Eidolon (4 page)

Don Sin had come and taken the empties,
leaving new kegs in their place. It was late afternoon, Day Port
time. In another hour, she could expect Jas Per, and shortly after
that she would leave for her assignation with Shadow.

Alone for the moment, Ceola puttered,
racking glasses, straightening stools, wiping down the bar that Jas
Per had seen gleaming before he'd gone off-shift. The unexceptional
tasks gave her comfort while she struggled to understand Min's
visit.

A
meeting
? And her presence urgently
needed? It made less sense in the wan light of afternoon than it
had last night. She was youngest; all contracts made for their
small family would be signed by Min, the eldest. All contracts made
on behalf of The Friendly Glass must likewise be signed by Min, as
owner. What other reasons might there be for a meeting?

Ceola stopped polishing the bar, and stood
frozen in thought, staring down into the glossy black surface.

Their mother had left the
bar to her daughters
jointly
. There was one reason that
the youngest's presence might been urgently required at a sudden
and mysterious meeting.

Min meant to sell The Glass.

"No," Ceola breathed. "She can't." Surely
not even Min would be so flutterbrained as to cast off their
livelihood! Did she think the sale would make her wealthy? A
rundown Mid-Port bar, in need of numerous upgrades? True, they had
a healthy clientèle, but the money was so slender . . .

Or, Ceola thought, remembering the
outflooding of cash identified by Tonith, perhaps the money was not
nearly so slender as she had always supposed. What if Min had been
taking off the top for . . . some time? Yet, if she had, what did
she spend the money on?

Something banged in the back, startling her
so that she dropped the cleaning rag.

"It's only Don Sin, who's forgotten to tell
me something," she muttered, moving down counter.

There came another bang, and the sound of
hurried footsteps. Not Don Sin, then.

Ceola looked about her. She was in a box,
which was not good. On the other hand, if whoever was coming up the
hall tried to close with her, they would be in a box, too. She took
a deep breath, as Shadow had taught her, and settled flat-footed to
the floor, knees flexed, her weight evenly balanced.

The footsteps acquired a shadow as they
approached the end of the hall--and the shadow speedily acquired a
face, slightly flushed and not nearly as affable as it had been the
last time she'd seen him.

"Elby," she said, marveling at the cool tone
of her voice. "Did you break the door?"

"Your opinion of me, Ceola!"he chided her,
the jovial tone at odds with his face. "Why must it always be so
bad?"

"What have you done to make
me think well of you?"Ceola asked, even as she heard Shadow's soft
voice in memory:
The best outcome is no
engagement. Do not bait your accoster
.

"You do not need to think well of me," Elby
said, and his voice was not jovial at all, now. He took up a
position at the top of the bar, completing the box that contained
her. Reaching into his sleeve, he withdrew a sheaf of papers, which
he placed on the bar. "The only thing that is required of you is a
signature, Ceola. Surely, that is little enough."

Not bait him,
Shadow
? she asked silently, and lifted her
chin, meeting Elby's angry eyes.

"I will not sign a contract of sale for The
Glass," she stated calmly. "Nor will I agree to waive my right of
refusal."

Elby sighed. "I do not have time to argue
with you, Ceola. You may sign this contract now, or you will sign
it not very much later."

Ceola felt her heartbeat increase, and took
a breath, seeking her center.

"No," she said.

"Very well. Your sister said that I might
find you unreasonable." He came forward, walking heavy, his hand
coming up almost casually, swinging toward her--

If your opponent engages,
end it as quickly as possible
, Shadow
coached her.

She moved her head to one side, grabbed his
wrist, and twisted, letting his own momentum hurl him into the
bar.

"Oof!" Certainly the move surprised him, but
it neither incapacitated him nor opened the way for her to flee.
Indeed, he seemed to bounce forward from his encounter with the
hard edge and his strike this time was meant to do harm.

Ceola ducked, shifted her center to her left
foot and brought her right leg up between his legs.

