Arrival of the Traveler

  Standing at the gate again, Lena couldn’t believe the trip was already over. Greg shook her hand and pulled her into a hug the way he usually did with other male members of the Council. Serena gave her a long hug; they had put the finishing touches on her exposition the day before. Lena hadn’t told her about Master Daray’s decision to support her, because votes were supposed to be confidential, but the exposition was still very good. Serena probably would have made a fair Councilmember herself, and seemed to be living the dream vicariously. She was crying as adamantly as little Rose and Daisy as they stood at the gate, much to Ava’s chagrin. Hesper was standing off to the side; her plane didn’t leave until the next day. She still hadn’t told Lena what was going on, and had never apologized. Eric was standing just behind her.

  “And remember…whatever you say, say it with confidence, even if you think they don’t want to hear it. And look them in the eye. Oh! And practice your volume and tone,” Serena smiled maternally at Lena, and then pulled her into a suffocating hug, “And I’m already planning the party for when you get in.”

  “Well, I guess that’s it then.” Lena sighed and picked up her carry-on. “Thanks so much for letting me stay.”

  “Any time. Any time you want to visit you’re welcome…you’re family.” Greg smiled.

  Lena turned and handed her boarding pass to the attendant.

  Wait!

  Lena turned around. Hesper was holding an envelope out towards her.

  Don’t open it until you land. She whispered.

  And you be careful until tomorrow… Lena whispered back.

  She took the envelope and gave a small smile. It wasn’t an apology, but it was a start.

  Lena had always found flying over the Pacific to be more tiring than most flights. Perhaps it was in her head, but crossing the time barrier between days somehow seemed to be more work. She spent most of her time reading Viator kod Venefikus, which turned out to be a fairly good fantasy story—except that most Silenti probably didn’t classify it as fantasy. It was the story of the opening of the portal and the arrival of the Silenti, except that they were referred to as Venefikus—“Magicians”—in the story. It also told about the apocalyptic amounts of human and Silenti death immediately after the portal was opened.

  It wasn’t until the layover in Los Angeles that Lena realized she hadn’t turned her cell phone back on since turning it off during taxi and takeoff. When she did, she saw that she had close to forty messages, all of them in the last hour. Most of them from Griffin and Howard.

  “Mom, have you talked to Griffin or Howard lately?” She asked.

  “Nope. Mine’s been off. I’m trying to get a jump start on resetting my sleep schedule. You should too.” Ava wandered off to find a place for them to eat. Mrs. Ralston had fallen asleep sitting up on a bench.

  The cell phone went off again. It was Griffin.

  Well. This can’t be good. She opened the phone and put it to her ear. “Your Majesty?”

  “Where’s Hesper?” He sounded aggravated.

  “What?”

  “She missed her flight!” He yelled.

  “Griffin! Calm down! Have you tried calling the Masons?”

  “When they went to get her this morning, she was gone. Eric Mason is missing too. So help me Lena, if you know anything about this, you’d better start talking now!”

  Lena’s blood ran cold. Hesper was missing? And so was Eric…

  “I don’t…no, I don’t know anything.”

  “She didn’t say anything? Dammit, you’re supposed to be looking out for each other, Lena!”

  “I don’t…” The note! “Griffin, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you.”

  Lena picked up her carry-on, unzipped it, and dumped the entire contents onto the floor. She rummaged through the mess as strangers gave her funny looks until she finally produced the envelope and ripped it open.

  Lena,

  By now you’ve probably heard that I’m MIA. Griffin is freaking out, and so are my parents, and I’m laughing my ass off at an unknown location. PS—I’m married!

  I’m so sorry about all of this. I wish I could have told you. I wish I could have had you here with me. We couldn’t risk Griffin or my parents finding out. Eric and I are going to be in so much trouble! I really wish you could have come. Just so you know, I wanted you to be my maid of honor. Oh well, maybe at the vow renewal. Or, if I don’t get kicked out of the community, maybe at the formal ceremony this September during yearly Council.

