“Shall we descend?” Warrek asked. “I will follow you anywhere, Gahn.”
Including into the bleak darkness of that hole, it seemed. Warrek was a good man – the best of them. I found myselfhoping, both for his sake and for Tilly’s, that they might be meant for one another.
“We cannot seek it out like this,” I told him. Entering its tunnel would be certain death for both of us. We’d be crushed by it instantly. A borog slept curled up in a ball, the vulnerable point of the underside of its throat hidden. I also knew that it would waken if approached. It could sense the minutest vibrations of movement in its tunnels.
Warrek raised his tail in understanding, though he looked warily down at the tunnel again, his grip on his bow tightening. As if he wanted to shoot arrows down into it, as useless as we both knew arrows would be against the rock-hard scales that covered most of its body. I doubted even the advanced weaponry of the new women would affect it.
“For now, we will wait,” I said, thinking rapidly through my plans. “We will send riders out here twice daily to monitor the burrowing and any progress it makes towards our mountain. Are any of the new women currently stationed in neutral territory below the Vrika’s peak?”
The Vrika’s peak was not far from here. I could see it easily, a tall spire with the Vrika’s nest at its peak – the source of its mate visions. The area below the Vrika’s peak was where they had created their settlement when they’d first arrived in the Deep Sky. I did not believe that any of them slept there now, but some of the group returned to that area from time to time.
“No,” Warrek replied, confirming what I’d already thought. “The mated women and their males have taken up residence with Gahn Errok.”
I clenched my fangs together, but the mention of Gahn Errok was not as thorny as it would once have been. Because his mountain was far from these tunnels, and despite the strength of the borog, it lacked speed in its burrowing. Gahn Errok’s mountain would be safe.
Mine would be, too. For now. So long as the burrowing borog did not make its way closer. It had to come up to hunt for food, which created holes that we could track. It could not simply burrow its way all the way to my mountain from here and surprise us.
Another hole was on the other side of the valley, opposite the first I’d noticed. Although, strangely, there was no evidence of disruption between these two holes. No tell-tale path of the borog dragging its heavy body and tail across the valley from one tunnel to another. I stared at the pristine and apparently untouched floor of the valley, puzzling over the logistics of such a thing. Perhaps one hole, or both, had been created a long time ago. Though the borog’s scent was fresh…
“Shall we return, Gahn?”
“Yes,” I said at once. Again, I was struck by the near dizzying need to know of Nazreen’s whereabouts.
Of course, she would be within my mountain still. No new woman was to leave the mountain alone, and now that Valeria and her male Grim were gone, I could not imagine that Nazreen and her friends would have ventured anywhere. I doubted even their own Sea Sand escorts would allow such a thing, let alone my own men.
Not that they would be prisoners in my mountain. As I’d told Nazreen last night, I’d gladly show her anything she wanted to see, so long as it was safe to do so. Any questions she had, I could answer. Anything she longed to gaze upon, I could show her.
Them, I reminded myself firmly as I urged Yeralk back up into the air. There were more new women to impress than just Nazreen. And anything they wanted to see, I would showthem.
7
NASRIN
“Are you coming to get some food?” I asked the lump of furs on the bed that was Fiona. Tilly and I had both risen early and had waited as long as our stomachs could handle. My question was punctuated by a low grumble from my guts.
“No,” Fiona moaned. The lump moved a bit, then stilled once more. “I’m too depressed. I’m just going to waste away here until Dalk comes back.”
“Absolutely not,” Tilly said, planting her hands on her hips. “Whenever I felt ill or listless, my mother would always say, ‘wir müssen lüften!’ We must open the windows and get some fresh air! We have no windows in here. We will need to get our fresh air outside. So you have to get out of bed.”
“I can’t,” Fiona mumbled. “I’ll stick with my gross, stale air, thanks.”
“Maybe we should give her today,” I said quietly to Tilly. At this rate we’d probably have to drag Fiona out of the bed and carry her to breakfast ourselves. Though I had to admit that Tilly had a rather determined glint in her eye right about now, andvery much looked up to the task. “Maybe we can make herlüftentomorrow, or whatever it is you just said.”
“It is not good to wallow,” Tilly said, not unkindly. “And Dalk would want you to eat properly while he is gone!”
“I’m not hungry,” said the lump.
“Meanwhile, I very much am,” I said, trying not to whine. Tilly and I had been up for hours already. “How about we bring you some food, Fiona? And then maybe we can see about getting you out of bed later.”
Both my friends agreed to this – Fiona gratefully, Tilly grudgingly. Tilly and I left the cave and entered the next one, shared by Oxriel and Zoren. As I walked, I inwardly sighed at the damp feeling of my underwear beneath my trousers. I’d hand-washed them last night, but they hadn’t dried completely. We’d have to sort out our clothing situation if we were going to stay here for a whole week. With Valeria’s shuttle gone for now, there was no chance of scrounging up any spare items of clothing from whatever she had in storage. Plus, most of the stuff she had was sized for her tall frame.
Luckily, Zaria and the others had agreed to help us make some clothing while we were here. Tilly used to make clothing for herself back on Earth, and I at least knew how to mend seams and make simple alterations. I hoped Zaria would still be in the main hall when we got there, and resolved to ask her if we could get started today if she was.
“Greetings, Tilly! Nazreen!” Oxriel said, beaming when he saw us. Zoren grunted a quiet hello as well.
“Good morning, you two,” I said, smiling at them. I had a soft spot for both of them. They were good guys. “Did you sleep well?”
“Very well, thank you!” Oxriel said with satisfaction. “I think Dalk’s absence contributed to my most excellent slumber!”
