The Balance (The Stone's Blade Book 2)

by Allynn Riggs

  “There are advantages to having the right telepathic connections.” Renloret went to the cabinet and selected three plates and mugs.

  “Oh, Melli said Taryn won’t be joining us tonight because he scheduled an evening meeting with one of the doctors. I think it may be that Dr. Treyder.”

  “The one you felt was off somehow?”

  “Yeah, I probably got him in trouble by saying that. I just didn’t like the way he acted, like he was hiding something. Taryn must have picked up on the same thing. If Taryn is talking with Dr. Treyder, the meeting was probably scheduled at Treyder’s convenience.”

  “Do you want to tell me about the blanket now or after the eve meal?”

  “After, if you don’t mind. I’m still trying to understand everything Melli said.” She resumed slicing vegetables.

  Renloret set the whistlepot on the stove to heat. Both the tea and dinner came together quickly, and they talked about everything except Ani’s conversation with Melli.

  After the meal, they renewed their mugs of tea and took the blanket and journal to the more formal study rather than the living room. Renloret ran his hands over the intricate carvings on the doors. A deep nick marred the design on the left-hand door.

  Ani blushed. “My mistake. If I’d thrown the wrist blade a bit earlier at the correct person, perhaps all this would have turned out differently.”

  “Who did you intend to hit?”

  “General Stubin Dalkey.”

  “Who did you miss?”

  “Taryn.”

  “Wow. Good thing you missed.”

  “Yes. If it’d been anyone else I would not have missed, and Taryn would have been required to arrest me. Then where would we be?”

  Renloret shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re here.” He put the journal on the desk and handed Ani the blanket.

  She hugged it to her chest, and he waited for her to tell him the story about it.

  “I … I don’t … understand the significance of this blanket. According to Melli, my twin and I were born at the cabin during that spring blizzard.” Ani fingered the blanket.

  “Go on.” Renloret encouraged.

  Ani retold Melli’s story ending. “Melli remembered my mother crying a lot.”

  Ani stopped to wipe off renewed tears and Renloret sat still. He recognized the incongruity between Melli’s story and what the Stones had told them on Lrakira. They were as sure that the twin was alive as Melli was that the twin was dead.

  A ragged breath signaled Ani’s willingness to continue her recitation of Melli’s account. “Mother wrapped Taryn in the twin’s blanket saying it was the least she could do.” Tears were running freely down her cheeks, dampening the blanket. “Melli has kept it since. She said she was going to give it to whichever one of us had a child first, but I think that even though she seemed to understand that Taryn and I were never going to be a couple, she harbored the fantasy that he and I would marry and have a child. In that way, she could return the blanket to Mother.

  Renloret shifted in his chair. “But if Melli says the twin died, then why do the Stones believe the twin is still alive?”

  Shaking her head Ani said, “I don’t know. Unless …” She sat upright in the chair, her eyes bright with hope.

  “Unless what?”

  “A stasis bag! Mother could have used a stasis bag to ensure the baby lived long enough to get her the care she needed to survive.”

  He sat forward. “That’s been done before, Ani, especially with premature births.”

  “Mother wouldn’t have been able to explain the stasis bag to Melli so maybe she lied about the baby dying, all the while keeping her safe until she could get the baby to a hospital. But why wouldn’t she have told my father? Do you suppose the baby was deformed or suffered brain damage? By using a stasis bag, Mother could have waited weeks before she took the baby to a hospital in the capital, right? You said the stasis bags could hold a person in suspension for months without harm. Would a premature infant continue to grow and develop if placed in a stasis bag right after birth?”

  “I don’t know. It sounds plausible, but I doubt it. Let’s find out what your mother says happened.”

  Renloret put his hand on the journal. “This may have the answers to our questions.”

  Ani stared at the journal, obviously unsure she really wanted to know. Renloret was also uneasy about knowing, but the Stones had been adamant that the twin was alive. However, all indications on Teramar pointed to a twin who had died shortly after birth. Hopefully, the answers were in S’Hendale’s handwriting.

