Serpents of the Abyss (The Darvel Exploratory Systems #2) Page 12

  She wondered what the likelihood was of encountering galthie if she managed to feel her way out. She didn’t remember seeing any as she fell, but she hadn’t seen much of anything in the dark. Although Eddie made mention of glowing plants, she hadn’t seen anything of the like clinging to the shaft or in the tunnel where they were stationed.

  Slengral had clearly intentionally gathered and planted them strategically in his home. There were fewer in the bedroom, just enough to provide a comfortable glow, with the brightest areas being in the bathing room and the main room of the nest. She had hoped to find another room filled with galthie so that she could look around with some kind of reliable light.

  Lori wandered over to the wall covered with blooming clusters of plants and lightly ran her fingers through the thick growth. The clusters were almost moss-like and yet comprised of many spindly plant fibers. She was dismayed when one caught around her pinky finger, tearing away a small segment of leaves and one tiny bloom with the passage of her hand. She didn’t even realize that it ripped away from the wall until she lifted her hand away and caught sight of the glowing galthie dripping from her knuckle.

  To her surprise, it didn’t immediately dim. The pleasant glow continued.

  Sinking down on a nearby bench, Lori held her hand up and observed the little trumpet-shaped flower and arrow-shaped leaves glowing in pink threaded with yellow. Staring at it, she waited for what felt a good twenty minutes without any change. Eventually, tired of holding her arm, she carefully unwound it from her finger and set it on the low table in front of her.

  She marveled as it held up for what had to be another hour, if she wasn’t mistaken. It hadn’t even begun to fade when Lori jumped to her feet later, hatching a plan.

  She wasn’t so foolish to think she could climb completely out of the cave armed with flowers, but perhaps she could use them to go a little way. She could at the very least make a quick trip to the shaft, and maybe a bit further, if possible, to take a peek at the damage.

  Excited, she pulled on her uniform, not bothering with the tight TRS, and began to pluck glowing clusters from the wall, never taking more than a very small amount from any one spot. Her excitement continued to build as the glowing bouquet gradually increased in size. It made the strangest sort of handheld utility light, but it was passable. As long as she could see well enough to not accidentally take a dive into any crevices or slip off the edge of the tunnel, it was good enough for her.

  Smiling at her own ingenuity, she headed for the narrow entrance. Taking one last look back at the flower on the table and noting that it was just starting to dim, Lori made a mental note to not go very far. She had about forty-five minutes of visibility before the light would begin to wane. She didn’t want to get caught out there when that happened.

  Humming a song popular on Earth when she left, Lori turned sideways to make it around the sharp bend at the entrance and ducked out into the tunnel. She immediately shivered as a cool blast of air from the shaft surrounded her. Slengral’s nest was so comfortably warm from the hot spring that she hadn’t even considered just how cold the rest of the cave was without her TRS. It cut right through her uniform.

  She briefly considered going back inside to get it but shook her head. She didn’t want to waste the time that she had available from the flowers she picked. Sure, she could always pick more but she didn’t want to literally tear apart Slengral’s cave. It would just have to do. She wasn’t sure just how difficult the galthie was to acquire.

  Armed with enough light to bring the visibility level to late evening, Lori struck out down the tunnel. Able to see where she was going this time around, she made much better time heading toward the shaft than she had stumbling in. Even with her light, however, she almost managed to run right off the wide ledge that jutted out from the end. At its angle, and in the glow of the galthie, it had appeared to continue stretching on beyond the mouth of the tunnel. Assuming was entirely her mistake.

  Swallowing a shout as her foot slipped off the end, she kicked her leg back clumsily, her breath sputtering out of her in relief when the heel of her boot found purchase on the edge. There was a dangerous teetering moment, but it was just enough that she was able to scrabble back. And she managed to retain a hold on her light source.

  Her heart thumping so hard that it threatened to evacuate from her chest, Lori stared down into the shaft before turning her head up. She lifted her arm and waved it in front of her uselessly. Disappointment filled her as her eyes scanned that empty darkness. She should have realized that however impressive her light was, it wouldn’t be enough to penetrate the darkness of the shaft. She sighed. In retrospect, she recalled that not even her helmet’s lights had the ability to see more of the shaft than the nearest wall as the elevator ascended.

  “Well, crap,” she muttered, dropping her hand to her side where she began to tap the luminous bunch against her leg. “What now?” she asked herself. Dropping her head back, she rolled her neck to release some tension and sighed. “I guess there’s nothing to do but go back.”

  As silly as it felt talking to herself aloud, having some sort of sound to cut through the vast silence surrounding her was a relief.

  Stepping back from the ledge, she paused. A soft slapping sound that reminded her of all the times her mother would shake out clean sheets, the fabric snapping with soft whomps, filled her ears coming from above. It didn’t last for more than a minute when a strange skittering sound and the slide of rocks echoed up from just below her.

  Lori froze. It came again. With the way everything seemed to echo in the shaft, she couldn’t even tell how close it was. Everything sounded like it was bigger and right on top of her.

