Serpents of the Night (The Darvel Exploratory Systems #5)

Chapter 31

Lori squinted, tears streaming from her eyes as she looked out across the red sand below her from Jathella’s arms. She was more than a little envious of the Seshanamitesh at that moment. While she was uncomfortable, the other females barely looked bothered as they streaked up from the cavern into the evening sky, their eyes apparently adjusting far more quickly to evening sunlight despite living underground. The only sign that they experienced a moment of disorientation was a slight wobble in their flight as they sailed up from the upper mouth of the cave.

Their company was a small one. Aside from Jathella, they only had Buosoa acting as their guard and guide as they winged their way over the endless expanse of red sand beneath them. Their shadows painted deep maroon rolling patterns over the ground as their wings beat a steady rhythm and stretched wide to glide. Lori entertained herself for a time watching the three shadows move, their owners being nearly indistinguishable from each other except for Payeri’s slightly smaller size trailing a short distance close behind them.

Lori craned her neck to peek around Jathella’s arm and squinted back at her maiden at hand. Although the blue webbing of Jathella’s wing obscured much of her vision, she still caught glimpses of the violet female flying with a tranquil steadiness just beyond the reach of the commander’s tail. The spacing was so perfect that she wondered if the flying pattern was one established by not only rank but also social norms that established respectful distances. Now that she really thought about it, she had not seen Seshanamitesh casually touch unless they were mated or of close relation. A careful distance was always maintained which likewise seemed to extend to their habit when flying together that seemed to go beyond the normal “just barely far enough so to not crash into each other” distance in some of the more frightening flying habits of her mates.

If Payeri struggled at all to keep up with their more powerful escort, she wasn’t showing it. She returned Lori’s gaze with a bored expression, and her mouth gaped widely in a yawn before her head turned away to look at something she apparently found more interesting below them.

Well, okay then.

Lori settled back against Jathella with a mental shrug and tried not to dwell on how suffocatingly hot the air was. Even though the smaller sun had already long sunk into the horizon and the larger sun was slowly making its way down beyond the western mountains, the heat was miserable without even a cool breeze to offer relief. Even Jathella’s wings failed to do much beyond simply stirring the hot air around them.

Sighing, she fanned herself with one hand and pulled at her thermal regulatory suit even though it was the only thing really helping her keep relatively cool. It was the wet season, but it looked like they had missed the rain and were left to deal with the remaining heat. She half hoped that it would rain a little at some point during the night just to cool things down a bit more. Although the caverns were uncomfortably cool, she didn’t relish sweltering on the surface either.

At least she didn’t have to start making her way across the desert on foot yet. Jathella had clearly explained the rules to her that morning. Payeri was there as emergency assistance only. She would help only so much as absolute survival demanded but Lori would be responsible for making her way to the Aglatha cave system. Thank the gods that the female had the forethought to pick up the pack that she’d brought from the colony. The emergency provisions, including the light tent, would make surviving a little more humane.

For now, however, she had nothing that was required but to rest and conserve her energy.

“You will need to put on your blinder now,” Jathella murmured. “We did not demand it right away since flying is likely disorientating to someone without wings, but part of the trial demands that the way of return to obscure to you.”

Lori nodded. That made sense. Without complaint, she drew the knotted band up from around her neck and over her eyes before tightening it in place as Jathella’s soft hum of approval settled comfortably within her.

“Is it going to be far?” she whispered.

“Yes.” Jathella was certainly not once to mince words. “It will take you several days to make your way across the sand. You have a quarter turn of the moon to return to the cavern. This gives you an excess of days allowing for more time if needed.”

If she got lost. It did not need to be said but the unspoken words fell between like enormous shards of ice, chilling her.

Lori shivered. She couldn’t get lost in the desert. But she had to ask the thing she dreaded most.

“What if I can’t find my way back?”

Jathella grunted softly. “Among the Seshanamitesh, if a female cannot find her way back, then her maiden hand is commanded to abandon her to her fate at her weakest moment—usually when she is asleep—and will relay the message to her mother nest. Her mother line may choose to find her and return home with her to care for her. For a human...” Her head dropped so that her mouth brushed Lori’s ear, her voice lowering. “Payeri will leave you, and the queen matriarch in turn will see to it that your mates are fed a forbidden drug that can break the pheromone bond as abandoned males, as would be the consequence of any female who mated in defiance outside of her obligations to complete the trial. The queen matriarch gave us this order personally that none among the guard are to look for you. I will not lie. What you are facing is difficult even for Seshanamitesh, but at least being on the surface gives you a chance, whereas completing the trial in the caverns would mean death for you. The queen is merciful in this and giving you a strong chance to complete the trial.”

But if she was to succeed, she would have to do it against all obstacles by herself or die out there. She didn’t even have the option to comm for help from the colony since the comm was taken from her before she left the palace. They had said it was so that she could not comm her mates so that they could find and assist her unlawfully, but it would also ensure that she remained stranded in the desert.