  Eric’s sorry for all the grief he caused you. He really likes you. I’ll be in touch, so tell me how this goes over, and if I’ll ever be welcome back.

  Lylas,

  Hesper

  Lena carefully closed the letter, put it in the bottom of her bag, and piled the rest of her stuff on top of it. Her cell phone was going off again. This isn’t going to go over well…

  She stared at her cell phone. It stopped ringing. A moment later, it started ringing again. It cycled through three times before Ava found her way back to where she was sitting on the floor.

  “I found a food court. Most of it looks gross but…What’s wrong?”

  Lena continued to stare at her ringing cell phone. How could Hesper have done this to her? The sister of the Daray’s prodigy heir had run off with someone of opposite political and religious standing. Not that she personally found the situation a taboo, but how in God’s name was she supposed to tell Griffin?

  “Lena? Honey?” Ava prompted.

  Ava picked up the phone and answered it. “Hello? Yes, she’s here…” Ava held the phone out to Lena. When Lena continued to stare at the place on the floor where the cell phone had been, Ava put it back to her ear. “She’s…predisposed at the moment.”

  Ava went quiet as she listened. Her eyes went wide; then they started darting back and forth like a synchronized Ping-Pong battle. Her jaw even dropped momentarily. With the cell phone still held stiffly to her ear, Ava looked down at Lena. “Lena, do you know where Hesper is?”

  Lena shifted her gaze up to her mother’s face. “Who’s asking?”

  “Why would that matter!? You little—Why do you have to cause so much trouble? You’re always getting me into trouble!” Mrs. Ralston woke with a start, looked confused for a moment, and then fixed her gaze on Ava. Ava’s eyes lifted from Lena and focused on something down the terminal. “Well, she is! She’s the worst…Don’t tell me how to parent! You’ve never even been a parent!”

  Mrs. Ralston looked uncertainly at Lena, who was doing her best to ignore Ava’s comments.

  “You just…Fine. Fine. Howard wants to talk to you.” Ava practically threw the cell phone at Lena, and then went stomping off. “I need a coffee…”

  “Howard?” Lena’s throat had gone dry at some point, and she heard her voice crack.

  “Do you know where Hesper is?” He asked calmly but urgently.

  Lena paused. She considered her options carefully. “Yes.”

  Howard’s voice became somewhat distanced as he turned away from the phone. “She says she knows where she is…” And then he was back. “Is she okay?”

  Lena considered her options again. Mrs. Ralston was watching her quizzically. Somewhere, something was about to hit a fan.

  “Lena?” Howard asked.

  “Uh…Is Griffin in the room with you now?” She asked.

  “No.”

  “Okay. You might want to sit down. Are you sitting down?”

  There was a pause and then, “Yes.”

  “Now, if I tell you this, you have to do me a huge favor. And I mean a really, really big favor.” Lena said.

  “Lena, this is not a time for games! You need to tell me where Hesper is now before—“

  Lena closed her eyes. “Howard! Just, please! All I want is for…Just tell Griffin. I don’t want to be the one to tell him.”

  “Fine.” Howard replied quickly.

  “You’re sure you’re sitting down?”

  “Lena!”

 
She licked her lips. “She gave me a note before I got on the plane. I didn’t read it until a minute ago. She ran off with Eric Mason and got married.”

  There was an audible gasp from Mrs. Ralston. Howard went dead silent.

  Lena went on. “I don’t know where she is because she didn’t tell me. She said she’d keep in touch, though.”

  Howard took a deep breath. Lena could imagine the face he was making—his eyes would be all squinty like he had a headache. He might even have one palm pressed to his forehead, if it wasn’t already wrapped around a glass of something alcoholic. “Please tell me you didn’t know about this.”

  Lena thought back to all the things Hesper hadn’t told her. It was almost embarrassing to her to admit that she hadn’t known—Hesper was her closest friend. “No. I didn’t know.”