  Her breath coming out in pants, she lifted the galthie so their light met the tunnel edge. Something round seemed to push out from the dark there, and then a long, gray insectoid claw rose up from the void and drove down against the ledge. Lori leaped back, a startled scream dying as her throat seemed close with terror. More claws joined the first until the enormous bulk lifted higher until a flat black head with three rows of serrated pincers lifted up into view.

  This time, Lori actually screamed as she staggered away. It lifted its heft higher, becoming more visible in the soft glow of her bouquet as the creature pulled its disgusting body onto the ledge.

  Possessing what looked like a dozen or more dark legs, its bulbous body that extended behind its head was swollen like an enormous tick. It let out a grinding sound with the rapid click of its pincers, its head diving down at her.

  Reacting instinctively, Lori dove out of the way with a shriek that seemed to echo everywhere at once. Her pulse hammered in her ears in great whooshing beats. The thing drew back, an airy hiss escaping like steam escaping a valve, and then dropped as a large, dark wing descended upon it with an inhuman shriek from her nightmares.

  Lori screamed again, the sound echoing all around them, but the creature did not attack her. Instead, a flash of metal appeared in the glow of the galthie scattered over the cavern floor as a metallic point rose and streaked down, burrowing into the monster’s head. Glowing ruby eyes lifted to her, and there was a double beat—wings—and a jerking motion as something was pulled free of the head now lying prone before her. With its death, its claws curled in against its body from the lack of blood pressure, a dark mucusy slime escaping the shell of its exoskeleton. The thing that killed it, the thing that sounded like the creature that attacked the colony, moved closer.

  Breath hitching with a wave of panic, she shot back away from it, her head shaking in denial. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do herself the mercy of just passing out before it attacked her or if she wanted to try and flee. Beneath the screaming in her mind, something tried to surface, but all she could feel and see was the terror of that night.

  Something dark flickered in the light of the galthie, something familiar, and then a sharply sculpted face emerged from the shadows, Slengral’s red eyes slitting at her furiously.

  Sle
ngral.

  She would have dropped forward to her knees with relief were it not for his hand shooting out to grab ahold of her. It was Slengral, thank the gods. The amplified beat of her heart had to have merged with the sounds of his wings as he descended. He had saved her.

  A choked whimper slipped from her, and he moved forward quickly, only glancing down at the insectoid creature lodged beneath his coils as he dragged her away. Chitin crunched beneath what had to be a massive weight from his tail, he dropped completely off of it onto the ledge in front of her. She didn’t miss that the tip of his tail purposely knocked the flowers away, but she was able to see him clear enough with his gavo shooting upright and the dim light of the galthie as he pulled her into the tunnel.

  “What are you doing?” he snarled. “You could have been killed! Galthie flowers lure zarkulths. They are not to leave the nest, and neither are you. You are to never go out of the nest alone again!”

  She stared up at him as she shivered with shock and watched as he stared back down at her, his expression shifting from anger to concern. In an instant, his large body was all that she could see, and then she was plucked up into a pair of strong arms.

  “You are cold, ashlava,” he murmured, his voice calm and soothing. “So delicate. Back inside with you. I have you.”

  He cuddled her against a broad, scaly chest, his wings folding behind him as he slipped silently through the tunnel.

  It should have freaked her out all the more, but instead Lori sank against him, her whole body shivering. He had fucking saved her. That had to be worth some kind of trust.

  Chapter 16

  Returning from his hunt to see the giant zarkulth attacking his mate was one of the most terrifying things he ever experienced, immediately followed by one of his most infuriating moments. Never would he have believed that she would leave the safety of the nest. She was defenseless! The fury that had filled him at her recklessness, however, had melted away completely at the sight of her vulnerable terror. She had received a good scare from the zarkulth, and he could not bring himself to chastise her further. Not then.

  For two waking cycles, he did not leave his mate’s side. It was a good thing that he had brought plenty of meat and a fresh supply of fruit down to last them and had managed not to drop anything when he had been forced to drop at such speed onto the zarkulth. They would have been quite hungry, and he would have been forced to part with her to obtain more food before they were ready to be parted. He was fortunate that everything worked out well in that regard; there had been no way to avoid the risk. Dropping down with enough speed was the only way to generate enough force to pierce through their tough exoskeletons. A Seshanamitesh caught on the ground and alone by such a creature was easily slaughtered. His human would have suffered the same fate.

  Not one among his people would have faulted him that he abandoned all other thoughts and tasks other than his need to cling to her side. Not with that terror looping through his mind, returning the frightful image of his mate backing away from the creature. It was reasonable that he could not bring himself to leave her. That his mate was also becoming more comfortable in his presence with their extended time together was an unexpected benefit.

  He was starting to enjoy her company. And not just out of the hunger of wanting a mate and determination to keep her. Actually, it made him all the more determined.

  He liked her songs too. She did not hum like a Seshanamitesh with multi-tonal notes shifting as they rose and lowered in pitch. Instead, they varied so much in rhythm, pitch, and arrangement—something she called a melody—that he was captivated.

  Was this fashion of singing common to her species?

