Whispersrippledoverthosegathered in the great hall.That didn’t bode well.Nenn gritted his teeth, ignored those calling his name, and focused on Elder Qon’s request.He needed to find Dumis.Spotting the male beside the central bonfire, he pushed through to reach him.The older male stared into the flickering flames, his shoulders bowed.
He must have sensed Nenn’s presence, whipping his head up.“How bad is it?”
“He will heal,” Nenn said.
Dumis’s smile went from tentative to broad.He yanked Nenn into a crushing hug.‘Thank you.”He glanced at those watching.“Do not pay them any heed.You have never harmed anyone or anything for personal gain.”
“I find the symbiotes’ silence on this matter alarming,” Nenn said, poking his soul.
Dumis frowned.“They have reason.”
Nenn’s shoulders jerked when a shiver slithered down his neck.“What is it?”
Dumis glanced at someone behind Nenn.“Elder Lama?”
The elder’s face softened.“Nenn, your father—”
“No,” he gasped, staggering back as if he could run from the news.“Why?”he wailed.“Why now?”
Dumis gripped Nenn’s arm.“He—”
Images blasted through Nenn, dropping him to his knees.The sheer agony of the lava consuming his father’s flesh and melting his bones lasted a minute, no more, but it was enough.
“Stop,” he cried out.
He’d caught a fleeting taste of the pain when Tugo’s foot had dipped into the river.In the chaos afterward, the symbiotes hadn’t focused on it.But a soul cleansing was to be experienced by all, to honor the person who’d outlived their usefulness.And yet, when it happened, Nenn’s symbiotes hadn’t shared it.Saving it all for now.
Tears poured free even as his hearts ceased to beat, now lumps of grief weighing down his body until he could barely keep his head up.Someone lifted him, set him on a bench, then shoved a mug of nulci into his hand.
The hot wine, made from berries and herbs, hit his stomach like a kick to the head.Hours ago, he’d lamented the state of his life.Now, he had an injured friend, survived two banaari sightings, and lost his father.He slammed the mug on the table and dipped his face between his knees to suck in deep breaths.
“He left you this…” Elder Lama looped father’s amulet over Nenn’s head.
It thumped against his chest.The warm and faceted rock, almost transparent with a hint of a yellow flame at its core, had been a gift from his mother when they’d first courted.
“And a nomination,” Dumis whispered.
Fresh tears stung Nenn’s eyes.“Family does not count.”
“Yes, they do, for a soul cleanser.”A suspicious sheen coated Elder Lama’s red eyes.
Nenn shook his head.“I wanted to leave, but not like this.Never—” He broke off to pin his chin to his chest.“Never like this,” he rasped, grief so crushing, he dared not move.
His wounds and sore muscles—the symbiotes had begun to heal.But this agony, as if every muscle had torn and sheets of stone pinned him to the spot, was beyond his capacity to bear.
“You have my nomination,” Elder Qon called, slicing through the crowd of blurred faces.
“And mine.”Kimgi smiled, crossing to loop her arm through Dumis’s.
“Then you shall have mine,” Tugo’s father said.
Nenn didn’t speak; his ability to care had abandoned him.He was spared from any response when Dumis shoved a refilled mug into his hand with a whispered command to drink.He did so, emptying it and relishing the familiar burn when it exploded heat in his core and numbed his mind and heart.Tomorrow…he would mourn.
A beat began like the steady thump of a great oobara’s heart.More drums joined in.A bonfire’s flames flickered, reaching toward the cave’s ceiling.His symbiotes bombarded him with images, memories peppered with his mother’s delicate face, with his own through the years until he’d reached malehood.And it all was coated with a love so precious.
Tears slipped free, dripping onto his tunic.Dumis dragged him to the fire and forced him to join arms with Panior to form a circle around the bonfire.In unison, they danced, the beat pulsing within him while the wine clouded his vision.Many hugged him, whispering their sorrow and sharing their admiration for his father while the symbiotes served as witnesses.
When the heat merged his tears with his sweat and made breathing difficult, he swiveled on his heel and left, staggering by rote to his home.The door was ajar, needing minimal effort to slide aside.His father had lost the strength to close it.
