The Python of Caspia Read online

  His eyes narrowing, he felt the Argument humming in his pocket.

  The blade. Yes, and it belongs to the mice.

  He remembered Titus waking him up, once at home in his own bed, and then again inside a giant lobster.

  We had a plan. Letty! I need to get back to Letty!

  He saw the stairwell and was grateful there was only one way to go.

  I’m in the fortress. I fought here with Martin and Clang. They gave me this.

  He had to hold the wreath as he took the stairs in a rush; it nearly flew off his head in the first bound.

  Pythia told them to occupy this place—it’s called—the Ossuary? Nico-something Ossuary.

  Minutes later, and covered in a thick layer of sweat, he hit the last stair and stepped out onto an empty floor. There were more stairs in another stairwell going down, or he could travel across this floor into darkness. He pondered for a moment, remembering that he traveled up many flights.

  It’s this way. I came this way with Pythia.

  Andy shivered at the scattered images that came back to him from minutes ago. He resolved to never enter that Juncture again.

  A faint light glittered in a chamber far ahead, and he heard the sounds of labor. Shovels scraping, high-pitched disagreements, and grunts of toil filled the hall, sharpening as he approached the light.

  He felt something snag his feet.

  What—ahh!

  Ropes tightened around his legs and his feet were pulled out from under him. He slammed into the ground, but the rope kept pulling until he was suspended, upside-down in the air.

  Shocked and gasping, he felt the circlet fall off his brow, but it didn’t clatter on the ground. Ignoring that, he reached for his ankles and tried to pull at the rope.

  He felt a bony hand cover his mouth. “Quiet—no noise.”

  “Clang?” Andy whispered.

  It was shadowy, but he recognized Clang’s gnarled silhouette.

  “Aye,” he grumbled back. “Wait, quiet like.”

  Andy nodded.

  Clang skulked off into the darkness. Andy heard a rope tear, and braced himself to hit the floor. But to his surprise, he slowly descended.

  “Andy must not see others,” Clang whispered, loosening the snare.

  Getting to his feet, Andy asked, “Why?”

  Clang led him towards a side door, and after a few turns Andy was lost.

  “Pythia ordered Goblins to catch you,” Clang finally answered.

  “Why? I did what she wanted.”

  I think I did.

  “While we were fighting, she said, if we see you not with her, to catches you. Martin says to Broken Teeth that we do not obey. I agree.” Clang stopped at a doorway and peeked through, gesturing for Andy to keep back.

  “But—”

  Clang lifted a finger for silence, before slinking around the corner and leaving Andy alone in the dark.

  She went back on her word. That’s what it sounds like. We had a deal.

  A moment later, he heard whispering coming from the other room.

  A fox face appeared out of nowhere.

  Andy recoiled in fright.

  Wait, I know this face. It’s Martin.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t recognize me?” Martin’s feathers went blue.

  “No,” Andy whispered angrily, “you appeared out of thin air, inches from my face.”

  Martin shrugged off the complaint and clapped Andy on the shoulder, “I was excited to see you again, though it’s a little dangerous for you right now.”

  “Right now,” Andy repeated, sarcastically.

  Martin waved for silence. “She’s ordered you captured, but we’ve come up with a plan.” Martin paused, “I assume you want to get back to that portal?”

  Andy nodded. “I need to get back to Caspia to find Letty—she’s a friend of mine,” Andy explained.

  “I think we can get you there,” Martin said, gesturing for Andy to come into the next room.

  He recognized the dining hall, once filled with a pile of debris.

  Martin left a count of the enemy for us on that table, Andy recalled.

  Clang clicked his tongue and his goblins appeared from under tables and behind piles of wreckage. Takka was in the group, lacking his chime harness.

  “Where is that harness of yours?” Andy whispered.

  Takka pulled on an ear before complaining a little too loudly, “Suspended—I’ve been suspended from special weapons!”

  A score of angry glares shot their way.

  “Sorry, sorry,” he whispered.

