Page 28 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

Sullha looked at her mother.

"He's okay if he holds on with his hands," Leehy said. "I watched the Kra-ell children do that."

"They are Kra-ell, Mother. Their bodies are different."

"Not really. The two Tomek plays with are hybrids, and they are mostly human until they reach puberty and start to change."

Sullha hadn't known that. "Who told you that?"

"Beulah. She likes sitting on the bench and watching the children play."

Sullha tensed. "What else did Beulah tell you?"

Leehy shrugged. "She told me about the Kra-ell, the grocery store, and how I should try the baked goods the ladies who run it make."

That sounded innocent enough, but Sullha resolved to have 'the talk' with her mother soon and stop stressing about her hearing it from someone else. In fact, she needed to gather the others and have 'the talk' with all of them at once. She didn't want to go through another round of accusations about things she knew and should have shared but hadn't.

"How do you even talk to the Kra-ell children?" she asked Tomek. "They don't speak our language, and you don't speak theirs."

Tomek gave her the look that communicated his opinion that grownups knew nothing. "We don't talk. We play."

"They talk," Leehy said. "With their hands."

Sullha crouched in front of Tomek and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to see Yaaf," she said. "Don't give Nana any trouble."

"I won't. Tell Yaaf to come to the village. It's much nicer here than in the tall building."

"I will."

He put his arms around her neck and kissed her back, something he hardly ever did, then took Leehy's hand, and the two of them walked out the door.

Sullha glanced at the clock and panicked. She was late.

She ran the entire way to the pavilion, and by the time she stepped into the elevator to the parking level, she was out of breath and sweating.

Mirumah arched a brow when she saw her. "What happened to you?"

"I didn't notice how late it was and ran all the way."

Bianca waved at her over her mother's shoulder.

Zohara stopped in front of Sullha and looked her over. "That's a good color on you," she said.

It was not an apology.

Sullha had stopped expecting one and, somewhere during the second week of English classes, had decided she didn't need one. They were talking, and Zohara wasn't giving her the cold shoulder anymore. That was good enough.

"Thank you," she said. "Are we waiting for Gindah?"

"Mistress Gindah is already in the van," Okidu said. "We were waiting for you, Mistress Sullha."

10

ANNANI

"Esag didn't recognize any of the four," Alena said. "He even printed the photos so he could enlarge them." She leaned against the foot of the bed. "Then he called Roven and Davuh over so they could look at them, and neither of them recognized any of them either. At midnight, he called me to say he was sorry."

"Sorry for what?"