Whisperworld
Chapter 24
Two more hours passed before the Lago elders and their assistant yins and yangs finally blinked their way out of the engan trance. Diego rubbed his bent back while the younger ones clutched at their heads and stomachs. A few more Whitefingers were summoned to help the worst off stagger outside into the fresh air and to keep them from falling into the water. Diego watched them with a faintly amused expression on half his face. I guess there was a lot to say about experience over youth.
I went to Kiyu and pulled her gently upright. She groaned and did her faltering best not to throw up on me. Hannah poured cups of water and I helped Kiyu to drink.
“Now what?” I asked.
“They’re not human,” Diego said. He stood and didn’t seem at all unsteady after the engan. “The Whispers are something else, and there are a great number of them. It was like nothing any of us have ever felt before. Each mind is tiny, simple and innocent, but they live in a state of constant communion. Their understanding is immense and their memory spans generations.”
“Animals of some kind,” Kiyu groaned. She held her head like it might break. “They were… pretty.”
I thought of Diesel and tried to imagine thousands of dogs living inside the Stormsphere. Dying in the Stormsphere, and when they were gone, the Whisperward collapsing. It had already happened in Sun City and Bridge City.
“What was all that about a journey?” I asked.
Diego looked at the other surviving elders, but only shook his head. “I don’t know. But ending it seems to have directly contributed to the failure occurring now.”
“The Gardeners captured them,” I said. Kiyu coughed and I rubbed her back, much like she had done for me the night before. “Trapped the Whispers inside the Stormspheres, right? All of those flowers and nectar… They’re not offerings at all, are they? They’re food.”
“That makes sense,” Diego agreed. He looked tired and Hannah hurried to bring another pillow for the old man.
“That’s why Byron was trying to breed a better nectar,” I said. “Because the things that they’re feeding are dying.”
It made sense and I hated Thorn for his secrets. Kiyu leaned against me.
“Diego, do you really think that the Whispers will help us if we save them?” I asked.
“We were in communion, Julia,” Kiyu answered. She coughed again and continued. “We shared minds. The Whispers couldn’t have lied to us. We don’t understand everything they told us, but they couldn’t hide anything.”
“If we can free them, they’ll help,” Diego said. “They only want to resume their journey, but anyone who wants to will be welcome to join them. We can travel with the Whispers and rediscover our world, if we wish.”
“Thorn’s not going to like that. But if we can learn to protect our own cities without a bunch of trapped animals, Thorn can um… eat thorns.” I moved hastily on. “So how do we do it? How do we free the Whispers?”
“I still have the key to the Stormsphere,” said Kiyu. “I can get back into Angel City. I’ve done it before.”
“That didn’t end very well the last time,” Jacks pointed out. “If the Gardeners are still keeping a close watch on that Stormsphere, we’re going to need more people. At least fifty. You’re a good yang, Kiyu, but even you can’t tangle with the Greenguard alone.”
I shook my head. “You’ll never get that many people through the greenhouses, to say nothing of getting close to the Stormsphere before the Blackthumbs notice. Thorn knows the Tear is failing and he knows that we want in. He’ll be protecting it with every man he’s got.”
Jacks’ half-burned brow creased in thought. “We could try approaching in small groups, increase the chances of a few getting through…”
“What about Thorn’s plan?” I suggested.
“Which plan?” asked Kiyu. “You mean the robot?”
“We don’t have any of your killer machines,” Jacks said.
“No,” I agreed. “But Angel City does. We don’t go straight for the Stormsphere. We get a yin close enough to Gregory to retrieve the codes for the robots, then we turn them on.”
Kiyu took my hand and squeezed my fingers gently. “We can’t do that, Julia. You’re the one who said that it was Thorn trying to kill us, not the rest of the ‘Warders. That robot killed so many people. We can’t do that to Angel City.”
For the first time since Zach’s death, a warmth filled my chest. Kiyu’s compassion astonished me. I pulled her into a fierce kiss and didn’t care if Diego or Jacks objected. If they did, neither man said anything. I could feel them staring, though.
“No,” I said when I needed to breathe again. “The robots follow their orders, regardless of what they are. Machines won’t care what the Blackthumbs do to them. If we order them to clear the area but not to kill anyone, they will. No matter how many robot parts we’re scraping off the ground when it’s done.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Diego.
