Preda's Voice (Guardians of Vaka Book 1) (12 page)

28

P
reda looked back and forth between Will and Foxy for some sort of explanation for their behavior.

“I made you my guardian?” she finally asked. “I don’t understand. All I said was I wanted Will to be my guardian.”

“That’s not what you said,” Foxy replied. “You said, ‘I choose Will to be my guardian.’”

“OK. What’s the difference?” Preda asked.

“It’s you,” said Foxy. “You’re the difference. When you use that voice of yours, you have to be careful. You have the power to dictate how others feel, but you can also make certain things binding.”

“So this is binding?” she asked.

“Yes,” Foxy answered, but he was looking at Will while he was speaking. “He is your guardian for the rest of his life.”

Preda suddenly felt the weight of his words. She looked at Will and said, “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I just did that, and I didn’t even ask your permission or how you felt about it. You must hate me.” She was looking down at her feet when she finished.

“I’m sure it’s quite the opposite,” Foxy said cryptically.

Will looked down, and Preda saw that his hands were shaking. Foxy walked over to him and put his hand on Will’s shoulder until he met his eyes. “Sit down,” he said.

It was not a request. Will looked shaken as he walked into the room. He sat down on the end of the bed and faced Preda. With his elbows on his knees, he lowered his head. Foxy awkwardly placed a supporting hand on his son’s shoulder.

Preda felt as if she had just done something horrible. She looked at Foxy with a pleading expression. He answered her unspoken questions. “Being bound to a Vozia is jarring. He will need some time to adjust to it.”

“Have you been…bound?” Preda struggled with the word. It felt as if she was referring to a prison sentence.

Foxy considered her question for a time before answering. “I was bound to your mother, Preda.” He looked as if he was in pain when he spoke about it. “Every Vozia has a Kait guardian. It has been that way since the beginning of our written history. Your father and I were friends, and I would have done anything to protect the both of them.”

As much as Preda wanted to know more about her parents, she felt as if she couldn’t ask him at the moment. Instead she asked, “What does this mean for him? For us?”

“He is aware of everything about you. He can tell your general location in reference to himself and whether you are in danger. He can feel if you are injured, and when the two of you are separated, he will feel the need to return to you. It is an unbelievable honor for a Kait to be chosen, and since you are the only Vozia, he is the only guardian. In a way he even outranks me now.” Foxy chuckled after this last sentence.

“Are you OK?” Preda asked Will.

He hadn’t lifted his head the entire time his father was speaking. “I’m OK,” he said with his head still lowered.

Preda noted the slight tremor in his voice. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked. “To make this easier?” She felt as if she had probably done enough already.

“Stop getting stabbed,” he said, and he lifted his head to look at her. “Jeez, Preda. You’ve been walking around with that pain in your side this whole time?”

Preda was shocked into silence for a moment. She gingerly placed her hand over the wound on her left side. “You can feel that?” she asked.

“If it’s hurting you, I can feel it,” he said tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

She had bound him to a job she didn’t know if he wanted for the rest of his life, but it was also as if she had stabbed him with a knife. Preda felt suddenly overwhelmed. She got up and ran out of the room before either Will or Foxy could say anything else. She felt disoriented at first, but she remembered Will had said where her room was. Preda found the partially open door at the end of the hall and went inside. She shut the door behind her. She locked it as though she was locking out the rest of the world, and turned around to look for a place to sit down.

When she looked around, though, Preda felt as if she must have gone through the wrong door. It led into an opulent sitting room with beautiful gold trim. The furniture looked extremely expensive, and she touched the soft material lightly with her fingertips. It felt too expensive to sit on.

She glanced into the bedroom through the next door, and what she saw staggered her further. The ceilings opened up into a vaulted center with a crystal chandelier inset with light stone. The crystal reflected the green and blue light onto the walls, and the effect was otherworldly. The bed was canopied, and the bedding was the same beautiful emerald and cream as the rest of the furniture.

Preda was about to leave the room. She thought it couldn’t be hers, but then she saw Fiver on the bed. He must have come in when the door was open. He was curled up next to the same teddy bear that had been in her bedroom in Al’s house. The bear was wearing the same red bow tie, which made him look like a present. Al must have brought the bear all the way from Florida. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

Preda felt she didn’t deserve these people in her life, and she had just bound one of them without his permission. She curled up on the soft bed next to Fiver and held the teddy bear to her chest like a child. The tears came slowly at first, but she soon found herself overcome with racking sobs.

29

P
reda was looking at a green planet surrounded by stars. She felt as if she was floating in space and the planet was moving toward her. As it came near, she slowly realized the green on the surface was not land but water. It was moving in swirling currents along the surface, and it mesmerized her. It was beautiful.

Suddenly she felt the weight of the planet pull her in toward it like a tug on her center. Preda was falling fast. As the water came closer, she could make out shapes moving on the surface. There were people swimming in it. The farther she fell, she more she could start to make out individual faces. They were staring at her with blank expressions and smiles on their lips. Right before Preda hit the water, it lit on fire like oil. Everyone below burned in an instant before she landed in the flames.

