Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The pair walked in silence a little while, exiting the structure and into the fresh air of one of the larger interior courtyard’s garden paths.
Ella was surprised just how comfortable it was being with him like this, quiet yet without the need for constant chatter.
So many would fill a void with empty words, uneasy with silence.
Not so, this one. Draikis was many things, and comfortable in his own skin was certainly one of them.
It was an interesting contrast to the other brothers in his order.
Her presence flustered them, obviously, but Draikis had stood out from the beginning.
Even from the earliest days he had treated her well and without the obvious distraction of the others, so it clearly wasn’t the friendship they had forged that was the difference.
He was just wired differently than them, it seemed, and she was quite glad for it.
“Over here,” he suggested, leading her to a bench beneath a fuchsia-leaved tree, its colors illuminated by the sun’s glowing rays.
He handed her plate to Ella as they sat. She tucked in and was several mouthfuls into her meal before she spoke.
“Thanks for that.”
“Of course. I’m sorry for that back there. They have a lot to learn in the ways of courtesy.”
“I’m not supposed to be in there. You guys have rules, I get it.”
“But exceptions are acceptable, especially given your arrival within our walls. For an outsider to just walk in is one thing, naturally, and their reactions would have clear merit. For you, however, some considerations should have been made.”
“And Totaxxis just doesn’t like me.”
“I’d argue he is just being protective of the order’s ways, but I can’t disagree with your observation.”
“He’s kind of a dick.”
Draikis laughed. “Yes, I suppose you could say that, if my translation rune understood that correctly.”
“I’m sure it did,” she replied with an amused gleam in her eyes. “Still, I worry I’m stepping on toes here.”
“At times,” he said with a chuckle. “But it is to be expected.”
“Still, I’d rather avoid the unpleasantness if I can. You know, it’s just—” She fell silent, the quiet at the sight of Elder Soparo’s form coming into view, strolling the paths after his own meal.
Draikis nodded to the older man, his course shifting in response, walking until he stood over the pair seated on the bench.
“Draikis. Ella,” he said with a somewhat cool tone.
“Elder Soparo,” Draikis replied with a little bow of his head. “Apologies for the disturbance. It will not happen again.”
“It had best not,” he said, replying to the man but his eyes falling on the woman, his demeanor a bit more icy than normal. “We do not need this sort of conflict within our ranks.”
Ella’s cheeks flushed. “Look, I’m really sorry about that. I just didn’t know.”
“There appears to be a great deal you do not know,” he replied with cold politeness in his voice.
Ella ignored his tone as best she could. She was the interloper here, after all, and though she didn’t mean to cause any problems, she was doing so regardless. And that made the elder’s life more difficult.
“There are just so many rules I don’t know.”
He shook his head. “As I said, one must inform themself. Make an effort.”
“But how?”
“Ask the right questions, for one. Draikis here will surely be glad to teach you.”
“But what about the things I don’t even know I need to ask?”
The old man didn’t exactly smile, but his dour expression did seem to soften slightly. Slightly.
“If you truly want to learn, then you must do as those before you have done. You study. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to attend to.”
With that he gave a little nod to them both and walked off, leaving Ella in surprised silence. She turned to Draikis, the gears in her mind already spinning at speed.
“Hang on, did he mean I’m allowed to actually read your rule books? I asked, but Totaxxis cut me off.”
“It would appear that way. Most unusual. Outsiders are not normally granted access to the archives.”
“But I can, right? You heard him.”
“I did. And Elder Soparo’s word is enough.”
Ella’s heart beat a little faster. “When can we go? Can we go now?”
Draikis chuckled, nodding his affirmation. “Finish your meal first. We are in no rush.”
She dug right in despite his words and food met mouth at a rapid rate, the inspired woman devouring the rest of her meal in a hurry. He might not have been in a rush, but she felt a sense of excited urgency fill her at the possibilities that now spread before her.
“Okay, done! Can we go now?”
His full lips curled into an amused smile. “Yes, of course. Come with me.”
They walked side-by-side, drawn to one another without realizing it as they headed to the archives.
Only when she felt his hot arm brush against hers did Ella really note their proximity.
And Draikis, for all his stoic behavior, seemed a bit flustered by it as well, his cheeks darkening slightly at the realization.
A twinge in Ella’s chest flared, her body experiencing a brief charge of static-like electricity. She glanced at the hot priest at her side, wondering if he felt it too.
“We’re here,” he said a moment later as the building came into view. “Follow my lead.”
In they walked, greeted by the archivist looking through a few texts at a table near the entry. He looked up at the visitors, eyes widening at the sight of the woman in their midst.
“What can I do for you, Brother?” he asked, confused by both the hour of his visit as well as his companion.
“Elder Soparo suggested our guest familiarize herself with our texts,” he replied, putting special emphasis on their leader’s name to eliminate any possible push-back. “I know the way. No need for you to cease your work.”
The man seemed a mix of flustered emotions and confusion, but he knew better than to go against the elder’s wishes. “Of course. Please, do not hesitate to ask if you are in need of anything.”
“I’m sure we will be fine, but thank you,” Draikis said, taking Ella’s hand and leading her past the gatekeeper. “Come, Ella. I will give you a brief tour before you decide where you would like to begin your studies.”
