by A. L. Tyler
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.
Lena smiled. She pulled a heavy envelope out of the middle of her study journal and placed it on the desk in front of Griffin.
Griffin gave her a tired and annoyed look. “And you can’t translate these yourself?”
“I lied. They don’t need translation.” Lena opened the envelope and passed several bundles of letters to Griffin, who now looked puzzled. “These are all the correspondence letters Howard has between my two grandfathers…and these,” she produced another, much smaller bundle, “are the ones Master Collins sent to Master Daray confirming that the portal was authentic. He gives a detailed description of what it looks like, and a copy of Ava’s initial claims of how she described it to the Council. I had Howard dig them up for me out of…personal interest.”
Griffin stared at the bundles in his hands like they were made of solid gold. Then he looked up at Lena with a look he’d never had before. It might have been something akin to thankfulness. “Why are you doing this? Giving them to me?”
“I’m not—they’re on loan.” She said with a wink. “I want to learn more about Benjamin Collins and his take on the portal, and I think this might be the best way to do it. I think whatever he has to say is the closest I might ever come to believing, because he certainly thought it was real. He died because he thought it was real. So, do you think you could read these over, get together anything you might have on Daray’s side, and then we can go over it together?”
Griffin was still in awe. He was holding the letters as if he were afraid they would crumble if he held them too tightly. He gathered himself very quickly. “I think that would be an excellent idea. For now, would you like to go over what I have from the new text?”
“Oh.” Lena had almost forgotten. “Sure, I guess.”
Griffin opened one of the books in his stack and pulled several folded photocopied pages out of the middle of it. “I made these right after I picked it up, and no one knows I have them but Master Daray. It’s not in Latito…I think it might be a fictional account of some sort. It’s in Etruscan, and I don’t speak Etruscan, and apparently it’s too different from anything that people speak now, because I couldn’t find anyone while I was over there who could figure out much of what it says. So,” He pulled out another massive volume from the middle of the stack, “we invested in a book about Etruscan, which hasn’t been a huge help because apparently there aren’t many words with certain translations, and there were a lot of dialectal differences. I’m hesitant to even call this the same language that’s described as Etruscan, for the few similarities I’ve noted.”
Lena looked at the pages Griffin had. He had written a sort of broken translation beneath the words on the sheets—it wasn’t very good. There were maybe two sentences out of the whole selection that he had managed to translate completely that also made sense. The rest of it reminded Lena of what Silenti books had looked like to her in the beginning—little word islands appearing randomly all over the page.
She looked up at Griffin. “So what’s it supposed to say? Surely he wouldn’t have flown you all the way around the world unless he thought it said something important.”
“It was a gamble. All we know—all the seller would tell him, was that it was a story about magic beings from long ago. It must have been recopied from a tablet at some point, because the translation book claims that the way the words run together is an indication that this was one of the earliest forms of the language. It could even be a recopying of a written copy made of a tablet, for all we know. The seller advertised it as a fiction, but I knew we were onto something when I got there and had him translate the title…it’s The Traveler and The Magician, Lena. Viator kod Venefikus. But it predates when we think the original story was written…I mean, if this is what we think it is, it means the Silenti have been here a lot longer than we ever imagined. The Etruscan language dates back to seven hundred BC, Lena.”
Lena wanted to be excited. She really did. But she didn’t see the significance…what did it matter if the Silenti had been there a few hundred years longer than anyone had previously thought? His fundamental assumption was flawed, anyways—if the original story predated the arrival of the Silenti, Lena was more apt to think that it meant they had borrowed it as their own, and the real story of their arrival was long gone. But she wanted to stay on Griffin’s good side. She needed his cooperation. “That’s amazing.”
“It is. Probably beyond the scope of how you even perceive it.” Griffin said with a cautious smile.
“Probably. There’s not a whole lot to go over yet, then?” Lena asked, sitting back in her chair.
“Not yet, but I’m hoping we’ll find a way to translate it soon…”
There was a moment of silence as they both stared down at the pages. Lena went back to the two translated sentences and reread them. They sounded a little bit like Viator kod Venefikus, but it wasn’t a striking resemblance. She hoped Griffin wasn’t setting himself up for disappointment if it turned out to be nothing more than a weird coincidence. Griffin suddenly looked over at her.
“So why the sudden interest?” He asked, fixing his gaze on her. “You acted like I was torturing you last fall trying to teach you.”
Lena stared straight into his eyes because she knew he’d know if she looked away. She did the best she could to say something plausible; she was banking on the fact that his good mood would keep him from looking for an ulterior motive. “You know,” she started, “I don’t know. We sat through all those meetings where people were fighting about it, and I guess I realized that even the people who don’t think it exists really do think it exists because they’re absolutely terrified that it will be found.”
They had a chat that was much more casual than any other Lena could remember having with Griffin; it was nice, in a way, to feel like they were on the same side finally. Griffin was a good guy when he was around people who agreed with him…but then, who wouldn’t be? Lena was about to feel bad about the fact that she fully intended to manipulate him to her ends, but in an instant he was back to his old self.
