by Martha Wells
She replied with the Raksuran pidgin for “sick,” slurring and clicking the word. She lifted her hands in a gesture of confusion. Moon thought he understood; it looked sick to her, but she couldn’t be sure.
If it was sick or injured, that might explain why it hadn’t killed anyone yet.
As far as they knew. In the confusion, had someone gone missing and no one noticed?
And was there more than one of these creatures in the colony? We’re going to need more Kek in here, Moon thought. A lot more.
“You know this?” he asked Hiak. “Seen this creature before?”
She made negative gestures, and more indications of confusion and bewilderment.
Staring hard at the creature, Moon thought he could see something. Blotchy patches maybe, small ones, that his eyes tried to say were part of the moss and the brown tones of the wall, but that might actually be hovering in the air in front of it. He wasn’t sure if he was looking at something that was using magic, or something with a natural protective coloration, or a combination of both. He leaned close and tasted the air near the creature. It did have a scent, but a subtle one, a faint musk almost disguised by the moss.
Warriors and Arbora, drawn by the commotion, gathered behind them. Grain was back and explaining what had happened, and hisses of disbelief and worried murmurs spread through the greeting hall.
Moon had no warning of Pearl’s arrival until she landed beside him and almost flattened him with her left wing. Hiak made an alarmed click and climbed into Merit’s arms.
Pearl set Kof on his feet and Moon moved aside so they could both get a better look. Kof crouched, rattled in astonishment, spoke to Hiak for a few moments, then leaned close over the creature.
Watching Kof’s reaction, Moon had an idea. He said, “Pearl. The wounded groundling could see me in both forms, groundling and Raksura.” Pieces were starting to fall into place. Nothing made sense yet, but the elements that didn’t make sense were starting to connect up to each other. Something that couldn’t be seen by every pair of eyes, and the groundling who could see both of a shapeshifter’s forms …
Pearl turned to looked down at him, her spines flared. He could feel the heat off her body, and she radiated fury. “I know. What does—” She stopped, considering. “You think she can see other things as well.”
“Maybe that’s why she was with the other groundlings, the Amifata. So she could see things for them.” Moon looked at Hiak. “And the Kek. Maybe the Kek plant hunters were killed because they could see things too.”
Pearl growled deep in her chest.
It was a good thing Hiak had been genuinely interested to see the colony, because she and other young Kek got to see all of it with groups of soldiers and hunters as guides. They examined the nurseries and other most vulnerable points first, then worked out from there. The idea that one creature could slip in, that it might then open one of the colony’s root doorways for others, was terrifying. The soldiers were checking all those doors, and the ones in the platforms and canopy, making sure none had been opened or unbolted. At the same time, more Kek systematically searched their own village, looking under every pile of leaves and behind every fernbush, anywhere a small creature like the one they had found could hide.
Moon took Hiak up to Jade’s bower personally so she could make certain there was nothing invisible lurking inside. Jade heard the story, growled in frustration, and sent Balm and Hiak out to continue the search. Moon, she ordered back down to find out what was going on. Frantic with thwarted curiosity, Chime asked her, “Can I go? Do you mind? I—”
“Yes, go!” Jade flicked her claws imperatively. “Find out what this thing is! And if there’s more of them!”
Moon didn’t want to leave Jade alone, whatever she thought. He turned to Ember, who immediately raised his hands and said, “I’m definitely staying here.”
Ginger the soldier said, “And I have an idea.” She turned to the other Arbora who were guarding the bower. “If we block the door with our bodies, we’ll be able to feel if anything tries to get past us.”
One of the others said, “Yes, but we need a teacher, because if we had a very thin, light cloth—”
A little reassured by Arbora ingenuity, Moon went with Chime back down through the organized panic of the court to one of the mentors’ workrooms, where the still-unconscious invader had been taken.
