The first thing Kel noticed about Rookwell was how empty it was.
The gate had opened for them, but nobody came out to meet them. There were no farmers moving carts through the road, no merchants calling from stalls, and no children running around where they weren't supposed to be.
For a town this size, there should've been noise.
Instead, Kel could hear the wooden gate closing behind them.
Doss looked around. "Where is everybody?"
"That's what we're here to find out," Kel said.
Two Rookwell guards had been standing above the gate when they entered, but by the time Kel looked back, both had disappeared behind the wall.
He didn't like that.
Mira noticed it too. "Shouldn't somebody be talking to us?"
"Yeah."
Kel walked farther into town but kept the squad together. Small houses lined both sides of the dirt road. Most of the doors were shut, and several windows had wooden boards nailed across them. A wagon sat abandoned beside a water trough with one wheel missing.
Nothing looked destroyed.
That somehow made it worse.
If there had been bodies or burned houses, at least Kel would know what kind of trouble they were dealing with.
This looked like everyone had simply stopped what they were doing and disappeared.
Puck walked closer to Toma.
"Maybe they evacuated."
"Then why were the gates closed?" Mira asked.
Puck thought about that.
"Good point."
Doss had his hand on his club now. Kel didn't tell him to move it. This time, he agreed with him.
They checked the first few buildings near the entrance.
Empty.
The first house still had food sitting on a table. It had gone bad days ago.
The next one had clothes scattered across a bed and a bucket of water beside the door.
The third belonged to a family.
Kel knew because of the small wooden toys on the floor.
He stood in the doorway longer than he meant to.
Nobody.
Luno came up behind him.
"You feel anything?"
Kel shook his head.
He had been trying since they entered.
External Qi was hard to read inside the town because buildings changed the wind naturally. He could feel little shifts here and there, but nothing that screamed Qi.
Internal was even worse. There were people somewhere nearby—the guards proved that—but Kel couldn't sense anyone actively gathering Internal Qi.
Soul was different.
There was fear.
He was almost sure of it.
It hung over Rookwell in a way he couldn't explain. Every time Kel tried focusing on it, the feeling disappeared.
"Your insects?" Kel asked.
Luno looked down.
Several insects had crawled beneath his collar since they entered town.
"They don't like it."
"Can they tell you why?"
"Not really."
Luno touched the beetle on his shoulder.
The response came quickly.
Hide.
Another insect answered from near his collar.
Bad.
Luno frowned.
"What?"
Kel had started recognizing that look.
"They keep saying things like bad and hide."
Doss looked around. "That's helpful."
"More helpful than you."
"I've got a club."
"Congratulations."
Kel stepped between them before the argument could get started.
"We keep checking the front of town. Nobody goes off alone."
They searched the next street.
Still nothing.
They found a small store with half its shelves empty. The money box hadn't been touched.
Mira found dried blood outside a stable.
Toma found claw marks across the back door of another house.
Doss found a bottle of something and tried opening it.
Kel took it away.
"Seriously?"
"What? Nobody's here."
"That doesn't make it yours."
"We don't even know if they're coming back."
Kel stared at him.
Doss slowly put the bottle back.
"Fine."
They eventually reached a small square near the front of town.
Kel stopped there.
Going farther would mean moving deeper into Rookwell without knowing what was waiting for them.
Harven's warning had been stuck in his head since morning.
Everyone comes home.
Kel hated how much those words were affecting every decision he made.
Before Harven gave him a squad, Kel would've kept moving until he found something. If it attacked him, he'd deal with it.
That was easier when Luno was the only person he had to worry about, and even then Luno usually had enough sense to stay out of trouble.
Usually.
Now Kel looked at the others.
Toma was trying to hide how nervous he was.
Puck had stopped talking about food, which Kel hadn't known was possible.
Mira kept checking the windows.
Even Doss wasn't asking to go looking for a fight anymore.
Kel wasn't sending any of them deeper into town blind.
