Tanil

By Rachel Gay

Aito's first few moments in the country of Tanil are far from great. She's mistaken for a thief, gets chased by a wolf guy, and finds out that she's the only human in the world. It's all a bit much to take in, but she has Cain, a "seran" with the ability to create illusions that can't stop lying, to help her. Aito's just not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Tracking down a thief, being pushed back and forth between this world and her own, trying to keep a grip on reality... With all of this, at least Aito doesn't have to worry about being bored anymore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rachel Gay
• Release date: Jun 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458035707

Rachel Gay

Rachel Gay is an Alabama native living in New York (the state, not the city), an avid reader, and a bit of a nerd who is fascinated by anything and everything. Her work includes Tanil and its sequels Correst and Rorin, as well as the web serial The Last Inn.

Book preview

TANIL

By Rachel Gay

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Rachel Gay

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

Chapter 1: Of Books, Thieves, and Wings

Chapter 2: Of Humans, Serans, and Angry Monkeys

Chapter 3: Of Time, Porcupine Hair, and Nash

Chapter 4: Of Biting, Races, and Small Talk

Chapter 5: Of Names, Heatless Flames, and Kickball

Chapter 6: Of Cooking, Farrhing, and Rokir

Chapter 7: Of Leonidas, Doors, and the Cat’s Meow

Chapter 8: Of Dismas, Chases, and Helpful Strangers

Chapter 9: Of Rumors, Uniforms, and Dirty Tricks

Chapter 10: Of Belief, Broken Umbrellas, and Dangerous Gardens

Chapter 11: Of a King, Nicknames, and Bribery with Food

Chapter 12: Of Bane, Juice Explosions, and Clothes with Character

Chapter 13: Of Arguments, Dolls, and Seeds

Chapter 14: Of Disturbing Sympathy, Kato, and the Professor

Chapter 15: Of Escape, the Mailin’s Camp, and Aegle

Chapter 16: Of Illusion, Abilities, and Seran Stones

Chapter 17: Of Angel, Mouse, and the Tree

Chapter 1: Of Books, Thieves, and Wings

Aito hated, hated when it rained on the weekend. It was a Sunday afternoon, but the sun in Sunday seemed to be gone. She woke up that morning to a gray, drizzly sky common to this time of year, but instead of clearing up it just got worse. The rain poured down harder than ever and made a clamor on the roof and the trees in the yard added to the sound whenever they moved from the strong winds.

The newest roll of thunder made her jump as she made a fourteenth circuit around the house. With the cable out and her dad at work, she couldn’t distract herself from the bad weather. The lights flickered once or twice with each burst of lightning and Aito started to get nervous. Why is it that there was always a flashlight around except when she needed it?

The lights held on though, and boredom set her to find something to do. There were the video games she had played through so many times before. There were playing cards, jigsaw puzzles, and homework to do, but she would rather go mad with boredom first. Maybe she had a little too much free time on her hands. Being an only child with just the occasional appearance from her workaholic dad put a limit on her options sometimes.

Sighing, Aito trekked up the stairs and paused outside of her dad’s room. With exaggerated caution, she pushed open the door and looked around inside. Her father’s room always felt off-limits when he wasn’t there. Today, shadows jerked around the room as the branches outside the window shook and rattled against the glass, and even when she turned on the light it did not look much better.

Aito stepped inside and looked around while trying to get rid of the desire to turn and run out. Tucked away in the corner beside the dresser stood Dad’s ancient bookcase. There had to be a good read somewhere on that old relic, she thought. Her dad used to read all the time. Every night he would pull a book off one of the shelves, but now they were all covered in dust thick enough to write in.

