The Books of the Raksura: The Complete Raksura Series

by Martha Wells

  “Is he.” Jade sounded unconvinced, but she lifted a hand.

  Flower stepped into view behind Jade, and she held something tucked under her arm. It was a light brown object the size of a melon, with a ribbed outer shell. Flower said, “It was in a holder in the altar, or whatever it is, in here.” She peered past Jade at Ardan. “That’s him, is it?”

  Ardan frowned at Flower. “I’m sorry. You’re not a Raksura, surely?” Apparently he couldn’t contain his curiosity even under these circumstances.

  Flower’s brows quirked. This was probably not a question she had ever been asked before. “I’m an Arbora.”

  Ardan didn’t look convinced. “You don’t resemble the carvings.”

  That was possibly an attempt at a polite way of saying that the carvings showed Arbora to be stocky and heavily muscled, and not raw-boned thin and fragile. Flower said, dryly, “I’m old.”

  Jade took Flower’s shoulder and moved her away from Ardan, putting Flower between herself and Moon. Ardan gave her a polite nod. He stepped back, and said, “Very well. We’ll go and make the exchange.”

  Jade lifted a brow at Moon, but didn’t object. Ardan wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination, but he was desperate, and Moon was fairly sure he would try something to keep the seed. He might believe now that the other Raksura wouldn’t trade the seed and the bridle for Moon, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to make them trade for Jade’s release. But that wouldn’t happen until Ardan had his hands on the bridle. They started to follow the sorcerer back toward the tunnel entrance, where Rift would be waiting.

  As they walked, Ardan said, “I was told that your consort is not accepted by your people, that he has the same disadvantage as Rift.”

  Flower looked up, startled. Jade’s spines were already bristling and didn’t betray her reaction. She flicked a look at Moon, who couldn’t afford to do anything but stare back at her. He hoped she just played along and agreed, but some traitor part of him wanted her to argue with Ardan even if it did wreck their plan. She said to Ardan, “I think it’s laughable to expect a groundling to understand our customs.”

  Ardan wasn’t willing to let her avoid the issue. “I think anyone of feeling can recognize a despicable custom. And if you support it, why make an exception for your consort?”

  Flower hissed quietly to herself. Jade’s spines rippled. She said, “You have your own share of despicable customs.”

  Unperturbed, Ardan said, “I’ve offered Rift a refuge here. Your consort would be welcome as well.”

  Jade’s claws flexed. Flower gave Moon a look of pure consternation, but Jade only said, “I think your refuge comes with a price.”

  Then they were past the bulk of the dead waterling, and Ardan abruptly lost interest in the argument. He stopped, and said, grimly, “Speaking of Rift, it seems he has returned with company.”

  Three Raksura waited on the steps below the tunnel entrance. From the colors of their scales, it was Rift, Balm, and Chime. Moon hoped the others waited past the doorway, just out of sight, and the men that Ardan had stationed there had been chased away down the tunnel.

  “They don’t trust him,” Moon said. There were so many things that could still go wrong, he couldn’t count them. “Just like you don’t trust us.”

  “True.” Ardan hesitated, his expression still, and Moon could practically see him turning over the decision whether to betray them or not. He didn’t let himself tense. They had the seed and a mostly clear shot to the tunnel entrance, and Stone and Esom should be nearby. His only worry was if Ardan could do some sort of magic before they all reached the tunnel. Then Ardan said, “Tell Rift to bring it—”

  An explosion shook the chamber, sent a tremor through the paving. A shower of dust and rock chips rained down from above. Jade halfflared her wings. Moon ducked instinctively and threw a protective arm around Flower. She shifted to Arbora under his hand, crouching to shield the seed.

  Someone shouted, “Magister, they’re coming, they broke through the wall—”

  The firepowder, Moon realized. The waterling weapon. Ardan staggered to his feet, shouted at the guards. Moon looked back, trying to see through the dust, and spotted Esom stumbling barely thirty paces away. Stone, still in groundling form, tackled him down, and rolled them both out of sight behind a pillar. Moon grimaced, stricken. The shock of the explosion must have made Esom lose control over his spell. The guards were going to see them any moment. He told Jade, “Go for the tunnel, go now! We’ll distract him—”

  Jade hissed agreement, grabbed Flower, and leapt for the tunnel.