He looked at Luno.
"Can your insects search?"
Luno blinked. "Search what?"
"The town."
"You mean all of it?"
"As much as they can."
Luno glanced at the buildings around them.
Kel continued. "Harven told us to find out what's going on. We don't all have to walk into whatever's waiting out there to do that."
Luno started understanding.
"Little spies."
"Exactly."
Doss frowned. "So bugs get to investigate and we don't?"
"The bugs can fly."
"So?"
"They're also harder to kill than you."
Doss looked offended.
Mira laughed.
Kel crouched beside Luno.
"Have them look for people first. Anyone alive. After that, anything that looks like it could've killed or taken the people from town."
Luno nodded slowly.
"I can try."
He opened the jar.
Nothing happened.
Usually that was enough now. Some of the insects would crawl out while others flew toward whatever had Luno's attention.
This time they moved deeper into the jar.
Luno frowned.
"Come on."
Nothing.
He held his hand near the opening.
Warmth moved through his fingertips. Since yesterday, he'd started noticing that part. Whenever he concentrated on the hive, some of his Qi seemed to move toward them.
He still didn't understand why.
The insects became more active, but they didn't leave.
No.
Luno's eyes widened.
That one had been clear.
Another feeling followed.
Strong.
Then several at once.
Bad.
Hide.
No.
Luno pulled his hand back.
Kel saw his expression.
"What?"
"They don't want to go."
Doss looked at the jar.
"Your bugs can refuse?"
"I didn't know they could."
Luno tried again.
"We need to find the people."
The beetles moved nervously.
A flying insect reached the top of the jar, looked outside and crawled back down.
Luno almost laughed despite the situation.
"Seriously?"
Then something else touched his mind.
Not one voice.
Several.
Different feelings piled together so quickly he couldn't separate them.
Fear was the strongest.
Luno looked at Kel.
"They're scared."
That got everyone's attention.
"Of what?" Mira asked.
"I don't know."
Luno closed his eyes and tried listening.
It was getting easier, but understanding the insects was still messy. Some seemed clearer than others. A beetle's thoughts didn't feel the same as a fly's. The little winged insects were quick and scattered. The beetles felt slower but stronger.
Sometimes Luno wasn't even sure whether he was hearing a thought or just feeling what they felt.
"They keep saying there's something out there they don't like," he said. "Something strong."
Kel's stomach tightened.
"How strong?"
"I don't know."
That was the problem.
Harven had given them a level to run from, but none of them could sense whatever was frightening the hive.
Kel looked deeper into town.
If something strong enough to scare Luno's insects was hiding its Qi, that might be worse.
"We're not moving."
Doss looked at him. "We're just staying here?"
"Until we know more."
"What if the people need help?"
Kel didn't answer immediately.
He had been thinking the same thing.
Last night, Harven had taught him to protect the weakest. This morning, he'd told him to run if the threat was too strong.
Those lessons felt a lot easier when they weren't fighting each other.
"If they're alive, running in blind isn't going to help them."
Doss didn't argue.
Kel looked at Luno again.
"Can you get any of them to go?"
"I don't know."
A tiny voice came from Luno's hat.
"Tell them."
Luno looked up.
"Tell them what?"
"To go."
"That's what I'm doing."
"No. You're asking."
Spark crawled out from beneath the edge of Luno's hat.
Luno lowered his voice.
"They're scared."
"So are you."
Luno frowned. "I'm not scared."
Spark stared at him.
"Fine. A little."
Kel crouched closer.
"What's Spark saying?"
Luno started to answer, but Spark spoke loudly enough for Kel to hear.
"Tell them to do what Kel said. We'll be fine."
Luno stared at him.
"You're volunteering them?"
"They trust you."
"Then why are they hiding?"
"Because they aren't stupid."
Kel laughed once.
Even Mira smiled.
Luno looked down at the jar.
The insects were still crowded together.
Spark moved closer to the opening and made a series of strange sounds.