There, in the center of the room, Heart knelt beside the invisible creature. The only way Moon could tell it was there were the dents in the cushion it lay on. Pearl, Merit, Knell, and Blossom had gathered around, crouching to watch. Kof and some of the older Kek were seated on the floor nearby, listening intently as Merit did his best to translate. Pearl flicked a spine as Moon and Chime joined the group, but didn’t comment. Moon asked Knell, “Did the Kek find any others yet?”
“Not so far.” Knell was in his Arbora form, and shivered his spines. He was clearly angry, and clearly embarrassed at the soldiers’ failure to keep the creature out of the colony. Moon didn’t think it was Knell’s fault, but he didn’t think Knell should feel great about all this, either.
“Its claws are soft and small,” Heart reported, handling one not quite invisible hand carefully. She was in her groundling form so her touch would be more sensitive, and the creature’s limb was a grayish haze against her warm brown skin. “Not a digger, and not a climber. A tool-user, probably. Unless it can shift, I don’t see how it could have gotten in through the greeting hall entrance.”
“But how could it have slipped in through the root door?” Knell said, sounding furious. Pearl flicked a spine in his direction, a clear “don’t make me have to look at you” signal. Knell hesitated, and said more evenly, “There were soldiers and warriors in front of the open door the whole time. It was never left unguarded, even for an instant.”
Moon said, “I wonder if it slipped inside when we first opened the door, when Stone and the others came in. We were being careful, but no one was worried about anything trying to fight its way past us at that point. And there were a lot of tired warriors bumping around in the root passage and right inside. If something had brushed against one, they might not have noticed.”
Knell’s spines twitched as he thought about it. “Didn’t Fair say someone pushed him, and no one would admit to it?”
Blossom glanced back at them. “I’m fond of Fair, but I wouldn’t put a lot of faith in what he thinks happened.” She had come from a mixed Arbora and warrior clutch, and Fair was her clutchmate. “Could this thing have slipped past Stone like that?”
“Stone was exhausted,” Moon pointed out. He was worried about Stone and Bone and the others. The group following the faint tracks found in the undergrowth hadn’t returned yet, and finding this creature put a whole different slant on what might be out there. “And this thing doesn’t smell like a predator. It smells like a plant, if anything, and the undergrowth scents are heavy in that corridor when the door opens.”
“The hard part would have been getting past the Kek,” Knell said. “It must have been trying to avoid the village. Maybe that’s why it came in here.”
“So what are Stone and Bone and the others tracking now?” Chime had edged close to Heart, trying to see the creature better. “And the attack on the village? If this creature—person—was in here—”
“What’s wrong with it?” Pearl’s deep voice cut through all the speculation. “Is it injured?”
Wounded by a dart weapon, like the groundlings? Moon wondered. Heart said, “It’s not breathing well, but I can’t find a wound yet. There are places where its fur is matted which might be blood spots. Its skin might have already closed over the punctures, if it was hit with darts like the others. It doesn’t seem to have a weapon or anything else on it, either. It might have gotten rid of any clothes and tools so it could conceal itself better.” She leaned over what was presumably its head, and did something very gently with her fingers. Moon saw a flash of what looked like eyeballs. Heart nodded to herself, and
drew back so Chime could look too. “It’s not invisible on the inside, at least. Its eyes are rolled up in its head.”
“Huh,” Chime muttered. “How can the Kek see it? Is their vision just more acute than ours?”
Behind them, Merit said, “I think it’s got to do with the way they see at different light levels.”
Moon had been around enough different species of groundlings to know that his vision in the dark was far better than most. But the Kek were used to the darkness of the forest floor and seemed to see perfectly well in it. The Kek they had met on the shore of the freshwater sea hadn’t seemed to have any problem with bright daylight, either.
Merit continued, “I noticed that Hiak could see differences in color and leaf shape between similar herbs in what to me looked like almost complete darkness. But the spell-lights that we put outside and the ones in here didn’t bother her. It was like she and the other Kek didn’t notice them at all; their eyes just compensate for whatever level of light they’re in.”
