Timothy Zahn - Cobra Bargain

"A city dweller," Daulo said sourly.

"City dweller or not, she is our guest now," Ivria replied, and Jin started breathing again. Whatever they had against cities, at least it wasn't something that immediately branded her as an offworlder. "Tell me, Jasmine Alventin, what has brought you to Milika?"

"Is that where I am, then?" Jin asked. "Milika? I didn't know where it was I was brought-the accident that wrecked our car..." She shivered involuntarily as images from the shuttle wreck rose unbidden before her eyes.

"Where did this accident happen?" Ivria asked. "On the road from Shaga?"

Jin waved her hands helplessly. "I don't really know where we were. My companions-my brother Mander and two others-were searching the forest for insects to take back to their laboratory."

"You were in the forest on foot?" Daulo put in.

"No," Jin told him. "Mander studies insects, trying to learn their secrets and put them to use. He has-or had; I suppose it's ruined now-a specially built car that can maneuver between trees and through a forest's undergrowth. I was just along for the trip-I wanted to see how he worked." She let a note of puzzlement creep into voice and face. "But I'm sure he knows much more about where the accident happened. Can't you just ask him about it when he awakens?"

Ivria and Daulo exchanged glances. "Your companions are not here, Jasmine

Alventin," Daulo said. "You were alone when my brother found you on the road."

Jin stared at him a long moment, letting her mouth sag in what she hoped was a reasonable semblance of shock. "Not... but they were there. With me. We-we all walked to the road together-Mander killed a krisjaw that attacked me-no, they have to be here."

"I'm sorry," Ivria said gently. "Do you remember if they were still with you when you reached the road?"

"Of course they were," Jin said, letting her voice drift toward the frantic.

"They were still with me when I was carried into the truck. Surely they saw-it was your brother, Daulo, who found us? Didn't he see them?"

Daulo's cheek twitched. "Jasmine Alventin... you were suffering the effects of several monote bites when Perto found you. Hallucinations are sometimes among these effects. My brother wouldn't have left your companions if they'd been anywhere nearby-you must believe that. And after you were safe here he took several men and went back to do an even more thorough search, covering both the road and the forest areas flanking them, all the way back to Shaga."

Thorough enough to find the packs I hid? Jin's stomach tightened; and immediately relaxed. No, of course the packs were still hidden. If anyone had found them she'd have awakened in a maximum-security prison... if she'd been allowed to awaken at all. "Oh, Mander," she whispered. "But then... where is he?"

"He may still be alive," Daulo said, his voice steady with forced optimism. "We can send more people to look for him."

Slowly, Jin shook her head, gazing past Daulo into space. "No, Five days... If he's not out by now... he's not coming out, is he?"

Daulo took a deep breath. "I'll send more searchers, anyway," he said quietly.

"Look... you've had a bad time, and I doubt that you're fully recovered. Why don't you have a warm bath and something to eat and then rest for a few more hours."

Jin closed her eyes briefly. "Yes. Thank you. I'm... sorry. Sorry for everything."

"It's our honor and our pleasure to offer you our hospitality," Ivria said. "Is there someone elsewhere on Qasama to whom a message should be sent?"

Jin shook her head. "No. My family is... gone. My brother was all I had left."

"We grieve with you," Ivria said softly. For a moment she was silent; then, she made a gesture and the young Qasaman woman behind her stepped forward. "This is

Asya; she will be your servant for as long as you are under our roof. Command her as you will."

"Thank you," Jin nodded. The thought of having a private servant grated against her sensibilities-especially a servant whose manner seemed more fitting to a slave-but it would undoubtedly be out of character to refuse.

"When you feel up to joining us, let Asya know, and she'll find me," Daulo added. "It will be my privilege to be your guide and escort while you are in

Milika."

"I will be most honored," Jin said, trying to ignore the warning bells clanging in the back of her mind. First a live-in servant, then the owner's son to walk her around the place. Common hospitality... or the first indications of suspicion?

But for the next couple of days, at least, it hardly mattered. Until her elbow and knee were fully functional again, she had little choice but to stay in

Milika and recuperate; and if the Sammons wanted to keep her under a microscope, she could handle that. "I look forward to seeing your house and village," she added.

And for a second the compassion seemed to leave Daulo's eyes. "Yes," he said, almost stiffly. "I'm sure you do."

It turned out to be surprisingly easy for Jin to get used to having a servant around.

The exception was the bath. Jin hadn't had company in the bathroom during baths since she was ten, and to have someone standing quietly ready with cloth, soap, and towel was both strange and not a little discomfiting. The hot water itself felt wonderfully good-and the bathroom more luxurious than any she'd ever seen, let alone been in-but she nevertheless cut the operation as short as she reasonably could.

Once past that, though, things improved considerably. Asya ordered her a large dinner, setting it out at a small window seat table overlooking a magnificently landscaped courtyard. Sort of like the way your family fusses over you when you're sick, Jin decided as Asya seated her and began serving. Or like having an obedient little sister available to boss around. That role she remembered all too well.

The food itself wasn't as strange-tasting as she'd feared it would be, and she astonished herself by eating everything Asya had had sent up. The trauma of the crash and trek through the forest, combined with five days of fasting, had given her more appetite than she'd realized.

And apparently more fatigue, too. She'd barely finished the meal when she began to feel sleep tugging again at her eyelids. Leaving Asya to clean up, she made her way back to her bed and got undressed. I wonder, the thought occurred to her as she slid under the furry blanket, if the food might have been drugged.

But if it had there was nothing she could do about it. As long as she was in

Milika and the Sammon household, she was in their power. Best to look as innocent and guileless as possible... and concentrate on getting her strength back.

When she awoke again, the room was dark, with only a bare hint of light coming in around heavy curtains covering the room's window. "Asya?" she whispered, keying her optical enhancers to light-amplification. There was no response, and a quick visual survey of the room showed she was alone. Activating her auditory enhancers, she picked up the sounds of slow breathing from the doorway leading to the bathroom/dressing area, and Jin remembered now noticing that one of the couches there had seemed to be of a daybed design. Sliding out of bed, she padded to the doorway and looked in.

Asya was there, all right, snuggled under a blanket on the daybed, oblivious to the world. For a long moment Jin stood watching her, pondering what she should do... and as she stood there, it suddenly occurred to her that of the four members of the Sammon household she'd seen so far, none of them had been accompanied by a mojo. Or had worn clothing adapted to carrying one.

She frowned into the darkness. Had the plan, then, worked? Had they truly succeeded in splitting the Qasamans away from their bodyguard birds? If so, that might explain their reaction to my telling them I was from Sollas, she realized.