  Then suddenly the ground underfoot dipped and turned, threw Moon sideways as the paving lifted under them. He thought it was Ardan opening a passage down to the leviathan again, and snarled in fury. But Ardan staggered as the floor tilted, trying to stay on his feet. Water rushed in through the tunnel entrance, down the stairs, and bowled over Ardan’s guards. Jade changed her direction in mid-leap and flared her wings. She whipped around to land on the nearest pillar, Flower and the seed still tucked under one arm. Chime, Balm, and Rift jumped up through the spray as the wave rolled across the floor.

  The water had to be coming up the flooded street, obviously not hampered by the magical barrier over the door. But the floor still tilted down at a sharp incline. The leviathan is lowering its head, Moon realized in horror, getting ready to go under…

  As the wave hit, Moon lunged forward, grabbed Ardan around the waist, and jumped down the incline to the side of the nearest pillar. Water washed over him, stale at first and then fresh. Moon shook Ardan and shouted, “What are you doing?”

  “It’s not me!” Ardan gritted out, his hands digging into Moon’s arm. “It’s the leviathan! Those fools, when they used the firepowder so close to its head, they must have woken it. Without the bridle it’s free to do whatever it wants.”

  It sounded horribly likely. The leviathan had lowered its head immediately after the explosion. “Can you stop it?”

  “I can try. Get me the bridle, take me to the sanctum, and I’ll try!”

  Moon looked around. Balm and Chime had joined Jade, perched on a pillar about a hundred paces away. They all stared this way, doubtless wondering what Moon was doing with Ardan. He couldn’t see Rift… No, there he was, holding on to the corbelled ceiling high overhead. Moon bellowed, “Rift, come here!”

  Rift hesitated, long enough for Moon to think about where he would have to put Ardan while he flew up to drag Rift out of the ceiling, to wonder where Stone and Esom were. Water poured continuously in from the tunnel entrance, roared down the slope of the floor. Then Rift dropped down to the pillar and cupped his wings to land on it a few paces above Moon.

  “Give him the bridle,” Moon said. “I’ve got to take him to the sanctum to try to stop this.”

  Rift handed the bridle to Ardan, and said, “Good luck.”

  Rift ducked away as Moon flared his wings and leapt for the next pillar. The sloped stone surface made for a difficult landing, and his claws slipped. He slid down a few paces before he caught hold of the carving. Ardan grunted in alarm, but didn’t struggle or panic. Moon pushed off again, more carefully this time, and crossed the room in long bounds. Halfway across, Chime caught up and landed above him on a slanting pillar. He said breathlessly, “Jade says to hurry up and do whatever it is you’re doing.”

  Moon didn’t need to be told that. He leapt into the air again. He finally splashed down beside the sanctum’s open doorway. A moment later Chime landed atop the dome. Water poured down the slope of the floor, most of it flowing past the angled doorway, so the sanctum wasn’t flooded yet. He set Ardan on his feet. The Magister staggered, caught the wall to steady himself, and said, “Thank you. You can send your friend for the seed.”

  Moon wasn’t buying that. “You said you could do it with the bridle. It’s a little late to change your story.” The man was as bad as Rift. Another wave washed down and sloshed partly into the sanctum. Ardan smiled tightly. “It wa
s worth a try.” He pulled himself inside and staggered across to the plinth.

  Moon climbed the side of the dome, up to where Chime crouched. The big room was even darker; the vapor-light stands in the lower part of the chamber had been swamped. Though it didn’t douse them, they didn’t put out much light under water. “Did you see Stone and Esom?”

  Chime watched the swirling water below. A drowned groundling floated by, one of the blue-pearl guards. Chime grimaced. “No, where were they?”

  “Behind a pillar, not far from the tunnel entrance.” Moon squinted to see through the shadows. “Esom lost the spell when the firepowder went off. They should have—”

  A high-pitched roar echoed across the chamber. “Uh oh,” Chime said, nervously. “Now what?”

