The Wexkia Trilogy: Boxed Set

by Dale Furse

  Pain filled her chest as her heart shattered. ‘Kale,’ she screamed at the sky. The clouds wept with her. Nell fell to her knees and hunched over him trying to keep the rain off him. Running feet neared.

  Someone knelt beside her. ‘Let me check him,’ Mekie said, trying to pull Nell off Kale but she refused to budge. She wanted to stay close to her little friend, hoping that somehow her presence would sustain him. ‘Sam,’ Mekie hissed. ‘Take her away.’

  He bent over. ‘Come on, Nell. Let Mek check him.’

  ‘I shouldn’t have left him,’ Nell cried, as Sam pulled her up and back.

  She didn’t fight him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They watched Mekie’s ministrations in silence. She checked his breathing and pulse, sat back on her legs and sighed. ‘He’s alive.’

  Nell moved forward. ‘He’s alive?’

  ‘Yes, but he’s in a bad way. You have to get him to a physician.’

  ‘I will,’ Nell said. ‘But I don’t want you to go back in the water with those creeps in there.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘Wait for me in the trees.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ Sam said, pulling Mekie up by the arm.

  Nell scooped Kale up in her talons and headed for the mainland. As she approached, she realised she didn’t know where a restoration was. Please be home. She careered to Dar-Seldra’s house. Her aunt would save him.

  ***

  With her heart still racing, Nell lowered Kale onto the sofa.

  ‘What happened,’ Dar-Seldra wanted to know.

  Nell relayed the entire story as fast as she could while Dar-Seldra examined Kale with a small square instrument then put something under his nose. He coughed and sneezed. Dar-Seldra smiled.

  ‘Oh, Kale, thank the heavens you’re all right. I’m so sorry,’ Nell said, as she knelt beside him.

  ‘It’s not your fault. Are Mekie and Sam safe?’

  ‘They will be.’ She kissed him on the forehead. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’ She turned to her aunt. ‘How did you heal him so quickly?’

  ‘He wasn’t hurt physically. I suspect he lost consciousness from fright.’

  Kale sat up. ‘You mean I fainted?’

  ‘Something like that,’ said Dar-Seldra.

  Nell said, ‘We should report this to the authorities.’

  ‘No. Par-prald and Zae-shold’s fathers are on the Phib Council and the authorities are unlikely to do more than a surface inquiry. In fact, the boys could twist the facts to their benefit. I’ll contact a trusted member with the information.’

  ‘If you think that’s the best way,’ Nell said. ‘I have to get back to the island for Sam and Mekie.’

  ***

  By the time she brought her friend and cousin back, Kale’s colour had returned and his eyes twinkled once more.

  ‘Where’s Dar-Seldra?’

  ‘She had to go out, but she left dinner for us.’

  Sam grinned at Kale. ‘So you fainted, eh?’

  Kale lowered his eyes to his plate of green mush. ‘I’m afraid so.’ He sighed and asked Nell, ‘Are you to be allowed to see The Book of Wexkia?’

  ‘If the council agrees, but now I’m worried about those punks’ fathers being members. Who knows what they’ve been told?’

  ‘Mother will take care of you on both counts.’

  ‘I would like to see the book,’ Kale said.

  ‘Seeing as it’s about me, I think I should be able to keep it, don’t you?’

  The boys nodded in agreement.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Mekie said. ‘It’s not about you, it’s about all Phibs and s.’

  ‘Well, it’s mostly about me,’ Nell said, wagging her head. She saw defiance in Mekie’s eyes, but was surprised her cousin didn’t argue.

  Instead, Mekie gazed at Sam who was flipping through a picture book on Linque sea animals. ‘Want something to drink, boys?’

  ‘Sure.’ Sam dropped the book and stood up. ‘I’ll give you a hand.’

  Nell glanced down. The planet of Linque filling the open pages sent her senses reeling. Every nerve in her body told her that if there was a second book of Wexkia, it wasn’t on Linque. But where? She took her mind back to the time she connected to Nadar’s mind. Did I see where he found the book?

