by Gini Koch
“And they’re what makes the interior glow, too?”
She stroked the beetle, then returned it to the stone wall. It blended in and I literally couldn’t see any beetle outline at all. “Yes, they are. They’re our friends. We grow food for them, they provide our light and communications. To kill one, other than out of mercy, is considered as evil as killing one of our own.”
Christopher and I looked at each other. “It’s like I can read your mind,” he said.
“You can.”
“Yeah.” His brow furrowed. “But, actually not right now.”
“We must be too far from the katyhoppers.” Not necessarily good news, but at least we now knew they had a range.
“Maybe, but anyway, I know who you want to put onto the throne here.”
“Was it that obvious? Or did you read my mind and you’re just pretending you can’t?”
He grinned. “I’ve known you a long time now. And no, right now, I honestly have no idea what you’re thinking.”
“Honestly, I was thinking that. Well, what I assume you think I’m thinking. I’m thinking that. I think.”
“Thank God I’ve gotten used to the Kitty-isms.”
“Blah, blah, blah.”
Fancy looked back and forth between us. “You truly mean for us to overthrow the king?” she asked, interrupting our witty banter. “And you also want me to take his place?”
“No. I want to get rid of the interloper who’s trying to destroy your world and put the best potential ruler into his place. Right now, it’s between you and King Benny, but you’re ruling a lot more people than he is, so I’m leaning toward you.”
She shook her head. “What you speak of is war.”
“Civil war. Yeah.”
Christopher took our hands again. “Let’s discuss politics after we make sure that the rest of the doors are secure.”
We took off again and this time went down the road that took us across the valley. We crossed the river this way, of course, and I realized that what I hadn’t really noticed was the sound of the water. Normally in a cavern with this much water rushing by that also was loaded with waterfalls, the sound would be quite loud. But the sounds of flowing water were hushed all the way through Haven. Something to ask about when we had less pressing concerns.
We reached the other side and other side’s road but went across it and beyond. There was a corresponding door at the end of this road we were on, also thankfully undisturbed and secure.
Since we’d gone a much shorter distance this time, relatively speaking, we raced off for the door that corresponded to the one where Jeff and the others were, only for the other side of Haven. Took a wild guess and figured the other two doors were going to be at the point nearest to the All Seeing Mountain.
This door was also secure and unmolested. As Fancy and I gagged some more, really hoped it was going to be the same at the last two doors. Now that I’d done the top half, so to speak, of both sides of the Haven Valley, I was able to see the curvature of the mountains and the land, especially toward the area we were heading. Even underground the area conformed to the spiral.
Zipped off again, the last door on this side was also safe, and there was another road that intersected the roads that ran on either side of the Valley. “How close to the All Seeing Eye are we here?” I asked Fancy.
“Not as close as we will be. The last door we’re checking lets us out closest to the Centerpoint of the World. It’s also closest to the king’s palace.”
“In other words, it’s the door you’d expect us all to come out of, right?”
She nodded. “Why?”
“Oh, just my suspicious mind and all that.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Christopher said. “It’s the perfect spot for an ambush.”
“And if the snakipedes were in, running down toward these exits would make the most sense.”
“Only for half of my people,” Fancy pointed out.
“They don’t care about your people, babe. They care about you. About getting rid of you, I might add.”
And King Benny, which might have been why Usha had chosen some of his advisors—even if he’d lived, his key people would have let the snakipedes in to destroy Haven. Any of Fancy’s Ferrets who survived would consider it his fault and execute him. A tidy way to get rid of two potential leaders who could bring the world’s population together.
“But how would they know where she was?” Christopher asked. “Fancy found us at the edge of the continent. And even if Usha has accomplices inside Haven, how would they get a message to anyone outside about where Fancy was? Let alone the rest of us?”
“The Goldens would have let me know if anyone was conspiring against me through their network,” Fancy confirmed.
“Well, where we were was an easy guess based on tracks and smell. That we would only be allowed into Haven under Fancy Corzine’s order and, most likely, escort seems to me to be a good bet.”
She nodded. “Yes. We don’t bring in others without my approval. For safety.” She sighed. “Not that this seems to have been effective.”
“Trust me, the failure isn’t yours. You have enemies. Luckily for you, they’re our enemies too.”
She cocked her head at us. “The Gods have enemies? More than Zenoca?”
“Working with Zenoca.” After all, I was pretty sure LaRue was Zenoca and all of our enemies were working with her. Lucky us.
“Let’s go,” Christopher said as he took our hands again. “One door left. Let’s hope it’s secure, too.”
“What are the odds?”
“Kitty, I’m with you and we’re somehow following one of your plans. I think the odds are really good that whatever’s going on at the last door isn’t going to be good.”
“Or, as we call it, routine.” As we raced along to the last door another thought occurred to me. “Fancy, are there beetles like the Goldens on the outside, in the snow?”
“Yes. They glow—”
“Snow white, yeah, we saw them. So, does that mean we were walking on them or something?”
“No. They live several feet under the snowline. Their light is just very strong. We don’t have to feed them—they subsist on the snow itself. And we don’t interact with them very much—they are not as bound to us as the Goldens are.”
