by Cheree Alsop
“I’m fine,” she told him, her words a bit clipped.
He nodded. “Alright.” But it was clear by his expression that he didn’t believe her.
Liora took a seat near one of the small windows and watched their liftoff. She hoped the Nines could keep the Ketulans at bay if they appeared. No one had spotted any of the machines in at least a week. The transition from the small planet’s atmosphere to the darkness of space comforted her. The Ketulans didn’t appear.
Liora took a calming breath. She was hoping to leave difficult memories far behind. A glance at Brandis and Malie showed them holding hands and watching the stars. Perhaps something good had come from all of the pain.
Chapter 19
The atmosphere of Cree cleared to show an ocean of water interspersed with tiny islands. Liora was surprised when the ship didn’t slow. The star shape of the ship compacted and it hit the water, cutting through it with ease.
Liora stood at the window with Brandis and Malie. Rist joined them on Malie’s other side. It felt to Liora that they descended quickly through the depths, yet the water didn’t darken. Liora stared at massive columns of reef bigger around than the spacecraft. Huge creatures darted in and out, flashing teeth and claws before disappearing behind drifting plants and coral.
“What keeps it light?” Brandis asked.
“The water itself is…what’s the word?” Malie turned to Rist and asked in her native language, “How do I say that it glows itself?”
“Luminescent,” Liora replied in the common tongue.
Everyone stared at her.
“You understand Tanli?” Malie asked.
Liora nodded. “It’s similar to Sevent, the language of the blue star cluster. The vowels are longer in Sevent, but the uplift to the consonants makes Tanli easier to listen to.”
Malie gave her a surprised look. “I didn’t think one of your skills included linguist.”
Brandis smiled at Liora. “She teaches me something every day.”
Liora couldn’t smile back. She might have been able to force a positive front for Council, but Brandis knew her well enough to see a false smile.
She turned back to the window. The coral was closer together and even thicker than before. Something moved inside the massive stalks. Liora’s heart skipped a beat when she realized those were people inside the stalks walking around and looking out windows placed through the reef. A figure pressed something beside the window, then swam out into the water. Liora realized that the small specks she had thought were fish among the coral were actually Creetians moving about the water that made up the great city.
“Is that where you live?” Brandis asked in amazement.
“That’s home,” Malie replied with a smile. “The water and the enclosed oxygenated buildings of Ries. Creetians can breathe in both environments. You’ll be given breathing devices to help you out in the water.” She sighed and turned her attention back to the window. “It’s been so long.” She squeezed Brandis’ arm and gave a little squeak of happiness. “I can’t wait to see my family again!”
“Maybe this will convince them that trading with Vantites is a bad idea,” Rist said.
Tension rose at his comment. Malie speared him with the first angry look Liora had ever seen on her face.
“My mother made the trade agreement because if we don’t get more tennamite for the floundit we won’t have any more eggs.”
Brandis broke the tension by saying, “I have no idea what you just said. Was that Tanli or the common tongue?”
The brought a small smile from Rist and a laugh from Malie.
“Floundit are the main source of food for us Creetians. They’re a type of fish. But harvesting and the growth of Ries, our capital city, has greatly cut into the amount of tennamite for them to eat. If we don’t do something soon, Cree is going to be in serious trouble,” Malie explained.
“We have other options,” Rist said.
Malie glared at him. “You know we have exhausted those avenues.”
Rist fell into Tanli when he replied, “We haven’t, really. Your mother knows exactly what needs to be done.”
Malie retorted in the same language, “You keep your opinions to yourself, Rist. I’m amazed you survived working for the Council at all. I figured they’d ship you off to Pion Seven before your two years were over.”
“Sold to slavers. That’s rich,” Rist shot back.
Silence fell and the pair glanced at Brandis and Liora as though just realizing they were there.
“I don’t know what was just said.” Brandis looked to Liora for clarification.
“There’s apparently some relation here,” Liora replied.
Malie nodded and replied in the common tongue, “Rist is my cousin.”
Rist gave a wry smile. “You can’t choose family.”
That brought an answering smile to Malie’s lips. “Rist never was one to go with the flow. He was sent to the Council to fulfill their family’s required two years of dedicatory service to the cause of the CUOC, as is required of every family on Council-protected planets. I figured Aunt Purlis sent him there to keep him out of trouble in Ries.”
“It’s true,” Rist replied with a shrug. “I have a knack for opening my mouth when it’s better to keep it closed.” He looked at Malie. “But you know your mother was wrong to work out a treaty with the Vantites. Otherwise, you would still be safe on Cree.”
“Why is that?” Brandis asked into the silence that followed.
Malie let out a soft breath, and when she spoke, her voice was quieter. “They sent me along to show our family’s faith in the trade agreement.”
Rist took over when she stopped talking. His tone had changed to one of apology instead of accusation. “Vantites are known for selling to the highest bidder. I just wish I could have gotten the Council to act before you disappeared.”
Malie nodded. “Me, too. I was terrified before Brandis came. He kept telling me that his sister would find us.” Tears filled her eyes when she looked at Liora. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you enough.”
