“Shh, don’t growl,” she hissed.
“Apologies. I was caught off guard by his sudden appearance,” Ji’wa replied softly. “I do not like this fog.”
“That is life on the seas of Terra II,” she chuckled. “Be prepared. There’s a lot more of this and worse during the winters here.”
“How do you become accustomed to it? I cannot imagine being even the slightest bit comfortable in this.”
“Who said I’m accustomed to it? This is something you just learn to live with, but I don’t believe it’s comfortable for anyone,” she observed with a low chuckle.
He muttered something unintelligible under his breath and sighed, his head moving from side to side in an alert manner. “I believe I would find it more comfortable without the city. I do not like knowing that humans can come out of the fog at any moment. I am not even sure how you are finding your way around,” he muttered as she took a right at a fork in the road. “If you have not come here, how do you know where to find the suppliers?” Ji’wa asked.
“Most of the cities follow similar layouts. As the first of the floating islands, New Delos established the norm of how the floating city would best be laid out in order for people to safely access all the services they need. Only the island cities deviate from it, from what I’m told. There are a few minor differences, especially among the residential areas, side streets, and entertainment district, but the main precincts have the same layout.”
“That is reasonable. All of our colony pods have the same layout for similar reasons. If one needed to go into another pod for any reason, they wanted to be sure that our people could get to where they needed without any difficulties. I am glad to see your species also does this,” he murmured as his eyes fastened on an enormous spire that jutted out of the fog ahead of them.
“Honestly, I think it was more for the benefit of the officials,” she said. “Easier to collect taxes for the mainland government if the collectors know where the main businesses are located.”
His head turned toward her in the gloom.
“You do not have a good opinion of your government,” he observed.
Nerida shrugged. “I admit I’m pretty ambivalent. It is just the way things have been for generations. We recognize it, and as long as the mainland doesn’t interfere with us too much, most wavelanders don’t have strong feelings about it. In the cities it is a bit different since they have more immediate interactions with policies from the mainland, and sometimes insurrections rise up in hopes of freeing the seas from mainland influence. But truthfully, we depend on trade with them too much, so those rebellions are put down quickly.”
“This may be a danger that the High Council will be forced to address if they attempt to invade our colony areas. We must have coves if we are to survive, and we will not tolerate your government coming into our territory.”
Nerida shook her head. “Not likely if you’ve all settled in the Greater Sea. The shuttles from the mainland rarely go out far. That’s why pirates and many unlawful individuals will seek refuge there—like the ones you killed who were trying to take over my boat. You’re more likely to have to deal with them again than any threat from the mainland. Well, that and predators like the shardon, leviathan, and dathli. Of them, the whip shardon is the most common, even in the common trade seas. They have stinging whip-like feelers that help locate prey.”
“Ah, yes, those creatures. The great long-bodied one that you call a dathli, and the barbed mouthed creature, that must be your whip shardon. I have already made note to alert the pods about them,” Ji’wa said, one hand tracing down to his side. “Ger’se and I had an unpleasant encounter with one barb-mouth. I am not certain what a leviathan is, however.”
“A rare monster of the greatest depths,” Nerida filled in. “I’m not sure how much is influenced by folktales from our homeworld, which they’re named after, and how much is the actual beast. Whatever it is, it’s said to be monstrous, with many enormous tentacles that destroy boats with ease and consume everything in their path.”
Ji’wa fell silent as he walked beside her, their footsteps loud in the quiet around them. She twitched nervously as she heard rustling noises. Although she had spoken of the predators of the sea, the ones of the city worried her far more. Ji’wa turned his head toward the sounds but made no comment. He must have also known that it was an unthreatening source, as small as the sounds were, but that knowing that didn’t stop the shiver from crawling up her spine.
Not everything within the shadows of the city was small and unthreatening. The sooner she was gone, the better. She disliked the cities enough during the clear summer season. The blanket of winter fog made it all the more unbearable.
Just ahead, Nerida could make out the light shining over where the mechanics’ shops would be located. She wanted to race ahead, but running also attracted attention—and often the wrong sort—from people who just as predatory as the creatures that inhabited the sea. Despite what had to be the sounds of rodents that found their way to the cities from merchant vessels, her imagination filled in the darkness with the twisted shapes of men lurking. Another shiver raced through her as her steps faltered.
Never draw attention while in the city. That was something that every child in the pod was told from the youngest age to explain why children, who were naturally loud and unaware, were kept below while family members went out. She remembered staring out of the windows of their living quarters at the shadows of the docks, the city just beyond them, imagining that they contained all manner of horrible things. As an adult, she knew that the shadows didn’t contain quite so many monsters, but in the murky streets, it was hard to quell her active imagination.
A louder sound banged nearby, and Nerida jumped, heart hammering. That wasn’t a mainland rodent. Her breath immediately rushed out of her lungs in a frightened gulp. In response, Ji’wa leaned in closer to her, pressing his larger body reassuringly against hers as his head whipped toward the sound. Instinctively, Nerida looked at the light over the mechanic shop. It wasn’t much farther.
“Ji’wa” she whispered.
