by Allynn Riggs
Her hearty laugh said much about where she was emotionally. “During the blade ring competition, I watched all the women, and I mean all the women, watch Taryn with lust in their eyes, chasing after him to get his attention or even kiss him. And I realized I was never — not even once — jealous. I even encouraged a few of them behind Taryn’s back. I was surprised that I saw him more as brother than possible lover.” She shook her head. “I didn’t feel the kind of love for him I thought a life partner should feel, so I rejected his proposal. Taryn was disappointed, but we’ve managed. That was just before Mother got sick.
“It was a good thing I broke it off because I was able to focus on her afterward, including trying to figure out what had made her sick. A few days ago, Yenne and I speculated that if we had her body, the doctors on Lrakira might be able to find out why she died. Now that her body is gone, I doubt we’ll ever know.”
Renloret wanted her to continue talking. The shock of learning who her twin was had actually allowed her to see part of what her father was struggling with. Life was not what they had understood it to be, and to survive with their own identities intact, they had to find ways to face and accept reality as it was, with all its surprising and surreal components. This would make them better people, a better family, and better able to support Taryn.
Ani looked down for a moment, avoiding direct eye contact. Then she raised her head, met his eyes, and gave him a crooked little smile. “I’m not sure that gaining a second child will stitch together Yenne’s battered and bruised soul. He has lost twenty years of his family’s life, his wife is no longer around to love, and he now has two children who are adults. His son doesn’t even know he’s his son and his daughter has been resisting the idea of being his daughter, until now.” She looked directly into Renloret’s eyes. “Yes, I’ve fully accepted it, but the notion of my father being barely ten years older than me still strikes me as uncivilized.” She broke into a full grin. “But you will be relieved to know that I am more rational about it all now — as if there is anything rational about any of this. I guess I’ve been learning how to accept the impossible as possible ever since I met you, or at least, ever since I discovered you were alien.”
Renloret joined her in a laugh. At least she was able to see some humor in the situation. He was not sure he would handle it as well, even with his knowledge that time could be twisted. He looked around the room. Where was Kela? Renloret assumed the canine would have attended all the conferences between father and daughter. He leaned over to see if Kela was under the table.
Ani’s head appeared next to his. She smiled. “No, Kela is not here. He is in the infirmary, keeping an eye on Taryn for me. Even when Kela is not in the room with Yenne and me, he always listens in on the discussion — at least my side of it. He’s still listening in, and he is laughing right now because he sees you through my eyes, upside down under the table.”
Renloret straightened in his chair. “I was wondering.”
“He appreciates your concern.”
“That brings up a question of mine. Just how much can Kela see or hear?”
Her green eyes took on a distant, inward looking appearance, and she was silent for a few breaths. “He says I can tell you that, in general, without any of our shields in place, he can feel my emotions, hear my thoughts and spoken words, see what I am seeing, and, are you ready for this? He can read the lips of the person or people I am with as long as I can see their mouths. He cannot actually hear them speak unless I think about what they said or he’s in the room with us. He understands Northern, and I’m guessing your instruction time with him on the first trip to Lrakira has given him impetus to continue learning Lrakiran as well. So be careful what you say around him. That talent has proved quite useful if I want to know what’s being discussed and can’t or shouldn’t be present, such as when I sent Kela to be with Melli before we obtained the journal.
“In fact, he’s using his knowledge of Lrakiran to keep me informed of what the doctors and other crew members talk about. Oh, he’s just heard that we’re approaching the Lrakiran system and that the doctors on board have requested the same surgery team that removed the device from my head to report to the hospital to prepare to remove the device from Taryn.”
Ani tipped her head toward the door. “Let’s get the coma device out of his head.” She palmed the door panel to open it and Renloret followed her.
Ani tucked the blanket around Taryn’s shoulders and placed a kiss on his forehead. She was relieved he was out of the confines of the stasis bag. And though she knew he could not hear, she whispered in his ear, “Renloret said you wanted to come with him when he brought me to Lrakira but you opted to stay behind to do what you could to protect Star Valley and my family. Thank you for all your help in finding my twin. I hope you won’t be disappointed with the results. I guess your reward for being who you are is a secret trip to a faraway land where you can save the life of a true alien.”
Ani stepped back, allowing the attendants access to the floating stretcher. She hugged herself as they guided it out of the ship and into the medical building. The same surgeon who had removed the coma device from her brain walked beside them after promising Ani she would be allowed in the recovery room. He wanted a familiar face to be present when Taryn awoke. An extensive medical staff would be present throughout the removal operation to learn from and support Doctor Sholoret. The staff was excited about having a second device available for research, and they were ecstatic about the boxes of research notes, which would be in their offices soon. Ani had been treated like a hero for bringing them another opportunity to get their hands on the device. None of them had been told the patient was The Balance.
Ani glanced back at the ship. Her father and Renloret had reached the end of the ramp and were in animated conversation. Kela followed them and sent her a quiet message saying that Renloret had delayed Yenne to give her a few moments with Taryn before he was escorted to surgery. Yenne was still struggling with the time loss and subsequent age difference between him and his now adult children. She wasn’t sure she understood it all herself, but she did understand how difficult the circumstances had to be for him.
