Page 26 of Serpents of the Night

Daskh sighed heavily as he settled into a leisurely pace flying at the side of his nest brothers. As beautiful as the view below was, it sent a prickle of unease through him. His pleasure at his mate’s impending happiness fading beneath any icy weight of foreboding that settled over him at that moment. Suddenly, he was viewing the shinara below with different eyes, no longer seeing the beauty their mate was no doubt taking delight in. Instead, all he saw was a spinner’s web set up to ensnare them all with their past in subtle little ways. He did not think that The Blooming offered immediate danger, but he only hoped that they would leave the shinara far behind them and quickly before whatever Vekatha or the queen matriarch was planning fell into place, closing off all escape this time.

Chapter 21

From where she was clasped firmly against Kehtal’s chest, Lori’s eyes widened at the sight below her. Curtains of large blooms in hues predominantly in shades of pink and red draped everywhere casting purple shadows along the stonework lit up with the glow of luminous crystals. She noted that they were far more lit up than usual and that they were far more radiant than usual as an occasional melodious hum broke through the air, refreshing them before they had the chance to dim. Aside from the towering lamps that lined the streets, crystals were also suspended in floating lanterns that hovered over the shinara, scattering an uncustomary brilliance everywhere, revealing what she assumed to be black stonework to actually be deep, rich purple. For the first time she truly felt like she was seeing the city in the depths of Aglatha.

Without its customary heavy shroud of darkness, it possessed an unexpected grandeur. The dark stone sparkled as if it contained heavy amounts of mica-like phyllosilicate, reminding her of the painted patterns that the females adorned themselves with. Did they grind up the same stone that they used for architecture to create their body paint?

Craning her head back, she shouted to Kehtal and pointed down at the shinara below them. “Do Seshanamitesh build with the same stone that they use for body pigment?”

A fleeting look of surprise crossed her mate’s face as he peered down to where she was pointing, but after a moment, the corners of his mouth quirked, and he shook his head for her benefit. “The xanyel stone is difficult to break. It takes considerable effort just to shape it, much less break it down into something so small. I was often among the males who were sent out to procure more xanyel and can testify to its strength. I often could not speak for days due to the strength of sonic vibrations needed to break it apart. What you are referring to is the xishan mineral. While it is naturally found within a lot of the black dulo stone, it can be found in large amounts in the wet caverns.”

“Wet caverns? Is that where your pools are?”

Kehtal hesitated but again he shook his head. “Not exactly. There are thick veins of xishan in pool caverns, but we do not use that, preferring to keep those caverns untouched. The wet caverns are usually found above pool caverns or near the surface of an oasis. They are cold and unpleasant places to be as the walls are continuously slick with water as the xishan repels it.”

“Fascinating,” she murmured. “It’s so beautiful.”

His wings folded as he angled his body, dropping them lower as he turned. The gust from his wings and the changing angle picked up her hair, blowing it into her face. Lori blinked her eyes rapidly and instinctively lifted her hand to brush it out of her eyes. The vivid green hair clung to her skin as the strands escaping her grasp whipped in front of her vision, drawing streaks of bright green across a largely purple and pink landscape below.

Holding the hair in her hand, she peered at it curiously. Was it somehow brighter than she thought? Even in the relatively higher illumination of their nest, compared to other parts of the shinara, it had not seemed quite that bright of an emerald hue. It was... pretty. She sifted the hair through her fingers, allowing the air to catch the strands that thankfully no longer blew into her face as Kehtal’s flight path straightened. The green strands shimmered unnaturally as if they belonged to some creature of fantasy. What exactly was in that fungus?

Whatever it was, it was undeniably going to make her stand out even more than she expected. She was going to have to be prepared for that when she preferred the peace and quiet of anonymity. Wasn’t that one of the reasons she was happy to relinquish her role to Vi? The idea of being able to be picked out from a distance anywhere within the colony was as disconcerting as being the only human in the shinara. But that was something to worry about later. Tonight, she wasn’t going to allow herself to think of anything beyond enjoying the festivities. Not even Vekatha’s recent viperous behavior was going to ruin her evening with fruitless worrying.

There was still Zathexa to contend with as their hostess, but Lori had become almost ambivalent to the queen matriarch’s endless condescending remarks and attempts to match Slengral to any available female interested in him. As annoying as it was, for both her and her mates, it had become almost a sadistic form of entertainment as Zathexa stewed furiously every night. Did Seshanamitesh suffer from blood pressure issues like humans? If so, Lori could imagine that it was climbing with all Zathexa’s frustrated attempts.

She bit back a private smile as the beat of Daskh’s and Slengral’s wings grew louder as both males dropped protectively on either side of Kehtal, hemming her in between them as they drew ahead of her, their tails whipping through the air behind them. Hashal waved back at her from where he was caught up in Slengral’s arms, and just beyond them, she could make out a royal platform lifted above the street on sturdy columns. More so than any other structure, it was heavily curtained with chains of flowers that swayed with their weight, the occasional loose petal breaking free to drift over the crowd. On either side of the pavilion, she spotted two enormous tower-like vessels. Smaller juvenile males darted over the crowd directly toward the towers, emptying their sacks and baskets into them. Despite being plucked, large golden flowers glowed still with a brilliance that made them visible even at a distance.

