House of Books - Chapter 6 - Loyalty and Obligation - Seg.3

{Arkyntesh}1

I held my breath as I raised the bucket of scraps and tipped it onto Nina’s compost heap at the end of the backyard. I had just now discovered that some chores were less pleasant than others. The sun was low on the horizon and birds were chirping somewhere nearby, probably in one of Nina’s fruit trees. This peaceful environment really made me not want to ever leave. But I couldn’t stay here and endanger the people who were trying to help me.2

As I headed back up the path, ducking under the first washing line, I wondered where the idea came from that telekinetic people were possessed by evil. As far as I was aware before discovering my own telekinesis, all people born with these powers were killed as soon as they were found; they were killed before the evil inside overcame them and caused them to wreak havoc. But after using telekinesis myself, it never occurred to me that this meant I was evil. I didn’t feel any different, and I had no desire to burn homes or eat souls.3

Now that I was one of them, I knew that those with telekinesis fought inner evil no more than any normal person. So why was it so easily considered fact that they were evil? Who decided it was so?4

As I ducked under the second washing line, I held a red shirt out of the way and looked up to find Yoyuko sitting on the lawn. I hadn’t seen him on my way out here. His legs were crossed, his eyes were closed, and he had a large, shallow white ceramic bowl of water in his lap. No wind stirred the air but the water rippled; I guessed he was practicing his telekinesis again, so I remained silent and tried not to disturb him. His eyes opened suddenly, the water going still again as he glared at me. It was a shock; I’d never seen him show any extreme emotion.5

“Arkyntesh, I cannot concentrate with you there.”6

I blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll go.”7

The backdoor burst open before I could even take a step toward it and Peroi appeared in the doorway. “Tea’s ready, Arkyn!” she said cheerfully. “Oh there you are, Yuko, I was just about to look for you too,” she smiled, turning her attention to the boy. “How’s your practice going?”8

“It was fine, until Arkyn came and distracted me,” he said darkly. “I’ll be in later.”9

Peroi hesitated, glancing from him to me with an amused frown. “Alright...” she said slowly. “Come on, Arkyn.” 10

Wordlessly, I obeyed. As the backdoor closed behind me, I put the scrap bucket back on the kitchen counter and stopped. “Did I offend Yuko?”11

Turning to face me, she smiled and crossed her arms. “Of course not; you didn’t do anything wrong. I... think he’s just feeling a little inferior.”12

I frowned. “What do you mean?”13

Peroi bit her lip to suppress another smile. Why did she find this amusing? I merely asked a question. “You don’t see it, do you?” she asked. “It’s simple, really. Yoyuko is very intelligent, a genius in fact. He can rapidly work out complicated maths sums in his head and thrashes everyone at tactical games like chess. He’s also very athletic, so basically everything comes easily to him.”14

I frowned. “But... he struggles with telekinesis?”15

“Not at all,” she laughed. “He’s above average and learns quickly. But he’s surrounded by people like Luci, Kieren and I, who are well above average. It’s alright with Kieren because he’s older than him, and he’s accepted that Luci and I are special. But then you came along, the same age as him but you’d only just found telekinesis, and you learned to manipulate water on your first try. Congratulations, by the way,” she grinned. “Kieren told me about it before—it’s amazing! Anyway, Yuko has been trying to learn that for ages; it’s a very advanced technique. Surely you can imagine how frustrating that must be, especially for someone who is the best at everything else.”16

I looked down at our feet. No matter what I did, I still seemed to make more reasons for this family to resent me. “Mmm.” 17

Peroi took a step closer, cocking her head to one side and carefully studying my face. “So don’t take it to heart, ok?” she said softly.18

Now she was concerned about me? Why? I was just wondering what I’d done to make Yuko angry. It wasn’t a big deal. The orange light coming through the kitchen window made her hazel eyes look warm and bright, and I looked into them, trying to understand what on earth this girl might be thinking. I didn’t understand her at all. Why did she care about me so much?19

Nina emerged from the dining room and I looked up to see what she wanted. “The table’s set, guys,” she said pleasantly. “Terisu is our look-out at the moment so she won’t be joining us until later, but you’d better hurry before it gets cold. Is Yuko coming in?”20

“He said he’d come in later too,” I replied.21

“Alright,” she nodded. As I moved around Peroi to follow Nina, the girl exhaled softly as if she’d been holding her breath. Frowning, I turned to her. “Are... you alright, Peroi?”22

“Oh, yes,” she laughed, turning quickly and heading past me into the dining room. Why was she...? I shook my head. I would simply never understand that girl.23

We had fried rice, vegetables and steak for tea. It seemed to be Luci’s favourite; the tiny child ate more than Peroi did. Nina gladly explained to us how to cook it just right as we ate, and I was happy to listen. Scooping some rice into his mouth, Kieren glared at me from across the table. When she’d finished her explanation, Nina ignored the tension in the air and turned to the man next to her. “How was work, Malfash?”24

“Hmm, pretty good as work goes. But mostly boring.”25

“What is it that you do?” I asked curiously.26

He laughed. “Nothing very spectacular. On weekends, I work in a shop that sells book and antiques. Makes it easier for me to obtain books for... Mehyl.” There was a brief sober silence. No one wanted to be reminded of the old man at the moment. “But on weekdays, I get work as a carpenter,” Malfash continued quickly. “That’s where I’ll be going tomorrow.”27