  She was certain she had a sense that his book was found on Linque. Then the second one must be on Gramlax. Yes. That was it. She grinned. Next stop, Gramlax. She refocused on the dining room.

  Kale was staring at her. ‘Is something funny?’ he said.

  ‘No ... yes ... not really. I was thinking of something, that’s all.’

  Mekie came back into the room with a tray of drinks and giggling like a schoolgirl. A chortling Sam followed.

  Nell waved the tray away. ‘No, thanks.’

  ***

  Once in her room, Nell drew the green blackout curtains that Dar-Seldra had installed to help Nell feel at home. With no real night on Linque, she needed them to help her sleep.

  The bed was comfortable and her mind drifted to her vision of the Kroll. Why did a picture of an old Kroll fill her mind? She remembered the first time she had patted one. Mekie had needed to ride it so she could fly over the walls of the city of Kafir for a picnic.

  ‘Hello there,’ Nell had said to it. As she reached up to pat its neck, her nerves jingled. Once her hand rested on its tuffs of hair, she knew it was a male. She didn’t know how she had known and she couldn’t check without first taking a class in Kroll’s anatomy but she believed she was right. She enjoyed the closeness as the Kroll leaned in closer to her and made small bleating sounds of contentment.

  Nell had touched every Kroll that had come near her since that day and the same type of closeness flared every time, so much so that it wasn’t long before she became accustomed to it, even expected it.

  Tired now, she fell into a deep sleep. Her dreams came in pictures. First of Linque, all covered with water, then Gramlax, with its high mountains jutting into the sky.

  Nadar appeared, holding the missing pages again. The harder she tried to focus on the writing the more jumbled the symbols became. This time, though, she was able to make out his surroundings. He was standing before a podium where Corls occupied four out of the five chairs. The fifth was empty. Nadar was talking, but she couldn’t hear what he said. His audience didn’t look impressed with whatever it was. He waved the pages about and his movements were agitated as he spoke.

  Nell’s dream then took her to Gramlax where one high mountain surrounded by Krolls filled the scene. They beckoned to her and a deep desire to go to them infused her. The dream faded before she could make sense of it.

  When she awoke the next morning, the pictures lingered in her mind. She had the strongest of urges to meet the Krolls of Gramlax. But if that was where the book was, the dreams hadn’t helped much. The mountain the Krolls flew around looked like any other of the thousands of mountains on Gramlax.

  ***

  Dar-Seldra took Nell before the Linque Council about mid-morning. Twelve Phibs, five women and seven men, sat behind an inverted, v-shaped bench. They sat so high, she must have looked like a small child to them; a weak one at that. Was she on trial?

  She scanned the councillors’ faces. A few focused kind eyes on her; most were stone-faced. By the snarls on their faces, it was obvious the two sitting to her left didn’t like her. She met the larger one’s eyes.

  He stared hard for a second then spoke in a hostile tone. ‘You met my son yesterday.’

  Heh. He must be one of the thugs’ fathers. ‘Yes,’ she said, not taking her eyes from his.

  ‘He has informed me you threatened him and his friends.’

  ‘Including Zae-shold,’ the man sitting next to him said, glaring down at her. He had a ginger-streaked goatee and round glasses so big they made his eyes take on a ridiculous owlish appearance.

  ‘They nearly killed Kale and ... Par-prald?’ Nell asked the first speaker. He nodded. ‘Par-prald was going to hurt my cousin. I didn’t have a choice. They w
ouldn’t have left us alone if I hadn’t scared them away.’

  ‘You are on Linque because the council voted to allow you to accompany Dar-Seldra.’ Par-prald’s father stood and waved his arm from left to right over the other councillors. ‘Now, my friends, you must agree that was a mistake. We, as the council, cannot put our people in danger. We should deport this cursed child and not allow her to return to Linque.’

  ‘Now, now. She didn’t hurt anyone.’ A female spoke on Nell’s right. ‘Dar-Seldra reported the events to me and the fact is, Nell restrained herself more than a lot of Phibs would have under the same circumstances.’

  A big-bellied, bald man stood to his feet at the apex of the V. ‘Yes, she is to be commended for her actions, not condemned. Sit down, Par-gorgan and be silent. Par-prald, Zae-shold and their friends are well known to the council. Their actions will not go unpunished.’

