Serpent of the Abyss by S.J. Sanders
Chapter 37
Kehtal’s right wing flicked out and expanded and then his left wing as he stretched them restlessly. It had been two full waking cycles since Slengral had left with Lori, and he was starting to get worried. He did not like that they had not yet returned from the human nest. How long did it take to pass on information and return?
“I do not like this,” he growled, drawing Daskh’s attention from where he was occupied in the bathing pool with the nestling.
His friend’s ear ridges raised, fanning out with curiosity as Daskh looked over at him, struggling with the small male he was determined to clean.
“I said so on our last waking, and you told me to quit whining like a kapan,” the male pointed out sourly.
“That was then. It has been a whole additional sleep cycle since and there is still no sign of Slengral and Lori!” Kehtal snarled, earning him a reproachful look from Daskh when Hashal dipped down into the water at the sound.
“Apologies,” Kehtal murmured.
He sighed, his hand stroking over his right crest for what had to have been the hundredth time since waking. Not that he had slept much. He was exhausted and on edge, his mind constantly fretting over their little human female.
A groan escaped him. Slengral was going to slaughter him once he found out that Daskh was not the only one growing attached to his mate. Kehtal hid it better, told himself that his infatuation would eventually diminish the more she carried Slengral’s scent. With her absence, he was forced to face the horrible truth that he would continue to want her. He coveted her, even though he was not quite as lost in the mating bond as his friend was.
Daskh, unfortunately, was genuinely suffering her absence after so many waking cycles entwined with her. He tried not to show it while he was caring for Hashal, but in his unguarded moments Kehtal watched as the male fretted and descended into an increasingly more volatile temper. Daskh’s coils never seemed to settle as they twisted and twined continuously with his anxiety. At times, it almost seemed as if his tail were moments from lashing out to strike defensively. Even when he was trying to control it, it was still visible in the way the tip of his tail constantly curled and uncurled. Kehtal was both envious and relieved that he never had a close enough connection with her to miss it.
In a way, it was its own kind of torment. Some part of him not only grieved her absence but also was consumed with regret. He had kept his distance to not upset Slengral, and with her absence he felt like he had missed something important and special.
He exhaled painfully. He could not do this. He could not wait a moment longer. He needed to get out and track Slengral down, just to assure himself that everything was still fine. The colony was only a few spans away. He could be gone and back before Hashal spent one more night whimpering for the female. Daskh could manage him and protect the nest until then. There had been no new activity outside the tunnel, so he was confident that the nestling would be perfectly safe until he returned. In essence, he would still be doing as Lori wished.
As if privy to his thoughts, Hashal screeched as he was caught once again in his attempt to escape the pool. Daskh’s large hand wrapped easily around the male’s small body and dragged him back inside as he plucked up the scrap of leather and lathered it against the wedge of soap sitting beside him. As he began to scrub, he glanced up, his brow raised.
“I can hear the mechanisms of your mind turning. What are you plotting, Kehtal?” Daskh growled.
“Just that you seem to have everything under control here,” he began, grimacing at the dark scowl that descended over the male’s features.
“You want to leave,” Daskh interrupted in his usual blunt manner. “Even though our Lori asked for us to remain here and watch the nestling. Knowing that our presence here is something she is counting on, you still want to leave.”
“Not leave, exactly. I would be right back to help. I would honor her request,” Kehtal snapped. His coils drew up around him defensively. “I only plan to fly out, circle around the colony, and see if I can get any word from Slengral. As soon as I have accomplished that, I will return immediately.”
Green eyes narrowed on him, and then a loud sigh left Daskh. “I admit I would be more at ease with this if I had a way to know that she was well,” he muttered, the words drawing on with considerable reluctance.
“I as well.” Kehtal readily agreed. “I cannot remain here in the nest without being able to satisfy myself that she is safe.”
Daskh nodded, his crests flicking as he submerged the nestling one last time to rinse him before rising from the water with Hashal clinging to him.
“Go then and return quickly.” His expression hardened, his eyes glittering with menace. “If you do not return with word before the suns rise, expect that I will find someone to watch Hashal just so I can find you and murder you.” He paused. “You would not want that.”
Kehtal dipped his head quickly in a nod, his crests jerking in affirmation. The last thing he wanted was for Daskh to come after him in a fit of temper for not doing as agreed, not unless the situation was dire, and then he would need that anger to destroy any threat.
“Agreed,” he swore. “Believe me, if I do not return, I will most certainly welcome you tracking me down.” He swallowed, not wishing to think any more than he had to of what that would mean for him, Slengral or Lori. “If that happens, I suggest taking the nestling to Ehsash first. Otherwise, you are free to murder me so long as Lori is safe.”
“I know Ehsash,” Daskh rumbled. “He is a good male to trust with Hashal. It is agreed then. Go now. Just know that I will do as promised if you do not return with the suns. As long as we understand each other.”
“Perfectly,” Kehtal assured him, his wings stretching wide and slapping against his back to warm them up as he slipped toward the tunnel.
“And if you see Lori at all, send her my greeting. Tell her that I wait for her return!” Daskh shouted after him.
The male’s words echoed in Kehtal’s mind as he darted up from the tunnel into the main shaft with a flurry of wingbeats. He did not believe he would see Lori. He did not believe that she would be anywhere where he could even catch scent of her. He had the uneasy feeling that something had happened, and he could not shake it or outfly it.
Wheeling up around a sharp curve, he whipped past the human equipment to soar up out of Algatha’s mouth. His eyes adjusted to the light of the moons shining down and the expanse of sky filled with more stars than he could ever count. He did not take time to admire them as he usually would. There would be time enough to return again to study the skies as he tracked the movement of the heavens.
