The Star Whorl (The Totality Cycles Book 1) (19 page)

    
And returning,
he
thought, could not help thinking. They saw the glyph of it, and were silent
with astonishment and alarm.

     “You – you traveled both
there and back, without incident?” Vespa Kareni’Tiv said in a whisper.

     Still, he said nothing. Did
it get him into twice the trouble to admit that he had used the travel-glyph
illegally, twice?

     “Answer us!” his father
said, imperiously.

     “Yes, Father,” he said, not
looking up. “I modified the Long-Travel glyph twice, once to get us there, and
once to bring us all back.”

     He felt something pass
between his parents, though he could not fathom what it was. What would happen,
now? Would they block his Nil’Gu’ua? Would his mating-rights be revoked?

     “I’m sorry,” he offered,
furrowing his brow. “I’ll – never do it again, I promise.”

     “No, you will not,” his
mother said harshly, and he hung his head under the lash of her voice. “Not
unless there is utmost need, Pa-Kreceno’Tiv, will you ever invoke the
travel-glyph outside of a recognized Travel terminus ever again!”

    
Utmost need?
he
thought distantly, but pushed that to the back of his mind.

     “If you sense a presence
like the Heretian child again, you come to us,” his father said sternly. “Now –
we will not report this to the Gu’Anin Magistrate Council enforcers. You were
lucky that you were not caught, or we would not be able to keep this quiet.
Ro-Becilo’Ran has also pledged his silence, for he could get into as much
trouble as you, for going along with this. But I want you to understand,
Pa-Kreceno’Tiv, exactly how serious this is, and exactly how dangerous your
little escapade could have been. You would have been permanently stripped of
your Nil’Gu’ua, or worse, if things had not gone as they had.”

    
Worse?
he wondered,
what
could be worse than that? Except, perhaps, what they had implied about – about
not keeping my glyph separate from Becil’s. And Okon’s.
He clenched his jaw
at the memory of the God-mythos that the child had of his people. Where was she
now? Was she all right? Where had his mother taken her? He was on the verge of
asking, when his father spoke again.

     “Don’t worry about Okon,”
Vespar-Drelano’Sev’Tiv said, apparently reading the glyph of his concern. “She
is in a special institute of learning that is attached to one of the Ministries
of the Solidarim. She is being taught how to responsibly use her abilities. She
can still contact you, when she needs to.”

     He felt relief at that
information – he had been worried that she had been returned to her homeworld
without a guardian or advocate of any kind, to make her way as best she could,
alone. Then he felt intentfulness from his mother, and knew that his punishment
was about to be meted out.

     “We are banning you from
using your Nil’Gu’ua, except as it pertains to Secondus,” she said
dispassionately. “You are also confined to the domicive, when you are not in
Secondus. Both of these restrictions will be for as long as we deem necessary
to impress the gravity of this near-disaster upon you. Is that understood?”

     “Yes, Mother,” he said,
clenching his jaw. Did that mean that he could not activate his dataSphere,
even? He assumed so, but held in a sigh. He waited to hear any additional
punishments, but his parents stayed silent. When there seemed to be no further censure
coming, he stood, still looking at the ground, and walked slowly back to his
suite.

Whorl Fifty Eight

     The despair spoke loudly to
him as he lay in his suite, staring up at the ceiling. He found that he had no
appetite, and when Vespa Karaci’Tiv stuck her head in to call him down to eat, he
declined to go.

    
Not that I’m sulking,
he thought peevishly. His wing-nets had emerged, he was too old to sulk. Or so
he told himself.
I can’t even contact Pavtala Ralili’Bax to tell her that I
can’t meet with her. Kara is here, but I can’t ask her to do it for me, without
telling her why. And I’m sure Ro-Becilo’Ran is in as much trouble as I am. So
he won’t be able contact her, either.

     With nothing to do, and the
inability to do anything, he was bored, and more than a little angry. It was
unfair, that he should be punished just because a failing industry had made the
Gu’Anin Magistrate Council decide to illegalize a perfectly legitimate glyph,
the short-travel glyph, and he had successfully figured it out and used it. The
industry had failed regardless.

