The Balance (The Stone's Blade Book 2) Read online

  Ani shrugged. “Your questions are worth asking, Taryn. But I’m not sure Yenne Chenakainet has the answers. He’s still having trouble with the fact that twenty years have passed. The further this goes, the more I think only the Stones know the whole story, and for some reason, they didn’t tell us. Maybe they don’t think we could handle it all at once, so they just give us information one piece at a time.”

  Taryn grinned. “You mean like a scavenger hunt? We can start looking for clues.” He had always enjoyed that game and he was excellent at it too.

  “While we are searching, we can leave out the part about traveling to another planet to save a ‘talking rock,’” Renloret said. He looked at Taryn. “There are some educational programs on the history of Lrakira available from the star runner’s computers that explains the Stones if you are interested. They’ve been designed for visiting dignitaries.”

  “I’ve seen them,” Ani added, “and while they are informative, the real thing is better. To have them sing in your head is a powerful experience. Their language doesn’t have to be translated because they speak or sing in whatever language you’re most familiar with. They don’t need a bio-teacher.”

  “Have you actually used a bio-teacher?” Taryn asked. He wondered how she would react to having another machine implanted in her body even if it helped her rather than put her in a coma.

  “No, though several people have been pressuring me to do so, but I’m not too enthralled with having another machine put inside me yet.”

  Renloret frowned. “Who’s been pressuring?”

  “Commander Chenakainet.”

  The pilot was openly surprised. “After what you’ve been through, he’s pressured you to have a bio-teacher?”

  “He said it would be easier for me to learn the Lrakiran language. I told him no. Since then, I’ve tried to discern words, structure, and meaning without artificial help. Depending on the outcome of this search, I might change my mind, though I’m fairly good at languages anyway, so it’s been fun on my own. I haven’t tried to practice with Renloret because he’s been busy with the plans to return and all.” Her voice trailed off.

  Taryn thought Ani looked frustrated, wistful, and sad, all at the same time.

  Ani pushed herself out of the rocker. “I don’t know. I feel isolated. So much happened without me. No one even talked to me about how I felt about having a twin. They just kept asking me why I didn’t know about her and why my own mother would lie about it.”

  She knotted her hair in both hands and turned away from the men to face the fire. “Why would she lie? How would I know she lied? She never, ever, said anything about having twins!” Ani turned to face Taryn. “How can I have a twin that even my mother wouldn’t talk about? Something horrible must have happened to her. Maybe she was deformed or there was brain damage. I was born early. I almost died. Mother did tell me that.”

  “Wait, you almost died?” Renloret’s voice slid up in surprise.

  Ani waved him down. “Almost, Renloret, almost. I was born during an early spring blizzard, along with a lot of other children. So something must have gone wrong if mother never told anyone about a twin.”

  Renloret interrupted, directing his comments to Taryn. “All right, let’s assume Ani is correct and the twin was also born early. There were obviously complications. If the twin did not die — and I believe the Stones’ assertions that she is still alive — and she was disabled in some way, then perhaps S’Hendale gave her to some hospital to care for while she raised Ani until she could be tested to verify that she was, indeed, The Blood.”

  “What if the twin had been The Blood and Ani was The Balance?” Taryn asked.

  “No. Commander Chenakainet believed S’Hendale when she told him, shortly after Ani’s birth, that she was The Blood. He also mentioned that S’Hendale said they had to wait until Ani was older before she could be tested and returned to Lrakira.

  Renloret turned to Ani. “Isn’t that what the commander said?”

  Ani nodded. “Something like that. Evidently that’s why they waited until I was five before they tested my blood for the first time. I’m sure I was attentive to every word he had to say,” she muttered.

  Renloret ignored her comment and focused on Taryn. “They had argued about waiting longer. The commander had wanted to leave as soon as his daughter was identified as the cure. But S’Hendale was adamant about waiting. Then the research center was attacked and Commander Chenakainet escaped to bring back help.”

