Free Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis Page A

she says to me. “You face danger in your home?”
    Home
makes me think of my brothers, and an aching anxiety surges through me. There’s no danger from them—the danger is that without them, I have no home to return to. This
woman’s question isn’t as simple as it sounds, but a nod is all I can give.
    “This is complicated. I will inform the senior council. Do not discuss it with anyone else for now. You, too, Kalkig,” she adds sternly. I’m surprised to see the Agnac duck his
head, acquiescing with no argument. “Tiav’elo, this is your responsibility. What do you suggest?”
    Tiav’s shoulders straighten at her words. “Maybe we can teach her to write,” he says. “At least enough to explain.”
    I nod vigorously. That’s exactly what I need. My mind keeps returning to the portal in the hills, the crystal spires. If these people know enough about portals to mark and control them, I
need to get that knowledge and use it to free my brothers from the conduits. Like Durant always says, if someone knows something you don’t, don’t be proud—just get learning,
quick.
    “A reasonable plan,” the woman agrees before turning to me again. “You look like you could use some rest first. Show her to one of the guest rooms, Tiav’elo. Kalkig, you
should be getting home.”
    I follow the other two out. Kalkig says something in his own language, but Tiav cuts him off with a clap on his shoulder.
    “Don’t start, Kal. I know. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
    The response is a grunt and something resembling a shrug. While the Agnac returns to the elevator, Tiav leads me down a hall branching off from the sitting room. We pass by a kitchen and dining
room, and go by a number of closed doors. This must be some kind of penthouse apartment, taking up the entire floor. Finally, he opens a door at the end of the hallway and ushers me through.
    As bedrooms go, it’s nice but nothing fancy. A bed, a small desk, a dresser, two paintings on the walls, and a window looking out on the city. Everything is done in neutral colors, neither
especially feminine nor masculine, old nor young. There’s a rustic quality to it, lacking the ever-present sheen of technology we have back home. The desk might have a computer interface
built into its surface, but I can’t tell for sure.
    “Do you need anything?” Tiav asks.
    I slide my pack off my shoulders and set it on the bed. I packed enough in there for a couple of days, so I give him a no. Then I point back the way we came and tilt my head, hoping he’ll
get the question.
    “Kalkig?”
    No, that’s not it. I wait for him to try again.
    “My mother? Her name’s Shiin’alo, and she’s an Aelo—well, we both are, but she’s the primary Aelo of Ferinne. But…that probably doesn’t answer
anything, does it? I have more questions than I can count, so I can only imagine how
you
feel. We’ll get started with writing tomorrow. Then maybe everything will make more
sense.”
    Considering I was taught that Ferri is an afterlife ruled by two powerful beings that no one
really
believes in, I don’t have high hopes for
anything
making sense.

    Madness fills my dreams, the cell-tearing chaos of the portal. My brothers beg me to hold on tighter, to pull them through.
    They slip away every time. I fail again and again.
    I wake up with only a few minor aches remaining, but the dream of my brothers lingers. When I tried to pull Emil through with me, I wasn’t ready. I was too weak. I’ll have to get
back to that portal with the spires, try again. Maybe once I have a better idea of this place and what’s happening.
    After cleaning up and getting dressed, I find a tray of food outside my door. No idea where it came from, but I bring it in and eat the provided breakfast. The fruits are different, sweeter, and
the grains less refined, but it tastes good.
    “Ready to go?”
    I didn’t notice Tiav arrive at the open doorway, yet his words didn’t startle me. Maybe