Read Online The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe by Jon Chaisson - Free Book Online

attack. It felt planned. Maybe not
to lure Caren and myself, but any Mendaihu in the area.”
    Kai frowned at him. “That's not why you're
upset, though, is it?”
    He shrugged an admission. “It's a bunch of
things, Kai. A lot of it didn't sit right with me at all.”
    “Anything in particular?” she prodded,
squirming in her seat. One of his moods was about to turn again and
she waited for it patiently. He felt guilty for subjecting anyone
to these fits of anger, but Kai seemed to understand that she
should not take it personally, soothing him rather than reacting
with equal animosity.
    “I’m worried about Caren,” he said. “I know
she's cho-nyhndah, and a stronger one than she lets on. But in all
the years I’ve known her, I've never seen her react to a situation
with such…I don’t know. Violence? It just…it seemed so unlike
her.”
    “She was protecting edha Milainikos.”
    “I believe that Caren acted in the right,” he
said. “The man was attacked by a Shenaihu nuhm'ndah. She played by
ARU rules and came to his defense by whatever means possible. I
wouldn't have used as much force, but she did the job expected of
her.”
    “So what's the problem?” she asked.
    He grumbled and looked away, taking another
drag form his cigarette. “The problem is that Caren took the whole
thing personally,” he said. “Gordan invoked the name of the One,
and she responded in the only way she knows how. She's as much a
cho-nyhndah as I am...” He stopped short. No, that couldn’t have
been it. There was something more, but he just couldn’t grasp it.
He’d heard the man’s words just as she had, and it had nothing to
do with Denni. It wasn’t the Shenaihu side of her kicking in. It
was something else. Instinct? “I really don't know, Kai. Something
is off and it’s bugging the hell out of me because I can’t place
what it is.”
    “Alec...” she called, her voice soft and
warm. “Don't pressure yourself into worrying about her. She's still
learning to accept her Awakening, just as you are.”
    “But I fucking hate it!” he growled,
slamming his fist down on the armrest of the couch. “Pashyo, I hate
these damned mood swings! All they do is cloud everything up, and
I…” He hit the armrest again and shook his head, cursing at himself Calm yourself, Alix. Don’t let this get out of hand. He took
yet another slow breath and got himself under control.
“Nyhnd’aladh, Kai. I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
    Kai leaned in closer. “Is it really that
bad?” she whispered.
    “That's the thing, Kai. It isn't bad at all.
It's not debilitating, and I can easily keep it under control. It’s
just irritating and embarrassing. I hate it when it slips out. And
getting back to the subject — maybe I’m just too paranoid. Maybe
it's because Caren seems to have completely discarded all the
neuroses she's had over the last five years, and I'm not used to
the change. You work that close with someone for that long, you get
to know their reactions and their quirks. Caren’s change has been —
well, not unsettling, just unexpected.”
    Kai understood. She’d been working with her
brother for almost her whole life. “She's not ignoring everything
else in the process, is she?”
    “No,” he said, and let out a short laugh. “As
a matter of fact, she's been more connected to the outside than
ever. It's weird, seeing her interact with so many people in a
positive way, after five years of wanting to get the hell out of
the Sprawl.”
    Kai nodded. “Perhaps she's connected with her
True Self, Alec.”
    “I still worry about her,” he said. He paused
again, this time a little longer.
    This was that special pause, where she
listened to him, whether he spoke or not. Their souls were now
interconnected, Love and Light entwining, even at such a distance.
She didn’t say anything, but only watched him. This was the point
of the conversation where they didn't have to speak. It wasn’t the
physical link he wanted