Molly Fyde and the Land of Light

the ground and swung her side to side, feet and tunics waving with delight. Molly squeezed Cole’s hand, recalling the way it had felt to be reunited with him after the Wadi Thooo rite.

Walter stood by the door, hissing at having been stampeded. As soon as the shuttle lurched to a stop, he filed out and hurried toward the ship, waving at Anlyn before disappearing inside. Molly and Cole exited ahead of Dani and waited their turn to greet their friend.

Edison finally set her down, and she turned to face them. She looked… different. All Molly had seen her in was the rags of a slave, Cole’s t-shirts, or one of Walter’s modified flight suits. Here she was, decked out in colorful regalia, her posture erect and proud. She stood beside Edison and commanded attention, despite the difference in size.

Cole stepped forward and gave her a big hug, but Molly saw her looking past him, concentrating on the creature perched on her shoulder.

“So it is true!” Anlyn whispered. She smiled at Cole as she pulled away from him, walking over to Molly with her hand out and shaking. She cooed to the Wadi in her native tongue.

“Hello, Anlyn,” Molly said.

Anlyn broke her pale blue eyes away from the Wadi to meet Molly’s. “I’m so sorry you got mixed up in this,” she said.

Molly put a hand on Anlyn’s arm, squeezing it affectionately. “Don’t be. I’m glad. I’m happy for you and Edison.” She smiled up at him. “I just wish we’d known, so we could’ve helped you.”

“I know,” Anlyn said. “I didn’t plan on… on arriving in a coma. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I… I was fine one minute, and then I just blacked out. I woke up here and—”

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be fine, now. Right?”

Anlyn frowned. “Eventually, perhaps, but not right now. I’ve already heard the reports about the Circle Members and their ambush. The government is going into shock, and rumors are spreading about you and—” she glanced at the Wadi wrapped around Molly’s neck. Its tongue flitted out into the air.

“I haven’t named him, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“It’s a she,” Anlyn said. “If that were a male—” she chuckled in Dani’s fashion, the first time Molly had ever seen her laugh. “—you’d be crushed!”

Dani joined in with her, panting as he came up behind Molly. The spot of levity slightly cracked the dour mood. Molly turned to him, remembered he couldn’t speak English, and looked back to Anlyn. “Can we leave? Is there anything we need to do before we go?”

Anlyn and Dani spoke in Drenard, and the seriousness in her face returned. She turned to Molly. “You can go. Planetary Defense probably wouldn’t attack you right now, even if the Circle demanded it.”

“You? You mean we, right? You’re coming with us. Dani, too.”

Anlyn shook her head. She reached a hand out and grabbed a fold in Edison’s tunic, as if anchoring him in place as well. “I can’t, Molly. I need to stay here. Sorting out the Circle will take time, and I’ll be needed.”

“Oh, my gods, I completely forgot. You are like fourth in line for the throne or something, right?”

Anlyn formed a small circle with her mouth and clucked, shaking her head sadly. “Wrong on two counts, I’m afraid. If I were a male, perhaps. Or if I chose to produce a male—which I will not. And I’m second in line, now. The stir we’ve caused is not just because of your Rite and the Wadi, but the news in the last hour that two of my uncles are dead.”

Molly felt her stomach sink. “Uncles? Oh, gods, Anlyn. I’m so—”

Anlyn waved the thought away with her thin, blue arm. “Don’t be,” she said. “If you will not allow me to apologize for their attempt to kill you, I’ll not hear you explain your self-defense. I heard the wireless report from the guards you stranded, and I know how to translate their lies. I’ve been around Circle members all of my youth, and I am fluent in that language.”

Edison followed up Anlyn’s crushing news with another emotional blow: “My proximity to Anlyn will remain decreased,” he told Molly.

And she understood. All too clearly.

Stepping forward, she pressed herself into his tunic, her friend’s paws wrapping around her back. Molly remembered the last time they’d held each other like that, just a few weeks ago. Edison had asked to join her crew aboard Parsona—and now he was leaving.

She felt the Wadi move from her shoulders and attach itself to Edison. Pulling away, she wiped her cheeks and laughed as the colorful creature scampered to the top of Edison’s head. It swung its neck back and forth, as if taking in the commanding view.

“Ascertain its function,” Edison pleaded, his hands comically frozen halfway to his head.

Cole laughed. “I think it just laid claim to you, pal.” He reached up and coaxed the Wadi down to Edison’s shoulder. “Now do me a favor and hold off on the wedding for a week or so. As soon as we figure out what’s going on with Molly’s parents, I’m coming back to be your best man.”

Edison cocked his head at the expression. “Best by what metric?”

Anlyn patted him. “I’ll explain later.” She started to say something to Cole, then stopped. Instead, she embraced him, and Molly could hear her sweet whisper: “Take care of Molly.”

“I will,” said Cole. “And you take care of Edison.”

The Wadi leapt back to Molly’s shoulders, the movement hardly startling for once. Anlyn turned back to the creature, her eyes lit up. She seemed mesmerized by the sight of the living, docile Wadi.

“Be very careful with her,” she advised.

The tone suggested a responsibility Molly wasn’t sure she wanted to bear.

“Should I leave her with you?” she asked. “How will she survive if we pull Gs or lose cabin pressure? I should leave her here with you, shouldn’t I?”

Anlyn shook her head. “I don’t think you could if you wanted to. You’re bonded, the two of you. Besides, the Gs shouldn’t be a problem, but atmosphere might. She can crawl in my old suit if she just needs some air to breathe. Either way, trust me, she’s less safe here right now.”

Molly nodded. “I wish you didn’t have to stay.”

“I know. Me, too. But there’s something bigger going on than any of us. Something that involves trillions of lives and thousands of galaxies. I thought I could run away from that, avoid duty and take care of myself, but I was wrong. In fact, I was wrong to want to.”

“I don’t understan—”

“It’s okay. Your mother does. She’s been through this before and can explain a lot. I’ve given her permission.”

“My mother? What have you two been—?” She didn’t know how to finish the question.

“She and I have spent most of the last two days together. Talking. I had some Defense Port engineers make a few changes that helped us out, and they should serve you as well. But I’ll let her tell you about them.”

Molly felt a tinge of jealousy, betrayal even, with the passing of secrets, the idea that someone else knew her mother more intimately than she. An alien, no less. She fought these negative emotions down, comforting herself with the knowledge that her mother had company the past few days and had stayed abreast of events.

Anlyn reached out and squeezed Molly’s arm. “Thank you for setting me free,” she said.

Molly felt the tears welling up in her eyes, her heart racing and empty. She leaned in to hug Anlyn.

“Thank you for saving my life,” she told her friend.

••••

Molly and Cole watched the cargo door close on the three friends they were leaving behind. Walter stomped around behind them, opening cubbies and storing away the food and supplies that had been loaded into the ship. He had already changed into his flightsuit, and after the door sealed, Molly and Cole moved off to don theirs.

In her room, Molly shrugged off her filthy tunics and suited up, expecting the worst. The Wadi sat on her dresser and looked at the mirror, bobbing its head up and down while she changed. She laughed, wondering what the creature thought of its reflection.

Scooping the Wadi up, she left her room and heard Cole in the lazarette cycling up the thrusters. Making her way to the cockpit, she performed a quick systems check. Everything looked good. She wondered about radioing for clearance, but wasn’t sure how to communicate with the tower. As soon as Cole returned and gave her a thumbs- up, she lifted off the tarmac and arced away from the band of buildings ringing the planet.