[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
It will be some years after that before anyone can put down on that world. If
you could get another Gate open to Mistommerk& "
"Yes. I see. Tell me, how did you Tovazhykx ever deal with& with
shape-shifters who could look like your long lost cousin if they chose?"
"They're not so flexible as all that. Not many of them can match Timka shift
for shift. When we came through, the Min were herders and farmers. Those
bodies, you know. No incentive to industrialize. Wrong mindset. They've
changed since then, of course. Rubbing up against all the Waves. New plants,
new beasts, new languages, new ways of thinking, new shapes for their bodies.
Interesting world."
"Very. "The Kinravaly brooded a moment, looked up. "Rostico Burn?"
"Yes. Skeen found him and he brought us here." Lipitero traced figure eights
in the soft wood of her chair's arm. "What sort of welcome would he get if he
showed his face down here?"
"You mean would we tie him to a pole and set fire to his feet?"
"Something like that."
"My influence is perhaps more limited than you think."
Page 72
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I am Ykx."
"Our branches have diverged for a very long time."
"Perhaps I delude myself."
"And I." The Kinravaly frowned thoughtfully. "My responsibilities always seem
to outrace my reach. About Burn. He'll be safe in the Reserve, otherwhere, you
had better talk to the Kinra. I won't give him my Hand, if that's what you're
asking. A suggestion. He should stay on this side of the world if he decides
to put his toe to ground. Sulleggen or Uratesto will fry his gizzard for him,
if they get hold of him. Hmm. If I send you out with my guards. I'm setting my
seal on you; if I let you go about as you please, the All-Wise alone knows
what disasters you'll tumble into. And I'd still be putting my seal on you,
because I haven't stopped you or sent you away." She dropped her head back and
stared up at the carved wooden squares that ceiled the patio. "And either way,
I feel like I'd be selling Ykx. I want what you offer, I want it badly.
Speaker. I just don't see how I can justify letting you loose to talk Rallykx
into following you."
Lipitero sheathed her claws and stroked her fingerpads over the scars on her
chest. Timka re-crossed her ankles, wiggled her toes; she slid the dagger pin
out of her wrap, retucked it and stabbed the pin back. She was restless,
nervous Distracted for a moment by Timka's fidgeting, Lipitero found herself
wondering what the Min thought about this business; if I succeed, there'll be
more Ykx on Mistommerk, more invaders. She brushed the thought away, no time
for it now. "Volunteers, Kinravaly Rallen. I can't deal with conscripts."
"And I can't throw Ykx into the void without some check on them. Even if they
are volunteers."
"Ah. Yah. That's a problem. I told you. There's one working Gate. One. It's on
a world that's due to cook for a few years so no one can get in or out of it.
Not till the surface cools enough for a ship to land."
Timka looked up from the cloth she was pleating over her thighs. "Send someone
you trust with us. He or she can see a bit of Mistommerk, see that Petro is
telling the truth about the Gate. You don't need more than that, do you? Your
agent can come back with Skeen and report what happened."
The Kinravaly's lips twitched into a tight smile. She shook her head. "If you
are slavers or something equally dangerous, that's giving you one more victim,
not a guarantee of good faith."
"I know that." Timka shrugged. "Wasn't meant to be; 'twas a suggestion for
shortening your worry time. It'd make this a bit less like jumping into a
bottomless pit. What it comes to, you trust Petro and the rest of us, or you
don't."
"Hmm. I'd feel more comfortable about this if someone in your party was
committed to something more than this one visit to Rallen. This Skeen. He?
She?"
"She," Timka said; she straightened her back and looked interested.
"Would she be willing to discuss trade agreements with the Kinra?"
Timka chuckled. "Willing isn't quite the proper word, eh, Petro?"
Lipitero felt her mouth trying to stretch into a broad beaming grin; before
she could speak, she had to damp down the joy starting to bubble in her blood.
It was going to happen, it was, it really was. The Kinravaly was biting on the
bait. When she had her voice under control, she said, "Yes. For a lot of
reasons Skeen would be delighted. Um. Don't let that fool you though, she's a
wily bargainer."
"I see. You have told me how the Tovazhykx got to Mistommerk. I'd like to know
how you yourself got back through the Gate and where this Skeen fits in."
"Ahh." Lipitero emptied her cup for the third time; the iska was cold now but
drinkable and it soothed her throat. "It's a long story. And complicated."
"More iska?"
"If you don't mind."
The Kinravaly pulled the cord. "Anki will bring another pot. Do you want to
wait?"
"Timka knows the first part better than I. Ti?"
Page 73
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Why not." The little Min smoothed her hands along her thighs, looked
thoughtfully down the grassy slope toward the dark hump of Workhorse showing
above the walls. "This is what Skeen told me& "
"That's what they said." The Kinravaly walked to the front edge of the patio
and stood looking at the weave of the Firestreaks drawn across the night sky.
"That improbable creature and Lipitero the Bereft. What a story. Do you
believe any of it?"
Zelzony clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Do you?"
Zuistro wandered back, stretched Out in her chair, laced her fingers over her
stomach fur. "Oh. yes. Lipitero is so transparent and so determined to be
honest, poor thing. Her Remmyo's clever to send her; she'll be very effective
in the Gurns if the Kinra allow her to speak. You know which will and which
won't. They're fools, aren't they, that happy pair. Zeli, make sure the folk
in Marrallat and Urolol know about our visitors."
Zelzony looked down at her, began laughing. "Ayy, Zo. Ayy, Zo." She sobered.
"I suppose I shouldn't laugh, it won't be very funny what's going to happen
there."
"I know. Borrentye's apprentice Singlow is working on ways of easing the pain.
Zeli& "
"You want me to go with them."
"Do you mind?"
"What good would it do having me there? They'd scrag me with the rest and sell
us all. If that's their plan. One middle-aged Min ignorant about everything
past the Veils. I'd be worth a handful of spit against their weapons and their
guile."
"At least I'd know. If they sell you, being you, if you're alive, I count on
you getting back here. With a starship, too. Then we'd figure how to deal with
them and get our folk back."
"Saa, Zo, you don't expect much."
"Saa, Zeli, I know you."
"Am I flattered? No. Only a fool. I'll go."
"They know a lot we don't, our aliens, but they don't know organics like we
do. You'll go equipped with our best, Zeli, and you'll bring back a lot more
than reassurance for an aging lover. I'm convinced of this, my Zeli, what
Lipitero told me is no sly trick, but the truth. That doesn't mean we have to
be quite that candid, yes?" She reached up her hand, smiled with pleasure as
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]