“How often does it snow around here?” Christopher asked as we reached the intersection that would take us to the last door.
“Snow? Do you mean as an active thing?” She sounded deeply confused.
“Yeah, snow falls from the sky. It’s like super-thick water.”
“That does not happen here. The snow is always here, and only here, in our part of the world.”
Would have commented about how freaking weird that was, but by now I had a list of the weird going on with this planet so merely added this fact to it and moved on.
Besides, we were at the last door and, true to expectations, it wasn’t undisturbed. It was, in point of fact, open.
CHAPTER 51
THANKFULLY, what was in the doorway wasn’t a snakipede or twenty. What was in the doorway were beings I really hadn’t been prepared to see.
“James!” Flung myself at Reader. Which probably would have been better if we hadn’t still been going at the Flash hyperspeed level when I’d let go of Christopher’s hand.
I hit Reader hard, and we slammed into the other people with him, meaning I took him, Tim, Tito, Brian, and Kevin to the ground. Go me. If we were starring in the WWE.
This wasn’t so bad, except that they weren’t alone. They were with a lot of Lecanora, most of whom looked a hell of a lot like wolverines, with heavy emphasis on the claws and teeth part of wolverines. And all of them had sharp spears and now all those spears were pointed right at me and moving.
Christopher kept his head, thankfully, so I kept mine. He let go o
f Fancy, grabbed me, and moved us back to Fancy, who was far enough away that they’d have to throw the spears to hit us. Conveniently for the guys I’d knocked to the ground, they’d sort of connected, so Christopher had moved them away at the same time he’d moved me.
“Stop!” Reader shouted, as said spears hit the ground where we’d all been and the six of us untangled in a decidedly ungodlike and very undignified way. “These are our friends!” The Lecanora with the spears froze.
“What the hell are you guys doing breaking into Haven? Oh, and it’s great to see you and I’m so glad you’re all okay. And all that.”
“Long story,” Tim said. “Starts with James and me landing in the blue part of this world, which is—”
“All water like Venice, we know.”
He shot me a dirty look. “We got help,” he nodded toward a couple of Lecanora in the back, who looked like they were part of King Benny’s original Otter Tribe but the big, muscular side of it, “and headed toward part of this world that’s all black. The ground, I mean.”
“Which is where we were,” Tito indicated himself, Brian, and Kevin. “It’s all volcanic rock. And I mean all.”
“And when we say black, we mean black, including all the foliage,” Brian added. “Don’t forget that. Different shades of black, but all black.”
“As are most of the residents,” Kevin added. He grinned. “I fit right in.”
“Good to see everyone’s keeping their senses of humor intact. We’re a tad more stressed inside, just so you know.”
“I’m a little more stressed than I seem,” Brian said. “Where’s Serene?”
“Safe.”
Brian relaxed a bit and I took a closer look at the wolverines. Yep, they were all black, or black with white stripes, which wasn’t common for Earth wolverines, but as we’d been noting for quite a while now, we weren’t in Kansas anymore. The striped ones looked like Skunky, only a lot more muscular. They were all clearly warriors. Now probably wasn’t the time to share that I was Wolverine With Boobs. They probably wouldn’t get the reference and take offense at the same time.
“As Shealla has asked,” Fancy said imperiously, “what were you doing sneaking into Haven?”
“Saving you,” Tito said. He pointed through the open door behind the otters. It was still night outside, but the Snow Globe Beetles, or whatever they were really called here, were still providing soft, white, glowy light. Noted that there was blood and such on the ground.
Zipped outside to see five snakipedes dead on the ground. There was also a dead humanoid body with the snakipede bodies—and it looked like an Amazon. An Amazon with a lot of spear holes in her, but an Amazon nonetheless. I checked her eyes—they were all black.
I closed her eyelids. No idea why, just seemed like the decent thing to do, despite the fact that she’d been trying to kill me and everyone else inside.
Took a look around. Saw no more snakipedes about. Also saw no signs of other Lecanora, other Amazonian Ancients, or anything else, really. Did see what looked like a large city off in the distance, with some impressive turrets and such. The lighting looked normal—torches and fires or something, but what I’d expect to see in a Bronze Age world, and unlike anything else I’d seen here so far. Figured this was the king’s palace, aka where we’d be raiding shortly. But not right now.
As I looked up to check the air again, just in case some snakipedes were lurking about, waiting to smell prey, I spotted something very high in the sky—flickering lights. Possibly. It was hard to see clearly, but as my vision adjusted for what and where I was looking, realized that what I’d taken to be part of the night, so to speak, was in fact a huge mountain. Took a guess and figured I was looking at the All Seeing Mountain.
As I stared, I was sure that there were weird lights and colors flickering at the very top of the mountain. Really wanted to go find out what the hell was up there. However, it was dark, cold, and I wanted Jeff with me before we climbed every mountain or stormed the castle.
Chose discretion over valor and zipped right back inside and to the others. “Aha, so Fancy and Christopher, our worry was correct. There was another Amazonian Ancient trying to let the Horrors in. So, good job our team.”
