Page 15 of Abducting Sarah

We both turned to her, frowning.

She explained in a mix of English and Ladrian, “Sorry. It’s a human way to say someone had jinxed themselves by tempting fate.”

“What isjinxed?” Deacon asked.

I said, “She thinks you cursed yourself by saying there was nothing else to worry about—it’s a superstition—if you say something like that, then things will go wrong according to human lore.”

“It is a curse to be confident for humans?”

I sighed. “For someone about to unite with one, you certainly have a lot to learn about them.”

CHAPTER 6

Deacon

“Iwill learn about humans as I go,” I said with a shrug. “No matter, there is no time to waste. We must be united, then the pomp, then we rescue Silence—”

“Why don’t I go rescue Silence, while you handle the pomp?” Jacaranda asked.

I frowned. “You are my oldest friend. I would be distraught if you did not participate in the pomp.”

“Even on Earth, best friends help celebrate weddings,” Sarah told him.

“I know all that, but you don’t understand—”

“It is settled,” I interrupted Jac. “Please send Wave in to perform the ceremony.”

Sarah frowned. “We’re getting married by the doctor?”

“We are being united by the ship historian,” I explained.

“I thought she was the doctor.”

“No, merely the most knowledgeable Ladrian on my ship. Wave was engineered, like so many classed, to be the perfect knowledge machine.”

“That explains the ego,” she sighed.

“She is confident—again, you make that sound like a bad thing. I do not understand.”

Sarah shrugged. “I think it’s a cultural thing. Americans, that’s what we call humans who come from—”

“I know what Americans are,” I interrupted her.

“Well, we tend to believe humility is a good thing. Unless you’re a politician or a billionaire.”

“Americans are strange.”

She laughed. “You’re not wrong about that.”

“I know. That’s why I said it.”

Jac put his hand up and said, “She’s agreeing with you, Deacon.”

Sarah’s ways mystified me, and I looked forward to unraveling them. “Very well, then. Jac?”

He nodded and when he left, trepidation had taken over his face.Why is he so upset about the pomp? I would have thought he would be in support of such traditional things, considering our untraditional union.Regardless of his concerns, there were other issues to attend.

I asked Sarah, “Are you comfortable uniting in what you’re wearing now? I understand humans prefer special clothes for their ceremonies, and I can have a small dress delivered, if that makes you more comfortable. But I should get started on that now, so we do not waste any more time.”

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