Quyloc nodded. “We need to go retrieve the artifact. We can protect it better up here in the castle.”
“So, to be clear, this time your advice is to remove the strange, magic artifact, right?” Rome said with a smile.
“Why did I know you were going to bring that up?” Quyloc said.
“I just wanted to make sure. I didn’t want you saying I never take your advice on anything.”
“What are they talking about?” Treylen asked Netra.
“It’s a long story,” Netra replied.
“I’ll take some men and we’ll go get it today,” Quyloc said. “As soon as the tide goes out.”
Aislin spoke up then. “You won’t be able to.”
“Why not?”
“The crack is too small. I can barely get through and I’m a lot smaller than you are.”
“Maybe you could go get the artifact for us, then,” Quyloc said.
“Last time when I touched it, it knocked me down,” Aislin said. “It hurt.”
Before Quyloc could speak again, Netra said, “I don’t like the idea of sending my daughter down there alone to get something that we don’t know what it is or what it might do.”
“You’re right,” Rome said. “We’ll have to send some men down with picks and hammers, have them widen the crack enough to let us get in there.”
“That will take days,” Quyloc objected.
“Then that’s what it takes,” Rome said.
“What if the Lementh’koy come for it before then?”
“We’ll post a guard. Besides, if they could have taken it by themselves, wouldn’t they have already? Why try to snatch Aislin?”
“Maybe they don’t know where it is. But once we start banging around down there…”
“We’ll work fast. Night and day.” Rome looked at Aislin. “In the meantime, we need to keep you safe. I don’t want you going down to the sea for a while.”
“But—” Aislin started.
“I’m sorry, Aislin. I know how important it is to you. But not as important as it is to keep you safe.”
╬ ╬ ╬
“Am I really not going to be allowed to go down to the sea?” Aislin asked her mother when they were in the carriage heading back to the Tender estate. A squad of soldiers was accompanying them. Rome didn’t want to take any chances with Aislin’s safety.
“It’s only for a while,” Netra said.
“But I defeated Gaz. And she’s nice now.”
“That doesn’t mean they’ll stop trying.”
Aislin knew she was right, but that didn’t make her any happier about it. “I wish I never would have found that stupid thing,” she grumbled.
“You don’t mean that. What if the Lementh’koy had found it first and managed to steal it? Who knows what would happen then?”
“But I’d still be able to go to the sea.”
“You’ll get to go back. Probably Rome will let you once he’s retrieved the artifact.”
“It still isn’t fair.”
“I know,” Netra said, giving her a squeeze. “Hopefully this will all be over soon.”
But Aislin could tell her mother didn’t think it would be. And neither did Aislin.
Chapter Eight
“I’m sick of it,” Aislin said, throwing down the weeds she had just pulled and then giving them a kick for good measure. She and her mother were watering the garden outside their cottage. It was getting near the end of the day. “This is stupid. I want to go down to the sea.”
Netra looked up from where she was working on her hands and knees. It wasn’t much of a garden, only a couple dozen plants, some squash, peas, melons and a few flowers. They didn’t actually need it either, since their food was supplied by the Tenders. But Mama wanted one anyway, which Aislin thought was strange because she also talked about how much she’d hated having to help in the garden when she was a child.
“We’ve been over this and over this,” Netra said. “It’s only temporary. You can go back down to the sea once they get the artifact out. It won’t be long now. They got the new tunnel finished yesterday.”
“I don’t see why you don’t let me go get the artifact,” Aislin said crossly. “Then we could get this over with and I could go back down to the sea again.” The tunnel was finished, but no one had been able to even enter the circular room where the artifact was kept. Everyone who tried had the same problem as Liv had when Aislin took her into the cavern: the closer they got to the room, the sicker they got.
“You know why, Aislin. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m going to have to go get it eventually,” Aislin said. “Why not let me go now?”
“Quyloc said he had an idea he wanted to try first. Let’s wait and see if it works before we decide anything.”
“I don’t understand why I can’t at least go see Liv.”
Netra brushed her hair back out of her face and sat back on her heels. “Her mother is worried. She’s afraid that if the Lementh’koy come to…” She trailed off.
“To kidnap me. That’s what you meant to say, isn’t it?”
Netra sighed. “I don’t like saying it, but yes.”
“She’s afraid Liv will get hurt.” Aislin actually agreed with Bonnie on this. Liv could have gotten killed when the zhoulin attacked. Next time she might not be so lucky. Aislin didn’t want to see her friend get hurt. But she missed her. Not being able to go to the sea would have been easier if she could spend time with her friend. Instead she had to stay here on the Tender estate the whole time. She wasn’t allowed to go anywhere. She wasn’t allowed to do anything. And everywhere she went a bunch of soldiers followed her. They were there right then, a dozen of them ranged in a loose circle around the cottage, armed and ready to fend off an attack. Aislin almost wished the Lementh’koy would attack. Then she could be done with all this and life could go back to the way it was.
Netra came over and crouched down beside Aislin. “Hang in there. It won’t be much longer.”
Aislin started to reply, then frowned. “Do you hear that?” she asked her mother.