Aito started running her finger along the spines of each one, reading the titles as she went. Medical book, medical book, medical book, wow, she couldn’t even pronounce the title of that one. Science fiction books packed the next shelf up, but Aito’s attention went instead to the picture sitting on the middle of the shelf. Reaching up, she pulled down the old photograph and looked at it intently. It was one of her mom and dad, an old one from before she was even born. Her mom still had her long, beautiful hair that draped around her flushed face while her dad’s hair was lighter and even more untidy than usual. He wore the same dorky glasses then that he wore now, the kind that never stayed up on his face like they’re supposed to. Aito grinned back at their laughing faces and reached to put the picture back on the shelf when she noticed a book that had been hiding behind it.

This one had no title on the spine, so she pulled it off the shelf to look at it better. The book looked old, older than any of the others on the bookcase. The cover was worn, and once silver letters had faded so much that she could barely make out the one word on the cover: Tanil.

Aito opened the book. It had no title page, no page with the copyright or any of that other stuff. What looked like the dedication page said simply, Welcome, reader, to Tanil. I hope you have a journey you won’t soon forget.

Aito blinked and then laughed. A bit melodramatic, but it should be a good read. It had piqued her interest at least. She turned to leave, at the same time flipping to the next page. A powerful gust of wind struck the house and the lights danced before going out. In the same moment, Aito felt as though the wind was inside of the house, pulling her, pushing her forward. She stumbled in the dark and managed to keep a tight hold of the book as her knees hit a cold floor that definitely did not belong in her dad’s room.

Before her eyes could even adjust to the darkness, a wailing siren went off all around her. Far away she could hear shouting and the sounds of many people running around. Panic swept over Aito. Where on Earth was she?

Aito started to gather the courage she needed to stand up when she heard voices, closer now. A male voice rang out, quiet but clear. Something about that cold voice made her want to hide, but she could only make out dim shapes in the dark and was too afraid to move.

Calm down already! Rokir, what’s set off the alarm?

A second voice answered, A painting was stolen on this floor. At least, that’s all we know that’s missing, since someone cut the lights. Aegle’s trying to get them fixed now, but until then the thief could be anywhere. As far as we know they haven’t gotten out yet, but…

The first person groaned. Aito saw a light move not far away, which looked like the light from a flashlight. The beam moved slowly and seemed to be in an adjoining hallway. Whatever room Aito was in seemed huge by the way the light stretched a long way before hitting the next wall. Several times the light glanced off several glass cases, the sort put on pedestals in museums.

Aito bit her lip, hoping to wake up. How could she be in a place like this? She’d just been in her dad’s room a minute ago, and now, without any sort of warning, she was in some weird museum with guards and thieves running around. Aito moved and accidentally rammed her elbow into the pedestal behind her. She almost cried out from the pain, but stopped herself when a ray of light caught the case on the pedestal and mercifully missed her. Someone must have heard the noise, but the owner of the light cried out instead.

Cain! The book is missing too!

Book? Aito looked down at the book from her dad’s room. Somehow, she didn’t like where this was going. The footsteps grew closer and Aito forced herself into a sort of crouched position. She needed to hide, and fast.

The flashlight provided enough indirect light for Aito to see a little in each direction, but not far. A couple of feet away another row of those glass cases and pedestals ran parallel to those behind her. To the left the rows stretched on into the darkness, but to her right she could make out the dim form of some sort of statue. She started creeping toward it, with her dad’s book in hand, and managed to slip around to the other side of the statue just before the person reached her row. She heard the person curse and recognized him as the first speaker. At the same time, dim lights came on across the building.

The emergency lights…Figures Aegle would take his sweet time with it.

Aito peeked around the statue and saw the speaker standing a couple of feet away with his back to her. Very tall, he had clean-cut black hair and wore a weird uniform that confirmed the museum idea. He stood in just one of the many rows of glass cases filled with strange stuff that made up the typical museum catalog, like bones and old jars they called artifacts. The man examined one of the cases with obvious care. The glass didn’t seem to be broken or open, but it looked empty.

