In all justice, she should get a small portion of the reward Kiel and Baltha were collecting. Maia trusted Renna to stick up for her, though from the size of the getaway cabal, her share still wasn't likely to be large.
There was also the matter of her appointment with the PES investigator, now long overdue because of circumstances beyond her control. Was it too late to make good her promise? Would testimony before a local magistrate suffice? Part of her determination was personal. Tizbe Beller locked me up to keep me from talking. So that's exactly what I'll do! Of all the sensations warming her — freedom, cleanliness, the physical luxury of the bath — she dwelled for a few minutes on revenge. The Bellers and Joplands will be sorry they ever made me their enemy, she vowed grandly.
It wasn't a sound that tickled Maia's attention. Rather, she grew gradually, uncomfortably aware of a certain lack of sound. Frowning, it began to dawn on her that it had been a while since she'd heard the murmur of conversation on the porch below. Or the pacing of the var on watch, or the clinking of bottles, or Renna's persistent, naive questions.
Suddenly, the bath no longer felt luxurious, but confining. I'm probably turning into a prune, anyway, she thought. Her relaxed muscles had to be coaxed into lifting her weight out of the tub. While toweling herself, Maia could not suppress a rising sense of foreboding. Something was wrong.
Maia lowered the cover of the bathtub and climbed on top to reach the solitary window, wiping the foggy pane and pressing close to peer down, onto the veranda. Rows of empty bottles lay along the balcony railing, but where the women had been sitting, no one remained in sight.
Probably Kiel and Baltha came back with news, she thought. But nobody was visible near the main entrance, either. Did they go in to eat? she wondered.
Maia shoved upward against the window until it slid along wooden tracks, sash weights rattling on both sides. Fresh, chill air streamed in, sowing goose bumps as moisture evaporated from her skin. She stuck her head out and called, "Hey! Where is everybody?"
A few locals were in view near a warehouse, loading a horse-drawn wagon. When she stretched a little farther and turned left, she saw a crowd down at the embankment, far below, moving toward one of the piers. Maia's heart surged when she recognized Thalia's stocky form and Baltha's shock of blonde hair. No. They wouldn't do that to me! But there was Renna. Taller than Baltha, walking awkwardly with his arms around two of the women, rocking from side to side.
"Lysos!" Maia cried, hopping back onto the tiles. Her clothes were gone — no doubt to help strand her here. With a curse, she now recalled Thalia's parting words, which had seemed odd for someone you expected to see again!
Clutching a towel, Maia dashed from the room and swept downstairs, only to be blocked momentarily by the innkeeper, holding a cloth bag and a paper envelope.
"Oh, it's you, miss. Your friends told me to give you—"
Her words cut off as Maia pushed her aside and streaked out the front door, leaping down the steps onto the gravel road. Shopkeepers stared and a trio of three-year-old clones giggled, but Maia dug in, kicking pebbles as she ran, ignoring the bite of cold sea air. Turning fast at the embankment, she skidded and sprawled hard onto hands and knees, but was up again in an instant, not bothering to check for bleeding or to pick up the spilled towel. Maia ran naked past loading cranes and moored ships, to amazed looks from sailors and townswomen alike.
Two longboats had already set out from the pier, oars-women pulling with steady, even strokes. When Maia reached the end of the wharf, she screamed at Kiel, who was near the helmsman in the second boat.
"Liar! Damn you! You can't just—" Stamping, she sought the words to express her fury. Kiel's jaw dropped in surprise, while several of the vars Maia had fought next to, now laughed at the sight of her standing there, unclothed and quaking with anger.
The dark woman cupped her hands and called back. 'We can't take you along, Maia. You're too young and it's dangerous! The letter explains—"
"Julp on your damn letter!" Maia screamed in anger and disappointment. "What does Renna have to say about . . ."
Then she saw what she had not noticed before. The man from space had a glazed, unhappy look on his face, and was not focusing on anything or anybody in particular. "You're kidnapping him!" she cried, hoarsely. .. "No, Maia. It's not what you—"
Kiel's voice cut off as Maia dove headfirst into the frigid water and came up sputtering. She inhaled a painful, salty rasp, then set out after the boat, swimming with all her might.
Peripatetic's Log:
Stratos Mission:
Arrival + 41.051 Ms
