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.She felt a slight motion as the pod slid away from the station.He sat, silent for a moment, and then leaned forward I have no idea why we acted that way, he said finally. It doesn t makesense to me at all.Xander and I have fought thousands of times, but neverover a woman.Page 72ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html96Jerred s PriceShe stayed silent, unsure of how to respond.She didn t quite like the way hereferred to her dismissively as  a woman, any more than she had likedXander s tone earlier.She was getting pretty tired of everyone thinking shewas Jerred s pet, for love of the Goddess.On the other hand, in a way she washis pet.She was his toy, completely dependent on him for everything from foodto affection and companionship.The doors opened as the pod slid to stop.This transit station was muchquieter, with only a few men around them.It was smaller, too.Jerred took herarm and guided her through the exit into an open gallery that stretched aboveand below them for hundreds of stories.Looking around, she could see bridgesstretching from one side to the other, and walkways stretched along the wallsto either side of them.Across the open gallery, there was another walkway andmore doors.It was similar to many of the stations she d seen in her life, butonce again on a scale almost beyond her ability to comprehend.It was just sobig.It reminded her of the descriptions she d read of theImperial warrens on Tyre, vast developments deep within the planet surfacehousing billions of people.They walked down the gallery for twenty minutes before he stopped, sliding akeycard into a door that looked just like every other one on the corridor.The door s light blinked green, and slid open.The apartment was good-sized, with a large kitchen and living area, fresherand a bedroom.Still, it looked as if no one lived there.The walls were bareof decoration and the furniture was plain and bland. How long have you had this place? she asked, thinking of her own tinyapartment on Transit Three.Even though she d only lived there a few months,she d filled it with plants and cheap holo-posters of various planets shedreamed of visiting.This might as well be a room in a hostel. I ve had it about six years, he said, dropping the rucksack holding theirclothing on the floor.She looked at it in distaste.All she had was heruniform from the bar and the two jumpsuits he d gotten her on Transit Three.She d recycled the dress fromJosiah.Despite how lovely it was, there were too many bad memories associatedwith it to ever wear again. I think you need to go shopping, Jerred said, breaking into her thoughts. Your best bet would be to go on the Station s  net.The female population ispretty low here, and while there are stores, it s probably more efficient tosimply order something and have it delivered. All right, she said, sitting on the couch.It was nice and soft despite itsutilitarian appearance, and a thought popped into her mind.She bounced up anddown, testing it and looking at him speculatively.He ignored her. I have to go and make my report, he said. Just go ahead and use theterminal to shop if you like.It should bill me automatically for whatever youdecide to get.With that he turned and walked out the door.It closed behind him with ahissing noise.So much for the soft couch, she thought wryly.97Joanna Wylde* * * * *Nicolai Trasky, commander of Saurellian intelligence operations, searchedJerred s face, trying to figure out what was different.He d already heardrumors that one of his most reclusive scouts had returned with a woman intow that was unusual enough in and of itself.But even stranger was Jerred sPage 73ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmldemeanor.If he wasn t mistaken, the man was happy.Or at least content.And now hewanted leave to go and spend time with his new companion.Nicolai made amental note to have one of his aides look into the situation.Unlikely as itseemed, perhaps Jerred had found a life mate.Thank the Goddess, it wassomething he was seeing more and more in his men.For some reason, for thefirst time in Saurellian history, men were finding mates outside their ownpeople.His own wife was one of them.Not, of course, that it was relevant to the taskat hand. So, Josiah let you go, he said thoughtfully. Very wise of him.It doesn tbenefit either of us to upset the status quo at this point.I m assuming hejust meant to send us a message? I m not so sure about that, Jerred said slowly. I would have sworn he meantto kill me.I honestly think the only reason he changed his mind was becausehe got the information somewhere else. Yes, well, that source was compromised a while back, Nicolai saidthoughtfully. We ve suspected she was a double agent for quite a while.I would imagine wewon t hear from her again.Their spy was almost certainly dead by now.Not that he felt sorry about that.She d been feeding information to the Empire as well, and they were probablybetter off without her.Still, they d have to find someone new, and Josiah sorganization wasn t easy to penetrate.For some reason his people werealarmingly loyal to him. Our technicians will have the information out of your databanks soon,Nicolai continued. I m assuming that everything will be in order, but I llwant you to stay here until we re sure we don t have any questions.Preliminary reports are that Josiah didn t break the sub-encryption shell,which means your information is safe. He d have a pretty hard time doing it in the amount of time he had, Jerredreplied. He was angry enough about the schematics of his station that I doubthe looked much further.Not that any of this information would have interestedhim directly, anyway. No, but it would interest others a great deal, Nicolai said. And Josiah isalways looking for business opportunities.Don t underestimate him. I don t, I assure you, Jerred said wryly. Are we done here? I d like to getback toGiselle.Nicolai nodded, and leaned back in his chair.Jerred gave a casual salute andleft the room, leaving Nicolai with his thoughts.Yes, he was almost certainthe younger man98Jerred s Price had found his life mate.The thought made him smile.Jerred wasa good man, and he deserved better than the life of loneliness and violencethat awaited an unmated male [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]