“Not from you, dear, but the children…”
“No one ever checks to see if I need rescuing,” she grumbled, and he smiled.
“That’s because everyone knows how well they behave for you.”
Calantha snorted and slapped his shoulder, but she accepted his kiss and watched him go with a fondness that made Marsh’s heart ache. These were the things she was trying to protect: family, love, and her people’s ability to live safely to enjoy them.
She pushed back her chair. “I’ll try to keep them as safe as I can,” she said.
“I know you will,” Calantha replied.
Marsh had almost reached the door when Roeglin’s mental voice reached her.
The mantids need our help.
21
Missing Mantids
It was hard not to run until she’d closed the door behind her, but Marsh managed it. As soon as she heard it click shut, she broke into a swift jog. The day was no warmer than when she’d first arrived.
When she got to the mess hall, she was not surprised to find Brigitte, Aisha, and Tamlin already there. Master Envermet and the shadow guards were also in attendance, as were Obasi and two of his impi leaders. They all looked up as Marsh trotted through the door.
She slowed to a quick walk, negotiating the tables and chairs in the empty mess hall to stop beside Roeglin. “Sorry I took so long.”
He eyed her quizzically. “Did they give you permission?” he asked as Alain, Evan, and Xavier came through the door.
Marsh nodded, and Tamlin and Aisha relaxed.
“Told you,” Aisha stated, glaring at Brigitte.
The shadow mistress just smiled. “I had to hear it from Marsh,” she explained, patting the little girl’s shoulder comfortingly.
Aisha shrugged her hand away, scowling irritably.
Tamlin just smiled.
“Yes,” Alain declared, “but if they blow anything up, I’m holding you responsible.”
It was difficult to tell which of them he meant, given the way his finger was waving, but Marsh ignored it. She looked from Roeglin to Tok, K’tch, and Etk’k.
The three mantids were so tense they were almost vibrating.
As soon as Alain and the others had found seats, Roeglin turned to the insectoids. “Tell them,” he instructed. “We will all help as we can.”
Some of the nest are missing, Tok began.
“When?” “How long?” and “What can we do to help?” came back at him in quick succession.
The mantid froze, his antennae flexed in surprise. After a moment to absorb their responses, he continued.
I do not know when the first vanished, but the ones who alerted us did not return to the nest last night, and they were still missing this morning. We have searched where they were meant to be, and we cannot find them.
“Have you asked the druid if her wolves can aid you?” Roeglin wanted to know.
Tok cocked his head. I have not met this human, he replied. The wolves sometimes help us, but we have not had time to ask them.
“What about Mordan?” Marsh asked, realizing she hadn’t seen the kat or her cubs all morning.
I have not seen the kat today, Tok replied, and Marsh frowned.
“Aysh?” she asked, but the little girl shook her head.
“Perdy and Scruffy left before breakfast,” she replied. “I think they went hunting.”
Marsh frowned.
Hunting? Roeglin murmured in her mind. For what?
That’s what I’d like to know, Marsh answered.
“How long ago did they leave the nest?” Master Envermet asked, his voice rolling over them.
Our gatherers leave as the first light touches the sky.
So, very early, then, Marsh thought. She shivered. The Devastation was forbidding at that time of day, the darkness permeating every canyon and fallen building, a rival to any cavern’s despite the sky above.
And it hid more. In a cavern, the walls limited how many directions the dangers could approach from. In the Devastation, the danger came from all directions, not just one or two marked by tunnel entrances. Tok continued, interrupting her thoughts.
They return either as the last light leaves or when they have filled our needs.
The way he said it suggested they did not get back early.
Soft footsteps and the patter of claws on the wooden floor drew their attention to the door.
“Adrienne!” Roeglin exclaimed. “I was about to send for you.”
The druid gestured to Aisha. “The child sent through Bristlebear.”
At the mention of his name, the pack leader lifted his head beneath her hand. The movement made her smile, and she scratched his head. Looking at the mantid, she asked, “What do you need?”
I have lost nestmates, Tok explained again. I need to know where to find them.
“Where did you lose them?” the druid demanded, but Tok’s reply was interrupted by a rumbling snarl, followed by the skitter of claws and swift steps as the druid and her pack cleared the door.
As soon as the way was open, Mordan stalked into the room.
The others came, the cat informed Marsh. Their scent says they left while the sky was still dark and your people slept.
Marsh knew the kat couldn’t possibly mean all her people. There had been a night watch. Why hadn’t the night watch seen them?
They came and observed, but took care not to be seen. They observed the paths the pride made.
They what? Roeglin had been privy to that thought.
“They spied on us,” Marsh interpreted. “The slimy Deeps-spawned turd-lovers came and spied on us, and then they took the mantids.”
They took the mantids before the sun had set.
“Sons of the Deep! How did we not know it was opening?” Marsh turned to Tok. “Can’t you sense it?”
We cannot. In that, we are as blind as you.
“With that in mind,” Master Envermet interrupted, “have you lost any other nestmates since you arrived?”
We have lost no nestmates from around the nest. Tok’s voice was thoughtful.
