The Cloud Roost (Jekua Book 5), page 5
Alani chuckled, bringing a smile to Balt’s face.
“How much do they know about the Yuluhu trip?” she then asked.
“Oh, nothing,” said Balt. “Can you imagine how annoying my mom would be about it? The strihova shit was risky enough, but then all the Lakahlo lab stuff? No way. They put up enough resistance to me going on this pilgrimage in the first place, and that was when we all thought it’d just be a pleasant jaunt across the islands. The less they know, the better.”
“So I guess you won’t be telling them about Pakree either, huh?”
A pang of guilt cut through Balt’s chest. There had been a night, back in the quarantine hotel on Yuluhu, when he’d considered divulging their (ludicrous) plan to his parents. Telling them that there was a chance—however slight—that his grandmother and grandfather were still alive, trapped in crystals. In the end, he’d decided against it. One reason was because saying it out loud sounded absolutely absurd, and another was that he didn’t want to give his father false hope. He’d already spent so long grieving his parents, Balt didn’t want to put him through that again if this turned out to be a dead end.
“Nah,” he said softly. “Like I said, they don’t need to, uh…they don’t need to be aware of all the dangerous shit I’m doin’. Don’t wanna freak ’em out.”
“Sure,” Alani said, nodding, still looking at the ground as their shoes tapped along the concrete.
At least your parents care enough to freak out about it, he then imagined her saying, though of course she didn’t. It left him wondering when the last time she spoke to her parents was. Did they even know what island she was on currently?
Fifteen minutes later, they were walking into a salon called Scissor Sound. In spite of the bizarre name, its interior was pretty slick, with white walls and floors but black tables and countertops. There was the distinct aroma of hair products as they stepped inside. Behind the front desk was a man with dark skin and a blonde buzzcut. He got Balt checked in, saying that a stylist would be able to seat him in about half an hour.
Then Alani blurted out, “I’d like to book an appointment too. Just a haircut, nothing fancy.”
Balt didn’t know when the last time Alani had gotten a haircut was. For as long as he could remember, she liked to keep her hair long. Even before she was required to keep it that length by the Church, she always did so. If she regularly got it cut, it was incredibly subtle.
She was told that a stylist could see her immediately, so the man led her to a chair that was located directly next to the waiting area. As she got herself situated, Balt shuffled over to the couch that backed up to the stylist’s chair and swung his arm over its back, facing her.
“Gettin’ yourself a nice trim before we jump on the boat?” he smiled. “Gotta look your best for any hotties tanning on the sundeck?”
“I don’t think the boat is big enough to have a sundeck,” Alani said.
“Maybe not, but you didn’t refute the hotties part.”
That made her blush. “No,” she then said.
A moment later, the stylist sidled up to her and asked what she was looking to get done. Balt watched the muscles on Alani’s face contort as she stared at herself in the mirror. She bit her lip anxiously, then turned to look at the woman who would be cutting her hair.
“I want it short,” she said. She held each of her hands up to her shoulders. “Like, this short.”
“Whoa, really?” said Balt. He’d never seen her with short hair before.
“You got it, babe. With your wavy hair, that’ll look great,” the woman said with a toothy smile.
Balt had to agree, but he was surprised by this turn of events. She’d decided not to continue with the pilgrimage for now, but was she done with the Church forever? He hadn’t thought it was that serious when they talked a little while ago.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Alani said, looking more confident and less anxious now that she’d voiced her desire. “I just haven’t been able to with my job.”
The stylist scoffed. “That’s bull,” she said. “I don’t get why jobs care about stuff like that. Let people do what they wanna do.”
Alani nodded. “Exactly,” she said.
Balt was compelled to ask her if she was sure about this, if she wanted to very literally cut ties with the Church, but he refrained. The look on her face, that warm smile, was enough for him to know this was what she needed.
The stylist stepped toward the black countertop and reached for her scissors.
