Page 65 of Steel & Thunder
“What about you, David? Have you traveled much?” Ayla suddenly turns her attention to me, as does the rest of the table. Crap.
“Uh, not really. I’d like to.” Things haven’t exactly gotten according to plan, but that was the goal. “The trip here was my first. I came over here because it’s the place I knew the least about. I wanted to experience it for the first time myself.” It was also the cheapest and farthest away.
“Is there a place you’d like to visit next?” Ayla seems genuinely excited when she asks.
“Unless getting arrested and ending up here was on your list of experiences,” Rurig adds wryly from his seat.
“Well, I figure I can squeeze in a few more jail cells before the end of the year.” You have to fight jokes with jokes, even if they’re at your own expense.
Rurig chuckles into his mug. “I like him.”
“I honestly have no idea.” I turn back to Ayla to finish answering her question. “I didn’t really think that far ahead. …Any recommendations?”
Ayla’s face brightens even more at my question. “Well, if you ever travel west, tucked away out in the Hayaki Desert is an oasis where crystals grow out of the ground like plants. Every color you could imagine: some even change throughout the day. You know how when light passes through something transparent, it leaves a colored shadow?” I nod. “There is something about the crystals, or maybe the land itself, but anything bathed in those shadows is dyed that color. It lasts maybe half a minute, but it affects everything. Rocks, plants, animals, people. There are rainbows all over the sand. It’s truly amazing.” She stops. “There is a group of people living there, a commune. I think they’ve been there a long time. They have these beautiful ceremonies at sunset.”
“Wow.” I’m whispering, completely drawn in by her story. “What’s it called?”
“Li’akwa. I think you’d like it there.” Ayla leans back in her seat. “Maybe you can convince my brother to loosen up and take you one day.”
Or I could just go by myself in two months. I look to my left and notice Khazak sitting stiffly beside me. How long has he been like that? Wait, is he jealous that I’m talking to his sister? At least he finished his beer, as he is now pouring himself a second one.
“How has work been, son?” Orlun senses the tension and redirects the conversation.
“Good, Orda.” I see Khazak’s shoulders relax, back on familiar ground. “We have almost finished the security upgrades I told you about. The old holding cells will be torn down next week.”
“Good riddance. I hardly ever remember using them.” That would have been good information to have two nights ago, but ignoring that, it sounds like Orlun used to be a ranger himself. “Are you due back in yet?”
“Tomorrow.” He is? Has it been a week already? “It will also be David’s first day.”
“It will? I mean, you’re taking me with you?” I do not remember talking about this. Did I space out again?
“Well, we talked about finding you something to do,” he reasons. “It seemed better than the alternative of leaving you home alone all day.”
“No, that’s okay. I just didn’t know that was a possibility. Or that it was happening tomorrow.” Or what they do exactly aside from arresting trespassers. Can’t imagine they would even want me there.
“You would be acting as my assis—” he starts to explain.
“Ooo, is Khazak making plans without telling the other person about it until the last minute again?” Ayla cuts in, leaning forward on her elbow to look at her twin.
“That is not what I—” he tries again.
“Khazak, come help me and your fathers clean up.” It’s Rurig’s turn to prevent an argument, standing and starting to gather up dishes. “Your siblings helped us cook, after all.”
“Yes, Ruda.” Khazak sighs and sends me an apologetic look.
Ayla pulls me to the side as the table is cleared and plates are brought into the kitchen. She leads me to a backdoor, and we head outside into the cool night air. There’s no grass (I haven’t seen much grass outside of the park now that I think about it), just a small fire pit with a few chairs around it. There’s also what looks like a vegetable garden off to the side. Stepping away from the door, Ayla leans back against the house.
“Easier to talk out here.” She offers me a smile. “Sorry about that. I love my brother, but it is just so easy to get under his skin sometimes. I can’t help it. He is such a control freak.”
“Who, the guy that would only let me call him ‘Sir’ for the first five days? Never would have guessed.” She laughs and I relax, copying her stance against the wall. “Has he always been like that?”
“Honestly? Yes, ever since we were children.” She shakes her head a little. “He was the responsible one while I was always getting into trouble. My parents would put him in charge of watching me and Yogik even though we’re the same age. I’m technically older by two minutes!”
“We would do things together but in completely different ways,” she continues, her hands moving animatedly as she speaks. “I have never met a more prepared person. He’d have a plan, a backup plan, and a backup-backup plan. I’m the type to just roll the dice and jump in, but he always knew exactly what he wanted. He was so stubborn. Once he set his mind on something, he’d make it happen.”
“I think I know what you mean.” Sounds a little familiar. Maybe that’s why we get along sometimes.
“Problem is, when he can’t be in control of a situation, or worse, when he loses control, he tends to...” She points her finger down and makes a twirling motion. “Spiral. I really shouldn’t provoke him like that. He normally handles it better.”