  “Okay…okay.” Howard took a deep breath. “I’ve got some things to do now, so I’m going to hang up. Try to steer clear of your mom for a while, and I’ll see you back here later. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Lena clicked the phone shut. Mrs. Ralston’s jaw was still slightly ajar.

  “It’s that Serena Mason! Oh, she is a bad influence! Running off like thieves in the night…it’s not proper!”

  Lena shrugged. She looked down the terminal and saw Ava, sitting on a bench and holding a large latte, glaring at her.

  By the time the three women arrived back at Waldgrave, Griffin still hadn’t left. He had been granted a reprieve of circumstances due to his “family situation” so that he could be near Master Daray in what were possibly “his last hours.” Lena didn’t buy it, and Ava just didn’t seem to care. Several other Representatives had apparently shown up to discuss Hesper’s recovery with Griffin—his “Butt-Kisser Brigade,” as Hesper had so aptly termed them. As the one person who should have seen it coming, Lena was almost terrified for her life.

  Meals were particularly uncomfortable. Griffin had usurped the position at the head of the table and conversations were dominated by talk about Daray’s health and Hesper’s wellbeing; both of these topics inevitably led to disturbingly long silences when everyone turned to look at Lena. After dinner on the second day, she decided to make an appeal to Howard. He was in his office on the third floor.

  “Can’t I just eat in my room, like he does?” She begged.

  If Howard had been affected at all by Griffin’s extended stay or entourage, he wasn’t letting it show. “He’s very sick. And if you want to get onto the Council, I strongly suggest you get used to people looking at you. Shying away from a few of Daray’s cronies doesn’t exactly exude confidence.”

  Lena flopped down into a chair. “Well, can’t I just go back to Australia until they all leave? There’s nothing to do here…”

  “I doubt the Council will let you go anywhere since the ordeal with Hesper.” Howard said wryly.

  Lena sighed. It wasn’t fair. There wasn’t anything to do at Waldgrave; she would read, eat, avoid people, and sleep. Griffin wasn’t the distraction he was before, and spoke to her very little because he was so busy with the politics of his situation.

  Shrugging over a stack of papers on his desk with a highlighter, Howard wasn’t compelled. “I know it’s boring, but maybe you’ll make new friends.”

  “I believe that would require that I meet new people, Howard.” Lena replied.      

  “Fred Crittenden—he’s a social worker—found some kids and was looking to place them. Well, as I no longer have David, Rosaleen and I figured we might as well. The boy, Pete, got here while you were in Australia, and—“

  “I haven’t seen him around…” Lena said curiously.

  “Oh, he’s on vacation. David used to get two paid weeks a year to do whatever he wanted. He’ll be back next week.”

  “Oh.” Lena said.

  “And we’re expecting two girls. I think the names are Charlotte and Mary. They should also arrive sometime next week. Of course, we’ll all be walking on eggshells for a while just like we did for you. Be careful what you say and try not to walk through too many doors in front of them, use your voice and not your thoughts as much as possible, and whatnot, until they’ve adjusted.”

  So Lena resigned herself to reading and helping Mrs. Ralston around the house. Lena got funny looks from the visiting representatives whenever they saw her doing laundry or vacuuming, and Griffin even expressly told her to stop once, but she didn’t care. She was bored out of her mind.

  The end of Viator kod Venefikus was fascinating. The hero, a Venefikus referred to only as Viator, “the traveler,” organized those of the Venefikus who had not been killed off by disease. It was rumored that he had been a great king before passing through the portal. They were deaf and dumb, because in their homelands they communicated using only thought-speak, and became a troop of roaming gypsies; they performed magic tricks, read peoples’ minds, and foretold the future to earn their living. As time went on, they fractured and integrated with the humans, and most of the original Venefikus abilities were lost in part or whole. The remaining community of human-born Venefikus still communicated using thought-speak, which earned them the name Silenti—“silence”—from the Romans.

