Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 4) (2 page)

If
there was a doorway.

            They gathered in the middle of the temple where the hallway curved slightly, providing a slight barrier against the rising wind. Gaveer built a small fire for warmth and they huddled around it as the sky darkened.

            Kelen eased onto the ground, glad for the chance to rest. Kyber saw her wince with pain and bent his mouth to her ear. “You need to give that leg a chance to heal.”

            She gave him a wry grin. “We all need a chance to heal. We’re all suffering from exhaustion and extreme stress.” She flexed her leg and winced again at the knife-like spikes racing through her musculature. “Although I admit some of us are worse for wear.” Glancing back up at him, she reached to cup his cheek. “How are you doing? And be honest with me.”

            He dropped his eyes. “It will take time before I am back to full health.”

            “How much time? Days? Weeks? How fast do you heal?”

            “I am afraid it may take several weeks because of the blood loss.”

            “So we’re talking months.” She sighed heavily. “I’m in the same boat.” She scanned the rest of the group and observed how close to the breaking point they all were. Especially Dox. The young man lay on his back, his eyes glazed as he stared up at the ceiling. She automatically glanced upward, then realized Dox wasn’t lying semi-comatose or in a drug-induced sense of euphoria. He was filing.

            She straightened, alerting Kyber. “What is it, Kelen?” he whispered.

            She studied overhead, trying to figure out what held the unique young man enthralled. She sensed Kyber trying to notice what she was peering at.

            “Kelen?”

            “Shh.” She placed a hand on the Seneecian to stay his question. “Dox? What are you looking at?”

            After a few seconds, he turned his head in her direction. “Everything is wrong.”

            “Oh? What everything?”

            The others paused in what they were doing to listen to the exchange. They knew how differently Dox’s mind worked. They also knew the young man noticed things they missed, which could be crucial.

            “The words.” He pointed toward the glyphs covering the wall beside him, then straight up. “The ceiling.” He started to say more when another howl, closer, reverberated from outside. “All,” he finished simply.

            Kelen turned to study the pictographs carved into the stone wall behind her. Offhand, she didn’t notice any difference from the ones at the other temple. She frowned at Dox, who had gone back to staring at the roof.

            “Dox, can you read these glyphs?”

            “Not yet.”

            “What is he saying?” Fullgrath asked. “Is he saying this temple isn’t like the other one? Hell, we already knew that.”

            “I think he’s implying more than that,” Mellori corrected.

            “Like what?”

            “Like the fact that this temple doesn’t resemble the other one,” Kelen supplied.

            Cooter snorted. “We kinda got that impression when we couldn’t find the maze.”

            “You’re not seeing the whole picture,” Kelen continued. “These glyphs, he can’t read them. Which means it must be an entirely new language for him.”

            “I concur,” Mellori interjected and turned to the young man. “Dox, postulate. Tell us what you’re thinking.”

            “Don’t know. Not sure.”

            “Not sure of what?” Jules asked.

            “Not sure of species.”

            “What species?” Kyber questioned. “Are you talking about the creature that is crying outside?”

            Dox slowly shook his head. “Not sure of species living here.”

            Kelen felt her breath catch in her throat. Glancing at the others, she saw similar looks of disbelief on their faces. That and fear.

            Mellori cleared his throat. “Dox, are you saying there’s another species living here, other than what’s making that noise?”

            The young man waved a hand in Tojun’s direction. “Those marks are fresh.”

            They checked behind the Seneecian to look at the marks carved into the stone. Even without any way to check the rock to verify Dox’s claim, they didn’t doubt him. The young man never made an assertion unless he was positively certain.

            “Then there could be sentient life here? In this climate?” Jules whispered.

            “Could those eye worms live in this type of extreme cold?” Fullgrath interrupted. “Or those clicker things?”

Like the big weapons master, Kelen caught herself glancing around the floor. But at the same time, she realized Dox didn’t appear to be in distress. If anything approached them, or appeared about to threaten them, the young man would not be lying there with his head pillowed on his arms.

“Doc?” Jules addressed the physician.

