by S. J. Higbee
But I’d scarcely begun to trace the signal beyond the village walls, when there was yet another commotion at the door, with one voice drowning out Jerick’s polite refusal.
“I know he’s in here! Dami said so. An’ I haven’t seen him, yet. Tell him – Lord Seth, that is – tell him it’s me. His ol’ buddy Demri He’ll want to see me, I know he will. An’ I’m allowed, so I am.”
I locked looks with Seth, who paled. Then flushed bright red, before rushing across the room, calling, “Jerick, please let him in. He’s right. I-I want to see him—”
Not sure about that. Reckon you must be dreading this meeting. I don’t recall crossing the room, but I skidded to a halt as I was confronted with the sight of Demri Peaceman engulfing Seth in a huge bear hug.
“Oh… Seth… Seth, Seth, Seth – I’ve missed you so. I really, really have!”
And my normally restrained husband was hugging him right back, clearly at ease with Demri hefting him off the ground and swinging him round in a giddying circle, as if he were some over-excited child. Recalling Demri’s brute strength, I was plain relieved when he plonked Seth back down on his feet again.
He peered down at Seth’s face, brushing his cheek with a huge paw. “Don’t cry, Seth. Don’t be sad.” His large forehead puckered into a frown. “You’re not bad-sad, are you, Seth? Cos I can’t hurt you no more. Dami says it’s wrong.”
Seth gave a choked laugh. “No, I’m not sad. And I want to say a big, big sorry to you, my friend. Dami is right. It is wrong and it was bad of me to get you to hurt me. I won’t ever ask it of you again, I promise.”
“So why are you crying, Seth?”
“Because I’m sad at what I did – and glad to see you again.”
Demri bit his lip, clearly puzzled at Seth’s words, before he announced, “So you are crying because you are sad at what you did. When you made me punch you until you were all bloody? When I cried cos I didn’t want to?”
Seth nodded, evidently beyond words, as tears spilled down his face.
A huge grin suddenly broke out on the broad, wet-witted face.
I clenched my fists. If you’re now going to crow over Seth’s distress, then you’re no longer welcome in this house – don’t care how much he likes you.
“Then we’re quits, cos we both cried over it. And so we don’t have to, no more.” Demri gave Seth an almighty thump on the back. “Cheer up, Priesty-boy! You’re home!”
I was shocked when Seth guffawed through his tears, then thumped Demri on the back in return. This was a side of him I’d never seen before. “Yeah I am, Peacebub.”
“Peacebub?” I put my hands on my hips, thoroughly excluded.
Seth’s grin was reassuring. “Long story, I’ll tell you later.” He looked across to a red-faced, sweating Demri, who’d clearly raced across The Square without bothering to put on his sunscreen. “Ice cream?”
Demri’s face broke into another delighted grin. “Ooo, ice cream! Please and thanking you muchly.”
“I’ll get it,” I muttered, still reeling at the change in Seth since Demri erupted into the room. To be honest, I still wasn’t all that happy in his presence, so it was a relief to have a solid excuse to put some distance between him and me. After discovering that Captain Helston and Seth also wanted ice creams – can’t think why anyone wanted to hurt their teeth on the cold-tasting stuff – I went to organise it.
A shaken Jerick was more than happy to bustle around the kitchen preparing them, so I wandered back into Felina’s sitting room, to find Seth placing my tab in front of Demri. I drew breath to ask him to be careful…
“Ooo, you got a map,” he breathed, his eyes widening in delight. “And here we are – Cnicus! That’s us, isn’t it? An’ there’s Piss-town—” He looked up at me, shuffling a little. “Sorry, K-Kyrillia. Your Ladyship. Mustn’t call it that. Papa gets mad when I call it that.”
“That’s alright,” I said, awkwardly. “It’s what lots of folks call it.” But I was talking to myself, as Demri was once more looking at the map, gnawing his lower lip.
“Demri loves maps, don’t you?” said Seth. “Loves seeing where everything goes. He’s really good at drawing maps and sometimes we’d go and see some of the places on the maps around here together.”
“That’s shady,” I said, trying to keep the envy out of my voice.
