by Allynn Riggs
“Yep, direct from the lake house to the research center.”
“How?” she glared at Kela. I’m thinking we should have talked about this.
Kela shook his head. He did not want to discuss that topic.
“Instead of telling you, why don’t we show you? Kela can lead the way in reverse.” Renloret didn’t seem to realize the impact of his comments.
Kela barked and headed down the central hall of the star runner to the exit ramp. He was straight-out ignoring her. When was everyone going to fess up to all that had occurred when she was unconscious? Renloret took her hand and pulled her after the canine. She stumbled along, suddenly terrified of what awaited her — and what everyone else seemed to know.
Terror was quickly replaced by the slow burn of anger that simmered as Ani walked around the hangar and launch control facility. Why had all of this been kept from her? Had her own mother and uncle not trusted her to hold their secrets safe? Safe. She knew that was their reason. They had to keep her safe until they could get her to Lrakira so her blood could save the entire Lrakiran race. Their people — her people.
Ani’s father, Yenne Chenakainet, had managed to escape Teramar during the original attack but had been forced to leave his family behind. There had been a second ship — the one Renloret had used to return her to Lrakira. Why hadn’t her mother and uncle used it? What had prevented them from escaping? Had they been under such tight scrutiny that they couldn’t attempt it and by the time they thought they could escape, the time-song had somehow prevented them from doing so? So many questions and the only person who could answer them, Reslo, was hiding out on Southern.
Uncle Reslo, now he was another problem. She had to contact him, let him know what had happened, and tell him they were about to begin searching for her twin. Perhaps he would know about the twin and who and where she was. The struggle to keep her “little girl” anger — which is how she saw it — under control so she could face the realities of her new self was getting harder. Ani wanted to slash out at something or someone and she was mortified when she realized her target was her mother. If only she had been able to save her mother, all of this might have been explained. Hadn’t her mother tried to explain just before she died? What exactly had she said? Ani couldn’t remember. Perhaps she would later when she had time to take in all of the lies.
Well, they weren’t so much lies as things never mentioned or talked about, such as this “launch tower,” as Renloret called it. He said it was connected to the research center as well as to the lake house. By tunnels, no less! She felt the anger rising again. Oh, she knew about some of the tunnels — the one from the cabin to the blade room and the one from the lake house to her mother’s private sanctuary near the hot springs outlet to the lake. The fact that there were more frightened her. How had she not known about them? She felt like a five-year-old.
She was startled out of her reverie by Renloret’s voice. She couldn’t see him and wondered where he was.
“Do you want me to explain all of this?”
“I really don’t know. It’s … overwhelming.”
Kela, who had left her to her thoughts for some time, interjected. You should have seen Taryn. I actually think he handled it better.
“Taryn’s been here?” Ani stopped in her pacing behind the consoles and looked for Renloret.
He appeared from behind the ship, sliding his hand along the sleek metallic fuselage as if he were petting it. “Well, yes. After you were injured and the Song of Healing didn’t fully awaken you, I had no choice but to find a ship to get you home. This is where we found the stasis bag that helped keep you alive too. Kela helped Taryn release the star runner from storage so I could transport you back to Lrakira.”
Ani considered this. Now she could ask one of her bothersome questions. “Why didn’t my mother and Uncle Reslo use that same ship? They could have waited a few weeks and then, when things had settled down somewhat, they could have flown to Lrakira themselves. Has anyone asked that question?”
A frown creased Renloret’s forehead. “I haven’t heard that and I didn’t think to ask it myself, though I have a long list of other questions to ask. Perhaps your uncle can answer it. Once we get to the lake house or the cabin you can send him a message.”
She nodded. “He usually doesn’t answer right away. But maybe by the time we find my twin he’ll contact us and we’ll have answers. Perhaps he’ll even want to return to Lrakira.”
Another thought came to her. “Do you have to be trained to fly one of these? Can I fly one right now?”
Renloret’s laugh was not condescending. “I don’t think so. I was in training for two sun-cycles before I flew my first real mission, though I soloed in a sprinter class flyer when I was nineteen. That was considered young. That and my high marks in astrophysics and mathematics allowed me entrance into the academy before I was twenty-four.” He paused. “I think your father was the only certified pilot in the research group. Usually there are at least three when you have a group of over ten, to account for possible injury or loss of life.”
“Did you have a backup pilot when you came here?” Ani thought about the two men she had buried near the crash site of Renloret’s original star runner.
“Sharnel.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Even though there were only three of us in total, that mission was deemed important enough to have a second pilot on board. Sharnel and Kiver were the ones assigned to locate your mother, your uncle, you, and anyone else from the original research team still alive. We didn’t know about the time shift, so we thought it wouldn’t take very long to gather everyone and return. I wasn’t even supposed to have to leave the ship.”
Ani chuckled. “Well, we know how that didn’t work.”
Kela barked for attention. All of that is in the past and we have a mission for the future. We’ve got some climbing to do. Can we just get moving?
