Webs & Wards (Beesong Chronicles Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “They came into the jungle a few months ago, which is when we originally saw them. They eat a lot, and while they aren’t very strong individually, there are lots of them,” the apis leader explained, shaking her head unhappily. “We know two hives are gone already, and lots of other insects are fleeing them. It’s a constant battle, which is why there’s so few of us to secure the area.”

  That caught Cora’s attention, and a sudden sense of dread washed over her as she swallowed, then asked hesitantly, “Ah, if I may… what type of colony do these ants have?”

  “What do you mean?” the apis asked, turning her head toward Cora as her eyebrows furrowed.

  “Well, some types of ants burrow, creating tunnels and passages, a permanent colony. Are these ants making that sort of colony?” Cora asked, hoping desperately that it was the case.

  “Nope! They ripped apart a huge part of the forest, burrowed a hole, and made a weird colony that consists of a lot of them together, holding onto one another,” the woman replied, dashing Cora’s hopes, and the elf swore under her breath.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Joy murmured, looking at Cora, one hand idly tugging at some of the webbing stuck to her wings as they walked.

  “No, it doesn’t. Care to enlighten the rest of us, Cora?” Stella asked, looking a bit worried.

  “Because it isn’t,” Cora said grimly, worry rushing through her. “Army ants. That’s the colony of army ants.”

  The blood drained from Brianna and Stella’s faces, while the apis around them looked at Cora in confusion. That startled Cora, but only for an instant. It wasn’t like they had reason to know about army ants.

  “That’s… okay, that’s really bad,” Brianna said, swallowing hard, then looked at the apis as she demanded, “How have you not been overwhelmed?”

  “We’ve fought, a lot, and used our flight to our advantage,” the apis replied more calmly than Cora could believe, nodding to the other apis from her hive as she added, “The queen has also been replacing us as quick as she can. They’re really mean, though.”

  Stella swore, and Joy looked around, then asked, “What are army ants? Why are you that upset to hear about them?”

  “Army ants are voracious; they can destroy an entire forest or town, and they’re considered a threat to entire regions,” Cora said flatly, shuddering slightly. “I’ve heard of both Kingdoms of Light and Darkness teaming up to stop them. Their colonies can have hundreds of thousands or even millions of ants, and they tend to go out in extreme force when they decide to forage. As in thousands of them in a single force, if not more. They usually overwhelm their opponents with sheer numbers, and they’ll march right over the corpses of their fellow ants to get at their enemies. They’re terrifying.”

  “Ooh, ick,” Joy said, wrinkling her nose and looking at the apis in concern. “Are you alright, then?”

  “Mostly! We lose some apis every battle, but we’re getting better all the time, and fight from range when we can,” another apis interjected, patting her bow. “Plus, we have priests, now! They can heal us, and we’ve even gotten some apis who can use magic to kill them! Lightning is really pretty!”

  A murmur of agreement rumbled through the apis, most of them looking surprisingly enthusiastic to Cora, considering they were talking about fighting army ants, of all things. On the other hand, the idea of apis with magi… while some demons could fly and do similar things, not many nations could field many flying soldiers. She could hardly imagine what a full hive of them could manage.

  “Ooh, you have magi and priests?” Joy asked eagerly, her eyes lighting up. “My old hive only had priests! Does your queen call them humblebees too?”

  The apis leader blinked, then grinned as she replied. “No, she doesn’t, but that sounds amusing! Why did she call them that?”

  “Because they’re supposed to be humble, or something along those lines. One of the workers also said that they hum a lot, and—” Joy spoke excitedly, completely breaking the tension in her enthusiasm, though Cora suspected that the apis weren’t exactly tense, it was only her, Brianna, and Stella that were anxious. But then Stella spoke.

  “Oh. Oh my… what is that?” Stella asked, her voice filled with awe, and Cora looked up, her eyes widening.

