Coyote Rising by Allen Steele Read Free Book Online

Levin . . . I’m the Chief Proctor.”
    A lot of authority for someone nearly young enough to be her son. “Allegra DiSilvio,” she replied, shaking hands with him. “Look, I’m sorry I was so . . .”
    “Don’t worry about it.” Chris displayed a smile that didn’t quite reachhis eyes. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, but the lady over there . . . well, she keeps to herself. Doesn’t leave the house much.”
    “I picked up on that.”
    Chris idly plucked at some grass between his knees. “Her name’s Cecelia . . . Cecelia Levin, although everyone calls her Sissy. She’s my mother.”
    Allegra felt the blood rush from her face. She suddenly recalled the old woman having mentioned that she had a son in Liberty. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
    “You couldn’t have. You’ve just arrived.” He shook his head. “Look, my mother is . . . truth is, she’s not well. She’s very sick, in fact . . . as you may have noticed.”
    Allegra nodded. His mother had stood out in the pouring rain the night before and raved about how she owned both her chickens and the stars; yes, that qualified as unusual behavior. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “Can’t be helped. Mom’s been through a lot in the last few years. She—” He broke off. “Long story. In any case, that’s why no one has set up camp out here. People are afraid of her . . . and to tell the truth, she chases them away. Which is why you’re unusual.”
    “How come?”
    Chris raised his eyes, and she could see that they were much the same as his mother’s: blue yet somehow hollow, although not with quite the same degree of darkness. “She let you stay. Believe me, if she didn’t like you, your tent wouldn’t still be standing. Oh, she might have let you spend the night, but as soon as you left she would have set fire to it. That’s what she’s done to everyone else who’s tried to camp next to her.”
    Allegra felt a cold chill. She started to rise, but Chris clasped her wrist. “No, no . . . calm down. She’s not going to do that. She likes you. She told me so herself.”
    “She . . . likes me?”
    “Uh-huh . . . or at least as much as she likes anyone these days. She believes you’re a nice woman who’s come to keep her company.”
    “She wouldn’t even speak to me this morning!”
    “She’s shy.”
    “Oh, for the love of . . . !”
    “Look,” he said, an edge in his voice, “she wants you to stay, and I want you to stay. No one will bother you out here, and she needs someone to look out for her.”
    “I . . . I can’t do that,” Allegra said. “I’ve just taken a job in Liberty . . . washing dishes at the community hall. I can’t afford to . . .”
    “Great. I’m glad you’ve found work.” He paused, and smiled meaningfully. “That won’t pay much, though, and by winter this tent of yours will be pretty cold. But I can fix that. Stay here and take care of Mom when you’re not working, and you’ll have your own cabin . . . with a woodstove and even your own privy. That’s better than anyone else from your ship will get. And you’ll never have to deal with gangs or turf-tax. Anyone who bothers you spends six months in the stockade, doing hard time on the public works crew. Got me?”
    Allegra understood. She was being given the responsibility of looking out for the demented mother of the Chief Proctor. So long as Sissy Levin had company, Allegra DiSilvio would never have to worry about freezing to death in the dark, being shaken down by the local stooges, or being raped in her tent. She would have shelter, protection, and the solitude she craved.
    “Got you,” she said. “It’s a deal.”
    They shook on it, then Chris heaved himself to his feet, extending a hand to help her up. “I’ll talk to Mom, tell her that you’re staying,” he said. “Don’t rush things. She’ll introduce herself to you when she feels like it. But I think you’ll make great