Priestess of the Eggstone (33 page)

He looked triumphant. “We missed it before. I went back through some of the scrolls. This one looked different, the dates are written twice, once at the top and again halfway through. That’s why we missed it.” I studied the scroll. The dates were right. And the priestess glyph. I read it through once and then again. “Where’s the map we found yesterday?”

Jerimon pulled it from the bottom of the pile he held.

I traced the unreadable symbols, matching them with the new scroll. “This is it. Here, this canyon.” I made the mistake of meeting his eyes.

Jerimon’s happy look faded, replaced by his scary intense look.

“Don’t look at me that way,” I said, ducking my head.

“Why shouldn’t I? Tayvis ignores you, Dace.” He stroked his hand over my cheek.

*They come!* the Eggstone announced.

“Now?” I said.

“Now what?” Jerimon dropped his hand into his lap.

“You tell them about the map and the rest. I have to go.” I grabbed the robe, shrugging it over my shoulders.

Jerimon stood, watching me. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. The Sessimoniss are coming for me.”

“Dace, I can’t read the scroll.”

“The ship is in that canyon.” I stabbed my finger at the markings on the map. “At least I hope it still is.” I yanked the last fastener in place and scooped up the Eggstone.

Someone pounded on the outer door.

“Dace.”

“Just do it, Jerimon. Please.” I hurried to open the door.

Tayvis and Jasyn stood in the courtyard arch.

“What now?” Jasyn asked.

I ducked my head. “Ask Jerimon.”

An even bigger escort of Sessimoniss waited for me. They wore every formal piece of clothing they owned. The colors clashed abominably. One stepped forward, the Koresh’Niktakket of Keristass. He bowed, full from his waist. The others followed, lowering themselves to the floor and touching foreheads to stone.

*They do you great honor,* the Eggstone said.

“I’m aware of that,” I answered silently. I bowed in return.

They rose, the rustling of their tunics loud in the deep silence.

Keristass rose last. “You are summoned. It is the Time of Testing.”

My heart sank. “You said a week,” I whispered to the Eggstone.

*I said a korintat, the time it takes for the clans to gather.*

Korintat, an undefined period of time. I’d misinterpreted it as a week. I glanced over my shoulder. “Be ready,” I said and hoped they understood.

I walked through the door. The Sessimoniss surrounded me, closing in. I fought claustrophobia, they stood so much taller. Their dry musky scent filled my nose and mouth until I couldn’t breathe. This was too soon.

They took me to the huge main hall of the temple, a room I had only seen through borrowed eyes. My escort walked me between ranks of Sessimoniss. Their females waited with them, young immature breeders. Candidates for priestess. My mouth went dry when I saw the priests of Sekkitass massed behind a larger skystone altar.

*Your fate awaits you.*

“You promised to distract them, to let me get away,” I argued with the presence lurking in my head. A guard glanced at me suspiciously, but said nothing.

*I will do my best, but they have made too many changes, too fast. They may insist upon feeding your soul to Sekkitass.*

The Eggstone paused while I climbed the four tall steps to take my place beside the altar.

*The blood is where the courage dwells. You have proven your great courage. If they drink of your blood, they share in your strength.*

“I am not going to die here, no matter what they believe. You promised.” I placed the Eggstone on the block of brilliant blue stone.

*Though you have had the shortest term ever, you have proven to be a worthy Priestess. Perhaps the greatest.*

“You promised to distract them.”

The Sessimoniss bowed. The females gathered into a line.

*And I shall. Bring them help. Bring more of your human kind. You are more valuable alive than dead. You may yet save them from a slow death.*

The first female approached, one from Risskaratass. She climbed the steps to lay her hand on the Eggstone. She lifted it then moved on, returning to stand with her clan. Another followed, this one from Kishtosnitass. Another followed, and another. One by one, they filed past.

*Perhaps I will not choose another. I would keep you as Priestess.*

“And I would smash you at the first chance I got. I am not going to stay here for the rest of my life.”

The Eggstone chuckled. *You are almost too fierce. You have started change, the Sessimoniss must finish it their way.*

Time passed. Only a few dozen females from the lowest clans still waited. They passed, each touching the Eggstone. It was down to the last three when the Eggstone started glowing. The young female with her hand on the stone squeaked in surprise. Her eyes glazed over as she lifted it.

