The Symphony roared in her mind as she stepped out of the Aridori’s holding cell and Enos reached for it hungrily, her eyes falling closed. The metallic clack of metal brought her back, dimming the Symphony to a dull murmur.
She looked down to see Dunarn locking manacles around her wrists. Without thinking, Enos changed the way her eyes took in light, not with the Symphony of Healing, but the way her people did. She took in the pattern of stripes on the dark cloth. There were more on Dunarn than on Nakan. A sign of rank?
“You should not have spent so much effort,” Putra said to Dunarn, and Enos looked the other way. An entire troop of Sathssn were behind them, twenty or more, some armed with loaded blunderbusses, others with pikes and halberds. The tunnel was not small, but even so, they would have to push a forest of weapons aside to pass them. Torchlight gleamed off the metal blades.
“Get the collars,” Dunarn directed to one of the unnamed ones. “No tricks or it will be your last breath.” Several of the guards trained their guns on the Aridori Dunarn selected. They hunched, spitting, their back curving and growing a ridge of spines, but another soldier prodded them with the end of a spear and they slunk back into the room. They emerged a moment later with six shiny metal collars.
“Take one and close it around your neck,” Dunarn directed. Zhaddi took one from their fellow first, reaching up to clasp the collar around their neck. The others followed, and at a gesture from Putra, Enos took one too. As it closed with a click, she realized her eyes were still like Sathssn eyes. She tried to change them back, but it was like pushing on a string. There was no response from her body, and her lips raised in a snarl.
They have limited me.
The Aridori who got the collars must have had the same response, because they reared forward, snarling, their spines bristling.
They got to within arm’s reach of Dunarn before sagging, as if melting in the sun. The Coalitioner had one hand to a device on her wrist, wreathed in brown, blue, green, and white, all involved with the construction of the System.
The offending Aridori struggled to stay upright, their form loose and liquid, though not enough to slide out of the collar. Enos felt the retreat in the others even as a wave of disgust flowed through her. The device had stopped the assassin’s shifting in that plastic state between forms, useless for anything. Zhaddi growled at them and smacked their chest with one hand. It left an imprint, like a handprint in wet sand.
“Now, behave, and follow me,” Dunarn said. “The rest of you, will you be good from here?” There was a chorus of agreement, which Enos joined in.
“Then you five, you may have a reward.” Dunarn lifted a gloved finger and pressed a button. Something loosened in Enos, just slightly. She might change, if she struggled hard enough, but it would be slower than before she’d absorbed the other Aridori—sluggish and gradual. How had she ever thought that was enough? How had she ever not changed? It was her birthright. She’d learned much in her few days with the other Aridori and the thrill of it urged her to do more, stretch the limits of what she could achieve. Now these Snakes wanted to stop her.
She eyed the offending Aridori, whom Dunarn had left in its pitiable state. They glared back, shoulders slumped and deformed.
Somewhere deep in her, a little voice dissented.
“Me, I argued against bringing you out where you could cause trouble, but Janas insisted. She is worried about…” Dunarn’s cowl waggled, as she shook her head. “Follow me.”
Enos hadn’t realized how much space the Life Coalition’s tunnels took up. She had been led from a portal room to her first bedroom, and then the short distance to the Aridori’s cell.
Now they wandered down long, unfinished stone halls, big enough for five Sathssn to walk side by side. Their steps bounded in the gentle pull from the tiny homeworld. They followed Dunarn, and the guards followed them. In one place, they passed through a high, dark cavern where the torchlight did not reach the ceiling. Later, they crossed a woven vine bridge spanning a crevice echoing their footsteps back to them, as if they walked over infinity.
Enos had little sense of time in the caverns, since the last day—days?—with the Aridori hadn’t been broken up by meals. The tunnels the Life Coalition had hollowed out of this asteroid snaked this way and that, occasionally crossing other dark openings. Enos watched and listened as they walked, though the guards said nothing, only their weapons clanking. In contrast, the Aridori were completely silent, down to their footfalls.