“Okay, Kela.” The canine sent her a vision of the lake house, their first destination. Ani walked to the packs with provisions sitting at the end of the ramp. She shouldered one of them and adjusted the straps. Renloret pressed a panel on the side of the ship and the ramp retracted. He picked up the remaining pack and bowed slightly to Kela. The canine trotted off, in the lead, tail waving jauntily.
The stairs ended at the ceiling. Renloret grabbed the handle, felt for the pressure plate on the inside of it, and squeezed. The panel slid away and a rug fell on his head.
“I think Taryn has been back to the house and covered this access.” His voice was muffled as he flopped the rug off his head and out of the way. Then he scrambled up the remaining stairs.
Ani tentatively stepped into the living room of the lake house, a disbelieving look on her face. In all her years at the lake house, she had never known about this hidden entry.
I told you. Kela’s voice was gentle in her mind as he emerged from the secret stairway.
I never knew. They didn’t tell me anything! Her chin quivered slightly, her mind reeling under the impact of revelations clouding what she knew about her mother and her uncle.
Kela’s reassuring mind voice came to her. How could they? They were protecting you — the most important person in two worlds. They had to keep all of this secret, especially after the attack. They couldn’t chance discovery, not after the accusations of harboring aliens.
Renloret seemed to know her thoughts as well. “Your mother and uncle loved you and wanted to protect you from the military until you could defend yourself. By then, I’m sure they didn’t know if they would ever get you home to Lrakira. Remember that there was no communication between Lrakira and Teramar while the time bubble was present. Though that length of time was very short for us on Lrakira, it was twenty years or more for Teramar. And after so long, perhaps they gave up using their alien technology, believing it no longer functioned after the original attack. Reslo’s best opportunity would have been to go to Southern when they launched their satellite. This is so mess
ed up.” He drew her into his embrace and whispered in her ear. “Parents can do the stupidest things.”
His words moved her, but it was his scent, which was completely intoxicating, that stunned Ani into silence. Her anger faded to nothing. Hells, why now? It was as close as she had let him get in the weeks since discovering she had a twin. There had been such a fervor preparing for this return trip that they’d had little time to even discuss much beyond locating and returning The Balance, whoever she was, in order to save the Anyala Stone.
Reminding herself that she was an adult, Ani pushed away from Renloret. “I’ll be okay.” But would she, she wondered.
“It’s complicated and perhaps too much for you to understand,” he admitted. “But I know they did their best under the circumstances, and that is all we can ask of anyone, including ourselves.”
Perhaps they did too good of a job, Kela whispered. I was told not to tell you what I knew, which we now know was not enough anyway. It would have confused everyone. We needed your mother or your uncle to explain, and we had neither when the information could have helped us. Your mother was already dead and your uncle was unreachable on Southern.
No, I still would have assumed it concerned Southern and not a far-off planet. Shaking her head, she chuckled at herself.
“Can you grab the corner and help me straighten this?” Renloret asked. He had closed the sliding floor panel and was holding one end of the rug, both eyebrows raised, waiting to be noticed.
She snatched up the corner nearest her and they pulled it straight to cover the stairwell entrance. “Why cover it at all? You can’t see or even feel the seams.”
Renloret grinned. “They covered the design, Ani. Perhaps they figured you would be smarter and more curious as you grew up and you would push on the design like Taryn did. That would have given you access to the tunnels and all that information before you were ready for it.”
“That would be a parent for you, wouldn’t it?” Shrugging, she headed to the foyer. She had to get beyond this and focus on the immediate mission. “Should I leave Taryn a note that we’re going to be at the cabin or should I call him?”
“Neither. We shouldn’t leave any indication that we were here. We still don’t know if there has been any fallout from the skirmish when we left.” Renloret followed her as they headed toward the kitchen. “If we haven’t heard from him by the morrow, then we can contact him. I’d rather everyone believe we are still on Southern until we decide to let them know. Remember, Taryn has presumably been forewarned, even though I did not give him an exact date or time.”
She nodded and opened the door to the back of the house.
Kela slipped through. I’d like to do my own reconnaissance if you don’t mind. I won’t get as much attention when seen as either of you would.
“All right. Go ahead. We’re headed to the crash site first, then the cabin. Meet us there for the eve meal.”
Kela’s tail was a grey-and-white flag as he disappeared into the trees behind the outbuilding that housed the alcohol-burning vehicle.
Renloret tipped his head toward Kela’s waving tail. “Scouting ahead for us?”
“Sort of. He said he had some reconnaissance to do.”
Renloret opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it without saying anything and trudged on.
Daneeha pushed the door open. “Sheriff?” Her squeaky voice carried an odd edge.
Taryn waved his diminutive secretary in without looking up. “Don’t fuss, Daneeha, you may leave if you’d like. I’ll close up.” Taryn scribbled a note at the bottom of the day shift’s report before looking across the desk. Daneeha’s chin appeared to rest on the surface of the wood, but Taryn knew she was standing, impatient for his undivided attention.
He raised his eyebrows. “What is it now?”
“Melli saw Kela at the cemetery about an hour ago.”
He sucked in a quick breath at her startling statement and then exhaled slowly, trying to keep his emotions from playing blade games across his face. It was work keeping his voice calm. “She’s sure?”
