Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill Read Free Book Online Page B

Regulator like you and my sister.”
    â€œPut that coin away. Now!” I clap a hand over the purse. “Anybody sees it, they won’t bother with kidnapping. Just slit your throat and leave your corpse rotting in an aqueduct.”
    â€œYou do not want it?” He withdraws, taken aback. “But Mother said dalit will do anything for money.”
    â€œYour mother doesn’t know squat.” My temper almost erupts before I remember that he’s a kid—his mother’s snotty manners aren’t his fault. I put a heavy hand on his shoulder.Turn him around and walk him to the street. “Even if I was willing to take your coin, I can’t teach you. I trained to be a Regulator in battle school. Not with a master, which means I’m not allowed an acolyte.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œIt’s writ in the Tenets, and a Regulator never breaks the Tenets. Now go home. Before the Dræu get you.”
    But he’s not giving in that easily. “I do not believe in the Dræu. Nor the boogeyman.” He locks his heels and glares defiantly. “Tomorrow I will return with two purses full. Then you will change your mind.”
    The desire to take the boy’s offer is worse than my hunger. That much coin would pay off Father’s guards for a whole year. Maybe two. But I can’t accept. Vienne would flay me if I broke the Tenets.
    I shake my head. “Don’t count on it, kid. Money doesn’t buy everything.”
    â€œOf course it does.” He bows gracefully. Then glides back into the bazaar, acting like he owns it. For all I know, he does.
    â€œMimi, track his biorhythm signature until he’s out of range. Make sure he’s safe.”
    â€œHow sweet,” she says. “I thought your gruff demeanor was just an act.”
    â€œHe’s a self-centered, spoiled rotten little git.”
    â€œYes,” she says. “He reminds you of yourself.”
    â€œAt that age, maybe.”
    â€œAt this age, too.”
    Now I’m the one who wants to make obscene gestures. “Go to sleep, Mimi.”
    â€œI do not need rest.”
    â€œI need a rest from you. Take a break. I’ll call you when I need you.”
    â€œRest order received,” she says. Then goes silent.
    I’m settling back in the chair when I spot the three miners. They meander through the bazaar, their patched coveralls making them look out of place and, at the same time, too poor to interest even the brassiest vendors. Their hair is powdered orange-red with iron dust. Their faces smudged and desperate. It’s obvious they’re looking for help.
    Look somewhere else, I think. Quickly, I close my eyes. But it’s a wasted effort. Trouble always finds me. People like this, their desperation is inversely proportional to the amount of money in their pockets. The more they need a Regulator, the less they’ve got to pay for one. Not this time. Not me. No more charity work. I need paying clients. It’s the curiosity that kills me. Miners? What are miners doing in New Eden?
    I sneak a peek.
    They catch me.
    The tallest of the three, a female with ruddy cheeks and matching hair, points me out. Though she’s about my age, the worry lines on her forehead are deep. She’s thin, but tall for a miner, with shoulder-length brown hair and a long neck.There’s a heart-shaped, delicate face under all that dirt.
    She says something, probably about me. In unison, the men shake their heads. Good choice, I think. I don’t work for miners. And if they knew who my father was, they wouldn’t want me, either.
    The female, exasperated, rubs her fingers together. They’re talking money now. She thinks I’ll work cheap. The two men are wary—I swear one of them says dalit. After a few more seconds, she throws up her hands, disgusted.
    Limping slightly, she walks past two booths, one selling spare duster parts and another hawking amino gruel