The Unseen Key (Fractured Everest Book 4) by D.H. Dunn

Author:D.H. Dunn [Dunn, D.H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-06T22:00:00+00:00

Nima ran her fingers through her hair, trying to brush out as much of the seawater as she could. There was still some water in both of her ears as well, despite her attempts to get rid of it.

It was annoying as it muffled her hearing, but it was only a distraction. The real challenge was getting answers out of the stoic Adarsa, who had already resumed his position standing motionless near the mast.

Once they had returned to the ship, Sudnum had turned the wheel over to Lum and departed to her cabin below, looking at Nima and issuing forth a loud guffaw before departing.

The rest of them had gathered in a rough circle around Adarsa, a formation that would have made Nima nervous if she were at its center, but unsurprisingly, the focus of their attention remained as still as stone.

Nima was confident if they attached a sail to Adarsa, he’d simply stand there and let them do it. The image was amusing, but she forced it away, though she planned to share it with Lhamu later.

It was time to attack the ice of Adarsa’s silence, and she felt she had realized the perfect crack in his wall in which to start hammering her ax.

“Adarsa,” she said, standing a few feet in front of him. “As part of this expanding you’re going to do, will you admit you are one of the Apex?”

“What?” Odan shouted. Lhamu and Sil-Nae gasped, and even the Speaker seemed surprised.

“What else could he be?” Nima asked, turning to face Odan. She allowed herself a moment of pride in his shocked expression. “He acts like he owns everything and is untouchable, just like they are. He’s of no race any of us have ever seen. I may not get out of the Manad Vhan quarter much, but Lhamu does. Either her or Sil-Nae should have at least heard of something that looks like him. Finally, he cares about our plans here. Why would some random race even care what the Manad Vhan do?”

“A not unimpressive deduction,” Adarsa said. If Nima had got under his skin, or whatever that glassy surface was, he wasn’t showing it.

“I’m glad you’re at least not hiding that anymore,” Nima said. “Now, why not tell us why you’re really here. You want to stop us from finding the Key, right?”

“Incorrect,” Adarsa said. “The Manad Vhan Crown desires the Key. You seek to prevent that. I am here to aid you.”

“But why help us?” Lhamu asked. “Why not just stop Janakas?”

“We are interested in helping you specifically, as you stated earlier. Like the Apex, you are not from this world. You-” Adarsa’s torso pivoted to face Nima, his waist twisting while his legs stayed straight. “You are a human, from Earth. Your companion is a Caenolan, from Sirapothi. Both are races that hold great interest for the Apex.”

Nima found herself gasping. The Apex knew of Earth? Of Sirapothi? Since coming to the City of Sands only the most studious of Manad Vhan scholars knew of Nima’s world.

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