Netra cocked her head to the side and listened. “A faint buzzing sound?” she asked.
Aislin nodded. “What is it?” The buzzing was getting louder and there was an itching sensation on the back of her neck.
Netra and Aislin both stood up, looking around for the source of the sound. Aislin saw that the guards were also looking around and a couple were rubbing the backs of their necks.
Then Aislin saw something. At first she thought she was imagining it and she rubbed her eyes, but it was still there.
Stretching between two elm trees were a number of dark green lines. To Aislin they looked like seaweed. They even looked wet. The lowest one was about a foot off the ground, the highest one chest-high. As she stared at it, something flew or jumped from one tree to the other, a new strand of the dark green stuff unspooling behind it.
Aislin pointed. “What’s that?”
Netra turned to look and her expression grew alarmed. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it probably isn’t good.” She pulled Aislin close to her and Aislin felt the tug in the pit of her stomach that told her that her mother was gathering LifeSong to her.
Aislin caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned to see that the same thing was happening between two other trees. The strands had only reached up to about waist high so far, but there were two of the creatures flying back and forth between the trees and new strands were appearing quickly. Aislin squinted, trying to see what kind of creatures they were, but they moved so quickly it was hard to tell.
More flashes of movement and Aislin turned to see the same thing happening in a dozen other places all around them, and all of them were between the two women and the soldiers, who were gaping at the things, unsure what to do. Clearly something was trying to pen them in.
Her mother must have realized the same thing because she grabbed Aislin’s hand, yelled, “Run!” and they took off ru
nning for one of the last areas that were still open.
Yet before they had taken half a dozen steps green strands were stretched across their escape and they were quickly up to waist high, too high to jump over. Up close Aislin could see the creatures that were doing this a little better. They looked like beetles, and the buzzing sound was coming from their stubby wings.
Still holding Aislin’s hand, Netra veered off, heading for a gap that was still open. But as they came around a large oak tree, they saw strands blocking that way too. Looking around, Aislin didn’t see any gaps remaining.
One of the soldiers had finally recovered from his shock and was running toward them. “Hold on,” he said. “I’ll have you out of there in a moment.” He raised his sword and hacked at the strands, but the sword bounced off. The strand appeared undamaged. He struck again, but it still had no effect.
“Stay close to me,” Netra said. She pulled Aislin behind her and turned slowly, watching for the attack she knew was coming.
Something broke from the ground at Aislin’s feet. It was about the size of two fists together and it looked a little like a crab, except that its body, while armored, was long and tapered. It was a deep, greenish-black color. It had easily a dozen legs and they were unnaturally long, segmented, and covered with short, stiff bristles. Its eyes were yellow and set on the ends of long stalks that stuck up from its body.
The eyes swiveled and fixed on Netra.
Netra jerked Aislin away from the thing, but before Aislin could take more than a step it darted forward and ran up her leg. She pulled away from her mother’s grasp and tried to knock the thing off, but it moved too quickly, scurrying around to the back of her leg, where she could feel it running upwards.
Netra was trying to help her when all at once another of the things broke from the ground at Netra’s feet and scurried up her leg.
Aislin could feel the thing’s legs on her back. She twisted, trying to slap at it, but she couldn’t reach it. In moments it had climbed up her neck and settled itself on top of her head. She cried out and grabbed at it, trying to yank it off, but it was moving too much and she couldn’t get a good hold on it.
“Help me, Mama!” she yelled, but Netra was having her own problems. She had two of them on her.
Then the thing on top of Aislin’s head started to change.
Its legs grew longer. They wrapped around her over and over. She fought to keep her arms free, but the legs kept growing and there seemed to be so many of them. Soon her arms were trapped and pinned by her sides. The legs kept wrapping around her, all the way down her legs until she couldn’t move. She felt one wrap around her throat. It tightened, not enough to stop her breathing, but enough to make breathing difficult.
“What’s happening, Mama?” Aislin whimpered. She was the most frightened she’d ever been in her life. She’d never felt so helpless. She tried to reach for the water, but it was too far away.
“Just stay calm, Aislin,” her mother said. She was bound as firmly as Aislin was, even more so, since there was a second spider-crab thing on her back, its legs intertwined with the one on her head. “I’ve seen these things before. I’ll take care of this.”
Looking around, Aislin saw that even more strands had been added to the barriers cutting them off from the outside world. The barriers were nearly solid now, only a few gaps remaining. Through the gaps she could see soldiers hacking at the barriers, but they weren’t having any luck.
Then some figures began dropping out of the trees. They converged on Aislin and her mother. They looked a lot like Ya’Shi. They had the same narrow build. They had no ears, their large eyes were set on the sides of their heads, their mouths were wide and lipless. On their throats were what looked like gills.
But where Ya’Shi’s skin was a faded yellow streaked with white, they were dark yellow, streaked with deep blue. And instead of thin shifts belted around the waist, they were wearing what looked like armor made of overlapping scales that gleamed with an iridescent hue. In their hands some carried long, slender spears tipped with sharp points that glowed green. Others carried what looked like curved swords, the blades made of some kind of shell rather than steel, and crackling with pent-up energy.