  She’d seen beehives before, at least on a small scale. She’d never seen one for giant bees, but that was mostly because they tended to nest underground, and none that were above ground were in areas near where she’d lived. This wasn’t one of those.

  The immense, paper-like exterior reached up to the uppermost canopy of the jungle, and with as dark as the area was, Cora couldn’t see where it ended to either side of them. If she had to guess, and the hive continued unbroken to either side to form a sphere, it would be possible to fit an entire town inside it, even ignoring the upper levels of the hive. What surprised her most was the soft glow she could see from an entrance, and a few dozen armed apis who were positioned near the base of the ramp leading into the hive.

  “That… isn’t anything like the Tulip Hive,” Cora said, looking back and forth at the immensity of the structure, then asked, “Um, was your hive like this before you changed?”

  “Oh, no, of course not! It was much smaller at the time. We just expanded it,” the apis leader said, grinning as she added, “Welcome to the Shadebough Hive! If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to our priests for healing. Hehe… humblebees… I’ll have to tell the queen about that!”

  Cora was struck speechless, but she followed the apis toward the entrance, while Joy led the way, obviously eager to get inside.

  For her part, the elf just wondered what they’d find within, and if the apis could help them. She certainly hoped so, for Joy’s sake.

  Chapter 28

  “What’s going on?” the queen asked, resting after another long day. She wasn’t the youngest queen in the world, and hadn’t been even before most of the other giant beehives in the jungle had been destroyed. Still, even if she was tired, that didn’t mean she didn’t notice when something had the members of her hive abuzz.

  “We appear to have visitors,” an attendant replied quickly, turning to the queen and bowing her head slightly. “From what has been passed along, the four are adventurers. There are two humans, an elf, and an apis, my queen.”

  “An apis?” the queen asked, instantly perking up at the word, curiosity and hope rushing through her. “Not one of our lost apis? I want to be clear.”

  “No, she’s from a foreign hive called the Tulip Hive, located in someplace called the Flower Forest,” the attendant explained, a smile on her face. “Apparently, they were coming to visit us, but were attacked by the same intruders who killed some of our workers. Then they had the misfortune to run into a spider we were hunting and some leopards. The priests are currently healing their wounds.”

  “Ah, that’s most unfortunate. Still, a foreign hive is promising. I was beginning to worry about what would happen if we couldn’t exchange drones with other hives,” the queen said, relaxing ever so slightly, a hint of relief rushing through her. “Perhaps we could even ask them to help us contact the nearby… nations. If we’re to survive, we cannot face our foes on our own. We simply do not have the resources.”

  “I understand, my queen,” the attendant said, her expression growing a little more solemn for a moment, then brightened significantly as she added happily, “I’m not certain where the other hive is, as of yet. On the other hand, one of the warriors mentioned that apparently the Tulip Hive queen titled their priests ‘humblebees’. They thought the name was much more appropriate, and mentioned it to me.”

  “Humblebees?” the queen asked, blinking a couple of times, then smiled, amusement running through her as well. “That… is entertaining, yes. Let that be the new term for them, then. Why not follow the example of another queen?”

  “As you wish,” the attendant said, a smile on her face. “Would you like me to have someone speak with the apis, and learn where the other hive is?”


  The queen quickly came to a decision, and shook her head. “No.”

  “No?” the attendant asked, looking shocked, as did several other attendants who were in the room. She hesitated, then asked, “Um, why?”

  “Because I wish to speak with them myself,” the queen said, her voice calm as she looked at them and saw the panic rush through them. She headed it off before they could speak, though. “We’re already raising a queen to replace me, so the danger is limited, and I wish for guards to be present. I am not helpless, and if we’re to survive, I wish to speak and judge for myself.”

  The other apis hesitated for a few seconds, and the queen briefly wondered if this would be another of those occasions when the apis disobeyed her for the good of the hive. The first time that had happened she’d been a bit amused, but also shocked, since it’d never happened when she was a giant bee. However, after a bit the apis settled down and the attendant nodded.

