S'samph hurried to dress for the weather outside, the suns were at the peak of their scorch cycle right before they retreated in favor of the torrential rains to come. Even his tough skin was apt to burn without proper protection. He layered on a loose-fitting pale beige outfit and then rushed out into the sun-high heat. First, he stopped at S’kasia’s home. Ever since Eleri had found out about his clutch sister’s predicament, she’d been stopping by most days either before or after visiting him. S’kasia had made unprecedented progress with Eleri’s visits. She’d moved the clutch of dead eggs out of her sleeping quarters and had started talking about having a proper set of rites for them to send them back into the cycle of rebirth.
S'samph pushed open the door to his clutch-sister’s nest without knocking and found her on her datapad. “I’m going to spend my time with Eleri at the clinic until she is ready to join me in my nest.”
“Good. If you had listened to me, she would already be living in your nest. But I am glad you finally came to your senses,” S’kasia flicked her wrist, and a holo flashed to life over the screen. S’samph moved closer to get a better look.
“Is that T’salya?” He asked as he recognized the familiar face of one of his clutch-sister’s fellow warrior priestesses. The three of them had grown up together on the training grounds of the Goddess’s temple.
“She is alive.” S’kasia placed a single fingertip on the forehead of the image. “All this time she’s been alive and living in Abwele.I just never dared to search before.”
“Will you go meet her?”
“Yes. After the rains.” S’kasia met his eye and lifted her chin to reveal her throat in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability. “Your mate recommended I search out my sisters in flame. She is wise and far braver than I gave credit for. I was too afraid to do it without her help.”
“Eleri is more than any of us deserve.” S’samph lifted his frill. “So I must become a male worthy of her affections.”
S’kasia’s tail flicked with amusement. “Tell me I chose well, clutch-brother.”
S’samph’s frill rippled with humor and annoyance. “Do I need to say it?”
“Say it.”
“You chose well, S’kasia.”
“Of course, I did.”
“My mate will be waiting for me. But I came to ask you about our egg mother’s mating bands.”
“I have preserved them for you. We can have them sized for Eleri whenever you wish.”
“Thank you.” He left his sister with the holo of T’salya and rode toward the clinic, contemplating the best way to ask Eleri about their mating ceremony. Blue dust heaved up around his face. It was the driest part of the season, so although he wasn’t looking forward to the impending several weeks of rain, he knew they would be beneficial. If all went to plan, Eleri would be happily mated to him, and they could spend the dreary wet days establishing their bond inside their shared nest.
He was halfway to the clinic when another levibike pulled up alongside his. K’kaen lifted the screen of his dust visor, and S’samph took that as a sign for him to pull off the track.
“What is so important it can’t wait for us to get to the town?” He asked.
“Eleri is missing. There’ve been raviks spotted out near the river. Pyo is rallying everyone with any weapon proficiency. Are you coming?”
“What do you mean Eleri is missing? You were supposed to be watching her!” S’samph kept his own dust visor firmly in place, but despite the heat of the day, he couldn’t ignore the coldness spreading through his limbs. “She isn’t at her appointment?”
“No. She never arrived.”
“She’s not at the clinic?”
“The clinic? She left the clinic. She was supposed to be waiting at the levibike charging station for me to give her a ride to her appointment.”
S’samph steeled himself, trying to avoid acting rashly even though his tail lashed with anxiety and anger. “We will go to the clinic first and see if she went back. If she isn’t there, then we will go to join the others at the canal. And once she is accounted for, you and I will be having words.” He flared his frill at K’kaen as he pressed the ignition and sped toward town. When they arrived, K’kaen remained on his levibike.
“If Eleri is in trouble, it makes no sense for us to stay together. You check the clinic, and will I start searching for her near the canal.”
“She had better be safe.”
“Eleri is my sister. If she isn’t safe, we will raze the planet to find her.”
“I expect no less.” S'samph held his breath steady as he ascended the ramp leading to the clinic. One of Eleri’s changes. There used to be stairs, but she had pushed for a ramp to be built for better accessibility. A rush of cold air greeted him as he entered.
“Eleri?” He called through the empty atrium. It was past morning clinic hours, but she was usually here in the brutal afternoon heat, doing paperwork or programming the pharmacy unit if there wasn’t an urgent need to visit a patient. No one answered. Maybe she was asleep. It would be the first time she had slept through an alarm. S’samph hurried upstairs, uninvited and rapped on the door of her sleeping room. There was no response from inside her sleeping room. S’samph knocked again, pounding harder on the door this time.
“Eleri. If you are there, you must answer me.”
