The Serpent Sea

by Martha Wells

  The others moved back against the walls. Moon walked past them and Rift followed. Moon caught a whiff of fear-sweat, but no one pulled out a dart gun at the last instant. As he and Rift went toward the passage into the mortuary, he heard the guards move to collect the unconscious men.

  Esom and Stone would be waiting down in the edilvine tunnel, and would follow them under the concealment of the spell. Esom could only make the spell big enough to conceal Stone in his groundling form, but Moon hadn’t thought there would be any possibility of Stone sliding the dome’s door open without Ardan noticing. But if Ardan tried to turn on them, Stone would be there. And Moon wasn’t leaving without Jade and Flower.

  They reached the doorway, where more nervous guards waited, and went past them, down the steps into the huge chamber. Moon had asked Rift if Ardan would have been able to make more warden-creatures by this time. Rift had said that even if he could, he wouldn’t be able to let the creatures run loose with his guards here. Moon hoped he wasn’t lying.

  Shadows still clung to the upper half of the room, concealing the vaulted ceiling and the tops of the huge pillars, but more vapor-lamps had been lit. Moon spotted Ardan immediately. He waited under a lamp stand, about fifty paces from the doorway, with a large group of his guards spread out behind him. Beside Moon, Rift twitched uneasily.

  Moon couldn’t see the dome from here. It was somewhere past the shadowy outline of the undead waterling’s tail. He couldn’t see the spot on the far side of the chamber where Ardan had made the floor dissolve, either.

  He started across the wide expanse of pavement toward Ardan, and tried not to look as if he was thinking about it disappearing under him at any moment. He and Rift stopped ten paces away from the sorcerer.

  Ardan said, easily, “Rift, it’s good to see you well. I hope they haven’t treated you badly.”

  Rift twitched again, uncomfortable. He couldn’t seem to meet Ardan’s gaze. “No. Not… No.”

  Ardan turned to Moon and assessed him cautiously. “I didn’t expect to see you alive.”

  It was nice of Ardan to admit it. “We’re hard to kill,” Moon said. “But it turned out for the best.”

  Ardan’s mouth tightened. Moon thought, he guessed we were responsible for the jolt, but he was hoping he was wrong. Ardan said, “I felt the leviathan’s distress. I take it that was something you did?”

  “I don’t think the leviathan was distressed. I think it was relieved.” Moon hoped they were right about what the crystal piece did. If Ardan laughed in his face at this point, they were going to be in a lot of trouble. “The thing that was telling it what to do is gone.”

  Ardan’s self-control wasn’t quite perfect, and Moon could hear the tension in his voice. “What thing?”

  “The metal piece with the crystals. The one down there, in the pillar that cuts through the leviathan’s hide. The one that lets you use the power in the seed to send the leviathan all over the sea, anywhere you want.”

  There was an uneasy ripple among the guards, but no one seemed surprised or appalled—as if they suspected Ardan had been lying to the whole city but didn’t like to hear it mentioned aloud.

  Ardan’s expression hardened into annoyance. He glanced at the guards, and said, “You’re wrong, of course, no one can steer the leviathan. But that device, the leviathan’s bridle, is almost a legend. I’ve seen drawings, but…” With grim urgency, he said, “This creature could decide to sink at any moment. You could kill us all.”

  Yes, that’s the point, Moon thought. He said, “Then give us the seed. It’s useless to you without the bridle, isn’t it? You’ve got a choice: lose all of your control over the leviathan, or just part of it.”

  Ardan took a deep breath and watched him appraisingly. “You don’t have it with you.”

  Moon flicked his spines, though Ardan couldn’t read that as a gesture of dismissal. “Of course not.”

  “The others have it,” Rift said suddenly. “I’ve seen it.”

  Ardan gave Rift a slight nod of thanks. Still thoughtful, he said to Moon, “As you must have guessed, I wasn’t able to open the sanctum. There is a wheel on the inside that operates the door, and whoever is in there was clever enough to find a way to jam it.”

  Moon was fairly certain that a queen and a mentor working together had had absolutely no difficulty finding a way to jam the mechanism. Especially since they would have felt no need to be careful with whatever materials were available inside the dome. He just said, “They’ll open it for me.”

