Hienama by Constantine Storm

Author:Constantine, Storm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, magic, wraeththu, hermaphrodite, androgyny
Publisher: Immanion Press

3

At least Ysobi accepted that Gesaril was too reliant on him, and agreed to let Sinnar monitor the har for the next few days. Gesaril was removed to the phylarch’s house, and Ysobi carried on working with Orphie. I knew Orphie was disgusted by the whole affair and shared my views. But that might just have been because he cared for me.

I was unaware of public opinion over the Gesaril business, or even how much others in the community knew about it, but my friends tactfully kept quiet on the subject. They came to visit me all the time, and one night, I got blissfully drunk with Fahn, Minnow and Vole. We laughed a lot. There was no mention of Gesaril.

Ysobi came to stay with me more often. Once, I said to him, ‘Will Gesaril be sent home now?’

Ysobi hesitated before answering. ‘We’ve sent a letter to Kyme.’

‘Meaning?’ A hard edge had come into my voice. I couldn’t help it.

‘We can’t just abandon him, Jass.’

I thought I could abandon him quite easily, preferably naked, on an exposed hillside during a snowstorm. ‘Are you still going to try and work with him?’

‘He has to work on himself, mainly. I think most of his fears are imaginary.’

‘You think it’s possible to help him, then?’

‘I don’t think it’s impossible.’

I wanted to say more, but held my tongue. I’d decided that arguments should not be part of my arsenal.

Before I continue with the story of Gesaril, there has to be an interlude. I have to talk about my son.

The harling came into our lives properly about a week after the equinox. I noticed the pearl had gone brittle and cracks appeared in it. Transfixed, I put it on the kitchen table and sat next to it, watching. I drank some wine as I did so. Eventually, it fell apart completely and a weird little animal crawled out. We stared at each other for some moments. It was most disorientating. I said, ‘Hello, creature,’ and the harling lifted its head, on a neck that seemed a little too long and thin, and sniffed the air. I had some cream cheese in the cold room and went to fetch it.

When I returned, after only a few seconds, the harling was examining the broken pieces of the pearl. He turned quickly, defensively, when he heard me approach. I offered the cheese and he ate it from my hand like a wary horse, flinching back if I made any sudden movements. I could not imagine how this creature could in any way grow to be a har. He was intelligent, that was obvious, and more like a colt or a calf than a cub or a pup, since he could move about and eat immediately after hatching. He was alien to behold because he wasn’t at all like a human baby, but more like an older child in miniature form. He had a sense of survival and cunning. His first noises were hisses.

Orphie found me attempting communication with my alien son.

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