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

Chapter 40

Lori squinted as she stepped outside. The sunlight still hurt her eyes a little after being in the shinara so long, but it was steadily getting better as her body recovered. She drew in a deep breath and smiled for what felt like the first time in days. She hadn’t had a reason to smile since she had been forcibly separated from her mates by Queen Zathexa’s orders, but it was hard not to with the smell of growing things and the perfume of flowers blooming, mingling with the faint scent of water in the air. Tipping her head back, she shielded her eyes to look up at the large, emerald green voosheth flying overhead, its neck sack expanded fully as a sing-song trilling filled the air.

Sara walked over to her side and smiled as she also glanced up at it before looking over at Lori. “Amazing, aren’t they?”

“I’ve seen something similar, but in the deep caverns near the shinara they are much smaller and of a duller color,” Lori admittedly as she dropped her hand and looked over at her.

“Really?” Sara’s eyebrows rose with interest. “I didn’t realize that life forms were so diversified across the planet. I always assumed that the deserts were barren of life outside of the monstrosities that dwell below the sand and patches of flowers in the spring. I never imagined how Seshanamitesh could live so deep underground in such a place.

Lori shrugged. Most humans thought that. Even at the colony there were many who believed that the Seshanamitesh should be grateful to escape the caverns and join them there without realizing that they were mostly doing that to benefit their mates.

“The caverns have their own beauty. I never did get to see the underground pools that Kehtal wished to take me to, nor did I see the gardens in the upper caverns close to the surface that benefited from the channels that let in sunlight and air so that the plants grow with the help of the condensation that collects there. But,” she said slowly, “I have seen a room filled with blooming galthie flowers, glowing beautifully and filling a cavern with light. I have seen the golden, giant dishana flowers spilling their luminous pollen everywhere during the festival, The Blooming. I have seen glowing crystal lanterns set up high, so that the vivid purple hue of the stonework of the shinara can be seen. And all kinds of lifeforms fill the shinara, much of which I’ve only heard of.” She shook her head. “It’s a different world down there but it’s not barren or dead.”

“Sounds beautiful,” Sara murmured, her brown gaze fixed on her.

Lori nodded distractedly, her thoughts drifting to her males. Were they still waiting for her or had their fate together changed entirely since Payeri returned to the shinara without her? Her heart squeezed painfully, tears springing to her eyes as she imagined Daskh and Kehtal exiled once more to the upper caverns to live out their lonely lives, and Slengral—he would be mated by his mother’s decree and ensnared by another female’s pheromones and song. Perhaps he was already reclined rapturously with his new mate among the cushions of their nest within the palace, his memories of Lori fading away more each day.

A wet path tracked down her cheek, and she swiped at it as she drew in a ragged breath, blinking rapidly to stem the tears.

“You miss your mate, don’t you?” Sara peered at her sympathetically. “If you don’t mind me asking—where is he? Seshanamitesh never abandon their mates.”

Lori rubbed her face and nodded. “They don’t,” she agreed in a watery voice. “But my mates... I was deceived and they were stolen from me.”

“Mates,” Sara echoed. “As in more than one?”

A weak laugh erupted from Lori at the other woman’s startled turn of phrase. It took her back to her first days back at the colony when the women there realized that mating an alien meant the potential of having multiple males to protect and love them.

“Three,” she whispered. “Kehtal, Daskh, and Slengral. They were so excited for our family growing.” She rubbed her hand over her belly where her nestling moved, sending gentle bubbles through her middle.

Sara whistled. “Damn, that is a lot of Seshanamitesh.” She chuckled softly, setting her hand beside Lori’s on her belly. “Among the Vehal, I don’t think anyone would even imagine having more than one mate. They are utterly devoted to each other. I didn’t think it would be so different in the shinaras below the ground than it is in the naras of the mountains.”

“It is a little different here,” Lori said slowly, her gaze drifting to a pair of Seshanamitesh. Seeing the size comparison of males and females of Zirnara had come as something of a shock. Unlike those of the caverns, the Vehals were evenly matched in size, the males being fuller and healthier in appearance than many of those having weakness bred into them that she had seen in the Aglatha. She tipped her head to them. “The males are smaller there and are mostly dependent on the females who take them as mates. Those who are unmated and of undesirable size and appearance are exiled to the upper caverns to hunt and provide in other ways for the shinara. As a result, when they came across humans, our small size and fragility worried many of the males enough that they started forming family groups with other males to protect their mates within the caverns. Something which even continues at Raza,” she admitted with a small smile. “I think the deserts immediately around Raza are enough to encourage the practice in their minds.”