With every deposit completed by the cluster of males, a trill rose from the crowd as celebrants tipped their cups and drank deeply. Lori’s gaze rove curiously over the scene, the corners of her mouth hitching at the jubilant atmosphere. Unlike the strict formality and social divisions that she had seen since arriving, males and females alike mingled, drinking what she presumed had to be agar from long, fluted cups. Everywhere they touched, whether intentionally or by chance, they smeared the shimmering coating of golden dust that covered the celebrants. Lori eyed it with interest as they passed overhead, dropping lower as her males lined up with the pavilion. Curiously, that same dust was even thicker than those who were directly beneath the path of those carrying the flowers.

Kehtal’s mouth brushed her ear. “Golden agar in the mouth and the gold dust falling from the collected dishana blooms are considered to be blessings of luck among other things from The Blooming.”

So that was what it was. She squinted with interest and Kehtal chuffed softly. “It would not hurt to fill you with Golden Agar and drop you right into the collection tower if it was guaranteed to work.”

“You better not drop me in that thing,” she replied, squeezing his wrist meaningfully until her mate let out a real laugh. “With my luck I would probably drop like a rock to the bottom and turn a bizarre color with that much of the golden dust interacting with the lapet covering me.”

“I hear and obey,” Kehtal teased until she retaliated with a playful pinch that she was certain he barely felt beneath his protective scales.

He dropped lower and strains of music met her ear. Not something organized like a professional performance, but the closer she got the more she realized that many of the celebrants had mouth instruments which they played in a call and answer technique that was at once chaotic but organized with a shared melody that she could only liken to the singing habits of birds calling to each other. It carried a certain beauty to it that fascinated her further the closer they got. It even seemed to come from the pavilion itself!

Peering at the structure looming in the near distance, Lori realized that the queen matriarch and a number of noble matriarchs accompanying her each possessed their own flute-like instruments as they reclined comfortably upon their cushions, cups of golden agar on short tables at their sides. Although the instruments were of different sizes, some of them possessing a variety of shapes and additional compartments on their structures, they all appeared to be types of woodwinds that echoed in a hauntingly sweet song. To a one, each of them were coated with large quantities of the dishana dust despite being nowhere near the path of the juveniles carrying in the flowers. The only ones without an instrument, cup, or even a trace of powder were the guards that were settled alertly on their coiled tails along the sides of the pavilion.

Jathella was immediately recognizable among the rest of the guards, her head tipping back as she raised her velkat in greeting, the large blades at either end of the spear catching the light. The gesture seemed to have alerted the rest of the females on the pavilion. The guards parted as heads turned their way. In the middle of the royal platform, however, Zathexa rose from her pillow, her face set into its usual stony mask.

Lori bit back a sigh. She just had to play nice for however long it took to respectfully share a cup with the queen matriarch. Then she would be able to make a break for it and enjoy the festivities with her mates and nestling.

Kehtal adjusted his grip, his wings flapping in rapid, short beats as they descended. Daskh and Slengral continued to circle guardedly as Kehtal dropped lightly, his side sliding against the stonework only briefly before coming to a stop. His arms tightened around her and for a moment she wondered if he planned to take off again and take her directly back to the nest. A tremor of tension rode through him, and Lori stroked his forearm soothingly.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, keeping her voice pitched low so that her words did not carry to any of the watching females. “We are just going to have a little golden agar, right?”

He shivered again, a bit harder, but his head dipped in acknowledgment, his arms loosening from around her, carefully setting her on the ground as Daskh and Slengral landed around them. Their tails slid over his in a flowing covert gesture of affection beneath the cover of their spread wings before giving their flared wings one last fan through the air before finally allowing them to fold behind them.

Zathexa glided forward at that moment as Jathella parted from the rest of the guards to join her at her side. Gold sparkled on the queen matriarch’s cheeks and the graceful column of her throat, swirling with the dark sparkling pigment painted onto her scales. Slengral gently set Hashal on the floor and tipped his head reverently to her, his gavo flattened respectfully with the exception of a faint flutter that sent a beautiful shimmer of bioluminescent light dancing in a way that she’d seen him every time he met with his mother. The female’s expression softened minutely.

“Slengral. I am pleased you decided to come,” Zathexa greeted.

He inclined his head lower and waved a wing toward Lori. “Greetings, Mother. It was for my mate’s pleasure only that I am here, but I am pleased to see that you are enjoying The Blooming.”

Something flickered in Zathexa’s eyes, but she inclined her head in agreement. “Yes. The Golden Agar is sweet, and the harvest exceeds expectations. It is a good omen for the year. Drink and celebrate the future good fortune and prosperity of the Aglatha,” she murmured, her hand and corresponding wing sweeping wide in invitation.

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