  Renloret studied Ani’s expression. Did she really want him to read her mother’s journal? This was a private thing, wasn’t it? Weren’t journals supposed to be for the writer’s own eyes? By mutual heartbreaking consent, the two women had kept the knowledge of the twin a secret for twenty-five years. No one else knew.

  “I think I need a drink.” Ani got up and opened the cabinet doors behind the desk to reveal a number of bottles. “How stiff do you want yours?” She turned to face him with a narrow-necked gourd bottle in her hand.

  “I’ll have what you are having.”

  She poured two fingers of an azure liquid into multifaceted tumblers, raised her glass, and gave a deep blade salute combined with a bow. “To Mother!” As she straightened, she put the tumbler to her lips and knocked the contents to the back of her throat. She shut her eyes and shivered, then set the tumbler down and poured another two fingers.

  Renloret followed suit. “To S’Hendale!” Tears stung his eyes at the burn of the alcohol. He inhaled through his mouth, the vapors biting into his sinuses, and suppressed the need to cough. Whatever it was, it was probably the strongest liquor he’d ever had. It suited the situation perfectly. He set his glass on the desk.

  Ani poured him another two fingers and sat down. This time she took a sip and seemed to savor it. “Start reading from the date of my birth.”

  Renloret was still trying to get his breathing under control, but he nodded and opened the journal. He looked up at Ani before beginning. She tossed the rest of her drink into her mouth and waved at him to start.

  “‘After two miscarriages prior to the sixth month, I thought Melli would carry this one full term. I promised her a healthy baby. I could not break her heart. I have fulfilled my promise to the Stones by giving birth to The Blood and The Balance. My Anyala will save my world. And the Stones have blessed me with a way to honor my friend and make her family whole. May Yenne forgive me — I gave the twin to Melli. She named him Taryn.’”

  There was silence for several breaths.

  “Read that last part again.” But before he could, Ani slapped her hand over the page. “On second thought, don’t. I need another drink.” She stopped pouring at three fingers and raised the bottle to Renloret in question.

  He dipped his chin but held up two fingers. He wasn’t sure how much he could handle. The first serving of liquor had softened his vision already and he thought his words might have slurred just a bit towards the end. Ani acquiesced with a grim twist to her lips. After pouring his service, she raised her glass. “To the Stones of Lrakira. They were correct. The twin lives.”

  Renloret joined the toast and added, “May they rot in the hells of Teramar for not telling us the twin is a boy.”

  With bitter laughs, they both downed their portions.

  Sparks snapped out of the fireplace landing harmlessly on the stone hearth. Ani swirled the last of the liquor and contemplated the fire’s flickering through the liquid pattern. She sipped. Her stomach complained only a bit; it had been numbed into submission. She knew she had to think about the journal’s revelation but right now, she wanted to forget she’d ever heard the words “and she named him Taryn.” She glanced at the pilot. He was staring at the ceiling, a finger tapping the edge of his now empty glass. What impact was this information having on him? Ani sat up.

  “Fortunately, we never did anything together for which I am ashamed of or regret
.”

  His finger stopped tapping but his eyes remained on the ceiling. “It’s all right, Ani. I’ve been thinking about the behavior between the two of you. Your statement about Taryn being your best friend was the truth. I believe you. At the spring dance and sing, even Melli said your relationship was never going to be more than friends and that was what it should be.” He straightened up, and the intensity of his eyes gathered her in. “That’s what she told me at the dance. Could she know or suspect?”

  Ani didn’t answer right away. The tone of the journal implied that Shendahl had not told Melli that it had been her child, not the twin, who had died, but … Ani remembered a conversation, or had it been a warning, between her mother and Melli when, as teens, she and Taryn had been caught kissing on the porch. Her mother had said something about a friendship being the only way to keep from breaking hearts and possibly ruining families. Could Melli have guessed? If she had, wouldn’t she have mentioned it somehow? Ani wasn’t going to ask straight-out. Hells, this was a mess.

