Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold Read Free Book Online Page B

principles,” Auntie Pearl replied. “I’ll explain about this later, I promise.”

    “Now isn’t the time for esoteric theory,” Dad agreed. “We need to figure out what happened to Albert. I have a suggestion. Why don’t we lay out a reading? We might learn whatever it was he saw, and even if we don’t, Brenda will have a bit of her necessary education filled in.”

    “Did you bring your set?”

    “I did.”

    “Good. I don’t want to use Albert’s, not until we know more.” Auntie Pearl glanced at her watch. “I think I should stay here, at least for tonight. Let me call the front desk and see if I can get a room.”

    Brenda watched as her father went into the bedroom and came out with a box like, but unlike, the one that held the tiles Auntie Pearl had taken from Albert Yu’s office. The lid of this box was ornamented with the stylized image of a rat. The other, of course, was decorated with a cat.

    For a last, blessed moment, Brenda could pretend that they were simply going to play a three-handed game. Then her father opened the box and took out something that looked like a compass, except that it had a much more elaborate graph drawn on the surface. He held the device in his hand, slowly turning as the needle turned.

    “That way is north,” he said. “Breni, help me orient the table so one side faces directly north.”

    “Okay, Dad, but why does it matter? Mah-jong directions aren’t real—they’re not even right. East and west are reversed.”

    Gaheris grinned. “Or south and north are. It’s a matter of perspective, but I know what you mean. On the ‘real’ compass, the directions are north is on top, then south on the bottom, with west on the left, east on the right. Mah-jong flips that, so east and west change places. All the more reason for making sure north is properly aligned.”

    Brenda didn’t argue further, but she felt reality flee as Gaheris carefully shifted the table so that the four sides were precisely oriented to the compass points.

    Auntie Pearl hung up the room phone with a click.

    “Are we ready?” she said.

    “Ready,” Dad agreed.

    Brenda wished she could agree. All she could manage was silence.

     

     

    As Pearl came over to join Brenda and Gaheris, she noticed that the earlier uneasiness had returned to Brenda’s expression. Well, there was nothing like doing something—anything—to distract an unhappy mind.

    “All right, Gaheris, spill out the tiles and we’ll all build the wall. Brenda, have you seen this mah-jong set before?”

    “A couple of times,” Brenda admitted. “We had a plastic set to play with, but Dad brought this one out sometimes, just to let us look at them.”

    Gaheris would have, Pearl thought, looking to see which of his children was to follow him as Rat. Two sons and a daughter, just like my family, but I bet his reaction to learning his daughter would follow him was very different from my father’s.

    “The tiles are made from bone and bamboo,” Pearl continued, and shot a glance at Gaheris from beneath her lashes lest he give away precisely what type of bone. Brenda was not ready for that. “The bone holds the carving, and the bamboo protects the bone. Each element has symbolic significance as well, but that can wait.”

    “Lots of things seem to wait,” Brenda muttered.

    “Isn’t that the way of life?” Pearl agreed pleasantly. “Now, you told me earlier that you knew about building the wall to start a game. That is the first step for what we are going to do as well. However, there is a different reason for building this wall than to avoid cheating in a gambling game.”

    Pearl reached out and touched the tiles lightly, shuffling them, the motion just a bit sluggish because of the loose fabric beneath the polished bone.

    Gaheris did the same, and, after a moment, Brenda reached over and joined in. Their hands were very different: Pearl’s with their elegant nails, the knuckles slightly swollen from