Part 6 (1/2)

”What world was that on?” she asked. ”Pellin.” He gazed at the rolling westward slope of hills. ”This is beautiful.”

”I think so. It was built by my Grandmother Orrin. Family Yago was the first Family to live away from Abanat. Now all the Families have private estates in the hills, but this is the oldest. I try to keep it green.”

”I'd heard Chabad was a dry world.”

”It is,” said Rhani. She pointed at the trees. ”This estate is tiny. It's a pocket of green on a hill. The water to keep it green is piped here from Abanat. The green ends at a wall. You can't see the wall through the trees, but it's there. Outside the wall, the land is waterless. The gate is that way.” She jerked her thumb back toward the front of the house. ”No one will stop you from walking through it, but if you do, you'll either return or die. The heat will kill you in half a day, and it's a three-day walk to Abanat.”

”Has anyone tried it?”

Rhani said, ”Everyone tries.” It wasn't really true. But she hoped he believed her; she hoped he would not try it. Unhappily, she remembered the time two years back when Binkie _had_ tried it. She wanted to warn Dana. But if she said Zed's name aloud, his face would go tight. She was sure of it.

The mother dragoncat wandered onto the terrace. Scenting a stranger, it froze, growling its odd musical growl. The fur on its back and tail rose. ”Stop that!” commanded Rhani. She held out a hand. ”Come here, Isis.” The cat glided to her. Dana stood very still. ”Friend, Isis. Friend.” She stroked the cat until its fluffed fur went down. ”Hold out your hand.” Dana held his hand out, palm up. The cat sniffed it. ”This is Isis. She's the oldest. I let her stay in the house a lot; she's stiff, and partially blind. But she can still smell. She's mother to Thoth, Horus, and Typhon.”

Isis's tail switched lazily back and forth. She rubbed her head on Dana's thigh. ”What is she?” he said.

”A dragoncat. _Felis draco_; bred in the Enchanter labs. Dragoncats are twice as smart as the best guard dogs. Now that she knows you, she'll tell the other three how you smell so that when they meet you they won't tear you into little bits and pieces.”

”How can she do that?”

”The labs breed them with rudimentary, species-selective telepathy.

They're expensive.”

”I'll bet,” he said, stroking Isis's triangular head.

Rhani said, ”When my brother told me about you last night, he suggested you become my pilot. Can you do that?”

He said, ”I was trained for it.”

”Good. I don't spend my life in constant travel, though. I may ask you to do other things.”

He smiled. He had a good smile. ”I'll make a poor cook or secretary, Rhani-ka.”

”I'll remember that,” she promised.

A door slid open from the other bedroom. Zed stepped onto the terrace.

Rhani felt Dana stiffen beside her. The dragoncat stopped purring. Her tail twitched. Slowly she backed away from him, fur rising. ”Isis, no,” Rhani said.

He must smell of fear, she thought.

Zed said, ”Did you get answers to your questions, Rhani-ka?” He looked at Dana. Rea.s.suringly, Rhani laid a hand on Dana's bare arm.

He started from her touch as if her hand were made of ice, or acid.

”Yes,” she said. ”Dana was very useful. I agree with you. He'll make a good pilot.”

”I'm glad you think so,” Zed said. ”Go downstairs,” he said to Dana.

With a constrained, almost clumsy bow, Dana left the terrace. Rhani heard the sound of the sliding bedroom door. She gazed at the lovely patterns of the cool falling water, hands bunched in her pockets, back to her brother. ”Rhani-ka.”

She would not turn.

”Rhani, I'm sorry.” Now she turned. ”I said he was yours, yours he shall be.” He made a face, a small-boy look, rueful and contrite. She reached to take his hand.

She could not stay angry with him. She never could. Her anger hurt him too much. ”Let me tell you what he said,” she offered.

*Chapter Four*

It soon became apparent to Rhani that there was nothing about Dana Ikoro she could say that her brother did not already know. Nevertheless, he listened patiently to her summary of the conversation. At the end of it, he said, ”What are you looking for, Rhani-ka?”

She paced slowly around the bedroom. ”I'm not sure,” she said. ”Chabad has to have dorazine, Zed-ka. I can't believe that _nothing's_ coming in. If I could just reach Sherrix.... Maybe she's gone underground.”

”Too bad you can't use a direct line,” said Zed. The problem with direct- line calls, of course, was that the computer kept records of them. They could be traced; with the right equipment, they could be overheard. ”She might have had to leave Chabad unexpectedly.”

”Frightened off by the Hype cops!” Rhani said. She scowled. ”I wish I could think of something that would frighten off Michel A-Rae.”

Zed said, ”I suspect he's well protected, Rhani. Do you know what district Sherrix works from?”

”Hyper district,” Rhani said. ”How about some nasty accident? A broken leg?”

”I might be able to help.”

”What?” Rhani said. ”Break Michel A-Rae's leg?”

Zed frowned. ”Rhani-ka -- ”

Quickly, she said, ”I'm teasing you, Zed-ka. You can help me reach Sherrix?”

He nodded. ”Or find out where she is. You need someone who can walk through the Hyper district and not be out of place, someone who can ask questions without seeming to, someone who knows Hyper custom -- ”

”My Starcaptain!” Rhani said.

But Zed shook his head. ”I think not, Rhani-ka. He's newly a slave; he's not used to it yet. If he met a runner or some Hyper he knew, he might try to escape.”

”I wouldn't want that,” Rhani said. I _should_ tell him what happened to Binkie, she thought. He needs the warning. ”You can't do it, Zed-ka?”

”No.” He perched on the arm of her chair. ”I'm not an outsider, but I'm too well known to be of use. No runner or dealer would discuss drug business with the Net commander. But there's Jo Leiakanawa, my second. Remember the year the Net had a pilferage problem? Some crew member was stealing dorazine -- ”

”From the Net supplies,” Rhani said, ”and bringing it back to Abanat, where it was sold to dealers who turned around and resold it to Gemit or to the city, making a double profit. I remember. You sent me a 'gram from Enchanter.”

”That was it. We never found out the ident.i.ty of the thief. But Jo talked to the dealers, and the stealing stopped.”

Rhani said, ”I could write to her.” She frowned. ”But even if I call the mail service to send a special bubble for the letter, it will sit in Abanat a day before it's delivered.”

Zed said, ”Even if you wrote to her, she might say no.”