  Ardan lifted a brow. “And would your companions trade both the seed and the bridle for you?”

  Moon showed all his teeth. “If you try that, they’ll smash your bridle and scatter the pieces in the sea.”

  “Why should I believe you?” Ardan smiled thinly. “Perhaps you’re too valuable to them. You are a consort. I know what that means.”

  Rift said, “No. He’s like me, he was a solitary. His queen is the only one who wants him and she’s trapped in the sanctum. They won’t trade for him.”

  Moon flinched. It wasn’t true; it was just Rift trying to help, melding truth with lies, which was apparently what he did best. It was just an accident that he had hit so close to the bone.

  Ardan’s brow furrowed. His sharp gaze hadn’t missed Moon’s reaction. He said, “You’re certain?”

  Rift had nothing in his voice but complete conviction. “They would never have sent a consort they cared about into your tower. Not even to save a colony tree seed.”

  Moon set his jaw, and tried to ignore the sinking sensation in his stomach. They didn’t send me, I sent myself. Jade would never have agreed to the plan if she had been there to object. Somehow knowing that didn’t help.

  Ardan hesitated, his face hard. He doesn’t want to make the trade, but he can’t see another way out, Moon thought. You hope he can’t see another way out.

  Then a guard approached from out of the shadows in the direction of the mortuary’s main entrance. He moved forward cautiously, saluted Ardan with a half bow, and said, “Magister, please.”

  Ardan said, through gritted teeth, “Excuse me a moment.” He turned and moved back to the line of guards to talk to the man. They faced away, speaking in whispers, and not in Kedaic.

  Quietly, in Raksuran, Moon asked Rift, “Can you understand them?”

  Rift glanced down. “Yes, they’re speaking Ilisai, a trader’s language. He said Magister Lethen is at the gate with Magisters Giron and Soleden. They have all their guards with them, and they say they have firepowder.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A weapon. It makes a big burst of fire. The fishermen use it to keep the giant waterlings away.” Rift listened a moment more. “The guard says that the people are gathering in this area, too. When they felt the leviathan jolt, someone ordered the traders to cast off and the fishing boats to be secured for a move, so everyone knows something is wrong.”

  “Good.” Moon rippled his spines, trying to release the tension in his back. That explained why the guards had been in the passage. Ardan had known the other magisters would be trying to get inside, and if any of them knew about the smuggler’s entrance, they might have enough magic of their own to get through his barrier.

  Ardan turned away from the messenger. From his expression, none of this was welcome news. He said to Moon, “Very well. I’ll return the seed in exchange for the bridle. If Rift will be good enough to go and get it now.”

  That hadn’t been in Moon’s plans. “After you let us go with the seed.”

  Ardan’s expression was derisive. “I’m not a fool. Then you’d have both.”

  Moon bared his fangs. “I don’t want both.”

  Ardan held out for a long moment, then took a sharp impatient breath. “Send Rift for the bridle. You and I will go and get the seed. We’ll make the exchange here.”

  Moon controlled a frustrated hiss. He could continue to argue, but he didn’t want the other magisters to break this up anymore than Ardan did.
He told Rift, “Go and get it.”

  Rift flicked his spines in assent, threw an opaque look at Ardan, and bounded away toward the doorway to the tunnel.

  Ardan started toward the dome and the guards hastily moved out of his way. Moon followed him, forcing himself not to twitch under the suspicious regard of a large group of hostile groundlings.

  He took in a quiet breath and tasted the air. There was no hint of Stone or Esom, but then the air was thick with rot, the leviathan’s stench, and decaying preserved waterling. Using Esom’s concealment spell, the two of them should be working their way around the outer perimeter of the big chamber, as far away from the guardsmen and Ardan as possible.

  Once they were past the bulk of the dead waterling, Moon could see the dome. Ardan hadn’t lied; it looked undisturbed, except for some new scratches and scuffs at the door seam where the guards must have tried to pry it open.

  As they reached the dome, Ardan said easily, “Continue to speak in Kedaic, please. I wouldn’t want reason to doubt our arrangement.”