  “As you wish, my queen. Shall I go speak with them?” the attendant asked, sounding particularly nervous.

  “Please do. Allow them time to be healed and fed, if that’s what they want,” the queen said, and glanced at another attendant as she added, “Please gather a dozen warriors to stand guard. I doubt the apis will attack us under these circumstances, but it is possible. The others are even less predictable.”

  “Yes, my queen,” both attendants chorused, and quickly moved for the exit.

  The queen watched them go, then slowly levered herself off the floor, wincing at the way her body ached. She had only a few years left, she suspected, but hopefully it would be enough to ensure the hive would prosper. First, they had to survive the ants, though.

  * * *

  “This is very different from the other hive,” Cora said, looking around in surprise, then shrank back against the wall again as an apis walked past, holding a large wax container in both arms.

  The chamber was reasonably large, about twenty feet across, but it certainly didn’t feel like it was to Cora, with how many apis were using it as a thoroughfare. She and the others were back against one wall, while several apis who looked little different than the others used magic to treat their wounds. Mostly they were focusing on Brianna at this point, since the redhead had taken the heaviest injuries during the battle.

  The hexagonal chamber had openings in three walls, with translucent gold cloth separating them, and to Cora it looked like one opened into a tight stairwell. The problem was that everything was yellow, save for the apis themselves, and the light shining through the wax washed everything out still more, making it hard for Cora to judge distances inside the hive. At least the one she’d been in when she’d died had a fair amount of dirt and stone around it, but this one disoriented her. Add to that how warm it was, and Cora wasn’t exactly comfortable. Not that she’d rather be out being hunted, but it was certainly making her close her eyes frequently.

  “Oh?” Stella asked, looking at Cora curiously. “How is that?”

  “It’s just… the other one was underground, so there was more dirt and stone, which helped me keep my bearings. Everything here is yellow, and I’m having trouble,” Cora admitted, looking down at her hands.

  “Huh, I’m not having much trouble… maybe it’s just the differences between species? I’ve heard that elves have keener sight than humans,” Stella suggested, prompting a wince from Cora at the thought. If it was that, she definitely wouldn’t be happy visiting an apis hive.

  “Perhaps, though I’m hoping that isn’t the problem,” Cora said, but as she did, her gaze drifted over to Joy, who was happily chatting with several other apis like they were old friends.

  “…have any idea what they do to honey?” Joy asked, a note of eagerness in her tone.

  “No, what?” an apis asked curiously, and Cora had noticed that the local hive seemed to be hanging on every word Joy said.

  “They mix it with milk and let it go bad!” Joy exclaimed, prompting gasps of horror from the apis, one of them going so far as to cover her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide. “They call it mead, and then they drink it!”

  “That’s horrible! How could they do that to perfectly good honey?” one of the others asked, sounding honestly distraught.

  It was so amusing Cora almost smiled, a little incredulous at the things the apis found terrifying. Based on what she’d seen and heard, the apis were more horrified by the idea of honey going bad than they were of death, and that was something she found almost impossible to comprehend. At least she could make out Joy because of her subtly different armor, though, since the other apis didn’t have the silver patterns on their armor. It was strange how similar even the apis of different hives were.

  “Because they like the taste,” Joy said simply, then paused for a moment before admitting, “Really, they do make some things that even we might like! There’s a type of tree that has fruit that smells like our queens called a lemon. They squeeze out the juice and mix it with sugar and water, and it tastes good. It reminds me of home. Of course, it tastes better when I add a lot of honey!”

  “Ooh, that sounds good!” another apis said, which Cora thought had been one of the priests who’d healed them.

  “She looks like she’s having fun.” Brianna’s voice was quiet, and almost startled Cora as she looked over at the human. Her leg looked like it’d been entirely healed at last, and there was a pensive look on her friend’s face. “I wonder… does she really like being with us?”

