The Python of Caspia

by Michael Green

  “Letty?”

  Andy heard a twang and ducked as something whistled past his ears.

  “Letty! I’m back.”

  He heard a mechanism working on the other side of the door.

  “Hold your fire! It’s me, Andy. I’m back from—well, forget where I’m back from, but my service is complete and we can leave!”

  He heard her voice through the door. “Andy?” There was a pause. “How do I know it’s you?” she asked.

  “Uhm…” he paused, considering, “you are friends with Emma, and I’ve been hanging out with Dean recently.”

  “Anyone could know that!” She yelled.

  Andy ducked, anticipating another shot, moments before it whizzed past and smacked into a building across the way. “Whoa! Hold on! Why don’t you ask me a question then?”

  “Okay—just give me a second. It hasn’t been easy since you left.”

  He heard the mechanism working again, and then there were whispers.

  “No, no, that’s not secret enough,” she said to someone on the other side.

  “Any question,” Andy said.

  “What happened in Pythia’s chambers? When she was pretending to be me—what happened.”

  Andy bit his tongue and heard uncomfortable grumbling coming from the crowd of armed pupils.

  “She healed my wounds,” Andy said reservedly.

  “No! What else happened?”

  Andy knew what she wanted to hear.

  “We—that is she, well… We might have danced—just for a second though.”

  “It was disgusting!” Letty yelled.

  “What? Obviously! I didn’t know it was her!”

  Andy looked at the crowd. The faces ranged in expression from shock, to complete disbelief, to outrage. One person laughed.

  “Letty, we can’t talk about this now. We’ve got to get going!”

  Andy heard arguing coming from the other side, and then the heavy scraping of dense furniture, followed by cursing and a loud crash.

  The door opened and Letty stormed out. Her outfit was torn and her face bloodied. She reared back and punched Andy in the mouth. “You left me here!”

  Andy stepped back and shielded himself from another blow. He felt his lip burn and tasted blood.

  “This was the plan!” he retorted, dizzy with pain.

  This should have been a happy moment.

  She was livid and her eyes sparkled, wild and aflame, as she yelled, “I’ve been here for hours! Days even! I don’t know how long—We’ve been fighting the whole time. There were giant insects and these stupid cult people!” She nearly spat at the mob of pupils.

  “I didn’t have it any better!” Andy was baffled at her outrage. “You can’t even imagine how sick I feel after what happened out there, and I can’t even remember half of it!”

  “Excuses!” Letty paused in her retribution and leveled her hate at the crowd of gawking pupils. “What the hell are you looking at?” She raised her crossbow and the crowd scattered.

  An armored guard appeared from around the corner. He ran towards the large group, heaving in exhaustion. He took a few heavy breaths and removed his helmet before speaking, “I need to see our Mistress!”

  Somni spoke up, “She’s still not in the city!”

  Disheartened, the guard spoke, “I’ve come from the cliff watch, ryle beasts have massed and are rushing past the border into Caspian lands. They’ll be at the stairs in minutes.”

  Andy gawked, wondering what prompted the attack.

  Somni could only stare vacantly at the news. Someone nudged her imploringly, and she finally spoke, “I—we need to send a runner through the portal and find her.”

  Feeling the urge to leave them to their fate, Andy almost took the chance to slip away.

  I can’t condemn them. I know these people now; I even like them. Andy remembered Quill, Staza, Arke, Musi, and even the guards, Caston and Poll. They had been good to him, even when he was their prisoner.

  They might die if I don’t help.

  “Look,” Andy interrupted, “Pythia is inside something called the Juncture. A test controls passage inside. You do not have the time to pass that test, and even if you did, the Juncture is not a normal place. It’s a nightmare. You have to accept that she can’t help you.”

  Quill stepped forward in the quiet that followed and spoke, “He’s right. We have to respond to their aggression immediately. We cannot be divided in this. I say we defend the stair from its base. We’ll have cover in the buildings, and they’ll be exposed if they try to climb down the cliffs.” Quill paused, and looked to the guard who delivered the report, “Whose banner did you see?”