She fidgeted in the commander’s arms. “What is to prevent Payeri from just up and abandoning me at whim?”

“That would not happen. It is a great dishonor and highly punishable by our laws. She would have to take back a token from you as proof to demonstrate that you have given up unless you exceed the allotted time; then, she can return without it. Any suspicion at all is unfavorable. It is not something any maiden at hand would do.”

Lori nodded with relief. That at least settled one worry.

“Rest while you can, Lori, and do not worry needlessly about these things,” Jathella murmured. “We will be arriving at our drop point soon enough.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lori whispered. She would just pretend like the blindfold was a sleep mask at a luxury resort. She hadn’t slept particularly well the night before, anyway. “I could sleep.”

Jathella hummed approvingly but then her song dipped and became more melodic into a soothing crooning that sent waves of drowsy comfort through Lori. Her head slowly grew heavier where it was pillowed against the female. It rolled through her, sinking her deeper and deeper into a sweet oblivion those rose up within her with soft, dark arms drawing her into sleep as her body swayed to the rhythmic movement of the Seshanamitesh’s wings.

She slept peacefully in a dreamless void until the commander fell silent as she suddenly dipped and dropped, dragging Lori abruptly awake as the cool night air whipped across her face. Sand sprayed up in a fine cloud as first Jathella landed, followed by Payeri and lastly Buosoa. Their tails whipped and wings snapped the air rapidly twice as they found their balance. Lori coughed from beneath the gathered material of the TRS pulled up over her mouth and nose as it was designed to do. She blinked rapidly, her tears washing away the grit of sand crusting her eyes and squinted against the early morning light at the females surrounding her.

Releasing her, Jathella set her on her feet and pushed back over the sand with her tail, her head dipping low as Buosoa drew back with her, leaving Lori alone at Payeri’s side.

“This is where we part. We can accompany you no longer, Lori,” Jathella explained. “We will keep watch while you set up your camp and then depart. You are to remain here until the sun sinks down again before you are permitted to begin your return.” The corners of her mouth downturned with concern. “Remain within your tent during the day as much as you can. Even with the protection of your human technology, the suns are an unkind foe. But do not relax your guard at night, for it is full of its own kind of dangers—especially during the wet season when the desert comes alive. It is breeding season for many of Seshana’s creatures, and they will be exceptionally hungry.”

Buosoa snapped her gavo grimly but dug something out of a small bag she carried across her chest and handed what appeared to be a small container to Lori. “Take this. The ointment will keep away the insects that emerge from the ground so that they will not bite you. Also, cover your face with it during the day to protect yourself from the suns.” Her frown grew as she peered thoughtfully at Lori. “Your skin is far more fragile than our scales. The Uralial Nashee asked me to pass along these instructions when she heard of your maiden trial.”

Tucking the small container into her bag, Lori murmured her thanks and set the bag on the ground between her feet as she inspected the sand around them. It was flat enough so that she didn’t have to worry too much about sand blown over her as she would in some parts of the desert where there was nothing but rolling sand dunes for as far as the eye could see. She glanced in Payeri’s direction beneath her lashes, noting that the female had quickly dug out a bowl-like impression in the sand and was reclined comfortably within it, her eyes closed as if Lori didn’t have to set up camp. Perhaps Seshanamitesh didn’t set up camp like humans did, though she had seen her mates do far more than simply carve out a comfortable place to sleep. Regardless, she definitely wasn’t going to expect any help from that quarter.

Lori shrugged and bent down to open her back. It didn’t take her more than a moment to find the small compartment that the light tent was stored in. Packed in a small container about the size of her hand, once initiated it would expand and solidify until deactivated when she was ready to pack up and move on. Holding it away from her body, she headed several feet away from her bag, cognizant of the fact that Jathella’s eyes followed curiously. Once she was certain that she had found a good spot, she pressed the initialize button that began the countdown and set it on the ground before beating a hasty retreat to a safe distance.

Jathella’s head turned as she watched with wide eyes as Lori ran from the box but whirled back around in the next moment with her velkat raised threateningly as a loud whirling sound and shrill pop filled the air. Jathella and Buosoa moved on it with their weapons raised and even Payeri jerked up from her scooped-out bed to stare in horror as Lori’s tent constructed itself. Lori couldn’t help but watch in admiration as it was the first time she’d actually seen the tent in action before, though she’d heard of it often enough. The box didn’t move so much as it seemed to puke out the tent that rapidly seemed to knit itself together and expand as the material was viciously expelled into the air.

She looked over at the other three females with a smile. “That was something else, wasn’t it? Now, who wants to check out the inside with me?”

She wasn’t entirely shocked that no one was eager to take her up on her offer. Sighing, she picked up her pack and warily crept inside with her things, half expecting it to try and eat her the moment it had her. Of course, nothing happened, but Lori figured it would make a good story to tell her children in the future if she ever made it out of the desert.

Not if, when, she chided herself. She wasn’t going to start doubting herself now.