Enos guessed it was the better part of a lightening from their prison to where the leaders lived. In that time, she could have crossed most of High Imperium. The Coalition did not want the Aridori anywhere near them, not that Enos could blame them.
As they got closer, the tunnels became brighter and more finished, and they saw more of the Life Coalition army. Many had been killed in the battle at the Dome of the Assembly, but from what Enos could see, it reduced their numbers little. Cloaked figures made way for their group of thirty or so, barely a drop in the sea of dark fabric.
Look for weak points. Anything I can use to escape.
How long had she been here? It felt like months, but she thought it had only been a few days. Less than a ten-day. Were the others looking for her, or was Sam snuggling with Inas, glad to have him back instead of her? Anger and desire mixed within her. She wanted to feel more, egged on by the unfamiliar voices trapped inside. The collar and manacles itched and she almost flung herself against a wall, simply to feel. Even if it was the pain of hitting that solid surface.
“More members here than usual,” Zhaddi whispered, cutting into her struggle. Did they know how much she chafed to do more? “I have been this way a few times. The captors pulled back all their members, likely from every other secret place they infested.”
With a struggle, Enos heaved her discomfort away to focus on the conversation. She wouldn’t have had to concentrate so much before she got here. “None of you changed form,” she whispered back. “Why not?” The ability writhed beneath her skin. The collar was like a tight glove, keeping her shape steady, but with an effort, she could have pushed through the feeling.
Zhaddi shrugged expansively. Their Festuour shoulders were good for that. “Curiosity. We have not all been called together in many cycles. Besides, if we did rebel, where would we go? Our species is dead.” They tapped the collar. “As we would be, soon afterward.”
“Captors like these killed our species, to hear you tell it,” Enos said, jerking her head back to the troop of dark-cloaked Coalitioners following them.
“We still have the capacity for revenge,” Zhaddi remarked, and their pleasant grin became malicious. “Our patience is far greater than one with such a brief life span can comprehend.” They reached over and placed a furry paw on Enos’ manacles. She was the only one to wear them. The other Aridori were unrestrained, though guarded by the soldiers behind them.
“Our captors have not had the combination of a majus and an Aridori before,” Zhaddi whispered.
“We have observed many of the maji’s Systems, though the cycles,” Putra said by Enos’ other side. She nearly jumped. The Aridori was noiseless when they moved. Putra had adopted a form like a Kirian’s today, but the feathery hair continued all over their body, like a large bird. “I would guess both of these use a component of the House of Grace and the House of Healing. Am I correct?”
Enos squinted at her manacles, then at the collars on the other Aridori’s necks. There was a large aura of white, but underneath, a sheen of blue. She nodded.
“In our experience,” Putra traded a glance with Zhaddi, “some of their Systems have a tendency to interact with each other. I would not be surprised if the maji did not properly think through their creations.”
Zhaddi lifted their hands under their chin, right in front of the collar. Enos followed their motion, hesitantly, and the glove of restriction around her body loosened. The Symphony suddenly became clearer.
Enos’ eyes widened. She dropped h
er hands and looked to the others. The glove tightened, the Symphony quieted. The two Systems interfered and weakened each other! The music must have been composed at cross purposes, likely many cycles apart.
Putra had a large, predatory grin on their face. “Not now,” they whispered. “When, and if, the time becomes right.”
Enos stared down at the manacles.
Oh. There will be a right time.
“There may be opportunity in this day. We will have to see what the current leaders propose, and whether we like their terms,” Zhaddi said.
They fell silent for the rest of the way, through populated areas of the caverns. Enos strained to grasp her collar and pull it away, but she forced the feeling down. She wanted to do…something, anything.
The halls and rooms were regular in shape here, finished and often with a false ceiling in the larger caverns to dispel the sense of vastness. The area Enos had lived in was barely more than a rough hole in comparison. The Life Coalition had been here for a long time. Decades or more.
