Balance of Trade by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee Read Free Book Online

safety. Myself and yourself, we speak additionally, after solving."

    She bowed again, hand over heart, and Jethri did his best to copy the thing with his legs shaking fit to tip him over. When he looked up the door was closing behind her. It opened again immediately and the yellow-haired assistant stepped inside with a bow of his own.

    "Jethri Gobelyn," he said in his soft Trade, "please follow me. A car will take you to your ship."
    * * *

    "SHE SAID SHE wouldn't kill him," Jethri said hoarsely. The captain, his mother, shook her head and Uncle Paitor sighed.

    "There's worse things than killing, son," he said, and that made Jethri want to scrunch into his chair and bawl, like he had ten Standards fewer and stood about as tall as he felt.

    What he did do, was take another swallow of coffee and meet Paitor's eyes straight. "I'm sorry, sir."

    "You've got cause," his uncle acknowledged.

    "Double-ups on dock," the captain said, looking at them both. "Nobody works alone. We don't want trouble. We stay close and quiet and we lift as soon as we can without making it look like a rush."

    Paitor nodded. "Agreed."

    Jethri stirred, fingers tight 'round the coffee mug. "Ma'am, she—Master Trader ven'Deelin said she wanted to talk to me, after she—settled—things. I wouldn't want to insult her."

    "None of us wants to insult her," his mother said, with more patience than he'd expected. "However, a Master Trader is well aware that a trade ship must trade. She can't expect us to hang around while our cargo loses value. If she wants to talk to you, boy, she'll find you."

    "No insult," Paitor added, "for a 'prentice to bow to the authority of his seniors. Liadens understand chain of command real well." The captain laughed, short and sharp, then stood up.

    "Go to bed, Jethri—you're out on your feet. Be on dock second shift—" she slid a glance to Paitor. "Dyk?"

    His uncle nodded.

    "You'll partner with Dyk. We're onloading seed, ship's basics, trade tools. Barge's due Port-noon. Stick close , understand me?"

    "Yes, ma'am." Wobbling, Jethri got to his feet, nodded to his seniors, put the mug into the wash-up and turned toward the door.

    "Jethri."

    He turned back, thinking his uncle's face looked—sad.

    "I wanted to let you know," Paitor said. "The spice did real well for us."

    Jethri took a deep breath. "Good," he said and his voice didn't shake at all. "That's good."

Day 35
Standard Year 1118
Gobelyn's Market
Dockside

    "OK," SAID DYK, easing the forks on the hand-lift back. "Got it." He toggled the impeller fan and nodded over his shoulder. "Let's go, kid. Guard my back."

    Jethri managed a weak grin. Dyk was inclined to treat the double-up and Paitor's even-voiced explanation of disquiet on the docks as a seam-splitting joke. He guided the hand-lift to the edge of the barge, stopped, theatrically craned both ways, flashed a thumbs-up over his shoulder to Jethri, who was lagging behind, and dashed out onto the Market's dock. Sighing, Jethri walked slowly in his wake.

    "Hey, kid, hold it a sec." The voice was low and not entirely unfamiliar. Jethri spun.

    Sirge Milton was leaning against a cargo crate, hand in the pocket of his jacket and nothing like a smile on his face.

    "Real smart," he said, "setting a Liaden on me."

    Jethri shook his head, caught somewhere between relief and dismay.

    "You don't understand," he said, walking forward. "The card's a fake."

    The man against the crate tipped his head. "Is it, now."

    "Yeah, it is. I've seen the real one, and it's nothing like the one you've got."

    "So what?"

    "So," Jethri said patiently, stopping and showing empty hands in the old gesture of goodwill, "whoever gave you the card wasn't Norn ven'Deelin. He was somebody who said he was Norn ven'Deelin and he used the card and her—the honor of her name—to cheat you."

    Sirge Milton leaned, silent, against the cargo bail.

    Jethri sighed sharply. "Look, Sirge, this is serious stuff. The master trader has to