  Par-gorgan’s face reddened as the rest of the council made noises and nodded agreement. He sat down and whispered something to his friend next to him.

  The man who spoke up for Nell held his hand up, and said, ‘Silence. I am Cer-harld, leader of this council and I speak for all of us. Welcome to Linque, Dar-Nellen, and I hope your stay will be free of more incidents.’ He smiled and bowed.

  The other council members clapped. He held up his hand again. ‘We have voted ten to two.’ He looked at Par-prald and Zae-shold’s fathers then picked up the Book of Wexkia from the bench. ‘You may keep this.’ Plump, dimply hands held the book out and Nell approached the bench. She had to stand on her toes to reach it. ‘Thank you,’ she said. Not knowing what else to say, she bowed, first to him, then the whole council. Pausing, she stooped lower to the two agitators. A quiet chuckle sounded on the left side of the V.

  ‘You are welcome, Dar-Nellen of Wexkia,’ the leader said. She beamed at him. A laugh caught in his throat as he sat down. ‘We, the citizens of Linque, would ask a favour of you,’ he said.

  ‘Anything.’ Nell said the word before she could catch herself. Uh oh. She hoped it wasn’t anything her father wouldn’t approve of. She was already in enough trouble on that front.

  ‘We ask you to translate the Book of Wexkia with Phib scribes for the people of Linque.’ His face saddened. ‘We must then make the writings available to all Phibs and s. Both peoples must come to terms with the knowledge.’

  Now that, she could do. ‘Of course, but this,’ she said, holding the book up, ‘was meant for the Phib race.’ Nell knew what she said was true. Instantly, finding the book meant for s consumed her thoughts.

  The leader watched her and his expression became concerned. ‘How do you know this?’

  ‘You’ll have to trust me on that.’

  He slowly scanned the room. ‘I understand,’ he said. Nell guessed he didn’t. ‘You are free to go. Cha-mitzel will lead you to the scribes.’

  The same female councillor who had spoken earlier signalled with a nod for Nell to follow her.

  Nell went to her aunt.

  ‘That was kind of you,’ Dar-Seldra said.

  ‘I don’t mind and anyway, this way, I can get a few more Phibs to know me and hopefully, like me.’

  ‘Of course, they’ll like you.’

  ‘I’ll probably be here all day. What about Sam and Kale?’

  ‘I’m sure Cay-Meka and I can find something to interest them both.’ She tipped her head to the female councillor. ‘Cha-mitzel is waiting for you.’

  Nell pecked her aunt on the cheek. ‘See you later.’

  ***

  Nell spent that entire day reading and translating the book word for word. The longer she held the book the more she had to find out what was on the missing pages. She hoped sleeping with it under her pillow would help her get a sense of the Elders of Wexkia.

  She was so deep in thought, she hardly noticed the sights around her as she walked home with Dar-Seldra. She hugged the book close to her chest wondering if Nadar might have already found both books. Just because she couldn’t discern if the book was on Corl or Linque didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Maybe there were limits to the distance her senses could cover. Then again, she hoped she would have more luck on Gramlax.

  Once they arrived home, Sam, Kale and Mekie took turns filling her in what they had done. Phib education centres were open every day and they visited the one Mekie was to attend. Sam won some of the kid’s over by teaching Kale and them soccer as best he could with a ball that was only a bit bigger than a softball. Mekie and her fellow class members toured the campus.

  While her cousin and friends enjoyed a few more incident free days sightseeing, Nell repeatedly pestered Dar-Seldra to return to Corl until finally, her aunt agreed it was time to go back.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  TANAT WAS WAITING FOR THEM ON CORL WHEN they disembarked from the skark. His usual white shirt and black trousers looked freshly pressed now and although he had cut his beautiful hair nearly as short as Sam’s hair, he still looked like an angel to Nell. She took his offered hand. ‘Hello,’ he said, showing a perfect-toothed smile. ‘I have made time for you.’

  Nell flung her arms around his neck. ‘Oh, how can I ever thank you,’ she said, using her best ham-acting abilities.