Preda woke with a start and felt as if she couldn’t catch her breath. She shook her arms out but still felt as if flames bathed her body. As she calmed down, the feeling started to subside. Then she heard knocking on the bedroom door.

“Come in,” she called before remembering she had locked it. “Just a minute,” she amended and tried to sit up.

She moved slowly. She was careful once again not to disturb the cat, and left the bear in her place next to him so he wouldn’t be alone on the bed. When she stood, Preda noticed a vanity on the opposite wall. It was beautiful solid oak inlaid with gold. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and stopped. She didn’t recognize the person looking back at her. Preda moved closer to the mirror to inspect herself. Her chin was stronger, and her cheekbones were more prominent. The most striking change was her eyes. They were glowing green, as if they were drinking in the surrounding light stone. Preda touched her face in disbelief. For the first time, she started to believe she was truly alien. Another knock on the door startled her out of her disorienting trance. She hastily brushed her too-long black hair with the gold-handled brush on the vanity. Once she was satisfied she no longer looked like a maniac—just an alien—she ran to open the door.

The pain in her left side flared as she moved too fast, and she stopped a moment next to a chair in the sitting room to catch her breath. When Preda finally opened the door, she immediately started apologizing for taking so long, but her words caught in her throat. Will was standing there with a look of genuine concern on his face.

“I’m sorry. It’s OK. I’m OK,” Preda stammered. She felt as if she didn’t know how to speak like a normal person to him anymore.

“You have got to be more careful or that wound will never heal,” he said with a sudden crooked smile.

Preda was confused for a moment before she remembered she had just hurt herself running to the door. A realization hit her. She was going to hurt him now if she hurt herself. That was going to be difficult with her clumsy nature. This whole guardian concept was going to be hard to get used to. Preda frowned as she thought about it.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Will quickly apologized. As if he could read her thoughts, he then said, “I think it’s going to take a while for both of us to adjust.”

He smiled to take the sting out of his words and ran his hand through his hair nervously.

“It’s OK. It’s just me. Come in,” she said absentmindedly.

She moved out of the way and indicated the chair nearest the door. Will walked in, but he didn’t sit down until Preda had sat in her own chair across from him.

“So,” he said, “what do you think of your room?”

“Don’t you mean
rooms
?” she countered.

“I guess there is more than one.” He smiled and looked around.

“It’s too much,” she admitted. “I’m not used to having all this.” She indicated the furniture around her.

“Wait till we get to Vaka,” he said.

Preda shuddered to think about what that would be like, and she remembered the dream she had been having.

“Were you having a nightmare?” Will asked quietly.

“Are you in my head now?” Preda asked before she could stop herself.

“Not exactly,” he said. “I could feel you were in distress, but I knew it wasn’t real. I don’t know how to describe it.” He seemed frustrated.

“I was having a strange dream that ended badly,” Preda said. She saw how uncomfortable Will was and asked, “What is Vaka like?”

Will looked thoughtful before answering. “It’s like Earth but greener. Water covers it, and there’s no visible land. We’ve adapted by developing massive floating islands anchored in the shallow waters. Sprawling cities are on the metal islands. The smallest of these cities is bigger than New York City. The largest is where you will live. It’s practically the same size as Rhode Island. The water’s not the same as it is here, though. It contains a mercury-like salt that makes it green, but we’re adapted to it.”

Preda was terrified. She thought back to her vision of a green planet with swirling water currents. “Is mercury flammable?” she asked.

“Mercury does not burn, but when it’s exposed to fire, it releases a toxic vapor,” Will answered. “Why do you ask?”

Preda shuddered. “No reason.” After a moment she said, “Look, Will, I’m really sorry. I had no idea that what I said would be binding.”

Her apology seemed to bewilder Will. “Please don’t apologize. I should be sorry for reacting the way I did. It was just a shock.” He hesitated before continuing. “Your choice honors me.”

Preda squirmed a little under the gravity of his words, and she decided to lighten the mood. “Can we go get Laney now?” she asked hopefully.

Will laughed at the question. It was what she had wanted to do in the first place.

“You’re my official guardian now, so you get the final word, right?” she asked.

Will sighed heavily, and he assumed a mischievous expression. “All right,” he said. “We’ll go in the morning.”

Preda was elated. She had gotten a feeling from Laney that the girl just wanted to be her friend. She had never experienced that before. Will smiled at her obvious excitement and said she should get ready for dinner. Al was cooking downstairs.

30

I
t was odd, but when Will left the room, Preda felt his absence. It wasn’t as if she missed him, but she could feel he was no longer next to her. She looked down at her clothes after he left and realized they were the same ones she was wearing in Argentina. She desperately needed to shower and change. The shower she would ask Al about later. Maybe her wound had healed enough.
As for the clothes...
, she wondered.