She leaned forward to get a better look, putting her hand on the statue as she did so, and paused. For a statue, this thing looked pretty weird. Her hand rested on what seemed to be a tail, and as her gaze traveled up she saw that the statue resembled some sort of dog or wolf standing on its hind legs. It even wore clothes like a human. How strange. Maybe it was from some old legend? It looked like the werewolf Aito had seen in a movie once, late at night, except this one didn’t seem likely to give her as many nightmares.

Oi, Cain! The shout broke through Aito’s thoughts and she moved closer to the huge dog-statue as the guard turned to meet the speaker. She couldn’t hear what the two were saying so she looked around the statue, leaning dangerously close to being seen just to make sure they weren’t pointing in her direction.

Aito let out a little gasp when she saw the other person. He looked just like the statue! Well, except for the fact that he wasn’t made from stone, of course. Plus, with his gray and white fur and sharp, pointed features, he looked more like a wolf than a dog.

The wolf guy’s ears twitched. Just as the word busted crossed Aito’s mind, a hand clamped across her mouth and someone jerked her back behind the statue.

Did you hear something?

No. Why, did you?

Aito heard someone walking towards the statue, and whoever had their hand over her mouth stiffened. She looked around and up to see a guy with long white hair that almost seemed to glow in the semi-darkness, even though he couldn’t be that old. A strap over his shoulder held a tube in place on his back, and if Aito had to guess she’d probably say she just found that painting everyone was looking for. By the way he looked at the book in her hands, and then back at her, she thought he had the same idea. The footsteps stopped at the statue and both thieves turned pale. Well, one thief and one kid in the wrong place at the wrong time to be holding a book.

The thief leaned down and half-whispered in a surprisingly calm, quiet voice, I think now might be a good time to run.

You think? Aito shot back as the wolf guy dove around the statue and just missed the thief, who dodged and took off running with Aito on his heels. She had no idea why she followed him; maybe just because he had some notion as to which way to go. She knew she should just stop and explain everything to the guards, and yet…She hadn’t done anything wrong, but something told her that would be hard to explain. She didn’t even know where she was, much less how she even got there without leaving her house. Also, to tell the truth, the wolf guy chasing after them didn’t give her much incentive to stop now.

Hey, kid.

What? asked Aito. Her lungs already burned even though they hadn’t been running for long.

Up ahead, go left. Down the stairs, follow the hall, and you’re out. The thief bounded just ahead of her with little effort, and she felt that he wasn’t going nearly as fast as he could have been.

Why are you telling me this? Aren’t you going that way too? She couldn’t help but to be a little suspicious when she could hear the guards closing in behind them. The thief shook his head and pointed straight ahead, toward the window. Before she even had the chance to question his sanity, they came to the turn he told her about. Aito darted to the left, leaving the thief to keep going with the wolf guard hot on his tail. Without realizing it, she slowed to a stop and watched.

The thief neared the window and slowed only to knock the latch open. It was all the time Wolf Boy needed to catch up. The wolf guard grabbed the thief and jerked him to a stop. The thief struggled, although Aito didn’t see the point. He couldn’t really get out the window, and he was just too small to overpower the burly guard.

The wolf guard growled. Just give—Oof! He grunted as he was knocked away by a pair of—whoa. Aito’s jaw dropped in amazement as a pair of wings as white as his hair erupted from the thief’s back and caught the guard full in the face. No wonder he went for the window.

Oh my, a gaillos. Didn’t see that coming. The voice came from above Aito, and with a dawning sense of apprehension she looked up. The black-haired guard leaned against a nearby glass case, his dark eyes taking in the action. Aito slowly began to creep toward the stairs with the faint hope he hadn’t noticed her.

Just where do you think you are going, little mouse?

Aito froze. So much for that. She slowly stood up with her eyes riveted on the guard, and tried hard to remain calm.

Eh heh…Look, I can explain, Aito started. One of the guard’s eyebrows arched, in that way adults do when they already have their minds made up. Aito stuttered for a second, her mind numb, and then took off for the stairs. The guard had such a look of surprise on his face before he followed that the thief laughed from his vantage point in the window.

