She spoke in a hurried whisper; he realized then that she wasn’t supposed to be speaking of these things. So did the Tha’alani. But it was a companionable secrecy; she was sharingwiththem, and they understood the necessity of sharing better than anyone.
But they, too, had been warned. One of the biggest warnings was: do not wander out of the quarter. It is the only place you are guaranteed to be safe. They, too, had been told about Bad People who wanted to kidnap them and use them.
They were all outsiders, but the Tha’alani was a huge extended family of outsiders. Random was isolated. They understood the cost of that, the price Random paid.
He knew what was going to happen.
So, too, did Ybelline; he could feel her draw a single sharp breath. If she could have reached into the past with both hands, she would have grabbed the children and hauled them out of the Halls, possibly by the ears.
These memories, however, were just that: memories. More than two decades had passed since these events had occurred. She could no more change that past than any other living being awash in regret. Severn had learned this lesson the harshest way possible.
It was Jerrin of the loud stomach who caught Random’s hand. Jerrin who thanked her for sharing, and who asked her if she would like to see how friends among the Tha’alani shared information.
“Will you get in trouble?” Random asked.
“No.” Which was a lie. The Tha’alani were not good at lying.
“Maybe,” Tobi said. “But it’s not like they can do anything to prevent it. Once we talk to you, it’s done.” He spoke with bravado. With confidence. Severn could feel the ache of both sympathy and curiosity.
A silent argument broke out among the three Tha’alani, and in the end, Tessa won. It was Tessa who sat Random down; Tessa who bent over her; Tessa who touched Random’s forehead with her antennae. Both girls were trembling.
The memories stopped there.
All of them.
Severn had no idea what Tessa had seen; no idea what Jerrin or Tobi saw, secondhand, either. He had been those children; those children were gone, as if suddenly obliterated. Had Ybelline not maintained her contact with him, he would have assumed that she had broken the connection.
No. She was still here, still with him.
What happened?
The memories end here, she replied.
They died?
No. Not then. You asked me to examine our memories for deaths that occurred before the murders that almost shattered the Tha’alaan started. Their deaths were among those deaths.
All three?
All three.
How did they die?
Tobi convinced them to join him in another escapade, for old time’s sake. They went. They went out to the port, and they did not return; the boat they were in capsized.
Boating.
She nodded.
Was there anything unusual about that?
Not for Tobi, no. Tessa had become much more reticent in her early adult years—but Tessa’s life goal became the Tha’alanari. She showed aptitude for it. I did not examine the memories that we have just shared; I was looking for events that might be related to the current investigation.
You didn’t notice they’d left the quarter?
It was not the first time they left; it was not the last. If you wish, I will show you the others that might fit the profile you are building.
There are more?