Ousted

[Seven Xu]

Spring 51, 508 AV
Xu Residence, Solar Wind Apartments

Whirr-thup. Whirr-thup. Whirrrr-thup.

Seven’s finger continued to foil the progress of a dozen waiflike fins on a wooden spool in an open window. Whenever the wind caught the mechanism, it would jolt into motion, producing a whirring noise—distracting at the best of times, but downright maddening when one was waiting for another to decide his fate.

A door swung open, and slammed shut.

The halfblood was on his feet, whirligig forgotten. “I . . .”

“Don’t speak. Don’t you speak, you hear me?”

The space between father and son had closed considerably. Zhao was often a quiet, dour man. Seven managed to provoke him as easily as a puff of wind caught and turned the toy that dangled from their window.

Whirrrr.

“I’m sorry,” the apology was cut short when an olive hand cuffed him across the mouth. Seven winced, stumbled back, and groped at his jaw, but did not cry out. He’d bit his tongue in his efforts. The tang of blood filled his mouth, but he could not afford to spit.

“A symenestra. A Widow. That’s what you brought into this home—my home—with my wife and your sisters in the next room.” Zhao thought to advance further on his son, but that crimson stare held him at bay. It often did. His jaw tightened, and he hissed out a lungful of exasperation. “Get out.”

“What?” Seven winced, incredulous. “What?”

“Pray that thing carries you back to its lair with it. Get out of my house, before I remove you myself.”

Rage was a hot black stone in Seven’s belly. His fists tightened. He swallowed a mouthful of blood. At first, his feet refused to lift from the thin carpet that covered a carefully carved tile floor. Then he crossed the room, out of arm’s reach of his furious father. “They all can’t be that bad,” he finally said, when courage came in the form of a cool brass doorknob, “You fucked one.”

The door slammed shut, and Seven padded a hasty retreat down a short flight of stairs before emerging beneath the sun-drenched thoroughfare that connected their humble apartments to the heart of the city’s trading district. It didn’t take long for a second pair of feet to join his—but these were quieter, more careful steps, accented by the occasional slip of a sandal’s sole on muted flagstone.

“You didn’t hear that, did you?” Seven asked, without turning. Veldrys had never gone far, since they had met two weeks prior. He lifted a sleeved hand to his chin to wipe away a drying tendril of spittle and blood.

[Veldrys]

Days had slowly turned into weeks. Veldrys knew that he would have to return to Kalinor sooner or later – he had a family there, a job – but he was trying to postpone his return a little longer. Part of him wanted to stay forever. Here was somebody that was interested in him, that didn’t tell him what to do or call him some kind of monster, that honestly cared, that had showed him how enjoyable life could be. His presence even made the cold looks that the Lhavitians gave him bearable.

He had rented a small room at an inn – the innkeeper had begun to tolerate him after he had revealed that he was a skilled healer – but he hardly spent time there anymore. Most of the time he lingered near the Xu Residence, hoping to get a glimpse of him, waiting for him, even though he knew that it would have disastrous consequences if the wrong person saw him.

What he had never expected was that the man would become violent towards his own son though and risk Viratas‘ anger in the process. As he heard the screams coming from the house, he was almost ready to break though the door – or climb through the window – to help him, but then he already came rushing outside. He stepped away from the place where he had been waiting and followed him, caught up with him.

„I didn’t hear everything, but I heard enough“, he replied. His voice was cold, and his eyes were hard, but as he looked back at the halfblood, his gaze softened. „He hurt you“, he murmurred and placed a hand on his arm so that he would stop for a moment and look at him. „He shouldn’t have done this. He had no right. Has this ever happened before?“ As he asked this, he removed a handkerchief from a pocket to wipe the blood away, wondering if he was hurt anywhere else. „I’m sorry. I didn’t know … how did he find out about us?“

[Seven Xu]

He thought to shake Veldrys’ grip, but his better judgment reined him back. Seven stopped, turned, and let the so-named monster dote over the throbbing cut on his lip. “It’s okay.” He flinched when cotton-bound fingers dared press too hard. Two hands shot up between them, one fumbling for his lip, the other for a set of bony knuckles. He couldn’t help but smile at the Symenos-laced accent on the symenestra’s pale lips. “I’m fine. Don’t be sorry.”