  Still shaken, the guard answered, “No banner—but I recognized the pattern on the brutox; it’s Ziesqe’s forces.”

  An anxious wave of whispering rose at that.

  “How many?” Quill asked.

  “More than I could count.”

  Quill looked at the ground and then over at Andy and Letty.

  “Ziesqe sent them here to capture Letty and I,” Andy said plainly. “If we leave, they’ll have no reason to stay.”

  “We need to get them out of Caspia, for their sake and ours,” Quill insisted.

  “No—we’ll just hand them over,” Somni said decisively, “It’s the only way to ensure peace.”

  “Is this what Pythia would want?” Quill raised his trident and yelled.

  “Capture them unharmed!” Somni commanded.

  Weapons raised, the pupils split into three groups. On one side stood Somni and her group of about twenty guards. In the center stood the largest group, the undecided. They stepped back as violence threatened to erupt. The smallest group contained Letty, Andy, Quill, and Staza.

  With weapons raised all around, Andy held the Argument tightly in his grip. Somni’s guards were spreading out to surround them when the chimes roared to life.

  A burst of flames shot into the air from the other side of the city.

  Somni was livid; she yelled out in frustration, “The brutox can capture them! To the stairs, now! We need to negotiate a peace!”

  Her followers and the bystanders rushed off towards the column of flame.

  Andy followed, but felt Letty’s hand grasp his shoulder. She was holding him back. He tried to pull away, but she latched on with both arms.

  “No! What’s wrong with you? They’ll kill us or worse!” She screamed.

  “What if they don’t accept the negotiations? We can’t just let them fight alone!” Andy insisted.

  “Listen Andy, they’re in the city already, Titus has seen them.” Letty said.

  Quill interrupted, “What do you mean? There are more brutox in the city? They all left hours ago.”

  Andy was surprised to see Titus and Taptalles scurry out from under Letty’s hair and stand on her shoulders.

  “They are in the bowels of your city, in force,” Titus said. “We have evaded them so far, but if more are coming, then it is likely that they mean to take Caspia.”

  “Perhaps not. Quill, had a point; he said that they are after these two,” Taptalles gestured at Andy and Letty, “the city might not be the target. They might have waited for Andy to return.”

  Staza looked surprised and Quill paled, as they listened to the mice.

  “Even if we run, the attackers will still destroy Caspia looking for us,” Andy argued, still struggling.

  “You shouldn’t be concerned with that,” Staza said plainly, “Somni will tell them that we’ve escaped. She’ll tell them we aided you too.”

  That statement struck Quill, who was devastated as he spoke, “I hate it, but Staza’s right. With Pythia gone, there’s nothing stopping them from capturing and torturing us to find out where you’ve gone.”

  Andy was silent.

  “There! Are you satisfied? We need to escape, not fight,” Letty pleaded, her eyes locked onto his.

  Pythia said that Ziesqe wanted me. She thought he would find me on the surface, but it l
ooks like he’s in a rush.

  Andy stopped resisting. “How do we get out of here?”

  “Up the coast—ugh,” Quill sputtered as Staza elbowed him aside.

  “I know the trails best. You stick to fine words, Quill. We’ll slip through the sally gate and travel inland; there will be more cover,” Staza said, leading the way.

  As they moved, Andy spotted an abalone manhole cover lift up. Staza speared the ascending brutox through the skull as she ran past. “Hurry! They could come from anywhere.”

  Andy hoped that speared brutox corpse wouldn’t give their enemies a clue as to their direction.

  They rushed through the back-streets, occasionally passing another confused or terrified pupil, but luckily, they didn’t see another brutox. The chimes continued to sound in prolonged bursts. But, right as they passed through the unguarded sally gate, the chimes went silent.

  “That’s them agreeing to a truce,” Quill said.

  “Perhaps they’ve surrendered?” Titus asked.

  Both Staza and Quill turned unpleasant looks on the mouse.

  “It’s a fair assumption,” Titus said, defensively.