Finally, their group entered a larger-than-average cave with a false ceiling, four times her new height, and ornamented with knots cut from some species of tree. Vines hung from them, loaded with purple flowers and green fruit. The air was fresher here, with a light, sweet scent. It made Enos realize how stale the air had been in the Aridori’s prison. They were given the worst areas of this little homeworld, but when had the Aridori ever been given anything good?
I will take my birthright back from these thieves—pull it directly from their hearts if needed.
Had that been her thought, or one of the other voices? She wasn’t certain, and that realization shook the anger from her.
Dark-cloaked figures were in little groups around the room, two or three times the amount in their procession. A few had their cowls back. The Life Coalition members were not all Sathssn. In fact, nearly half were from other species.
In the middle of the room were six seats, four of them occupied. Dunarn left them to take the fifth seat, and the guards clustered around them, though not too close. With Enos’ augmented eyes, the seated figures’ cloaks shone with ornamentation, more than any others here. In fact—Enos took another quick look around—the non-Sathssn members only had one large stripe across their chest. It was simple to see who was who and where they belonged, for those with Sathssn eyes. She wondered how many non-Sathssn knew about that.
For the moment, they were ignored. Enos peeked back over her shoulder. No, the troop of soldiers still watched them warily. Perhaps the Coalitioners felt safe with that little protection. If they knew the battle Enos had been in the day before, they might rethink their tactics, but she guessed the Aridori hid their internal power struggles from the Sathssn. The Snakes were fools, to let the Aridori grow in power right under their noses. Putra and Zhaddi were right to look for opportunity. The urge to act, to find some outlet, buzzed under Enos’ skin, but she had a strong suspicion she’d get a chance today to satisfy the urge changing left within her.
Instead, she watched the others of her species. They were entranced, little pieces of their bodies shifting from one form to another, though at a much slower rate. Enos only kept her form with an effort. A mane of Etanela hair was blossoming from the feathers on Putra’s head, while a Pixie’s wings were unfolding from one of the three nameless Aridori’s backs. This display was met with disgust by several Sathssn, but no one screamed and ran from old night terrors come to life. They were familiar with Aridori.
“Where is he?” the Sathssn on the end of the row of chairs said. Her voice was cutting and authoritative, and Enos recognized it. That timbre was unmistakable. It was the one who led, when the Coalition had spoken in the Assembly—Janas. She remembered suddenly that it was also the voice that spoke behind a door, in another cavern, where she and Sam had been trapped, months ago.
“Him, he is late as usual.” That creaky old voice was Zsaana’s, and Enos’ lip curled. Imagine, trading the position of head of the House of Healing for hiding in these tunnels. Enos wondered what the others had promised him. Power? Salvation? Wealth?
“We can start without him. That one, he does nothing but shoot off on his own agenda.” Enos didn’t recognize this voice. “Me, I would not be surprised if—”
The quick tap of boots interrupted the Coalitioner’s tirade as another figure entered, dark cloak flapping around him. Enos knew just by the arrogant gait that this was Nakan. Now she had adjusted her eyes, she could see the designs on his clothes. She hissed, the well of emotion rising, telling her she to find a way to show him what he’d done by putting her in with the other Aridori—
“Us, we should all rejoice,” Nakan announced, breaking into Enos’ thoughts. He waved a dagger—a short sword, really—through the air in front of him. “Me, I achieved what none of you could in how many cycles?”
“What have you done, Nakan?” the first speaker said, her words cutting through the air.
“I freed us, Janas,” Nakan answered. “Should we wish, the Imperium, or even the entire Nether, it is within our grasp!”
“What madness is this, Nakan?” Zsaana asked. He sounded tired and Enos wondered how often Nakan went against the rest of the Life Coalition. That was a point of weakness, and she looked to Putra to see if they had spotted it. Putra’s toothy smile was wide in enjoyment of the argument.