“Carpentry?” I repeated. “That’s interesting.”28

“You think so?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Well, it is to me, too. You know, I made this table,” he said proudly, placing his hands on the solid wood on either side of his plate. “And I made most of the furniture in this house.”29

“He’s good at carving too,” Nina smiled, pulling a wooden bracelet from her wrist and handing it to me. 30

It was a simple wooden ring, polished smooth, but on the outside a beautiful carved pattern of flowers wound its way around the surface and curled around a name written in flowing cursive: Nina.31

“Wow,” I observed, tracing the smooth, intricate lines with my finger. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”32

“You don’t have jewellery in Ilia?” Nina laughed as I handed the bracelet back to her.33

“We do, but it’s always made of metal,” I answered. “We have rich mines deeper in the mountains.”34

“What’s your home like, Arkyn?” Peroi asked thoughtfully, placing her knife and fork across her plate and pushing it away slightly. Just as she said this, Yoyuko entered the room and Kieren pushed his chair back. Everyone looked at them questioningly.35

“It’s my turn to be look-out,” Kieren explained, leaving swiftly and heading up the stairs.36

Yoyuko said nothing. He pulled up a chair next to Luciana where an empty plate waited and began serving himself some fried rice. When his plate was piled high with food, he looked up at me. “Are you going to answer her question?”37

I blinked. “Oh. Yes.” It took me a moment to remember what Peroi had asked me. “My home... I don’t really know what to say about it.” That was all. Nothing really came to mind at the mention of Ilia. Apparently they were all waiting for more than this answer, so I tried to think of something to say. “It was the place I grew up,” I began. “I lived in the palace with my parents, though I didn’t see my father very much. Actually, I hardly ever left the palace because I spent all my time studying, but on the rare occasions that I would see the mountains, I made sure I remembered them well.” 38

Now that I was looking for the memories, the images rushed back to me. “The mountain range goes on forever, like a... like a sea of grey and white scales on the back of the world,” I explained. “And though my people live in tunnels, they come outside a lot and leap around the mountainside. We’re made for the rocks the way Tylonians are made for the fields. There are markets full of white tents with coloured hanging beads that are said to bring good fortune. But... Like I said, I’ve seen little of my own country,” I shrugged.39

I looked up from my lap to find that everyone was listening intently. Peroi rested her chin in her hand. “Then what’s the palace like?”40

“Well...” I didn’t know why they were so interested. But I’d been trying not to think about anything like that ever since I was banished from Ilia, so it was a surprise to find that I still had a past. “It’s much less colourful than this place, but it is beautiful,” I told them. “Every room is perfect down to the finest detail. The floors are usually white or a pale-coloured marble. There are silks and satins everywhere, and pictures on the walls showing battle scenes or images from stories and legends. Except for my mother’s studying chambers; they always had paintings of flowers.” 41

But everything in that place was stifling in its perfection. I felt trapped. I felt like I was polished marble covered in satin, just like everything else. “I was basically raised by my tutors and my trainers, because I spent almost every waking minute with them, studying,” I continued. Frowning, I traced the grain of the wooden table before me. “It didn’t... feel like I was alive,” I admitted. Time stood still in the palace. The day I stopped a bullet from hitting me was the day I finally woke up.42

Something inside me stirred and I cursed the part of myself that was happy I’d been freed of that life. I would never cherish the day my mother was killed.43

“So you... feel alive now?” Peroi asked.44

Terisu laughed suddenly from where she was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Strange, I didn’t hear her come in. “How do you speak so honestly about yourself, Arkyntesh?” She took a seat in front of the last empty plate and took the lid off the rice bowl. Thanks to Nina’s cookware, the heat had stayed in the food after all this time. “I thought Ilians were taught to scheme and keep secrets,” Terisu continued, scooping some rice onto her plate.45

“We are taught to,” I agreed. 46

“Are you unusual then?”47

“I suppose.” My mother was so open about everything. While all the other Ilian children lived in their webs of lies, I distinguished between work and family. I never played games with her, and I hadn’t even thought to manipulate any Tylonian I had ever become friends with. Because they were all so much like her.48

So... in spite of everything that had happened to me, I had somehow surrounded myself with these rare good people and was probably better off than I would have been. I didn’t want to be like my father. I... I wanted to be one of the good people.49

Heavy footsteps rushed down the stairs, making all of us look up in surprise from the dinner table. 50

“Soldiers,” Kieren hissed before bursting into view. “There are soldiers coming down the street right now. They’re going into people’s houses; they’ll be here any minute. Any second!”51

“Peroi,” Malfash said, throwing her a small key he’d retrieved from his pocket.52

Catching it deftly, she ducked under the table, slipping the key into a hole in the floor that I would never have seen unless it was pointed out to me. When she’d turned the key, a square in the floor sunk down a few inches and then slid underneath itself, revealing a set of steps into a small, dusty hole lined with cluttered shelves. “Get in, Arkyn,” she whispered. “Don’t worry; we’ll let you out when they leave.”53

With a quick nod, I sunk from my chair and onto the floor, then clambered down the stairs to crouch at the bottom. 54

“They won’t find you down there,” Peroi told me, pulling the trap door slightly until it automatically slid back into place. Absolute darkness closed over me immediately. It was kind of like suffocating; it almost induced an instinctive panic. But though I was blind and confined in a small space, I could still hear things. It sounded like Peroi was getting back into her seat. There were a few murmurs, then silence.55