I had just passed one of these storage areas when an ambush occurred. A warrior ant pounced as I passed, knocking me to the ground. My shield took most of the blow, but the blackness caused a spine on the monster’s leg to stab into my thigh. The pain was intense and the magic drain was significant, but not incapacitating. The insect clamped its mandibles onto my leg and tried to drag me back into the larder. I was stunned by the strength of the creature, but managed to get my sword in its eye. Raven, who was the closest behind me, quickly dispatched it with a decapitating blow. She then had to cut the jaws loose from my leg, while Celina healed my wounds.
Warin moved forward. “I’ll lead now, Seth. That will give you some time to recover. Since I can stand here, I won’t be at such a disadvantage, and I am the strongest in the group.”
I didn’t argue. The man was bigger and stronger. He’d trained as a guard in Krose before coming here and was quite capable. Raven topped off my magic and we started again. Forty-five minutes later, and who knows how far in, we discovered rooms full of eggs and larvae.
I eyed the rooms. “You know, if we leave these things behind, we’ll have ants visiting our fields for a long time. Even without the queen, these are trouble in the making.”
Celina agreed. “What do you suggest? We wade in there and slice them up? There are hundreds of them and it would take forever!”
I smiled. “Grandfather said they were immune or resistant to magic. He didn’t say they were resistant to fire!”
With Warin watching our backs, the two girls and I opened up with ‘fireballs’ and flooded the chamber with flame. It was especially satisfying to me to hear the pop and sizzle as the eggs of future workers or warriors went up in smoke.
We found several rooms, one after the other, full of immature monsters and we treated them all the same. And then we hit traffic again. Worker ants, carrying eggs to rooms that we’d just torched, were dispatched by Warin as quickly as they appeared.
Warin called back to us, “They are coming out of a large hole on the left up here, one after the other. I think we may have found mama!”
I looked into the faces on the rest of my party and they had the same look I could feel on my face. We shared a look of grim determination and eagerness to get this job done. Without the training that we’d received at the hands of my brother, Celina and I wouldn’t have been able to walk this far, let alone fight our way through.
I nodded to Warin. “Lead on, future brother-in-law of mine.”
Celina tapped my shoulder. “About that: when we get out of here, I want to plan the wedding.”
I laughed. “Let’s get out of here first and then we can think about that. Keep your mind in the game down here, sis.”
She giggled. “I guess this isn’t the right environment for planning a wedding. Sorry; we’re right behind you, Warin.”
Warin dispatched three workers on the way to the opening and then looked back at us in shock. We quickly caught up and looked into the room. The monstrosity in there left even Celina speechless! This creature was a reproducing machine and it was enormous! As we approached, it released some type of chemical cloud. We couldn’t smell it, shielded as we were; and if it was a weapon, it was ineffective. The back end of the bug was so large and heavy it could barely move, but the snapping of its jaws riveted our attention.
We moved in on it and were almost in attack range, when the purpose of the cloud made itself clear. It was the ant’s equivalent to our warning bells. Warrior ants began pouring into the room behind us. Our training had us back to back in seconds, and it was all we could do to keep from being buried alive! I’d heard that ants had huge numbers in a single den, but it seemed like they all wanted to be in this one room with us! From time to time, during the fight, Raven would reach out with her free hand and recharge our magic. The blackness on the bugs and the sheer number of them was knocking our magic down at a steady rate.
I called to Warin, “If you can take out the queen, we’ll try to keep them off of you. Once she’s dead, we can port out of here!”
“I’m on it, Boss!”
I moved shoulder to shoulder with the girls and we formed a blockade of slashing blades. We could hear Warin’s blade clanging and slashing behind us. As quickly as we’d dispatch a warrior, another would take its place, until we heard a loud ‘thump’ on the floor behind us. I glanced back and saw that the queen’s head had finally been removed from its body.
I spoke above the din, “Celina, get us out of here and don’t leave anyone behind!”
I saw her nod and with a final swing of her sword, she ported us back to the hole, west of the fields. I did a quick head count and made sure we’d all made it out.
I grinned. “Nicely done, everyone, and good porting, Cel! Now, sister, we have one last task. Raven and Warin can stay behind, because I think that our bloodline might be required for this.”
I jumped down into the hole and Cel followed. “What’s this all about, big brother? I thought when we killed the queen, we’d be done.”
“We saw how many ants came after us when we attacked the queen. That was just the warrior caste. I have no idea how many workers there are or how long they might live. We need to walk down to the river and bore a hole up to it. If we flood these tunnels, they will have a much harder time getting back to us again.”
Celina nodded. “And our ability to breathe under water is why it’s just me and you. Our Grandfather is such a wonderful and brilliant man. I’m glad we met him.”
“Me too, Sis. And since I learned I’m going to be a father again, I hope he’ll be there to distract me like before?”
Celina laughed. “Daddy Seth again, huh? Who is it this time?”
I chuckled. “Anne, Karly and Heather.”
Celina’s eyes got wide. “Oh, my stars, Seth! You need to spend more time outside! You’re going to have your hands full with Tamia, your two new charges and David. With three more, you’ll be bald before you’re twenty!”
I nodded. “More than likely, but I feel the river above. Help me find the deepest point above our head. I hope we don’t suck any critters, or worse, sprites, down here.”
“I don’t think that will happen, my worrying brother. But I do suggest we get ready to bury our swords in the ground and hang on. When this water comes down, it’s going to have plenty of force!”
“Good idea; now, let’s do this.”
Working together like we always did on projects like this, Celina and I started drilling an upwards well. Off in the distance, I could hear, or thought I could, the scurrying of insect legs coming our way. Suddenly, the roof above us began to leak, and the leak became a stream. Celina and I ran toward the opening and dove as the river invaded the den. We had stabbed the ground with the blades to the side and were hanging on to the handles as the current attempted to drag us toward the lower levels of the hive. It was a very odd feeling to be under water and not be afraid. All of our siblings had been taught to stay away from the river because they’d drown if they fell in. We’d wondered why Mother had never taught us that particular safety lesson, and now we knew. We couldn’t drown because of what we were. As the pull lessened, I ported us out of the hole and down to the river. I’d stayed until the tunnel had filled to make sure the job had gotten done. We used a bit of magic to dry our clothes and sheathed our swords. They were still beautiful weapons, but I hoped I would never have the need to use mine again.
As we rejoined Raven and Warin, I elbowed Cel. “What were you saying about a wedding?” Everyone laughed and I went looking for my wife and kids.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Time passed and routine settled in. Tamia had convinced her mom and dad that it would be a good idea for her to have big sisters as well as younger siblings. We officially adopted Elmas and Jewel and they loved us for it. Mother got to throw a big wedding for Celina and Warin, to make up for not having one for me. I still don’t know if children will come from that union, but I know better than to put anything pas
t my sister. If there is a way, and she wants kids, it will happen. I rarely think of Krose anymore, and when I do, it’s with regret. I hate to think of the number of lives I helped destroy with my pride.
My three pregnant consorts are getting quite large. Heather has been pulled from maid duty. Tabitha had insisted and what Tabitha wants, she gets. Karly still takes care of the nursery, but she now has a maid that comes in to help. The older girls are always willing to do whatever is needed, too.
Davie comes around from time to time, just to try to figure out what Celina and I know. We did get permission to teach ‘telepathy’ to the family. Grandfather had agreed that it would be nice to silently call for help, if we needed to.
Now I think I’ll get some sleep, until someone yells, “My water broke!”
Seth, A Naiad's Son (Generations of Eredwynn Book 3) Page 29