Nadi by Loren Walker

Author:Loren Walker [Walker, Loren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, drama, Fantasy, science fiction, siblings, flying ships
Publisher: Loren Walker
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Another week passed.

Renzo ducked into the attic. He held a crate, covered with a flannel blanket, a pair of crutches under his arm. CaLarca pushed her body into a seated position, watching as he set all his items on the table by the window. Underneath the dirty cloth, she caught a glimpse of metal, intricate and twisted, and some kind of black and gray, rubbery fabric. Goosebumps rose on her skin. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Sydel appeared at the doorway. “Ren,” she breathed. “How wonderful. You did it.”

“Of course I did,” Renzo said dryly. “Everyone asked so nicely.”

“I’m not ready,” CaLarca burst out.

Renzo and Sydel turned to stare at her. CaLarca dropped her gaze to the quilt.

“It’s the next step,” Sydel soothed. “It’ll be okay.”

Renzo was blunt. “You’ll never be ready. But it’s time.”

Her throat dry, CaLarca glanced at Renzo’s right leg, where she knew his prosthetic stood. “Does it ever stop hurting?”

“It hasn’t yet,” Renzo said. “But it becomes manageable. Then it becomes a part of the background. But you’ll do better than I ever will.”

“Trust him,” Sydel smiled at her. “Believe in him. He’s brilliant.”

Renzo waved his hand dismissively. “You don’t have to trust me,” he countered. “Just trust the science.”

Renzo’s first component was a backbrace, black tentacles to be wrapped around her lower back and sacrum. CaLarca struggled to the edge of the bed, painfully swinging her legs over the edge. Sydel sat behind her, and clicked the device into place. During the process, Renzo averted his gaze, even though CaLarca was fully clothed. An odd sense of decorum. They were all so odd.

When the last fastener held, the whole brace came alive, lifting and compressing her lower back. It felt strange, but something opened up in her chest, her lungs were better able to expand. She felt steadier, stronger.

“Is this all?” Sydel asked over CaLarca’s shoulder.

Still looking away, Renzo held out a set of black leggings, made of thick, ribbed material. Confused, CaLarca craned her neck to look inside the crate. It was empty.

“They’re leggings,” CaLarca said flatly. “You said you would make me braces. What am I supposed to do with these?”

“Yes, I made you leggings in my spare time,” Renzo said impatiently, shaking the clothing with his extended hand. “It’s a legitimate SCKAFO: stance control knee-ankle-foot orthosis.”

CaLarca reached out to take it, but Renzo jerked the material just out of her reach. “Remember the deal,” he told her.

CaLarca’s mouth dropped. From the gasp behind her, Sydel was also mortified.

“We made a deal,” Renzo reminded them both. “Her heroics don’t negate the agreement. Appreciated as they were.”

This brother was more ruthless than she imagined. In a way, CaLarca felt more respect for him. “What do you want to know?” she asked him demurely.

“What haven’t you asked her, yet?” Renzo addressed Sydel.

Silence. The SCKAFO shimmered in the light, tempting CaLarca with every turn.

“You spoke of my parents,” came Sydel’s voice, lower and more forceful than usual. “Who were the others in the NINE?”

CaLarca thought fast.

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