by Andrew Gates
“And so, Kho Ikharus, you mean to tell me that this chemical works on ren lei, but yet you have not seen the transformation occur for yourself?”
“Yes, that is correct,” Ikharus confirmed.
“Then this plan relies on a great deal of assumptions. You assume firstly that this chemical even works to begin with. On top of that, you assume that it will work on the Hive, whose biology is wholly different from that of the ren lei. And even if both of those assumptions prove true, how still would we ever get close enough to the queen to deploy this weapon of yours?”
“That is why I hoped you could help us,” Ikharus said. He adjusted in his seat. “I was hoping the Empire could provide a fleet.”
“A fleet,” Sylus responded with wide eyes. This time Ikharus sensed there was no sarcasm to it. “That is a tall order. Sorreveous has hardly a fleet left.”
“I know it is a lot to ask for, but hear my words. The fleet does not need to destroy the Hive, it just needs to deliver a single ship to the queen. It is a race to the finish, not a battle to the death.”
“It sounds more like a race to the death as I see it.”
Ikharus nodded. He would not argue with that.
“By the Creator, this plan of yours sounds like a gamble. I admit, I knew whatever you were going to suggest would be risky, but this is riskier than I ever imagined. I can assure you, if you want the Emperor to lend even a single ship, he will first want proof that this chemical weapon of yours works.”
“I understand,” Ikharus replied, nodding. “I can make that happen.”
“If you can prove that this weapon works, then I shall deliver your message to the Emperor. Is that understood?”
“Understood,” Ikharus confirmed.
“I do not want you to test it on just another ren lei either. I will want to see proof that this chemical works across multiple species.”
Ikharus nodded again.
“Very well.”
In that moment, Soh Saratti spoke up. As always, Ikharus could not understand the words, but judging by his tone, Saratti seemed to be asking a question of some sort.
Sylus turned to Saratti and responded. They spoke back and forth for a few seconds.
“What is he saying?” Ikharus wondered.
“He asked if you two are talking about the Metamorph. He picked up on a few words he knows,” Ukhrani explained.
“Ah, you speak Sorrevahni!” Sylus said, impressed. He smiled. “Here I thought Kholvari knew nothing of our people. You are full of surprises today.”
“I am glad to disprove your preconceived notions of my people,” Ikharus said.
“And yes, Kal Ukhrani is right. Soh Saratti was indeed asking about the chemical. What did you call it? Metamorph?”
“Yes, Metamorph,” Ikharus confirmed.
“I informed Soh Saratti that we were just discussing the tests you will perform with the chemical,” Sylus explained.
In that moment, Saratti placed his claw on the table and slowly stood up. He said something in slow, heavy words. Everyone, even the two guards, let out a gasp as he spoke, save for Ikharus and Flokh, who could not understand him.
“What did Soh Saratti say?” Ikharus asked.
“He said he knows he does not have much time left in this world. He wants his life to have meaning, to have purpose,” Ukhrani translated. She turned to Ikharus as a look of shock covered her face. “Your Majesty, Soh Saratti has just volunteered to test the chemical on himself.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Frost
Mr. Greyson Georgopolis
Grey and the other humans stood on the ramp behind Kho Ikharus as he spoke with the envoy. Grey could not understand a word the Sorrevahni host said, but Ikharus seemed to understand just fine. He spoke back, engaging his host in dialog.
The Sorrevahni resembled the Kholvari for the most part. Their skin, or exoskeleton, was a bit lighter in color and their clothing was more tribal, but otherwise their appearance was nearly the same.
But that was not the focus of Grey’s attention. Throughout Ikharus’s talk, Grey could not keep his eyes away from the sight of a human woman standing beside the Sorrevahni. He knew that Dan and the others at his side must have been wondering about her too, but out of respect, no one spoke a word.
After the Sorrevahni envoy said a few more words, Ikharus suddenly turned to face the group at his back. He pointed to a few in attendance.