    
Why can’t they simply
make it legal again, and teach its use?
he groused, scowling.
It would
be an easy amendment!
I
knew that I could not let our glyphs mix! It’s
just good sense! And I saved them embarrassment from a rogue sentient, who was
here illegally, with accusations of abuses of power! I should be rewarded!

     He sighed, and his stomach
growled. He almost glyph-conjured a meal for himself, before he remembered that
he was not supposed to use his Nil’Gu’ua for anything. It might even mean that
he could not use his secondary or tertiary retinas. Angrier now, he flipped
over and stared at the wall, wanting to punch his rest-pad. He closed his eyes
instead, though, and sought sleep, there being nothing better to do.

Whorl Fifty Nine

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax was
inquisitive on the next turn he went back to Secondus. She had again directed
her transport to meet up with the Secondus transport he used. She greeted him
with a pained smile when he sat next to her.

     “You did not contact me,
over the end-turns,” she said quietly. “I thought we were going to do something
fun. I thought you were going to tell me what you were involved in.”

     He pressed his lips
together, but did not answer her. He did not want to let everyone on the
transport know that he had done something that had gotten him into serious
trouble, and that he was not allowed to go out for fun. She looked at him, a
line appearing between her vuu-brows. Then she sat back and crossed her arms,
her own mouth firmed in pique. She shot a glance at Ro-Becilo’Ran, then at
Ropali Galici’Bel. Ropali Galici’Bel shot a glance at him, then beckoned to
Pavtala Ralili’Bax, and whispered into her aur’erio, for a couple of deci-marks.
Everyone around them was alive with curiosity, but both girls were very good at
not projecting their thoughts as glyphs, and then she sat back, Pavtala
Ralili’Bax raised a vuu-brow at him.

     “Oh ha,” she said, gesturing
comprehension. “I forgive you, then.”

     Pa-Kreceno’Tiv glanced at
first Ro-Becilo’Ran, then at Ropali Galici’Bel, then finally at Pavtala
Ralili’Bax. What, exactly, had his best friend told his pre-mate? And had she
told Pa-Kreceno’Tiv’s pre-mate?

    
Not that it matters,
he thought, leaning back and closing his eyes.
Just as long as they don’t
tell anyone else whatever they know.

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax leaned
against him, her hand resting lightly on his chest. He sighed and put his arm
around her. She was a balm against the despair.

Whorl Sixty

     “So – can you tell me what
really happened?” Pavtala Ralili’Bax asked, as they took her transport home,
rather than using the Secondus transport.

     “What did Ropali Galici’Bel
tell you?” he asked, hedging.

     She moved her shoulders. “Just
that you and Ro-Becilo’Ran had done something that had gotten you into a lot of
trouble. That you can’t use your Nil’Gu’ua, and that’s why you couldn’t contact
me.”

     “I really can’t say much
more than that,” he gestured helplessly. His parents had not expressly
forbidden him to talk about what he had done, but he understood that it was in
his best interest not to. If anyone else knew,
they
would be obligated
to inform the authorities, and he would be in even more trouble. Why his
parents had not done so, especially since they were officials of the governing body,
he was at a loss to guess. “Except... I’m not allowed to go anywhere, either,
when I’m not at Secondus.”

     She drew in a sharp breath,
as if understanding how severe such punitive action was. She put her arms
around him and squeezed, and he held her close, feeling a little better.

     “Can you have company over?”
she asked. “Studying in groups is quite common.” 

     He knew what she was about –
keeping him entertained, using her Nil’Gu’ua where he could not.

     “I – I don’t know,” he said,
feeling appreciativeness toward her. “I’ve never needed to study in a group,
before.”

     “Who said anything about
what
you
need?” she said, raising her vuu-brows. “You’re going to help
us.
With the new third-of-the-term coming up, I think I’m going to need a
lot
of
help, especially the last part of the Long-Travel lecture, having missed most
of it.”

     “You can’t take the last
portion of Long-Travel, not like that!” he said, staring at her. “You’ve missed
the first two thirds of it! You’ll be completely lost!”

     “Then I guess you had better
convince your parents to let me come and study with you,” she said archly.