Seven rocked to his toes to embrace the man, but fell away. His shoulders sagged, and he averted his gaze. Those eyes were amethysts, while his were murky rubies; he couldn’t stand to hold a mutual gaze for long. “He only knows that I lead you home. That’s all he knows.” A pregnant pause filled the air between them. He didn’t have to say it aloud. He wasn’t sure if he could.

“My sister found out. The other one—well, one knew already. She knew as soon as I brought you there the first time. She was quiet, but Lifen has trouble keeping her damned mouth shut.”

A derisive laugh escaped him as a snort. He turned and began to walk again. They passed a woman wrapped neck to toe in pastel silks; a wary glance was reciprocated with a defiant red glare. Alone, Seven managed to keep his head down. With Veldrys at his side, he had gained a sense of security in belonging. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going back there, not tonight. I’ll sleep under the stars; maybe I’ll find a new one and they’ll name it after me.”

[Veldrys]

„I should have been more careful then“, he murmurred and sighed. „I shouldn’t have come as often. I should have made sure that nobody saw me.“ Seven had said „Don’t be sorry.“, but Veldrys felt as if it was his fault that his father had hurt him. He was in pain, he had been thrown out because of him, and Veldrys wasn’t sure what he should do now. He should have known better than to come to a place where everybody saw him as a monster that snatched innocent people and condemned them to a painful death, but then they would never have met.

„I pray to Viratas that he doesn’t know more“, he replied bitterly. If the man found out that they had spent the night together, if he found out how close they had been, he would probably kill them both. He was suddenly glad to have the parents he had. For all their flaws they would never have hurt him if he had brought a boy of mixed blood home. His father wouldn’t have been pleased, but he would never have raised his hand.

As Seven began to walk again, he followed him even though he wasn’t sure whether he wanted his company right now. „I’ll stay with you if you want to“, he offered him. „I’ve developed a certain interest in the stars recently, thanks to you. There should be enough left for you to claim one of them. And if the night gets too cold, I’ve rented a room at an inn. You don’t have to go back there ever again if you don’t want to.“

[Seven Xu]

“You don’t owe me anything.”

It was hard to resist the offer; despite Seven’s forward glower, a blind hand reached until it found a bony wrist. Fingers laced together, and his palm settled between the warm curves of another. “Then again, an inn with a bed sounds nicer than some rooftop or rock face.”

A laugh was short lived on weeping lips. His tongue shot out to dab away red that had blossomed anew. “Would that I could go home with you,” he remarked, as if reading Veldrys’ mind, “your cavern sounds lovely. I couldn’t leave my sisters, though. One’s too reckless and the other’s too innocent—Lhavit is kind to them, but gods only know how long that will last.”

They clung to the edge of the crowd, skirting along dusty side streets and dipping through short alleys. A few times, Seven would drift from his companion under the guise of distraction, hands burrowing into the folds of body-warmed pockets. It wasn’t until they reached the far end of the plaza, where pavilions and crowds and skyglass towers were scarce in favor of open terraces and deserted bridges that drew no interest beyond the ever-watchful eye of Shinya guards, did he return to the waif of a man and search silken robes for a hand he had abandoned.

“Quieter here,” he observed, fingers rounding an elbow before roaming the crease in light armor along a silken forearm, “I wish, sometimes, that I could fly right off of this mountain.” It was an odd thing for a symenestra (or one close enough in appearance to be labelled as such) to say within earshot of any mind willing to throw him. “But a man doesn’t sprout wings. Someday I’ll leave, when they’re grown. They have a mother, you know. You’d never know it.”

There was a pause. Seven fumbled for words. “I’m sorry. We should change the subject—tell me more of Kalinor, or, I don’t know,” his brow furrowed, “tell me what you’re thinking. You’re always so quiet.”