  “Just be good, and I’m sure they’ll un-suspend you. Wait, didn’t you hate that thing?”

  Takka nodded. “But nobody else has the qualified fingers, see?” He wagged his fingers spryly. “Only I, but now I can’t, ‘til I practices more.”

  Clang approached and shoved Takka toward the work he’d been avoiding.

  Clang leaned in and whispered, “He found mandolin on beach once; played mandolin. Martin make mandolin into Takka hat.” Clang grunted an abrupt guttural laugh.

  Poor guy, can’t catch a break. I wonder why they keep him around.

  The Goblins had assembled a few crates, which were mostly filled with debris. The crates bore long poles on opposite sides for hauling. Andy rolled his eyes in realization.

  Martin approached with an apologetic smile.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Andy preempted, “which crate is mine?”

  Martin chuckled, leading Andy to his empty crate.

  Andy stepped inside and shrunk down as much as he could. He had his knees up by his ears, and there still wasn’t much room.

  They put the lid on and hammered in four nails. Andy felt an instant pang of fear.

  He heard the sounds of exertion and felt gravity shift.

  The ride was jarring, and he wished that he had taken off the armor before stepping in. He felt his skin catch and pinch between metal and crate; his head smacked the lid every other step, and before long he felt a cramp running up his side, likely from being compressed for so long.

  A thin voice complained, “Look at the crates!”

  “Oh! The sharpest can loot, but the rests of us can’t?” a goblin whined acerbically.

  Andy heard a slap, followed by general grumbling.

  We must be in the Foyer. Are they going to take me down the fortified road to the beach?

  Andy cursed himself as the ride became bumpier. There was a sudden dip and a corner of the crate smacked into the ground.

  “I slipped ‘s all—no, no! No needs to help me up!” a goblin complained.

  A moment later, Andy heard Clang yell, “Open the gate!”

  And then a few fainter voices called out, “Not till we gets ours!”

  “Yea!”

  “We never gets nothin’!”

  “Open the bleedin’ gate or I go fishing with your toes!” Clang replied angrily.

  Only a few seconds passed before Andy heard gears working.

  There was a tap on the side of the box. It was Martin, who whispered, “That’s the hard part done. We’ll have you at the shore in no time.”

  Andy knew he had come here with Pythia, through a portal. He wondered if the way back was still open.

  He endured the down-hill slog, but wished that they had let him out after the gatehouse. The trip was agonizing, but, shortly, he heard the sweet sound of water lapping.

  The crate lowered with a thud, and he heard someone working away at the lid. He winced at the creak of nails being pulled from wood. At the cry of the fourth nail he pushed up against the lid and heard a yelp.

  Takka hit the floor, “Ow! You couldn’t waits a second?”

  “Sorry!” Andy stumbled out of the crate and bent to help Takka.

  “S’lright, I’ve had worse,” he said getting to his feet.

  Andy looked around and saw the crowded beachhead camp had been dismantled. All that remained were broken bits of pottery, cracked planks, and ragged pieces of
discarded clothing.

  On a stone promontory that jutted out into the sea stood the glowing portal and the bulk of the Broken Teeth. It looked like they were arrayed against the portal. Crouched, with shields up and arrows knocked, they were ready for a fight.

  “What’s going on here?” Andy asked.

  “Your kind block the way,” Clang answered.

  My kind?

  “Who exactly is in the way, Clang?” Andy asked.

  Clang gestured for his fighters to pull back from the portal before answering, “Pythia’s other children. Eyes like you; their fighters wear sea monsters.”

  Takka leaned in. “I’ll get the harness, Mastery Surgeon; we’ll chime them away.”

  Clang reeled back to throw a slap, but Takka, dancing like an experienced dodger of angry fists, was well out of reach.

  “They don’t suffer by chime! Different fighting against humans,” Clang insisted.

  Martin had a hand on his chin in consideration. “It’s true, the human fighters are more dangerous than most brutox. I estimate the worth of one of her children at about five of our own.”

  Andy was surprised by that estimate. “It can’t be that much, Martin. I saw these goblins in action,” Andy said.

