Threading the Needle (25 page)

She halted and pointed to the side wall. Except it wasn't a wall of stone any more. It had caved inward, stone debris cascading down from the new opening into the chamber beyond in a shallow scree. The chamber's floor lay at least twenty feet below, the ceiling the same height above, stalactites and stalagmites sticking out of both. Most were only a foot long or shorter. The chamber stretched out beyond the edge of the lantern light, but just within range Cory could see two plinths of stone that were obviously handmade.

“Stellae.” Hernande stood next to Cory. The three students crowded up behind them.

“Yes. Like Oberian's Finger or those in Halliel's Park.”

“Or any of a hundred others scattered across the plains.”

Everyone turned to face the newcomer.

“Mareane, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that, especially not down here. Where are the other Wielders?”

“They went to fetch more lanterns. Or are too afraid the tunnels are going to collapse completely.”

“Useless. They do realize we're going to be living down here shortly?” Raven flicked her fingers in dismissal. “Never mind. Grab the lantern farther down the tunnel and bring it back here.”

As Mareane hurried off, Cory asked, “How do you know they're stellae? We can barely see them from here.”

“Because Mareane climbed down the rockfall as soon as we found the opening. She's seen them up close. I can also feel the ley. It's not that strong at the moment—probably because of the Shattering—but this used to be a significant node. Before Prime Augustus created the Nexus anyway.”

Mareane returned with the lantern, handing it off to Cory as she started down the scree. “Be careful. The rockfall is still settling.”

Hernande and Raven followed her, moving slowly. Cory waited until they'd made it a quarter of the way down before he started, testing each rock before putting his full weight on it. Holding the lantern made it more difficult. The stones in the fall were mostly the size of his head, with hard edges and flat faces. He was nearly halfway down when one gave out beneath him, starting a small avalanche of stone as his sharp cry of warning echoed through the cavern. He caught himself with his free hand, the one carrying the lantern held high. The light swung erratically as, below, Hernande grabbed Raven's arm and pulled her to one side. Mareane was already on the floor, scrambling out of the way as the sea of shifting rock hit the bottom and slowed, stones bouncing away from its edge.

They all reached the floor of the cavern without further incident. The light reached up to the ceiling, the far wall still too distant to make out. But the stellae in the center of the room were now clear—seven stone pillars rising up from the level floor. Mareane, Hernande, and Raven were already walking among them, Cory's mentor reaching out to touch their faces. They were all of the same shape and height: rectangular, with a slight taper toward the top. As Cory moved closer, he noted carvings in the stone, symbols that looked vaguely like archaic letters. He traced one with a finger.

“Old Amanskrit.” Here in the middle of the room, Hernande's voice was muted, as if being absorbed by the shadows. “From before the Baronies claimed the plains.”

“This looks more like it came from the Archipelago.”

Hernande shifted closer to Raven, eyes squinting at where she indicated. He leaned back. “It's still Amanskrit, but there are definite hints of the Shattered Isles in the accents and placements of the flourishes. Many believe those from the Archipelago originated elsewhere, even though the current rulers vehemently deny it.” He scanned the surrounding stellae. “These definitely predate the Baronies.”

“There are paintings on the walls!”

The students rushed to Mareane's side, Cory, Hernande, and Raven following at a slower pace. Cory kicked stones out of the way, frowning down at the cavern's floor, then up at the ceiling.

“That's a bison. And that's a horned deer.”

“It's called a gaezel.”

“Which is a horned deer.”

“What's that?”

“It looks like an elephant, but it's too big. And I don't remember the ones I saw having so much hair, or such long tusks.”

“The paintings are kind of crude, don't you think?”

“That's because they're old.” The students looked back as Raven joined the conversation. “But like the stellae, they're definitely made by man.”

Cory had barely paid attention to the art on the wall. “The entire cavern is manmade. Look at the floor and ceiling. They're too flat to be natural. The stalactites and stalagmites aren't that old either, that's why they're so small. They must have started forming after the cavern was abandoned.”

Hernande looked around at what they could see of the chamber. “It won't be abandoned much longer.” He met Cory's gaze, then Raven's. “You're right, Raven. We can fit most of the Hollow in this room. We need to let Sophia and Paul know what you've found.”

“What do you think is going on?”

Kara stood at the entrance to their blocked-off tunnel, the grate standing open against the wall to one side. In the cavernous junction before them, the majority of the Tunnelers were going about their usual activities—cooking, cleaning utensils, washing and repairing clothes, and taking care of the needs of the warriors and scavengers who typically left early and returned late, although it was difficult to tell whether the sun was up or not here. Cason and Ren directed the ragged groups of fighters, each group typically led by someone like Sorelle, who appeared to have been placed on permanent Hollower watch. When she wasn't out on patrol—or whatever the groups were doing when they left the cavern—she, Jaimes, Laura, and the rest of her group were camped out near the opening, someone always awake. Neither Cason nor Ren had spoken to them since they'd returned from where the Rats had wanted Kara to release the armory—not to find out about the Hollow, nor to question them about being Wielders. They'd been ignored, except by those guarding them. Jaimes and Laura brought them food and chatted with them on occasion, usually when Cason and Ren weren't around.

Today, they weren't following their usual pattern.

“Cason trained them using the same system as the Dogs. They're divided up into packs, each pack with its own alpha. She sends some packs out on patrol or as guards for the scavengers. The rest stay here for training. When the packs return, they report to Ren or directly to Cason. It's a simple system, but it worked well in Erenthrall before the Shattering, and we had more people to watch and protect.”