The doctor shrugged. “I have no idea if those creatures are able to thrive in these conditions. Anything’s possible.”

“Not clickers,” Dox commented. “Not eye worms. Howlers.”

Cooter barked with laughter. “Boy’s got a way with words!”

Kleesod spoke up. “Everything is in threes. This we know. But it does not necessarily mean that what is part of that three in one section is the same in another. We already see that.”

“He is right,” Kyber continued. “We have seen how different this temple is. We know its design is not the same as the other temple. We cannot assume the creatures we battled at the other location are also in this locale.”

Cooter snorted. “Oh, great. Three more somethings to discover.”

“Well, from the sound of it, that howler keeps getting closer and louder. And judging by its vocalizations, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s sizeable.”

Kelen concurred with Mellori. “If it is a large beast, then it’s possible it’s the dominant species in this region of the planet. The top of the food chain.”

“And if that’s the case, and if our theory of three is still relevant, then there should be two other species of creatures it feeds on,” Sandow surmised.

“The top of the food chain, huh?” Fullgrath glanced around at everyone sitting by the fire. “Then what does the bottom feeder feed on? I don’t see anything remotely edible around here, unless the little buggers dine on ice.”

Tojun waved a hand for attention. “We need to discuss our way below.”

“Shoot, gray boy.” Cooter crossed his legs and set his rifle across his lap.

The Seneecian gave them a puzzled look. “Why do we agree that everything comes in threes, and yet we repeatedly refuse to follow it?”

“What do you mean?” Jules asked.

“All of this.” The man made a vague motion with his hand to include their surroundings. “We need to focus on the probable, not the possible. We have agreed that, overall, the species that ruled this planet did everything in threes, yes?”

“It panned out over at the other temple,” Mellori agreed. “But that doesn’t mean
this
temple works the same way.”

“Jules.” Kelen caught the ex-navigator’s attention. “That panel of lights, are the colors in threes?”

It took the man a few moments to double-check. “Yeah,” he finally told them. “Three of each color.”

“Just like the other panel,” she concluded. “I’m all for the sets of threes existing here, too.” She tossed Tojun a smile. “What else were you wanting to say?”

He gave her a grin of thanks, his long canines winking in the firelight. “We know from the panel that there are chambers beneath us. Let us say the elevator is one way to get to the orange machinery room. If it is, there should be two more.”

“I agree with you,” Sandow said. “There should be two more routes, but where?” He slapped the wall behind him. “Where are the other doorways?”

An idea came to Kelen just as Kyber squeezed her hand and struggled to get to his feet. Without explaining what he was doing, he began tapping the wall as he slowly made his way down the corridor. Kelen managed to stand, went over to the wall on the other side of the walkway, and began doing the same thing, checking the carved rock as she paralleled Kyber. She glanced over her shoulder to find Cooter and Fullgrath also checking the wall as they headed in the opposite direction. In less than a minute, Cooter gave a whoop and shout.

“Found it!”

As a group, everyone hurried to where he stood mere meters from the main entrance opening onto the vast frozen landscape. Grinning at them, he swung the butt of his rifle against the rock. Kelen started but she wasn’t surprised when the bottom half of the weapon vanished. The gun swung back and the butt magically reappeared.

Cooter chuckled. “It’s that holograph trick like in those interconnecting tunnels. You had the right idea, Kyber.”

“Which leaves us with the question do we stay here, out in the open tonight? Or do we try to see how far down that tunnel we can get before giving it a rest?” Gaveer asked.

He was answered with a loud growl that had to be mere meters away. Whatever was approaching had reached the temple. Kelen briefly wondered if the thing had been attracted by the firelight, or if it had enhanced senses and had smelled or seen, or perhaps heard them.
Or maybe this temple is part of its territory and it prowls here on a regular basis.

She turned to comment to Kyber when he grabbed her and shoved her into the dark tunnel. The corridor wasn’t large, and it quickly grew crowded as the others joined them. Massapa entered last, carrying Dox in his arms. As Kyber drew a protective arm about her, another howl split the air. Everyone stared out the fuzzy, indistinct net that formed the façade that made the wall appear solid.