  Past the sally gate, they traveled a cobbled path for a while. Minutes later, they turned off the main path and were now traveling down a narrow side trail, flanked on both sides by tall grass.

  “Is the ryle leading the attack personally?” Taptalles asked.

  “I expect that he is,” Quill answered.

  “Good. At least we know he’s behind us,” Taptalles concluded.

  “Yes,” Staza interjected, “but a few people saw us heading to the gate. They’ll be on our trail soon.”

  “Then we can’t stop,” Letty said, “but where are we going?”

  “I don’t know,” Staza said, frustrated. “I can get you out of our territory. I can even hide us in the hills, at least for a few days.”

  “We need to get to the circle,” Titus said. “There are portals there we can use to return to the surface. None of Ziesqe’s servants would dare to follow us there.”

  “Yes,” Taptalles agreed, “and then we’ll be on their turf,” he motioned at Andy and Letty. “Food and shelter are much more common on the surface.”

  “What, brother, are you afraid to return home?” Titus asked, confused.

  “No, I mean for the Caspians,” he said, pointing at Quill and Staza. “They can’t mean to come back here—can they?”

  He’s right, what are they going to do? Since they helped us, they won’t be safe back in Caspia.

  At hearing that, the group slowed and finally stopped.

  Letty was the first to speak, “Okay, so we’re headed for the portals. Once we’re on the other side, Andy and I will find a place for you two. I can get the key to my aunt’s apartment, she’s out of town.”

  Staza slammed her spear into the ground, and Quill looked distraught.

  “We can’t just leave our people like this,” Staza said, her voice cracking, “Quill is a leader. Even if Somni thinks she is in charge, people will listen to him.”

  “But that’s not what happened,” Andy said firmly, remembering the argument with Somni and the pupils, who were mostly undecided. “You can’t go back,” Andy said. “We know what will happen if you do.”

  Staza grimaced and tightened her grip on the spear until the wood creaked.

  “But our eyes,” Quill said, “how will we hide them? How do you do it?”

  Letty and Andy shared a look.

  “We don’t hide them,” Letty replied, confused.

  “That’s how they find us, Letty,” Andy said. “They set up traps for us, and we fell into one at the gallery and then at the optometrist’s office.”

  Andy suddenly remembered reading about a man who had been fed certain foods which masked his violet eyes. He felt his pockets and found a notebook.

  “Andy, what’s that thing you’re wearing?” Letty asked.

  Distracted, he glanced up. “Oh, the laurel. Martin and Clang made it for me—”

  That answer begged further questions, but Letty saw he was distracted.

  “Here it is,” Andy said, stopping on a page, “when I was in the Juncture, I found a painting, but it was covered in words, like from someone’s journal.” Andy’s audience appeared skeptical. “He mentioned a way to hide our eye’s true color,” Andy said, handing his notebook to Letty.

  Titus interrupted, “We don’t have time for this. Listen, Caspians and surfacers, there are ways to veil your eyes. We can help you with that, but now we must be decisive. Caspians, are you coming to the surface?”

  Quill and Staza shared a hopeless glance.

  “You’ve only heard terrible things about where we live. It isn’t that bad,” Andy said.

  Quill coughed and raised a hand to his mouth, his eyes tightened, and he stared at the ground. Staza bit her lip so hard that a thin line of blood ran down her chin.

  Andy clasped Quill on the shoulder. “You won’t be alone.”

  They stood in sad silence.

  Finally, Quill nodded. He looked to Staza and asked, “Can you stand it?”

  She spat a mouthful of blood into the grass. “What would they say about me if I couldn’t?” she replied quietly, before hefting her spear and leading the way.

  They were quiet. Bent low, they moved through the tall grass, turning at Staza’s lead, down ever shrinking trails.

  Finally, they came to a point in the trail where they would pass a cliff that flanked the city.

  Quill stopped and looked back.

  This is the point of no return.

  The city was silent, and obscured by the thickening foliage, but the walls were still just in sight, lit from above by the amber glow.