Preda walked over to the heavy armoire in the bedroom and opened the door. She hoped but did not expect to find clothes. What she saw astounded her. She shouldn’t have been surprised after all the things she had been given, but this was incredible. Beautiful silk gowns in every color filled the entire cabinet. She noted the dresses were not exactly modest. They had swooping necklines and open backs.
What on earth am I going to do with these?

Thankfully the drawers held more reasonable clothing, though they were no less expensive looking. Silk blouses and tailored pants that fit her perfectly filled the drawers. The shoes were also beautiful. Preda had never worn anything but sneakers, and the slightly raised heels she tried on now made her whole body look different in the mirror.
No wonder women wear these things.
Her whole self-image had changed with just a pair of black pumps.

She walked down to dinner. She felt awkward, but the men made her feel appropriate. They were all wearing nice clothes themselves. All four had been waiting in the dining room, and Preda was chagrined to find that dinner had already been served. They were clearly waiting on her.

Preda blushed when they all stood as one as she entered the room. Having spent her entire young adult life serving her supposed father dinner and leaving to eat alone at the kitchen counter, this felt unusual. Al pulled out a chair for her, and they sat down only after she did. She felt herself blushing. “Please don’t wait for me next time,” she said.

They looked confused by the request. “Nonsense,” Al said as though that was the end of the discussion.

Jim said, “Preda, you look very pretty tonight.”

The compliment was innocent, but it was the first time anyone had ever said that about her. Preda blushed an even deeper shade of red. She concentrated on the food in front of her and murmured, “Thank you.”

Will smiled. “OK. Enough making her feel uncomfortable.”

“What did I do?” asked Jim.

His question was ignored, and everyone started eating. The meal was incredible. Al had baked lasagna with garlic bread. Preda ate so much, she felt as if her stomach was going to explode. It tasted so good that she was only slightly embarrassed when she had eaten more than any of the men eating with her.

Al laughed at her effusive compliments, but she put genuine feeling behind her words to let him know she meant it. He beamed under the praise, and she knew her voice had worked because the tips of her toes were tingling. The more she spoke, the better she was getting at controlling it.

At one point during the dinner, Al said, “So, our little Preda has already chosen herself a guardian. I think that must be a record. Will is even younger than you were when you were made guardian, Tamron.”

Preda saw him wink at Will.

Jim dropped his fork. “She what?” he asked incredulously.

“She made me guardian,” Will mumbled.

“Whoa.” It was his only reply.

Preda once again felt as if she had already messed up her job as a Vozia by not following some protocol. She decided to change the subject quickly. “Will is going to take me to see Laney and explore the caves. You want to join us, Jim?”

Before Jim could answer, Tamron spoke up. “You’re doing what?”

Preda decided to test the limits of this guardian arrangement. “I’ll have my guardian with me, and Laney grew up here, so she knows every tunnel, I’m sure. I just want to see,” she said.

She could tell Foxy had no good argument to prevent her from going. It was not an unreasonable request. Preda knew he would have had her housebound for the duration of their time there if he had his way.

Al saved her from further discussion. “Tamron, don’t we have a council meeting with the Vank tomorrow?” he asked innocently.

Preda caught Will and Jim glance at each other. Will gave him some sort of hand signal across the table. Jim nodded, made a quick motion with his forefinger, and picked up his fork. It looked as though they had just had an entire conversation without speaking. Preda thought she would ask Jim about this sign language thing later.

“Who are the Vank?” she asked.

“They are an important family,” Al answered. “They value knowledge above all else and are responsible for almost every major scientific advancement on our planet.”

“They think they should have more say in what happens with you, Preda,” Foxy said. “Your father was a Vank. It makes you part of their family too.”

“My father wasn’t a Vozia?” she asked.

“Of course not,” Al said. “Your mother was a Vozia. The Vozia have always married outside their name to ensure genetic diversity in the family. It is most often a Vank, but others have been represented. All except the Kait.”

“Why not the Kait?” Preda asked.

“By the very nature of our responsibility to your family, we have not,” said Foxy. “There is also the issue of our…combative natures.”

“But the Kait have been in charge since I was born. Because we’re at war,” she said with insight.

“Yes,” Foxy and Al said in unison.

“So everyone on Vaka is part of one of these families by name?” she asked.

“Yes,” Jim answered this time. “Each person gets to choose the family name he or she wants to be a part of when two members from different families marry. Of course, each family has thousands of members, so many marry within their name. As a result some people are more like their family names than others. Not all Landis are as brilliant as yours truly,” he said with a dramatic flair.

Preda couldn’t help but laugh at him, and Jim feigned offense at her amusement. She imagined for a moment she was having an ordinary meal with her family. It was wonderful. Preda stood first and started to clear the table of dirty dishes to bring to the sink amid the protests of the men around her. She smiled and said, “I can do what I want.”

Preda left with an armload of dishes to wash.

That night Preda dreamt of Vaka again. This time the green planet was not set on fire, but it kept its distance from her as she floated in space. In the dream the planet was revolving around her as if she was a sun. In reality she knew she was revolving around Vaka—drawing ever closer to it.