Something was out there. Something large, and most certainly dangerous. A shadow made its way along the far wall on the other side of the fire. A shadow that gradually grew larger and more ominous. Cooter and Fullgrath took positions at the doorway in case the thing knew about the fake doorway and tried to enter. Kelen felt Kyber extends his claws, and knew the other Seneecians were also prepared to confront whatever was stalking them.

They waited and watched. The tension grew thicker as the thing drew closer. Inside the corridor, the temperature was unbearably cold. The rock at her back was a solid sheet of ice. She could barely see the others standing in front of her, their breaths diaphanous clouds of mist as they waited.

The creature passed the fire and drew nearer to the doorway, when a high-pitched scream rent the air and a second creature rushed into the temple from the direction of the open landscape. Before they were aware of it, the second creature ran past the doorway, and an unearthly shriek of pain and anger sent shockwaves through them all.

Chapter 3

Hoov

            The conflict taking place out of their line of sight was over before they were aware of it. After the confrontation and struggle, all they could hear was wet, slurping noises, as if something was eating. At least, it sounded that way. Kelen swore she heard bones being cracked, and gulping noises between grunts and growls.

            Fullgrath backed away from the concealed entrance and approached Kyber. “Do we go see what’s going on out there? Or do we stay here and wait? Or keep going down this tunnel? Your call, Kyber.”

            She glanced up to see her husband narrow his eyes as he considered their options. She knew what she wanted to do, but held her tongue and listened. Whatever he decided, he would explain his decision. But as long as she’d known him, he’d never made rash decisions.

            The others waited expectantly. Finally, Kyber gave a single slow nod. “We must accost whatever is out there. We do not know if that creature is aware of these tunnels. If we leave, and it does have knowledge of them, it might track us. If it is unaware of their existence, it may be able to sniff us out. Either way, we cannot take that risk.”

            “It sounds solitary,” Gaveer whispered.

            “I agree,” Fullgrath admitted. “But that doesn’t exclude the possibility that there couldn’t be more of them. And if it’s a big mother, it might be able to overcome us, even if we attack as one body.”

            “That is a risk we must take,” Massapa stated. He raised his hands in front of his face where all could see his long talons. “We must do this now, before that thing finishes its meal.”

            Kyber nodded again and gave Kelen’s arm a squeeze. “Stay here.”

            “But—”

            “Someone needs to stay with Dox,” he explained and dropped a kiss to her hair.

            Kelen looked over at where Mellori clutched Dox by the shoulder. Next to him stood Sandow.

            She gave a nod to Kyber, but said nothing. A flash of relief crossed the Seneecian’s face before he turned his back to her. She watched him move to the front of the group where Fullgrath and Cooter braced him. Directly behind him, the other Seneecians crouched in that defensive posture she recognized. With the big aliens blocking her from Kyber’s view, she moved over to one of the bundles Mellori had laid on the ground, reached inside, and extracted a blaster. The engineer stared at her, understanding what she intended to do.

            “I’ll stay here with them,” he barely whispered, hefting another blaster he’d taken from the stash.

Kelen gave him a quick smile of thanks as she tucked the weapon behind her.

 * * *

            Kyber gave a wave of his hand. The group of men silently left the corridor and emerged into the main area. The eating noises never abated and appeared to be coming from the direction of the fire. If that was the case, the creature might be curious about the blaze. If it was sentient, it could be wondering who’d set it. Kyber hoped it was the former and not the latter. Non-intelligent creatures acted on survival instinct. They were almost predictable in their actions. An intelligent species observed, plotted, and planned. That made them much more dangerous.

            He flexed his talons. He wasn’t physically capable of taking on whatever had intruded on their encampment on his own. None of them were. They all had suffered too many injuries, and there hadn’t been enough time to heal completely. He glanced sideways at Fullgrath moving parallel to him, then over at Cooter on his left. They could no longer approach this world individually. They were stronger as one force, and always would be.