  Taryn pulled out his notepad again. “Look, I have to take some notes. And whereas all this information is good, this speculation is not. We should focus on who might have information that is twenty-five years old. And pardon me but I have to use the Northern pronunciation of your mother’s name, Ani. That S’Hendale stuff isn’t as easy as Shendahl and that’s the only one I’ve known your mother by.”

  He started scribbling down information as he verbally recapped. “Say we believe the Stones and Shendahl gave birth to twins. We know Ani was premature and there was concern for her survival. There should be some records at the research center because back then it was used as a hospital when there was an emergency. Only very serious patients were moved to the hospital in Saedi City. So we should check out what we can here first. We should talk with Melli too. She was pregnant with me at the same time. Ani, our mothers were best friends, even then, so they would have talked about everything.”

  Ani and Renloret each nodded.

  “No wonder you’re the youngest sheriff the valley has ever had. Good thing you didn’t turn to opera for a career or we’d never get answers,” Ani said.

  “There was also less competition in the sheriff department than on the opera stage. I may not earn as much, but I don’t have the travel expenses, either, or the publicity … unless aliens really do become a problem.” He looked up from the notebook. “And you two are not going to be problems, are you?”

  “No, sir.” Ani and Renloret answered in unison.

  With his sheriff face in place, Taryn stood. “Now that we have places to investigate and people to talk to, let’s get some rest.” Before either Ani or Renloret could comment, he took Ani’s hand and pulled her toward the door. He waved at Renloret to remain seated. “I need to talk to her alone. Finish your tea before it gets cold.”

  Once on the porch, Taryn pulled her around to face him. In a harsh whisper he demanded, “Why in all the hells of Teramar did you kiss me like that?”

  Ani tried to back away. He shook his head, keeping her close. Her eyes were wide, and he read only innocence.

  She stuttered, “I … I … didn’t know if you were alive or not. Even Renloret didn’t know. We had no idea what kind of situation we would find here. I … missed you.”

  “Oh, Ani. You broke his heart with that kiss.”

  She jerked her hand out of his. “I did what?”

  “He’s in love with you, Ani.”

  “He is not.”

  “Yes, he is. If you haven’t …” He sighed. “Hells, you haven’t. Have you kissed him, really kissed him?”

  “No!” The truth came out in a breathless whisper. “Oh, sure, we’ve hugged once or twice and even held hands, but nothing else.”

  “Have you even wanted to?” Taryn’s voice was tender. “I thought after the dance that you would have.”

  She blushed. “Don’t bring up the dance. It just confuses things.”

  He took her by the elbow and led her off the steps. “That dance made everything quite clear to all there. You even sang the duet with truth in your voice.”

  “I know, Taryn. But he had a mission to save an entire race of people. He couldn’t get involved. We talked about it. I asked him to be my partner, several times.”

  “Really? And he turned you down?” Taryn nodded thoughtfully, respect for the pilot rising even higher. “He’s a true soldier. He sticks with the mission in spite of his own feelings. I like him even better now.” He placed a hand on Ani’s shoulder. “After
that welcome home kiss he’s positive you love me.”

  “I do love you,” she admitted.

  Taryn smiled. “I know, but not the way he wants you to love him.”

  Silence slipped around them.

  Taryn lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. “Is Kela talking to you?”

  She tilted her head toward the cabin. “No, though he’s listening.” She paused. “I can’t just announce that I love him, Taryn. There’s so much to do. A relationship will get in the way. We have to wait. My life has changed. I’ve changed. Taryn, I’m an alien!”

  “And so is Renloret. Blades, you Lrakirans are about as slow as we Teramarans. He should have had time to say how he feels by now.”

  “No one is interested in that topic. They’re all focused on the Stones now that my blood has saved them.”

  She frowned a bit petulantly, reminding him that even though she had reportedly saved an entire planet, she was still the Ani he had known all his life. “Are they really talking rocks?”