  It came from the direction of the hole in the floor, the one Ardan had made above the leviathan’s blowhole. Moon had a bad feeling about that. “I hope that’s not what I think it is. Come on.” Moon jumped off the dome and headed toward the sound.

  As they made their way from pillar to pillar, Moon saw Stone first, in the big dark shape of his Raksuran form. He was at the edge of the jagged opening in the floor, and struggled with something. Then they reached a pillar overlooking it, and the scene made Chime gasp in horror. “I thought we were done with these things!”

  Big beetle-like parasites climbed up through the opening from below. The creatures had armor, spines around their mouths, big fangs. They must be coming up out of the area around the leviathan’s blowhole, driven by the water. Stone dodged around, slapped them back down into the opening.

  “How long can he keep that up?” Chime wondered.

  Not long enough, Moon thought, sick. At least Stone didn’t have to fight in water; it was all pooling down towards the other end of the chamber. The only other advantage seemed to be that the creatures only came up on one side of the opening, the side that was mostly in shadow, the side furthest away from the nearest vapor-light.

  “I’ve got an idea. Light, they must hate light—”

  Chime caught on immediately. “We get the lights, dump them down the opening—”

  “Come on!”

  They went back, unhooked the metal vapor-light chambers from the tops of the nearest poles, carried them to the opening, and flung them down into it. The parasites shied away from the light, shrieking in dismay, and proving the theory correct.

  Fortunately, the big chamber had a lot of vapor-lights, and Ardan’s men must have lit more when they arrived. Moon’s world narrowed down to finding, carrying, passing Chime, throwing, and dodging the flailing claws of the parasites. Balm came to help, and Moon saw Rift at one point, carrying a lamp. He was glad Jade had stayed to guard Flower, and almost wished Balm had remained with her. He wasn’t counting Ardan out of this game yet.

  The tide of parasites slowed, then stopped, and Stone clung panting to the sloping floor. Then abruptly the entire chamber rolled.

  The pillar Moon had perched on suddenly changed from a slanted surface to a vertical one, and he slipped off and landed badly. A foulsmelling wave washed over him as the water that had collected at the other end of the chamber flowed back this way.

  Nearby, Stone abruptly shifted back to groundling. Still sprawled on the floor, he demanded, “What was that?”

  “The leviathan lifted its head,” Moon explained. Air thundered through the blowhole again as the creature expelled a breath, and they all hastily retreated from the edge of the opening.

  “The floor’s still moving,” Balm said, stumbling a little as she joined them. “No, wait, the whole thing is moving.”

  “Ardan must be sending the leviathan somewhere,” Moon said. “I gave him the bridle so he could stop it from going underwater.”

  “I thought he couldn’t tell it where to go without the seed,” Chime said.

  They all stared at each other, stricken. Stone dropped his head into his hands, and muttered, “Not again.”

  “No, it can’t be.” Moon shook his head and dismissed the momentary fear. “He couldn’t have gotten back across the mortuary on his own, let alone gotten the seed from Flower and Jade.”

  Stone said grimly, “I’ll make sure. And I’ve got to get Esom. I left him around here somewhere.” He jerked his head at Moon. “You three find out where Ardan’s sent this thing.”

  Moon turned back for the sanctum with Balm and Chime, making slower progress through the big chamber now that it was in almost complete darkness. Most of the vapor-lights were down below on the leviathan’s skin, lighting the area around the blowhole.

  The sanctum’s door was still open, and light shone out of it. They dropped silently to the floor about twenty paces away. Moon motioned for Balm and Chime to hang back. He went forward slowly, and eased up to the doorway to look inside.

  Moon hissed, startled. Wasn’t expecting this.

  Ardan lay curled on the floor near the plinth. His eyes stared in blank surprise, and he still held the bridle in one hand, his fingers clutched around it. Moon stepped closer and knelt, touched the body lightly, then moved the head. Blood pooled on the floor beneath it. He thought Ardan had been hit from behind, cracked with force on the lower part of the skull, below the protective crown of bone and pearl. The angle was wrong for a fall. He might have somehow struck the edge of the plinth, but he had died facing it.

