The Wexkia Trilogy: Boxed Set

by Dale Furse

  ‘I will join you after I’ve seen to Shahs,’ Tanat said.

  ‘No,’ Cay-Reace said. ‘I’ll look after Shahs.’

  Tanat looked at him, bemused.

  ‘I am, after all, a physician,’ said Cay-Reace.

  Nell winked at Cay-Reace, and said, ‘She’s behind the front desk.’

  Cay-Reace’s cheeks coloured as he left the room.

  ***

  Nell, her family and friends had to give statements to the Corl authorities. The building was similar to a police station with its lines of cluttered desks. However, the end wall of the ballroom-sized space was barely visible through the scores of many coloured Corls. Only their grey uniforms dimmed the scene.

  Jenker was already there and once they all finished talking to the authorities, he told them he’d meet them at Tish’s house.

  Nell whispered to Kale, hoping she targeted his near non-existent ear correctly. ‘You might want to get home before Jenker has time to talk to your mother.’

  ‘I’d rather wait for all of you,’ he whispered back.

  Nell nodded. She understood that wanted backup so she mustered the others and hurried them out. ‘We need to help Kale smooth it over with his mother.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  TISH MET THEM AT THE DOOR AND immediately began to scold Kale for his part. Instead of looking for someone else to intervene on his behalf, Kale stood with unflinching eyes and endured the tirade. Tish appeared taken aback by his stance and finished by saying, ‘I expect you have learned your lesson.’

  ‘Yes, Mother,’ he said with a toothy smile.

  Tish said something incoherent.

  ‘I know, Tish,’ Dar-Seldra said. ‘We’re all tired.’

  Guessing that wasn’t the first time her aunt had calmed the volatile woman down, Nell grinned.

  The door chimed and Tish moved to answer it still with a half frown between her violet eyes. Her mood was lighter when she returned with Jenker. ‘I will bring out supper,’ she said.

  No sooner had they settled into their seats than Sam blurted out his story. As he spoke, Nell thought it strange how different people saw the same situation depending on their point of view. She wondered if he was going to give anyone else credit, but he said, ‘And you should have seen Nell, well, you couldn’t see her, but you could see what she did. Somehow, she managed to help us fight and ward off any Corl, and Phib who tried to join in the combat and she did it all with her mind. How’s that for power?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Mekie. ‘She used Sam to tell us what to do and it worked wonderfully. I had to catch an okfor—.’

  ‘All the adversaries lost their darts after that,’ Kale interrupted. ‘That was Nell too.’

  Nell rolled her eyes at Kale. They all began to talk over each other. Nell wished she had scared off the combatants by herself but whatever accolades the others thought she should have, belonged to Deesc. She wasn’t certain if the outcome would have been the same if it wasn’t for him. Oh, she would have won the fight, but without killing some or even all of them? She shivered. She didn’t know.

  Deesc was right. She had to learn how to control her powers and not rely on emotion to use them to their full extent.

  Jenker said above the chatter, ‘Be silent.’ They stopped talking. ‘One at a time.’

  While they all relayed their parts in the saga, Nell noticed Tanat never said anything, instead, he eyed her between whispers to Dar-Seldra. She wished she could get into their heads as easily as she had Sam’s.

  Jenker held his hand up to quiet everyone, and asked Nell, ‘What happened to you in that room while all this was going on?’

  Nell proudly told of Cay-Reace’s actions. When she had finished, Varlor’s half-brother came to her mind. ‘And although Varlor’s young brother was frightened of Varlor, he stood up to him in the end. What’s going to happen to him?’

  ‘He too is with the authorities. They will be held until a meeting is convened tomorrow ...’ He glanced at the brightening window, ‘... today.’

  The first pink rays of the morning’s sun crept through the glass and exhaustion overwhelmed Nell.

  ***

  Once again, Nell slept fitfully, her grandmother’s words haunting her. A people would be grief-stricken at the information Nell would reveal. She awoke with the realisation that Corls were ‘the people’. As the most peace loving and advanced race in the known universe, they worked tirelessly for the good of other worlds. She wondered how they were going to react to the news that their ancestors obliterated a whole race through fear and ignorance. Her heart was heavy in her chest as she dressed and went downstairs.