  “They sing, not talk. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s different from the connection I have with Kela. Similar, certainly, but different. I can feel Kela all the time … except when I woke up. That was terrible.”

  She shivered. Taryn put his arm across her shoulders and moved them back to the steps. When they sat down, Ani put her head on his shoulder.

  “I thought I’d lost all of you — even Kela, because I couldn’t feel him.”

  Taryn sat with his thoughts for a time. The situation was complex and fraught with problems. He realized that he had accepted the fantastic and implausible events of the past few months as real, and he knew he could handle anything that might happen in the future. He shifted into sheriff mode again and broke the silence. “We’ll have to concoct some kind of story about why we’re looking for your twin.”

  “True, and it could relate to her needing the vaccine.” She looked back at the window. “I’m going to have to talk to Renloret, aren’t I?”

  “Yes. Not right now, though. We all need some rest. Take the bed. He can have the cot and I’ll take the couch. Unless you want to bunk with him.”

  Her elbow hit fast.

  “Ow! It was just a suggestion, Ani. It would answer some of the questions he won’t ask.”

  “It would also be unfair, to all of us. You have no idea what I might do if I were in a bed with him.” Ani stared out across the dark clearing.

  Taryn stood and offered her a hand. “Oh, I can imagine, girl. Oh, and as soon as you get the chance, you should kiss him like you did me.” He winked and nudged her toward the door.

  He followed her inside just as Renloret straightened from readying blankets on the cot on the far side of the room.

  “I located this and thought it would be appropriate to set it up. I also reinstalled the hanging to give you two some privacy.”

  As Renloret turned back to the cot, Taryn winked at Ani and whispered, “I told you so.”

  Ani rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Renloret, but Taryn will be on the couch, where he belongs.”

  The early morn sun warmed Renloret’s face. Seated on the porch, his hands cupped around a steaming mug of tea, Renloret inhaled the freshness of the dawn. Kela arrived at his side and appeared to survey the clearing between the cabin and the trees. Yellow and blue flitters chirped and warbled their summer greetings. Soft sounds of conversation eked their way through the open door. The comfortableness of it all brought a smile to Renloret’s face as he sipped his tea. He had chosen the piney-leafed concoction this time, wanting the taste and smell of trees instead of the invigorating sting of the cinnamon tea Ani often served.

  He knew he could live on Teramar. After less than one moon-cycle on the surface of this planet, he already knew it for home. It was more home than the Sancharos Mountains where he’d grown up.

  Ani’s laugh warmed him. He still hadn’t figured out the relationship between Ani and Taryn. He had fully expected them to take the bed and leave him with the cot. Their morning behavior did not include any little touches or looks that one might expect of lovers reunited after several months. Perhaps he still had a chance at gaining her heart.

  He took another swallow of tea and contemplated their mission. They had laid out a multipronged plan to find information on Ani’s twin as quickly as possible, though they were going to delay the start of the plan until Taryn had checked on the number of people who were currently at the research center. Evidently, the scare of a plague that was decimating entire villages in Southern had spurred the Star Valley citizens into reactivating the medical research side of the center that had been abandoned for years.

  While breaking their fast, Taryn had explained that the attack precipitating Ani’s father’s return to Lrakira had badly damaged only the front portion of the building, and after some months of basic cleanup and equipment moving, Ani’s mother and uncle, along with some assistance from locals, had reopened a new clinic and regional hospital closer to the village. Whatever research they had been pursuing had been scaled back, and S’Hendale and Reslo had managed to curtail the number of advances coming from the research center, thereby making it seem as if the attack had worked. The military had left them alone to attend to local needs.

  Kela nuzzled Renloret’s arm, requesting attention. The pilot obliged. A low rumble of contentment issued from the canine’s throat.

  “I assume all is well with Ani?”

  Kela winked once.