“I see,” Sara chuckled. Sighing, she put her hands on her hips and stretched her back. “Colony Alpha is likewise in the desert but close enough to the mountain range that the Vehal were the first that we came into contact with.” She gave Lori a pointed look. “They defend their mountains quite fiercely, so that not even Colony Alpha has any idea of how different Seshana is at this altitude. Even drones sent to observe the area are quickly and ruthlessly brought down. And thankfully, due to the strange atmospheric conditions, much of the mountains are concealed in fog, hiding everything here away from view.” She turned to Lori and grasped her hand. “It is also why the laws are as they are here. We know that the colonies are still in communication with Darvel, some of them even feeling a loyalty to the Corp despite being left here to live or die however they managed. We do not want our mountains invaded to feed greed or even people wishing to steal to take what belongs to the Vehal.”

Lori frowned but didn’t object. It made sense that they would expend so much effort to protect their homes.

“This is a good place, Lori,” Sara continued, as she looped her arm with Lori’s and began walking with her along the simple road comprised of packed earth and stone through the small town. “Although there are larger cities, the naras of the Vehal, small outposts like Zirnara are what I prefer. Life is quiet here. And the Vehal—while they had problems earlier in their history when so many of the females went below ground, they have grown over the generations to be a healthy and balanced society. And the humans who live here are treated with the same equal respect as anyone else. It is a good life. The community is close-knit, and there is plenty for everyone here since the entire community cooperates to take care of each other. Even our offspring are raised together with love and attention from all the adults of the community.”

“It does seem peaceful,” Lori agreed as her eyes lifted to dark trees with veins of lavender running through the bark.

They had to be what the wooden structures of the houses were made out of. Although there was considerable stone working like what she saw in the shinara, wood seemed to dominate when it came to personal homes to a degree that everyone in the colony would be jealous of. Fragrant flowers grew in thick clumps and on heavily laden vines and bushes that grew in lush masses between the trees. Voosheths sang from where they were perched in the trees and along the village walls, throats expanding and trembling with their warbling chirps that sounded eerily like bird song coming from the winged reptiles. The hum of various insects droned, their bodies and wings were splashes of color in the air as they darted from the mists of the mountain forests over the village clearing. Nestlings giggled and took to the air after them, their wings beating rapidly to carry their small bodies sinuously after them at neck-breaking speeds.

Lori stared after them in concern, but Sara giggled. “Don’t worry, though they may put on an act for sympathy like any other child, they are by far hardier and less fragile than children of our species. The Vehal evolved differently, I think, than those of the caverns who have had to compete for resources for generations,” Sara said, as they lingered near a group of males and females working cooperatively to repair and sharpen the velkats. Song rippled between them as couples sang together, their bodies pressed closely as they worked. Sara smiled and waved as a female looked up and grinned over at them, her hand lifting in a greeting that they returned. “But obviously, I really cannot do an accurate comparative analysis considering the relationship between the two offshoots. But among the Vehal, the nestlings seem nearly indestructible, which is a good thing since they are quite mischievous, as well as being too curious and adventurous for their own good and disaster-prone. So, there is no need to worry too much in most cases.”

Nodding in relief, Lori allowed herself to be walked through the village as Sara continued to talk her ear off. Lori didn’t mind. This had quickly fallen into a norm for them and as long as Lori didn’t bring up the comm, she had an eager companion at her side. Sara had been eager to help her become accustomed to the daily life of Zirnara and the environment of Zir mountain.

Now that she thought of it, it was strange that a plush that was so green and lush had no visible rivers though occasionally she would hear the trickling sound of tiny streams beneath the rocks. She had quickly come to discover that the groundwater and the mist satisfied the needs of both the Vehals and the wildlife on the mountain. There was almost a carefully maintained symbiotic relationship that she was seeing taking shape for maintaining a balance with their resources. But it was not without its technology. Although there were some familiar things that she recognized from the shinara, there was also quite a bit of solar-chargeable human tech readily available that had to have come with the human women living there from their respective colonies.

And there were a number of human women. Although there were no huge population disparities as there was in the shinara between males and females, there had to be at least a dozen females there living peacefully among them with their mates. They gossiped with the other villagers as they worked together, the nestlings weaving and fluttering around them. Over fire-pits situated just outside of the village on open rock, various animals were spit and roasting, their fragrance lifting into the air as smaller fires maintained inside the village center were utilized to cook other food. Lori’s stomach rumbled at the tantalizing scents and Sara hugged her arm companionably.

“It is a good place,” Lori agreed quietly. “I wish my mates could see it.”

“Perhaps soon they will. If they are like the Vehal, they won’t leave you here,” Sara assured her as she gave her arm a squeeze and they continued walking.

Sadly, as they days wore on, Lori feared that her mates would have no choice.