The archivist noted the contact between the priest and the outsider woman with surprise but didn’t comment. Whatever was happening, the elder had directed them here, and he was not about to open that can of worms.
Draikis led his guest deep into the structure, passing digital terminals used to study the rules and laws, vast rooms full of original artwork depicting all manner of events in the Dotharian Conglomerate’s history as well as that of the order, and interactive study halls with impressive projected immersive stories of worlds across the systems.
But it was a decorative scroll mounted in a protective stasis field hanging on the wall of a smaller, secluded room that caught her eye.
“What does that mean? ‘From the far the near is understood’?” she asked.
Draikis’s eyes widened. “You can read that?”
“Yeah. Why? Am I not supposed to? I thought my translation runes were supposed to be healed.”
“They are. But that is an ancient tongue, and those older dialects are often difficult, if not impossible to read. Not even our archivist can translate with ease. And yet somehow you seem to be able to do what he cannot.”
“I’m just reading what it says.”
“It would seem so. Fascinating. I’ve heard of the occasional quirk of physiology from a few rare races whose particular genetic structure gifts them the ability to do precisely this. To translate these ancient tongues. But I have never seen it personally, nor did I believe I ever would.”
“So, you’re saying I’m a freak?”
“You are an anomaly, for certain, but I don’t know that I’d put it quite like that.”
Ella leaned in close, an electric shock of something between them sparking as she brushed against him. She did her best to push the delightful sensation aside, at least for the moment.
“Suuuure, buddy. You are saying I’m a freak,” she countered with a grin. “And apparently I can read stuff you can’t because I’m awesome.”
“I suppose you are,” he said with a grin and a little shrug, almost as if indifferent.
She could tell he wasn’t though. In fact, he seemed anything but. A wave of heat abruptly radiated from him as he watched her perform her translation trick with an impressed look, and a whiff of his sweet and spicy male scent hit her sinuses hard.
Did he always smell like that before? she wondered, her body reacting with a surge of its own, an unexpected heat flaring in her belly. She glanced down and noticed a slight movement within his trousers. Not an erection, but the beautiful beast hanging there seemed to no longer be entirely dormant.
Draikis moved back, stepping to a table upon which a large format and very old book rested, open to an ornately drawn page.
It was bigger than a coffee-table book in length and width, but it was not terribly thick.
Apparently, the ancients had simply written in large script but hadn’t yet fleshed out their rules to the vast set of standards the disciples now abided by.
“Hey, I can read that too!” Ella realized, though the text was obviously a different and even older script.
“You can?” he asked, truly surprised. “This is one of the earliest translations of the four original texts to the common tongue of the day. These are the foundation of all that came after. The laws upon which our entire society was built. Even the most skilled among us has an incredibly hard time with them, though we are all tasked with the attempt when we enter the brotherhood.”
“Is it okay to touch them like that?”
“Do not worry. We have long ago affixed a protective nano-film to the pages of the delicate ones, keeping all oils, dirt, and other contaminants from damaging them. The ancient texts are quite safe.”
“And you’re sure I’m allowed to read them?”
“While Elder Soparo did not expressly say you could or could not, he did seem quite open to your studying whatever you could. So, with that in mind, I would argue that yes, you are welcome to study them if you so desire, though the concepts are likely outdated.”
“But also the foundations you built on, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Then I’d like to start with these. I can always expand out from there, but it seems like the logical place to start.”
“Are you sure? These are quite difficult.”
“But they’re the heart of the system, and the best way to learn to fit in. Something I’m afraid I haven’t been doing the best job of so far.”
“Through no fault of your own. You just need to learn, is all.”
“Exactly. So, when am I allowed to come here to study?”
“Whenever you wish. The archives are open to all at any time of the day, though the archivist may not be present in the later hours.”
Ella felt a surge of excitement rush through her.
She was not only going to learn about the rules of this world, but she was doing so from the actual historical texts themselves.
Or, at least ancient copies of them. The thought of it gave her goosebumps, her nipples hardening beneath her top in a delightful way.
She felt a twinge in her chest, the new pigment tugging oddly in the direction of her priestly chaperone.
Ella turned and just for a second caught his eyes lingering on her chest, his trouser snake shifting once again, a look of confused desire briefly flashing across his face.
Draikis looked up, his eyes meeting hers, something electric passing between them, unspoken but clear to both.
His look shifted to embarrassment as he stepped back, a slight blush growing, accentuating his delicious cheekbones.
“Uh, I should be getting back. I’ll leave you to your studies,” he stammered, heading for the exit.
“See you tomorrow?”
He paused, turning back with a look of mixed desire and confusion so intense it made her want to run to him and kiss him so hard his heart might explode from the intensity. Somehow, she refrained, but only just.
“Yes, of course. I have the morning breaking of bread that accompanies the new lunar cycle to attend, but after that.”
“Can I come? I’d like to see that. If I’m allowed, of course.”
His silver eyes flashed, his pulse visible hard in his neck. “It is not like the dining hall. There are no restrictions on who may come,” he managed, then gave a little bow and spun on his heal, heading out in a hurry.
Ella watched him go, admiring his masculine lines through his clothes with a newfound and increasing appreciation.
Damn. What was that? she wondered.
As she turned her distracted attention back to the ancient texts, the question slowly faded, but not entirely. And it would linger there longing for an answer. An answer that would come soon enough.