Jerick chose this moment to enter with some extravagant concoction that included a fruit jelly and strawberry sauce, as well as ice cream. He’d even included a helping for me, without the nasty cold stuff. Demri picked up the spoon, which looked tiny in his thick fingers and delicately picked a tiny portion, put it into his large, shiny-lipped mouth and closed his eyes with delight. “Mm…”
I’d half-expected him to slurp and gobble his way through this treat, and as he continued to peck away at it, I felt ashamed at my assumption. Especially when he once more leaned over the map, pointing out the drainage ditches, the landing stage, and the Monitor House.
Captain Helston, who’d polished off his ice cream sundae in no time flat, jabbed his finger on my tab far harder than I liked. “And this? D’you know where this is?”
Demri put his head on one side, as he sucked down another micro-sized amount of jelly. “Yeah, Scarlet Horde Caves. Where them mantivores used to live.”
Helston looked across to me. “Is that a feasible supposition, Your Ladyship?”
Seth said, “If Demri reckons that’s what it is, that’s good enough for me. He’d say if he didn’t know.”
“I been there, too. Papa sent me to carry stuff for the men there.” Demri’s mouth drooped. “I didn’t like it. They yelled at me. Lots. And it was stinky in there. Nemmets. I tried to tell them but they didn’t care.”
“When was this, Demri?”
He looked uneasily at me. “Before you came, but after they builded the soldier barracks. Papa says it’s a secret. I mustn’t tell anyone. But it’s alright to tell you, isn’t it? Cos you’re Your Ladyship and we need to hemhug and yayso round you. Papa says so.”
Cupert Peaceman is a roaching piece of work! I smiled at Demri. “Don’t you worry about yaysaying too much around me. And yes, it’s shady to tell me these things.” I leaned forward. “I’ve never been to Scarlet Horde Caves. Didn’t even know they were there. What are they like?”
Demri scraped another tiny sliver of ice cream from the rapidly melting mess in front of him, before replying, “Firstoff, I wanted to draw a map of the caves, but the soldiers wouldn’t let me. Made me carry lots of big heavy crates, while they got to use the hover carts. An’ when I was thirsty, they only let me have a single waterpack though they all had two.” He daintily popped a morsel of jelly into his mouth. “Called me ‘a roaching dust-tic.’” His drawling Gloriosan accent was uncannily accurate. “Then, when I was stacking all those crates near the back of the big chamber, I could smell nemmets. I tried to tell them, but they laughed and called me more names. Then one of them threw a boot at me an’ told me to weld my yabbing mouth shut. So I did.”
Seth and I looked at one another, before he asked, “So did you tell your Pa ʼbout the nemmet stink?”
Demri closed his eyes while sucking on another tiny portion of melted ice cream. “Nah. Papa was all shouty when we got back. Made me change the bog-boxes. They stink, too. Almost as bad as nemmets. Dami an’ me, we don’t say much when Papa gets mad.” He sighed, his big shoulders slumping. “We used to sneak away an’ hide behind the Monitor House where he couldn’t find us, but now Dami is tied to the console in the Security Suite.”
Seth looked startled. “She is?”
Demri nodded. “That’s what she says. Reckons she’ll get old and wrinkled sitting at that roaching console.”
Captain Helston cleared his throat, adding, “Nemmets are on the Lethal Wildlife List – I’m guessing they’re to be avoided.”
“For sure. If there’s only a small family group, then they’ll probably flee anyway. But if there’s a full pod in there…” Set
h’s voice trailed away as I shivered at the thought.
“If there’s a contingent of rebel soldiers laid up in the caves, surely they’d be more than a match for these creatures. They’ll likely be armed with the latest weaponry and botware,” commented Helston, clearly unaware of the danger they posed.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” replied Seth. “We’ve never had that kind of firepower to use against them, which is why the idea of them twitches us somewhat.”
Which was one way of putting it. Nemmets were the reason the village walls were electrified at night and why there was a strip around the village where nothing was allowed to grow. While that cleared area also kept veinworm colonies, jaspers and palm leeches from getting too close, Cnicans wouldn’t have bothered to put in the hours of back-breaking labour to keep it from growing back if it wasn’t for nemmets.