“Soh Saratti, Kal Ukhrani, Kal Flokh, come with me.”
The three he had named moved forward and stopped by Ikharus’s side. Then the Sorrevahni nodded back, said something and walked away. Ikharus and the others followed.
“Where are they going? Are they leaving us here?” Jallah whispered.
“I don’t know. Just wait and stay quiet,” Dan whispered back.
As Ikharus and his chosen three slowly faded out of sight as they moved deeper into the cave, a sword-wielding Sorrevahni approached those who remained. Jakhu stepped forward to meet the Sorrevahni and they spoke for a few seconds, again in words that Grey could not understand. When their conversation was over, Jakhu turned to face the group and muttered something to Evirak.
The soldier nodded, then walked up to the humans and met their eyes. He let out a deep breath.
“Thank you all for waiting in silence. Kal Jakhu has instructed me to fill you in. I am sure you have a great many questions about what just transpired,” Evirak began.
“Yeah,” Jallah answered.
“Kho Ikharus has gone to meet with a representative for the Emperor named Soh Sylus. He chose to take with him Kal Ukhrani, Kal Flokh and Soh Saratti. We can now only wait and hope his meeting goes as we desire.”
“Do you think it won’t?” Dan asked.
“That I cannot say,” Evirak replied, shaking his head. “For all our sakes, I certainly hope it does, but this is an unknown culture to us. I cannot predict how the Sorrevahni will respond to Kho Ikharus’s plan.”
Those words were far from reassuring. Grey almost wished Evirak had lied.
“What are the other humans doing here?” Margery asked, pointing toward where the human woman had been only a few minutes ago.
“That I cannot say either,” Evirak replied. “I wondered the same.”
“Well what do we do now? Are we supposed to just stay here?” Dan asked.
“The guard has just informed us that we are to remain in the hangar or in the visitors’ quarters, but that we are not permitted to travel anywhere beyond those two locations.”
“How do we know where the quarters are?” Grey asked.
“The Sorrevahni will escort us when we desire it,” Evirak answered. As he said this, Kozakh, Ezenkharam and Vylan were already moving out, deeper into the cave. Jakhu remained behind, still talking to the Sorrevahni guard.
“They’re all leaving now,” Jallah noted, pointing behind Evirak.
Evirak turned around and nodded as he watched his fellow Kholvari walk away.
“Yes, it seems so,” he replied, spinning around to face the humans again.
“But you said we can freely move about the hangar if we want, right?” Grey asked.
“That is correct, but do not spend all your time here. It is frigid, and you are all without proper attire. The Sorrevahni have assured us that it is warmer down below.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Dan replied.
Knowing that he was allowed to freely explore the hangar, Grey quickly turned away from Evirak and walked to the cave’s mouth. He continued forward and took in the amazing sight until his feet touched the edge of the wall. A sheer drop stood before him, leading hundreds of meters down.
Grey had never seen snow before. He had read about it long ago, but nearly forgot that it was even real. He stood in the cold confines of the massive cave that doubled as a hangar and stared out across the vista. He had never been somewhere so cold before either. Ice hung from the ceilings of the cave walls and clung to every surface imaginable, cooling the air arou
nd him. Yet, the remarkable view that graced his eyes was enough to distract him from the sharp sting of cold that surrounded him.
Jallah, Margery and Ophelia stepped up to the ledge next to Grey. Jallah trembled as he peered out across the world, though the other two were better composed.
“What is all that white stuff?” Jallah asked, still shaking more out of nervousness than out of cold. It was as if the very sight of snow caused him to worry.
“It’s snow,” Grey answered. They had seen snow on their way in from the window of the ship but seeing it up close like this was a wholly different experience.
“I don’t know what snow is. What does that mean?”
“Don’t you remember from class?” Margery asked, turning to Jallah. “It’s like rain, but frozen.”
“Rain can freeze?” Jallah asked.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful,” added Ophelia, clearly not bothering to fill Jallah in on the science of snow.