Nakan straightened, showing off the dark stain on the dagger he held. “This, it is the blood of the Effature. Many times we tried for his life, only to fail. Today was different. I struck a fatal blow against the old Aridori. No longer will one of the formless hold sway over the Assembly of Species!”
Silence washed over the room, and then the leaders of the Life Coalition began shouting.
“Our assassins, they will need new targets,” Janas said, at the same time Zsaana said, “You directly attacked the Effature? You threatened everything we worked toward for cycles upon cycles!”
Other Coalitioners were up and moving around the room, making little knots of conversation before they broke off and reformed elsewhere. A strange sense of sadness washed through Enos, but it was not coming from her. Her thoughts were merely confused.
The Effature was an Aridori? How is that possible?
He was in opposition to us, in the war, an inner voice said to her. He found his own way to survive—was it better than ours?
Enos didn’t shove the voice away this time.
You knew?
She watched the other Aridori. Putra had a hand up to their chest, Kirian eyes wide. Zhaddi shook their head at the other three.
We all knew him, though he did not know us.
What did that mean?
“You knew about the Effature?” she asked Putra, and the Aridori nodded. That must be why Enos felt a connection when she saw the old man. He was like her and Inas. But he wasn’t out of control like these Aridori, was he? How had he remained sane, over so many cycles?
She didn’t have time to ask, as Janas pounded the arm of her chair. “Quiet!” she shouted. “This, it changes the time of our movement, but not our plan. It is clear our negotiations with the Assembly, they will be fruitless from now on, yet we must increase our representation in the Assembly. Us, we must gain access to the font of power my great-great-grandfather foretold, by any means. Me, I will not be the one to destroy the peace of his vision.” She gestured in Enos’ direction. “The assassins must be let loose to do their jobs. More voices must be in agreement with ours.”
“And us, how will we do that with the panic that will certainly sweep through the Imperium?” Zsaana hissed. He pointed a gloved finger at Nakan. “You steal a weapon meant only to control that species long under our control. You upstart, you rejected our path again, to what end?”
“To the greater glory of the Form,” Nakan answered. He still held the bloody knife, like a trophy. Enos cast a sidelong glance to see Zhaddi glowering. She guessed they had seen that knife, or others like it, long ago. “With the Assembly in disarray, us, w
e have breathing space to move all our pieces into position, to welcome those who would bestow power upon us. Where the voids failed last time, now the Life Coalition, we will be ready and can seize the means to bring harmony to our homeworld at last.” He flung a hand out toward the Aridori. “Have them, the damned, do our work for us, rather than sap our resources as they have for a thousand cycles.”
“What are they talking about?” Enos whispered to Putra.
Putra shook her head. “This power has been their aim for many cycles, but we do not know what it is. They hide that aspect from us. All we know is that they think it will bring an era of peace and harmony to the entire Assembly.”
“Or at least to their homeworld, according to Nakan,” Zhaddi grumped.
“They don’t seem like they’re trying to bring peace,” Enos observed, while the leaders began arguing. She eyed the guards, but they still watched the Aridori while their leaders argued, ready to counter any move to escape.
“Yet they named their organization after it,” Zhaddi said. “They call it the Life Coalition, though it has had different names over the centuries we’ve been forced to serve.”
“They would have achieved their plans a few months ago,” Putra said, “save some young man singlehandedly stopped the void they had carefully constructed over months.”
“Sam,” Enos said, and the others looked at her. “His name is Sam, and he is an amazing person. Both me and my other instance think so.”
Zhaddi traded a significant glance with Putra. “And he is Aridori?”
“Of course not,” Enos said. “Inas and I thought we were the only ones left until I met you.”
Putra looked like they would say more, but Janas broke in to their conversation.
“You, the assassin there,” her gloved finger was pointing toward Zhaddi. “You will target the elder speaker for the Etanela. She has been speaking out far too fervently against the Life Coalition.”
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