Easy for him, he has wings, Aito thought. The thief took his leave just as the wolf guard dove at him. A mighty groan erupted from the guard when he missed and hit the windowsill instead.

Uhrg… He slowly staggered to his feet and his humiliation deepened when he saw the thief was already out of sight and far out of reach. Meanwhile, the wolf guard’s partner held a struggling Aito by the wrist, having caught her before she even reached the stairs. She really wished she could run faster.

Let me go! I didn’t do anything wrong! Aito struggled and tried to pull out of the guard’s steel-like grip without losing her hand in the process.

Oh, sure, the guard scoffed, pulling the book out of Aito’s tight hold on it. You just happened to find this lying around, did you? Let me guess, you were running with that other thief for the exercise.

Paws off! That’s my dad’s book, not yours! I got it from his room, I didn’t steal it! Well, technically she didn’t ask permission to borrow it, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. She tried to grab the book, but he pulled it just above her reach and she said, Honest! I only ran because I was scared!

Just between you and me, admitting you’re scared in the position you’re in? Bad move. If you really haven’t done anything wrong, what could you possibly be scared of here?

The guard pulled Aito along behind him as he went back toward the window. She tried digging her feet into the floor, but since she hadn’t been wearing shoes before she got here—well, it’s hard to put up much of a resistance in socks.

Aito’s eyes widened with fear as the wolfish guard stood up to meet them and she moved behind her guard as she answered, "Well, him for one thing."

The guard’s eyebrow arched again and he looked around as if to see whether she might be talking about someone else. Rokir? You can’t be serious. You’d be better off afraid of me than of that harmless tyrok.

Rokir looked deeply offended by that remark. Harmless? Hardly! He puffed his chest out in an attempt to look bigger.

Nice talk. By the by, where is that gaillos you said you’d take care of?

Rokir deflated and scuffed his foot along the ground. To turn attention away from himself, he looked at Aito and then back at her guard and asked, So what are we going to do now, Cain? After all that, we’ve lost a painting and caught a little kid.

Go get the others and we’ll meet up at the dean’s office, Cain said, his voice adopting a harsh tone at the mention of the dean. I’ll ask our little mouse thief some questions and then we’ll meet you there.

Rokir nodded and went down the stairs, leaving Aito alone with Cain.

Contents

Chapter 2: Of Humans, Serans, and Angry Monkeys

Aito could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when Rokir walked out. Not that it changed her current situation much, as she realized when Cain released his grip on her wrist. She rubbed the circulation back into it and watched as he crossed his arms and looked her over. The height difference made him all the more intimidating, considering she came up a little higher than his waist. He gave her a cold look and mumbled, What are you?

Huh? Aito did not catch what he said.

Do you have a name, or should I just keep calling you ‘little mouse?’ Cain asked with a hint of a grin, as if he just told a joke. Aito failed to laugh.

Everyone calls me Aito. I’m telling you, I didn’t steal anything!

Aito? That’s a silly name, Cain replied in a matter of fact tone, not seeming to notice or care about her reaction. Tell me, what’s the gaillos’s name?

Gaillos? Aito said the odd word with a bit of difficulty. What, you mean that thief with the white wings? I didn’t get a chance to ask while we were running, sorry. Her ears turned red as she realized how rude what she just said sounded, but Cain didn’t say anything about it; instead, he gave her a strange look with his cold eyes.

You don’t know what a gaillos is?

Aito shook her head and he asked, Tyrok? Verkoni? Mailin? Aponé? Korin? Are any of those familiar?

With each name Aito shook her head and wondered if he tried to make her feel stupid, or if it just came naturally. On the other hand, Cain sounded interested for the first time so far. He leaned down so that he and Aito were face to face, and his eyes seemed to glow in the half-light.

