Free The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord Page B

small enough to tuck under his shoulder, a new thing that made the once-familiar warmth strange. He awkwardly pressed against the side of her updrawn knee and the edge of the stool and hugged her.
    ‘It’s both. You and me. You’re a lot like me, but much stronger. You can charm, and you can . . .’ She stopped, seeking the right word. ‘Quieten. Lull . I never wanted you to be worried or scared of what you are, and you didn’t want me to worry either, so you persuaded me and I persuaded you. We mutually pacified our curiosity. Not the wisest thing I’ve done, I admit, but . . .’
    She fell silent, but he imagined he knew her thoughts. They were both wondering how much should be allowed for the sake of wanting your loved ones to be happy.
    He pulled away gently and sat on the stool next to hers. ‘You know, I’ll be fifteen soon.’
    Aunt Grace smiled. ‘Counting down the days?’
    ‘Three weeks, five days,’ he replied with a laugh. ‘Then I’m a homesteader grown and no one’s responsibility.’
    Her smile vanished immediately. ‘No. No you don’t.’
    ‘You’re not my guardian,’ he reminded her, keeping his voice low, reasonable and not in the least accusing. ‘I’m still registered as a homesteader, otherwise you could have kept me till seventeen.’
    ‘You can’t do this to Maria,’ she whispered angrily. The whisper was useless for privacy. Rafi saw at the edge of his vision when Dllenahkh raised his head and looked at them, perplexed, then returned his gaze to his handheld with a reluctance that hinted at divided attention. He continued to protest quietly. ‘I’m not trying to do anything to anyone. I’m trying to get control over my life.’
    ‘You’ll get some control and you’ll lose a lot of protection. There’s no easy solution to this, Rafi. Let’s think things over carefully before we make any grand gestures.’
    Rafi opened his mouth, paused, then rushed on before fear or common sense could make him hold his tongue. ‘It’s already in process. I . . . I went to the Registration Bureau in the City.’
    ‘Your so-called research – you idiot! No, I’m the idiot, trusting you not to get into trouble in one afternoon!’
    Her voice grew too loud to be ignored. Rafi looked anxiously at the faces now turned in their direction. ‘It’s not as bad as it sounds,’ he insisted to the room at large. ‘It’s perfectly legal.’
    Nasiha glanced very quickly at Aunt Grace, her eyes flickering over for a split second before coming back to give him a pensive look, and in that moment Rafi felt intensely guilty, as if her problem were being weighed in the balance with his. He was an unexpected, unwanted distraction, a family embarrassment derailing a serious matter of interplanetary importance.
    ‘It won’t be finalised until my birthday,’ he said, seeking a graceful retreat. ‘We can deal with it later.’
    It was easy when you knew what to watch for. Dllenahkh gave his wife a look that was somehow both stern and pleading. She bit her lip, her eyes anguished as she answered her husband’s silent communication, then blinked and smoothed her features leaving only a slight tension in her jaw as she spoke her words softly through clenched teeth.
    ‘Go to bed, Rafi, straight to bed. Don’t do anything – don’t even think about doing anything until we discuss this again.’
    Feeling thoroughly shamed, Rafi got up and walked quickly out of the house, running an uncomfortable gauntlet of guarded, sympathetic, querying and worried looks. At first he kept his head down as he took the short path to the living quarters, but the night breeze was so cool and comforting that he gradually lifted his heated face to the sky and slowed his pace. Stars shone intermittently through patches of drifting cloud, serene and timeless beyond the changeable atmosphere. He glanced back at the lit windows of the main house, suddenly wishing he were an adult in truth and fact, someone who could be told