  Howard became less and less available as time wore on, and Hesper’s situation was seemingly getting worse and worse. At first people were worried, and then they were angry.

  “Well, I don’t know what will happen to her. It’s up to the Council. They haven’t practiced leniency in these situations in the past.” Mrs. Ralston pulled a sheet of dinner rolls out of the oven and set them on the counter to cool.

  “But she’s Griffin’s sister…I mean, don’t you think…” Lena looked up from the soup she was stirring. Mrs. Ralston sighed.

  “When your mother ran off with Aaron, I thought I’d never see him again. And I didn’t. Marriage is a public affair for women of a certain station in life, and breaking that tradition results in expulsion from the community.” She said simply.

  “If you don’t like it, then you can leave?” Lena said.

  “Exactly.” Mrs. Ralston grabbed a head of lettuce out of the refrigerator and started to hack it into salad. Lena took the soup off the burner and got the dinner plates out of the cabinet; Mrs. Ralston started to arrange rolls and green beans onto the plates.

  “So where are the new kids going to stay?” Lena asked, fetching the soup bowls from the cabinet by the sink.

  Mrs. Ralston didn’t look up. “Well, the barn is still available, but I expect they will stay with me in the room off the side entrance.”

  Lena hadn’t even known there was a room off the side entrance, but suspected that it wasn’t designed for three. “Why don’t they just get their own rooms? It’s not like we have a shortage of space.”

  “Those rooms are for accommodating Council members and their families.” Mrs. Ralston said.

  “But you can’t be comfortable…” Lena insisted.

  “I’m fine, I assure you. The room is quite too big for me already. When Waldgrave was built, Master Daray intended a staff of fifty.” Mrs. Ralston grabbed a plate of vegetables and started chopping them up and tossing them into the salad bowl. When she saw that Lena still looked concerned, she continued. “Human-borns are inherently more gregarious and sympathetic than full Silenti. We prefer company to privacy. It’s one of the reasons I always found David a little…strange.”

  Lena considered this for a moment. “He made the room for fifty?”

  “Of course.”

  Lena had finished spooning soup into the bowls and had distributed the rolls. She checked the timer on the oven; the pork chops wouldn’t be ready for another five minutes. Lena watched Mrs. Ralston as she chopped up a carrot, scooped it into the salad bowl, and then started creating decorative ringlets out of a red onion.

  “Mrs. Ralston, does Howard pay you?” She finally asked.

  Mrs. Ralston paused. “Pay me? For what?”

  “For the stuff you do around here. All the cooking and the laundry and
stuff.” Lena said.

  “Well,” Mrs. Ralston raised her eyebrows as she finished decorating the salad and brushed a loose lock of hair out of her face. “The Council funds his expenditures for looking after you, your mother and Master Daray. On top of living expenses I do get a modest allowance, so yes, he does pay me.” Mrs. Ralston looked directly at Lena. “I’m here because I choose to be, so that I can be close to you and Howard. I’ve been looking after Howard since he was born, a few years after I was brought into the Collins’ household. The Council never recognized it as more than a simple found child placement, but they raised me as their daughter. I was fifteen when Aaron came around, and then Howard a little later.” She leaned in toward Lena with an uncharacteristically warm expression. “I was a third parent to them, and they needed one with all the hell they raised. We’re family.”

  “But…Howard is on the Council.” Lena shook her head. “People talk to you like you’re a servant. If you’re like siblings…”

  Mrs. Ralston smiled again, the same warm smile she’d had when talking about Aaron and Howard as boys. “Lena, as I said, human-borns are more social. We don’t isolate ourselves to protect our political images or sensitive hearts. I made a choice a long time ago that I didn’t want to become one of those women who sit at the tables in the dining hall. Howard is on the Council with a mission and a purpose, as are you.” She wiped her hand on her apron before reaching out to touch Lena’s cheek. “You have appearances to keep up, so that people will take you seriously when you say people like me deserve more respect than we have. But you’ll always be welcome to eat in this kitchen when you want.”