Liora didn’t know how to respond to the gratitude of the young woman’s expression. She was about to say something vague but hopefully with enough words to satiate the woman’s expectancy when Malie interrupted.
“I almost forgot. I brought you something. Ludow had these and I asked for them before we left for Cree.”
She held out an oblong package wrapped in white silk.
Liora didn’t know what it could be. She untied the string and the silk fell away. Liora’s hand started to shake.
“Liora?” Malie said.
Liora couldn’t speak. She took the two knives from the box with trembling fingers. The purple gem on the one on top caught in the light from the ship.
Brandis set a hand on Liora’s shoulder. She shook her head, her throat tight and tears threatening to spill over. She could picture Tariq in the middle of Brandis’ Golden Condor. The rush of the crowd with their lists of required goods flowed around him, but he didn’t appear to notice as he studied the blade that had caught Liora’s eye.
Why he chose to buy it for the appalling price being asked still baffled her, yet Devren’s words echoed in her mind when she found him in the crowd.
“Tariq tried to buy a knife.”
“He should,” Devren replied. “He never spends money on anything.”
“That’s what Hyrin said.” Liora had paused, then continued, “He wanted to buy it for a platinum bar.”
Devren’s eyes widened. “That must be some knife.”
“He wanted to give it to me.”
Devren stopped. The crowd flowed around them. Liora barely noticed.
“Tariq wanted to buy you a knife for a platinum bar?” Devren repeated.
Liora nodded.
Devren stared at her. His brow creased. “He’s never bought anything for anyone other than drinks at taverns for the crew. It’s not like him to put himself out there like that.”
; Liora nodded again.
Devren blew out a breath. “He cares about you, Liora.” He watched her closely as if her reaction to his words meant everything to him.
She didn’t want to hurt him. Devren had been nicer to her than anyone she could ever remember. He had freed her from Malivian’s circus. He had sworn her in as a member of the Kratos crew, giving her both a purpose and a home. Liora owed it to him to be completely honest. “I care about him, too.”
A smile spread across Devren’s face. He looked as though he was so happy he could barely contain it.
“That’s wonderful!” he said with a laugh. “That’s amazing! Tariq needs somebody; he’s been so alone. He keeps inside of himself so much I always worry about him.”
Doubt filled Liora. With her past and her Damaclan heritage, there was so much that stood between them. Devren must have read it on her face.
He touched her arm. “Liora, if he’s fallen for you, he’s already fighting his own past. That means something.”
“You think so?” Liora studied Devren’s face, hoping for something she didn’t dare believe.
He smiled at her. “I think so.”
Liora traced a finger over the sunburst that had been crafted along the blade, its rays augmented by two different shades of metal. Her heart thumped irregularly and she felt torn between the moment Tariq gave her the knife and the one where she stood looking down at it, so painfully aware of his absence that she longed to fight so she could forget entirely.
In her memory, Tariq ran his fingers over the purple stone in the hilt. “I have never seen you want anything.” He glanced at her. “You fight for everyone else, you do whatever you need to, but you never ask for anything in return.” He held the knife out to her. “You deserve this.”
A lump had formed in Liora’s throat. She took the blade, but didn’t know what to say.
When Tariq broke the silence again, his voice had been thick with emotion.
“Liora, loving me won’t be easy. I’m damaged, maybe broken; I don’t know.” He looked at her. “All I know is that while a Damaclan…” He paused as if it was hard to say. He took a breath and continued, “A Damaclan destroyed my life with the edge of a blade. Maybe another Damaclan can heal it the same way.”
Tears spilled free. He drove his palms into his eyes and a sob tore from his chest.
Liora remembered kneeling in front of him. He leaned his head against her. She held him, her chin on top of his head and her arms around him.
“I’ve got you,” she had told him quietly. “It’s okay.”
She hesitated a moment, then shoved her fears away and pushed toward him. She sent comfort, reassurance, and pushed the flicker of love that had grown inside of her to the point that it scared her with how much she cared about him.
She heard Tariq’s breath catch in his throat. He raised his head and looked at her.
“How?” he had asked. “How can you love me so much after all you know about me? What is there left to love?”
Tears had filled Liora’s eyes at his words. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said.
Tariq wiped his cheeks and smiled; when she smiled in return, her tears spilled free.
“We are both so damaged.” Tariq wiped her tears away gently with the pads of his thumbs. She could feel the ghost of that touch on her cheeks. “Love sometimes seems scarier than anything else in life. Maybe it’s the next battle; one we can fight together.”
“I would like that,” she said.
Yet there was no together, not anymore. Live together or die together had turned into simply survival. She didn’t feel she could truly live without him there. At least with the pain of her back and the healing it had taken her thoughts and strength; now, with the worst moments of recovery moving behind her, Liora was forced to confront life without Tariq again. Looking down at the knife, she shook her head.
“It’s going to be alright,” Brandis said gently.
“Did I do something wrong?” Malie asked with worry in her voice. “Are these not hers?”
