by Martha Wells
Stone said, with a tinge of irony, “They have more sense. The court won’t want to make more of this than it has to.”
Moon heard a rustle overhead and looked up in time to see Ash shoot out of an opening high in the curve of the mountain-thorn. He twitched and managed not to shift, watching her arc toward Jade.
Jade waited until almost the last instant, then twisted in midair and fell out of Ash’s path. Ash banked smoothly back toward her and the two circled each other. They might have been talking but they were too far away for Moon to hear.
This went on long enough for Moon’s already tense nerves to tighten past bearing. He kept hoping Ash would change her mind, but the way she steadily gained height wasn’t a good sign. Jade had to see it, but she wasn’t trying to counter. Then Ash suddenly twisted to fall on Jade.
The two queens met in a furious flurry of wings and tails, plunging down toward the ground far below. Moon set his jaw, though his whole body shook with the instinct to leap into the air and join the fight.
The flurry stopped, with Jade on Ash’s back. Jade’s wings shot out and cupped to slow their descent. Ash flapped weakly and Jade released her, and watched as she glided down toward the lower branches of the colony.
Three warriors jumped off the platform to spiral down after her. The others stood there, not looking at each other, clearly uncomfortable and guilty. Jade flew leisurely toward the balcony where Tempest waited. It was empty now, the other queen having already vanished inside.
Stone just grunted, and said, “Come back in.”
There wasn’t anything else to do. Moon followed him.
They returned to their guest quarters. The warriors were there now, sitting near the pool. This time it was Song who jumped to her feet and demanded, “What happened?”
“Jade won,” Stone said succinctly, taking a seat on the furs.
“We knew that would happen. But what…” Song took in Moon’s expression, and subsided. “I don’t really need to know the details.”
Moon went to the far side of the chamber, where the wall curved around. There was an opening in the woven barrier, a small shelf that extended through the outer wall under an arbor of vines. It looked down onto a broad garden platform with fruit trees. Only a few Arbora worked on it now, climbing the trees at the far end to pick fruit. Moon sat down on the shelf, hoping no one came after him.
The breeze was cool with the approach of evening, thick with the scent of the white flowers on the sapling trees. He wondered what they would do if Frost grew up to be headstrong and overly aggressive, starting fights with every other young queen in reach. He concluded glumly that Indigo Cloud would probably be lucky to get to the point where that was the worst thing they had to worry about. After a time, he heard someone come up the steps from the walkway.
He heard Jade’s voice as she spoke to the others, too low to catch the words. Then she picked her way over toward the back of the chamber, toward Moon. She ducked under the arbor of vines and settled next to him. He slid a look at her, saw she was in her Arbora form, apparently unhurt.
She said, “I spoke with Ice and Tempest and Shadow. We came to the conclusion that Ash is hotheaded even for a queen, and she would probably have gotten in a fight sooner or later. They expressed relief that the fight was with a queen who had the self-control not to hurt her badly, and that the consort she chose to harass was not one who was so sheltered as to be terrified by her. You weren’t terrified by her, were you?”
Moon eyed her. He couldn’t see much resemblance to Pearl, but this was one of the times when he could tell that Jade was descended from Stone. “No.”
Jade flicked away a stray flower petal. “I didn’t think so.”
So that seemed to be the end of it. It had all been mostly Moon’s fault but he had avoided any of the consequences, by virtue of being a consort. Except that all of Emerald Twilight thought he was a crazy savage, but he was used to that. “What does our court think about me?” Jade’s brows lifted at the unexpected question. She didn’t answer immediately, thinking it over. “The teachers and hunters like you. They’ve spent more time with you, they know you better. And they know what they owe you after you went into the Dwei hive after Heart and the others. The soldiers don’t like you, but then…”
Moon had figured that. “They blame me for bringing the Fell.” Jade pressed her lips together. “They’ll get over it.” Her tone suggested that they had better. “In the meantime, Knell will keep them from starting any trouble.”
That was a surprise. “Why? He told Stone he didn’t think I should be with the court.”
Jade gave him a dry look. “That was before you started showing interest in Chime. Chime is his clutchmate, and since he changed, he hasn’t had any status among the Aeriat. So becoming the favorite of a consort wasn’t something anyone expected for him.”
Moon had realized Chime’s lot in the court had improved by association with him. But he didn’t think Chime had calculated it. He thought Chime had just been drawn to someone who was also different, who was a misfit. “That must make it hard for Knell.”
“Knell can handle it. When Chime changed, it was a shock, but it finally convinced everyone who still had their heads buried in the dirt that something was wrong. All the doubters finally admitted that we needed to move to another colony. If a few of the others had changed too, it would probably have made it easier on Chime. He wouldn’t have stood out quite so much. But that won’t happen now.”
“Now that the court is away from the old colony, maybe Chime will change back.” If that happened, Moon was certain Chime would miss flying, but Chime had also made it clear that he would rather be an Arbora than a warrior.
“Flower didn’t think so.” Jade frowned absently. “It was strange enough that it happened once. But we’ll have to wait and see. We’re away from the Fell influence, we have plenty of food at the colony, and more room than we can fill.”