[Veldrys]

„I do owe you something“, Veldrys replied. Being with Seven had taught him that halfbloods weren’t inferior, that they were just like his people and that the surface could occasionally be beautiful. Seven had taught him things about himself, but he didn’t say it out loud. Even now the Symenestra was hesitant about his feelings. He grasped the younger man’s hand though, enjoying the proximity, hoping that his presence would comfort him a little. „Then the decision has been made. You’ll come with me tonight. There’s enough room for both of us, and nobody will disturb us.“

„I wish you could come with me“, he replied. „Despite everything that is wrong with it, Kalinor is a beautiful place. You should see the houses that hang from the ceiling, the aerial dancers, the Rose Cavern. I would protect you against anybody that has a problem with you being half human. We’d go swimming in the Blue Grotto, visit the Temple of Viratas and eat food that won’t make us sick, but I suppose you really can’t leave your sisters alone. And Kalinor wouldn’t be the right place for them.“

They would likely end up as surrogates. Even his Web wouldn’t be able to protect them forever. Kalinor was no place for human women. That reminded him why he had left his home in the first place. He couldn’t accept a society where women had to die.

As they walked on, the Symenestra fell silent and simply studied their surroundings. Occasionally he cast a glance at his companion to see if he was alright. He was still worried about Seven. Even though the halfblood didn’t say anything, even though he had not cried a single tear, what had happened must have affected him.

„Some men do sprout wings“, he argued. „But neither you nor I have the power to fly. And I’m not quiet.“ He turned to face Seven. „I’m just thinking, a bit too much maybe. Inside my head it’s never quiet. I’m thinking about you, about the time I’ve spent with you. Did you know that a true follower of Viratas doesn’t care who you are and where you come from, that the only thing that matters is that you are? Can you imagine a place a lake, somewhere deep underground, in a cave that is bathed in pink light? It is full of strange, colourful fish, and moths weave their coccoons among the rocks. It’s the most peaceful, beautiful place I’ve ever seen.“

„You would like it there.“

[Seven Xu]

The only thing that matters is that you are.

Seven sucked on his bottom lip as he considered that, above all the fanciful retellings of a home the willowy man left behind. His grip tightened over bone armor, pressing it into the rough pads of his fingertips and the soft flesh beneath those layers. “The gods are wiser than us. That’s why they’re gods, and we’re men.”

With that squeeze he urged Veldrys on, beyond a portcullis that drew them into a narrow, curved terrace that rounded a large dome-topped building. On the other side of a waist-high railing was a short drop, four or five stories to another smattering of rounded rooftops and winding pathways. Lhavit was a hundred levels wrought of skyglass, each peak and balcony lovingly and deliberately forged hundreds of years before either pale boy had been a thought in their parents’ minds.

“I cannot imagine anything underground,” Seven admitted. “I’ve seen drawings, paintings of caves and the like, but I cannot imagine being there. Is it hot, or cold? How does one live their entire life without seeing the sun, or the moon, or the stars?”

Distant voices turned to whispers turned to wind and the empty shuffle of four feet on smooth flagstone. They were alone now, past the interest that the plaza offered. Seven thought he heard approaching feet, but it was nothing more than wood pipes on wind, hung and forgotten from the vaulted ceiling above their heads.

“Maybe I’m using my sisters as an excuse,” he laughed, stopping to appreciate the view beyond the domed encampment below. “Maybe I’d lose my wits without the sky. Maybe you’d grow tired of me.”

The ache in his lip had ebbed, but he reached to touch it and rekindled the pain; his smile died and the light in his eyes grew dim. The fall in his countenance didn’t last long. His mouth tightened, the sentiment forgotten. “You know, I could show you the nicest part of Lhavit, if you’re willing to put my climbing skills to shame again.”

[Veldrys]

„They are“, Veldrys replied as Seven told him that the gods were wiser than them. „But sometimes men become gods, and gods fall.“ He felt the halfblood’s grip tighten – a vaguely unpleasant sensation – and hurried on, fallling silent. As he saw where they were going, his eyes widened. He had never seen a more beautiful place than Kalinor, but Lhavit with its skyglass and its high peaks at least came close. There had been a time when he had thought humans lowly creatures, barbarians, but if they were capable of such a wonder, they were anything but.

