As the progenitor paced towards Shade, something stirred in the nest behind her, then heaved itself into a sitting position. It was about the size of a dakti, but there was something different, unformed, about its leathery wings and its headcrest. As its head lifted up and bright black eyes opened, Moon realized it must be a fledgling progenitor. It crept forward a pace, snagged a groundling arm left beside the nest, and bit into it with relish.
The progenitor stopped a pace away from Shade, then slowly circled him, step by step. She cocked her head, examining him with deliberation. Shade twitched, but managed to keep his spines still through sheer effort of will. She stopped in front of him, and said, “Show me your other self.”
Her voice was deep and grating, with a strange quality to it, as if it came from a much larger body. Shade flicked a sideways look at Moon. “No.”
The progenitor studied Moon, then turned back to Shade. “The Raksura will never let you breed. I would give you anything you wanted.”
Shade bared his fangs and his array of spines rippled and lifted. “I don’t want to breed, ever. And I have everything I want, except to see you dead.”
Something in the progenitor’s body language changed, and Moon realized that she had spoken hoping to provoke this reaction from Shade.
She said, “Thedes told you you would understand the significance of what our guide has revealed to us.”
She heard what Thedes said to us, Moon thought. Maybe she had even seen them and the others on the boat through his eyes.
She didn’t gesture, but one of the dakti slunk forward, holding a flat wooden case. Shade’s tail lashed uneasily. Moon had no idea what this could be, except that it was probably something horrible.
The dakti opened the case and held it out. Moon warily stretched to see. Inside was a flat fragment of crystal, jagged on the edges as if it had been broken off a larger piece. The flicker of light sparked blue and silver reflections inside it. If it was a weapon, it was a strange one.
“Touch it,” the progenitor said.
Moon drew breath to tell Shade not to do it, but Shade snapped, “You touch it.”
The progenitor stared at him, and Moon felt a chill across his scales as the temperature in the room dropped. Then Thedes stepped up beside the dakti and touched a finger to the crystal.
Gray lines formed on it, gradually resolved into a drawing. The image had been etched onto the crystal and Thedes’s light touch had brought it to the surface. Moon didn’t think the Fell could have created something like that, either with magic or without, and he wondered what groundling race they had stolen it from. As the drawing became more defined, he could see it was an Aeriat Raksura, but with something odd about its head and back… It has too many spines and a crest. Like Shade.
Shade hissed in a breath, confused. “Who is that?”
The progenitor said, “A forerunner. Our mutual origin.”
Shade stared at the image. “You’re saying that this is one of the species that the Aeriat Raksura and the Fell descended from.”
“We had a prey make it for us, to our description. Prey are sometimes useful for things other than eating.”
“Is this what you were trying to do?” Shade spoke in a tone of cold realization. “By making crossbreeds?”
Moon stared at him, startled. That couldn’t be right. They want more power, they want Fell queens and mentor-dakti that can stop us from shifting, that can scry to spy on us and augur. He looked at the image again. But the progenitor hadn’t shown any interest in Lithe, and if they wanted power, a half-Fell mentor had to be better than a half-Fell consort, no matter what he looked like. Unless the Fell thought Shade had some special ability.
Shade said, “But why? Why do you want this?”
The progenitor answered, “Because this is the key our guide needs.”
“The key to what?” Shade glared at her in frustration. “And who is your guide?”
“You will see when we arrive.”
Shade snarled. “How did it know I was at Opal Night?”
“It knows. It has watched for a—” The progenitor abruptly went still. Then all the Fell in the room went still. Except for the fledgling progenitor, who looked around curiously. Shade twitched with nerves. Moon’s back teeth itched. It was as if the progenitor held them all in some sort of mutual spell. If it’s the progenitor. Maybe they were listening to something, or someone, else.
Suddenly whatever it was released them. The progenitor’s body became fluid again. A ripple seemed to travel over the rulers, and the dakti stirred, whispering to each other. Even Thedes flexed his claws.
As if nothing had happened, the progenitor said to Shade, “Surely you wish to know more of us. To take your proper place among those who find you beautiful.”
“I was in my proper place before you stole us,” Shade said bitterly.
The progenitor just regarded him in silence. Moon couldn’t tell if she was frustrated or angry or indifferent. Fell only seemed to show emotion under extreme circumstances. But he wondered how long it had been since any living being had told her no.
Then she turned away and paced back toward her nest.
Thedes said, “Return to your flying craft. We have a distance still to travel.”
Shade looked at Moon, startled. Then he turned for the way out. Moon pushed to his feet to follow. His spines twitched involuntarily, but no one tried to stop him.
The interior was confusing without a guide, but they managed to make their way up through the dark maze to the entrance. Dakti clung to the walls and ceilings, watching them with glittering eyes, chittering to each other. A kethel in groundling form stood near the ladder, grinning at them. Shade hissed at it and it backed away enough that they could scramble up and out.
There was movement everywhere as they fled back to the boat, as if all the Fell inside the sac were aware of them. The shadows seemed full of motion, and Moon looked up, trying to see where it came from. The sun had changed angles, and the dark outline of one of the kethel outside was visible through the gelatinous material of the sac, its wings moving rhythmically.
They landed on the deck of the boat, and an instant later Floret and Saffron burst up out of the belowdecks hatch. Moon hissed in relief and made a sharp gesture for them to get below again. At least the Fell hadn’t attacked the others on the boat.
As the warriors retreated, Shade said in a choked voice, “I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.” Moon tried to think of a way to say thank you and everything seemed inadequate. He felt like he had failed Shade badly, that he should have prevented it from happening, thought of something to say to stop it. “We got out alive because of you.”
Shade’s spines flattened in distress. “Did they really think… doing that would make me one of them—” Then he started and hissed, “Kethel!”
Moon sensed movement behind him an instant later but he was already diving for the hatch with Shade. They scrambled down the steps, with Floret and Saffron just ahead, as the kethel landed on the deck and the ship rocked and creaked under its weight. At the bottom of the stairs, Moon stopped, braced for an attack.
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the kethel moved around and settled on the deck, making the ship list a little to one side. Moon listened, but all he could hear was deep breathing.
“Guarding us?” Floret whispered.
Moon nodded, and eased away from the stairs. Shade reached up and slid the hatch closed. The light wood wouldn’t even slow the kethel down, but Moon didn’t tell him not to bother. That useless barrier between them and the creature was better than nothing.