A World of Secrets (The Firewall Trilogy)

by James Maxwell

  Hearing soft footsteps, Taimin glanced over his shoulder to see Selena approaching.

  “We’ll get there today?” she asked.

  Taimin shook his head. “Not today. Tonight.”

  “Why do we have to go there?” A few creases appeared on her forehead. “I don’t like dark places.”

  “Any information the skalen give us might mean the difference between life and death.”

  Taimin tried to hide it, but his thoughts were in turmoil. Things between him and Selena hadn’t gone back to the way they were before. Even in the arena in Zorn, his fighting skill had kept him alive, but recent events had starkly reminded him of his weakness. His confidence had been shaken. She was the one supporting him. He wasn’t sure if he was right for her.

  He glanced at Selena; she was always so beautiful when she had just risen, with her eyes still sleepy and morning light shining on her coal-black hair. It was an effort to return his attention to the view in front of him.

  “We’ll need something to trade with them,” he said as he inspected the lonely mountain. His eyes were on the gaping darkness of an immense cave mouth, halfway up the mountain’s slope; he figured it must be the entrance to the mine. “I’ll take Vance and Lars hunting.”

  “We’ll need water too, otherwise we’ll have to trade for it,” Selena said. “I’ll see if I can find some with Ruth.” She indicated the grapple she now wore at her waist. “You know we can handle ourselves.”

  Taimin gave a reluctant nod. “Good idea. We still need to cross a desert.” He glanced at the two suns, one golden, the other the color of blood. “I’ll go and wake the others.”

  He felt her eyes on him as he walked away.

  “We can do our own hunting too,” Ruth said. “I could use the time away from Vance.” She raised an eyebrow at Selena as they followed the base of one of the many ravines near the mountain’s base. “What’s wrong?”

  Selena’s mouth tightened. “It’s Taimin. Something’s changed.”

  Conversation came to a halt as the ravine made a sudden drop, forcing Selena to clamber over the rocky ground. While she searched for deep, dark places where they might find water, she also scanned for threats. She descended the slope and saw another steep-walled chasm up ahead, ploughing a furrow toward the mountain.

  Selena helped Ruth to climb down the last section and they reached a graveled trail formed by small stones tumbling from high above. The walls closed in on both sides, and soon the small strip of blue sky above provided the only light to go by. The chasm forked up ahead. Exploring the area was going to take time.

  “Whatever it is that’s going on between us, it’s like he’s pushing me away.”

  “You must have an idea why,” Ruth said, glancing at Selena.

  “He’s independent. He hates relying on anyone else.”

  “Taimin?” Ruth frowned. “There must be more to it.”

  They took the left fork, then the passage split again. Selena glanced over her shoulder to take note of where they were going. “Like what?” she asked.

  Ruth hesitated. “One thing I’ve learned is to be careful when I mention his foot.”

  Selena shot Ruth a swift look. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

  Ruth nodded. “There’s nothing I can do but help with the pain.”

  The passage they were navigating terminated in a sheer wall, forcing Selena and Ruth to turn back. Gravel crunched underfoot as they walked. The air was cool and fresh and smelled of moisture. A patch of moss on the sheer slope at Selena’s side told her they might have luck in their search for water.

  “I know what you mean about the way he reacts,” Selena said.

  “He’s a man,” Ruth said. “He’s proud. He’s had to live with it his whole life, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be reminded that it makes him different.”

  Selena reluctantly nodded, but she still worried that she hadn’t unearthed the full truth. She and Ruth climbed past a split in the ground, where a narrow void deepened to darkness. She didn’t like to think about slipping.

  She was panting by the time she made her way across. “Even if we find water, how will we get it up?”

  “We’ll have to find a new route,” Ruth said, giving Selena a wry look. “And even then we’ll have to make a few trips.”

  Selena poked her head into a shallow cave. She saw a sheen of moisture at the back. It was a good sign, but they still needed to keep looking.

  “What should I do?” she asked as they resumed their explorations.

