Sharon Lee: Adventures in the Liaden Universe

“ Here , you’re an exception,” the woman corrected, and pointed at one of the room’s two chairs, taking the other for herself. “Sit. Tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out. But don’t dawdle.”

So, she had told it. The gift of the curiat , the visit of Scholar Hafeez to her father; Humaria’s wedding; the violation of her father’s study, and his brutal questioning; her escape into the night, and return to a house of the unjustly murdered—father, books and servant. Her revenge.

“You mixed a batch of skihi , blew up a couple buildings, disguised yourself as a boy and walked away from it,” Sarah Chang said, by way of summing up. She shook her head. “Pretty cool. How’d you think of all that?”

Inas moved her hands. “I learned from Thelma Delance. The recipe for skihi was in her curiat . She disguised herself as a man in order to pursue her scholarship.”

“So she did.” The woman closed her eyes. “Any idea what I should do with you?”

Inas licked her lips, “I wish to be a scholar.”

“Not the line of work women usually get into, hereabouts.” Sarah Chang’s eyes were open now, and watching carefully.

“Thelma Delance—”

“Thelma was an outworlder,” the boss interrupted. “Like I am. Like Jamie is.”

This woman possessed a man’s hard purpose, Inas thought; she would do nothing for pity. She raised her chin.

“Surely, then, there is some place where I, too, would be an outworlder, and free to pursue my life as I wish?”

Sarah Chang laughed.

“How old are you?” She asked then.

“Fourteen winters.”

The boss tipped her head. “Thirteen Standards, near enough. Regular old maid. And you’ve got a nice touch with an explosive.

“ Skihi , for your information, is an extremely volatile mixture. Many explosive experts have the missing fingers to prove it.” She bounced out of her chair and shook her head.

“All right, Inas, let’s go.”

She stayed in her chair, looking up into the slanting black eyes. “Go where?”

“Outworld,” the boss said, and moved an impatient hand, pointing upward, toward the sky—and beyond.