Jo Clayton - Shadowkill

Kikun’s ears twitched. The voice was genial, the words innocuous, but the intent behind them… Oh, Rose, it’s almost comical, half of Tos Tous is going to be waiting out there ready to grab you.

Grandmother Ghost the Lael-Lenox pinched his arm: Just like a male, look at him, preening like a fool, tchah! just because that bitty chile does something he wants to get his hands on, he reaches out and grabs, didn’t his mamah teach him better? But what’s a mamah to a man once he gets his growth? You try going on like that round me, baby, I’ll snatch you skinless, you hear?

Otter leaned over, patted Grandmother Ghost on her head with his stubby handpaw:

You doing THAT dance again, old woman? Boring, boring, we heard it all before. Heard it all, heard it all, kvetching carping, boring, boring.

I stop carping when you get a brain, hair fool!

Kikun turned them all out, leaned against the wall, and tried to sleep. The Lael-Lenox was the sole female in his personal clutch of gods and sometimes found it necessary to defend all females in sight.

When she was in one of those moods, she was capable of raising such a storm, he threatened more than once to exorcise them all and find his peace in absolute, unadorned reason. The ultimate atheism.

They were powerful, though, these gods he’d birthed for himself from his flesh and soul and the collective experience of his people. They were not, perhaps had never been-even in their crudest form when he was a child groping toward consciousness-merely convenient ways of dealing with parts of himself he was incapable of understanding. He knew on one level that the only reality they had was what he chose to give them, but at a deeper level by far, he NEEDED them. They had a grip on him he’d never shake loose. Most of the time he didn’t want to. Most of the time.

He slept.

Grandmother Ghost pinched him awake when the Game broke for the third time. The Players departed by their separate doors, Hadluk collected the women and took them out. Jao juhFeyn supervised the cleaning of the Mewa Room, took a last look round and went out, locking the door behind him.

Kikun slipped away with the women, then followed juhFeyn as Jao checked the Shimmery’s security.

When Jao left for bed, Kikun undid the alarms on the back door, went out.

Morning.

He collected a fork, a spoon, a plate and a cup from the kitchen, then followed the girl carrying breakfast into Rose’s room, waited in a corner while she laid out the meal on the table, knocked on the bedroom, got an answer, then left.

Rose came out yawning, blinked when she saw Kikun sitting at the table sipping at pinkish-yellow fruit juice from a crystal pitcher. She looked over her shoulder, shrugged, came across and sat down. “I don’t know who’s listening.”

Kikun leaned back, watched her pour the rest of the juice into her glass. “No one.”

She pulled her mouth into an inverted smile, shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said, “maybe so. Well?”

“Found it. There’s a park out back, chain fence around it. Guards. Three flits in there. Black and silver one with some kind of sigil on it, that’s probably his. Didn’t try to get to it. No point in that, not yet. It’ll be locked. He’s either carrying the keys or has them in his rooms. I’ll take a look there during the first break. See what I can find.” He yawned, yawned again.

“You look like someone’s sucked the air out.”

“Just tired. Lot of things going on. Takes it out of you, you know.”

“Kuna, nothing’s going to happen today, except more of the same. Why don’t you stay here and sleep?”

“It’s an idea.”

“Have a nice hot bath, stretch out on the bed. It’s a good bed,, comfortable, lovely sheets, like this…” she smoothed her hand along the heavy silken stuff of her dress, “only white.”

“You sold me.” He got to his feet. “You’re just a wall away. You need help, scream.”

She giggled. “Go to bed, Kuna. Scream, huh! Not likely.”

He wriggled all over, shaking his skin along his bones, then strolled out.

The bed was as comfortable as promised.

He stripped, stretched out between the sheets, started to sigh and was deep asleep before the sigh was finished.

Grandmother Ghost the Lael-Lenox pinched him awake a short time before the maid came in to make the bed and straighten the rooms.

Kikun pulled on his clothes and strolled out.

Rose was talking with the Pirate who was describing an improbable fish he’d encountered in the Southern seas. Kikun listened a moment, drifted on. Must be using him as shield against the High Vaar, he thought. Tlee! what a bore. He stopped beside her chair, raised his brows. The small table where her stake was piled was bowed under the weight of the gold on it, more rouleaux piled beneath it and around its legs. Rose could have herself cast lifesize in gold and make herself half a dozen copies. How we’re supposed to cart that off, even a third of it…

Grandmother Ghost leaned into him, inspecting the pile: Yellow peril, sad stuff, poison stuff, that chile has the right idea, baby.

Otter giggled, faded when Grandmother turned to glare at him. He’d suffered his share of pinches and scolds and wasn’t looking for more.

Blackbear touched Kikun’s arm.

The maids were coming from the suites. They circled the room and left.

Kikun yawned and went to search Barracuda’s room.

Rose shook him awake.

He sat up, bleary-eyed and yawning.

She laughed. “Scream, hunh!”

“What?”

“Just a comment, not a summons. Supper’s laid. Get yourself up, wash your dishes, come join me.”

It was a light supper, half of a smallish bird, soup, several rolls and a large salad. A pot of local tea sat in a quilted nest, a curl of steam rising from its spout.

After she divided the meal meticulously in half, they ate in silence for several minutes. “Find anything?” she said at last.

“He keeps his keys on him, or they’re locked in the com-box. Which you’d have to handle; my training lies in other lines.”

“Hmm.”

He drank the last of the soup, refilled his cup with tea from the pot. “You seem to be doing well at the Game.”

“Well enough.”

“Not excited? There’s gold enough there to gild half the roofs in the city.”

“Gold, tchah! Hadluk’s been in this backwater too long, he’s lost his perspective. You know, Kuna, I’ve played single passes where more value changed hands. Couldn’t get enough gold in that room to interest some types I’ve been in games with, you know, like Ginny’s clients. Well, that’s not why we’re here, is it.

“Is it?”

“’Course not.” She wrinkled her nose, then grinned at him-and he found himself liking her better than he had for a long time. “Sure, I hate to let that idiot Hadluk cheat me, but no way I’m going to go running off with half a ton of gold stuffed down my front. My fun’s in the playing. Riding the high. I told you, I can always get money.” She sobered. “Just as well we’re not planning to hang around after this is over.”

“High Vaar getting possessive?”

“You got it. He’s bidding for a permanent partner. Got so far as to say I’d make someone a fine wife, someone who liked Vagnag, him for instance. Z’ Toyff!”

“Well, it’d be an easy life.”

“Wash your mouth out, saaaa, easy, that plasticman pawing over me, make me sick just thinking about it. Besides, I like my work. I’d kill myself if I had to sit around doing nothing.” She looked at her ringchron. “Time in. Where’d I put that hood?”