  He decided that he did not care. Even if he found a human more accomplished than his Lori, he was certain that he would refuse any other for her. She was inquisitive and intelligent. More than once, she made him laugh at some her observations, even if he did not truly understand half of them. He also admired her inner strength as she fought against her fears and was filled with compassion and protective impulses when she needed to be weak. He wanted to be the one to care for her. Even though she was frighteningly fragile and vulnerable physically when compared to Seshanamitesh, he decided that too was perfectly fine. He would protect her.

  Smiling to himself, Slengral threaded the twisted grass slowly as his mate peered over his shoulder.

  Lori shook her head. “Okay, my mother would follow this just fine, but honestly I don’t even get how that’s staying in place.”

  He grinned over at her and lightly flexed the two claws holding the frame taut. “Pressure. Keep everything tight, and when you are finished it will hold itself together,” he assured her.

  She narrowed her eyes and watched him for several minutes while he made a second pass, this time weaving in a pale grass. Most of the grasses he collected and stored during the rainy season where they would sprout up in big clusters near the rocks, but the white ones only grew around a deep cavernous lake. Like galthie, they glowed, but what made them special was that if light hit them just right, they shone with beauty.

  Very gently he tipped it, allowing the material to catch on the glow of his gavo as he slowly expanded them. A silvery light shot through them and sparkled.

  Lori gasped. “That’s beautiful!”

  His crests fanned with pride. “I am a hunter, but I also do this. Other males, and many in the shinara too, covet my work. I get good trades for them,” he added.

  “I can only imagine,” she said softly. “You have a true skill with it. I can imagine that a lot of people in the Alliance would want one.”

  He shot her a curious look, uncertain if she was speaking truthfully.

  “Really!” She grinned. “There’s a healthy appreciation for these kinds of skills because so few have the ability to do it themselves and everything is made by machine now.”

  He inclined his head in understanding. The shinara had its own machinery and comforts that made their lives easy, but few possessed such skills.

  “My mother is a weaver,” she confided, drawing his attention immediately back to her. “Her works were highly sought by those who were willing to pay well. She specialized in silk more than anything and never lacked in customers. She would have loved to be doing this more than anything I think—once she got over being around you, that is,” she finished with a laugh.

  Slengral hummed, pleased with the thought that his mate’s mother would have seen worth in him. He took no offense to his mate admitting that her mother would be afraid of him. This was natural. So was the sad note in her voice that told him she was far from them. It was a melancholy he felt at times when he recalled his youth with his mother until the shinara forced separation. Most females give over their juvenile offspring easily, content to let them join with the unmated males and learn to become hunters. His mother was not such a female. She put up a fight and, in the end, had to be restrained while he was delivered to his father.

  Pushing sad memories aside, he flicked his tail playfully against her strange, bare foot, enjoying the squeal of laughter she gave.

  “I am very frightening,” he agreed, tucking the fiber tightly in place so he could set it down to curl his arms around his female. “A very large and impressive hunter.” He wrapped his arms around her to hold her in place while he continued to torment her with his tail.

  His mate choked out a laugh, her bare feet kicking out, her bare breasts bobbing in a way that caught his eye. Once she explained what they were, he had become even more intrigued by them and desired to play with their softness.

  His eyes fastened to the soft mounds, wanting to drag his tongues over the tips to see what reaction he might get. He was so terribly tempted. Her laughter died and she cleared her throat, drawing his gaze reluctantly from the flesh.

  “I know you have this no covering things you prefer, and it’s not cold so I really haven’t objected strongly to it as of yet, but this is really making me uncomfortable,” she admitted softly.

/>   Slengral winced. It was rude even by Seshanamitesh standards. A female would beat him—or rather ask a mated female to have her mate beat him in her place—for staring so intently beyond what passed as polite admiration without an invitation.

  While he had felt a necessity to reassure himself of the matter with Lori when they met, now he was feeling objections from his conscience that his mate was so uncomfortable. With her thin skin, she suffered discomfort more readily than his kind. Even in the warmth of the nest, she still occasionally shivered. Her insight regarding her mother indicated that the female’s skill with coverings suggested that humans preferred such things.

  And he did want his Lori to be happy.

  He released an unhappy sigh. “You may cover yourself so you are more comfortable,” he offered.

  She slanted him an unreadable look. “Really?”

  He gave her a pained look. “Yes,” he growled.

  A blindingly beautiful smile that rivaled the suns spread across her face as she flung her arms around him, her soft, bare breasts and belly pressing against his abdomen. They both stilled in surprise, and she slowly drew back, meeting his eyes as color washed up brightly into her cheeks.

  “Sorry, I was just showing my appreciation,” she said quickly.

  Slengral liked this appreciation.

  Cheeks deepening into a brighter red, Lori pulled away and picked up another twisted rope of grass.

  “Show me again how to start.” A wobbling inflection in her voice betrayed her nervousness and desire to him. As alien as she was the vibrations in the voice revealed so much in common.

  With an inward smile Slengral slid closer, closing his hands lightly over hers.

  “Like this,” he murmured.

  His wings nearest to her opened wide, curling around her as he guided her through the motions. Her fingers were as clumsy as any beginner, but they were small and nimble. As they worked, the weave became tighter and evener as her confidence grew. From the corner of his eye, he watched the delight grow in her expression and his heart warmed.