Do you know what the Seranu are?

Aito reached the end of her patience and shouted, No! I don’t know what any of these things are! Are you happy?

Cain didn’t just look happy, he looked exuberant. That is, to anyone who knew him well enough. To Aito he appeared to be just as cold as before.

Not that he stopped his questioning. Those are the seven races of Tanil. So then…What are you?

What are you talking about?

"What are you?"

Aito had no idea what in the world Cain meant. His stare made her feel uneasy too, making it even harder to think. Um…well, I’m from—

"No, I don’t want to know where you’re from, I want to know what you are. Cain noticed the blank look plastered on her face and tried to explain with, Okay, simpler question: What do you call your people?"

I’d call them human, what else? Aito answered as the nature of his questions started to dawn on her. What was he talking about? Tanil was the name of that book in his hand, but he spoke as if it were a place. And what was with this race talk? What did he take her for, some kind of idiot? The thought struck her that he might actually be serious. After all, he worked with a guy that looked like a wolf, and he hadn’t even batted an eye when that thief sprouted wings.

A strange look flitted across Cain’s face before he could stop it and Aito got a bad feeling. Wait…Aren’t you a human too? She thought she already knew the answer, but she had to ask now.

No, I’m not. In this world, I am what is called a seran.

Aito felt her heart thump. A seran? If that gaillos or whatever he called that thief sprouted wings, what could this guy do? Considering the cold, hungry look he had to him, she wished she could have gone with that wolf guard, Rokir. Well, almost.

This world? she asked, trying not to think too much about it.

Well, considering the fact that humans are only heard of in legends and old wives’ tales…After all, there are no humans in Tanil, nor in any other country that I’ve heard of, and I doubt one would suddenly find itself in Duna by coincidence. The only logical assumption would be to assume that you’re from another world. He spoke slowly and as Aito caught every word he watched her closely.

Aito didn’t react at first, as a wave of surprise crashed over her. Then a thought crept into her mind: the only logical assumption? If Cain was telling the truth (And how could she doubt him, after she had seen the thief and Rokir?) then she felt sure that he knew something more.

Cain watched the slide show of emotions pass over the girl’s face in quick succession, his own face unreadable until he smiled at some inner thought.

Aito squirmed and wondered what he could be grinning about.

Cain seemed to snap to his senses somewhat and looked around. I suppose we should be heading on… He turned and began to walk toward the stairs.

At that moment Aito came out of her shock in time to reach out and touch Cain’s arm to ask him something, but he turned too fast and she felt the book knock against her knuckles.

Ow!

Sorry, little mouse. What is it?

Cain, I can’t— Whatever Aito started to say was drowned out in her own ears by a strange sound, and the room around her became blurry. The sound grew louder, almost to a roar in her ears, until it fell silent just as she felt someone shake her shoulder.

Little mouse! Cain’s voice sounded strained and when Aito’s vision returned she saw him kneeling beside her, his face pale. How did I end up on the floor? she wondered.

What happened? Aito sounded shaky even to herself and it surprised her. Had she fainted or something?

Doesn’t matter. Are you okay?

Aito nodded and got back up on her feet, but only with Cain’s help. She felt all right, just shaky, as though the ground could fall out beneath her at any second. When she swayed he quickly put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

I think it’s time we went downstairs. Rokir should have the others by now, Cain said just above a murmur before he began to lead Aito down the stairs, one hand on her shoulder and the other holding the book.

Halfway down Cain came close to falling himself when the emergency lights went off and the real lights came on, including the one on the stairs that happened to be right at the tall seran’s eye level. He had a lot of dirty things to say about Aegle after that, and some time passed before Aito could get a word in.

Do you still think I’m a thief? Though shaken, she hadn’t forgotten the trouble she found herself in. It didn’t look as though Cain was going to talk about what happened with the book and even she was starting to feel sorry for this Aegle guy.