Another bang sounded closer with a snap of fanning wings. It was followed by a low clatter. Ji’wa’s coat bulged as his tail struggled to escape it. Her clasped her hand down over it.
“Don’t. We don’t know who is watching.”
Another bang and more clattering amid ruffling feathers. More had arrived. One shadowy body shoved against another with loud hisses before the clattering resumed once more. Two more had joined the first one.
“What are these things?” Ji’wa snarled.
“Mogmas,” she answered quietly. “Products of early genetic experimentation. The scientists thought that by splicing human DNA with a giant predatory bird that roosted on the islands near the mainland, they would be able to help our species adapt to this world. What they ended up with was something larger, meaner, smarter…” she whispered, her voice faltering as one of the creatures strutted forward into the faint light. “It failed, and the experiments escaped before they could be exterminated. The government has yet to find the nesting grounds...or so they say. It is more probable that letting the creatures terrorize us serves to keep us in check”
Nerida felt Ji’wa stiffen beside her as the mogma became visible. Elongated humanoid legs terminated with taloned feet. The rough skin of the leg was dull compared to the brilliant white feathers that cascaded over the body. The feathers were especially thick around the long tail that jutted out from its buttocks and over the enlarged pectorals. The creature’s neck was longer than that of an average human, and the face bore some human features beneath the feathers that dappled it, but the hooked beak vibrated, the edges clattering together aggressively. Its long, spindly arms stretched forward with taloned hands even as the wings stretched wide.
It cocked its head at them, its eyes focusing on her as it bounced forward on its long legs. Nerida stumbled back away from her, her fingers clutching around the arm of Ji’wa’s coat.
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“It hunts you,” Ji’wa observed. A threatening noise came from his throat, punctuating his words with menace. A raspy hiss escaped him in aggressive response to the thing, drawing its attention to him.
She swallowed back her terror and attempted to yank him in the direction of the shop. They just needed to get around the mogmas, and they would be safe within the mechanics’ district. The lights brightened as she edged them in that direction. The mogma’s clatter grew louder as it snapped its beak. Another mogma emerged from the gloom at its side with a loud click of its beak.
“Population control was part of genetic manipulation. It was believed that the planet would benefit from population control measures in light of our limited available land and resources. They were created to be strong and hardy, but with only one female born to every five males… or was it six?” she stuttered, her voice tripping with uncertainty. “I can’t remember. Been a while since I took lessons on our planetary history. We’re all cautioned about people going out alone in the dark on the floating cities, especially during the winter when they feed more aggressively. The islands are close enough to the mainland that the creatures never bother them, but the floating cities are continuously threatened by them. We never know when mogmas might fly in. They will kill men and steal women for their nests—no one is safe around them. And no one has been able to discover where they roost. It’s thought to be somewhere far off the coasts of the mainland and habitable islands. There are enough barren rocky cliffs in trade seas to shelter them and keep them hidden.”
She was rambling now. She knew she was. It was as if, in her terror, her mouth had no shutoff mechanism. She just continued to spit out facts as the creatures circled closer. At her side, she could feel the aggression boiling off Ji’wa. His arm snapped up, the metal band that covered his left wrist and parts of his hand glinting. A small light flared on it, and a projectile shot out from it. The small dart sailed through the air before combusting into smaller parts that hit the nearest mogma. The creature let out an ungodly shriek, writhing in pain before it spun around and, amid its stumbling, managed to leap once more into the air to take flight. She watched it leave with a sense of relief. One down, two more to go.
“Do you have any more of those?” she asked.
Her heart sank when Ji’wa shook his head.
“The gauntlet only comes armed with four tamik projectiles. and I used the first three against the creature you call a whip shardon.”
“Shit!” she hissed as the creatures swept closer.
Her entire body stiffened as they neared, and she felt Ji’wa’s arm surround her as his tail bulged and threatened to rip through the coat in an effort to protect her.
A blaster fired, the gloom abating with the flare. The mogmas snapped their beaks and stumbled away as a man strode forward and raised the blaster to the air to fire again.
“Go on. Get out of here, you damned buzzards!” he snapped. His head, still a dark blur, turned toward them as he gestured with one arm. “Come on, the pair of you. Get inside before these things decide to tempt the fates.”
Nerida nearly laughed as she rushed toward the entrance of the mechanics’ district. Her fingers were still tightly twisted in Ji’wa’s coat as she hauled him with her. The male stumbled but regained his balance, as much as he could with his tail confined, and ran after her into the protection of the district.
Of all parts of the city, due to what materials and tools the mechanics had to work with, as well as the needs of any given area, their district was the most reinforced. Nerida immediately felt safe when the door slid shut behind them, despite the light of the inner corridor nearly blinding her as they stepped in.
Blinking her eyes rapidly, she was immediately aware of several mechanics rushing toward her. Ji’wa stiffened once more but Nerida dug her fingers into his arm in warning.
“It’s okay. We are safe now,” she said for his benefit.
