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Devika’s twin brother appeared like an apparition in the middle of her dorm room, his hologram displayed by a small projector on the ceiling. He leaned on a cane.
“Are you taking your walks every day, Anand?” she asked him.
“Yeees,” Anand drew out the word with annoyance. “Maellyn, Vahu, and I walk for a half hour each morning before breakfast. Then Instructor Fintan joins us for an hour after dinner. We’re starting to remember our way around Pindair.”
“You’re taking the meds the Alfar give you?” she asked.
Anand still had patches of discolored skin from the explosion on Orestes, but the bruises had mostly faded. Soon no one would know how close he’d come to death.
“Yes, yes.” He waved dismissively with his free hand. “I’m a model patient.”
He’d never been a model anything in his life, but she let it go.
“I couldn’t be lazy if I wanted to,” he added. “Maellyn and Vahu won’t let me.”
“I’ll send them a thank-you card,” Devika said, giving him an impish grin.
It was strange to hear Anand talk about spending time with Vahu, a Dahaka and friend of Neil Ericson. Why did Neil visit and make contacts on Siavash? How?
Whatever the answers, she owed her life to Neil for it, as did many people on Space City and the Alfar on Ourania. He’d obtained the Emperor’s Ruby flower on Siavash, the Dahaka homeworld. With it, Alfar scientists had devised a cure for the Azymi fungus. They’d stopped the outbreak that had infected so many, including her.
But delivering that flower to the Alfar had nearly killed Anand, Maellyn, and Vahu. Devika’s breath caught in her throat at contemplating how close she’d come to losing him.
“What about you?” Anand asked. “When’s the last time you got out?”
She diverted her eyes to the window. “I hit up the mess hall for a light breakfast. I still don’t have much energy.”
Even that short trek had left her sapped. No matter how much she slept, it never seemed enough.
“What does Dr. Flores say?” Anand hobbled a couple of steps. She guessed he’d moved closer to her hologram. Here, his hologram stepped in place.
“That my energy will return in time.”
“Are you walking every day to build up your strength?”
“Yes,” she replied, annoyed he’d directed her question back. “Every morning and night, same as you.” She didn’t mention that five minutes was her limit. On a typical night out to the Sims facility and back, wishing she had a way to Ourania. It was unacceptable that a hologram of Anand might serve as the only way she’d see her twin ever again. That they might never share another meal. Or explore alien worlds together as they’d endlessly discussed during their first year at the Academy.
In the fall, she would return to the Academy without him.
She didn’t know how to explain it. The loss crushing her chest—the grief—as if he had died. Even talking with him right now wasn’t the same, as if he was no longer her brother, but a mere shadow of him.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She ignored it.
The knocking repeated. Scowling, Devika glanced over her shoulder.
“What is it?” Anand asked.
“Nothing,” she answered.
A third knock.
“I’m busy,” she said, raising her voice. “Can you come back later?”
“It’s me. Nico. Do you have a minute?”
“I’m talking with my brother.”
Nico? Why would he visit? Outside of working together on Instructor Fintan’s team last year, they’d never spent much time together. And after she’d woken up from the coma, they’d only spoken on one awkward occasion, the time when he’d checked up on her in the hospital and dropped off some white chocolate-covered blueberries and raspberries from Colombo Caramella.
“Who is it?” Anand asked.
“Nico.”
“We can talk later,” Anand said.
“No! I told him I’m busy.” She refused to cut short her time with her brother. The hologram link had been spotty of late, and she missed their talks. For the first week after she’d woken up, they’d had zero communication. His wrist-comp had been destroyed on Orestes. Anand and Maellyn now lived among the Alfar. Their mother had sent him a replacement, along with a few other items, in a care package that included a sandalwood carving of Krishna, the sometimes prankster Hindu god.
“At least see what he wants,” Anand cajoled.
Devika sighed. “Coming.”
She rose from her chair and walked around her brother’s hologram. Human instincts were deeply ingrained.
She opened the door to a bag of candy in Nico’s outstretched hand.
“Hi, Devika. How are you?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine,” she said, even though it wasn’t. She accepted the candy, faking a smile.
“Nico, you better not be ruining my scouts!” Anand yelled.
Nico peered around her. “They’re not your scouts. I designed them.”
“They are mine,” Anand argued. “I built them.”
It was a familiar argument, but with most of the animosity now absent.
She frowned. Anand shouldn’t have heard Nico’s response. Unless... her brother had looped Nico into their conversation.
She gritted her teeth, wanting to snap at both boys. But she could do nothing without being rude.
“Please come in.” She forced a smile.
Nico hesitated. “I can come back later.”
“Nonsense,” Anand replied. “Did you need Devika for something? Perhaps to get her out of her dorm room?”
That explained Nico’s unexpected appearance. Anand had pushed him into it to get her out. Hiding her annoyance, she motioned him to enter.
“What’s new?” she asked as she strolled back to her bed.
“I created a sim of Rome.” He looked at the spare bed before choosing to lean against the closet door. “Hoped you might explore it with me?”
“No,” she said, at the same time Anand said, “Yes.”
After an awkward pause, Anand said, “Go, Devika. It sounds fun. Nico makes great sims.”
“No,” she repeated. It took all her willpower not to lash out at Anand for conspiring with Nico.
She had no interest in exploring a sim right now; especially not one of Nico’s creations. Neil had accompanied Nico into the Venice sim the previous summer. It hadn’t gone well. Getting trapped in a sim with invisible monsters that could kill her lacked any appeal, especially in her current condition.
Nico scowled, eyes dropping to her feet.
Devika realized she’d been too harsh. She softened her tone. “A Rome sim sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to visit Rome. I’m just not ready for it yet. Maybe closer to the start of the new year.”
“Of course.” He turned to leave, looking like a boy who’d been told his puppy was ugly.
“Nico, wait,” Anand said.
Devika had risen to follow Nico to the door. She clamped her mouth shut to stifle her exasperation.
“What about the Evanesco?” Anand asked. “You were telling me about it the other day.”
Devika wondered. Have Anand and Nico developed a friendship, or is this all about me? If Anand had made her a charity case, she’d kill him. Somehow.
Nico’s eyes widened. He shifted back to her. “Evanesco! You’d love it. It’s amazing!”
“Hear him out,” Anand added.
Devika stared at the floor. She had no interest, but Anand wouldn’t let this go. Not unless she listened to Nico’s pitch.
“What is it?” She tried her best to sound polite.
“Evanesco. The vanished.” Nico beamed. “A lost alien civilization on the planet Havendesh. They disappeared some time ago without a trace.”
“Interesting.” She pursed her lips.
Nico nodded, face shining. “They left behind a trial, a puzzle of sorts in a temple in a jungle on Havendesh. Visitors have flocked to the temple for years, attempting to solve its riddles. None have come close. The belief is that whoever solves the trial will learn where the Evanesco have gone.”
Despite her weariness, the familiar stirrings of intrigue tugged at her. An unsolved puzzle; one that people hadn’t figured out after years of effort.
Puzzles, riddles, logic questions had always fascinated her. She loved mysteries. While she doubted she was ready to attempt this trial in her present shape, what would it hurt to check it out? If it appeared as interesting as it sounded, she could return later.
“Okay.” She hoped she wouldn’t regret it. “I’ll go.”
Anand and Nico shared a satisfied glance that made her want to back out.
Almost.