“Did I hear that right?” Reader asked. “Never mind, I’m sure I did. Care to tell us what’s going on? Just so we’re on the same page and all that.”
“Sure, once we’ve okayed your entry into Fancy Corzine’s domain and you’ve introduced us to your new friends.”
“These are the Lecanora,” Reader started.
Put up my hand. “We’re extremely far ahead of you. There are Lecanora all over this continent—world, for them. They all resemble Earth mustelidae of all kinds, so don’t think you’re seeing the only three or four clan representatives here, we have them all—otters, beavers, skunks, woodchucks, ferrets, minks, weasels, and more.” Looked at the wolverines. Decided not to call that one out just now. “There are also those snakipedes which they call Horrors that you killed. We’ve already killed more of them, by the way, before you all get cocky. There are also a plethora of other sentient creatures here, some of whom are helping us. And this planet is extremely colorful and, for us, even more trippy.”
“Okay,” Tim said, “you catch us up and we’ll fill in the blanks that relate to how we got here in time to save your butts.”
“Trust me, butts have been being saved all over the place. You don’t own the franchise on butt saving on Planet Colorful, Megalomaniac Lad, so don’t get uppity.”
“Look, we need to close this door and get back to the others,” Christopher pointed out, sharing Patented Glare #3 with all of us. And just when I thought Planet Colorful was being good for him.
“If you would do so,” Fancy said to him, with a huge amount of respect in her voice that hadn’t been there before. I didn’t get the impression she was more impressed with us than she’d been five minutes ago, meaning she was requesting this for a reason.
Christopher nodded, walked over, and pulled the door shut with one hand. The Black Wolverines all watched him do this and, to a furry face, they looked impressed. So, Fancy had wanted to show off that she had someone extremely strong—who didn’t necessarily look extremely strong—on her side. Then Fancy secured the door just as she had with the other when we’d come into Haven.
All during this time, however, Fancy and the Lecanora I took to be in charge of the Black Wolverine Clan were eyeing each other. Wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. He was definitely the biggest and most muscular of the bunch, and, based on where he was standing—in front of all the others, even though only just—had to figure he was the leader.
“Zanell,” she said finally. “I see you’re fit as ever.”
“Corzine.” He nodded somewhat stiffly. “You seem well.”
There was something about how they were talking and acting. Something hugely familiar to anyone who’d ever had a romantic relationship that had experienced some kind of big fight and unhappy breakup.
“Oh wow, you two used to be an item? Super. Did you break up because one of you is an evil madman or woman, or because one of you couldn’t handle the fact that the other was just as strong a leader and warrior?”
They both stared at me, jaws open. “How . . . ?” Zanell started.
“She’s Shealla,” Christopher snapped. Clearly he was tired of pussyfooting around.
The Black Wolverines and their otter pals all snapped back, but to attention. Rigid attention. I received a group bow, which included Zanell.
“Thank you. This is Binalla.” I indicated Christopher. Hoped like hell the other four guys would share their names with us sooner as opposed to later, and really and truly prayed those names didn’t correspond to any we were already using.
“The Nihalani said we would find more of their number in the Dark Lands,” one of the otters said. “And this was true.”<
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“And the Nihalani then said we would find more of the Gods here,” Zanell said solemnly. “And we see that this is true as well.”
“Super. Leoalla and Alcalla are with a spy and possible though unlikely traitors. The Muses of Knowledge and the Winalla are still in a village with most of the Outcast clan, and some other sentient beings who are not Lecanora. So Brian, you can relax, Serene is with the other Muses, Claudia and Lorraine.”
At the word “outcast,” all the Black Wolverines jerked. “You have the castoffs here?” Zanell asked.
I moved deliberately and put myself between him and Fancy, and therefore him and the entrance into Haven. “Yes. And if you’re here to hurt any of them, then I’m going to have to show you just how nasty the Gods can fight when we’re protecting our people.”
CHAPTER 52
ZANELL LOCKED EYES WITH ME. Then pointedly stepped back, cast his gaze down, knelt down on one knee, and put his spear at my feet.
“The Nihalani said that the other Gods were worthy. We have heard of Shealla’s wrath, and we will never do anything to bring it upon ourselves.”
“Wise choice,” I said to Zanell. Looked over my shoulder. “I have a wrath reputation?” I asked Fancy.
Who shrugged. “Women of power should not be crossed lightly.”
“Ah, so he had an issue sharing the dominance with you, check. Males can learn, by the way. Not all of them, but more than you’d think.”
She grinned. “Nothing is hidden from Shealla.”
“Not a damn thing, supposedly, anyway.” Turned back to Zanell, who was still kneeling. “If you’re not here to raid Haven or to try to harm the Outcast Clan, then you can stand up and take your weapon back. And if this is a test where I’m supposed to take it away from you, trust me, I can.”
He looked up at me. “Normally for a boast such as that proof is required.”
He reached for his spear. I picked it up at hyperspeed and put the point at his throat before his paw was even near the ground. He froze. Wisely.