The Enlightened by Dima Zales Read Free Book Online Page B

Enlightenment on his first Joining.”
    “It was his second Joining,” Paul corrects, his tone pedantic. “But that doesn’t make it any less impressive.”
    For the first time, something warm shows on his face. Is Grandpa proud of me? I wish I understood what he was proud of .
    “It sounds as if you experienced what we consider to be the most important effect of the Joining,” Marsha says in a solemn tone. “Seeing what you saw is a prerequisite for becoming part of our community.”
    “Yes. Enlightenment requires meditation, wisdom, and a great Depth,” Paul says. “Which means, since you lack the first two—”
    “We’re incredibly proud, regardless of how it was made possible,” Rose says, interrupting Paul’s backhanded compliment.
    “Your grandparents are thus far the youngest people to ever reach this state,” says the oldest-looking guy, who is sitting across from me.
    “Okay, great,” I say, trying to digest it all. “What does this mean in practical terms? Am I, like, one of you?”
    The man looks at me, confused, and says, “You must be joking—”
    “Now, now, Sean. The boy asked a reasonable question,” Rose says. “Listen, Darren. First and foremost, there is that delicate matter we need to discuss. A matter of duty made more critical by what we’ve just learned.”
    “And that would be?” I ask, straining to keep my voice free of any skepticism. ‘Duty’ is a word that triggers my rebellious side, especially when it’s used as an excuse to make very unreasonable demands, and particularly when the motives for those demands are pompous and irrational. In general, logic is rarely part of the equation when someone appeals to your sense of duty. To make matters worse—or to highlight my stance on that word—I always think of ‘doody’ when I hear it.
    “That things are as we thought and you are, indeed, Mark’s child and the first hybrid to exist in recorded history. Also, your Depth is so great that we underestimated it,” she says, answering the wrong question.
    “Indeed. I’m glad we made the necessary preparations,” Paul says, running with what Rose said without explaining the actual ‘what’ that they want from me. “Shall we head to the visitors’ lounge?”
    “That’s a great idea,” Rose says. “Best get that business over with. Your Depth might—”
    “Yes,” Paul says curtly. “You should accompany us, Rose.” He looks around the room, closely examining his peers. “The invitation extends to anyone who’s interested.”
    “I think I’d rather stay back and discuss the implications of all this with the others, dear,” says Marsha before kissing him on the cheek. “You go.”
    “I’ll stay behind too, hon,” Edward says, letting go of Rose’s hand. “Wouldn’t want to crowd you.”
    Paul gets up, then Rose, and I follow their lead. Their spouses sure are trusting. I always thought that if you let people who had sex with each other hang out, they might hook up again. And my grandparents must’ve done it out of wedlock at least once. Not that I’m certain sex is part of their lives now. Nor am I sure that it’s safe for my sanity or libido to ponder this any further.
    “You still didn’t answer my question about this duty thing,” I say as we walk out.
    “We’ll discuss that in a moment,” Paul says as he slows his pace to let Rose catch up.
    “Fine. Then can you at least tell me what the vision actually means?” I ask. “Since all of you seem to have had yours ... ”
    “It’s different for everyone,” Rose answers. “But the common thread is that when we each received our visions, we received the most important piece of wisdom of our lives.”
      “Wisdom?” I ask carefully, unsure whether I want to tell them what I saw. If I tell them, they’ll realize I have a very good reason for wanting to get out of the Quiet as soon as possible, and they might take some precautionary measures to stop me. “What about warnings or