  “Good,” Renloret said. She had seemed nervous about being assigned to learn more about the circumstances of her birth by talking to Melli. No one wanted to speculate on her mother’s thought processes until more was known about the actual event. Renloret knew Ani worried about the lives this news would change. She had already received a dramatic amount of information that had forever changed how she understood herself and her family. Renloret swallowed more tea.

  Kela placed a paw on Renloret’s leg and slapped a lick across the pilot’s cheek.

  Renloret heard Ani’s voice before he saw her. “Kela, what have I said about licking?”

  Renloret almost laughed at the glare of indignation the canine gave her.

  “Pah!” Ani stomped her foot and made shooing motions with her hands. Without a look behind him, Kela pushed away from the pilot and trotted down the stairs as Ani took his place and rocked gently against Renloret’s shoulder. “Good morn.”

  He felt his breath catch at her simple greeting and turned to look at her. The smile on her face lit her eyes. He recovered by sipping more tea and pretending to observe Kela as the canine made his rounds of the clearing perimeter before slipping between trees and disappearing from sight.

  Ani nodded at the last wave of Kela’s tail. “He’ll be back in a few hours — I mean bells. Excuse me.” She corrected her terminology to match Lrakiran standard.

  “No need for that, Ani. I am now quite adjusted to Teramaran syntax and word usage.” He didn’t look at her. Instead he tried to concentrate on the piney tea or anything else other than how close she was to him and how hot his shoulder was.

  “Really?” She giggled.

  “Yes.” He did not understand how being with her on the ship had been so different from this. They’d had plenty of time and proximity to each other during the trip back to Teramar to work out some reasonable understanding of their feelings about each other. Somehow they had failed to do that.

  They sat silently sipping their tea, but Renloret was palpably aware of Ani’s close proximity.

  Ani finally shook herself from the reverie. “We’d best review Taryn’s plan again.” Placing her hand on Renloret’s thigh, she pushed herself to a standing position, held out a hand to offer Renloret assistance, and steeled herself for the skin-to-skin contact. Why did that cause her heart to beat faster? She had just spent almost an hour shoulder to shoulder with him as the sun rose above the trees. They hadn’t talked much, which was fine with her. Just being next to him was an odd mix of pleasure and wariness.


  She released his hand to keep him from feeling her tremble. Again, the frustration welled up. Taryn’s comments about her and Renloret had touched a nerve last eve. Oh, she certainly wanted Renloret. But how could she encourage such an arrangement when she was unsure of her own identity or the makeup of her family? Too many unresolved issues were making her personal life miserable. She’d barely slept thinking about it all.

  She was at least relieved that Taryn not only harbored no jealousy towards Renloret but also approved of her feelings towards the pilot. She had not considered how it would look when she had kissed Taryn so fervently upon seeing him, but she had been so relieved to actually see that he was alive and well, it had been an instinctual response. She grimaced. Taryn was no longer her lover. She had made sure of that even before she had recognized how attracted she was to Renloret. Taryn was a good friend. Perhaps her twin and Taryn would wind up on the same blade. That was a comforting thought. But she also wondered how the girl would react when she was found.

  Had she and her twin been identical or fraternal? Would they look alike? How would the twin feel about having her life turned inside out with the knowledge that not only did she have a different “real” family, but that she was an alien from another galaxy so far away you could barely discern its star through a telescope.

  Ani was excited to show off her knowledge of the reality that was beyond Teramar’s simple star, asteroid belt, and five planets. Would her twin believe the truth? Would she willingly come to Lrakira to save the life of a true alien? If she didn’t come on her own, Ani knew that she would find a way to abduct her, take her to Lrakira, and demand she pull the blade from the Anyala Stone. Then the twin would understand, and they could begin to build a relationship between themselves and their father.

  Ani shivered. Her father. Due to the time bubble the Stones had sung, he was barely eleven years older than she. Ani found it interesting that this bothered her more than the knowledge that she was an alien. How would the twin feel about it? This was a mess.