The gathered Sessimoniss cheered. The sound built like a hissing wave. The glow intensified as she turned to face them. A fiery bolt of energy blasted from the Eggstone, leaving a dark streak across the ceiling. The Sessimoniss hissed, all eyes glued to their new Priestess.

*Go now! Before Sekkitass remembers you!* The Eggstone poured information into my mind, the back route through the temple.

I crept sideways, away from the altar on the side opposite the priests of Sekkitass towards a door hidden behind a curtain of garish stripes. I ducked through, running into the hallway.

*I will hold them as long as I can. Goodbye, and good luck, human called Dace. I will miss you.* Its attention focused on the new priestess. Its presence faded.

I ran back to the room, slamming the door open.

“We have to leave, now,” I said as I yanked at the fasteners on my robe.

“Now?” Jerimon asked.

Tayvis headed for the bedroom.

I tossed the robe over the altar. “They have a new priestess, and as soon as they realize their blood sacrifice is missing, they are going to come looking for me. Where’s the map?”

Jasyn grabbed the parchment, following Tayvis to the back room.

“Are you coming or would you rather be skinned alive?” I asked Jerimon as I followed Jasyn.

Tayvis yanked the screen open, dangling his blanket rope outside. He slid down to the courtyard below. Jasyn tucked the map into the front of her dress, then followed. I took my turn sliding down the makeshift rope. The rough fabric burned my hands.

Jerimon untied the rope and dropped it after me, pushing the screen shut. “Confuse the trail.” He lowered himself from the ledge, hanging by his hands. He dropped to the stone courtyard, rolling to break his fall.

We all scrambled across the courtyard to the gate. Tayvis shoved. It moved an inch then stuck, stubbornly refusing to move farther. Tayvis slammed his shoulder into it. It barely budged.

“Put some muscle into it, Malcolm,” I said, using his first name. He hated it, though I didn’t know why.

“Don’t,” he said as he slammed into the gate. “Call,” he slammed it again. “Me. That. Zeresthina.” He used my birthname, the one I’d discarded along with Tivor.

The gate was open maybe six inches. He caught my eye and winked.

“Malcolm,” I said, my heart skipping a beat.

“Zeresthina,” he answered.

We hit the gate at the same time. It flew open. I landed on the sandy road outside. Tayvis hauled me to my feet.

“This way,” he said, pulling my arm. Jerimon and Jasyn ran at our heels.

We ran through the city, along abandoned stone roads beside crumbling buildings. All of the Sessimoniss were at the Testing. The roaring of the crowd faded as we ran, falling farther behind us with each step.

Tayvis finally stopped near a tumbled mass of stone columns. I slowed, panting. Jerimon staggered to a stop, breathing hard. Jasyn leaned on a pillar, rubbing her bare feet.

Tayvis lifted her foot, plucking several thorns free. “Better?”

She nodded. “Until I step on another one. I’m going to slow you down.”

I ignored the spike of jealous hope. I wasn’t that petty. “We won’t leave you behind. We need to get moving again. Which way, Tayvis?”

“You tell me. Beyond this is just desert.”

Jasyn pulled the map from her dress, handing it to me. I turned it, trying to match it with what I saw.

Tayvis took it from me. “We’re here.” He tapped the parchment.

“We need to get here,” I said, pointing at the cluster of symbols in a narrow canyon.

“Give me the map.” Jerimon snatched it, barely glancing at it before jogging down the narrow street past the ruined buildings. I followed, leaving Tayvis and Jasyn to bring up the rear.

The street turned into a narrow path that petered into a dry stream bed. Jerimon led the way, moving with confidence. Jasyn stumbled, her feet leaving traces of blood behind. Tayvis wrapped his arm around her, supporting her over the worst ground. I almost wished I had lost my boots, almost. The stream bed meandered along the base of a tall cliff. Jerimon paused at several canyons, comparing them to the map before he shook his head.

Jerimon stopped, studying the map. “This way,” he said, pointing at a crack in the rock cliff. It was barely wide enough for one person.

I looked behind as I entered. We had climbed enough that I could see the city in the distance. A mob of Sessimoniss marched on the road out of the city, headed our way.

“They’re coming,” I said.