  Sam said, ‘She’s having a go at you, mate.’

  When Tanat held her at arms length, understanding washed over his face and he laughed. ‘I meant I have taken leave of the council so I can take you to Gramlax to meet your family.’

  ‘I thought that’s what you meant,’ Nell said, and clapped her hands together. ‘I’d love to meet my grandmother at last and it would be so exciting if I could find the book. It would be great to hand over a copy to the Gramlax Council.’

  ‘What book?’ Tanat asked.

  ‘I think there’s another book,’ Nell said. ‘I think the Wexkians would have made two copies. One for Phibs and one for s.’ Tanat looked sceptical. ‘Don’t you think it makes sense? Nell insisted. ‘The Elders of Wexkia chose the planets that s and Phibs were sent to then surely, they would have sent books with your ancestors to explain their history.’

  Tanat rubbed his chin.

  ‘It makes sense,’ Sam said.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Kale said. ‘And even if it was true, I don’t see what difference it will make. Your two races know all about the separation already. What else is there to know?’

  Dar-Seldra moved closer to Tanat. ‘Perhaps Nell is correct,’ she said.

  ‘And what do you think, Cay-Meka?’ Tanat asked, as if he valued her opinion.

  Mekie eyed him and her mother before answering. ‘I don’t care either way,’ she said. ‘But I do want to go to Gramlax.’

  ‘Well then, I’ll have to think about it first before I can give you my opinion.’

  For morning tea at Dar-Seldra’s, they had scones, strawberry jam and cream with Earl Grey tea. Dar-Seldra liked Human food so much she had almost changed her whole diet. Only Kale didn’t eat what was served. He ate his usual green slosh from the simulator.

  ‘Go away with that,’ Sam said. ‘It smells like horse manure.’ He held his nose until Kale sat at the far end of the table.

  Nell watched Dar-Seldra and Tanat. They acted like polite strangers. She looked at Mekie next to her.

  Mekie cupped her hand to Nell’s ear. ‘They think I still don’t know.’ She went to pull away but paused mid-movement, and added, ‘They’re worried about me.’ She whispered and returned to her plate.

  ‘What are you two whispering about?’ Sam asked around a mouthful of scone.

  ‘Nothing,’ they sang together.

  Dar-Seldra shot Tanat a worried glance.

  ***

  Nell had two days to fill until she went to Gramlax. That afternoon she walked the noisy corridors of Kafir with her friends wondering who could help her find Shahs. She was running out of time. Something or someone might turn up, she hoped while taking in her surroundings. and Phib corridors were no longer separate and their stalls stood side by side. The stall owners chatt
ed with each other and their customers. Nell bubbled with happiness as she watched one such pair. The Phib customer was flirting with the male trader. That is so cute.

  Mekie waited with her while Kale went to a sweet stall owned by a small elfin-like being. Sam bartered loudly with a Bant – a giant with ogre-like features who didn’t seem to worry him in the least. Nell giggled as he tried to get the price down. Tanat had only given him a few coins.

  ‘Why don’t you tell your mother to go for it with Tanat?’ Nell said.

  ‘If you mean what I think you mean, the answer is, it is not my place.’ Mekie frowned, and then her face broke into a smile. ‘Anyway, it’s fun having them think I would throw a tantrum. It keeps them on their toes.’

  ‘Hey, you two, I hope you’re not fighting again,’ Sam said as he joined them, dangling two beaded necklaces in front of him.’ He handed one to Mekie. ‘One for you,’ he said, and turned to Nell. ‘And that bloke said I had to give this one to you.’ He grinned. ‘Do you like them?’

  ‘Oh, yes. Thank you, Sam,’ Mekie said. She inspected the blue and pink jewels before handing the string back to Sam and turning her back to him. She pushed her golden hair up so he could clasp it around her neck.

  Nell touched and turned the red jewels on her necklace. They looked like rubies, her favourite. On impulse, as Sam clumsily negotiated Mekie’s clasp, Nell kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thanks, Sam.’ His face first showed surprise then she was sure that she sensed a flush of pink under his dark skin.