  “Perhaps, but she sounded positive that the twin died. However, unlike Gelwood, Melli never pressed us to become a couple. Gelwood can hardly wait for me to join the family, though since your arrival, I think even he will back off.” She muffled the last words, not wanting to broach the subject of where her affections might be focused.

  Nodding, Renloret stood. He stretched, teetering a bit. “What does Kela think about all this?”

  Harrumphing softly, Ani turned her gaze to the canine who was laid out on the rug between the couches. He had arrived shortly after the identity of the twin was discovered. Soft snoring indicated he was sleeping deep. “He told me before he fell asleep that he is marvelously entertained by the news. He insists on being included when we tell Taryn.”

  “Hmm, that will not be until tomorrow,” Renloret mused,

  staring at the softly snoring beast on the rug. He rubbed his chin. “I think we ought to follow Kela’s example and get some sleep. Perhaps the morn will bring us solutions. Hopefully, Taryn will have more information on this Doctor Treyder and how or if he is connected to all this. Then we can figure out how to tell the sheriff he is the twin we’re looking for.”

  Ani shook her head. “I’m not sure which he will find more difficult to ingest, the fact we are sibs or that he’s an alien, like you and me.” She slowly rose from the couch and reached for Renloret’s glass. Her vision veered and blurred as she shuffled toward the kitchen. “Bank the fire, please. I’m going to bed.” She hoped he heard her because she wasn’t sure she actually said it aloud.

  Once in the kitchen, she splashed cool water on her face. It wouldn’t sober her up but it might help her make it to bed without falling down. She chastised herself for imbibing to that extent. She was already feeling guilty, so she knew the hangover headache would be gruesome.

  A glance into the main sitting room showed Renloret leaning against the mantel, his head on his arm. The fire had been properly banked and Kela was still asleep on the rug. She turned to the stairs. They looked very long and steep. Taking the steps one at a time with both hands on the bannister, she considered how she was dealing with this change. It probably did warrant the massive drinking session, but she was not convinced that the alcohol would help her understand that she not only had a twin, but a brother. A slight shake of her head almost sent her tumbling backward down the stairs. The last step brought a sigh of relief and her hand slid heavily along the wall to her room.

  She closed the door and slid down to the floor, finally allowing the tears to come. Ani gulped in air and struggled to reach the bed. She crawled in and curled up tight. She’d always wanted a brother and now her best friend was her brother. It wasn’t like that should be a problem because they were practically family anyway. Stifling the desire to laugh hysterically, she realized that now they were indeed family — siblings — and in the quiet of her room, she was actually not too upset by that.

  But the question of why The Balance was a boy instead of a girl flashed like a bright warning light. Wasn’t there something about only girls being Singers? The Singers had mentioned it, hadn’t they? Even Renloret had said that when he was younger, his mother had been concerned that he had wanted to become a Singer, and she had dissuaded that interest because only girls had been Singers. Ani realized that the possibility of the twin being male had never been mentioned. The entire social structure of Lrakira revolved around female Singers for the Stones. Perhaps things on Lrakira were about to change and the Stones needed a male Singer.

  She considered the title that Taryn would bear, The Balance. Balance. Brother balanced sister. Male balanced female, didn’t they? Would that fact be enough for an entire world to change their social structure? Would Taryn be up to that? How would this simple yet monumental change affect Lrakira, Taryn, and Taryn’s parents? How would it change the relationship between Taryn and her? How had this knowledge already changed her? Ani gave in to emotional exhaustion and closed her eyes. Tomorrow she could figure it all out.

  Several hours later, Ani pulled the blankets over her head and snuggled deeper, trying to ignore the telepathic call from Kela. When she couldn’t, she growled, threw off the blankets, and stomped to the door.

  Kela was sitting neatly centered in the doorway, the very tip of his tail waving in front of his white paws.

  Good morn, Ani. Kela sauntered into the room.

  There’s nothing good about this morn. Her headache was blistering. After shutting the door gently, she made her way to the edge of the bed and rubbed her face with both hands, feeling the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

  You look terrible.