5
S.S. Anu
It was the twenty-ninth of Fall, and the island air was nice and warm. The sun shone serenely, the purple waves lapping on the nearby shore. A gentle breeze blew, just enough to momentarily cool a person off. As they sunk deeper into Fall, the temperature cooled ever so slightly—particularly at night—but for the most part, it stayed the same. Over the years, Niona had heard plenty of people complain about the lack of change in the Volukho Islands’ weather from season to season, but she could give a shit. She loved that it was warm and sunny year-round. No part of her yearned to bundle up and trudge through knee-high snow or shovel it off a driveway.
Today she was wearing a pastel pink tanktop and white shorts, her short-cropped hair bouncing around her ears. When Balt and Alani had returned to the hotel after their hair salon adventure two days ago, Niona had teased Alani about copying her hairstyle (although Alani’s was a few inches longer still). It looked good on her, though. Made her look older, somehow. More mature, to match the way she already behaved. All throughout the evening, Niona thought she caught Aeiko casting furtive glances over at Alani, but she couldn’t be sure. Balt, meanwhile, had only gotten a slight trim, but the stylist had re-dyed his hair the same platinum blonde that they were all used to. He was looking far snazzier now than he was before. Less like he had perpetually just rolled out of bed.
Niona and the others meandered through Ya Fiq on their way to board the S.S. Anu. She unlocked her linkpad one last time to triple-check that she’d secured enough tickets for the lot of them. She knew she had, but stuff like that always made her paranoid. In the end, she had called the number on the website to inquire about Brine and was informed that she did indeed have to purchase him a ticket. That was ridiculous, in her opinion, but she didn’t want to ruffle any feathers.
The day before, Niona realized she hadn’t seen Aeiko checking the data from Brine’s animyzer in a while. Usually, they were inspecting it every other day or so, but she hadn’t seen it happen since before their stint in the quarantine hotel. She theorized that it might be due to Brine’s solemnity after a chunk of his chest broke off, wanting to give him some space. It was entirely possible she’d been busy out training with Balt whenever Aeiko performed their usual tasks, but she asked them about it anyway.
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” they had said, seated near the lobby fireplace and sipping on a whiskey sour. Niona had one to match. “After everything we learned at the lab, it’s been hard finding the motivation to get any work done for Lakahlo.”
“I can imagine,” Niona had nodded. “You gonna quit?”
They’d pondered the question for a moment before answering. “I don’t know, honestly. I don’t want to work for a company that would do something like that, but I can’t just not have money.”
It was a tough position, one that Niona had never once found herself in. The only actual job she’d ever worked in her life was at her own father’s resort. And even if she decided not to work there, it wasn’t like her credit card suddenly stopped working. She’d been born into an incredibly fortunate life, for which she was thankful.
“I bet you could find a new job pretty easily,” she’d said to Aeiko. “I’m dumb as hell, so maybe I’m off-base, but you seem pretty damn smart to me. Any company would be lucky to have you on their team.”
“Thanks,” they said. “I put myself down for some sick time, and I can throw on some vacation days too if I need to. We technically have unlimited of both, but I might end up testing the limits of that,” they chuckled. “Once this is all over, I’ll start to look for another job. I don’t think I’d quite be at my best if I had to do a video interview from a mountaintop.”
Niona laughed as well. “That’s fair,” she had said.
The conversation had made her self-conscious once again about spending her father’s money on the boat tickets, but she was (somewhat) assuaged by telling herself that soon she’d have her own income stream. She’d gotten in touch with Vanessa Ren, the scout from Atoll Talent who’d found her at the Makanuele Rumble, as soon as they passed their quarantine and made it over to Kou Tekkis. The agency’s headquarters were in the city of Asanak, which was on the northern coast, not too far from Sonosoik. She was scheduled to meet with them to sign her paperwork in exactly ten days’ time. Soon, she would officially be a signed Summoner.
Let the sponsorships roll in, baby.