  Lena smiled; she had known that Mrs. Ralston had been caring for Howard for a long time, but hadn’t known it had been forever. “What about the kids?” She asked. “The ones you’re taking in?”

  “I’m a little old to be a mother now, and I won’t bother spoiling them like a grandmother would.” Mrs. Ralston sighed. “They’ll live here free of charge and receive a Silenti education. They’ll have my guidance, and each other’s friendship. A family.”

  “And Howard pays them.” Lena said.

  “Yes, but not for helping out around the house. They earn their own keep doing that. Paying them is more about giving them a start in the Silenti world—so they don’t wind up spending a whole lifetime earning their keep.” Mrs. Ralston explained. “The Collins began as household servants, and worked their way up and into the Council. We want to give them that same chance, if they want it.”

  Lena nodded. That was the argument that the Council used to bring in children; they had potential to rise in the Silenti world, and to live a fuller life than they possibly could while living among humans. "Was Ralston your first name? Before you were adopted by the Collinses?"

  Rosaleen had just turned the faucet on, and her hands paused inches from the running water as she looked straight ahead. Her mouth opened slightly and her eyes darted back and forth, but then she looked back at Lena, and her expression fell resolutely back into order. "No.  I was a Collins before I got married, and then I was a Ralston. My husband died, a long time ago, but I kept his name."

  Her face fixed in determination, Rosaleen went about the business of washing and drying her hands, and then started to wipe down the kitchen counters. Without a word, Lena picked up a hand towel and started to help, taking Rosaleen's diverted gaze to mean that the conversation was done.

  He died in a riot.  

  Lena looked over her shoulder, but didn't stop scrubbing. Howard had stopped in the kitchen doorway, caught between one obligation and another, and overheard their conversation. His gaze was distant.  

  There was rioting after Thomas died. Howard went on, unnoticed by Rosaleen as she started washing out the sink basin. Suspicion fell on the human-borns because they had access and they were easy to blame. They didn't want them at the funeral, and someone accused him of murdering Thomas, and then the riot started and someone shot him.  

  He raised his hand to wipe his face. She doesn't ever talk about it.  

  Lena frowned, turning back to Rosaleen, and Howard started to walk back towards the stairs, sleepwalking through his daydream of memories. Rosaleen looked over and smiled at Lena.  She tossed her cleaning rag into the sink, pulled a few loose strands of hair back into the bun on her head, and then crossed her arms and sighed in satisfaction.  

  The oven timer went off and Mrs. Ralston pulled the chops out of the oven. They finished making up the dinner plates together, and then Lena ran upstairs to get dressed for dinner. When she came back down, she took her place next to Howard, Ava, Griffin, and the visiting Representatives as Mrs. Ralston served the table.

  It was Lena’s first autumn at Waldgrave, and it was spectacular. In light of Master Daray’s impending death, Griffin hadn’t had time to deal with Hesper’s situation, which had remained blissfully out of the spotlight. She still hadn’t called.

  While Griffin was sitting at Daray’s bedside, or wherever he was on the upper floors, Lena had exhausted her book supply and took to walking the grounds. The row of trees that surrounded the perimeter of the lawn were all yellowish-orange and had begun to shed their leaves. The garden that Griffin had planted only earlier that year had prospered; the perennial flowers were all dead, but looked to have rooted decently enough that they would be back next year. Lena sat down in a drift of leaves next to the garden; it was positively eerie to think that she had sat there so short a while ago. The wind cut through her jacket just as it had that day. Could she keep a secret? That’s what he had asked her.

  She shivered in the wind and watched the leaves blowing around on the dead lawn. Off in the distance, the aspens were turning on the mountainside; the sun was setting a crimson red, and she half expected to see fireflies out, but it was both the wrong season and the wrong region of the country. She didn’t know why she thought fireflies should have been there.

