Diar seemed undisturbed as well. She said, “We can rig the ships the same way we do for storms. We find a clearing and tie off to sturdy trees or rocks, then winch the ships down out of the wind.”
“We’ll send someone to you soon,” Jade told her.
The Blue Stone Temple lay in the forest, just over the hills from the plain with the statues. It was a big square structure buried in the trees and half-covered by flowering vines. Made from solid slabs of stone, it was open on all four sides, with a large skylight in the flat roof. The large pool it was built over was its most unique feature. Its square edges had been softened by the forest’s mossy carpet. The blue-tinted stone blended into the shadows under the trees, and Moon would have been hard pressed to find it on his own.
As they circled down to it, Moon caught a strong stench of death; a large bloated carcass of a waterbeast floated in the pool.
As they landed on the temple’s roof, Moon spotted Stone’s distinctive shape dropping down out of the clouds. Two smaller shapes accompanied him.
“That’s Balm and Branch,” Jade said, sounding preoccupied. “If we can start the journey tomorrow...” She turned away and dropped down through the skylight into the temple.
Jumping down after her, Chime said, “I was thinking, if we can use the ships to cache some of our supplies away from the colony, then come back later—”
Root, Song, and Sand followed and Moon stood there a moment, shaking his head. None of them seemed to be thinking about what they were going to do about Pearl. They seemed to believe she would snap out of it once they got her away from the colony and her visits with the Fell.
He stepped over the edge of the opening and dropped down into the temple. Inside it was just a big empty space supported by square pillars, high-ceilinged and open. The light was tinted green by the screens of foliage, the stone stained dark with moss. The reliefs on the walls had been rubbed away by time and weather. Chime, shifted to groundling, was crouched on the paving, sketching out a map in the leaf mold while Jade, Song, Sand, and Root watched.
Moon walked toward the open side that faced the pool and stood at the edge of the platform. The water was dark green, thick with scum, the bloated waterbeast lying at the far edge. It looked as if something had killed it, dragged it here, then discarded it, and their arrival had driven away any scavengers. Insects skated across the water, but nothing else moved. The stench of the carcass was worse than the hunters’ tanning court.
Moon shifted to groundling so his sense of smell wouldn’t be as acute. If they were going to spend much time here, it might be worth it to try to move the thing, but if it fell apart it would be worse.
He heard the rush of air above as Stone arrived, and turned to see the dark shape dropping through the skylight. He carried Flower in one big talon. He set her down and shifted to groundling. As Flower shook her hair out of her eyes and straightened her smock, Balm landed beside her. “I’ll keep watch up here,” Branch called to them, looking down through the skylight.
“You’ve done it,” Flower said to Jade, smiling. “We knew you would.”
Jade smiled back. She had tried to seem matter-of-fact about all this, but now she couldn’t help betraying a little pride over their achievement. She said, “So far. Now we’re trying to think how to get everyone on the ships as quickly as possible, before the Fell return.”
Chime looked up at Flower. “I thought we could get the hunters to cache the heavier supplies, maybe in the upper river caves. Then—”
Flower sat down opposite Chime to examine his map. Balm shifted to groundling and looked over her shoulder.
Stone stood apart, and Moon went over to him. He said, low-voiced, “They told you about the cloud-walker?”
“Yes.” Stone kept his eyes on the others. “The Fell didn’t come anywhere near the court until yesterday, and Pearl never left while you were gone.”
Moon couldn’t help feeling relieved. At least someone else was thinking about this. “But others did.”
“Yes. A third of the warriors and probably half the Arbora, like they do every day.” Stone’s expression was ironic. “But most of them didn’t know Jade was going to the Yellow Sea.”
“And you trust the ones who did?” Moon persisted.
Stone admitted, “I used to.”
Moon hissed in frustration. This wasn’t going to work, no matter how clever Chime, Flower and Jade’s plans were, unless they dealt with Pearl. And no one seemed to want to admit that Pearl needed dealing with. “When you get to the new colony she’ll just—”
“Wait.” Stone tilted his head, frowning. “Do you smell that?”
“Of course I smell that. Will you listen to me—”
“No, there’s something else—”
Moon heard a rush of wings overhead and spun around, looking toward the skylight. It sounded like a number of Raksura, but Branch hadn’t given a warning. He tried to shift... and nothing happened.
Startled, he looked at Stone. Stone muttered, “Oh, no. This is all we need.”
Pearl dropped through the skylight and landed on the stone floor, her scales a burst of brilliant gold and indigo against the stained paving.
Chapter Ten
Pearl stalked forward, her spines flaring. Half a dozen warriors landed behind her, shifting to groundling as they settled on the paving. Branch stood among them, as well as River and Drift.
Chime shoved to his feet, fell back a step, and threw a worried glance at Jade and Flower. Root and Song just looked confused. Everyone had shifted to groundling. Moon couldn’t tell if that was automatic deference to Pearl or if she had used her queen’s power to make them do it, the way she was keeping Moon from shifting back to Raksura. Jade just folded her arms and looked frustrated.
Pearl bared her teeth. “So here you all are, speaking in secret.”
Stone growled in pure exasperation. “Pearl, what are you doing?”
Desperate, Balm turned to Jade. “I didn’t tell—”
“I know it wasn’t you,” Jade said quietly.
That was when Moon registered the guilt on Branch’s young face. Stupid, stupid little... This was like a bad joke.
“Branch.” Flower didn’t raise her voice, but Branch flinched. “It was your idea to come here. Balm said we should meet at the cave above the Bird Valley, but you said this was better because it was further away.” She lifted a brow. “You fooled us very easily. We didn’t suspect a thing.”
Helplessly, Branch turned to Pearl. The queen said, “He was being loyal.”
“Loyal?” Jade’s spines flared. “We have to speak in secret because you keep telling the Fell everything we do!”
Pearl rounded on her in fury. “I’ve told the Fell nothing!” she snapped. “I’m trying to buy time.” She turned to glare at Stone. “By not letting them in to talk you’ve made them suspicious and more likely to attack.” Her gaze went to Moon. Her lips drew back in a sneer as she paced toward him.
Moon circled warily away from her, knowing better than to let her get within arm’s reach. His skin itched with the urge to shift, but he was trapped in groundling form. He saw River, standing back with Branch and the other warriors, smile derisively. Pearl stopped as Moon backed away. She tilted her head at Jade, saying, “So you didn’t take him yet. Having second thoughts about polluting our bloodline with a stray?”
Jade hissed between her teeth. How does she know that? Moon thought incredulously, torn between humiliation on his part and fury on Jade’s. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t tried.