Kikun straightened, slid the strap over his shoulder. "Wait for you outside."
"Right." Pasting a smile on her face, she plunged into the fug.
Rohant stood by the door surrounded (not too close-the big cats were on their feet, tails switching, snarling whenever they felt crowded) by a herd of flirty matrons, his ears drawn back flat against his head under the assault from cascades of silvery giggles. Most of the Judges and the other male yips were at the other end of the Hall, gathered about Kiscomaskin, preening while he courted them as assiduously as he had Shadith. She elbowed her way to Rohant's side, tapped Magimeez on the nose, touched the Ciocan's arm. "Ciocan Rohant," she said firmly, "I NEED some fresh air. Come walk with me." She turned her plastic smile on the women. "You will excuse us a few minutes, I'm sure."
The cool saltcrisp night was like ointment on a burn; she stopped on the steps and sucked in a long breath-which was a mistake because the alcohol hit her hard. She swayed and giggled, forgot about Ginny listening and tried to tell them about Arel and the message, but her tongue got so twisted between competing langues all she got out was nonsense.
Rohant snorted with disgust, scooped her up, and went trotting off after Kikun, Magimeez and Nagafog frisking beside him, happy to be out of that oppressive crowd. Sassa came swooping down from a perch high on the facade, screeched a greeting to his tie-Rohant and went sweeping away in wide loops, gaining height with each turn.
The terrace was filled with soft sounds that merged into a pillowy quiet lying heavily over the crouched beetle-forms of the flits and the smaller groundcars. Several somethings with wings flew by overhead, driven into panic by the presence of the raptor; a small rodent with large round ears scuttled from under a groundcar as they moved past it. Shadith started giggling again. Rohant growled, clamped a hand over her mouth and walked faster. "Eh, Kikun. Drivers? Guards?"
"In there." He jabbed his thumb at the building behind them. "There's a room set aside for them. Easy goes round here." He started off, heading toward a large flit at the edge of the terrace. "I loaded the gear in that one over there, the black and silver job."
Rohant grunted, stopped walking and glared at the sky.
Kikun looked back. "What?"
Rohant shifted his, grip on Shadith; her breathing had slowed, steadied, she wasn't quite asleep, but not far from it. "I'm thinking him up there, he wants us to get out, he could've stomped on this an hour ago."
"You want to go back in?"
"Na." He looked down at Shadith. "She said it, slam ahead hard and see if the momentum will carry us. Get the door open, let's hit the road."
WATCHER 6
The flit lifted without fuss. In the cabin Shadith was stretched out on a padded bench, snoring a little. She lay belly down, her face turned to one side, flushed and puffy. One arm had flopped down, the back of her hand pressed into the harsh pile of the khaki carpet covering the floor. Kikun sat on the floor, watching her.
Rohant turned the flit directly west, increased speed to maximum and clicked on the otto:P. He started rummaging through the abdits around the pilot's chair, grunted with satisfaction as he came up with a book of maps. "Kikun…" He looked around. "Let her sleep it off, she'll be all right."
Kikun jerked his right hand in an impatient gesture. "She is very troubled. There are things I don't understand about her."
"Dio! Kikun, there's an encyclopedia I don't understand about either of you. Come round here. I want you to do some dowsing for me."
Vaguely uneasy, disturbed as much by his uncertainty as by what he was seeing, Ginbiryol Seyirshi watched the flit lift off. He turned to Ajeri Kilavez. "Do you have an answer from Makwahkik yet?"
She wrinkled her nose, waggled a finger at one of the cells. "Look there, you can see he's still down with the go-between, trying to wring more information out of him. Stupid. They got all the yobba has hours ago. I could try going through that Na-priest Puk's running, if you don't mind uncovering an asset."
For something as unlikely as that flit getting away from Puk is what you mean, Ginbiryol thought. You are getting uppity also, Ajeri my sweet. I shall have to do something about that. Though perhaps you are right this time. No. That girl changed in the middle somewhere and it was not the wine that did it. Something happened. Something unobtrusive that I missed but she did not. Clever child. Too clever to trust. I had better run that recording again, tight focus on her face. Take care of this business first. Decide and forget. For the moment. "We will let it rest for the moment. Makwahkik is not a stupid man. He should soon realize the futility of questioning that fool for data he has not got. As soon as he returns to his quarters, make sure he receives the warning. You have alerted Puk?"
"Yeh, soon's the flit was off the ground. I'll feed in course data once they've settled on their line, shouldn't be long now."
"Yes. You sent an EYE with Puk?"
"Certainly, sir. I was sure you'd want to see the attack and the outcome. Its send is coming into 2; long as the Avatars are together, we can spare one channel."
"Yes. Good. I will be at the workstation for some time, I do not know precisely how long. When the attack seems imminent, Ajeri tiszt, call me."
"Certainly, sir."
The simi chattered in annoyance as Ginbiryol set him aside, but settled to a mutter-filled brooding as his master ignored him and moved with ponderous dignity across the Bridge.
Ginbiryol scanned the recordings of the party. Overview first, marking the movements of the Three, hunting for anyone who seemed to be paying peculiar attention to the Avatars. Nothing. Much gush and maneuver to get near the girl or the Dyslaeror, but nothing worth a second thought. He reran the record, focusing on the girl, paying special attention to her moments with Kiscomaskin. She didn't like him. Might even call her hostile. That surprised Ginbiryol-and disturbed him. He was seldom so wrong about people's reactions. This mistake might be dangerous, might mean there was a flaw in his plans. A flaw that should be corrected when Puk was finished with the Avatars, but-not necessarily.
He ran the section with Kiscomaskin again but found nothing to justify his unease; he fast forwarded past the section where she was standing by herself, followed her on her ramble around the room…
"Ginny." Ajeri's voice broke through his concentration, acerbic, impatient. "Puk has the flit in view."
He frowned at Shadith's small drab figure as she started to sway, the wine taking hold, turned the frown on Ajeri. He disliked being interrupted and he objected to the tone of her voice, but he touched off the replay without comment and returned to the Captain's Chair.
CELL 1
The flit was speeding along a few meters above the water. Inside, Shadith was still asleep, turned on her side now, her knees drawn up, one hand tucked under her cheek; she was flushed and rosy and lociked about ten. Kikun was kneeling beside her, frowning at her, stroking her delicately with his fingertips, inspecting them as If they could provide some answers to what confused him about the girl.
Rohant was stretched out with the pilot chair tilted almost flat; his feet were on the console and he was dozing, a muscle jumping by his mouth, the tips of his ears twitching. Sassa was perched on the arm-of the co chair, dozing. The cats were on the floor beside Kikun, curled up together, also asleep.