Desert Stars by Joe Vasicek Read Free Book Online Page B

sat
upright.
    “ What? How is that
possible? Mira is a wonderful, beautiful girl—anyone would be lucky
to marry her.”
    “ I know,” said Sathi, “but
who would want to marry their sons into a tribe as weak as ours?
They would certainly gain no advantage by it. And since most of her
cousins are either married or gone to the domes, her chances of
finding a husband in the desert are very slim indeed.”
    Jalil was dumbstruck. He’d never
thought Mira would have a problem finding a husband—but now that
his father mentioned it, he had to admit that the outlook was worse
than he’d thought.
    “ What are you getting at?”
he asked.
    “ Can’t you see, my son? If
my beloved daughter is to make the pilgrimage, now may be her only
opportunity. Few convoys come out this far, and without a husband
to escort her, I would never think of sending her alone.” He
swirled the coffee in his cup, eying it meaningfully.
    “ Wait,” said Jalil,
realization slowly dawning on him. “You want to send her with
me?”
    Sathi smiled wide. “That’s
right.”
    Jalil swallowed. “But who would be our
chaperone? The temple is on the other side of the world—it might
take us months to get there.”
    Sathi laughed. “Chaperone! My dear
boy, what makes you think I could spare a chaperone for that
long?”
    “ But—just the two of us?
Alone?”
    “ Don’t worry; I know I can
trust her with you. You are a man of honor, after all.”
    “ But what will the other
tribes think?”
    “ As far as they know,
you’re brother and sister. They won’t think it unusual for you to
travel together.”
    Jalil paused to work through all the
implications of his father’s request. “But if I’m leaving the camp
for good, how will she get back?”
    “ I have a wealthy aunt who
lives in one of the domes next to the temple,” said his father.
“She can afford to fly her to the spaceport in the east desert, and
I will make arrangements with the Jabaliyn to bring her the rest of
the way. Speaking of which, how much have you saved up for the
journey?”
    “ Uh, about eight hundred
credits.”
    Sathi clucked his tongue and shook his
head. “Not nearly enough. Agree to escort Mira, and I’ll give you
triple that.”
    “ Twenty-four hundred?”
Jalil asked, blinking in surprise. “You would give me that
much?”
    “ For my own flesh and
blood? Of course.”
    Jalil glanced down at the cup of
coffee in his hand and nervously fingered his locket. Twenty-four
hundred Gaian credits was a lot of money; it would be foolish to
refuse his father’s support. Still, something felt wrong about the
offer.
    “ I don’t know,” he said.
“It’s just—”
    “ Please, son—think of
Mira. The greatest desire of her heart is to make the pilgrimage.
You asked for my blessing, knowing full well I would never give you
my permission, but how can I give you my blessing if you refuse to
take my daughter?”
    “ I just don’t know,
Father,” said Jalil, stumbling over his words. “Are you saying that
if I agree to escort her, you’ll give me your blessing?”
    “ Precisely.”
    “ And the
money?”
    “ Only if you take her with
you.”
    Jalil shifted uneasily. Mira might be
his sister by adoption, but that didn’t mean she was off-limits.
After all, in the desert, first cousins often married—even first
cousins who’d grown up in the same camp. For him and Mira to travel
so far together, without a chaperone—
    But wasn’t that what Tiera had asked
of him? He had no doubt that her intentions had been honorable. If
he could trust Tiera, who only wanted to set out on her own, why
should he trust Mira any less? Especially if her greatest desire
was to make the pilgrimage, as Sathi had said.
    Besides, Jalil needed the money—badly.
The temple lay on the other side world, and though eight hundred
credits would take him far, he doubted it would take him the entire
way.
    “ All right,” he said. “I
agree.”
    “ Excellent!” boomed Sathi.
With a