Page 16 of Serpents of the Night

The male floundered for a moment in the air, his wings working awkwardly as he managed to steady himself in the air. Daskh grimaced. It was no wonder the male was struggling. Despite his beautiful coloring, his wings were clearly stunted from his pedigree. Such a thing didn’t matter to females who wished to have a docile mate waiting for them in their nests since hunters in the upper caverns supplied all provisions of meat, but the sight made him feel sorry for the male.

“You will not punish me?” Mareesh asked uncertainly.

“No,” Daskh grunted as he craned his head back to gaze up at the entrance to his nest. It was not far. Even Mareesh would have made the climb with his scrawny wings despite his difficulty.

The male hesitated. “My mate will punish me.”

That was likely. Daskh sighed heavily, hating that he felt so sympathetic for the youth. His head lowering, he met the male’s gaze evenly. “Tell her that I accosted you and forced the truth from you. Place the weight of blame on my wings. I can bear it. Now, return to your nest, Mareesh. And be quick. There are other things that hunt in the deep caverns other than Seshanamitesh.”

Mareesh paused and glanced around in search of the great cavern worm. “Y...y... yes, I will do that. Thank you.”

With a rapid and painfully awkward flutter of his wings, the male launched away from him. His small body rising and dipping in the air as his wings struggled to support him. Daskh silently watched him go until he disappeared from sight. Only then, assured that the male was truly gone, did he rise rapidly through the air with a powerful stroke of his wings. As he flew back to the tunnel, his mind remained fixed on Mareesh. The females destroyed good males due to olfactory defects, and yet their selective breeding was proving to be an even greater detriment. How much longer could the shinara last before the population collapsed altogether?

Although he had no love for the shinara, this weighed heavily on his mind and followed him into his nest. First a sickness that took away the heir and likely many other females, but also this? How much trouble was the Aglatha shinara in?

And did he dare mention it to Slengral?

He knew his nest brother would not abandon his mate no matter how desperate the situation was within the deep caverns, but he would not be unaffected. As much as Slengral claimed no love for the shinara or the Seshanamitesh of the Aglatha, Daskh knew that he would be unable to abandon the shinara altogether now.

Just more trouble.

Shaking his head wearily, Daskh ventured deeper into the nest. He would see what treats he could make from the stocked supplies. It always made him feel happier in spirit to see his little mate enjoying the things he made with his own hands.

Chapter 13

Lori gazed around in wonder from beneath Slengral’s wing. Lanterns were stacked on tall poles for five levels, lining up with the walls of shops that rose above her, each with their own broad perching ledge for Seshanamitesh shoppers. She was at a bit of a disadvantage since she lacked a pair of wings, but she found herself thoroughly enjoying the sights as she looked around curiously, drawn in by the sights and beauty of the Daliska Market. Each of the lanterns carried a blue or pink crystal within its heart that glowed beautifully, casting brilliant splashes of light off the dark stones and creating a sort of fairy wonderland of the marketplace. And, for once, it was bright enough with all of the glowing crystal lanterns that she was able to pull her goggles from her face and look around unencumbered.

“This place is incredible. And you say that it’s only open for two hours?”

“Roughly,” Daskh agreed from behind her. “Although the depths of the Aglatha protect us from the worst of the daytime heat on the surface, the coolest hours of the night are those in which the Daliska Market is open.”

“It seems like a lot of effort for so little time,” she observed as she scanned her surroundings in awe.

The market was bursting with activity as Seshanamitesh emerged from all parts of the shinara to descend upon it, winging their way from one shop or vendor to the next. Amid the bustle, no one seemed to really notice that there was a human walking among or beneath them. Either word had spread that quickly, or they were too focused on taking advantage of the short market time to pay much attention to her presence there.

Or perhaps it was a little of both.

“It is different in the wet season,” Slengral murmured as he glanced back at Daskh. “The shops will be open for a longer period of four or five hours as the heat of midday takes longer to set in and recedes quicker. We will have plenty of time to get everything we need.”

“Ah,” the other male rumbled. “I had forgotten. This is good since the small male’s instructions were not clear.”

Lori’s mouth tightened as her anger resurfaced. She knew that she didn’t have anything to worry about with her mates, but between the party and Queen Zathexa’s obvious attempts to test their mating bond and find a more “suitable” mate for her son, Vekatha’s emissary didn’t improve her mood any. That her mate had reacted with a dismissive rattle in his throat with disdain as if it were completely laughable had helped cool her anger a little, but she couldn’t quite help being annoyed at the whole thing all over again. Drawing on a deep breath, she refocused and smiled in spite of herself as a delicious, savory scent hit her nose.

Focus!

“What are we here for again?” she asked distractedly.

“Waga berries and cooling herbs,” Kehtal gently reminded her, his gavo popping lightly with his amusement. His gaze lifted the tier of shops just above them. “It is a pity that an Uralial trader does not venture into Raza colony. Your human flesh is far too sensitive to the heat and dry air.”

Lori nodded in agreement. There was a lot that the colony needed, and proper moisturizers were something that half of the women were complaining about since supply ships from Earth were infrequent and the colony’s trade with their mother planet did not include much in the way of luxury goods. Of course, a number of the men stationed there considered lotions luxury goods, enough to steer the vote to not including them except every fifth shipment. A local supplier would be more than welcome. Unfortunately, if word had gotten to the Uralial of the colony’s presence they weren’t making any effort to make themselves known or open trade.

“Seshanamitesh do not make it?”

Kehtal dipped his chin and then promptly shook his head in the human fashion as he gave her a small smile. “Only the Uralial. The berries grow in the watery caverns of their territories. Sometimes they are found by lone males scouting through the cavern, but never enough berries to do much good. And when they are found, a smart male keeps the berries or will trade them with other males as an emergency water supply. One berry will do much to satisfy thirst when there is no water nearby.”

She whistled softly. Such a berry would be considered a lifesaver among humans on Seshana. Water rationing was strict, even more so after Darvel pulled out, leaving the colonies on Seshana to figure out their water supply issues for themselves. While a shipment of pods came on the supply ships every six or seven months, they also had hydrofacilitators that drew moisture from the air, but they were still running short on water for crews when they went into the mines. She was certain that, if provided a few plants, they would find a space to put a large section of them within one of the massive hydro-growing pods that filled the atmosphere-controlled hydrocyclation building where medicinal and food plants were being grown.

“And the cooling herbs, too?”

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