Page 111 of Freedom Mine
“Is it really you?” Kayo asked, in Bakadin, his native tongue heavy on his tongue after all these years.
The smile that spread on Erlan’s face washed away all the fear, all the anxiety he’d had at the thought of ever seeing his family again. There was nothing but love and acceptance on Erlan’s face.
“We never gave up looking for you, Kayo. We heard what happened to your squad. All killed, but there was no body. We hoped you’d survived somehow.”
“I. . . I couldn’t. I was. . .” Hells, everything was so confused in his head all of a sudden. He didn’t know what to say.
Erlan squeezed his shoulder, and Kayo fell silent. With Erlan here, letting him know it was okay, words weren’t needed. It was as if years hadn’t separated them. He’d missed him. Gods, he’d missed all of them. If only Alli were here too.
Kayo looked around at the place. Granted there were no slaves here currently, but if Erlan had found him, then he knew Kayo had owned people.
With his hands on his hips, Kayo backed away, shaking his head.
Erlan’s eyes filled with caution, taking his cue from Kayo, which he’d never done in the past. Maybe he was gaging how much Kayo had changed since he’d seen him last. Would his brother be disappointed when he learned the truth of what Kayo had done to survive?
“Stop it, Kayo,” Erlan said, his voice authoritative, the older brother in him taking charge as if they were still kids.
They weren’t kids. Those days were long behind them. Kayo had lived a different life than Erlan, one that Erlan wouldn’t understand. Kayo’s breathing hastened. Erlan needed to leave, to go home before the Empire took him away from their family too.
“You need to go, Erlan.”
“Twelve years, Kayo. A long time to still be stupid.”
“Huh?”
“You’re afraid of what we’ll think of you. That we’ll be ashamed that you owned slaves?”
Kayo hissed. Erlan, his entire family, knew what he’d become.
“She told us everything, little brother, including how you’ve suffered, and more importantly, how you’ve helped so many people.”
Kayo’s heart nearly stopped. “She?”
“Six weeks ago, a woman arrived on our doorstep, in the middle of a drekking blizzard no less. She wouldn’t leave the transport office until someone flew her out to Mom and Dad’s. Everyone was at the house too, for Avidra’s Day, including Tarik’s and Darile’s families.”
His brothers had families now. Kayo had missed so much. But he couldn’t focus on that now. Alli had made it out of the Empire and to his family. He brushed back the tears. His Alli was safe and with his family! They’d take care of her.
“It was the miracle we’d waited for, Kayo. So it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, or what shame you think you’ve brought to our family. Nothing matters except that you’re alive and still a part of us. You’ll always be one of us, brother. How could you be anything less?”
“But I. . .” Kayo caught a glimpse of Ranth, Liet, and Runner who’d returned from the mine minutes ago, dirty, sweaty, and exhausted. Over by the landglider, Diggs had stopped unloading supplies. His men were listening, watching, maybe thinking of the families they’d left behind. Their stories were similar, and he could tell by their expressions they both envied and pitied him for the position he was in.
His face heavy with worry, Erlan grabbed Kayo’s shoulder. “It’s time to go home, Kayo.”
Kayo thought of Alli and what she’d say to him, how she’d tell him to follow his heart, no matter where it led. If he did that, it would bring him to her, but he couldn’t leave here, not when he was needed by so many. And he couldn’t send for her. She was safer with his family, beyond the reach of the Empire.
“There’s too much to do here,” Kayo said, hoping his brother would understand. Despite what Erlan said, Kayo couldn’t go home. He wasn’t the same person who’d left there. At least his family could stop wondering and he wouldn’t feel so lost anymore. He hugged Erlan again.
Erlan clapped him on the back, his slight nod enough to say he understood. “Can you stay, for a few days?” Kayo asked.
“A few days,” Erlan said with a smile. “Though I wish I could stay longer.”
He’d pack a lifetime into those few days, find out about everyone, and be a part of his family again through Erlan, if only for a few days.
“Ah, Boss, we got a problem back here,” Diggs called from the cargo area of the glider. “You need to take a look at this.”
Kayo swiped the tears away and headed over toward Diggs. “Are we missing supplies?”
“Got something we didn’t buy. I mean, not this time at least.”
