Page 74 of Dark Awakening: New World

Jasmine dipped her head. "Thank you, Clan Mother."

Anandur pulled out two chairs for Ell-rom and Jasmine, and waited patiently until everyone exchanged greetings and sat down before helping Jasmine push the chair in.

She smiled brightly at him. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome." He walked around and sat across from her.

As Annani had requested, Ell-rom was seated to her left and Kian to her right, so her brother and her son were facing each other. Anandur sat across from Jasmine, and Brundar sat on the other side of the table closest to the door.

Okidu was still standing. "Shall I bring refreshments, Master Kian?"

"Good thinking. Is the café still open?"

Anandur looked at his watch. "It's closed, but we can use the vending machines, which should be fully stocked." He rose to his feet and clapped Okidu on the back, wincing when he encountered the hardness of the Odu's frame. "You should stay here."

So Annani had been right. Okidu was there to provide added security for her, not to clean up.

She cast Kian a reproachful look, to which he responded with a rueful smile and a shrug.

48

KIAN

Alesser male would have crumpled under Annani's hard gaze, but Kian was used to it, and she was used to him being vigilant about her safety. They just played their respective parts.

As his mother turned to her brother, her scowl turned to a smile. "How are you feeling? Did any more memories return?"

He shook his head. "Regrettably, I have nothing significant to report. I was hoping that today you would tell me more about what you know of my past."

"I do not know what your past is, but I can tell you what I know about our father's rebellion, what led to it, what happened after it was quashed, and continue from there to the events that happened on Earth. I covered some of it in our previous talk, but I can fill in the gaps and go on from where I ended the story."

"I wish I could write it down." Ell-rom sighed. "I don't trust my memory."

"Do you remember how to write?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Let's test it." Kian rose to his feet.

He walked over to his old desk, and when he opened the drawer in which he used to keep his writing pads, he wasn't surprised to find a new stack that was dust-free. He had no idea when Okidu had the time to do that. He hadn't done it today because he hadn't brought a stack of yellow pads with him.

He pulled out one, found a pen, and brought it over to Ell-rom. "Give it a try. Writing is a muscle memory."

On second thought, Kian didn't know if they wrote by hand on Anumati. A civilization so advanced must have mastered voice-to-text eons ago, or they might have found another way to keep records.

Ell-rom took the pen, and by the way he held it, it was obvious that he had used writing instruments before. What he didn't know was how to release the ink and he looked the pen over with obvious confusion.

"Press the little lever on the side," Kian said. "That's how the cartridge containing the ink is released."

"Thank you." Ell-rom cast him an embarrassed smile and did as Kian had instructed. He began to write on the page. "I don't know if I'm inventing a new script or if I am actually writing in the Kra-ell language."

"Easy to find out." Kian pulled out his phone, snapped a picture of what Ell-rom had written, and was about to send it to Jade when it occurred to him that Ell-rom might have written something private. "Is it okay if I send it to Jade?" he asked.

"Yes, please. I am very interested in finding out whether I remember how to write."

Kian typed up his question and sent the text, and the response came just as Anandur entered the office with everything he'd gotten from the vending machines.

"She says that you have lousy handwriting, but she forgives you given your injury. She asks if I require a translation."