  Clang grunted approvingly.

  “Look, I’ll talk with them,” Andy said.

  Clang and Martin glanced at each other before Martin answered, “They might listen to you. For some reason they think we are attacking. We were only keeping an eye on the portal, in case servants of the Ryle try to sneak through…” He shook his head. “I don’t know why we care if she is attacked in her own home—it might knock some sense into her.”

  They think she’s incompetent for leaving the portal open! Ha! It was my only chance for escape, too.

  Takka pulled on his ear nervously.

  Clang spoke, “Careful with these words, Martin. She hears much.”

  Martin crossed his arms and turned a lighter shade of red.

  “Fine,” Andy said, readying the Argument. He tightened his fist and observed the blade, “I’m going for it.”

  Andy walked closer to the portal. The goblins cleared a path for him, but they never lowered their weapons. Andy saw the armored lobster guards standing behind tall shields on the other side. They were also alert and ready to strike.

  Andy turned around, he felt there was more he needed to say. “Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, Martin. She doesn’t deserve blind obedience. And—I want the rest of you to know that she broke her word with me. She betrayed my trust when I put my life on the line for her. Right now, she’s in a play world, imagining up dances and bullies. I barely escaped, but she might not be back for years. Leave while you have the chance. You deserve better.”

  Turning his back to the fortress, ossuary, and Juncture, Andy raised his weapon and stepped through the portal.

  “Halt!” “Lower that blade!” “Get back on the other side!” A score of angry voices yelled contradictory instructions as he stepped through.

  Andy saw at least thirty armed fighters. Crossbows, toothed axes, spears, and spiked shields glittered in the sparkling amber light coming off the portal. So far above, he saw the colors arcing across the ceiling.

  Right, they don’t have that back at the ossuary, just dark ceiling.

  “Put down your weapon or we will shoot!” a female voice called out to him.

  Andy recognized Staza’s wild red hair shooting out from underneath a helmet. She looked like a fearsome lobster with a red mane.

  “It’s me—Andy! I’m back from my service.”

  Another female pushed past the fighters and took her helmet off. It was Somni.

  “Where is our Mistress?” She was furious, with a frenzied expression across her previously mischievous face.

  “She’s back at the Juncture,” Andy answered, stepping forward.

  “Halt!” Somni screamed.

  “Oh, be quiet, we know him,” Quill retorted angrily, pushing through the crowd.

  Yes! Quill is here. He’ll talk them down.

  Somni wasn’t satisfied. “Do not obey him; I’m regent of Caspia, not him.” She cast her glance from face to armored face, glowering down any dissent. “Tell us again, in exact detail, precisely where our Mistress is.”

  Andy sighed, and spoke plainly, “We left Caspia for the Nicomedian Ossuary.”

  The collected pupils looked at each other questioningly. They were clearly unaware of the name. Andy wondered how little Pythia told them. They also seemed ignorant of the goblins, and their service to Pythia.

  “We made a deal, which is between her, Letty, and myself. I won’t talk about the details, but the terms have been satisfied. Letty and I are free to go.”

  That did nothing to please them.

  “So, she remains behind, while you are here.” Somni said, sounding less furious. “Why?”

  “I helped find her treasure, and now she’s enjoying it.”

  Maybe I shouldn’t tell them that she might be gone for years.

  And to his chagrin, her next question came, “When will she return?”

  Before Andy could answer, another fighter ran up and jostled through the group to whisper a message to Somni. Somni held a palm up at Andy for silence as she spoke secretly with a few of her allies.

  “Poll? Caston? Are you here?” Andy asked the group.

  “Be quiet and listen!” Somni yelled. “When will she return to us? What did she tell you?”

  “Look, why would she tell me any more than she tells you? I’m not even a pupil here. I was basically a mercenary, and now I’ve finished my job.”

  Andy stepped forward and the fighters backed away, lowering their weapons.

  “No!” Somni screamed, reaching out and pushing Andy back towards the portal. “This is not satisfactory! Go back and return with her!”