„It’s neither hot nor cold“, he replied. „The temperature never changes. There is no winter or summer. It’s always equally pleasant. As for how one lives without seeing the sun or the moon, I don’t know. I never actually missed them until I came to the surface for the first time. Most people don’t miss something they don’t know. My kind have had centuries to adjust to their underground caves.“

„Maybe you are using your sisters as an excuse“, he agreed and shrugged his shoulders. „You are the only one who really knows. And maybe you’d lose your wits, but I doubt it. There are a thousand things to make up for the lack of a sky, besides you can always go up and look at it when you miss it. Kalinor isn’t that far from the surface. And I don’t think I would never grow tired of you. I enjoy being with you.“

„The nicest part of Lhavit?“ He arched an eyebrow and smiled a little. „I don’t think I’ve seen it yet. I would appreciate it if you could show it to me. I’m not the best climber though. I can climb a wall without falling, but that’s about it. My people back in Kalinor would probably laugh at me if they saw me trying to do something more complicated. I’m better at other things.“

[Seven Xu]

The terrace opened to the sky before it narrowed and stretched across the sky to Lhavit’s northernmost rise. Seven released the spider to complete the crossing in as few strides as possible. Stubborn mist the sun had failed to burn away had gathered not twenty feet below the glimmering bridge, making them feel as though they’d risen above the clouds. The Sartu peak was quiet; the observatory would draw its crowds closer to dusk, and those that made the crossing to pay homage to the mistress of Time were not as boisterous a crowd as those that shouted their business across the Plaza.

The thought of these people pale as ghosts, hooting and clapping and laughing at each other while they suspended themselves from rock and silk—rather than plotting the demise of Kalea’s women—was something of a novelty to Seven, and he laughed louder than he should have.

“What are you good at?” Seven asked, turning to his cohort once they had begun their slow, winding climb on the hard-packed trail that snaked its way to the third tier. “Me, I’m not good at much. Climbing’s not one of them, and neither is fighting,” his tongue swept his lip; it had swollen, or at least felt swollen, “I’m excellent at saying the exact wrong thing at the exact right time.

“Or maybe the wrong time, I don’t know. I’m smart, or at least I try to be.” He paused. “Why do they tell you that you have a smart mouth when they mean to insult you? That I never understood.”

Seven’s breath had grown shallow with his efforts, and a thin sheen of sweat had gathered at his scalp. “There was a time when I thought I knew something about your people,” he stole another glance over his shoulder at the taller man that trailed him, “Our people. Fortunately, those were all stories.”

[Veldrys]

For a moment as they ascended Veldrys felt as if he were far above the clouds, as if he were floating in the sky, as if he were an Ethaefal, a celestial being rather than a lowly Symenestra. The view was breathtaking. His people had once lived high above ground as well. Why hadn’t they left the cave when the surface had become safe again? Why hadn’t they claimed those peaks? Maybe they would never have suffered such a cruel fate if they had been closer to the light. Kalinor was the most beautiful city in the world, but still, he couldn’t help but wonder.

„I don’t know“, he repiled as Seven asked him what he was good at. „I’m a good doctor, I think. At least Hellebore never complained about my work. I’m good with herbs as well, I suppose. And I seem to be decent at everything involving our faith, if religion is really something you can be good at. I’m not much of a fighter though, just like you. My bones would probably break after the first hit. As for saying the wrong thing at the right or wrong time, it isn’t that bad. You never said anything wrong to me.“

„I never understood it either.“ He shrugged his shoulders. „People say strange things sometimes. As far as I am concerned, you are smart, but in a good way.“ He noticed that the younger man was growing exhausted, moved in front of Seven and offered him his hand.

„There was a time when I thought I knew something about my people as well“, he replied. „But going to the surface made me see them in a different light and reconsider everything. But which stories do you mean? The same, old ones about the evil Symenestra that steal innocent children?“ He laughed somewhat bitterly. He didn’t want to think about them now, even though they had something to do with Seven’s current state.