by J. L. Hilton
She held him as he wept, even if his eyes didn’t make tears.
Watching and tagging those vids had been the most difficult thing Duin had ever done. Belloc helped him type the names whenever Duin’s grief overcame him, and Belloc stayed by his side until every face was ID’d. As if Duin wasn’t already grateful enough, he was grateful to Belloc for that.
“I told him I was sorry for what his mother must have gone through, seeing everything and everyone she loved destroyed.”
“You did what you had to do during the Uprising, to protect what you loved.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, and sighed a shuddering sigh. “That it was necessary doesn’t make it any more palatable. But I think Belloc and I both understand each other better.”
“Speaking of Belloc, where is my husband?” Then she corrected herself. “Our husband. He left the base this morning and I haven’t seen him all day.”
Duin held her chin in his hand and gently rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb. “He’s building a hut, so the three of us can get away and enjoy being married for a while.”
“Humans call that a honeymoon. But I still want to have a wedding on Asteria.” She nipped at the end of his thumb and he grinned.
“As I suspected. Our followers would be disappointed if you didn’t. And Belloc would be disappointed, after all the planning he’s done.”
“I do love him, Duin.”
“Yes, I know.” He laughed softly. “I do, too.”
“And I love you,” she said, and kissed him. She whispered. “Na oola vinishay, nagloim.”
“Pa na oola vinishay,” he replied, and they held each other tightly, amidst the weeol and the mist, until it started to rain.
GLIN GLOSSARY
anah—yes
Anah Anah—A judge agreed upon by both parties to a dispute, literally “yes, yes.”
augla—greetings, hello
awah na glem—“water and freedom”
bava (plural bavat)—like a toga or kilt, woven from the bav plant, similar to linen
Bool—Friend of Ga’Duhn
Buh oola vinishay—a way of saying I love you, literally “my heart is yours”
della—ruffly flower
drizni (plural driznit)—flesh-eating water creatures
esh—elder
ezzub—useless idiot
fwap—long, fat, oily fish
Ga’Duhn—A Glin in dispute with Belloc
garrablug—large unfriendly creature
gop—type of tree
Glin—The planet and the people, “Ourselves” or “Our Place” depending on the context
Glippit—an eel in a children’s story
glum—glum, morose, dour
guet—water creature, similar to jellyfish
guh—what
Gurrpawub—legendary water demon
hala—children, applies to both male and female
hidal—uncooked Glin water chestnuts
iggli—an oozing, mobile fungus
j’ni—sacred flower of Glin
jub—part of the male Glin anatomy which remains internal until mating
karak’tukt—a kind of bottom-dwelling sludge snail
klup—something you shouldn’t leave on the floor
kreel—a creature something like a cross between a walrus and a lizard
krich—a beetle which makes a noise similar to its name
labbud—animal whose ivory-like bones make great utensils
leewl—a pretty fish with thready fins
Luin—Duin’s fifth child
meh—no
Meglin—Colony of Glin on Wandalin, literally “Not Our Place”
muk—little fish
nagloim—my love, literally “of my soul”
nagyx—soul stone, also soul bound
Na oola vinishay—A way of saying I love you, literally “my soul moves to you”
nargit–reeds, similar to sugar cane
naz—exclamation of pain, like “ow”
neep—worm, similar to a fuzzy caterpillar
nibbalug—creature with chocolatey crap
Nish—Glin from Duin’s village
Oon—Duin’s son and fourth child
ooji—ocarina sort of wind instrument, made from an animal shell
Ooli—Friend of Ga’Duhn
paboul da Glinna ercheswa—“What’s your name, my friend, it’s good to see you”
Pa na oola vinishay—A reply to na oola vinishay, more or less like saying “I love you too”
pelu—flute
pitat—plant with large leaves
pud—turd
puqui—big fish
r’naw—nasty things to hunt, teeth used as knives
razit—poisonous but soft fruit
rizwij—hallucinogenic herb inducing paralysis
Sahash—Duin’s daughter and third child
Sala—Member of Freedom Council and Duin’s mother
shellon—crunchy little bite-sized crawdad type critters
skish—soft algae-like material, used for bedding
sliss—water plants with long, sharp leaves