“But some have gone missing.” Master Envermet stated, pushing the mantid for an answer.
That is true. We thought them merely overdue.
“How, when you expect them by nightfall?”
These were sent to scout the land for other more suitable nesting and foraging grounds. Their tasks were designed for them to be absent from the nest for multiple day and night cycles.
“Then how do you know they are missing?”
Their voices have been absent from our minds for longer than we had realized until you asked.
“They were supposed to check in mentally?”
Tok inclined his head in assent. And they have not. We have assigned searchers for them.
“And they’re searching now?”
That is correct.
Master Envermet turned to Adrienne. “Can you help?”
The druid’s eyes flared green, and she looked at Bristlebear. For a moment, the wolf’s amber eyes matched hers, then the color faded from both. Several of the wolves who had accompanied Adrienne into the building padded back out.
“It is done,” Adrienne informed them. She looked at Tok. “Please tell your people that the wolves are friendly and seek only their welfare.”
Again, Tok inclined his head. It shall be done.
Mordan rumbled a query at the mantid, and he dipped his antennae in her direction.
Thank you, pride mother, but there are sufficient seeking my people, and you are needed here more.
This time Marsh caught the definite flick of antennae in her direction. She also caught Mordan’s look. Deciding not to say anything, she waited for the pair to finish their exchange.
“In the meantime, we will go inspect the portal,” Roeglin declared, drawing the attention of all those in the room. “If there has been an incursion overnight, I need to know where it’s come from. I need to know it wasn’t just a group of Ookens
stranded here when we closed it.”
We will accompany you, Tok told him. This matter is of interest to us also.
“Agreed,” Roeglin told him. He turned to Obasi. “I need to know when the next big storm is coming.”
When Obasi drew breath to reply, Roeglin silenced him with an upraised hand. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, just close, and I need to know how we are going to direct the lightning to the portal.”
“It needs to be open to the sky,” Obasi told him.
“What does?”
“The target—unless you plan on opening a portal to the portal you wish to target, and I don’t know what effect that would have on the lightning.”
“Then I need a way of exposing the top of the portal so Marsh and the children can direct the lightning into it.”
Obasi froze, then gave Master Envermet an inquiring look. “I have some druids who might be able to help, but it might take the specialized skills of a rock mage.”
One of the mages standing with Master Envermet finally spoke. “I believe we might be able to assist.”
He looked at Roeglin. “I would need to see the portal and the stone under which it stands.”
He frowned. “It is not located directly beneath the Library, is it?”
“I’m not sure,” Roeglin told him. “All I know is that we traveled some way beneath the building. I could not tell you if we remained under it when we found the portal.”
“Then I will accompany you…if I may?” This last question was directed at both Roeglin and Master Envermet.
“We would appreciate that,” Roeglin answered, and Master Envermet gave an affirmative nod.
“Sylvie will come with me,” Brin informed them. “Between us, we should be able to tell you how difficult it will be to reach the surface from the portal’s location.”
“Will it be difficult?”
“Of course,” Brin informed him. “It is only the degree that will vary.”
“But you will be able to do it?”
“We will know when we see where it lies,” Brin replied. “We can give no guarantees.”
“We will do our best,” the stocky woman standing beside him stated. “Beyond that, we can promise nothing.”
“That is all we ask,” Roeglin told them. “I understand you came here to teach and to build. I am sorry we must ask this as well.”
Sylvie glanced at Brin and smiled. A large stone hammer appeared in her palm and then vanished once more. “Stone-shaping is but one of our callings,” she replied.
“We will help instruct your fighters,” Brin assured him. “We came seeking a home on the surface. We’re not about to let it be taken from us.”
“You have our thanks,” Roeglin assured them and turned to Marsh. “I need you to train. It will take the three of you to control the lightning of a storm.”
Personally, Marsh thought it would take more, but she wasn’t about to say it. Roeglin caught the thought anyway.
Ask Brigitte, then focus on your training. I will have Master Envermet see who else might hold the potential.
Understood, Marsh answered, and hesitated before adding, Sasha…
I know, he told her. Let me think about it.
Marsh nodded and looked at the children. “We’d better get started.”
She looked at Tamlin, Aisha, and Brigitte, and they returned her gaze with brief nods, stepping back from the center of the circle so they could move toward the door.
Roeglin’s voice stopped them as they reached it. “Where do you intend to practice?”
If she was truthful, Marsh hadn’t thought about it. She wasn’t about to tell Roeglin that, though.
“There’s a ruin a little way from the walls,” she told him, waving vaguely in the direction of the gates. She was glad when he didn’t interrupt to point out that there were hundreds of ruins just outside the walls. “We shouldn’t hurt anything there.”
Etk’k stepped forward. I will accompany you, he told them. That way, if you need to call for help, you will be able to.
“Thank you,” Marsh told him, and left before Roeglin could call her bluff.
Aisha snickered. “Uncle Roeglin will be so mad at you,” she whispered, leaving Marsh wondering when Roeglin had become an uncle.