  Moon didn’t argue. He stepped up to the door and tapped on it. “Jade, it’s me.” He couldn’t hear anything from inside, but after a long, fraught moment, something creaked in the wall and the door began to slide open. It stopped, leaving a gap only a pace or so wide. Jade stepped into the opening.

  Moon realized that until that moment he hadn’t been certain that she and Flower were really still inside the dome, that this hadn’t been an elaborate ruse by Ardan. She was still in her winged form, her spines bristling. Moon heard muted exclamations from some of Ardan’s men. They sounded startled and uneasy, as if Jade was more formidable than they had expected. Jade kept her expression neutral, though her gaze flicked over Moon briefly, possibly looking for open wounds. Then, with a slight narrowing of her eyes, she regarded Ardan.

  He said, “I had never expected to see a Raksuran queen in the flesh.”

  Jade tilted her head inquiringly. “Have you seen many dead ones?”

  Ardan smiled, acknowledging the hit. “I’ve seen the wall carvings.”

  Moon said, “We’re giving him the thing that he needs to keep the leviathan from sinking, and he’s going to let us leave with the seed.”

  “Is he.” Jade sounded unconvinced, but she lifted a hand.

  Flower stepped into view behind Jade, and she held something tucked under her arm. It was a light brown object the size of a melon, with a ribbed outer shell. Flower said, “It was in a holder in the altar, or whatever it is, in here.” She peered past Jade at Ardan. “That’s him, is it?”

  Ardan frowned at Flower. “I’m sorry. You’re not a Raksura, surely?” Apparently he couldn’t contain his curiosity even under these circumstances.

  Flower’s brows quirked. This was probably not a question she had ever been asked before. “I’m an Arbora.”

  Ardan didn’t look convinced. “You don’t resemble the carvings.”

  That was possibly an attempt at a polite way of saying that the carvings showed Arbora to be stocky and heavily muscled, and not raw-boned thin and fragile. Flower said, dryly, “I’m old.”

  Jade took Flower’s shoulder and moved her away from Ardan, putting Flower between herself and Moon. Ardan gave her a polite nod. He stepped back, and said, “Very well. We’ll go and make the exchange.”

  Jade lifted a brow at Moon, but didn’t object. Ardan wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination, but he was desperate, and Moon was fairly sure he would try something to keep the seed. He might believe now that the other Raksura wouldn’t trade the seed and the bridle for Moon, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to make them trade for Jade’s release. But that wouldn’t happen until Ardan had his hands on the bridle. They started to follow the sorcerer back toward the tunnel entrance, where Rift would be waiting.

  As they walked, Ardan said, “I was told that your consort is not accepted by your people, that he has the same disadvantage as Rift.”

  Flower looked up, startled. Jade’s spines were already bristling and didn’t betray her reaction. She flicked a look at Moon, who couldn’t afford to do anything but stare back at her. He hoped she just played along and agreed, but some traitor part of him wanted her to argue with Ardan even if it did wreck their plan. She said to Ardan, “I think it’s laughable to expect a groundling to understand our customs.”

  Ardan wasn’t willing to let her avoid the issue. “I think anyone of feeling can recognize a despicable custom. And if you support it, why make an exception for your consort?”

  Flower hissed quietly to herself. Jade’s spines rippled. She said, “You have your own share of despicable customs.”

  Unperturbed, Ardan said, “I’ve offered Rift a refuge here. Your consort would be welcome as well.”

  Jade’s claws flexed. Flower gave Moon a look of pure consternation, but Jade only said, “I think your refuge comes with a price.”

  Then they were past the bulk of the dead waterling, and Ardan abruptly lost interest in the argument. He stopped, and said, grimly, “Speaking of Rift, it seems he has returned with company.”

  Three Raksura waited on the steps below the tunnel entrance. From the colors of their scales, it was Rift, Balm, and Chime. Moon hoped the others waited past the doorway, just out of sight, and the men that Ardan had stationed there had been chased away down the tunnel.

  “They don’t trust him,” Moon said. There were so many things that could still go wrong, he couldn’t count them. “Just like you don’t trust us.”