Grey had to agree with her. It was all so beautiful. Everything about it was beautiful.
Though the clouds above were monstrous and grey, pockets of blue sky peaked through here and there, casting beams of light in the sunrise that caused the snow in its path to glisten like gems across the mountainous vista. It was like something from a surface era storybook or fairytale. Rocks, hills, bushes or the few trees that managed to find life at this altitude were adorned with dense layers of white cotton-like fluff that piled high in humps and mounds. Something about this world seemed almost holy, as if the Lord Beyond Both Seas had welcomed Grey and the others into His domain.
“I never thought I would see this for myself,” Grey muttered.
Dan walked up next to them now. He stepped behind Grey and placed his left hand on his right shoulder.
“Oh my,” he said, his breath slipping away as he said the words.
The five of them stood still for nearly a minute, not speaking as they toed the precipice, staring out into the world. After some time had passed, Grey suddenly felt the cold return to him. His hands shivered. He looked down to find that his skin was turning red and that his fingers were struggling to move.
“We should probably go,” he said, turning away from the view for the first time since taking in its sight.
Dan checked his hands too, suddenly realizing the same thing that Grey had.
“Good idea. We’re definitely not dressed for this.”
Grey took a step back into the hangar, immediately noticing how numb his bare feet had become.
“Do we really have to go?” Margery asked.
“If you don’t want to die of hypothermia,” Dan replied.
The kids’ faces showed signs of shock and worry at that remark. Grey wondered if the kids remembered the stiff, pale corpse of the soldier named Zhang who had died of hypothermia. He figured that Dan must have already forgotten all about it. Otherwise, why make the comment so casually?
“Come,” Grey said, motioning them deeper into the cave. “Kho Evirak said it should be warmer this way.”
As they made their way back into the middle of the hangar, two Sorrevahni nodded to the humans, then outstretched their arms, motioning for them to follow. Grey nodded back to the tall creatures and let them lead the way as they escorted them deeper into the cave.
In that moment, it occurred to Grey that it felt somehow wrong to be without his daughters. Having their presence by his side had become as normal as breathing. Traveling through the deep Sorrevahni cave without them now, Grey felt like he had misplaced something or forgotten to bring something with him. It was a strange sense, one he knew it would take time to get used to.
Grey thought about Kaitlyn and Misha now. He wondered if his girls were comfortable in Korgo, if they were still safe from the Hive. He knew that Korgo was likely the safest place in Kholvaria, but even then, not being there made it all the harder for him to accept that they were out of harm.
At least Selena is there. She will take care of them. She will see that nothing happens to them.
The tunnels became narrower as the group moved deeper and deeper into the cave. Grey already noticed the air warming up as they walked. In most places the cave structure seemed natural, but there were some tunnels that were clearly man made. It was obvious by the perfectly rounded shape that was far too circular for nature to produce all on its own.
Strangest of all, there were even more humans down here. The humans were dressed like their Sorrevahni counterparts and went about their business as usual, carrying supplies, repairing wires, fulfilling all types of routine manual labor. Some scurried behind the Sorrevahni like servants to masters. At first Grey wondered if they were slaves, but that thought was quickly dismissed. The humans did not seem like slaves. They were given a great deal of autonomy and did not appear mistreated by the Sorrevahni. Odder still, none of them spoke to Grey and the others or even seemed remotely surprised to see them. It was as if Grey and the others were just another group of guests.
It was all so strange.
“Do you think the humans here have integrated into the Sorrevahni society?” Grey quietly asked his brother as they walked along.
“It looks like it. These humans seem like they fit right in with the Sorrevahni. They wear the same clothes, live in the same tunnels, I’m assuming they speak the same language.”
“I haven’t heard one talk yet,” Grey said.
“Me neither,” Dan agreed. He examined another human female as he walked along. She carried some type of box in her arms.
“There is a noticeable difference in the types of jobs they do compared to the Sorrevahni,” Grey said. “It looks like the humans do a lot of manual labor here, but I don’t see any humans as guards or officers.”