“You’re so much easier to deal with than Howard. You know, it just figures, doesn’t it? He decides to drop one of the staff and it’s Marie and not Cheryl. She’s so cheeky I’m surprised no one’s slapped her yet. I’ve come close several times.” He said lightly.
Lena’s smile faded from her face. “What?”
“You didn’t know? She’ll be joining the Colburn staff end of this Council session, because ‘she’s not adjusting well here,’ according to Howard. I can’t believe he’s sunken so low as to be catering to her needs. I bet he sends her off with a good deal of cash, too. Absolutely ridiculous.”
“She’s ten…” Lena looked sternly at Griffin. He was waiting for her to make her point. “She’s ten, Griffin. And Cheryl’s just thirteen.”
“Just thirteen? You think she shouldn’t know better at thirteen? When I was thirteen Master Daray had me traveling the globe with a fake I.D. picking up relics and doing his other chores during the two weeks’ vacation that Howard gave me.” Griffin leaned back in his chair casually, gazing across the office with a reminiscent look in his eye. He smiled.
Lena gawked at him. “And you think Cheryl’s the one with a problem?”
Griffin gave his usual superior look. “Children grow up differently here.”
Lena got up from her chair. She wasn’t exactly angry at him; she was more startled that Howard hadn’t talked to her about sending Marie away. She had been much more comfortable since she started staying outside the house…they had even turned the barn loft into a nice little apartment for her over the summer. “Yet another reason I won’t be having children.”
“Because we have different parenting styles?” Griffin mocked. “Just give up. I’m right.”
Lena ignored his implication. “Because children grow up differently here, and that’s not the kind of life I
would want for a child.”
“Our way is better, I assure you.”
“Goodnight, Griffin.” He nodded at her and stayed at the desk as she left the office and walked down to Ava’s room. Lena was thankful she was already asleep, they had been up talking much longer than they should have. It was already passed midnight, and Ava would have read much too far into it. She was still holding out hope that she would have grandbabies someday. As Lena climbed into her cot, she reflected on the fact that it was nice that her relationship with Griffin was beginning to resemble something like getting along. It was professional, and possibly even respectful.
She hoped he was going to be ready to tell her everything he knew about Ben Collins by Thursday; she was hoping to complete her proposition by Friday. If she ever hoped to retrace his steps and locate that portal, she was going to have to complete the proposal and serve it quickly—before anyone found out what she intended to do. Howard was too sheltering; he would never allow her to do it because he worried too much. Griffin and Daray were perhaps the biggest challenge because they would never allow the portal to be found for the reasons Lena intended to find it; she would probably have to fight his sway in the vote anyway, but the faster she moved the fewer obstacles he could lay down in her path. She wanted her proposal set out by Friday, and nothing was going to stop her.
“We missed you at cards last night. Meeting run late?”
Lena looked up at Devin. He was smiling, but it wasn’t his usual smile. “Hey, Dev. Sit down for a moment.”
Devin looked around the deserted dining room, uncertain if he was actually going to comply. It was too early for anyone else to be up, but still… He sat down next to Lena. They watched each other awkwardly for a moment.
“So…cards?” He prompted, still looking around nervously. It wasn’t the place of a kitchen hand to sit in the dining room like he belonged.
“Oh.” Lena yawned. “It was a political thing…I’m working on a project.”
“Oh yeah?” Devin’s face lit up. Even though he had bags under his eyes, he still looked wide awake when he was happy. “What’re you doing?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
She leaned in close and looked around the hall one more time to be sure it was clear. “It’s a secret. No one can know, but it’s big. It’s going to change our world and the whole political structure and everything!”
Devin gave his lopsided grin. It hadn’t changed since the day they’d met. “Oh yeah? That big?”
“Oh yeah.” They smiled together. “So how are things?”
Dev leaned back in his chair. “Same old, same old. Tab lost a few too many last night and yada, yada, yada, I do not recommend the chicken today, or standing too close to Tab, because he smells like raw chicken and it’s really gross. There’s a really cool mud impression of someone’s half naked body around the other side of the house, unrelated to the chicken ordeal, and I recommend you check it out before someone washes it off later this morning. Oh, I just heard about Marie. I didn’t even know she was still here. Haven’t seen her around…”
“Yeah, I just found out about it last night.” Lena furrowed her brow. “Is she okay? I thought everything was—“
Tab poked his head out of the kitchen. “Man, are you going to get back in here or what? Finish making out ‘cause the oatmeal’s starting to burn!”
At that same moment, a few other Representatives walked into the dining hall. Lena didn’t have time to see who they were before Devin had pulled her into a quick hug, jumped out of the chair, and walked briskly back to the kitchen. Lena turned around. It was Masters Astley, Brendon, and Rivera—New Faith families. She wasn’t sure if all of them were integrationists or not. Only Master Rivera was looking at her, however; she was sure what he had seen. As she was the only one in the dining room, and it would have been odd for them to purposely sit somewhere else, the wandered over and joined Lena at her table. She smiled politely, and they did the same. As an heir, and not a full member of the Council, Lena thought she would get off easy because it was customary for heirs to only speak when invited to do so.