soom—bad storm
speh gah—“don’t cry”
stetl—a kind of crayfish-like creature
Tah Ga’lin—royal family of Glin
tah baheet—stars, literally “sparkles on the sky water”
Tib—Duin’s second son
tippa (plural tippat)—hut
Tucloup—Duin’s mentor, given a translator device by human scientists
udul—type of bird
Ullu—Duin’s wife, abducted by the Tikati
veeloo—“best friend,” specifically the lover of a spouse, but who does not want to join the marriage
Vindael Nidenn—Mother of Kehlen Nidenn
voo/voola—bye or goodbye, farewell
wallump—creature hunted and made into leather, clothing
wahn—find
Wandant—Finders
Wandalin—Finder planet
weeol—insect like a firefly
Willup W’Kuay—“Long River,” Duin’s watershed home
Wrill—Duin’s son and oldest child
wurak—whip, woven of long leather strips, used for fishing, hunting, sport
Yaggla—as in the Whirlpool of Yaggla, a raging storm in the middle of the Great Ocean. If your soul gets trapped there, it cannot be reborn in the rain. The Glin equivalent of hell.
zeet—dead/death, also the electric zap of their hands
Acknowledgments
Alison Janssen for being not only my editor but my biggest fan. She plucked me off of my lonely pipe and let my voice be heard across the Stellarnet.
Angela James, everyone at Carina Press, and my fellow CP authors, who are all the most amazing, wonderful, supportive people to work with.
My husband Steven and my kids, for listening, making suggestions, and not complaining (too much) when there was klup all over the floor and I was busy at my keyboard.
Readers of early drafts, who helped me shape the story and the characters, and who encouraged me not to give up. My sister Tess Baker, #1 Belloc fangirl. Linda Cashdan of the Word Process, who understood the book even better than I did, and made Seth who he is today. And Eileen Brady, who swam with me through this adventure from beginning to end and didn’t let me drown.
Beta testers: Mike South, Maggie McGee, Brian and Jorie “Briorie” Walker, Roselee Papandrea, Diana Keever, Hilda Bryan, Eric Verner, and Lilith Davis.
All of the supportive, helpful insiders who offered advice and answers to a noob author’s questions, especially Michael D’Ambrosio, Sam Montgomery-Blinn, and William Harms.
Annie Nice. I wouldn’t be where I am, or who I am, without her. Go raibh mile maith agat.
About the Author
J.L. Hilton is a storyteller and jewelsmith whose adornment art is featured in the books Steampunk Style Jewelry and 1,000 Steampunk Creations. The award-winning fantasy novelette Wren &
Wood: Oak Moon and her children’s book Princess Amber’s Bed are both available to read through her website, JLHilton.com. “The Visitor,” in Dragon magazine, was her first published work, under the pseudonym Llynne Moore. Stellarnet Rebel is her first novel.
Her real-life adventures include taking high tea at the Huntington mansion, a degree in psychology, deciphering petroglyphs, visiting Thomas Jefferson’s grave, flying experimental military technology (for about five minutes, but it counts), studying ancient Irish history at Duke University, and reading Tarot cards. She is a past president of Friends of Ireland, a nonprofit, nonsectarian Irish cultural group, and the founder of both the Triangle Jewelry Makers and her city’s “Can’t Stop the Serenity” Browncoat charity fundraiser. In addition to fiction, she’s written for newspapers, newsletters, blogs and magazines, and worked as a reporter, photographer, columnist and editor for newspapers in Southern California, the Chicago suburbs and North Carolina.
Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and deviantART.
Where no great story goes untold.
The variety you want to read, the stories authors have always wanted to write.
With new releases every week, your next great read is just a download away!
Keep in touch with Carina Press:
Read our blog: www.CarinaPress.com/blog
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarinaPress
Become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarinaPress
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9295-0
Copyright © 2012 by J.L. Hilton
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.CarinaPress.com