Serpent of the Abyss by S.J. Sanders
Chapter 26
Kehtal grinned at the human pacing back and forth in the main room. He never thought he would enjoy another being so much. He had found a sort of companionship with Daskh and Slengral over the passing of many seasons due to the close proximity of their nests, but this level of fascination and delight in another’s existence was new. Even Daskh was being affected by it.
Although the male had harrumphed when he arrived, Daskh was incredibly gentle and patient when it came to the little female. In all the seasons he had known Daskh, he had never seen him be anything other than surly. In the waking cycles since they returned from the colony, Daskh had not complained once about returning a cycle after to Slengral’s nest. What was supposed to be only two cycles turned into five, and then seven, and with them the sounds of human activity returned to the Aglatha. In that time, he had not even once so much as growled at the human. Lori seemed to bring out the best in the sour male, even drawing out smiles and an occasional rumbling chuckle.
Who knew that Daskh could smile? Or laugh?
The male in question, who was watching the pacing female with a fond quirk of his mouth, glanced over at Kehtal, his brows drawing down. With a shift of his tail, he slid closer so they could speak without being overheard.
That he was scowling was of little surprise. Daskh had not been happy when he heard of their plans, but regardless of how poorly the idea of deceiving Lori sat with him, even he had been noticeably relieved with the decision. The male fussed over the female and was showing inappropriate protectiveness for a male who was not her mate, even peeling fruit for her so she did not risk damaging her soft claws.
It was bound to cause trouble with Slengral eventually. The male was too occupied with spying on the humans, watching the activity at the colony, and listening to Kehtal’s gathered information to notice. But he would not continue to be ignorant for long.
“Any new information?” Daskh hissed.
Kehtal slanted a hard look at him and flicked his crests, trying not to betray the weight of unease that he bore much of the cycle. Watching the human, breathing in her perfect, right scent helped. “When Slengral arrives.”
The male swallowed a growl but flicked his own gavo crests in response before turning to continue observing the pacing female.
Yes, there was definitely going to be a problem.
Following Daskh’s gaze, Kehtal frowned. Lori was more unsettled than usual.
“Has she been like this all cycle?” he murmured.
Daskh grunted. “She is anxious. She does not like the caves, and she worries about what is happening on the surface. This cannot continue.”
“Do not worry. It will not,” Kehtal sighed.
Slengral was growing increasingly hostile with his mate’s mounting distress, especially as the signs of a trespassing male were stronger and more frequent. Before long the entire Aglatha would know that she was there. They needed to move her, and soon.
If the male had not forbidden any more delays, Kehtal would have voluntarily insisted that they stop out of a sense of responsibility to his friend. Fortunately, after cycles of not being able to discover anything regarding the shinara—their mysterious silence disturbing him more than what he communicated to Slengral—he had finally heard something. And it did not bode well for the future.
Listening intently for any sound of Slengral’s arrival, his ear ridges twitched at a gentle vibration. He tilted his head. What was that? It sounded so sweet and light—familiar even—but the pitch was too soft for him to identify it. Perhaps an animal? There were several species that communicated with sonic vibrational song not unlike the Seshanamitesh. Usually, the nesting creatures did not make it so far down into the shaft, but it would not be the first time.
Daskh growled, his rising gavo stiffening down the length of his spine as he backed closer to Lori, his tail sweeping her carefully behind him.
“Something is in the tunnels.”
“Animals,” Kehtal suggested, his voice uncertain.
The vibration immediately stopped, and they both froze, their breaths the only sound in the nest. Their ear ridges completely fanned out to best capture even the smallest noise, their gavo opened and their muscles tensed, drawing them up higher on their coils—threateningly—readying for attack.
When no further sounds came, Kehtal released the breath in his lungs and lowered himself back down, his gavo retracting. It had to have been an animal just as he suspected.
Gavo slowly retreating once more, Daskh rubbed at the edge of one of his crests, his mouth tightening.
“That was no animal,” he muttered to himself, followed by another angry rumble. “Where is Slengral? He should be here by now.”
Kehtal’s tongue clicked uneasily against the roof of his mouth and drew air into his ethin. Sunrise was nearing. He was correct; Slengral should have arrived some time ago. The male usually beat Kehtal back to the nest, and only occasionally had been a little later in his arrival. Never this late, however. Wings rattling with rapid flicks, he exchanged a worried look with Daskh.
“Remain here,” he said quietly, sliding over to the entrance, his wings slowly unfolding from his back. “He cannot be far. I will find him.”
“I will remain on guard,” Daskh replied, his tail sweeping around the female.
Lori looked between them, bewildered.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice whipping through the cave by the force of the tension coiled tight around every word. “Where’s Slengral?”
“It is probably nothing,” Daskh soothed in a low voice. “Kehtal is just going out to locate Slengral. There might have been another small cave-in in the upper levels, delaying his arrival. If there is, Kehtal will help him break it up quickly so that he can return.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her shoulders stiffening bravely. The words were said so quietly that Kehtal’s heart went out to her. She gave him a wobbly smile. “Hurry back.”
He dipped his head in the manner he had seen her do many times and slipped out the entrance. The tunnel itself was filled with strange scents, the spoors of the stranger taunting them. Growling, he hastened forward. Drawing air into the air sacks in his body, Kehtal rose into the air and, with a snap of his wings, glided through the tunnel. With two beats of his wings, he emerged and soared upward, restlessly scanning the space around him.
Despite his confidence, he felt a pinch of unease, the pressure of which increased the higher he flew with no sign of the male. As much as he secretly coveted the female with every desperate breath he took of her sweet scent, he worried for his friend. He was her mate by right and an honorable male. He had to find him.