Soon they came to Ya Fiq’s docks, and sitting pretty near the shore was the S.S. Anu. It was a decently-sized ship, painted a vibrant white with lush gold trim. It was maybe a third of the size of most luxury cruise ships she’d been on in the past, but it was honestly a little bigger than she thought it would be. There was a deck on the front of the ship (Is there a fancy name for that? Niona wondered, her leisure cruise knowledge failing her) dotted with blue lounge chairs and some viewing telescopes mounted by the railing. The sides of the ship were lined with cute circular windows, and Niona was eager to find out which ones belonged to them. There weren’t any rooms that could accommodate five people, and getting five separate rooms would have been prohibitively expensive, so she’d booked two family-sized rooms. It was yet to be determined how the group would be split up.
To the left of the ship was a silver pickup truck, sitting all by its lonesome. It carried what appeared to be crates of supplies in its bed. For a split second, Niona thought she glimpsed a Jekua scurrying underneath the truck, but it might have merely been a trick of the light. Moments later, an employee from the S.S. Anu ambled over to the truck to grab one of the crates, so if anything really was under there it was probably scared off.
A line had formed on the dock leading to a ramp attached to the ship. There were more people than Niona had expected; it looked like things might get a little cramped, which she knew Alani would not enjoy.
Their group joined the back of the line, eliciting some befuddled glares from others as they eyed Brine. The coral golem was unperturbed.
In front of them stood a squat older woman, her cheeks sagging and ruddy with blush. She had a pale complexion, most likely hailing from Hurrathsa but maybe Tollush. Her two front teeth were prominent, granting her the appearance of a chipmunk. She blatantly stared at Brine, then at Alani, whose skin was covered in white tattoos. “You’re an important member of the Church, then?” the woman puffed, sounding very much like her nose was stuffed up.
All of them looked at her, then at Alani, who stared wide-eyed at the nosy woman. “Uh…no, I’m not,” she said meekly.
The woman grunted, unsatisfied with this response. “You’ve got the tattoos,” she said, pointing with a long, white, press-on nail. “You’ve got a golem. Must be important.” She lowered her arm and grunted again. It sounded more like a Sleethog snorting. “Why else would they give you a golem bodyguard?”
“He is not my bodyguard.”
Alani looked deeply uncomfortable with the conversation, but the stranger either didn’t notice or didn’t care and pressed onward. “What’s he to you, then? Why would a golem walk around with you for?”
Balt jumped in. “It’s really not any of your business,” he said firmly.
The woman grunted once more for good measure, this time accompanied by a dramatic roll of the eyes. “I thought the Church was supposed to be nice,” she said. Then she turned around and muttered something to the man standing next to her, presumably her husband, although they looked almost related. Niona had met too many couples who looked like siblings to write off the possibility, though.
Niona thought he had put it much more politely than she would’ve. Maybe the lady would fall overboard. Her brother-husband would have to leap to her rescue.
It took around fifteen minutes before they made it to the front of the line, where a person scanned the five tickets on Niona’s linkpad and they were subsequently shown to their rooms. A kind little man who didn’t look a day over ten years old escorted them, commenting incessantly on how beautiful a day it was and how agreeable the ocean seemed.
He left them standing in front of two adjacent rooms. Niona had booked two “Sorvana Suites,” so theoretically they were identical on the inside, with ocean views, a mini fridge, and three beds. Niona held both keycards, one in each hand, and held them up to the others. The cards matched the ship: white with a single gold stripe.
“So,” she said, “who’s sleepin’ with who?” No one offered any suggestions, so after a few seconds, she threw her own out there. “I’m thinkin’ me, Alani, and Aeiko in one room with Balt and Brine in the other.”
“Why do I have to be alone?” Balt whined.
“You won’t be. You’ve got Brine. He’s not much of a talker, though, so you might have to carry the conversation.”
Brine said nothing. He didn’t even wave.
“I’ll stay with Balt,” Alani offered, taking a step toward him.