Master Rivera nodded toward the kitchen. “A friend of yours, Ms. Collins?”
So much for getting off easy. The ghost of the conversation that was about to take place was already haunting her. It looked like Howard and Griffin. “Yes. An old acquaintance from my first year here. We’ve loosely kept in touch.”
“Well, that’s impressive.” Master Rivera’s brown eyes registered surprise. “Most of the Council members here would like to pretend the lower echelons of society don’t exist. Do you have many friends among the lower classes?”
Lena looked up at Master Rivera, shocked at what he’d just said.
“A few…” She searched the faces around her for signs of disapproval, but didn’t find any. On the contrary, the three of them looked rather intrigued. Lena wasn’t sure how the conversation had turned in her favor, but in her mind she was thanking her luck that it had. They might have been humoring her, but she decided it might be worth it to risk a little more. “Sometimes after dinner and meetings are over, I come down to visit. We play cards and talk. Just casual stuff like that.”
Without looking at her, which he rarely did because of their shared past, Master Astley joined in. “How fascinating. I haven’t played with cards since I was a boy. It’s good to see you mingling with those you serve.”
At that moment Tab came out, took orders while standing bizarrely too close to Master Brendon, and then retreated back into the kitchen. Master Brendon turned up his nose. “Good God, do they all smell like that?”
Lena tried to keep a straight face. She was sure she heard heavy guffaws coming from the kitchen. “No…I assure you the majority of them don’t.”
Just to the left of Master Brendon’s head, Lena saw an arm stick out of the kitchen door briefly, giving her a thumbs up. The conversation quickly changed to more solid politics after that, and the rest of breakfast went on without any further hurdles.
The week went by much faster than Lena had anticipated, and before she even knew it, she was sneaking a stack of index cards and maps into the last Council meeting concerning the welfare of found children. It was Friday, and after the last case was examined and voted on, the floor was opened up for commentary and proposal before they started working through the new family applications for Council representation on Sunday.
For something as big as Lena was about to propose, it was usually customary to wait until near the end of the weeks of Council, but she was in a hurry to not be found out. The solution she had come up with was to throw the idea out there before anyone could stop her, and ask for a discussion and vote during the last week. So when the moderator asked for new topics of interest, Lena called out immediately; Howard looked over at her in surprise.
What are you doing?
The moderator was asking Howard if he would allow Lena to speak before the Council because it wasn’t typical for heirs to propose new interests; Lena gave her uncle a pleading look, and after asking if she was sure she knew what she was doing, he gave his consent. The expression on his face had changed from surprise to nervous apprehension as she stood to address the Council.
Considerably more nervous than she thought she would be, Lena took the podium at the front of the room. From the front she could see the shocked and amused look on Griffin’s face and the boredom on Master Daray’s; everyone else was watching her raptly, which wasn’t helping. She pulled out her speech cards.
As I’m sure you all know, I’m very new to how this is done, so please excuse my inexperience…Well, after the events which so recently opened a new assault on the freedom of myself and my family, I started contemplating how every vote this Council takes only fixes the problem until my grandfather finds a new loophole.
Here, a few murmurs broke out in the crowd; Master Daray was no longer looking as bored as he had a few seconds earlier. As his eyes turned to Lena, they narro
wed to slits.
Lena went on. I’m trying very hard to maintain my status as being unaligned with any of the political movements that divide this Council and our society, but I think we can all agree that we have a huge problem here. I understand why I have to live here; I understand your concern. I also understand the position of others who wish that the Daray family could live with more freedom. After all, I’ve never done anything to earn the distrust of this Council to the degree of keeping me as jailed as you do my grandfather, and yet I am. I am a victim of my own birth, but rather than complain, I wish to propose a solution to our mutual problems.
Lena took a deep breath, and then made the mistake of glancing over at her grandfather, who was not looking happy. Eden, so help me, say what you’re about to say and I’m through with you. Say it and I will make your life—
Lena ignored him, and continued to address the crowd of representatives. I propose to mount an expedition to find the portal and put it where it belongs: in the capable hands of the Council, under lock and key, so that we will never have to fear the unknown again.
This statement didn’t cause the stir she had thought it would, which concerned her greatly. Had she been speaking loud enough? Hadn’t they heard her? She tried again.
By doing this my family will no longer have to be—
This isn’t the first time such a proposal has come before the Council. How is yours any different?
Lena looked up towards the back of the hall, where the comment had come from. She tried not to look nervous, but was kicking herself for not researching better. The idea was too good for it to not have occurred to someone before, and now she had no idea what had actually been proposed in the past. Still, she was betting she could offer more than anyone had previously. Trying not to stutter, she skipped ahead a few note cards and answered the question.
Now is the perfect time to launch a search for several reasons. First and foremost, because you have me, and I have a vested interested in finding it to gain my own freedom. Legend says that only a male of my family can open it, and I’ve done a lot of research and most historians seem to believe this to be fact. While only a male can open it, however, the markings on the portal can be seen by anyone in my family. The encounter my mother had with the portal proves it as fact. I can aid in finding it, but I pose no threat to opening it.