Ears dipped again.
Umat bared her teeth. “The World Mothers stand beside us. We are their daughters, heart, blood, and mind. Because of what we do now, our daughters will be forever safe.”
The dayisen kissed their own knuckles in blessing, then they streamed out of the too-narrow door and into the streets, where all of Mother Night's stars still shone overhead.
For a moment Lareet and Umat just stayed as they were. Lareet saw fear and excitement shining in her sister's eyes, and it was that sight that truly brought home the fact they were preparing for battle. With the Humans. Who built this city that floated so easily miles above the ground.
Mothers stand with us. We will need all your help today.
The morning Klaxon banged overhead. Praeis lifted herself groggily out of sleep. Theia stirred where she was draped across Praeis's torso. Raising her lids one at a time, Praeis finally gave herself a clear view of the unpainted ceiling with its unforgiving, suspended globe lamps. All around her, the sounds of grumpy, reluctant wakefulness told her another day in the service had begun.
The Klaxon silenced briefly, then began to bang again, louder and faster.
Now, Praeis Shin, it is time to set a good example. She lifted Theia off of her and stood up. Together, they started rolling up the blankets and sleeping mats into tidy cylinders. Around them, the rest of the administrative shift were doing the same.
Lockers were banged open. Mats and blankets were exchanged for buckets of soaps and scrub brushes. Praeis handed Theia hers. Theia accepted it, squeezed her mother's arm, and headed off to the baths with most of the shift.
It had become a silent routine. Theia would go to the baths, and as the room emptied out, Praeis would get the black box David had given her out from her locker. She watched her daughter join the stream of arms-sisters and noticed how small she looked, despite her years and height What was she feeling? Praeis shared the waves of sorrow that washed through her, but even then sensed that Theia held something back. Theia had watched four sisters die, and now her pouch-sister was gone. Res, broad Res, lovely, lost, oh Ancestors Mine, where is she? Res was not just her pouch-sister, she was her last sister.
Praeis closed her eyes and clenched every muscle she possessed. I cannot give way. I cannot give way. The Humans will find her.
She opened her eyes and sat down on one of the long benches. She lifted the lid, revealing an injection pipette and rows of vials the size of the first joint of her little finger, filled with clear serum.
As had become her habit, she counted them. Fifty-three. She picked up the injector and slotted one of the vials into place.
Fifty-two, she thought as she held the pipette to her neck and sank it gently in.
She had just pulled it free when the dormitory door opened and Neys and Silv appeared in the doorway. Their ears were plastered flat against their scalps.
Adrenaline shot through Praeis's veins. Her arms-sisters spotted her and all but ran across the room.
“What is it?” she asked, closing the box quickly.
“The Humans are evacuating,” said Neys. Her mouth twitched. She was keeping herself from panting, but with difficulty.
No. You did not say that.
Silv bared her teeth. “The Humans are pulling out. All their personnel. We've just come from the Queens. Apparently the Humans all got orders before dawn to pack up and get to the port, or to wait at their outposts for transport.”
Praeis very carefully returned her precious box to her locker. She closed the door and faced her sisters again.
“Why?”
“We don't know!” Silv slammed a fist against a locker, rattling the doors. “All we can get out of them is “This is what we were ordered, so this is what we're doing, out of the way please.’ “ She did a good imitation of a high, precise Human voice. “Ancestors Mine, you'd think none of them ever had an independent thought!”
That's what a lot of them say about us. Praeis rubbed her own ears. “All right. Let's get the shifts changed. I'll see if I can find out anything.”
“Yes, Task-Mother,” Neys and Silv chorused.
Praeis touched both their shoulders and strode out into the corridor with her arms-sisters one step behind.
The third shift was still on duty outside, sitting at their desks poring over books and papers, sipping hot drinks, and trying to keep awake and busy until the changeover. Neys and Silv split off to oversee the shift change and all its routine details that had to be checked, cleared, and signed off on. Praeis went straight to the main administrative office. There was only one light on, and if there were staffers who used it on the dark shifts, they were all on other errands.
This was an executive room, so it had a door. Praeis closed and locked it. She leaned on the handle for a moment, trying to steady herself. The Humans were evacuating. If the Humans were evacuating, they weren't searching for Res and Senejess. That was not permissible.