Chime nodded slowly. “If this creature is doing something using light, or the way light works, to conceal itself, then that would explain why the Kek can still see it.”
“That could be it.” Heart moved her hands carefully, and Moon got a glimpse of gray skin, and what looked like teeth. “Flat teeth. Might be a plant-eater.” She lowered its head carefully to the floor. “Merit, someone, get me some water.”
Moon moved back to give them room as Merit jumped up to get a bowl. He said, “Something else was trying to get in here last night. Maybe whatever it was knew this creature had gotten inside, and it was trying to get in after it.”
“Two of them trying to get inside,” Pearl muttered. “At least.”
“So far as we know,” Knell added darkly.
Chime sat back on his heels, shaking his head in frustration. “And which one attacked the groundlings and killed the Kek?”
“This one was so desperate to hide that it came in here,” Blossom said. Pearl lifted her brow and Blossom explained, “Well, think about it. Small groundling like this, uses camouflage to protect itself, we have to look like terrifying predators, even if it knows what Raksura are. Sneaking in here was desperate. How was it planning to get out?”
It was a good point. Chime turned to Blossom and said, “If it was hurt, sick, it might have come in just looking for a place to hide, to die in peace.”
Moon hissed to himself. Blossom and Chime were right, this creature had behaved like something that was hunted. “So we have one groundling, Elastan of the Sourci, who can see things we can’t, who might be able to see this creature. And she said the Amifata were looking for a species that they used to trade with. If this is the species, then why not tell us that?”
Knell said, “Maybe it wasn’t trade they wanted. Maybe the groundlings with her came to the Reaches to … capture this thing? But something else wanted it too, and it followed them.”
Blossom nodded grimly, and Chime added, “The something-else attacks the groundlings in the leaf boat, but the invisible creature hides from it. Maybe the invisible creature is injured and trapped in the leaf boat and can’t get out, or is afraid to get out. The Kek come along and they see it. Maybe it asks them for help …”
Blossom leaned forward. “Or not, but then the Something Else realizes the Kek can see the invisible creature, and it thinks they want to steal it, and it kills them. But it still can’t get the invisible creature, because it can’t see it either. Then we come along and bring the leaf boat here, and it follows, and the invisible creature sees its chance to hide in the colony, but it’s hurt or sick from being trapped so long—”
“Possibly,” Pearl said, and stood up. “We have to wait until we know whether there are any more of these hidden in the colony or outside it. And until we hear what Bone and Stone and the others have found.” Her tone made it clear she wanted an end to the speculation. She added, “Now tell Kof and the other Kek what we know so far—know, not suspect. Knell, Blossom, I want word from the soldiers and the teachers of how the search goes.” She stepped out of the room with an elegant swish of her tail.
Knell and Blossom scrambled to follow Pearl, and Moon turned to the patiently waiting Kof, and started to try to explain. When he had finished, Kof just sat there a few moments, rattling thoughtfully. The other Kek watched him with worried intensity. Kof said finally, “Predators, driven as leaves.”
Moon followed that. Predators had been driven into the village, like the wind driving leaves. He said, “It can’t do that again. All the predators have been frightened away.” They hoped, anyway. Having Stone moving through the undergrowth outside the root area most of the day with Bone and the hunters might keep any new ones from coming into range tonight.
Kof gestured in assent. “Then what night?”
Moon didn’t get that one. Chime, who had been listening closely, said, “He means ‘what happens tonight?’”
It was a good question. This thing that was stalking the groundlings, it had powers, whatever it was. Moon wasn’t looking forward to how it might choose to use them.
Moon left Chime with Heart and Merit and the teachers who would be guarding and caring for their mostly invisible guest, and walked Kof and his advisors back down to the root doorway. It would have taken longer, but Kof was anxious to get back to the village and kept urging the other Kek to stop looking at the carvings and hurry.
