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Although to be fair, the human inhabitants are at least as much to blame for that.
Olari looks up from where he’s standing near a row of terrariums with two other students I recognize from Alek’s sketches and my own furtive observations. He dips his head to me in acknowledgment.
Several other students glance over from their places amid the tanks and tables to take in the newcomer. Some I recognize as other likely conspirators. The others are probably innocent dupes who think this organization really is just about an interest in insect life.
And then, naturally, there’s our valiant leader, Ster. Torstem.
The law professor strides over and beckons me farther into the room. “Ivy of Nikodi. I heard you’d expressed an interest in joining our little cabal here.” He chuckles lightly as if “cabal” isn’t actually a more accurate word to describe what he’s been running than “club.”
He told me exactly how to reply, even if he doesn’t realize I know he was the one giving the instructions.
I offer an ingratiating smile. “I’ve always been curious about the smallest of our world’s creatures. I heard you’ve collected several rare specimens.”
“Indeed we have! Come in, come in. Let me show you a few that we’re particularly proud of.”
He sets his hand on my shoulder to guide me forward. In the back of my head, Julita’s presence shudders the way I wish I could.
I don’t approve of King Konram assigning you to be a murderer,she mutters,but if you have to murdersomeone, I can’t say I mind it being this slimy traitor.
I can’t help but share her sentiment.
Ster. Torstem points out a pair of beetles with iridescent shells that change color depending on the angle of the light, a moth that looks identical to the leaves on the branch in its enclosure, and a ruddy-shelled centipede as thick as my thumb and twice as long. I gamely ooh and aah over them while sending silent thanks to Creaden for the thick construction of the habitats’ walls.
I wouldn’t say I’m particularly squeamish after my years living on the streets, but if that last creature scrambled its many legs up my arm, I think I might scream.
Torstem introduces me to the other club members in attendance, focusing on Olari’s trio and the others whose names I’m familiar with.
“I believe you’ll be with our fields group to start,” he says in a casually authoritative tone. “It’s too unwieldly for all of us to make our expeditions together, so we’ve divided into fields and forests, switching things up halfway through the year. Luckily for you, we have a fields expedition coming up in just a couple of nights, if you’re able to join us. It’s right before break-day, so it shouldn’t interfere with your assistant position.”
A couple of nights?
A chill sweeps through my body, but I keep my smile plastered in place. “I’m sure I can arrange that. I’ll look forward to the trip.”
In just two days, I’m supposed to kill this man.
Torstem simply smiles back, oblivious to my true intentions. “Wonderful. You’ll be a welcome addition to our team.”
Even if my head is whirling, I’m supposed to make a show of having a real interest in the club. I wander along the shelves of tanks, watching the various insects navigate their manufactured habitats. I can’t shake the feeling that the walls have closed in on me as tightly as those surrounding the bug club’s many tiny prisoners.
At one table, a couple of the members who must be from the forests group are adding soil to the base of a large, open-topped terrarium. I gravitate toward them. It might be nice to talk to someone who isn’t scheming to topple civilization as we know it.
“What are you setting this one up for?” I ask.
The guy pats down the soil around a small metal trough with pebbles along the bottom. “We’re hoping to find a glowdid on our next trip out. They only show themselves for a few weeks during the early summer. The club’s never had one before.”
“They’re awfully quick too,” explains the woman next to him. “And of course we don’t want to harm the one we catch.”
“I think we have a good chance.” The guy brushes his fingers over the small shrub planted at one end of the tank. “Glowdids only eat pilmetta leaves, and it’s notoriously difficult to grow them inside. But we’ve gotten this one to thrive. Prospira must support our quest.”
The woman sketches her fingers down her front in the gesture of the divinities. “I think we should take it as a sign of approval. Maybe not of catching one, but of our overall goal, at least.”
A quiver of sharper alertness runs through my nerves. Those words echo back to something Petra said.
I cock my head. “Your overall goal?”
The woman nods enthusiastically. “We’d like to catch a couple of glowdids in order to study and even breed them. But the most important part is simply observing them and getting a better understanding of their behavior, even if it’s only in their normal environment. Their numbers have been dwindling lately. We’d like to find a way to help their population stay healthy and secure.”
Different methods to achieve the same goal. Another quiver races straight down the middle of me. “That makes sense. I hope you can manage it.”
