Free ORDER OF SEVEN by Beth Teliho Page A

with the Tabari for a couple hundred years. Speculation among the archeological community is they’re meeting in hopes of having albinos in the tribe again.”
    “So they breed with the Maz, hoping for an albino?” Nodin muses.
    “Exactly.”
    “Did it work?”
    “Another unknown. They’re reclusive and private. No one is let inside their community. Only a few venture out for food and goods.”
    “Wait a minute... Wouldn’t this produce a new breed? A half-Maz, half-Tabari?” I say.
    “Depends.”
    “On what?”
    “On if they were successful producing any children.”
    “Let me guess, no one knows.”
    “Correct,” Baron agrees.
    “And they speak the language my name is in?”
    “Hahn says Amair is their native tongue. It’s only spoken by a small sect now and the thousand or so Tabari left.”
    “A thousand?” Nodin and I say in unison.
    Baron nods.
    The room is silent. A connection is glaring at me like a neon sign. I look at Nodin.
    “You thinking what I’m thinking?” I ask.
    He shakes his head, but I think he has an idea what I’m about to say.
    “Nodin, my name is in Amair. And you’re—”
    “I’m not albino,” he says.
    “You’re right. You’re not, technically, but hear me out,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “It doesn’t make any more sense for the brown-skinned woman from my dream to be with an indigenous African tribe than it does for us. She could be Peruvian. What if we’re the result of these tribes mixing? What if we’re both half-albino, but you inherited more of the albino gene than I did?”
    He holds a hand up to quiet me and stands, pacing. “It makes sense on some level, I guess. But if we’re somehow originally from Central America, how did we end up in Africa?”
    “That’s the million dollar qu—” I stop and turn to Baron. “Hey, maybe that word or name or whatever it is I say in my dream, Nami. Maybe it’s an Amair word. Do you think you could find out?”
    “I could try, yeah.”
    “Don’t do it if it means telling Hahn too much,” Nodin says.
    “I won’t.”
    “Anything else?” Nodin asks.
    “That’s it about the Tabari.” Baron taps the notebook. “Let’s get back to the symbols and see if we can learn anything from them.”
    My stomach growls loud enough for everyone to hear. “Sorry,” I say, a little embarrassed. “I haven’t had dinner.”
    “Oh, I forgot. We had Chinese earlier. Leftovers are in the fridge. Help yourself if you want,” Nodin says.
    “That’s perfect, thanks.” I go in the kitchen and begin rummaging through the fridge until I find chicken with broccoli. I scoop some out on a plate and have just put it in the microwave when I hear commotion from the family room.
    Nodin has spilled his soda and somehow managed to get it all over Baron’s shirt. The guys are laughing and teasing Nodin about his lack of grace. Nodin tells them to fuck off, and comes in the kitchen for a paper towel.
    I’m filling a glass with fridge water when I hear Ben asking about Baron’s new tattoo. I turn my head so I can see them. Baron has taken his wet shirt off. I’m so distracted, I overfill my glass and water goes all over the floor. I grab a dish towel and wipe it up.
    “Holy shit, that’s a huge back tat, dude,” I hear Ben say.
    “Yeah, I got the third part last week,” Baron says. “It took forever. There’s so much detail.”
    I fold the dishtowel over the sink. Baron is facing me while Ben inspects his back.
    “Turn around,” Nodin says as he returns to wipe up the soda. I lift the water glass to my lips as Baron turns.
    Glass shatters around my feet. Shock’s Novocain runs through my veins. Nodin’s eyes are wide with surprise as he looks from the glass at my feet to Baron.
    What I see on Baron’s back nearly brings me to my knees. I cannot speak. I cannot move. I cannot breathe.
    •◊•◊•
    Space and time suspend and a single fact is clear: Baron isn’t just a cute friend of my brother’s. He