Moon looked out over the terrace. “If we can stay there.” She nodded, resigned. “If we can stay.”
Outside the walls of thorn, the dark of evening settled over the forest. Jade had gone back in some time ago, but Moon stayed, still wanting to avoid conversation with the others until the thrilling excitement of Jade fighting another queen over him had worn off.
He was going to have to get better at dealing with the pressure of others’ personalities. He had lived in crowded places before, but he had always been an outsider. With the Raksura he was still an outsider, but everything he did and said mattered so much more. He watched two warriors fly past the outer edge of the platform, the reflected light from the colony glinting off their scales. You have to get better at this, he told himself.
When the night insects sang in chorus and a light rain began to patter the leaves, he went back inside.
Stone was the only one sitting up. He was beside the hearth basin, nursing a cup of tea. No one had gone up into the bower beds; they were all dozing on the floor. Jade was curled up on a fur, but not asleep. She patted the spot next to her and Moon picked his way through the prone if not sleeping bodies.
He lay down beside her and she tugged him back against her chest and nuzzled his neck. His clothes were damp and the fabric cold with the night air. Her body heat was a welcome warmth that sank right through him. You have to get better at this, he thought again. Because he couldn’t leave these people. Your people.
Chime sat up on one elbow and said softly, “Maybe we should send someone to see if she’s all right.”
Jade sighed, her breath warm in Moon’s hair. “That’s… not a bad suggestion. Stone, do you know where—”
Stone lifted his head, suddenly alert. “Here she comes.”
Moon sat up as Jade uncoiled from around him. He could hear it now, too: Flower, with two other Arbora, approaching along the walkway. The others stopped at the stairs up to the guest chamber, spoke quietly for a moment, then Flower came up the steps alone.
Jade sat in front of her as they all gathered around. “Tell us.”
“We saw the way to our stolen seed.” Flower rubbed her temple with the heel of her hand. “It’s good we came here. I couldn’t have done this alone, and the others at home are too young to be much help.” She took a roll of paper out of her robe and spread it on the fur. “It’s vague, but it should get us near enough for me to augur the rest of the way myself.”
Stone leaned over and studied it intently. Moon sat forward to see over his shoulder. It was a map, drawn in bold strokes, with scribbled writing in Raksuran, all in different hands and inks. Several of the Emerald Twilight mentors must have contributed. Stone said, “To the west, past the Reaches.” He tapped a section. “This is water?”
Flower nodded. “We saw a lake, or an inland sea. It’s at least a day of warrior’s flight over water, southwest.” She blinked, and swayed.
“Rest,” Jade told her. “We know enough now to make plans.” At Jade’s nod, Vine scooped Flower up despite her exhausted protest.
Chime and Song hurried to make a bed near the hearth basin, piling up furs and cushions. Vine set Flower down in it and she grumbled, “I just need to lie down for a bit.” She curled up in the cushions and was asleep immediately.
Jade took the map from Stone and turned it so she could read it. The others gathered around again, watching her. Song said, “What should we do?”
Floret nudged the paper. “Take it back to ask Pearl.”
“That’s a waste of time,” Jade spoke with quiet authority, looking around at them all. “We need to get there as soon as we can. We’ll leave at dawn.”
Vine exchanged an opaque look with Floret. He said, “Pearl isn’t going to like it.”
“She’s not going to like it whatever we do,” Moon said. He didn’t think he was exaggerating there. “But we have to go after the seed. We don’t know that the groundlings aren’t still traveling with it. This spell showed where it is now, not where it’s going to be five days from now if we go back to the tree so Pearl can tell us to go find it.”
“It’s not our only choice,” Floret said, though it was clear she was uncomfortable defying Jade. “Pearl might not want us to find it. She might think it was a better idea for Stone to go outside the Reaches and look for another ruin to turn into a colony.”
Moon said, “Pearl didn’t want to move when the old colony was surrounded by Fell and Stone actually knew where to go. You think she wants to move now?”
“Back east, to another place we can’t defend, while we’re so weak?” Chime added. “What if other Fell hear what happened and come looking for us?”
Floret hissed, more in dismay than threat. “Stone hasn’t said he doesn’t know where we should go.”
Stone snorted. “If Stone had a better suggestion Stone would have made it before now.”
Jade fixed Floret with a gaze hard enough to make her twitch uneasily. “Are you saying this because it’s your opinion, or because it’s the opposite of what I want and what you think you should say to support Pearl?”
Floret glanced at Vine for support, but he said nothing. After a tense moment, she admitted reluctantly, “I don’t want to have to move again. That’s my opinion.”
Jade said, “That’s my opinion, too. We’ll go after the seed while we have the chance.” She waited a moment for more objections, but no one else spoke up. She added, “Song and Floret will go back to tell Pearl where we’ve gone.”
Moon flicked a wary look at Vine and Floret, and he wasn’t the only one. Vine didn’t react, but Floret’s mouth set in a cynical line. Chime was the least experienced next to Song. He should have been sent back, not Floret. But Jade trusted him more.
Jade ignored the byplay, picking up the map. “And we should draw a copy of this for you to take to Pearl. If we don’t return, she can send others after us.”
