“Not much.” Moon was certain Nobent had been lying, or obfuscating, for some reason. But it was some confirmation that they were in the right place, that the map hadn’t led them astray. “We’ll have to see what Stone finds.”
It was dusk by the time they returned to the camp on the tree branch and found that Jade and Balm were already back. They had found ruins along the shore too, but no Kek and no evidence of recent groundling habitation. Vine reported that his afternoon had been uneventful. “Flower slept the whole time,” he said. “I think she needed the rest.”
Flower, fidgeting around as if having trouble finding a comfortable spot on the branch, gave him an irritable glare. “No one cares what you think,” she told him.
Vine said wryly, “I noticed that.”
Chime handed her a pack to lean against. “Are you all right?” She hissed at him. “I’m fine.”
No one was hungry enough to hunt again yet, so there was nothing to do but wait for Stone. The branch was more than wide enough for them all to sprawl on comfortably, and through the leaves they had a good view of the seashore. During the afternoon, Vine and Flower had built a little hearth: one layer of flat, water-smoothed rocks to insulate the wood, and a second smaller layer that Flower had spelled for heat, so she could warm water for tea.
The air was fragrant in the gathering twilight, scented with the flowers of the field and the leaves of their tree. The nightbirds and treelings and insects sang and hummed, and Moon tried to listen to the others talk and not be rabidly impatient for Stone to appear.
After darkness settled over the shore, Balm took the watch and they tried to sleep. Moon lay with his head pillowed on Jade’s stomach, wide awake. He didn’t realize he was tapping his fingers on his chest until her hand closed over his. She said softly, “It’s not a long flight for Stone.”
“I know.” He made his hand relax. “Still.”
Nearby, Chime said, “Pearl will know by now. I wonder… I mean, what will she do? Besides send someone after us.”
Jade snorted, quietly. “I think we know what she’ll do.”
Just past Chime, Vine groaned.
Moon finally dozed off at some point, only to wake abruptly some time later, when someone said, “He’s back!”
Moon sat up and startled Jade awake. It was still dark but he could tell from the quality of the air that it wasn’t long before dawn. Vine had taken Balm’s place at watch and Moon scrambled forward to his side.
A darker shape hung against the starlit sky: Stone, flying back toward the shore.
By the time Stone reached them, everyone was awake. Flower was the only one who had slept heavily. Still bleary with it, she filled their kettle from the waterskin and put it on the hearth to heat.
Stone was just a big dark shadow as he landed on the end of the branch. The wood shivered with his weight, then went still as he shifted to his groundling form. He walked up the branch toward them, and Moon wished they had been able to camp on the ground, or anywhere else where they could have made a real fire. The heating rocks didn’t give off light and he wanted to see Stone’s expression.
Stone stopped a few paces away, and said, flatly, “I couldn’t find it.”
Jade stirred a little, and Moon knew she had just controlled the urge to hiss in disappointment. Chime shook his head, confused. “The seed? But—”
“The island,” Stone corrected. He sat down, moving slowly, and Moon heard his bones creak. “There’s nothing out there. I spent most of the night flying a spiral, looking for land.” He rubbed his eyes. “What I’m afraid of is that these groundlings were on a boat that sank.”
“Or the island moved,” Moon said. Suddenly some of the things Nobent had told him made a lot more sense.
Even in the dark, Moon could tell that Stone was giving him a look that would have sent most of the warriors skittering for cover. But there was more life in his voice when he said, “What?”
Moon told him, “We found a Kek settlement, and talked to a waterling trader. It said there were groundlings called ‘sea-goers’ who lived on the water and moved around.” He told the rest of it, with Chime inserting more details.
“That might explain it,” Jade said. “If we knew how these sea-goers were moving, it would help.”
Vine shrugged. “They could be on boats, or they could have a flying island.”
“If they have a flying island, it must be moving fairly fast,” Chime countered. “Too fast.”
“That’s right.” Flower sounded thoughtful. “It moved out of Stone’s range in only seven days. Flying islands drift slowly with the wind. Unless there was a big storm, and we’ve seen no sign of one, it would still be in the area. It’s more likely to be a boat.”
“Or a fleet of boats,” Moon added.
“Maybe.” Jade scratched her claws on the wood, thinking it over. “How does the water traveler find them?”
“That’s… I don’t know,” Chime said slowly. “It has to be scent, doesn’t it?”
“Something in the water.” Moon shook his head. “The sea-goers leave a trail, somehow.”
Stone sounded weary. “We’ll figure that out when we get there. You all know how we’re getting there, right?”
“An augury?” Vine asked, turning to Flower.
“No, we don’t need an augury,” Moon said before she could reply. He smiled. Old Nobent was going to help them after all. “We’ll follow the water traveler.”
Chapter Eight
Once everyone had agreed on a plan, Moon and Chime flew immediately toward the Kek city, following the dark line of the shore. The others were to follow later, after leaving a marker for whoever might be coming after them from Indigo Cloud. Stone, who would be doing the biggest share of the tracking once Nobent set out, needed to sleep before he started another long flight.
Before they left, Flower had asked, “If this creature does lead you to the sea-goers, do you have any idea what to look for?”
“Besides the seed?” Moon had to admit she had him there. “No.”
Flower sighed and rubbed her forehead. “You’ll need something to go on besides that. I’ll augur again.”
Chime frowned at her. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Flower stared hard at him. “Yes.”
After they had taken flight away from the camp, Moon asked Chime, “Why didn’t you think Flower should augur?”
“She hasn’t been looking well,” Chime replied, slipping sideways in an unexpected air current. “I just have a bad feeling about it.”
Moon hoped he was wrong. Flower’s augury was the only thing that had gotten them this far.
When they drew near the Kek city, Moon tipped a wing at Chime. Chime broke off and flew into the deeper shadows under the trees. Moon turned toward the city.
There were a few smudge pots and lights lit in the lower levels; by the smell they were using some kind of nut oil. Several lamps hung on the outer edge of the dock area Nobent occupied.
Moon had debated approaching underwater, and decided against it. He didn’t know what kind of senses Nobent had for detecting prey in the water, and it was best not to find out the hard way. He was pretty certain he could take Nobent in a fight, but that wouldn’t get him what he wanted.
He circled the city, playing the cool damp wind against his wings, dropping lower and slowing until he could catch the side of a hivetower. He heard a slight stirring of movement through the woven reed wall, and a sleepy squeak, but no one gave the alarm. He climbed down the wall head first, found the heavier support for the half-roof that hung out over the dock, and eased out onto it.
This close to the piers and the surface of the water, he could scent Nobent’s rank odor, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been before. Taking a chance, Moon crawled to the end of the roof and hung his head down over the edge.