  Lena sighed. The sun was almost down, and if she wasn’t inside soon, Ava would come looking for her—but she wanted just a moment longer. The wind was starting to blow harder and she curled her knees up to her chest. It was so cold, and it was only early September. She had barely gone anywhere since January, and somehow her life felt like it was moving faster than it ever had before, barreling forward and careening out of control.

  Something brushed her shoulder and she jerked around. Daray’s cat was already trotting back up to the house. Her gaze lifted to the upper windows, where a dark figure was watching over her.

  It’s time to come in, Princess.

  “Why should I? I’m under surveillance twenty-four seven.” But she still got up, brushed the dying leaves off of herself, pulled her coat a little tighter, and followed the cat inside.

  Lena chose to sleep in the next day, much to Griffin’s chagrin. She had become lazier and more anti-social than he had ever believed possible, and it wasn’t befitting of a Daray. But, she reminded herself, she wasn’t a Daray…she was going to become a card-carrying Collins when she was accepted into the Council. But then, Howard wasn’t very happy with her lethargy either—she wasn’t acting like Council Representative material. She couldn’t tell him that her entrance was practically ensured, but she was sure he wouldn’t care anyways because he took the position very seriously. So she tried to clean up her act.

  Pete arrived back from his vacation late one night, and on Howard’s urging, Lena walked down to the barn the next day, where the boy was reorganizing some gardening supplies, to introduce herself. She knocked, and a moment later the door was opened by a squirrelly looking boy with blond hair and freckles. He looked to be about ten, and immediately developed a deer-in-the-headlights gaze when he saw Lena.

  “Pete?” She asked gently.

  “Yeah…”

  “I’m Lena. We haven’t met before, but I’m pleased to meet you now.” She held out her hand, but Pete didn’t take it. Lena looked a little closer and saw that he was still experiencing the shell-shock of a major life transiti
on. She pulled her hand back. “How was your vacation?”

  “Vacation?” He repeated.

  “Where you just came back from…”

  “Oh,” Pete looked wide-eyed back at the house. He fidgeted in his clothes, as if they were too tight or rigid, and Lena realized that he must have been given new ones—as she had—when he had arrived. “Oh, it was okay. I stayed with a really nice family. They told me all about…you know.”

  “Yeah,” Lena smiled, “I know.”

  “And…um,” Pete leaned in closer to her and squinted his eyes a little, “Are you…um...” Lena saw him pull something out of his back pocket and glance at it on the other side of the barn door. “Are you, um, Lena-Eden Collins-Daray-Corbett?”

  Lena rolled her eyes. “Was that note given to you by an overly thin vegetarian wearing too much makeup?”

  He gave her a suspicious look, squinting up his eyes. “Maybe.”

  Lena reached for the note, but Pete pulled it away. He smiled lightly, and Lena had the intuition that his playful nature would be a good addition to Waldgrave.

  “Yes, I’m Lena-Eden whatever, just give me the note. And please don’t tell anyone about this.”

  Pete handed the note over, and Lena quickly unfolded it. She wished she could have asked where Pete had gotten it, but knew that anything she knew would be public knowledge via Griffin, sooner or later.

  Hey You!

  The honeymoon was great. Just wanted to let you know that I’m okay. Ditched my cell so they couldn’t track me; like an idiot, I forgot to get your number out of it first. Hope everything is well, and I hope to talk again soon on a disposable cell phone if I can get my hands on one. So long until then…

  Hesper

  P.S. He’s a cute kid, isn’t he?

  “She thinks I’m cute?”

  Lena looked back at Pete, who was standing on his tiptoes trying to read the note. Lena was taken aback; the ten-year-old was already better at thought-speak than she was.

  “She’s married, so don’t get your hopes up.” She replied tartly, tapping the top of his head with the note.

  “Does she have a sister?” Pete cracked a sideways smile. Lena was relieved to see that he hadn’t lost his sense of humor in the last few weeks of his life.