  In the dining room, her eyes widened at the sight of Lesel gazing out of the window.

  ‘Lesel,’ she squealed, and as Lesel turned, Nell ran into her grandmother’s arms. ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’

  ‘How could I stay away when my granddaughter habitually finds trouble?’ Lesel laughed. Pushing Nell away, she gazed directly into her eyes. ‘I think you need a firm hand, young lady, and I have decided that it is my hand you need. I will return to Earth with you.’

  ‘Oh, Lesel,’ Nell cried. ‘I’m so happy. You will love Cape Hollow and Annet and Carl oh, I know you will.’ She caught her breath at the thought of her father.

  Lesel said, ‘I’m certain your father would agree with me.’

  ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that.’ Nell looked quizzically at her. ‘Are you sure you can’t read minds?’

  ‘No. Only you,’ she said, and with her arm around Nell’s shoulder guided her to the dining table. ‘Only you,’ she said again almost under her breath.

  Nell smiled at the closeness of the words. Through her grandmother, she felt nearer to her mother at that moment than at any other time in her life.

  While Lesel poured some green tea, Nell said, ‘Where is everybody?’

  ‘At the council chambers. The Corl Council is having a closed meeting to discuss what to do with the Elders, after which a newly formed United Council will convene.’

  ‘Can’t I go?’

  Lesel shook her head and offered some orange vegetable pie.

  ‘But Sam and Mekie are there.’

  ‘Come with me,’ Lesel said, rising, she walked to the window and pointed down.

  Nell gaped at the street below. More black capes than she had seen in one place before moved slowly through the corridor. A funeral? She looked at Lesel.

  ‘Who are they?’

  ‘They are Corls in mourning.’

  ‘In mourning?’ So it was a funeral. Someone important must have died.

  ‘Yes, they are on their way to the amphitheatre for a commemoration.’

  ‘I didn’t know there was an amphitheatre,’ Nell said. ‘That still doesn’t tell me why I can’t go to the council chambers.’

  ‘You were not invited. A commemoration is a ceremony to honour the memory of someone. In this case, it is to honour the memory of the Wexkian people.’

  ‘Huh? Then why wasn’t I invited? I am, after all, Wexkian.’

  ‘Dar-Nellen, the Corls are sorrowful and overwhelmed with guilt that their people destroyed an entire race. Your presence would increase their sorrow a hundredfold.’

  Nell frowned. ‘Why?’

  Lesel wiped her eyebrow. ‘Corls have always prided themselves on their compassion, their willingness to aid and serve all other beings in need. They need to come to terms with what has been revealed and you must give them time to do that.’

  The black sea below thinned while Lesel talked and soon the corridor was empty. Her grandmother was right. It would be wrong for her to intrude on their grief.

  Nell looked up at her. ‘It’s my fault,’ she said quietly.

  ‘No, Dar-Nellen. It is Corls who are to blame. They should never have done what they did to the Wexkians – to us, nor should they have covered their deeds. It was inevitable that the truth be discovered.’ She smiled. ‘Come along, we’ll have some tea and pie while we wait for everyone to
return with news.’

  Nell’s thoughts tumbled and snagged as she waited and tried to make small talk. How were Corls going to treat her afterwards? How were s and Phibs coping with this newfound knowledge?

  More than an hour had passed before Jenker, wearing a black cape, visited. ‘The Gramlax and Linque councils are in discussions,’ he said.

  Tish and Kale, also wearing black capes, moved alongside Jenker while Sam and Mekie walked past without a word and joined Lesel at the dining table.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Nell asked, peering at Tish and Kale’s sad faces.

  ‘We are sorry, Nell,’ Jenker said.

  ‘Sorry for what?’

  ‘That we destroyed your people,’ Tish said softly.

  Nell stared at them. ‘You didn’t destroy anybody. For Pete’s sake, it was years, no, eons ago. How could you people think you’re to blame? Varlor’s little family of Elders is responsible for what has happened now but they can’t even be at fault for what happened to the people of Wexkia then.’ Kale’s eyes brightened at her words. Nell spun around to the dining table. ‘Lesel, tell them they’re being silly.’