No…But Rokir does and so will the Dean. It’s not like it will be easy to convince them otherwise, considering the way you ran off like that.

Aito’s face flushed. So, what are you going to tell them?

That you’re a thief, of course. It makes things so much easier, you see.

Yeah, if your definition of easier is getting me tossed into jail! Aito couldn’t see why he sounded so nonchalant about it. He didn’t care what happened to her at all!

Don’t worry, little mouse. You’ll be okay, trust me.

Cain could sound as confident as he wanted to, but Aito doubted this was going to turn out well.

***

They met Rokir downstairs, after going through several winding hallways. He stood outside of a door marked Dean Padrone’s Office with two others, a short guy with golden hair and a strange complexion and another dog-like person who looked more like a golden retriever.

Aito’s attention went to the short guy’s very large, pointed ears which were a good deal longer than any human’s ears. If he pulled them back, he probably could have made the tips touch each other. She thought he looked like an elf, although she had always imagined elves looking somewhat happier and a little less haughty. Neither one looked as threatening as Rokir, who kept shifting his weight as if preparing to run or leap, but Aito still shrank a little closer to her guard.

The elfish guy shot Aito a look and then asked Cain, What happened upstairs? Your pet dog won’t give me a straight answer. Rokir growled a deep throaty growl that made Aito’s heart jump.

Perhaps if you had been quicker about attending to your own duty, you would know the answer to that, Aegle. Cain had that cold look in his eyes again and for a second Aito thought a fight would break out.

A sharp, nasal voice came from within the office and interrupted the tense moment. I can hear you, you know! I want all four of you in here, now! The command would have sounded so much more impressive if the voice hadn’t cracked on the word now.

Cain and Aegle shot a look at each other before everyone shuffled inside, in Aito’s case only because Cain towed her along. The office wasn’t big enough for this many people, a situation not helped by the enormous pile of clutter, which forced them to huddle together in front of a large wooden desk. Aito found herself standing in the rather uncomfortable position between Cain and the elf guy, so she tried looking around to keep from getting nervous. She saw that all sorts of painting and artwork covered the walls while busts, vases, all sorts of things that should have been on display in the rest of the museum leaned or perched on the remaining available surfaces. She stared at a strange, dark painting in the corner until that nasal voice spoke again.

Busy night, I hear. What kind of guards are you, that one thief has you running around like fools? Hmph!

Aito had to look around Cain to get a view of the desk, where what she took at first glance to be a stuffed animal moved. A small form almost completely hidden behind the desk, the little creature glared out at them from behind small spectacles. She thought he looked like a monkey with his long tail, although she had never seen a monkey with fur so faded to a dim gray or one that seemed to be going slightly bald at the crown of his head.

His tail shook in anger as he said, One thief! This museum has a reputation to uphold, or have you forgotten that Cain? Never, in all the years this museum has been a part of Duna, have we ever had anything stolen. Now I hear that a priceless Farrhing painting is stolen, along with who knows what else? Explain yourselves!

Calm down, Paddywhack, Cain said, sounding extremely calm for someone who had a little monkey yelling at them. We can get the painting back, I—

I don’t care what you say you can do! Wasn’t it you who said your little tricks could keep any thief from getting away? The painting should never have been stolen in the first place!

Aito looked up at Cain. From her point of view she could only see a part of his face, but it was enough to tell that he was furious. That cold glare returned, this time in full force. It surprised her that Dean Paddy-eh, Padrone, didn’t wilt away.

Little tricks? Is that what you call my illusions? Listen Padstone, you can— Cain must have been kicked from at least three different angles all at the same time from what Aito saw. In the time he winced, Rokir spoke up.

Sir, there was actually more than one thief. It’s my fault the one with the picture got away, but Cain managed to catch the other one.

Oh really? I don’t see a thief.

Aito wasn’t surprised. She wondered how he could see over the desk at all, much less see her. However, it did surprise her when Cain