“You know your mother.”
He stood.
“I’ll tell her you’re on your way.” Daneeha turned and followed him through the door. “Wait.” She held out the magnetic lock to his hover-car.
He snatched the blue fob and without nodding his thanks, left.
In the few minutes it took Taryn to get to his mother’s house, an endless stream of questions marched across his mind. Where were Ani and Renloret? Why was Kela at the cemetery alone? Should he try to make contact with them? Was there a plan he should know about?
The first words out of Melli’s mouth when she saw him come up the steps were, “Why didn’t you tell me they’d returned from Southern?”
“I didn’t know they were back,” Taryn said defensively. “You’re positive it was Kela?”
“Taryn!”
“Sorry, Mother. Why don’t you tell me what happened.”
Melli held him at bay while she made a pot of tea, refusing to say more about it until they were settled on the front porch with cups of the spicy infusion she was known for.
“You realize that in all the fuss of their leaving we didn’t celebrate the anniversary appropriately. Am I the only one concerned about this? It’s not respectable at all.”
Taryn did not want to talk about things that would require him to continue withholding information from his mother, but he also did not want to make his mother think he didn’t care. The grave of Ani’s mother, Shendahl, had been desecrated by General Dalkey, who had stolen her body as well as the green crystal ceremonial blade that had been buried with her. Of course, the military had claimed that there was no evidence of this because neither the body nor the blade could be found. Dalkey had been killed in the altercation, and there had been no official investigation because an investigation would have brought attention to some embarrassing behavior on the part of the military. And Taryn knew that Dalkey’s behavior and actions were certainly embarrassing. Shendahl’s casket had been recovered, repaired, and reburied, but apart from Taryn, only Mroz, Star Valley’s part-time coroner and full-time bar owner, knew that there was no body in the casket. With Dalkey dead, Taryn was likely the only person on Teramar who knew where Shendahl’s body actually was. And that information was just dangerous enough that he was not going to share it — not even with his parents.
“You’re right, of course, Mother. But right now, I need to know about Kela.”
“Fine,” Melli sighed. “This morning I took more flowers to her parents’ graves. When I saw Kela, I thought Ani would be there too. But he was alone.” Melli twisted the teacup in the saucer.
“What did he do, Mother?” Taryn scribbled a few words in his ever present notebook.
“He came from the trees on the west side, ears all perky and tail waving. He just walked over and sat with me for a few moments. Then he looked me straight in the eyes and put one of his paws on my hand, as if he were giving me condolences, just like any person would do … as if he understood. Then he left. I thought you should know.” Melli paused to sip her tea. “If Kela’s here, then Ani is also.”
Taryn picked up his cup and mumbled into his tea, “I didn’t expect them back so soon.” He hadn’t really expected them back at all. Though it had only been about six weeks, they had been long weeks as far as his heart was concerned. He hadn’t known how long the trip to Lrakira would take. And until two weeks ago, he hadn’t even known if Ani had survived to save her people, or if she and Kela had even arrived on Lrakira. All he had received was a cryptic one-line anonymous electronic statement saying that all was well and they were returning. No specifics. He wasn’t even sure it was from Renloret. Taryn shook his head. He didn’t know enough. Actually, he didn’t really know anything. “Is Father at the grocery?”
“Of course. Why?”
“If they’re back they’ll need supplies. Maybe they’re still at the store and Father hasn’t had a chance to let
either of us know. I’ll head there first and then go to the lake house.” He stood and gave his mother a quick hug. “Thanks for letting me know. Don’t tell anyone else until we know for sure.”
“No worries, son. I told Daneeha the same thing.”
“I’m glad we think alike, Mother.” He gave her another hug and brushed his lips across her cheek before running to the hover-car.
In the rearview mirror, Taryn watched Melli’s fingers ripple-rapping the porch railing. He waved as he moved the hover-car away from the house. Her response was hesitant. Then she turned and placed the cups and saucers on the tray and retreated into the house. Refocusing on the road, he shook his head, not sure how to relieve her worries. How could he? He was worried too.
Ani had stopped abruptly in the trail, and Renloret nearly ran into her. She stood her ground as he dodged and stumbled past a few steps. “Tell me again why we’re checking the crash site first.”
“To verify that all the signals are turned off, including the distress beacons, and to discover if there has been any military presence in the area since we left,” he replied. “I also want to check the status and location of the stasis bags you used to bury my crew in so we can return them to Lrakira if possible.”
Ani nodded as she flipped the long braid of black hair over her shoulder. “The cutoff to the canyon is about one hundred paces ahead.” She slid by him and took the lead again. She had traveled a dozen or so paces before Renloret could adjust his pack and catch up to her.
“Ani, where did you say Kela went off to?”
“Reconnaissance. Basically, I think he wanted to check his territory. He’ll see us at the cabin in time to eat.”
Renloret dodged the backswing of a sapling’s branch. “Is his territory that large?”
“I guess so. I never asked the size.” There was a moment of silence, then she said, “I’m blocked out.”