The figures spread out in a semi-circle facing them and stopped. There were seven of them.
“You must be the Lementh’koy,” Netra said calmly.
The one in the middle, with a blue blotch on his forehead that was shaped somewhat like a star, spoke. “We have come for the girl. There is no need for anyone to get hurt.” The voice sounded male and there was an odd sibilance to it.
“If you try to take her, you will get hurt, I can promise you that,” Netra said.
Aislin could hear the note of warning in her mother’s voice. It was something low down and dangerous, like a powerful animal crouched in the grass, preparing to spring. She wondered if the Lementh’koy could hear it too. She wondered if they knew what her mother was capable of.
“Do not fight us. We have no wish to spill blood unnecessarily,” the leader said.
“Nor do I,” Netra said, her voice almost a growl. “But if you don’t let us go immediately and leave, I will hurt you.”
Something that might have been amusement flickered over the leader’s face and the others accompanying him exchanged significant looks. “You speak like one who is confused. You are our prisoner. You have no choice in this. The child comes with us. She belongs to us.”
“Wrong,” Netra said, baring her teeth slightly. “Aislin is my daughter.”
“We had thought to do this without bloodshed. Will you leave us no choice?” the leader said, the amusement leaving his face.
“I warned you,” Netra said through gritted teeth.
Aislin could feel her mother gathering Song to herself, but what worried her was the look in her mother’s eyes. There was something feral and hungry there that she had never seen, like some kind of monster wearing her mother’s face. And she knew suddenly that letting that monster out was a bad idea. “Don’t do it, Mama,” she said.
“I will listen to your threats no longer,” the leader said to Netra, and raised one finger. The leg wrapped around Netra’s throat began to constrict.
“Don’t hurt them!” Aislin yelled. “Mama, don’t!”
But it was already too late.
The last traces of the mother Aislin knew faded from her eyes, and the dark, hungry monster took over. A faint smile appeared on Netra’s lips.
“So…hungry,” Netra said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Don’t, Mama,” Aislin repeated, knowing it was futile.
The Lementh’koy raised their weapons.
Electricity crackled in the air around them. The Lementh’koy hesitated and looked around warily, sensing danger but unable to figure out where it was coming from. The tugging feeling inside Aislin increased and she had the strange feeling that she was standing at the edge of a high cliff, pure blackness down below. The blackness was sucking at her, trying to pull her over the edge and down into its gaping maw.
Excited words passed between the Lementh’koy in their own language. The leader barked a command and pointed at Netra. Two of the Lementh’koy stepped forward, spears raised to stab Netra.
“Nooo,” Aislin moaned.
Netra bared her teeth. The feeling of tension in the air swiftly mounted.
There was a sudden, sharp pop.
The things wrapped around Netra and Aislin shivered. There were cracking sounds like small limbs breaking and their legs loosened, then fell completely away. The creatures fell to the ground, dead. The advancing Lementh’koy stopped, gaping.
Netra started to laugh.
Her hands rose, fingers outspread. She flexed her fingers.
The sucking feeling inside Aislin increased mightily. She felt herself being pulled toward her mother. She started to lose her balance and had to fight to stay upright.
The Lementh’koy all charged at Netra, weapons raised—
And
froze in place. Their faces showed the strain as they tried to move, but they were completely helpless.
“Hungry,” Netra said, in a voice that was not her own.
White light tinged with emerald green began streaming out of the Lementh’koy. It shot across the intervening space and into Netra.
Netra’s spine arched and her head tilted back as the beams of light struck her. Her laughter changed to a faint moan. Her eyes rolled back in her head.
The Lementh’koy sagged. White blotches appeared on their skin and began to grow rapidly. One by one they went to their knees, then toppled over onto their sides. They lay there, convulsing, as Netra drained their lives from them.
Aislin knew she had to do something. If she didn’t, she’d lose her mother forever. She’d be gone and all that would be left of her was this mindless, hungry thing.
Aislin did the only thing she could think of. She ran to her mother and threw her arms around her. It hurt. She could feel her very life leaving her, her limbs growing cold and heavy, her vision beginning to dim around the edges. She was falling into blackness and there was nothing to cling to.
Except her mother.
“No, Mama,” she said. “Don’t do this.”
There was no response. Netra’s lips were pulled back from her teeth in a ravening rictus, her eyes cold and inhuman. The Lementh’koy were motionless now, their skins almost completely bleached of color. Aislin collapsed to her knees, barely enough strength left to cling to her mother’s legs.
“Don’t, Mama. Please don’t,” she said. She was losing all feeling in her limbs. Her vision had narrowed to a pinpoint. With her last bit of energy she fought to hang onto her mother, still hoping to get through to her.
Desperately, she whispered, “Come back, Mama. I love you.”
All at once the sucking feeling eased slightly. Aislin was still falling, but not quite as fast. As if from a great distance, Aislin heard her mother say, “Aislin?”
Aislin managed to lift her head and look up at her mother. She saw fear and confusion in her mother’s eyes.
“I can’t…I can’t stop,” her mother whispered. “Too far gone.”
Sea Born (Chaos and Retribution Book 3) Page 11