If anyone from The Arids had been part of the rebel force holed up at the Scarlet Horde Caves, they wouldn’t have been calling Demri names and throwing things at him, they’d have checked if he was right. And if they’d also smelt nemmets, they’d have quickly and quietly loaded everything up and scurried out of those caves as fast as they could.
“I think we should round up most of the troops loyal to us and make for these caves,” announced Helston. “We don’t want any kind of hostile force at our back, waiting to pounce just when it suits them. If we take the fight to them, before returning to Cnicus and dealing with Clete Gator’s faction, we’re more likely to be successful.”
“It also gives incoming support from Gloriosa more time to arrive,” I said.
“I thought the Node wasn’t up and running. Are you able to yell for help, yet?”
I sighed, wishing I could give him better news. “Master Trask and Denzel are working on it and if anyone can get the Nodery fully functioning, they can. But it so nearly died and there’s no other Nodes nearby in better shape to act as boosters or relays, other than Reseda. And I’m guessing that once the rebels declare their allegiance to Clete Gator, we’ll no longer be able to use it as it’s the Brarian Major’s powerbase.”
His shoulders slumped. “Right. That’s settles it. We’re heading out tonight for these caves, an hour after sunset. Ten traf-waggons should be sufficient for our personnel and equipment.” He took a breath, “I must ask you to accompany us, Your Ladyship. I cannot guarantee your safety if you remain in the village.”
I looked across at Seth. “So long as you come, too.”
He rolled his eyes. “Priest, remember? There’s no way I’m staying here if there’s a safer option.”
Demri stopped pecking at the custard-like mess in his bowl. “Me! Lemme come, too.”
“Course you’re coming, Peacebub. You know where we’re going, right?”
“An’ Dami. Can she come, too?” asked Demri.
Felina? Captain Helston is planning for us to go on a jaunt an hour after sunset. You and Vrox need to be alongside. Damita, too. Can you let her know?
RAINDROP? THAT YOU?
I clapped my hands to my forehead and groaned. Well, it isn’t the roaching Founding Fathers! Can you stop yelling? Abruptly, I felt Vrox stir – he’d been sleeping. As he realised what was being planned, my head filled with excited mantivore anticipation.
Seth’s hand on my arm was a comfort. “Vrox stomping through your mind again?”
“Mm.” I took care not to nod, as I stood. “Might be an idea to get some sleep.”
Ellern Healer suddenly appeared. “I would recommend a head massage, first, Kyrillia.”
I slipped an arm around Seth’s waist. “Thank you for the kind suggestion, but I haven’t been sleeping well, lately. I’d rather go straight to bed.”
Her smile faltered. “It would probably help you unwind.”
My arm around Seth tightened. “Right now, I’ll pass.”
She looked across to Seth, raising her eyebrows.
I felt him tense as he shifted, but before he could say anything, Demri muttered into his ice cream, “They want to hug and stuff together. That’s all.”
Seth burst out laughing, suddenly relaxed. “What he said, Mistress Healer.”
“Of course, Lord Seth. I meant no offence. Just trying my very best to ensure Her Ladyship’s health holds up under all the strain she’s under.” Ellern abruptly turned and marched out of the room, her heels striking an angry staccato on Felina’s stone flooring.
“Ooo. She’s bossier than Dami!” declared Demri in awed tones.
The pair of us dissolved into giggles, whereas back in Gloriosa the Healer-Prime’s displeasure had us both miserable and off balance.
We curled up together on Felina’s large, squashy bed, cuddling together as we used to, before we somehow stopped doing so. Even though we couldn’t do more than kiss, we whispered and giggled about nothing in particular. For my part, I was simply giddy with happiness at having Seth close again. And when I finally fell asleep on his shoulder, I slept deeply and dreamlessly, safe with his arm around me. Which just goes to show how wet-wittedly wrong lovers can be.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Once I awoke from my siesta, Ellern insisted I drink one of her sweet-tasting concoctions that was supposed to help ease down the damage to my eyes and stop the headaches. I knocked it back as fast as I could, by now loathing the cloying taste that coated my mouth and seemed to muffle everything going on around me.