Higthar, the dominant and brightest star in the sky, the lauded heavenly mate of Shangla, sat low in the sky that night. Its light marking out the exact path toward the colony. Higthar was the vengeful one, guardian, and once a mighty protector of the clans before the division. It seemed only right that he was showing kindness to Kehtal and joining him on his hunt for Lori.
Whispering thanks for the blessing, he winged swiftly across the sky, the rush of air over his wings and tail pressing down uncomfortably at his speed. The pressure was nothing to him. It was far more endurable than the worry that filled his belly with sickness. His attention was focused entirely on the landscape speeding toward him and eventually a glowing spot in the distance that gradually became larger.
The curved surface of the human nest gleamed just as he recalled. As he drew closer, he swiveled his head, looking for any sign of Slengral. From what Lori had said, he knew that the male had to be waiting somewhere outside. He certainly would not have gone anywhere without his mate.
“Gasthan shit,” he muttered to himself, scanning the sand below him. “Where is he?”
He only just barely refrained from calling out to the male as he would have if they had been separated in the caves. His breath pinched in his lungs with the realization that he had just barely avoided a disaster. That close to the colony, one of the humans would have taken notice.
Dropping down lower for a clearer view, he made sure his gavo were completely flattened and slowed his pace, his wings taking on a more leisurely beat. He had completed a half circle of the human nest when a rattling hiss reached his ears from below.
It had to be Slengral.
Turning toward the sound, he was not surprised when the male suddenly rose from the sand, the grains pouring off of him. Kehtal grinned, elated to have found his friend but his smile quickly slipped when he saw that Slengral was waving him away. Kehtal’s eyes snapped toward the colony a short distance away. He did not understand. They were well away from the perimeter of lights, and human vision was terrible. It was the whole reason that the Seshanamitesh were able to pick off the humans so easily.
Dropping his attention back toward Slengral, his eyes widened. The male was racing toward him, his wings snapping in the air. Instinctively, he wheeled back, higher into the air to avoid the collision that was to come, and a sharp snap filled the air.
Slengral swerved suddenly, a look of profound dismay and anger falling over the male’s features that was visible only for a moment when a net snapped around Kehtal with such force and weight that his wings were caught, and he began to plummet to the ground.
Sand rose up to meet him, but the net tugged sharply to the left and the sand was yanked away to reveal something far more unpleasant. The curved shell of the colony lay just below him. For a terrible moment he was certain that he was about to hit it, but the net around him tightened and he jerked roughly against it when it stopped moving with him. The cut of the rope against his scales was uncomfortable, but what hurt more was the pressure against his chest that forcibly expelled every bit of air out of him.
He hung there, suspended and gasping for breath. His eyes rolled as he looked around him with the nervous energy born of panic. He was caught! How?
Turning his head just enough, he saw the instrument of his capture. A tall metal tower rose high above to one side that had resembled the guard posts but far larger and entirely new. Anchored to it he could see some sort of delivery device with the end rope of his net secured to it. He swung from it helplessly.
Dropping his head to relieve the strain on his neck, he stared down at the shell once more only to see that there was something different about it. A large segment drew back, leaving an enormous gaping hole large enough to admit at least half of the males of Aglatha if any had been around to see it.
He could hear the rush of wings coming at him and knew that Slengral was flying over. He was not sure if it was to help him or to take advantage of the opening. Kehtal hoped it was the latter. If the humans were determined to lower him into their colony, he would find Lori and get free a lot faster with Slengral.
A mechanical whirl roared, and Kehtal flopped helplessly in the net as it was steadily and none-too-gently lowered. The rhythmic sound of wings snapping in the air was drowned out by it as he approached a high platform that unfolded just below him from the top of the largest structure. Kehtal’s eyes widened, and his wings kicked up as he struggled against his bonds. He could see humans swarming the platform, weapons in their hands as he was lowered among them. Hands reached out to grab the net and Kehtal barked aggressively, hoping to scare them.
From outside the shell, now above him and sliding shut, he heard the furious rattling and barking of Slengral, the male’s wings streaking through the air as he dropped with an angry bellow. Kehtal struggled, eager to get up and assist should the male make it.
Loud, angry shrieks rose from around him as red lights flashed everywhere, the opening above slamming shut only a moment before Slengral flung his significant mass upon it. The humans around Kehtal ducked, half of them directing their weapons upward nervously as the sound of the male’s impact blasted overhead.
The stink of fear rose thick, and more than one human seemed to tremble as Slengral barked and clawed at the barrier, trying to get in. Kehtal did not know what the shell was made of, but he was surprised to see that claws that easily broke stone left nothing more than thin lines. Kehtal’s eyes shifted to note that there were several large patches marred heavily with lines. It was obvious that this was not the first time his friend had attacked the colony. Slengral had been attacking the colony routinely to free his mate to no avail.
If he could get free, there was a chance that he could discover a way of assisting the other male. Maybe the two of them could attack the same spot from opposite sides and create a weak point. It was only a glimmer of an idea but died when Slengral’s hissing cut off and the male snapped up into the air from the dome as another net fell useless on the shell with an echoing strike.
In a panicked frenzy, Kehtal barked and snarled as he felt the platform lower. The rope had a metallic sheen to it that he could not bite or claw through that just pushed his rage higher. At last, he released a furious shriek when the net tightened around him and numerous hands grabbed ahold of it, dragging him away into the metal mouth of the human nest.