The Budding Metalinguist

XLI

The only new thing Lillian had learned was the Idea of Communication. And she didn't exactly have anyone to practice on. And, since Dakota had told her not to use the Idea of Obliteration, she didn't even consider trying it. After her recklessness had nearly killed Amandi, she had resolved to listen to Dakota's recommendations.

But she had discovered something. Dakota had siblings.

There was no doubt in Lillian's mind that Ray and Em were his brother and sister. They looked remarkably alike and they seemed to interact with Dakota in a very natural way. But still, there were some aspects of the interaction that made Lillian suspicious. Not the least of which was their accent.

Ray and Em clearly spoke English well enough. Em's characteristic "absolutely distasteful" was ample evidence of that. But their accent was unusual, one Lillian hadn't heard before. They both seemed to have slight difficulties remembering to pronounce the letter T.

Not for the first time, Lillian wondered where the Kern siblings were from. The accent provided direct evidence that Dakota had been that vagrant from Eugene many years ago. But it was not an accent that Lillian had ever heard before. It was so strikingly unfamiliar that it raised an important question; what language had the siblings originally spoken?

Lillian realized her mind was going in circles, and shook herself out of her tangent. She had stranger things to worry about. Not the least of which were Em's and Ray's names.

When Dakota originally introduced them, Ray had quickly been careful to correct "Raymond" to "Ray". This would have been unremarkable if not for what followed- specifically Em's introduction. She had not only scoffed when Dakota introduced her, but had immediately corrected him. Her dismissal had been strong. Not only had she requested that Lillian call her "Em", but she had referred to her own name as "absolutely distasteful". Besides, Lillian added vaguely, she didn't in the least seem like someone who might be named Emma.

It was clearly natural for Dakota to refer to them as Em and Ray, but it seemed suspicious that they would both take such offense to their supposed full names. Perhaps, Lillian considered, Raymond and Emma weren't their full names at all.

She didn't exactly know them well enough to ask, and she was tactful enough to keep her theories to herself. Even so, she couldn't help but speculate.

❦

"She's a Voidling," Dakota explained, as soon as Lillian was gone. "I just haven't explained to her what that means yet."

<That girl is a Voidling?> Ray's echo commented incredulously. Dakota nodded. "I told you, she doesn't know it yet. I haven't told her about Mira and Ashley either. And she doesn't even know there's a tower in the Alin Gap."

"Why?" Em wondered.

"One of the people staying there with me is her childhood friend. Rory. She's been repining for him for about a month, but she doesn't know who he actually is."

"I guess that makes sense," Ray said slowly.

"It's probably not ideal if she were to know how many of them have been taking care of her and keeping her safe. She doesn't really know much of anything yet, and I've been trying to wait to explain it to her until she understands more."

Besides, it's probably not a good idea to tell her too much too quickly, Dakota's echo added.

Em nodded thoughtfully. "You knew almost everything from the start. It was much easier when Mira could just tell everyone who she was and not have to worry about people thinking she was insane or trying to kill her."

"That's one way to put it," Dakota agreed slowly.

*By the way, we meant to ask, where is Mira? We always thought she just abandoned us after you died. What happened to her?* Em's echo wondered.

Dakota sighed. "She couldn't stay. Even after I escaped, she had other responsibilities. She had to leave. I haven't seen her since before they captured us. She's on an assignment right now, even."

Ray grimaced. "That's too bad. I was hoping we could see her."

Em didn't answer, but her hands clenched into fists.

Is something wrong? Dakota's echo asked.

"She let them die," Em seethed. "She sat back and let our parents be murdered. Where was she then? And where has she been for the last forty years? Why are you having to take care of yourself? Why did we have to escape from prison?" Em gritted her teeth with every word. "Mira betrayed us. We don't matter to her."

"Don't say that." Dakota didn't risk looking at his sister. "Mira does what she needs to do. She does exactly what she should do for all our benefit. She probably thought I wouldn't be strong enough to fight the Delegation without that pain."

Em didn't respond, only stared into the distance with deep fury on her angular face. Dakota shook his head and turned away.

Time would heal all wounds.