  “I’m probably not the best person to go to for advice,” Ruth said, her eyes twinkling. She became serious. “Have patience, Selena. Things will change.” She cocked her head, then hurried down another passage. She spoke over her shoulder. “They always do.”

  Selena quickened her footsteps to catch up. “What—?”

  “Wait.” Ruth raised a hand. “Can you hear that?” They were almost shrouded in darkness, entering an area where more moisture glistened on all the walls. “Come on,” she said eagerly.

  The passage became a cave. Selena started when she saw green flecks on the walls, like fiery sparks clinging to the rock but entirely the wrong color.

  Soon she heard the sound of dripping.

  The ground became smooth. Selena and Ruth walked side by side as they plunged into the shadowed interior of a tunnel that burrowed ever deeper into the mountain. Selena was surprised to realize she could see. More of the green slivers dotted the passage, casting a wan glow. The ceiling opened up, now displaying an eerie version of the night sky, except that these stars were the color of the brightest cactuses. The sound of dripping grew louder.

  Selena and Ruth rounded a corner. They both came to a sudden stop.

  They stood at the edge of an immense, circular cavern and gazed around in wonder. Long spears of smooth, glistening stone hung from the ceiling and protruded from the floor. Some of the pillars actually met in the middle, like columns supporting the cavern’s roof. A pool of water spread like a silver blanket, stretching almost from wall to wall. Selena couldn’t see how deep it was, but this was more water than she had ever seen in one place. She moistened her dry mouth. The pool looked cool and inviting.

  “This is incredible,” Selena whispered. Her voice echoed around the interior, bouncing from wall to wall.

  “It’s beautiful,” Ruth said. She smiled when her voice collided with Selena’s.

  Selena’s pack slipped off her shoulder and landed on the ground with a thud. Ruth’s pack followed a moment later. At the same instant both women began to slip out of their clothes. Selena yanked off one boot, then the other, before stepping out of her trousers and pulling her tunic over her head. Ruth beat her to it, and by the time Selena was naked Ruth was stepping into the water.

  The pool was deep enough to reach Ruth’s abdomen. The short-haired woman shivered, but it was a shiver of pleasure. Selena entered the water; it was cold, so she plunged in swiftly until it covered her waist.

  Ruth sank her head under the surface, straightening a moment later and blowing hard. Selena held her breath and copied the move. Cold pinpricks traveled up her skin until all of her hair was submerged. The water tasted sweet on her lips. Rather than stand again, she kept herself down and rubbed her face with her hands, before moving on to her neck and hair. Unable to keep holding her breath, she shot back up and smiled at Ruth.

  Soon the pool didn’t feel so cold anymore. The sensation of so much water surrounding Selena’s body was luxurious. She sank down until she was up to her neck and Ruth did the same thing.

  “We’ve found water.” Selena smiled. “Plenty of it. What now?”

  “It’s still early in the day,” Ruth said. “And we’re not actually that far from camp. I think we can find a better path up, and then we’ll still have time.”

  “For hunting?”

  Ruth nodded. “For hunting.” She gave a wicked grin. “I’m keen to show the men how it’s done.”

  Selena splashed water and
watched as the droplets created ripples in the pool. “Have you ever done something like this before?”

  “Once, with my mother. But the pool we found wasn’t this deep.” Ruth grinned. “And it was muddy.”

  Selena imagined Ruth with her mother. “Do you miss her?” she asked seriously.

  “My mother? Of course I do. My father too. I was young when he never came home. From then on it was just my mother and me.”

  Selena’s voice became wistful. “When I was small I always wished I had parents.”

  Ruth raised an eyebrow. “Only when you were small?”

  “Wishing something can’t make it happen,” Selena said. She waited for the echoes of her voice to fade from overhead. “What I want is to know why. Why did they leave me? Was it something they did easily, or was I taken from them? Who were they? Were they settlers? Rovers? Were they kind people?”

  “Do you think you’ll ever find out?” Ruth asked.

  Selena shook her head sadly. “No.”

  “You never know,” Ruth said. “Do you remember anything at all?”