  “It was great to meet you, Pete. I know exactly what you’re going through, so if you have any questions, please ask. I’ll see you at dinner.” Lena started walking back up to the house.

  Behind her, Pete was yelling, “It was nice to meet you, too!”

  The next morning, Marie and Cheryl, whose names Howard had been getting wrong for a month now, were dropped off by Mr. Crittenden. He was a short, balding man with an inconspicuous jalopy and kind brown eyes. Cheryl, 12, and Marie, 9, were both tired looking and wearing Dickensian type attire. Mrs. Ralston ushered them inside and into the room off the side entrance. Lena didn’t see either of them until several days after the initial introductions.

  She had come down from the study, where she had been discussing her exposition with Howard, to make herself a snack before dinner. Silenti families from all over the world would be arriving at Waldgrave within the next week, and Lena had precious little time to finish preparing. When she walked into the kitchen, Marie was sitting by the prep table reading a book. She jumped to her feet when she saw Lena walk in.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…” Lena said.

  Marie continued to stare at her. Lena looked down at the book in her hand and saw a familiar cover.

  “Is that Peter Pan? Or one of the adaptations? I loved that book when I was little. I read it again last year—it’s amazing how different it was. Do you like it?”

  Marie’s eyes fell to the floor.

  “Marie? Are you okay?”

  Her eyes came up to meet Lena’s. I’m sorry, Miss. I don’t speak your language. I’m trying really, really hard to learn.

  Lena was shocked. She didn’t speak English? Did Howard know? Where are you from?

  South, I think. La Paz, Miss.

  You don’t have to call me ‘Miss.’

  “Yes, she does.”

  Lena spun around. Griffin, looking less and less as she tried to remember him, was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. Marie had averted her eyes again and ducked back off towards the side entrance hall. Lena glared at Griffin.

  “She’s just a kid. Leave her alone.” She scoffed.

  Lena went to make the sandwich she came for. Griffin still stood in the doorway. He wasn’t smiling.

  “You could make her do that for you.” He said.

  “She’s a kid, Griffin. And her life’s just been turned upside down, and she probably doesn’t know what’s going on. Leave her alone.” She said.

  Griffin cocked an eyebrow. “Well, you have a maternal instinct. That’s good.”

  “I have a decent human being instinct, that’s all.” Lena rolled her eyes and went back to her sandwich. Griffin watched. When Lena had finished making her sandwich and was sitting down at the prep table to eat it, and Griffin was still just standing there, she started to worry.

  “Why are you here?” She asked.

  “Why shouldn’t I be here?”

  “Because you’re supposed to be upstairs waiting for my grandfather to kick it.”

  Griffin flinched. “You could show a little compassion. He only wants what’s best.”

  “Best for you.” Lena said.

  “Best for all of us. For every Silenti on the planet. Did you ever stop to wonder if maybe, just maybe, it’s all true? What if it’s true, Lena?”

  “Maybe it is true. But there’s one thing that all world religions have in common, and it’s faith. Faith because there’s no proof. There will never be any proof, Griffin, not in either of our lifetimes, and probably not ever. It’s all a beautiful mystery, and that’s all it will ever be.” Lena ate her sandwich, eyeing Griffin because he was still standing there. She finished and put her plate in the sink. “Okay. Why are you here, really?”

  “He asked me to get you. He wants to talk to you before the Representatives start arriving.” Griffin said seriously.

  “Well, good luck with that, because I don’t want to talk to him.” She said.

  “He just wants to talk. That’s all. You’re expected to come up tonight after dinner.”

  Lena turned and looked Griffin in the eye. “And who the hell are you to tell me when I’m expected to do anything?”

  Griffin turned and walked away. Lena watched him silently walk back up the stairs toward the library. When you talk to Hesper, tell her she can come back. They won’t be welcomed, and Eric Mason will never sit on the Council again, but they can come back. Tonight after dinner. He’ll receive you in his office.