“Fine, but you’re gonna miss out on all the fun,” said Niona. “Brine, where you wanna sleep? Or stand all night, rather.”
Brine side-stepped closer to Aeiko.
“Got it.”
She handed Alani the other keycard, and the two groups entered their respective rooms.
The Sorvana Suite did not disappoint. Three plush beds were lined up against the left wall, and their window was currently overlooking the open ocean. Much like the rest of the ship, the walls were painted white with gold stripes running horizontal along the top and bottom. The room had soft, green carpeting that Niona wanted to feel between her toes. Brine strode in last, closing the door behind them. He immediately edged past them and made his way over to the window.
“Which bed you want?” Niona asked Aeiko. They pointed to the one closest to the window. “Cool,” Niona said, deciding she’d sleep on the one nearest the door. She tossed her bag onto the unoccupied middle bed, unofficially designating it as the “clothes and other assorted shit” storage area. Aeiko followed her cue and did the same.
“This is nice,” they then said, taking a stroll around the room. They stopped at the window, peering out at the ocean waves next to Brine.
“Glad you dig it,” said Niona. “I know this whole thing was kinda sprung on you.”
“No, no, it’s cool,” Aeiko insisted. “I’ve never done anything like this, actually. It’ll be a fun experience, I hope.”
“That’s exactly what I was tellin’ Balt. We all should unwind and have a little fun for a few days, y’know? Before shit gets serious again.”
Aeiko smiled. “Not a bad point,” they said. Then, “What time does the boat push off?”
“In about…” Niona took out her linkpad to check the time. “…forty minutes. Shit. I’m already starving, and the buffet doesn’t open until half an hour after that.” She had skipped breakfast in anticipation of gorging herself on the ship’s buffet. Balt had done the same, naturally.
“Think you’ll make it?” Aeiko giggled. They walked over to the middle bed and started rummaging through their bag.
“I think I have the strength. I do not think Balt does, however. He is a man who is weak of body and mind. Watch this.”
She walked to the right-side wall, the one that they shared with Balt and Alani. There was a flatscreen TV mounted on it, already tuned to a ship information channel espousing the great activities on board. She curled her fingers into a fist and pounded on the wall as hard as possible three times.
Just as she expected, approximately two seconds later Balt was yelling through the wall, “Don’t start with this shit again!”
Niona laughed, turning to Aeiko. “I did this to him all the time when we were in lockdown. Drove him nuts. Hey, Brine, do me a favor and come over here.”
The coral golem obliged, tearing himself away from the window and positioning himself next to Niona by the wall. He looked at her with his blank face.
“Do what I just did,” she said. “It’ll be funny.”
Brine nodded, then proceeded to smash his fist against the wall three times, far louder and harder than Niona could have ever hoped to do it herself. Aeiko and Niona both burst out laughing, but Niona noticed that the mounted television shook with each hit.
“Okay, maybe we shouldn’t do that again,” Niona said, worried that the television was too unstable and might crash to the floor.
But then Balt screamed through the wall again, asking what the hell that was, and Niona thought it might be worthwhile.
6
Fishes Sneeze
After decimating the buffet, the group splintered to explore the S.S. Anu at their own paces. Alani and Aeiko wandered off together, Balt went up onto the deck, and Brine returned to the cabin. Niona, meanwhile, wanted to check out the ship’s innards.
With so much food jumbling around in her belly, she did not want to gaze out at rolling waves at the moment. She traipsed through the halls, mesmerized by the colorful interlocking patterns on the carpet and amazed that she couldn’t feel the waves even the tiniest bit. There had been little potato-cheese-jalapeno ball things at the buffet, as well as snails sauteed in butter—both of which she’d piled high on her plate—so she had been mildly concerned about becoming seasick (or just regular sick). Everyone else had grimaced at her, especially upon noticing the two items were touching, but she did not care. That was the beauty of the buffet: assorted foods that don’t actually go together, but you can eat them at the same time anyway. What was better?