  Lesel looked Jenker in the eye. ‘You’re being silly,’ she said.

  Mekie smiled and Sam laughed. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘No one can undo what happened.’ He eyed the table. ‘Let’s eat.’

  Jenker seemed to comprehend Sam’s words. He relaxed and took Tish’s hand. ‘Surprisingly, the young man is correct,’ he said. ‘We cannot undo the wrongs of our forefathers.’

  Tish and Kale sat down at the table.

  ‘I’ll get more tea,’ said Lesel.

  ‘What will happen to Varlor and his brothers?’ Nell asked.

  ‘Varlor and his oldest brother are to live in exile on a lush but uninhabited planet in the Halor Galaxy,’ Jenker said.

  ‘What about Varlor’s half-brother? He isn’t like—?’

  ‘You are correct. He isn’t cut of the same mould.’ Jenker jumped in before Nell could finish her sentence. ‘He will serve a one year one month sentence in a low-grade institution for his part in Varlor’s crusade.’

  ‘I’m glad,’ Nell said. ‘He didn’t deserve to be too severely punished. He was scared of Varlor. Why one year and one month though?’

  ‘We decided it would be prudent for him to stay out of sight for longer than the mourning to allow the Corl population to resume their customary lives.’

  ‘Good idea,’ said Sam.

  Tanat and Dar-Seldra came into the room.

  ‘The door was open,’ Tanat said.

  ‘Please, sit down,’ said Tish with a wave of her arm at the chairs beside her.

  ‘How is Shahs?’ Nell asked Dar-Seldra.

  ‘She is doing well. Cay-Reace is with her.’

  Nell exchanged knowing looks with Mekie.

  ‘Have you heard from Kandar?’ Tish asked Jenker.

  ‘He and Dar-Tern appeared well in his last communication.’

  Tish let out a small hiss.

  ‘I cannot divulge more at present,’ Jenker continued. ‘The moment I know of their return I will contact you.’

  Nell’s heart ached. Her father had never been away for so long and now that Shahs was free, she missed him and wanted him home with her. A thought emerged.

  ‘I guess you’ll tell Dad what happened?’ she said to Jenker.

  ‘Yes.’

  Nell shrugged. Maybe he’ll have gotten over his anger by the time he returns.

  ‘It’s time you went back to Cape Hollow,’ Dar-Seldra said.

  ‘Already?’ said Sam.

  ‘I think the Corls will endure their mourning period a little easier without Nell’s presence to continually remind them of the past,’ Dar-Seldra said. Sam opened his mouth, not ready to give up, but she continued, ‘Linque and Gramlax are out of the question also.’

  ‘A whole year?’ Mekie said.

  ‘A whole year,’ said Dar-Seldra.

  Sam pouted and said, ‘That sucks.’

  ‘It’s okay, Sam,’ Nell said silently. She knew there was no hope of changing anyone’s minds for now and she wanted to concentrate on who Deesc was and what he was up to. Shahs wasn’t Wexkian so who did Deesc mean when he said there was another like Nell? She had a feeling that he would visit her again on Earth. This time he’d better come as his real self.

  Sam nodded. ‘Fine, but I expect you all to come to Cape Hollow and see us then.’

  ‘Mother?’ Kale said.

  ‘We will see,’ she said.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Kale as if she had answered with a straight yes.

  Lesel returned laden with a tray of cups and Nell made a silent promise to visit Shahs before she went back to Cape Hollow. But first, she would spend time with – she glanced over everybody – her extended family.

  ***

  It was eight days since Nell returned to Cape Hollow with her Grandmother and Nell had gone swimming every day. Once again, she emerged from the Pacific Ocean. She paused on the beach and scrunched up her hair at the back to wring as much salty water out as she could. Gazing up at her house, she inhaled a deep slow breath. On the veranda, a green-hooded cloak floated in the breeze. A man stood to the side with his hands on hips, looking out at Nell.

