Teckla by Steven Brust Read Free Book Online

bed without having a single reason to. Not one damned reason. Cawti was up, but I didn't know if she was home or not; neither thought gave me any impulse to see the world outside of my room. My business was running itself; I had no obligations to fulfill. The only thing interesting in my life was finding out the story behind who had killed the Easterner, and that was for Cawti, who seemed not to care.
    But I made it into the kitchen to start heating water. Cawti was in the living room reading a tabloid. I felt a tightening in my throat. I started the water, then went into the bathroom. I used the chamber pot and cleaned it with sorcery. Neat. Efficient. Just like a Dragaeran. I shaved in cold water. My grandfather shaved in cold water (before he grew his beard) because he says it makes you better able to stand the winters. That sounds like nonsense to me, but I do it out of respect for him. I chewed on a tooth stick, rubbed down my gums, and rinsed my mouth out. By then the water was hot enough for my bath. I took it, dried myself, cleaned up the bathroom, dressed, and dumped the water out the back. Splash, i stood and watched the puddles and rivers it made running down the alley. I've often wondered why no one claims to read the future in dumped bath water. I looked to the left and saw the ground was dry beneath my neighbor's back porch. Ha! I was up earlier than she again. So there, world.
    One small victory
    I walked into the living room and sat down in my chair, facing the couch. I caught a glimpse of a headline on Cawti's tabloid that read, "Call for the investigation—" on about four lines of big black print, and that wasn't the whole thing. She put the thing down and looked at me. I said, "I'm mad at you."
    She said, "I know. Should we go out and eat?" I nodded. For some reason, we can't seem to discuss things at home. We went to our favorite klava hole with Loiosh and Rocza on my shoulders and I ignored the tension and twisting in my stomach long enough to order a few eggs and drink some klava with very little honey. Cawti ordered tea. She said, "Okay. Why are you mad?" which is like getting in the first cut to put the other guy on the defensive.
    So I said, "Why didn't you tell me where you were?" She said, "Why did you want to know?" with a bit of a smile as we realized what we were doing.
    I said, "Why shouldn't I?" and we both grinned, and I felt just a little better for just a little while.
    Then she shook her head and said, "When you asked where I was and when I'd be back, it sounded as if you wanted to approve or disapprove of it." I felt my head snap back. "That's absurd," I said. "I just wanted to know where you were."
    She glared at me. "All right, so I'm absurd. That still doesn't give you the right—"
    "Dammit, I didn't say you were absurd and you know it. You're accusing me—"
    "I didn't accuse you of anything. I said how I felt."
    "Well, by saying that you felt that way, you were implying that—"
    "This is ridiculous."
    Which was the perfect chance to say, "All right, so I'm ridiculous," but I know better. Instead, I said, "Look, I was not then trying, nor have I ever tried, to dictate your actions. I came home, you weren't there—"
    "Oh, and this is the first time that's happened?"
    "Yes," I said, which we both knew wasn't true, but the word came out before I could stop it. The corner of her mouth twitched up and the eyebrow lowered, which is one of my favorite things that she does. "All right," I said. "But I was worried about you."
    "About me?" she said. "Or afraid that I was involved in something you don't approve of?"
    "I already know you're involved in something I don't approve of."
    "Why don't you approve of it?"
    I said, "Because it's stupid, first of all. How are five Easterners and a Teckla going to 'destroy the despotism' of an Empire? And—"
    "There are more. That's only the tip of the iceberg." I stopped. "What's an iceberg?"
    "Ummm… I don't know. You know what I mean."
    "Yeah. The