  Staza turned and stared.

  “It’s like a bandage,” Letty said, “best to get it over with quickly.”

  “You can return when things quiet down,” Titus pointed out.

  Quill sighed and turned back to the path. The group continued.

  The trail, ever shrinking, had in the past few minutes ceased to exist. It was now solid grass and low hanging branches. Staza handed her spear to Letty and used her short sword to cut a path through. Quill gave his trident to Andy and waited to help.

  “Maybe another hour of this before we arrive at the circle,” Staza said, slicing at another thin branch.

  “Is there a faster way? Maybe something with fewer bushes,” Letty asked.

  “There is—” Staza grunted, swinging again, “but we’re in their territory now, and we can’t risk being on the roads.”

  Hearing this, Andy readied the Argument and drew the blade. “Let me help,” he said moving to relieve Staza and Quill. The branches fell to the Argument without resistance.

  Titus interrupted, “Perhaps the Argument isn’t the subtlest means to clear the path.”

  Taptalles had leaped from Letty’s shoulder, and climbed on Andy, without the latter noticing. “Put the blade out, boy! The light will give us away!”

  Andy’s eyes widened as he loosened his grip and the blade fluttered out.

  “Sorry—I didn’t realize,” Andy cringed, and stepped aside.

  Quill borrowed the short sword and took his turn clearing the way.

  Staza leaned in and whispered to Andy, “Don’t worry, we’re so far out. I don’t think anyone saw. But they’re right; you shouldn’t do that again.”

  Letty made a strange face when she saw Staza whispering to Andy.

  “Right—” Quill swung, “it was too bright, but it ripped through these branches without a sound.”

  No one cared to disagree.

  Quill eventually handed the blade to Andy for a turn. Finally, Staza tapped Andy on the shoulder. She motioned for him to be quiet and pointed through the foliage.

  “Down,” she whispered.

  They got to their hands and knees and crawled under the branches where they could.

  Silently, they passed the last of the bushes and reached the grassy perimet
er that ringed the circle of portals. Andy was surprised to see the tower had been rebuilt.

  Two brutox guards stood watch in the tower, though fallen tents and broken carriages now littered the once clear circle.

  Andy whispered, “Do we make a run for the portal? How do we know which one to take, Titus?”

  Titus tugged at his whiskers.

  “And where will it take us exactly?” Letty asked, readying her crossbow.

  “Hey Letty, where did you get that?” Andy asked quietly.

  She grinned. “I borrowed it from one of the bugs before I took over the dining hall. It might have been the same one you had.”

  Andy didn’t recognize the weapon, but he gave Letty an approving smile.

  Titus’s whiskers looked frayed as he waved a paw for silence. “There once was a portal in this circle that led to a tunnel beneath your city. It must still be here.”

  “Great,” Andy said, enthused. “Which one is it? What does it look like?”

  There might have been fifty doorways, implying fifty potential portals. Andy hoped Titus had a strong memory.

  Titus coughed before speaking, “I can’t see the portals from here—but I can probably point it out when we get down there.” He didn’t sound confident.

  Andy saw the problem; the circle was recessed about a floor deep, hiding many of the potential portals.

  “Shouldn’t we be able to see them from here? The portals ring the whole circle, don’t they?” Andy asked.

  Staza and Quill shared grim looks.

  “There’s something wrong down there. We should be able to see half of the portals from here, but they look blank, like it’s just a dirt wall there,” Staza said.

  “I’m often here on patrol,” Quill started, “Ziesqe’s creatures have blocked these portals with wooden frames. I don’t know why.”

  Andy felt his stomach sink. “How will we know which one to take?” he asked.

  They were all silent. Titus and Taptalles’s ears dipped.

  The crackle of a brazier at the base of the tower mixed with the nearby sound of shore and, for a moment, Andy felt himself go lightheaded.

  The feeling of defeat almost made him forget where he was.

  “Is there another way?” Letty asked, breaking the silence.

  “Maybe we could go to Sentinel’s Watch,” Andy whispered excitedly.