“Indeed you are, miss,” a voice said from behind them. A burly man stepped inside, his blaster cannon propped on his shoulder as he looked them over. A thick cigar of turgo weed from the mainland was clenched firmly between his teeth and he puffed on it thoughtfully as he walked over to a cabinet and stored the blaster. Wiping his hands off, he turned back to face her. “Lucky is what you are. Now, what can we do for you?”
“I need a mechanic,” she replied in a thin voice.
The man in front of them chuckled, the laughter of the other mechanics joining him. “That’s exactly what you found. What’s the job?”
“My solar sail needs repairs.”
He took a deep drag, puffing on his cigar lightly. “Solar sails and engine power conductors are my specialties. The name’s Rafneal. My team and I can have your sails functioning within a day or two, depending on how extensive the damage is. You understand, of course, that my services are not cheap.”
Nerida nodded her head as she slipped her necklace off, her heart sinking as she held it out. “That’s what I figured.”
Chapter 19
Ji’wa watched as his female pulled out the beautiful chain of shells and luminous little orbs. There was a sadness on her face as she held it out, and everything within him rebelled at the thought of her sacrificing something so important to her for the repairs. It was of considerable worth. He could tell by the way the male’s eyes lit with a greedy hunger.
He did not think. He closed his hand around his mate’s, pulling the offering away from the human. The male frowned, his heavy brow wrinkling as he stared at Ji’wa’s gloved hand.
“What’s up with your friend?” Rafneal asked, eyes gleaming with suspicion.
“Nothing. My husband is just very protective,” Nerida replied as she shot Ji’wa a confused look before smiling meekly at the mechanic. “After the… uh, engine fire our last boat suffered, it just made him even more so.”
The male wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Engine fire. Those get bad. No wonder he’s all wrapped up like that. I don’t understand why you wavelanders remain with damaged males, but I suppose it says something to your loyalty. No offense,” he added in Ji’wa’s direction
Ji’wa felt an aggressive rumble rise in his throat and swallowed it back. The male was clearly advocating for her to abandon her mate, despite his minor retraction. No sirein would suggest such a thing. Mating was for life, and once the bonds were made, no others interfered with them. He appreciated that the male frightened off the mogmas, but he did not like or trust him. If it were not for the fact that he had to keep his identity secret, he would show this human just what a fine mate his female had.
For the second time that morning, he hated the fact that he had to conceal himself. First because he could not adequately defend his mate and now this male was sneering down at him. Him! A commander! He never cared for the position, but it still meant something.
The male gestured to the necklace. “Unless there is another way you’d like to pay, that will be adequate if you are thinking of trading it for service. It is not often anyone sees wavelander jewelry come through here. Bridal jewelry, if I’m not mistaken.”
His female winced and nodded. “My mother made it for me. It’s all I have left of her.”
Ji’wa closed his fingers tighter around his mate’s hand and shook his head. He did not understand why his mate wore bridal jewelry, but the fact that it was a precious gift from her mother he did understand. She would feel considerable grief to part with it, and that was something he could not allow.
Nerida looked over at him again, her brows drawn low over her eyes in displeasure at his interference, but he pulled her hand to his chest and rested his hand over his heart. He knew he could not speak. If he spoke at all, his words would alert the human to the fact that there was something foreign present. He hoped that gesture would convey enough.
He tucked his free hand inside the layer of clothes to grab the thin pouch around his bicep. From it, he slipped out a polished disc of tallicum metal. A generous supply of the metal had be
en brought with the sirei when they left their homeworld with the intent of having something valuable to trade. Its golden luster and near indestructible durability, save for intense heat, made it exceptionally desirable for many species. As a commander, he always had a few discs on him from his missions on other worlds. It was just fortunate that he still had some from the last time he went on planet as a sirei representative. It was one of three discs he had within the pouch.
Pulling the metal free, he uncurled his fingers from around it and held it out to the mechanic. As expected, the male’s eyes grew round with interest, despite his attempt to set his expression in hard, critical lines. Ji’wa could still read the interest remaining there and smirked under his disguise.
“Well now, that there is something else,” the male admitted in a roughened voice. “Never seen anything quite like that, and different is always marketable. Ornamental metals are even rarer around here.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll tell you what. My daughter wishes to have a pendant for her sixteenth birthday, but we haven’t received anything but cheap metals for repairs. I’m wagering I could find someone to shape that if you would be willing to trade it for full services. I’ll even look over your engine. That thing would be worth a small fortune in this city, and it would be dishonest of me not to tell you I’d be getting the better bargain, but that is all I have to offer.”
Nerida looked over and raised her eyebrows in a silent question. Ji’wa nodded. This was more than acceptable. He stretched out the disc in offering. A sigh left the male as if he had been holding his breath in anticipation, and he plucked it from Ji’wa’s gloved hand with a grin.
“I will get started this afternoon. I suspect you’ll want to rest. If you go to the Dark Pearl Boarding House, be sure to tell my wife Danya to put your room on our accounts. She can message me here if she has any questions.” He nodded to the bright transparent hallway that led deeper within the city.
“Thank you. We will,” Nerida replied softly as she tucked her necklace back into her clothing.
Sirein: A Dystopian World Alien Romance Page 16