  Peeking between her fingers, Ani glared at him. “Ah, thanks,” she mumbled.

  You’ll feel better after a shower. He cocked his head and gave her his impression of a smile. Did you sleep in your clothes?

  Her words were muffled through her hands. “Evidently.” She sighed. Did she even have a change of clothes here? What about Renloret?

  Kela pushed his muzzle under her clasped hands to swipe her chin with his tongue. It’ll all work out, Ani. Taryn’s understanding of his world is broad. Remember, he helped Renloret save your life by singing an alien song. He saw what the blade did. He saw the ship Renloret flew to get you to Lrakira. You’ve told him about your experience on Lrakira. Did he reject these facts?

  “No,” she said.

  If I know Taryn, once all is explained, he’ll even help tell his parents. And Gelwood and Melli are his parents. He’s never known otherwise. The only difference is that the two of you are related.

  “That’s a big difference, Kela.” She flipped her hair out of the way.

  Not as big now as it would have been two years ago. Remember?

  Ani yanked off the boots — evidently she’d slept in them as well — then stripped the rumpled shirt and pants and tossed them in the basket outside the washroom. “I remember, Kela. You should remember I told him it wasn’t going to work out between us other than as friends. He was hurt then, but fortunately, he seems to have come to accept it over the past few months. You heard the lecture he gave me a couple of days ago.”

  Oh, I did indeed. Well said too. You should give Renloret a chance. He would be willing.

  She started the shower. “Right now, it’s more important to tell Taryn who he is than to tell Renloret how I feel about him.”

  Are you sure of that?

  Ani stepped into the water and began scrubbing with the soapcloth. “Yes, I can wait. The Anyala Stone can’t.” As suds sluiced off her cinnamon skin, she began to wake up.

  Hurry, the tea should be ready by now, and whatever he’s fixing to eat, I want to be first in line. Meet you in the kitchen.

  Ani finished her shower, tucked the towel around her, and let Kela out of the room. Then she turned her attention to finding appropriate clothes for the upcoming disclosure. What did a person wear when they told a friend they weren’t who they thought they were? She had to chuckle. Even the question did
n’t make sense.

  What words should she use to explain? Confidence was quickly fading as she considered the overwhelming skepticism he was sure to voice. How much time would be wasted in trying to convince him? The idea of simply abducting him and traveling to another galaxy was enticing but impractical and decidedly unfair. And what kind of reaction would Melli and Gelwood have when they were informed that Taryn was not of their blood … and an alien on top of it?

  Ani paused at the top of the stairs and shivered. Could they handle all of that information? No. It was bad enough to subject Taryn to being her twin and therefore an alien. His parents, however, should not be told about the alien stuff, only that Ani and Taryn were twins and that their mother had freely given Taryn to them out of love and respect.

  The fact that Shendahl assumed The Blood and The Balance was a single female child and not separate individuals was beside the point. Shendahl had been focused on saving her entire species and knew that a female child was the only solution. She had obviously not understood the significance of having twins, let alone the significance of one of them being male. It appeared that her mother had believed she could give Melli and Gelwood the child they dreamed about without endangering her home world. Now it was up to Ani and Taryn to face the consequences of Shendahl’s mistaken belief and choice.

  Kela thought that Taryn would be able to handle the fact that he was an alien without any hesitation, but she wasn’t as sure. Would he go willingly to Lrakira to save the Anyala Stone? What would happen after that? Would he become the Anyala Stone’s Singer? She was surprised at the flare of possessiveness that wrapped around her heart at that thought. She’d only just discovered she was a Singer and now she might have to relinquish her Stone to her brother. If Taryn became a Singer would he have to stay on Lrakira? How could that be explained to Melli and Gelwood?

  Renloret interrupted her thoughts by calling her to join Kela and him. She followed his voice and met them in the kitchen.

  “I’ve constructed the morn meal and the tea is still hot.” He smiled and bowed his head in greeting. “Let’s break our fast and face the day.”