“I wouldn't call what the Dogs did ‘protecting.'”

“No, often it wasn't. That's one of the reasons I left.”

Kara jutted her chin out toward the chamber. “So what are they doing now?”

“Something more significant than a patrol.”

On the far side of the chamber, Cason stood on a chunk of broken stone three times her size that had fallen from the ceiling. Ren was organizing the rest of the alphas around her. Cason waited as they gathered, hand resting on the pommel of her sword. Her gaze settled on where Kara and Allan stood watching, but Kara couldn't tell what she was thinking. Eventually, she looked down at the alphas and the rest of the Tunnelers arrayed behind them. When she finally spoke, she was too distant for the words to carry, although they could see her gestures clearly.

“Can you tell what she's saying?”

“I don't read lips. But it's something about the Rats. And some other group.”

“The Temerites?”

“No, I don't believe so.”

“Then who? The Wolves?”

Allan gave her a steady look. “I think the Wolves have been following us.”

Kara couldn't speak for a moment. “For how long?”

“Since we entered Erenthrall, or at least their territory. You thought you saw them when we were crossing the river. I've caught glimpses of them a few times since then, most recently when we were all fleeing the Rats. But they're staying in the shadows. Every time I think I see them, when I look again they're gone. It's happened too often to be a coincidence.”

Kara glanced around the chamber, as if she expected to see the Wolves hiding in every corner or crevice. “Why didn't they attack?”

“Too many people around? We've been moving in groups since we arrived.”

“Not with
that
many people, though. The Wolves attacked everyone who fled the University while we were trying to reach the Nexus, and there were many more in the group then.”

“That was when Hagger led them. He's dead now.”

“So whoever is leading them now is more cautious?”

“There's no need. They could have taken all of us out at any time before we ran into the Rats and the Tunnelers. I'd wager they could have taken us even after that.”

“You have an idea why they haven't attacked, right?”

He looked at her again, then away. “I have no proof.”

“But?”

He rolled his eyes. “I caught the leader's interest when I escaped them by going through the distortion. I could see it in his eyes. Maybe he hasn't attacked because he's watching us, to see what we can do, what I can do. Or maybe he's waiting because he wants to know what we're doing here in Erenthrall. He must know we haven't been living in the city since the Shattering. The Wolves are excellent trackers.”

Kara considered what he'd said for a quiet moment, while Cason began pointing to specific alphas to give them their orders. She watched, but her thoughts were on the Wolves, on what their actions could mean.

“All of that makes sense, but only if they intend to take you alive. Otherwise, they could have taken you out any number of times since you returned.”

“Or they haven't decided yet. If they think I'm too much of a threat, then they'll attack to kill. And don't forget, they know we have Wielders now, after what the Rats had you do. Although I don't see any reason the Wolves would need Wielders.”

Kara couldn't think of any reason either.

On the floor, the Tunnelers broke into a chant that echoed oddly throughout the chamber, all of those not in one of the packs halting whatever they were doing to watch. The chant escalated, then broke into ragged cheering as the group began to stream out of the chamber into three separate tunnels, branching in three different directions. The largest group poured through the widest opening to the south.

“That's the tunnel they brought us through after we ran into them near the ley station.”

Cason jumped down from her makeshift dais and spoke to Ren, the
strategist nodding and trotting out after the last of the packs. Kara picked Sorelle and her pack out of the group headed into one of the smaller tunnels. It appeared nearly every one of their fighters was on the move, except those set to guard the tunnels.

At her side, Allan closed his hands into fists, knuckles popping, then purposely relaxed them, massaging one palm with the fingers of the other. His eyes were on Cason, who Kara noted was staring at them.

As if reaching a decision, she headed toward them.

Allan straightened, hands dropping to his sides. Kara heard someone approaching from behind and turned to see Glenn, Adder, and Artras taking up positions a few paces back. The others in their group weren't much farther behind. All of them were tired of being confined to the narrow tunnel, even though they'd been provided pallets, blankets, and food. Only Dylan remained at the back end of the tunnel, near the rubble of the collapsed section. After he'd been returned, his leg bound and braced, he'd remained as immobile as possible so that his knee could heal. But even he shifted onto his side and raised himself onto one elbow as Cason reached them.

“What's happening, Cason? And before you say it's none of our business, know that we're getting tired of being trapped in this tunnel. We appreciate the food and protection, but we need to get back to our people. They're waiting for us.”

“We kept you here for your own safety. The Rats have been searching for you. We've been watching them for the past few days. The location of this junction has been kept secret from them since we found it and claimed it after the Shattering. The closest they've come to finding us is the ley station in Tinker. They've been focused on that station for months now, attacking it on a regular basis. But helping you retrieve your Wielders has exposed us. They know we aren't only at that station.”

“What's changed? How come they didn't figure this out earlier?”

“Because we've only let them see us entering the barge tunnel system from that station. But when we rescued your group, we had to slip into the tunnels through other access points. They noticed. Whatever fear of the ley kept them from investigating the tunnels before has vanished. We were lucky in that their first few attempts to get down in the tunnels were along routes where the ley is still active and deadly. They lost a few of their people there, which made them more cautious.
Some of them refused to try after that. But they've managed to find a few other access points where the ley is either too weak or nonexistent.”