  Worry about it later, Moon thought. On impulse he took the bridle, gently freeing it from Ardan’s nerveless fingers, and then fled the sanctum.

  Chapter Seventeen

  With the leviathan mostly level again, the water had drained out of the tunnel, so they were able to escape the mortuary that way. But the passage out to the flooded street was now completely under water. They would have to make their way out through the underground.

  They found the others waiting for them on the buttress below the edilvine tunnel opening, wet but otherwise unhurt. There was some water below on the leviathan’s hide, but not much, and it rapidly drained away.

  There was a general expression of relief as Jade and then Flower dropped out of the tunnel. Then River, his spines and wings still dripping from the flood, demanded, “Did you get the—”

  Flower held up the seed. That shut everyone up. They all gathered around and studied it reverently.

  “It’s not hurt?” Vine asked, and elbowed Root aside to get a better look. “The groundlings didn’t ruin it?”

  Flower tucked it securely under her arm and patted it fondly. “It’s fine.”

  “But now what?” Still worried, Floret looked at Jade. “Is the sorcerer going to come after us for it? How do we get away from here?” “Ardan’s dead,” Moon said. He had told the others briefly on the way out, but he hadn’t gone into detail. He had his suspicions, he just wasn’t sure what to do about them yet.

  There were murmurs of relief. Esom must have already told Karsis, because the two groundlings stood further down the buttress, talking excitedly in their own language. Jade said, “We still need a way off the leviathan.” Watching Esom and Karsis carefully, she stepped past the others to ask them, “You have a boat. Would you be willing to share it with us?”

  Esom said, “If we go back to Ardan’s tower first.” His clothes and hair dripped from the flood, and he had taken off his cracked spectacles.

  “Our people are still trapped there. With Ardan and his guards gone, we can free them. But only if we hurry and get there before the other magisters try to take it over.”

  “If you help us, we can all get away,” Karsis added anxiously. “Our ship can take you all the way back to the forest coast, if you need it to.” Jade lifted a brow at Moon. In Raksuran, she said, “It’s a fair offer.” He nodded, and answered her in the same language, “They’ve helped us so far. And realistically, I don’t know if we could figure out how their ship works without their help.” And he didn’t want to strand them here. From what they had said, an ordinary boat wouldn’t be able to get

  them back through the dangerous waters surrounding their ho
meland.

  He switched to Kedaic to ask Esom, “What about Ardan’s spells, the warden-creatures, the barrier?”

  “Those would have died with him,” Esom said. Then he grimaced uncertainly and added, “That’s how it generally works.”

  Jade looked at Flower, who shrugged, then at Rift. She asked him, “Is that true?”

  Rift seemed startled to be consulted. He said, “I don’t know.” Moon watched Esom, who looked tired and earnest. He could be lying but… But it would be stupid to lie about this, Moon thought. And he had never had the image of Esom as a very good liar, despite the fact that he had concealed his abilities from Ardan. He exchanged a look with

  Jade, who hissed out a breath. She said, “Then we’ll go to the tower.”

  

  They traveled through the dimly-lit underground, back to the well in the city foundations that led up into the lower level of Ardan’s tower. Moon led them up through the lichen-illuminated passage, back to the panel that opened into the first floor of the exhibit hall. It had been sealed again, and Esom stepped forward to whisper, “Wait, let me make sure…”

  “I thought he said the magics would all be gone,” Root muttered in the back.

  Moon snarled absently. If Esom was wrong about the tower being undefended, he didn’t know how they were going to free Negal and the other groundlings. Esom frowned, touched the door lightly, then ran his hand over it. Relieved, he said, “There was something here, I can feel the resonance, but it’s gone now.” He turned to Moon. “Ardan must have been hoping to catch us if we tried to come back this way.”

  “Good.” Moon stepped past him to push on the door and felt it move just a little, enough to tell him there had been no attempt made to block it off from the other side.

  “Wait.” Jade turned to face the others. Stone had had to shift back to groundling to fit through the last part of the passage. Everyone looked exhausted, wet, and worried, including the groundlings. She said, “Don’t kill anyone. We don’t want a war with these people.”