Ascendant Sun: A New Novel in the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro Read Free Book Online Page A

Kelric. "What the hell do you want?"

He blinked. "Work." That one word came hard. On Coba, the only woman he ever spoke to was his wife, the queen of the city-state where he lived.

She looked him up and down. "Half my servos are out, what with the Collapse. I could use a cargo handler. But it's heavy work. If you're looking for easy times, go somewhere else."

"Handler is fine." He enjoyed heavy lifting. "How much?"

"I'll pay you one thousand centillas an hour."

He almost snorted. Did she think giving him the wage in centillas would make it sound like more? Ten Imperial dollars was nothing no matter how she named it. "Thirty dollars an hour," he said.

She laughed. "You got a high opinion of yourself."

"With good reason."

"Fifteen."

"Twenty-five."

She moved her hand in dismissal. "It'd wipe out what measly profit I wring from this business."

Kelric had no idea what a good wage was here. So he bluffed. "Twenty-five."

"Eighteen."

"Twenty-five."

She swore, making him wonder if he had pushed too hard and lost the job. Then she said, "All right. Twenty-five. But you better work that pretty ass of yours, boyo, or you're out."

He stiffened. "Kelric."

"What?"

"My name is Kelric. Not boyo. And leave my 'ass' out of it."

"Touchy." She swung her legs off the console and leaned forward, ruffling through the plasti-sheets. "Fill this out." She held out a sheet to him. "I'll need your documents too. Passport, visa, whatever you got."

Damn. "I have no documents."

She raised her eyebrows. Then she set the plasti-sheet back on the console. "Why not?"

"I lost them in the war."

"Why? You in trouble?"

"No."

"Then why don't you get new ID?"

"I was a prisoner."

"A POW?" Unease flickered on her face. "You ISC?"

"It wasn't a military prison."

"So." She sat back and crossed her arms. "You're a con."

"No."

"Then what?"

Kelric had no intention of telling her about Coba. He had made a vow, for his wife and children, to protect their world. He doubted this cargo master gave a kiss in a quasar who had kept him prisoner, but ISC and the Ruby Dynasty would punish Coba if either learned the truth. As Imperator he could protect Coba, if ISC reestablished itself. But he wasn't Imperator yet, ISC was a mess, and unguarded confidences left a trail.

So he said, "I was a slave." It was true, technically. According to Coba's antediluvian laws, his wife, Ixpar, had owned him.

The cargo master uncrossed her arms. Sympathy showed on her face. "You seen those damn Aristos in our port? Frigging Aristo sadists in a Skolian port. I can't believe it." She leaned forward. "Listen, you go to a relocation office, tell them you were a taskmaker, and register your DNA. Once you're in the database, I can hire you, no problem. I'll be glad to give you a job. You're a free man here, you remember that."

Kelric knew that once his DNA pattern got into the system, he was in continual danger of discovery. "I can't."

"Why not?" When he didn't answer, her wariness returned. "You don't act like a slave. Too cocky. You're a con, aren't you?"

"No."

She sat back and crossed her arms again. "You tried to play on my sympathy, hmmmm? No one makes a fool out of me, Kelli-boy. No documents and you want twenty-five an hour. Not a chance."

"I wasn't lying to you."

"Why should I hire you?"

"You need me."

"Not that bad." She swung her feet back up on the console and picked up the schedule she had been reading. "We got no more to say."

Kelric knew he would be hard-pressed to find legitimate employment if he refused to register with the authorities. But he had picked up enough from her mind to know she was more desperate for laborers than she let on.

"I'll take twenty per hour," he said.

She continued to read.

"Eighteen."

She looked up. "Ten."

"Eighteen." He hoped he had read her mood right, that she needed handlers enough to go for the higher wage.

"Forget it," she said.

"I can match the output of any other two handlers you have."

She glanced over his