  “True.” Ardan hesitated, his expression still, and Moon could practically see him turning over the decision whether to betray them or not. He didn’t let himself tense. They had the seed and a mostly clear shot to the tunnel entrance, and Stone and Esom should be nearby. His only worry was if Ardan could do some sort of magic before they all reached the tunnel. Then Ardan said, “Tell Rift to bring it—”

  An explosion shook the chamber, sent a tremor through the paving. A shower of dust and rock chips rained down from above. Jade halfflared her wings. Moon ducked instinctively and threw a protective arm around Flower. She shifted to Arbora under his hand, crouching to shield the seed.

  Someone shouted, “Magister, they’re coming, they broke through the wall—”

  The firepowder, Moon realized. The waterling weapon. Ardan staggered to his feet, shouted at the guards. Moon looked back, trying to see through the dust, and spotted Esom stumbling barely thirty paces away. Stone, still in groundling form, tackled him down, and rolled them both out of sight behind a pillar. Moon grimaced, stricken. The shock of the explosion must have made Esom lose control over his spell. The guards were going to see them any moment. He told Jade, “Go for the tunnel, go now! We’ll distract him—”

  Jade hissed agreement, grabbed Flower, and leapt for the tunnel.

  Then suddenly the ground underfoot dipped and turned, threw Moon sideways as the paving lifted under them. He thought it was Ardan opening a passage down to the leviathan again, and snarled in fury. But Ardan staggered as the floor tilted, trying to stay on his feet. Water rushed in through the tunnel entrance, down the stairs, and bowled over Ardan’s guards. Jade changed her direction in mid-leap and flared her wings. She whipped around to land on the nearest pillar, Flower and the seed still tucked under one arm. Chime, Balm, and Rift jumped up through the spray as the wave rolled across the floor.

  The water had to be coming up the flooded street, obviously not hampered by the magical barrier over the door. But the floor still tilted down at a sharp incline. The leviathan is lowering its head, Moon realized in horror, getting ready to go under…

  As the wave hit, Moon lunged forward, grabbed Ardan around the waist, and jumped down the incline to the side of the nearest pillar. Water washed over him, stale at first and then fresh. Moon shook Ardan and shouted, “What are you doing?”

  “It’s not me!” Ardan gritted out, his hands digging into Moon’s arm. “It’s the leviathan! Those fools, when they used the firepowder so close to
its head, they must have woken it. Without the bridle it’s free to do whatever it wants.”

  It sounded horribly likely. The leviathan had lowered its head immediately after the explosion. “Can you stop it?”

  “I can try. Get me the bridle, take me to the sanctum, and I’ll try!”

  Moon looked around. Balm and Chime had joined Jade, perched on a pillar about a hundred paces away. They all stared this way, doubtless wondering what Moon was doing with Ardan. He couldn’t see Rift… No, there he was, holding on to the corbelled ceiling high overhead. Moon bellowed, “Rift, come here!”

  Rift hesitated, long enough for Moon to think about where he would have to put Ardan while he flew up to drag Rift out of the ceiling, to wonder where Stone and Esom were. Water poured continuously in from the tunnel entrance, roared down the slope of the floor. Then Rift dropped down to the pillar and cupped his wings to land on it a few paces above Moon.

  “Give him the bridle,” Moon said. “I’ve got to take him to the sanctum to try to stop this.”

  Rift handed the bridle to Ardan, and said, “Good luck.”

  Rift ducked away as Moon flared his wings and leapt for the next pillar. The sloped stone surface made for a difficult landing, and his claws slipped. He slid down a few paces before he caught hold of the carving. Ardan grunted in alarm, but didn’t struggle or panic. Moon pushed off again, more carefully this time, and crossed the room in long bounds. Halfway across, Chime caught up and landed above him on a slanting pillar. He said breathlessly, “Jade says to hurry up and do whatever it is you’re doing.”

  Moon didn’t need to be told that. He leapt into the air again. He finally splashed down beside the sanctum’s open doorway. A moment later Chime landed atop the dome. Water poured down the slope of the floor, most of it flowing past the angled doorway, so the sanctum wasn’t flooded yet. He set Ardan on his feet. The Magister staggered, caught the wall to steady himself, and said, “Thank you. You can send your friend for the seed.”