He had left his wife and young daughter at a moment of crisis and had every intention of returning as quickly as possible to retrieve them. The Stones certainly had not cared whether the father of The Blood and The Balance had been on Teramar or not. They had been focused on the time-song, which should have aged the twins to pubescence. The time bubble around Teramar had evidently blocked all communication with Lrakira during the ensuing years, thus explaining why her mother and uncle had not been able to communicate with Lrakira even to request another rescue when Yenne had not returned in the expected timeline. And then Selabec had attacked the Anyala Stone, shattering the bubble and jumping the time forward. At least that was the line being thrown to those who needed an explanation.
“Ani?” Renloret’s voice eased her out of her ruminations. She turned to see that her father and Renloret were now within arm’s reach and held out her hand. Renloret grasped it and pulled her close. She felt her father’s hand on her shoulder. The three of them huddled wordlessly for several breaths, each offering and accepting comfort as the hovering stretcher disappeared beyond the doors on the way to the hospital. To Ani, the huddle felt almost like a family.
Still, she was the one who pushed away first. “While Taryn is in surgery, the Singers wanted to discuss their findings with us in the hospital conference room.”
“Selabec is coming?” Yenne asked.
Ani shook her head. “No, just Diani and Layson. My grandmother is still in protective custody until the blade can be removed and the survival of the Anyala Stone is guaranteed.”
“As she should be.” He patted her shoulder.
Kela’s snarky agreement flashed through Ani’s mind. “Stop that, Kela.”
The canine sneezed and glared at her. Well, I do agree with him.
“You don’t have to be quite so spit
eful.” She bent down and stared into his icy blue eyes.
Yenne chuckled. “I’m guessing he’s in agreement with me.”
“You could say that.”
I did say that. Kela swiped her cheek with his tongue. She needs to be there a very long time. She tried to kill it, Ani. What happens if Taryn can’t remove the blade?
“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out why Selabec did it in the first place.”
“Now that is a good question, little one,” Yenne said.
Ani, Kela, and even Renloret stared at Yenne. Ani swallowed. Little one. He had finally called her little one.
“What did I say?” He stepped out of the huddle, consternation clear on his face.
Ani shook her head. “It’s not important, Yenne.”
Ani pushed Renloret toward the building. The last time Yenne had said those words to her, she’d been five years old, and even though she’d been waiting for him to say it, she was perturbed by how important hearing those two words from him again actually was. Waffling between giving her father a hug and smacking his shoulder for treating her as if she were five, Ani grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. She tried to convince herself it really was not significant, especially since she was finally beginning to accept him as her father. It was just that she was too old for such a childish nickname. She motioned to Kela to lead the way. He complied with a muffled grumble in her head about puppies always being puppies and he could commiserate with Yenne on this topic.
In all the conversations they’d had on the trip from Teramar, Yenne had never once used the term. Why had he used it now, and was it as important as part of her wanted it to be? This time slip and age difference or lack of one was going to drive her crazy. She released her father’s hand and increased her stride to get ahead of the two men. Somehow this would get hammered out and her self-understanding would be straight and clean as a newly annealed short blade.
The hospital conference room was the same one she had been interviewed in after her own surgery to remove the first coma device. She had also been introduced to her father in this very room. A small amount of guilt wiggled up as she remembered slapping him. She watched her father rub his cheek. He also must be remembering. She looked away. Much had changed in the past couple of weeks, and circumstances were very different now.
While they waited for Diani and Layson to arrive, Ani silently ran through all the messages that had been sent to the Singers during the trip back to Lrakira.
“They did get Yenne’s message about the book, didn’t they?” Ani asked.
“I received acceptance notification from Diani,” Renloret said. “Hopefully, they found it and have deciphered its meaning. I guess we will have to wait until they get here.”
“Did we ever receive confirmation that the vaccine made from my blood is actually working,” she asked. She had been told that it would be distributed quickly, but it didn’t seem possible that any country, let alone an entire planet, could vaccinate millions of women and girls in such a short time.
Renloret turned from the window and gave her a heart-melting smile. “Oh, we would have been told quite soon after landing on Teramar if the vaccine was not working. I mean we are more technologically advanced than you folks on Teramar.” He winked at her to keep her from defending her birth world. “The vaccines were divided by provinces and every female on Lrakira was probably vaccinated before we were halfway to Teramar. It would only take a few test subjects to verify the authenticity and effectiveness of the vaccine. Any female off world would receive their dose in their next supply deliveries. So there is the possibility that, truly, all is well for our people, thanks to you.”
Ani shook her head. A thought brought a frown to her face. “How many women have died in this plague?” she whispered, stunned by the impact the blood of one person had on an entire planet. Was she really their savior?
