Where Heroes Unite (Rewrite)

Chapter 9: Nesting in Inconvenience

By the time they arrived at Muhtal's "safe place," everyone was soaked to the bone. Gahreen and Geela didn't seem to mind — they danced in the falling rain, their scales catching what little light passed through the clouds — but Reyna couldn't share their enthusiasm. If not for the thunder, the guards would have tracked her shivering armor before they got very far.

Muhtal wordlessly loped to an outcropping of rocks a mile or so from their previous path, wiggling through two particular spires. The boys did the same, though their size made it far easier. Reyna was just happy to go anywhere that might be dry.

"Gods," Reyna breathed.

Deep within the rocks was a shallow waterway carved out of the ground and laden with pale blue stones. Stretching out for several yards behind and in front of her was a sandstone brick path, though the wall seemed naturally formed. It was pleasant enough, though Reyna couldn't appreciate the cool draft swiping in the air.

"Our place is deeper in the tunnel," Muhtal told her, already several paces ahead of them. "If you want your precious information, then you oughta hurry."

"The guards won't find us here?"

She chuckled. "I said it was safe, didn't I? Besides, nobody uses this place anymore. Probably forgot about it. I would if I could."

"The place has a bad history," Geela muttered; for a moment, Reyna thought he was speaking to himself. "Dinaara said that it used to be a prison for crimi-nals—"

"—except they weren't criminals. Right, Muhtal?" Gahreen asked, smiling hopefully.

"That's right, Reeny. Now come on; hopefully you can catch some leaks."

Both boys gasped, then took off down the tunnel.

Reyna raised an eyebrow at Muhtal. "What did he mean by that?"

"One question at a time, ma'am," she mocked. "As soon as I'm dry, I'll start talking."

"That wasn't the deal. You agreed that we would talk as soon as we were safe." The Praetor gestured at the otherwise empty tunnel. "Do you see any threats here?"

"Yeah. A head cold."

Fair. They continued in silence.

After several more turns and crudely carved stairs, they arrived at a tunnel swathed in beaded curtains. Muhtal pushed them aside casually, having enough courtesy to let Reyna halfway through before she dropped them and ran into the room.

Room might have been understating it; whatever this place was, it clearly had been packed before Muhtal and this Dinaara inhabited it. The main area they entered was a perfect square, with canals spilling into a small, shallow circle in the middle. Gathered around this circle were various pieces of furniture, ranging from rickety antiques minutes away from collapse to a couch carved out of sandstone and laden with pillows and blankets. Muhtal had already draped herself across this couch, accepting a ragged towel from Gahreen before he ran off.

"Nice place," Reyna admitted, liking how her voice echoed against the ceiling. Maybe if the Senate building had such intimidating acoustics her centurions would actually listen to her for once. (Not to name any names, that is. . . . Dakota.)

Muhtal pried her veil off, furiously wiping at her smeared make-up. "Yeah, it does a girl just fine." Loud giggles sounded from another room. "And a few others too, as you can see."

Gahreen and Geela emerged from another curtained tunnel. In their finned hands were several stacks of bowls, wooden and ceramic. They scampered about the room, setting them down randomly. By the time they were all placed, the boys drifted around aimlessly, glaring expectantly at the ceiling.