Luno's head snapped toward him.
Some were clicks.
Others were tiny chirps and noises Luno couldn't even figure out how Spark was making.
The insects immediately reacted.
The beetles stopped hiding.
A few winged insects climbed toward the opening.
Luno stared.
"What did you just say?"
Spark looked at him.
"The same thing I've been saying."
"No, you didn't."
"Yes."
"You just talked to them."
"Yes."
Luno pointed at the insects.
"You can understand them?"
Spark looked confused by the question.
"Of course."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
Luno stared at him.
Spark stared back.
"You're telling me this now?"
"You never asked."
Luno threw both hands up.
"How was I supposed to know I needed to ask?"
Kel was trying not to laugh.
Luno ignored him.
"You understand every insect?"
"Most."
"Beetles?"
"Yes."
"Flies?"
"Yes."
"Ants?"
"Yes."
"Spiders?"
Spark paused.
"Not an insect."
Luno's face tightened.
"You know what I mean."
Spark seemed pleased with himself.
"I know insect language. Different insects communicate differently, but I understand them."
Luno looked at the jar, then back at Spark.
"Can you teach me?"
"Yes."
That answer came so casually Luno almost got angry again.
"You could've been teaching me this whole time!"
"You were barely hearing them before."
Luno stopped.
That was true.
Spark climbed back toward Luno's hat.
"When this mission is over, I'll teach you."
Luno smiled.
"Promise?"
"Sure."
That was good enough.
Luno looked down at the hive.
"All right. You heard him."
A beetle crawled onto his hand.
Luno felt its fear.
He didn't try pushing the feeling away.
"I know something's out there. You don't have to fight it. Don't get close. Just find the people and come back."
The beetle's wings opened.
"Please."
It flew.
Another followed.
Then three more.
The rest began coming out.
Within seconds, insects spread across the square. Some disappeared beneath doors and through broken windows. Others flew above rooftops. Beetles crawled into cracks along the road while smaller insects vanished into places none of them could follow.
Luno closed his eyes.
At first, it was overwhelming.
Too many directions.
Too many feelings.
He almost called them back.
Then Spark spoke quietly beside his ear.
"Don't try to hear everyone."
Luno breathed.
"Then how do I do this?"
"Listen for what matters."
Luno concentrated.
The noise slowly separated.
Empty.
One insect.
Empty.
Another.
Food.
Luno ignored that one.
More spread deeper into town.
Kel sat beside him while the others kept watch.
Minutes passed.
Luno started sweating.
Using the hive like this was harder than finding goats in a field. Buildings blocked paths. Some insects disappeared beyond the range where Luno could feel them clearly.
Every time one went silent, his stomach tightened.
Then one returned.
A fly landed on his knee.
Luno touched it.
Nothing useful.
Another came back.
Then another.
Empty.
Blood.
Bad.
Kel watched his face.
"Anything?"
"Not yet."
More time passed.
Then Luno felt something different.
Several insects far deeper in Rookwell had gathered in one place.
Fear hit him first.
Then—
People.
Luno's eyes opened.
"I found them."
Everyone moved closer.
Kel stood.
"Where?"
"Far side of town. I think."
Luno closed his eyes again.
The insects were still sending him pieces.
Many.
Alive.
Relief hit him.
"They're alive."
Toma smiled.
"That's good."
Luno didn't answer.
Something else was coming through.
The insects were panicking.
Danger.
Strong.
Hurt.
Then one thought reached him clearer than the others.
Trapped.
Luno opened his eyes.
The relief was gone from his face.
Kel noticed immediately.
"What?"
Luno looked at him.
"I've got good news and bad news."
Doss tightened his grip on his club.
Kel already knew which one he wanted first.
"The good news?"
"We found the people."
Kel nodded.
"And the bad?"
Luno looked toward the far end of Rookwell.
His insects were still screaming warnings inside his head.
"The people are in danger."
End of Chapter 17 — Fight Someone Better