River found them in the stairwell that opened into the root level, moving so fast he leapt past them at first and had to turn and tent his wings to drop back down. “Moon, one of the other groundlings is awake.”
It was two of the other groundlings, the ones that Elastan had said were called Amifata.
When Moon shifted to his groundling form and stepped inside the shelter, one Amifata was sitting up, blinking uncertainly, and the other lay on its side, hunched up in pain but with its eyes open. Their dark gray skin gleamed in the spell-light of the moss draped around the shelter. They looked far more like amphibians than Elastan had. There were round spots with feathery feelers on their necks and cheeks that must be for breathing, because they didn’t have noses at all. Their faces were smooth and triangular, with a sharp slope down to their small mouths. Their eyes were round and encircled by heavy lids, and Moon had no idea what the halos of loose gray tissue around their heads might be for. He just hoped they could speak a language he knew. He also hoped that they didn’t have too acute of a sense of smell; it had been a while since he had had time to bathe and he had forgotten to change his moss-stained clothes today.
As he took a seat on the edge of the platform, Thistle and the Kek healers moved away to make room. Kof took a seat just outside the door to listen. The Amifata who was sitting up turned its head so its left eye was more directly regarding Moon. He noticed the right eye had rolled to watch Thistle and the Kek. Moon said in Kedaic, “Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Its voice sounded raspy and almost metallic. Its lips opened a little and Moon had a view of a strange vocal apparatus. It was like seeing the part of a throat that made noise but without any skin covering it. Moon couldn’t tell if it was a part of the creature’s body, or something that had been made. It said, “The others will recover also?”
Moon recalled suddenly that Elastan hadn’t asked that. It was another point against her. In Raksuran, he said to Thistle, “He wants to know if the others will be all right.”
Thistle said, “We think so. I hope so. At least now that we know what we were trying to do worked on these two, we have a better chance with the others. We’ve had to be very careful with the simples we’ve been giving them, since we can’t tell what sort of poison was on the darts.”
In Kedaic, Moon told the Amifata, “She thinks they will.” From what he could see, this one didn’t look that recovered. Its left eye seemed to have trouble focusing on Moon and its movements were still sluggish.
The Amifata made a breathy noise, then said, “What has happened to us?”
I
t sounded almost plaintive. Moon said, “We found you on the forest floor. You were attacked in your leaf boat. Do you remember?”
The Amifata lowered a hand to its bandaged wound, then looked down at the others. The one that was still hunched up miserably didn’t move, but made that same breathy noise that might be a sigh, or maybe it was how their actual, unaltered speech sounded. The Amifata said, “A projectile weapon. I was outside when I was struck. I remember nothing after that. The others were also wounded that way?”
“Yes. We think there was a drug on the darts. You have no idea what attacked you?” Moon decided that trying to read expression and intention off the face of a species who was so different, and only half-awake, was useless. But his impression of this being was that it was far more straightforward than Elastan. And it had woken up surrounded by its wounded companions and being tended by strangers, and its reaction hadn’t been panic or fear. It was assuming good intentions on their part, possibly because if the situation had been reversed, its intentions would have been good. Elaston’s reaction might have been what Moon was used to, but maybe it had been sparked by more than just fear of a strange species. “You were found by Kek plant hunters, but something attacked and killed them. The Kek asked us to help find them, and we found you, too.”
“Kek? Kek were killed? When did this happen?” The Amifata’s head turned to let the left eye see the Kek healers. It was almost as if each eye had different functions.
“When you were attacked, or not long after,” Moon told it.
“We have met Kek, in the southern climes of the great forest, the dryer areas among the root-hills.” It stretched out its hand to the nearest healer. She held out her hand, and it touched the stick-like fingers gently. It sat up and turned the left eye back toward Moon. “What are you?”
“We’re Raksura,” Moon said. By this point, he thought it very unlikely the Amifata would react with fear at the name, and he wasn’t disappointed. It held out its hand to him the way it had to the Kek.