Renloret pulled out the chair next to her and grasped both of her hands. “As I told you, it took us several sun-cycles — years — to figure out exactly what was going on. Those who became pregnant during the last six years all died, though the last year or so, the number of pregnancy related deaths dropped considerably. By the time I left for Teramar, I heard that close to fifty-eight percent of the women of childbearing age had died. The remaining women had gone to great lengths to prevent a pregnancy, and any man foolish enough to get a woman pregnant was dealt with harshly because it was the equivalent of committing murder. It has been cataclysmic to our way of life. Basically, no children have been born to the Lrakiran people in almost five years.”
The impact of his words stunned Ani. “Five years? No children, anywhere, even if they were off planet?”
Renloret brought her hands to his lips. “So, do you see why you are heralded as the savior of our people?”
“Why couldn’t I have been born on Lrakira if it was just my blood that was needed?”
“Diani said The Blood had to be a Stone Singer’s child, conceived, born, and raised to puberty on another planet. It had to be a specific planet too. It had to be Teramar.”
“Why Teramar?”
“We don’t know yet. When the Anyala Stone is able to communicate fully, perhaps …”
The door slid open to reveal two of the Singers. Ani toggled the room’s translator before she stood and offered a Teramaran Northern salute to Diani and Layson.
They touched their foreheads in a Singer’s salute and swept in, their gold robes rustling. She noticed tears on Layson’s cheeks before being tightly embraced by the woman.
Layson whispered in Ani’s ear, “I can start thinking about a child of my own. Thank you.” Then Layson released her and stepped back, smiling. “And now you have saved your Stone, as well as your people.”
Ani motioned for the Singers to take seats. “Before we talk about who is saving what, we need some answers.”
“What are your questions?” Diani asked.
“Did you find the book?”
“Renloret had already given us the song verse, which revealed the truth of the prophecy. In our review of the verse, we verified that The Blood and The Balance are twins and not one individual.” Diani smiled at Renloret.
“But did you find the book?” Renloret asked. “We need the rest of the song.”
Diani seemed unconcerned. “Why? The verse you remembered told us what would transpire. Each of the twins ‘will save one.’ Ani’s blood saved the Lrakiran people and her twin will save the Stone. The twin is here and she will pull my blade from Anyala. Then we will be whole again — in balance.”
Shaking his head, Renloret continued. “You still don’t understand that the early songs were to prepare us for different circumstances. Have either of you read the whole song?”
Both shook their heads.
He slapped the table surface, and Ani reached out and touched his arm. “It’s not their fault, Renloret. We’re going to have to tell them.”
He turned a frustrated face to her. “But the song would have prepared them, Ani.”
“They saw all the answers they thought they needed in the first verse,” Ani replied. “They didn’t think they had to read the entire song to understand the immediate circumstances. Even we assumed that, Renloret. Even we.”
“Excuse me, we are present,” Layson said. “What else should we know? You have returned the twin, thus you are to be doubly honored. Your actions will save —”
“I am not the one who will save the Anyala Stone,” Ani said, interrupting. She was tired of trying to ease the shock. “It will be Taryn, my brother.” Ani had to cover her mouth to stop a laugh from bubbling out into the stunned silence. She felt Renloret move to stand behind her and Kela. Kela, who was mumbling in her mind that he couldn’t resist looking, put his paws on the table so he could be eye to eye with the Singers. Ani noticed his comical expression and again struggled to control a burst of laughter.
The Singers’ jaws finally started to move up and down though no sound came fo
rth for several more seconds.
Deciding not to wait any longer, Ani jumped right in. “Believe me, I was just as shocked as you are. I think we got wholly drunk after we discovered the twin’s identity.”
“A man?” Diani’s voice slid up an octave. She seemed to be having trouble breathing.
Ani turned a concerned look to Renloret. He retrieved the pitcher of water from the center of the table, filled two glasses, and placed one in front of each astonished Singer.
“But, I thought …” Layson took a swallow and shook her head. “It’s supposed to be a girl. It has to be a girl!”
“Well, he’s not a girl,” Renloret said. He filled two more glasses, giving one to Ani. “And he does not yet know he is her twin.”
“How can he not know?” This time Diani’s voice had regained some of her calmness. “Why haven’t you told him? You had more than enough time to discuss this as you were traveling.”
Layson interrupted. “Isn’t Taryn the name of the sheriff of your village?”
Ani nodded. At least Layson was putting together the little details that made the discovery so … interesting … and life-changing.
“Where is he? He should be here.” Diani’s voice was taking on a demanding edge. “What’s wrong?”
“Weren’t you two lovers before you met Renloret?” Layson asked, again seeing the personal ramifications. She covered her mouth with both of her hands, eyes wide with sorrowful shock as she stared at Ani.
Now Ani let the laugh escape. Diani seemed to have lost her voice again as Layson’s question sank in.
“They were never lovers,” Renloret said, coming to Ani’s rescue.
This time, Diani recovered her poise more quickly than the younger Singer. “Are you so sure?”
Ani stopped laughing. Turning stony green eyes on the Singer, she said, “I am. Nothing more than teenage kisses passed between us. And the topic will not be brought up again, understood?”
Layson closed her eyes in acquiescence and solemnly brought her glass of water to her lips. She took several swallows and composed her expression. “Why doesn’t he know?”