  “Nothing. The first people who found me said I was lost and alone, on the edge of a desert.”

  Ruth tilted her head. “How many deserts do you think there are in the wasteland?”

  “I’m not sure. Not many.” Selena paused for a moment. “What are you saying?”

  Ruth shrugged. “I’m not saying anything. Just that we’re going to a desert, and we still don’t know what we’re going to find.”

  Taimin, Vance, and Lars lay on their stomachs, slithering toward a skeletal tree at the top of a gentle rise. The tree was tall and broad, with withered branches that spread over the sunburned plain as if trying to provide shade but failing terribly. Brittle twigs and black feathers littered the ground around its trunk.

  It was close to the middle of the day. The crimson sun hovered just above the horizon, easily outshone by the golden sun high above, which sent bright rays to the wasteland to scorch the three hunters. Dozens of lean, brown, leathery raptors clung to the tree’s branches, together with a greater number of small scavenger birds. Wings fluttered as beady black eyes swept the terrain and mocking voices called to one another.

  The hunt had so far met with little success. Taimin and Lars had each shot a skinny lizard, but they would need something more to trade with the skalen living in the mountain. It had taken them a while to get to this place but at least raptors would provide meat, and the birds’ skins could be used for pouches, belts, and cord. Taimin knew that this might be their last attempt to return with something of value. He and his two companions couldn’t venture much farther from the foothills and still make it back before dark.

  One of the raptors shrieked. The bird’s head swiveled and its menacing eyes narrowed as it looked directly at the three hunters crawling toward the tree it called home. Taimin and his two companions ceased their slow slither. They each held their bows out on the ground in front of them and waited. When the raptor’s attention wandered, they began to approach once more.

  Soon Taimin was as close as he could get without startling the birds from the tree. He spoke in a low murmur to Lars and Vance.

  “We can probably fire two arrows before they’ve all flown away. When we move, we move together.” He glanced at Vance. “Understood?”

  Vance nodded, still watching the tree.

  “We should give it a few moments,” Lars said softly. “Let them get used to us being here.”

  “How do you skin a raptor?” Vance glanced at Lars.

  Lars grunted. “With a sharp knife.”

  “You know what I mean. It looks . . . complicated.”

  “I can skin anything,” Lars said. “There’s a knack to it.”

  “Do skalen eat raptor meat?” Vance asked.

  Lars and Taimin exchanged glances. “I hope so,” Taimin said.

  “Mantoreans are the picky eaters,” Lars said firmly. “Skalen definitely eat meat.”

  Vance frowned. “But do they eat raptor meat?”

  “Meat is meat,” Lars said flatly. “And meat is always welcome.”

  “This will be worth the effort,” Taimin said to Vance. “Lars and I traveled with some skalen for a time. We saw them eat.”

  “Interesting choice of words,” Lars said. “We didn’t travel with them, they held us captive.”

  “But what if we’re wro—” Vance began.

  Lars interrupted with an exasperated snort. “Listen, Vance. You don’t skin a firehound before removing its horns. Let’s worry about bringing them down first.”

  “Ready?” Taimin looked at each of his companions in turn.

  “Ready.” Vance nodded.

  “We all rise together,” Taimin said.

  Vance shifted his leg as he prepared to stand and fire. Taimin tried to hiss a warning but wasn’t quick enough and the bare skin of Vance’s ankle brushed over the sharp spikes of a small hermit cactus. Vance stifled a cry as he twitched and grabbed his leg.

  With a series of shrieks, every bird in the tree flew into the sky. Within moments the branches were empty.

  “You fool,” Lars said.

  “They’ll resettle,” said Taimin.

  “While we lie here and burn,” Lars growled.

  Time dragged out. The golden sun’s rays felt like fire, and Taimin found himself licking his dry lips with a parched tongue. He began to dream of the moment when he could drink some water, but for now he couldn’t move until the birds returned.

  “Might as well tell you, lad,” Lars said to Taimin. “I think you’re doing the right thing keeping your distance from Selena. You’ve got a way of finding trouble.”