     He continued to stare at
her. Conflicting emotions warred within him. Concern for her lecture-marks. An
insane hope that he would be able to spend his lonely turns with her.
Trepidation, and not a little fear of confronting his parents. Then he laughed,
and held her close again. The hope had won out. “You’re wonderful, did I ever
tell you that?”

     “No, not lately,” she
murmured, lifting her face. “You can thank me – you know how.”

     He obliged, raising her up
to kiss her long and longingly.

Whorl Sixty One

     Pa-Kreceno’Tiv took a deep
breath, firmed his resolve. It had been a five-turn since Pavtala Ralili’Bax
had brought up the notion of having his friends over to study. He had spoken
minimally to his parents since they had meted out his punishment, however,
still angry over being punished for what he felt was an unjust reason. Several
unjust reasons. He had eaten with them, perforce, because he was not allowed to
conjure his own food, but he had been taciturn, and they had not pressed him to
talk, engaging in little conversation themselves around him. Sometimes platters
had just been left for him, so that he did not have to sit silently and moodily
with them. They had taken his silence and brooding with equanimity, and had not
scolded him or forced him to be more sociable.

     Now he entered the salon
where they both sat, deep in the toils of their official duties. They looked up
at his entrance, their faces serenely expectant. He stopped several paces away,
not knowing how to approach them. He had not been exactly rude, but they
definitely knew that he was put out with what had transpired. He looked up at
them with quick glances, trying to figure out how to broach the subject of
Pavtala Ralili’Bax coming over to study. They waited him out.

     “Mother... Father...” he
began, rubbing one palm with the thumb of the other hand.

     “What is it,
Pa-Kreceno’Tiv?” Vespa Kareni’Tiv asked, her voice neutral. His heart sank. She
had used his name formally, which was never a good sign. He looked up at them,
but could read nothing from their expressions.

     “I have a friend who – wants
to include me in a group for study,” he made himself say. “They – are willing
to come here, so that I don’t contravene my punishment.”

     They said nothing, as if expecting
more.

     “I came to ask for
permission,” he said, feeling that he was being forced to be explicit. “May
some of my lecture-mates come over to study? They – they want my help.”

     “Yes,” Vespa Kareni’Tiv
said, looking back down at her work. Vespar-Drelano’Sev’Tiv quirked one side of
his mouth, then looked down at his own work, also.

     “Thank you,” he said
quietly. His mother waved noncommittally, and he retreated, gratefully, to his
room. Now, he could not wait for the last third of the term to begin.

Whorl Sixty Two

     Pavtala Ralili’Bax actually
began coming over during the term-break, to begin getting conversant in the
first and second parts of the Long-Travel lecture. She was a welcome diversion
to the sameness of being stuck at home, though he tried not to think of her
that way. Ro-Becilo’Ran came over also, also under the excuse of Secondus
lecture work, so that he was not completely lost in the ennui and despair.

     But Pavtala Ralili’Bax was
there much more often. She brought scaled-down veiwies of some of her mother’s
explorations, and they watched, snuggled with each other on his lounge. Pa-Kreceno’Tiv’s
parents never came to check on them, knowing that he would not try to fully
mate with anyone, not while they were there. His near-mating with Polista
Zyledi’Kil notwithstanding, he knew he was not ready for that, split
elytra-pace or no – though there was no real stigma against mating before the
end of Secondus, save parental approbation. But Polista Zyledi’Kil’s parents,
so strict, had been ready to let their daughter mate too early, probably even
urged her to it. He had met Pavtala Ralili’Bax’s parents, and they had not had
the aura of desperation that Polista Zyledi’Kil’s had had.

     So he and Pavtala Ralili’Bax
only spent part of the time actually studying, and the rest of their time
together finding things that kept him entertained, that he did not have to use
his Nil’Gu’ua for. She had gotten a hold of the library of apparel glyphs, and
kept him laughing with an impromptu vogue pageant. When Ro-Becilo’Ran and
Ropali Galici’Bel heard of it, they joined in, playing roles depending on the
time-period the apparel was from, and re-enacting dialogue from old
entertainments of the chosen era. Pavtala Ralili’Bax laughingly made imagings
of their antics, including her own, and posted them on the dataSphere
interlinks, where they acquired a following. Pa-Kreceno’Tiv made his
contribution by providing sound effects that made the others choke on their
lines.