcony with a faint frown. “Should I come with you?” she asked Celadon.

“No. I’ll take my warriors, Moon, and Delin. And no, not you, Shade,” she added as he opened his mouth to object. “You’re here against my will and without Malachite’s permission, and I have no intention of rewarding you with a tour of a groundling city.”

Shade subsided and at least looked a little chastened.

Lithe hunched her shoulders in a spine-settling gesture that looked odd on her slim groundling form. “Be careful. They don’t look friendly.”

“Did you ever have any auguries?” Celadon asked her.

“No.” Lithe’s expression was a mix of annoyance and disappointment. “I tried twice last night, and again this morning. All I can see is danger from the Fell, nothing certain. It’s blotting out everything else like a huge thundercloud.”

That wasn’t encouraging.

“Just watch the tiller, and make certain nothing jars it, and all should be well,” Delin told Chime. Delin had chosen him to be in charge of the boat while he was gone, and Moon had chosen Floret to make certain Ivory’s warriors listened to Chime and to enforce any commands he gave.

Two warriors carried the lines over to the balcony to secure the boat and keep it from drifting away, then Moon took Delin and flew across with Celadon and her warriors.

Ennia nodded gravely to them and led them through an arched doorway into a large room. It didn’t look like it was meant for meetings or even for sitting in comfort. The walls and floor were all polished stone, and there were no rugs or furniture. It was lit by one of the arrays of small glowing balls that hung from the ceiling, and two more open doorways led to a hall, which drew the air in off the open balcony and through the room. The cool draft couldn’t be very comfortable for the Aventerans.

Ennia seemed to feel all the awkwardness of the situation. “Celadon, after our last… I did not think you would come again. And in such a strange craft.” She looked almost warily at Delin.

Celadon kept her expression and her voice even and neutral. “It belongs to our friend, Delin-Evran-lindel, a scholar of the Golden Isles. He wishes to speak to you.”

Ennia nodded politely to Delin, but her expression was doubtful. “You are not…”

“A shapeshifter?” he said. “No, merely a friend to the Raksura.”

One of the other Aventerans said, “Being a friend to the Raksura seems to attract danger from other creatures, like the Fell.” Moon recognized him as Livan, the Aventerans’ shaman, or archimaster as Havram had called him. And Livan was being free with his opinions, considering until a few days ago he hadn’t heard of the Fell at all.

Delin eyed him thoughtfully, like Livan was a student who might possibly be worth the effort to instruct. He said, “Why do you say that? From what I understand, you are no friend to the Raksura, having ordered them out of your city after they rescued a child from a Fell ruler.”

Celadon flicked a spine, startled. Possibly because this was what she had wanted to say, and was surprised Delin had said it for her.

Ennia frowned at Livan, but Livan said, stiffly, “If they had never come to our city, the ruler would never have tried to injure the child.”

“No,” Delin admitted. “It would have hid among you until it was time to call down the others, attack your city, destroy it, and eat all your children, followed by all yourselves.”

There was an uneasy stir in the room, as if a wind colder than the draft from the balcony had blown through. Livan started to answer, but swallowed the words. No one argued. Something happened, Moon thought. After we left, something else happened. Maybe they would be willing to listen after all.

Delin must have expected a rebuttal, but didn’t let himself be thrown off course when it didn’t come. He continued, “I am from the Golden Isles, a small nation to the east, in what is often called the Yellow Sea. The court of Indigo Cloud once drove off an attempt by the Fell to assault our city, so we owe the Raksura our safety and continued existence.”

Celadon looked startled, as well she might, and was probably wondering why Moon hadn’t mentioned this to her before. Moon managed to keep his expression serious, though it was an effort. And people think I’m a liar. Delin wasn’t exactly lying, but exaggerating massively. He had made the incident sound like a Fell flight had descended on the Golden Isles with the intent to feed on the city, and had been driven off by a Raksuran court. Instead, one Fell ruler on an enslaved cloud-walker had followed Moon, Jade, and the warriors there, and had attacked the harbor when they arrived. The attack had ceased when Jade had killed the ruler.

But Ennia didn’t seem reassured by Delin’s version of the incident. Her expression tightened, as if she was suppressing some strong emotion. She said, in a low voice, “I see. You must have been very grateful.”

“Yes. One is, in such circumstances.” Delin seemed as puzzled by her reaction as Moon was. Persisting, he said, “The Fell are insidious creatures. In the lands to the east and the Abascene Peninsula, they are like the powerful storms that come in from the oceans, unpredictable, deadly, and inevitable. It is their nature to be predators, and parasites. You must understand that everything they do and say, everything they are, is bent toward that end. It is all they know.”

Ennia’s mouth set in a thin line, and there was despair in her expression. “I am beginning to realize that is true.”

Celadon’s eyes narrowed. She demanded, “What is it? What happened after we left?”

Ennia stepped back, and said, “I’m sorry.”

Moon heard a yell from somewhere outside and swung around in time to see an object like a dark cloud shoot through the air and strike the flying boat. The boat swayed over from the weight, but didn’t capsize. As it righted, Moon realized the object was a giant net. He hissed, to a chorus of shocked and angry growls from the warriors. Then a howl that sent a chill right through him shattered the air.

It was a major kethel.