Tayvis and Jasyn pushed past, Jasyn biting her lip as she scrambled through. I came last, clutching my torn skirts and clambering over rocks. We hurried through the narrow slot. Jasyn stumbled, moaning. Tayvis pulled her arm around his shoulder, wrapping his other arm around her waist. I passed them, running to catch up with Jerimon.

The canyon widened. The ground changed from sand and sticker plants to gravel to tumbled boulders. Jerimon and I climbed as fast as we could.

The canyon opened into a wide flat area, scoured by water to bare rock. A ship rested in the center, its silver skin tarnished and blasted by sand. It was short, mostly engine, a long range scout of a type the Patrol used a hundred years ago.

We raced across the rock to the door. The airlock light glowed a faint green, a good sign, it meant the ship still had power. Jerimon punched the button. The light turned red. The door stayed closed.

“We’re locked out.” Jerimon slapped the ship in frustration.

I pushed the button. The light stayed red.

Jasyn stumbled across the rock, then collapsed against the side of the ship. Her feet left streaks of blood. Jerimon crouched next to her, patting her shoulder.

“You can’t even get a door open?” Tayvis pushed the button.

I gave him a dirty look. The light stayed red.

He lifted the cover of the door controls, punching the buttons inside. “Voice code override.”

“Override initiated,” the ship said in a prim female voice.

“Emergency lock activation code beta one-one-seven-two.” He laughed at my open-mouthed surprise. “They always said my fascination with antique ships was a waste of time.”

“Code invalid,” the ship answered.

Tayvis pushed another series of buttons and spoke another string of nonsense. The light stayed red. The sound of Sessimoniss battle cries echoed from the narrow canyon. Tayvis pushed more buttons. “Emergency override code beta gamma epsilon.” He sounded more than a bit frustrated.

The Sessimoniss emerged from the far side of the canyon. They waved heavy spears, and shouted their war cries.

“If it doesn’t open now, it’s too late,” Jerimon said.

“Code accepted.” The airlock grated open a few inches, then stopped with a horrible grinding noise.

A spear clunked into the rock less than a dozen feet away. Tayvis swore as he shoved his hands into the door opening. He pushed, his muscles bulging. The door stuck, creaking and grating before finally giving way. We piled into the airlock designed to hold only two people. I stood on Tayvis’ toes. Jerimon shoved Jasyn against me and squeezed in. Tayvis pushed the cycling button. I crossed my fingers and hoped the door still worked.

It ground and grated its way shut. A rain of spears hit just as it closed, thudding against the ship. The air cycled slowly. The smell of old grease with a weird undertone of fruit grew stronger. The inner door finally chimed and slid open as another volley of spears hit the outside of the ship.

Jerimon dove for the pilot chair, Tayvis and Jasyn at his heels. Jasyn dropped into the navigator’s chair with a sigh of relief. She powered up the station. Jerimon ran through the fastest preflight warmup I’d ever seen. Tayvis loomed over them, reaching past Jerimon to work the scanners. The ship was set up for a crew of two.

“The engines need a manual start,” Jerimon said.

“I’ll do it.” I headed aft to the engine compartment.

I ducked through the small hatch. The room was divided in two sections. The main one in front of me contained the drive engine. The sour smell of rotting algae flowed from the smaller life support room in an almost visible wave. I ignored it. If we didn’t lift off soon, life support wouldn’t make any difference. I reached into the engine for the reset switches.

Tayvis breathed down my neck.

“I do know what I’m doing,” I said as I flipped the switches.

“I can see that.” He backed a few steps to the engine room door.

I went through the steps to cold start the engine. It stirred sluggishly, with a lot of hiccups. The energy gauges moved slowly from red to yellow and finally to green.

“Engines up and running,” I shouted through the door.

“It’s green up here,” Jerimon shouted back. “Hang on.”

The hum went from barely noticeable to ear-splitting as he gunned the engines. The sublight engines roared. The ship wobbled. The force of liftoff knocked me flat on the floor. The engine whined. For an engine sitting idle for over a century, it flew well. I hoped nothing critical shorted out.

The atmosphere screeched past the hull. The ship lurched. I grabbed a set of pipes and held on. The noise faded. We were finally free of Serrimonia. The artificial gravity field cut out. I pulled myself to the other end of the engine, then whacked the field generator with a wrench. The field regenerated, but only at half strength. I swore as I fell to the floor.