Brandis shook his head. “You did just fine,” he told her, his voice soft. “Tariq gave that knife to her.”
The silence that filled the ship was complete. Liora refused to let herself break down in front of them. She could feel Rist’s gaze and knew the expression she would see on Malie’s face. The Creetian would never purposefully do anything to hurt anyone. If she thought the knives would cause Liora an inkling of pain, Liora knew Malie would never have dreamed of handing them over.
She took a calming breath. Her voice broke only slightly when she said, “Thank you, Malie. This means more than you know.”
Malie gave a hesitant smile in return. “I hope it’s alright. I didn’t mean to bring back painful past happenings.”
Malie’s mishap with the common tongue brought a hint of lightening to the tightness in Liora’s chest.
“Memories,” Liora said. “Past happenings are memories.”
“That’s a beautiful word,” Malie replied. “Memories.” She looked up at Brandis. “I like that.”
He nodded. “I like the way you say it. It sounds so happy.”
That brought a wide smile to Malie’s face.
Liora turned her attention back to the window. The ship had reached the bottom of one of the huge coral stalks. Looking up through the window, Liora couldn’t see the top of the orange reef. Her emotions at receiving the knife were tempered by amazement when the glass in front of them parted to reveal a hangar inside the base of the reef.
“Welcome to Cree,” Rist said with a nod of approval at her expression. “It’s never boring.”
“That’s for sure,” Malie replied.
The cousins smiled at each other as if agreeing on something put the earlier argument behind them.
“Are you ready to go home?” Rist asked.
Malie nodded. She took Brandis’ hand as the ship landed and the glass slid shut. A moment later, the hangar drained of water. The door to the ship opened.
A piercing cry shattered the amiable atmosphere.
Chapter 21
“Mother,” Malie said.
She let go of Brandis’ hand and rushed out the door. A moment later, a dozen of the ear-shattering shrieks pulsed inside of the ship.
“What is that?” Brandis shouted with his ears covered.
Rist merely smiled, his expression relaxed and arms crossed in front of his chest as though the screaming was normal.
“That’s a family reunion. You should wait a minute. It’ll pass.”
“How can you just stand there?” Liora asked him. She moved her hands from her ears just enough that she could hear his reply better, but regretted it when the shrieks rose in volume.
“Creetians are made to be under water,” he explained. He turned to the side so Liora could see his gills. When he pointed to his ears, she saw small flaps she had never noticed before closing the ears off from the inside.
“It’s so we can swim at great depths without damaging our eardrums,” Rist said, shouting to be heard. “It also has the secondary benefit of noise control when family welcomes long lost loved ones.”
“Rist!” The cry was unmistakable.
Rist gave Liora and Brandis a self-suffering look before walking out to the hangar. The shrieking increased to levels Liora couldn’t block out. She and Brandis exchanged looks of horror. The humor on Brandis’ face said he had hope for the situation. Liora wasn’t so sure.
It wasn’t until the cries of happiness stopped that Liora and Brandis dared to walk down the ramp. The teary smiles and uplifted faces said Malie had told them about the siblings’ role in her rescue.
A woman with scales that matched Malie’s light blue stood beside her with an arm around her waist as if she didn’t dare let Malie go. The woman wore a green shimmering one-piece suit that would be ideal for both water and land. The other Creetian women and men around her wore similar outfits.
“Mauda,” Malie said, using the Tanli wor
d for mother, “This is Brandis and his sister, Liora.”
Before Liora could back away, Malie’s mother wrapped them both up in a tight hug. The distinct smell of fish with a hint of exotic spices drifted from the woman’s gray-tinged hair. Liora gritted her teeth to keep from wincing at the pressure to her healing back. Brandis gave her an apologetic look.
“I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to express our gratitude,” the woman said, “But our home and our city are open to you for as long as you would like to stay here.”
“Thank you,” Brandis told her.
Liora echoed the sentiment. She ducked out of the woman’s arms as soon as she could do so without appearing rude. She had thought she was done with hugging when she left the S.S. Kratos, but by the looks of gratitude on the faces of the rest of Malie’s family, it was going to be a long welcome to Cree.
***
Liora tested the breathing device. It felt strange over her mouth and nose. The sensation of sucking in through the contraption felt claustrophobic.
“Are you going in there?” Brandis asked, standing beside her in her room within the coral building. He looked past her to the deep water beyond. A hint of trepidation showed in his gaze at the thought. “I’m putting it off as long as I can.”
“I need to get a little space from the Creetians,” Liora replied.
Brandis cracked a smile. “It’s been quite the welcome.”
Liora nodded and allowed herself the briefest moment of confidentiality that came with having a brother. “My back can’t take much more.”
Compassion touched Brandis’ gaze. “I’m sorry to say that I’d almost forgotten. The hugs must be much more unbearable than usual. I didn’t think about them causing actual physical pain.”
She shook her head, making light of his concern. “It’s fine. I’m just not that used to crowds. I think a swim might help me acclimatize.”
He nodded. “Not a bad idea. Maybe I’ll join you sometimes.” He looked past her to the water again. “Though it might be a while.”