Elby howled and crumbled to the floor. Ceola
leapt over him and ran, whipping 'round the end of the bar and
heading for the front door, meaning to scream the proctors to her
rescue.

The door opened when she was two steps
short, and Jas Per stepped in, pocketing his key. Unable to stop,
Ceola crashed into him, her nose against his chest.

Strong arms gripped her, holding her upright
until she regained her balance, releasing her the instant she had
done so.

Jas Per looked over her head toward the bar
from which groans still emanated.

"We must--call the proctors," Ceola
gasped.

Jas Per spared her a quizzical glance, as if
she had spoken in some language he did not comprehend, and strode
to the bar. He stepped behind it, bent--and the groans were
abruptly silenced.

Ceola started forward--and relaxed as Jas
Per hove into sight, Elby held over one shoulder like a
particularly irritating sack of sand.

"What should I do with him, mistress?" he
asked.

"Take him to the proctors," she said. "He
attacked me. I will go myself--"

"No need," Jas Per interrupted. He put his
hand on the counter and took it away, a gleam remained against the
wood when he did. "This was in his shirt pocket. Looks like the key
to our back door to me."

"So it is," she said unsteadily. "Jas
Per--"

"I'll handle it," he said, interrupting
again, which for Jas Per was an event of epic proportions. He moved
'round the bar, seeming to mind Elby's weight not at all. "You'll
be all right?"

She considered, surprised at how very well
she did feel. Endorphins, she thought, but so what? She smiled up
at Jas Per.

"I will be all right," she assured him.
"Hurry back."

He grinned. "Yes, mistress," he said, and
moved past her, out the door, and into the street.

The signal for Night Port sounded as the
door swung shut behind him.

*

It was, as she had expected, a bill of sale
for The Friendly Glass, building, furnishings and clientèle, made
out to one Clarence O'Berin. The buy-out was . . . a significant
sum, to her eye, but no such riches as might keep Min in idle
luxury for much more than a few Standards.

That being so, still it must be assumed that
her sister knew what she was about, for there was her signature on
the last page, and a blank line, awaiting Ceola's.

There being as yet a lack of custom, despite
the changing of the Port, Ceola unracked a glass and poured two
fingers of the red into it. She flipped back to the first page and
read the terms again, sipping. The wine was so dry it puckered the
mouth, sharpening the sense of taste. Alas, it did not perform a
similar service for her mind, which refused to focus on the
question of what she was to do now. She did not think that Min
would wish to be paid over time.

And, she thought--and it was surely the
wine's genius this time--was she even certain that it was Min's
wish to sell? It had, after all, been Elby who had brought the
paper. Could he not have coerced Min as easily as he had--

The street door opened. Ceola glanced up as
Hantem entered and moved slowly down to her usual place. Quietly,
she slipped the contract into her sleeve, put her glass below the
counter and took a deep breath.

*

It was well into Night Port and Jas Per long
since returned, freeing her to the alcove office, with the contract
and the computer, accounts open on the screen before her. A quiet
step brought her out of her chair--

Shadow lifted an eyebrow, leaning his
shoulder against the door. "Good evening, Ceola, are you well?"

"Well? Of course--" Her hand flew to her
mouth. She had forgotten!

"Shadow--I do beg your pardon! So much has
occurred..."

"Yes, so Jasper tells me. It does a teacher
good to hear that his lessons are heeded so well. What has
happened, though, if you may tell it?"

She plucked the contract from the desk and
silently held it out to him. He leaned forward and slipped it out
of her hand, glanced down the first page, flipped to the last, read
the second, and handed the whole back to her.

"I take it that you have withheld your
agreement, and that this was the cause of Captain Elby's . . .
annoyance?"

"Yes,"Ceola said. "I have been sitting here
trying to think what to do . . ."

"Surely, it is obvious? Buy your sister's
share from her."

Ceola waved at the screen.
"Yes, but it was
how
that I was just now trying to solve. We--cash is not flowing.
I think," she said slowly, "that this is a temporary situation that
will soon resolve itself . . ."
as
soon
, she added silently,
as Min is locked out of the
financials
.