  She didn’t have to see the green, mosaic lines that covered the jade-green skin to know the emerald cloak belonged to Kandar, but she did wish she could see his face because the man next to him was her father and his stance told her he wasn’t happy. Nell glanced back at the ocean.

  In less than a second Kandar was beside her. ‘I don’t think that would be wise,’ he said, taking her wrist. ‘Dar-Tern is waiting.’

  Nell blinked as she stood in front of her father. She couldn’t read his eyes and without thinking, dove into his mind.

  ‘Get out,’ he growled aloud.

  Nell’s mind reeled back as if he had hit her. She stared at the floorboards without seeing, tears wetting the sides of her nose. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

  Neither her father nor Kandar moved or spoke for long minute after long minute. Nell wanted to peek at their faces but she was afraid of what she’d find so remained in her statue state.

  Finally her father said, ‘That’s what I mean, Kandar, she doesn’t think before she acts.’

  No answer. Nell guessed Kandar would have agreed somehow. Nell couldn’t take it any longer. She glanced up. Her father and Kandar were having an unspoken conversation with only their eyes, facial expressions and the use of their heads for nodding or shaking. Kandar caught her eye and she bent her head back to the deck.

  ‘Perhaps then,’ Kandar began. ‘She needs an education in polite behaviour.’

  ‘And obedience.’

  ‘Yes, and patience.’

  ‘I agree,’ her father said.

  Nell held her breath, kinked her head to the side and peeked at her father through her stray curls. She thought she saw him smile. She closed her eye, took a breath and gazed up. He was smiling. She glanced at Kandar. He gave her a wink. ‘You’re not mad?’ she whispered.

  ‘Oh, yes, we are angry,’ her father said. Kandar nodded agreement. Her father wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest. ‘However, I have missed you, daughter, and while we will discuss your many punishments, I want to enjoy being with you once more.’

  ‘Oh, Dad,’ Nell said and hugged in close.

  Kandar drew her away from her father and picking her up, gave her a squeeze then spun her around in a full circle before setting her back down again. ‘You are brave, sweet child, and all the peoples of the TWC have much to thank you for. However, you have a good deal to learn.’

  ‘True and I am the one who will teach you,’ her father said. ‘You can, to use an Earth expression, wangle your way around everyone else.’

  ‘You’re going to stay home?’ Nell said.

  ‘This is where I am needed,’ said her father. ‘Let me look at you.’ She twirled around. ‘You are growing into a beautiful woman.’

&nbs
p; ‘Agreed,’ Kandar said. ‘You have grown into your age.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Can we now hear from you how you found yourself in such troubles?’ said Kandar.

  ‘Yes, daughter, and we want to hear what you didn’t tell everyone else.’

  Nell bit her cheek. She had promised that she’d always tell her father everything after her troubles, as Kandar put it, with Nadar and there was no way she would ever break that promise even if that meant telling him about Deesc. She grinned. ‘Okay. Let’s go into the kitchen and I’ll put the kettle on.’

  ***

  Nell stood on the beach and gazed up, taking in the trees from Mount Grief’s base to its summit. She sighed as she sat on the sand and stared out to sea. Cape Hollow’s water shimmered in the late morning light. Her nose caught a hint of salt in the easterly breeze. The panorama usually relaxed her but her nerves refused to unwind. Her mind should have been filled with the sights, sounds and scents of her surroundings but Deesc’s words wouldn’t leave her alone. He had said there was another Wexkian, one like her. She had thought that was Shahs, but Shahs proved to be . Who was the other like her? Where was she ... or he? Deesc knew the answers to those questions. Nell threw a small, white shell at the sea. It was too light to go further than her foot. Why didn’t the oaf just tell her? She found another shell but this time, she smiled and gently lobbed it. Someone had to know where the Eldoraps lived.

  DEDICATION

  FOR ALL MY WONDERFUL READERS.

  THE STORY SO FAR ...

  NELL’S LIFE CHANGED THE DAY SHE discovered she wasn’t the Australian teenager she had thought she was; she was an alien, not any old alien, but a feared throwback to a cruel and dangerous species. Her friend, Sam, on the other hand, loved the idea.