  Andy recognized her desperation and realized that she might do anything. He raised his blade before speaking, “You might try stepping through the portal and talking to the goblins there, they also serve your Mistress. They might know more. Failing that, just find her yourself.”

  Andy pushed by, but Somni followed, fast on his heels. He recalled the portal was high on the roof of the giant lobster, Titasticus, in the heart of Caspia. He tried to remember how he got up here. His thoughts were interrupted again by Somni.

  “We are going to accept your explanation—the news of goblin servants is strange, but any who serve our Mistress are as good as kin.” There were both nods and grumbles at that. Andy imagined the posturing around the spinning tables with hundreds of goblins in the mix.

  The collected pupils, unsure of what to do, followed.

  Andy ignored them and saw another runner coming to the group, she had climbed up a rope-ladder which was bolted onto the palace roof.

  I remember a hidden passage Pythia used to get up here, but I’d have no idea how to open it. They’d just arrest me for breaking into her private chambers anyway. I’d better take that rope-ladder.

  Andy veered off course and had to watch his step as the armored shell of Titasticus curved more sharply. He loosened his grip on the Argument, pocketed it, and then took the rope-ladder down. The mass of pupils, jabbering heatedly between themselves, followed.

  Once at the base of the lobster, Andy realized that he didn’t know which way to go.

  I remember Letty telling me to meet her—somewhere in Caspia. I wonder if she found Titus. I’d ask, but these people aren’t happy with me.

  Angry that he had to do so, he waited for the others to climb down. It was a sad display as they were all armed. Carrying weapons down a ladder, in full armor, didn’t look simple.

  What were they doing up there in the first place? Probably looking for Pythia. Then they saw the goblins on the other side.

  Somni approached him with an affected grin. “This way, please,” she said, forcing a coy smile.

  Andy could see tears welling up in her eyes. Scowling, he followed.

  He
swallowed his frustration and finally asked, “Where are we going?”

  Somni laughed, “It’s not ‘to where’ that’s pertinent, but ‘to whom.’”

  Andy glowered and she smirked in response.

  “Quill? Where are you?” Andy called out to the crowd.

  Quill jostled through the pupils before answering, “Right here.”

  “No collaboration!” Somni yelled, and pointed at Quill, “Restrain him.”

  “Oh, shut up!” Andy yelled pushing past her.

  A few pupils tried to restrain Quill. They stood between him and Andy.

  “Step aside,” Andy said, tired of the pettiness.

  They hesitated, and he brandished the Argument, which convinced them to back off, despite Somni’s repeated orders.

  “Where are we going, Quill?”

  “Letty’s barricaded herself in the dining hall. She’s been yelling about a deal you two made with Pythia. She claims that she is no longer a pupil, but refuses to come out until you return.” He leaned in and whispered, “She has a pair of rats with her.”

  Titus and Taptalles. They made it.

  Staza elbowed one of Somni’s men in the face. He stumbled and hit the ground, his hands clutching at his helmet, which was dented.

  Staza slipped between Andy and Quill with a smile on her face, and said, “Glad you made it back in one piece, but you need to do something about your friend.”

  “Why, did she—” Andy paused mid-sentence, “Is Ziesqe still in Caspia?”

  “No, but his brutox are. They’re waiting for an answer from Pythia,” Musi said.

  Somni butted between them. “You, Staza—I’m going to have you expelled for sharing Caspian secrets.”

  Andy expected Staza to smack Somni silly, but she appeared cowed by the threat.

  And another person will suffer because of me.

  Andy tried to think of something that would take the attention off Staza.

  “Listen, Somni, I’m your enemy here, just focus on me, okay?”

  “I am,” she said calmly, “and no disloyalty will be forgotten.”

  Andy scoffed and the group awkwardly moved forward.

  They approached the dining hall. The doors were split in places, as if by hacking, and a few armored pupils stood guard outside.

  “Go on then,” Somni commanded.

  The group stayed clear of the doors as Andy approached.