The child had an answer for that as well. “If I call him ‘Papa,’ he will be sad, and my other papa will be confused. ‘Uncle’ is good.”
Her answer made Marsh smile. It would make Roeglin smile too when she told him. It brought a lump to her throat, though, so she changed the subject.
“Tell me what you know about the lightning in the rocks,” she instructed, and Brigitte echoed her.
“Yes. Please, tell us about the lightning in the stone.”
“It hides there,” Aisha informed them. “It’s part of the stone and not part of it. It can hide in the stone and in the air and in the water.”
She glanced at the sky. “There is a little bit of lightning in everything. You just have to ask it to come out.”
“Out of everything, Aysh?” Marsh asked, feeling a frisson of alarm.
“Mostly out of the air and the rocks,” the little girl replied. “If you called the lightning out of a person, that would be bad.”
Marsh’s heart sank. The child had druidic magic, too. If there was lightning in a living thing and you called it out of that thing, what would happen to it?
“It would die,” Aysh answered. “I told you it would be bad.”
“What would die?” Brigitte asked, worried but not sure why.
“The thing you called the lightning out of,” the child informed her. “If it was alive. Rocks and air are good, and water, but not people and animals.”
“Oh, I see,” Brigitte replied in a tone that told Marsh the shadow mistress really did see—and that she wasn’t happy with the view.
Tamlin glanced at the sky. Clouds scudded overhead, still too far apart for rain despite what the wind promised.
“We really need a storm.”
22
Practice Makes…for Mayhem
“Again!” Brigitte demanded. “Show me again, Aysh.”
I’m not sure that’s wise, Etk’k protested, but Aisha stamped her foot.
“No, again,” the little girl declared. “Brij, it’s like sparkles in the rock, and it’s shy. You’ve got to ask it nicely!”
“I was asking nicely,” Brigitte snapped, “and I didn’t sense any sparkles.”
Her usually blue eyes were black with the effort of holding her connection to the stone she’d just raised from the ground.
“Wait!” Tamlin held up a hand, and Brigitte and Aisha turned toward him.
“What?” Aisha demanded while Brigitte snapped, “What is it this time, Tamlin?”
The boy shrugged. “I was just going to suggest you try to find the lightning in the clear air,” he told her. “After all, you talked to shadows for a long time before you discovered you could talk to rocks. Finding the lightning in the shadows might be easier.”
They stared at him as though he’d struck both of them with a bolt of lightning. Aisha looked at Brigitte, put one hand on her hip, and cocked her head.
“It’s worth a try.”
Brigitte sighed. “At this point, I’m willing to try anything!”
“Etk’k, are you ready?” Marsh asked.
The mantid flicked its antennae in affirmation, and Marsh felt its subtle presence in her mind. She also felt when the connection between her, Brigitte, and Tamlin joined the connection she had with Aisha.
Are we ready? she asked, and did not need to hear their spoken confirmation.
Brigitte’s mind was a presence sharp with interest as Marsh sought the sky for hidden lightning. It was there, scattered around them, and she reached for it, calling it as she went.
“Come,” she told it. “I need you.”
Aisha’s soft “Oh” of discovery wasn’t as comforting as she might have hoped. Nor was the moment the child slipped from her mind.
“I’ve got her,” Tamlin reassured her, then he was gone as well.
“I guess it’s just you and me,” Brigitte murmured.
“Just make sure you call the lightning outside my head,” Marsh instructed. “Neither of us is going to be much use to anybody if you do it any other way.
“Gotcha. Okay, I think I can do this.”
“You sure?” Marsh asked, and Brigitte gave a short bark of laughter.
“No, but this is as good as it’s going to get.”
“Okay, then,” Marsh acknowledged and released the lightning back to the open sky. “Show me.”
They’d set up a small stone target on the other side of the roof, but Brigitte was ignoring it. First, she had to master the art of calling the lightning. Only after that could she direct it.
“Come to me,” the mage ordered, and Marsh felt the lightning slither beneath her touch.
She let it go, then realized what Brigitte had done. “No!”
The mage started, and Marsh grabbed the lightning from her control, directing it to the statue.
“Tell it to go back, Brij!” Tamlin shouted. “Tell it thank you and that you don’t need it.”
“Return!” Brigitte ordered as Etk’k whistled in alarm.
“Return!” Marsh reiterated, reinforcing Brigitte’s order.
“Thank you for helping us,” Tamlin added as they willed the lightning to return to the air.
Their skin tingled and their hair stood on end, and when they opened their eyes, they saw it flickering in the air between them, but it did go, subsiding into invisibility as they watched.
“That was close, Brij,” Tamlin told his teacher.
“What was close? And why are you calling me ‘Brij’ when we are still in the classroom?” the shadow mage demanded.
“I am sorry, Shadow Mistress, but you nearly called lightning on yourself,” Tamlin informed her. “If Marsh hadn’t grabbed it when she did, you wouldn’t be very happy right now.”
Aisha was as brutally honest as only a six-year-old could be. “You’d be dead.”
Brigitte looked from one to the other of them. “I’d be what?”
Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more Page 183