“I’ll copy it.” Chime reached for the map and got to his feet. “Flower has paper and ink in her bag.”
As Chime carried the map away, Moon watched Floret and Vine. Jade lifted a brow at them, and said, “You have something to say?”
Floret started to speak but Vine said, “No.” Floret stared at him and he told her in exasperation, “I know what Pearl is going to say. But when she calms down, she’ll realize this was right. The groundlings could move the seed, and Emerald Twilight might not be willing to help Flower augur it again. If we all went back to let her make the decision, she’d be angry about that, too.”
Floret grimaced, and then let her breath out in resignation. “You’re probably right. But you’re not the one who has to tell her.”
Chapter Seven
At dawn, Song and Floret left to carry the news to the colony tree, and Moon and the others flew west, following the mentors’ directions.
It took them seven days to reach the edge of the forest, pushing the warriors as hard as they could. Jade and Moon took turns carrying Flower, which let Stone fly ahead to scout their route and find game so they could stay well fed, while Balm and Vine left markers in the treetops so whoever Pearl sent could follow them. It was Jade’s opinion that Pearl was bound to send someone, since she wouldn’t trust them to do this right. Moon just hoped they wouldn’t need the help.
It wasn’t as easy as flying over open country, and they had two days of rain, but food was plentiful and finding shelter in the suspended forest was never difficult. The long flights left them all exhausted but, as Moon had discovered on the other lengthy journeys he had taken with Raksura, it left no one with the energy to argue. When they stopped to eat and rest, Stone talked about his travels, and Chime told stories from the mentors’ histories. Flower must have had stories too, but she was always too tired to talk. Moon knew from experience that being carried wasn’t easy or comfortable, even for Arbora.
They all avoided the subject of what they would do if their quest failed. Before they had left Emerald Twilight, Flower and one of the other court’s mentors had shown them a mountain-thorn seed. It was a dead one, separated from the husk and used only to show young Raksura what they looked like, but Flower had explained that their seed would be very similar. It was about the size of a melon, a light brown color, with a hard ribbed shell like a nut.
Moon had lifted it, feeling the light weight. He could tell this one was dead; it felt empty on the inside, the rind dried away to nothing. He said, “How long can our seed stay disconnected from the tree before it dies?”
Chime and the other warriors had stared at him in horror. Apparently none of them had thought of that. Always more practical, Jade answered calmly, “I asked Stone that and he said he didn’t know.”
The Emerald Twilight mentor, a withered gray-white Arbora who looked older than the mountain-thorn, took the seed back from Moon and said ruefully, “No one knows. This has never happened before.”
The mentors had also been able to tell Flower the things that might need to be done to the seed to get it to attach to the tree again, once they found it. If they found it. It was all just speculation, since in the annals of seed-lore, this was a unique problem. But Flower had had Chime copy it all down, and sent it back to the court with Song and Floret.
Late afternoon of the seventh day, the forest ended abruptly, giving way to a field of lush green grass dotted with white and gold flowers, and then a vast blue body of water, stretching forever.
Moon landed on the shore and folded his wings. A light breeze came off the water, but he couldn’t smell salt. A short strip of sandy beach dropped away abruptly into the shallows, which were thick with reeds, cattails, and blue and purple lilies, their pads a good couple of paces across. Insects hummed
and frogs sang. He stepped down to where the waves lapped the sand and crouched, scooping up a handful of water to make certain. It tasted fresh, so this could be anything from a large lake to a sweetwater sea. He stood and looked up and down the shore. The land curved out in a great arc, and there was no sign of any groundling inhabitants.
The others landed a little further up the bank, and Jade set Flower on her feet. Stone circled twice overheard, then dropped down to light near the others and shift to groundling. Moon joined the group, the grass releasing a sweet fragrance as his claws pressed it down.
Stone stretched, then winced and rubbed his neck. “I’ll scout for the island, the rest of you wait here.”
That was the only option. Flying over water was always problematic. Raksura could only go so far without rest and food, and they couldn’t get real rest without stopping to shift to groundling. And it was one thing to fly out over the shallow Yellow Sea, knowing the direction of the islands and that they lay less than a day’s flight for a warrior. It was another to fly out over an unknown body of water. But Stone had easily three times the range of even a young consort like Moon.
“You mean to start right away?” Jade looked out over the water. “You should rest and leave in the morning.”
Stone gave her a glare that Moon knew well. “I’m not wasting most of a day.”
“You should at least eat,” Moon told him. “It’s a bigger waste if you fall out of the sky and drown.”
This had the effect of transferring the glare to Moon. And Stone must be in a worse mood than it seemed, because he growled, a low rumble of threat.
Everyone twitched in nervous reaction, except for Moon, who was unimpressed, Jade, whose expression turned sardonic, and Flower, who yawned.
Stone was usually acerbic, but he didn’t growl often, especially in his groundling form. He had done a good job of hiding his impatience so far, but it was clear he hadn’t forgotten that it was his doing the court had come back to the colony tree. Moon figured that if someone was going to get slapped unconscious, it might as well be him. He said, “Good, let’s fight. That’ll save time too.”
