Eidolon Read Online Free Page B

assurances
that all was well, a mere misunderstanding between kin. On the edge
of speaking them, Ceola pressed her lips tight.
    When she opened them again, three long
heartbeats later, it was to speak words that were . . . infinitely
. . . more difficult.
    "Please escort my sister out, Jas Per," she
said and each word tore painfully at her throat. "I will cover the
counter."
    "Yes, mistress," he said expressionlessly,
and stepped in to take Min's arm.
    *
    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