  Taimin’s eyes narrowed. After some time, he spoke in a low voice. “I didn’t ask your opinion.”

  As always, Lars was unperturbed. “But there you have it.”

  Taimin watched the raptors and smaller scavenger birds settle back to the tree one by one. He clenched his jaw. “My aunt always said a cripple can’t survive long in the waste.”

  Once more there was silence. Taimin didn’t trust himself to look at his two companions, worried that he would see pity in their eyes.

  Then Vance spoke up. “So that’s it?” His tone was fierce. “We could all be killed at any moment. There could be firehounds creeping up on us as we speak.”

  Lars looked reflexively behind him and then glared at Vance.

  “You’re choosing not to be with her,” Vance continued, still focused on Taimin. “You’re turning your back on someone you care about. You may have some knowledge, when it comes to survival. But you can also be a fool.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I want,” Taimin said.

  “Enough,” Lars said. “I’ve got better things to do than lie out here in the heat of the day. Ready?”

  Taimin gave a sharp nod. Vance grunted his assent.

  They stood as one, drew their bowstrings to their cheeks, and let fly.

  11

  With Dex below the horizon, the red sun dominated the sky. The period of false night wouldn’t last, and Taimin glanced up the incline he was climbing, bathed in fading crimson light. He kicked with his good left leg and pulled at the sharp rock with his arms. His right foot still slowed him down, but he was pleased at how much he had recovered.

  He saw a slender, dark-haired figure climbing above him—Selena—and hoped she wasn’t having as difficult a time as he was.

  He paused while wind buffeted him. Then he was forced to look down to find another foothold. He lifted his body up another few feet and reached for an outcrop. He peered up again, and now he couldn’t see Selena at all. Fear stabbed his heart, but then he saw her face pop over the lip of a ledge above.

  “Here,” she said. “Grab hold.”

  Her long coal-black hair blew around her face as she leaned down to offer him a hand. Taimin accepted her firm grip, and she helped him the last distance until he clambered over the ledge and realized he had made it.

  As he recovered,
he saw that he was the last of his companions to reach the broad ledge. Ahead of him a dark opening beckoned; a huge, gaping maw leading into the mountain. It was a relief to be on horizontal ground; at first the ascent had been easy, but the last short stretch had been a struggle. When he climbed to his feet, his back made a sharp crack.

  Taimin joined the others, who stood uncertainly watching the cave mouth as the false night came to an end. The sky shifted color from deep blue to black, and then there were bright stars where there had been nothing before. The crescent moon, dimpled with imprints, provided plenty of light to see by, and now that Taimin was close, he noticed the hole into the mountainside wasn’t irregular at all. It was tall and triangular, its edge carved with decorative leaves and branches. This was undoubtedly the entrance to the mine the mantoreans had mentioned.

  “Do you think they know we’re here?” Vance asked softly.

  Lars snorted. “Course they do.”

  Ruth grabbed Vance’s shoulder and pointed. Taimin saw several small, shadowed figures watching without leaving the darkness. Moonlight reflected from reptilian eyes and glistened on smooth dark skin.

  A moment later, a skalen came forward.

  Taimin was relieved to see that the skalen was unarmed. He wore a copper necklace, a tunic fastened with a leather belt, and tight leather trousers tucked into high boots. He walked with grace, and as his body entered the moonlight his youthful skin rippled. He inspected the group with tilted eyes that were neither friendly nor hostile, and his face was flat, with high cheekbones and a narrow chin. A cluster of brown feathers clung to his scalp.

  Rather than stop in front of the five humans, the skalen continued to the edge of the ledge they had just climbed up. He leaned to peer down at the route they had taken. When he turned, his expression was quizzical. “Why did you not take the path?”

  Vance reddened. “We didn’t know there was one,” he said. Nearby, Ruth’s lips tugged upward in a smile, while Taimin stood with his mouth open.

  “No matter.” The skalen’s tone was amused. “The mountain casts a long shadow. I forget you humans do not see well without bright light.” He came closer and inspected the group. “I assume you intended to come to my home?”