Seth and I arranged to have our meal early. I envied his ability to eat heartily, while I picked at the golden crust of the game pie, wishing I didn’t feel so queasy.
Seth looked across at me. “Not hungry?”
I shook my head, pushing it away.
“We don’t eat sufficient to power a nanobot, Lord Seth,” added Ellern, tutting gently at me. “I keep telling her that we need to keep up our strength. But…”
“We were hungry enough before we took that roaching medicine you keep dosing us with,” I snapped, before muttering, “My repentances. But the stuff makes me feel sicker than a jaspered chicken.”
“If it tastes half as foul as it smells, small wonder you can’t stand it,” he said, turning to Ellern. “Until Her Ladyship is eating more, let’s leave off filling her with stuff a nemmet wouldn’t touch.”
“As you wish!” Ellern’s grin was gone, her lips pinched with disapproval. “I’m only doing what’s best for Her Ladyship.”
Uncle Trislen once threatened Healer Prime Ellern with the prospect of never working in Gloriosa Prime again. I almost wished he’d carried out that threat, knowing we’d finish our meal with her frosty disapproval blighting any further conversation around Felina’s battered table. Before remembering who was In Charge.
I stood up. “I’ll have coffee in the Reception Room.” I turned to Ellern. “Goodnight, Mistress Healer Prime.”
She blinked, clearly taken aback, and drew breath to reply but I didn’t wait to hear it. I swept out of the dining room, recalling how Mother used to move. Before plonking into one of Felina’s large, comfy chairs once I was out of Ellern’s orbit.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Seth, who’d trailed in after me. “But I’m tired of being hoed flat by her roaching moods whenever I don’t do what she wants.”
“Oh no, I reckon you’ve the right of it.” His grin lit up his face. “Gladder than I can say that you’ve finally stopped hopping from foot to foot to please her. But it had to come from you, not me.”
I wiped my hands across my robe. “You’re right. She’ll keep stomping all over me with her pointy shoes if I let her. And it’s not being a tyrant, it’s just wanting some things done a certain way.”
He nodded. “Don’t knot yourself up over whether you’re turning into your roaching Uncle Trislen, I’ll soon say if you start slithering down that path.”
As Jerick handed me a cup of coffee, I smiled across at Seth, suddenly feeling a whole lot better. “I’m gladder than I can say that you came.”
Seth leant forward as Jerick left the room, suddenly intent. “Kyri
llia—”
Someone started hammering on the door, and I gulped back my coffee. “That sounds like Captain Helston.”
It was. Dressed in black, he stared at our variweave garments and suggested we change into something more suitable. Though I’m not sure he’d ever wandered around The Arids at night. All sorts of odd lights and flashes flicker in the darkness as many creatures use bioluminescence, so our own variweave version of it wouldn’t have been as out of place as I think he imagined it to be.
However, I wasn’t about to mention it. Over the year since I’d inherited Captain Helston – was it a year already? – from Uncle Trislen as the head of our personal security detail, I took all his advice regarding my safety. And as so far I hadn’t died, I figured I needed to go on listening to him.
We sneaked out through the back door, flanked by blank-faced men prepared to fight and die for us. It was a comfort having Seth hold my hand as we scurried along the path, the cooling air fanning my face—
Cub! We are free from that stinking hole they penned us up in.
I stumbled, and it was Seth’s steadying hand that stopped me sprawling under the boots of our escort, who were now moving at a trot. I wasn’t too surprised that our rendezvous was behind the Monitor House, now a forgotten corner of Cnicus only ever visited by the occasional adventurous child and field-sloggers checking to ensure jaspers or veinworm colonies hadn’t moved in.
Though it wasn’t as forgotten as I’d thought. Two of Clete’s guards were patrolling the entrance to the Monitor House. Abruptly, gloved hands hauled me into the scrubby shrubbery lining the village wall, the smell of crushed leaves and dusty soil filling my nostrils. Seth’s pained grunt beside me was proof that he, too, hadn’t landed softly. Through the bushes I watched the guards, wondering what we’d do now. But one minute they were strolling along the front of the building. The next, they were both slumped on the ground, uttering nothing more than a choked cry. My escort’s attack was too quick, too savage for the guards to put up any kind of defence.