  “Of course she does!” the apis priest who’d just straightened said, looking at Brianna chidingly. “How can you doubt that?”

  “Ah, she does seem like she’s more comfortable among apis. Besides which, all the other apis seem to enjoy her company,” Cora ventured, and the priest just clicked her tongue in disapproval.

  “Oh, she’s enjoying herself, and she’s fascinating to us. We have no idea what it’s like outside of the jungle, so what she’s saying… it’s like a whole different world to us,” the apis explained, turning to look at Joy enviously. “I’d hate to leave the hive, but to see even half of what she’s seen… that would be wonderful. She doesn’t belong here, though. She’s apis, but she doesn’t bear the scent of a queen. She’s a lone apis, out in the world and exploring. And the way she acts toward you, it’s the way we act for our hive. Your Joy enjoys speaking with us, but she knows she isn’t of our hive. You are her hive, and if we threatened you, she wouldn’t hesitate to draw her stinger in your defense. Have you not noticed that she’s been watching us treat you the entire time?”

  Cora blinked, then looked over at Joy, realizing that the apis was facing toward them, and she looked at Brianna and Stella, seeing the surprise on their faces. She spoke after a moment, her voice soft. “No… I hadn’t. Did either of you?”

  “I didn’t,” Stella said, while Brianna shook her head. The thought that Joy had been keeping watch on them even when chatting with the apis helped ease the knot in Cora’s stomach, and she let out a breath.

  “Well, now you know. I like Joy, and she’s an inspiration, but she’s your friend,” the priest said, smiling broadly. “Now, maybe I can ask her a few questions, and—”

  The priest cut herself off as another apis entered the room, drawing the attention of every apis in the area. They didn’t stop moving, but Joy ceased talking, turning her head toward the apis. With the difficulty she had seeing, it took a few moments for Cora to realize what made the apis different, but eventually she realized that the woman had an outfit much like the one Emissary had possessed, with the see-through skirt attached to her armor.

  “Welcome, guests. I greet you on behalf of the queen of Shadebough Hive,” the attendant said, nodding to them as she smiled. “I’ve come to make sure that you’ve been healed, and to ask if you need time to rest or eat.”

  “Hi! I’m Joy, and I’m healed! These are Brianna, Cora, and Stella, my friends!” Joy chirped happily, nodding to the woman before she looked at them. “Are you all okay?”

  “I a
m,” Cora said, and the other two nodded in agreement as she hesitated, then admitted, “I’m a bit hungry, but I’ll be alright for now. Something about the light and colors is making me a bit queasy, so I don’t want to eat right now.”

  “Yeah, maybe in a little while, but not right now,” Brianna agreed, letting out a breath. “Thank you for the healing, though. We didn’t expect to be in such a bad situation when we got here.”

  “You are welcome. You helped us in dealing with a threat, and you are the friends of another apis. That gives good reasons to help you,” the attendant said, smiling slightly. “However, I also bring a request. The queen would like to meet with the four of you, if you are willing.”

  “What? The queen wants to meet with us?” Joy yelped, a look of utter shock crossing her face.

  “Yes, she does,” the attendant confirmed, smiling slightly. “Your reaction is much like my own.”

  “I… I take it that’s unusual?” Stella ventured, looking around at the other apis, most of whom looked worried.

  “The queen is the most important person in the hive!” Joy said, turning to face them, her wings flicking nervously. “I wouldn’t think of asking to speak to her in person!”

  “Oh. That would explain your shock. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you that surprised,” Brianna said, looking at Cora wryly. “What do you think, Cora?”

  “I think that meeting her is an excellent idea. With the invaders attacking them and us, it means we can discuss more than just what we came for, and that… well, it’ll be easier if we’re not passing it through someone else,” Cora said, looking at the attendant as she hesitated, then added, “We met a queen’s attendant once before, who Joy’s former queen had named Emissary. While we learned what we needed to, the meeting wasn’t as useful as it could have been, I believe.”