It was hard to tell with his weak, whispery voice if he was surprised about that. I decided not to be offended.
“Kiyu, how close would a yin have to be to get into someone’s head?” I asked.
“Depends on the yin.”
“There are some who survived the robot who could do it, if they can just get eyes on their target,” said Jacks. He was warming to my idea. “Once they sleep off the engan.”
“Kiyu, could you get a few people up over the Angel City walls? Like you pulled me and Zach out of the hole?” I asked. It hurt to say Zach’s name.
“Sure,” Kiyu said. “I can do it.”
Jacks looked at Diego and the old man nodded.
“Select your team, Jacks, and do it tonight. You leave tomorrow at dawn. The Whispers are weakening quickly and we don’t have much time.”
Jacks spent some time conferring with Kiyu and the elders about my plan, but once I made it very clear that I intended to go along, I left him to handle the rest.
By dinnertime, Jacks was done with Kiyu, too, and I followed her back up through the sapphire-shadowed warren to her cave. I tried to memorize the way, but Kiyu’s shapely ass kept distracting me.
“Julia… are you sure you really want to go back to Angel City?” she asked.
“Yeah. I never fit in there, but I still owe it to those people to help. If I can,” I said. I tore my eyes off Kiyu’s backside. “What about you? Last time you were there, you got shot and chased.”
“You did that.”
“Oh. Right.” I ducked with Kiyu through the hangings and into her cave. “Still, it’s going to be dangerous.”
“I know. But I’ve been doing dangerous stuff for a while, Julia. I know the risks. Besides, I’m the best yang that we’ve got left. You need me.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “I do.”
Just to look at Kiyu, she seemed so delicate. Jacks could probably break her slim body over his knee, but I knew it would never be that easy. Kiyu didn’t give up and she didn’t do things halfway. There was so much life, passion and power inside her.
Kiyu was making her way around the cave, shaking algae lights to life. I closed the distance between us and grabbed her shoulders. I leaned down and kissed her hard. I caught Kiyu by surprise and she gasped against my lips before returning my kiss in equal passion. I ran my hands up her shoulders, through her hair and then down again. I traced her slender arms and sides, felt the narrow curve of her hip. Her soft skin was finally under my fingers as we fought to shed our unwanted clothes without breaking the kiss. She smelled so good… salty as her desert, as her ocean, and sweet as her soft, kind heart.
Kiyu’s small hands found my breasts and clutched eagerly. My nipples turned into hard buds at her lightest touch and I moaned as her palms grazed them. She led me through the blue shadows to the bedroom, then pushed me back until my legs hit the edge of her bed and I fell into the sheets. I didn’t expect Kiyu to take the lead, but I had seen her in battle. She was fierce and as bright as flame. How could I have been surprised?
But I was no passive little flower, either, to sit still and wait for her touch. I pulled Kiyu down on top of me so I could feel her body against my own. Her tongue danced over mine, wet and hot, and her slender legs clamped around my thigh. I slid my hands along Kiyu’s silky back as she writhed against me. I lifted my hips and wrapped my other leg around her to help her along.
Kiyu only took her lips from mine to cry out once, loud and long. When it was done, she looked up at me through dark lashes and smiled.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long now,” Kiyu sighed. “You know what else I want to do?”
I had an impressive queue of playful and clever answers that Kiyu dashed to breathless moans as she kissed her way down my neck, over my collarbone and across my chest. She left little spots of pleasure where her lips touched me, like flowers blooming across my skin. Kiyu slipped gracefully off the edge of the bed and nudged my legs apart, then kissed me deeply once more.
Kiyu’s lips and tongue stirred something deep in my core. I couldn’t hold still. My back arched and I clawed at the rough blankets, trying to find purchase just to keep from being carried away. I fought for each gasping breath and finally managed to gulp down enough air to scream out as Kiyu kissed and caressed my body to a dizzying climax.
I collapsed into the bed, weak and limp, but it felt good this time. Right. Kiyu crawled over my trembling body again and wriggled her way into my arms. I slowly regained enough muscle control to run my finger up the delicate line of her spine.
“Stay here with me, Julia,” Kiyu whispered into my ear.
Her hand slid over my belly, leaving heat in its wake. I reached down her slim body to find her wet and ready and silky soft. Kiyu kissed me.
“I think I finally found something beautiful, too,” I told her.
