Eye of the Comet Read Online Free PDF Page B

the others what he knows, I imagine.”
    “Not at all. He’s in his room, sorry that he caused you pain by his reaction. He’s over the shock and unhappy that he could not console you — so Homesmind tells me. He doesn’t know how to make amends.”
    “I don’t believe you, Etey.”
    “Homesmind will verify what I’ve said — open your link and see for yourself. I think the boy might be happy to get a message from you.”
    “I know what Pilo thinks.”
    Etey sighed. “I know what he is likely to think and what others will think if you go on this way. They’ll begin to believe that you are a savage, a subhuman. You’ll prove it to them. I suppose you must want that. It will certainly make you distinctive. I almost envy you. You can live here, and rail against Home, and be completely free to do whatever you like. No one will ask anything of you, and you’ll owe others nothing. You’ll be our own wild creature. Well, we can hardly blame you, can we? What else can one expect of a girl with such primitive origins?”
    “Go away.”
    “Poor Lydee. I guess that even Homesmind can make a mistake in judgment. It was so sure you could adapt to life here.”
    “It’s easy for you to talk.” Lydee pitched her voice low, trying to show that she could speak calmly. “How would you know what I feel?”
    “Oh, I guess I don’t, not really.” Etey traced a line in the sand. “Right now, I’m thinking of Daiya, the girl who gave you to me. She was about your age at the time. She had to stand up to all her people, at great risk to herself, to try to save Reiho — Reiho as he was then. I’m thinking of him, too. He was the first one of us to communicate with Earth in thousands of years, and he wasn’t much older than you are now.”
    Etey sat up, folding her legs. “Reiho brought Daiya here,” she went on. “Her curiosity had made her an outcast, and he hoped she could have a home here. But she could not adapt to our ways. She asked to go back to Earth, and I went there with her and Reiho. I thought I could help somehow.” She glanced at the lake for a moment. “I was also curious. But I failed Reiho. He died there, and I could do nothing to prevent it. At least I was able to bring him back here, and you were given to me.” She frowned. “I’m thinking of Reiho and Daiya — of their courage. And I’m sorry that you seem to lack it. Perhaps I expected too much.”
    Lydee looked away.
    “That Earthgirl was wild, a girl of strong feelings and intense thoughts. She was your sister — that was what she called it. She wore dirty clothes that hid her body, and I suspect that an occasional insect made a home in her long, tangled hair. With her mental powers, she could fly without one of our belts and could touch the thoughts of others. She could have killed us both, and if Reiho had not been able to break down the wall of fear that first separated them, she would have killed us without a qualm. She was ignorant and superstitious. But she was also brave, and in her own way intelligent. I would have been proud to claim her as one of my people. Of course, she might not have felt the same way about you.”
    Lydee could not speak.
    “You can live here, if you like,” Etey continued. “Homesmind will see to your needs. Of course, Reiho and your friends will be unhappy for a bit, but they have many ways to prevent unhappiness and will soon get over it. In the end, they’ll pity you, as you pity yourself. Think of that. Why, through your link, you might allow their pity to resonate with yours. That would make for a fine wallow, wouldn’t it? Poor thing.”
    “Be quiet!” Lydee stumbled to her feet and strode toward the lake. Her eyes stung. She managed to squeeze out a tear, wiped her face, and stared at her hand, wondering if Earthpeople were able to cry. Perhaps they cried as untrained children did, shaking as they wept.
    She turned around. Etey had summoned a globe and was eating heartily, dipping her fingers