“Yeah, I noticed that too.”
“How long do you think they’ve been here? Iris used to study this stuff, right? Did she ever mention anything about humans in Asia staying behind after the Descent or anything about them coming back up from the ocean?” Grey asked.
Dan shook his head.
“No,” he answered. “She didn’t.”
At last the two Sorrevahni escorts came to a stop before a large closed grey door, prompting the brothers to end their conversation. The escorts motioned toward it. Dan was first to step forward. The door opened on its own. Beyond the threshold was a circular room with nearly a dozen large rectangular slabs of ice arraigned in rows. The Kholvari were already here; Jakhu, Evirak, Kozakh, Ezenkharam and Vylan. Still absent were Ikharus, Flokh, Ukhrani and Saratti. They must have still been in their meeting.
Grey followed Dan inside and the three kids took up the rear. As soon as they were all past the threshold, the door slid shut all on its own.
“Well, I guess this is where we stay,” Jallah said.
“It would appear so,” Dan agreed.
“Let me guess, we are going to stay here all day and all night while Kho Ikharus does the important stuff, then we’re going to leave for somewhere else in the morning!” Jallah said with a huff.
Grey chuckled. As much as he hated to admit it, that was exactly what they had done for the last two days. None of them had spent more than a single night in the same place since leaving Country Roads. It had been a long trip to T’Dakho’s undercity, then a day of waiting, then another long trip to Korgo, then a day of waiting, then a long trip here. Like Jallah, Grey could predict what was going to happen next. They had been shuffled around predictably like children for days while Ikharus did all the important work.
But Grey was not upset about it. If anything, he knew he would need time to rest if and when Ikharus’s mission ever happened. He did not mind sitting back. He would much rather do that than have the pressure of negotiating with the Sorrevahni Empire for the first time in generations. Ikharus can keep that job.
“Evolved-ones, take time to rest. There is no telling how long we may stay here,” Evirak said, motioning to one of the tall blocks of ice.
“Are we supposed to sit on these?” Jallah asked. H
e slowly approached one.
“They are warmer than they appear,” Ezenkharam said.
Grey reached out and touched the nearest block. To his surprise, it did not feel cold. He hopped up on the block and leaned back.
As he rested, he suddenly realized how tired he was. He closed his eyes and envisioned the sight of Selena’s warm smile.
It was time to get comfortable while he still could.
* * *
Nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Just like Jallah predicted.
Hours passed before anything occurred. Grey had a lot of time to catch up on rest. He had been falling in and out of sleep for hours now, as had most in this room. But after a long, quiet wait, the door slid open unexpectedly, prompting everyone in the room to suddenly sit up in surprise. The Kreeds even pulled out their weapons on instinct.
Grey quickly faced the door to find Ukhrani walking in. Her helmet was by her side. A sword-wielding Sorrevahni guard stood behind her.
“Kal Ukhrani,” Jakhu excitedly said, promptly walking across the room to meet her.
“Squad Leader,” Ukhrani replied, bowing slightly before rising.
“Where is the Supreme Chieftain?” asked Vylan, his voice bellowing from across the room.
“Still with Soh Sylus, along with Kal Flokh and Soh Saratti. Their meeting is still in progress. I have come on their behalf to deliver a message,” she explained.
“What message do they send?” Jakhu wondered.
To Grey’s surprise, Ukhrani turned and pointed to the humans in the room.
“They request that the evolved-ones join them,” she said.
“Us? What do they want with us?” Margery asked.
“Your knowledge of the Metamorph weapon,” Ukhrani answered.
The Metamorph. The Sorrevahni want to know more about the Metamorph. That means they are willing to consider Ikharus’s plan, Grey thought, excitedly.
The others in the room must have had the same thought, as Kholvari and humans alike suddenly set their gaze on Jallah, the nervous boy fumbling with the item in his jumpsuit pocket.