"I see," Shadow said. "Perhaps-- "He
stopped, head turning slightly, and now Ceola heard it, too--soft
footsteps coming from the back.

"One moment, by your leave," he murmured and
faded out of the doorway.

Ceola rose, hands fisted. From the hallway
came a gasp, a murmur and the sound of footsteps, approaching . . .
somewhat less stealthily.

She was not really surprised to see Min
enter the room, propelled by Shadow's hand on her shoulder. The
Scout positioned himself in the doorway, face so neutral it might
have been carved from gold.

Min threw a no-doubt beseeching glance at
him over her shoulder but his expression did not alter. Ceola
cleared her throat.

"If you are come after Elby, I am afraid
that Jas Per has taken him to the proctors."

"I know," Min said quietly. "I am come to
beg you, Ceola. Sign the contract."

She stared. "Min--does he compel you? You
need not accept it, you can--"

Min laughed. "Compel me? No, he does not
compel me! I compel myself! This-- business, as you call it, as our
mother did, as if it were some shining gift for which we ought
always to be grateful, while it demands our efforts and destroys
our strength! It is a stone 'round my neck. I strangle because of
it! Sign the contract, sister, and let us both be free!"

"I do not find it so . . . burdensome as
you," Ceola said, wondering. How could she not have known how much
her sister hated their livelihood? "I--I wish to buy your
share."

Min sniffed. "Mr. O'Berin offers cash.
Time-payments do me not one whit of good."

Ceola felt her stomach clench. She had
guessed as much, and yet--

"Therefore, payment shall be made in cash,"
Shadow spoke up from his post in the doorway. "What is required is
the name and direction of your agent in this matter."

Min turned to stare at him. "I will receive
the money myself and sign whatever Ceola would have me sign."

It seemed to Ceola that Shadow . . .
hesitated, perhaps to take himself in hand. When he spoke again, it
was in that same quiet, measured tone. "The thing will be done
properly, or it will not be done at all. Will you go to the Council
of Clans with this?"

Ceola nearly choked. Bring it to the
Council? The expense would ruin them all!

Min paled, as well, but she accorded Shadow
a bow.

"As you will. I shall . . . locate an
appropriate agent and send the information to Ceola tomorrow. Is
that acceptable?"

Shadow looked toward Ceola, who swallowed
and inclined her head, feeling foolishly formal.

"That is acceptable, sister; I thank
you."

*

The next day came, and the information
regarding Min's agent with it. Ceola sat behind the bar and sipped
tea, waiting for Shadow.

He was to bring the money and the contract
naming him her "silent partner"in the business of running The
Friendly Glass. The contract was at her insistence; he had
suggested an honor loan, but she would have none of it.

"It will be done properly," she had told
him, "or not at all!"And managed a wobbly grin when he laughed.

But when the hour of their appointment came,
it was not Shadow who strolled into The Glass, but Tonith, bearing
a small bag."Good-day, Ceola!" the Scout called cheerily. "I beg
that you will accept me as a substitute for the Captain, whom duty
has called."

Ceola frowned. "Called where?"she asked.

"Off-world,"Tonith answered, as if it were
perfectly reasonable. "And who can know when he might return-- you
know what First-Ins are!"

As it happened, she didn't. Indeed, she had
no idea that Shadow was a "first-in"whatever that might mean among
Scouts. Tonith dropped the bag on the bar and hitched a hip onto a
stool. Leaning forward, she placed a coin before Ceola.

"Might I beg a glass of the house's
finest?"

"Our license is for Night Port," Ceola said
sternly, and pushed the coin back across the bar. Then she looked
up and smiled. "However, I am perfectly within my rights to share a
glass with a friend."

Tonith laughed. "Let us, then, by all means
share that friendly glass!" She waved at the packet. "The Captain
sends this; his tale was that you would know how best to dispose of
it."

Ceola poured two glasses of the red, shared
the first sip, then excused herself to the alcove office to open
the packet.