Heart Search by Robin D. Owens Read Free Book Online Page B

donned a mild expression and went to the new wall scry panel and called her brother.
    He answered on his perscry, his small personal scry pebble, and the angle and movement was odd enough to make her stomach lurch again.
    “Greetyou, Senchal,” she said.
    His thin shoulders wiggled and he shifted as if uneasy. “Hey.”
    “Senchal, did father and uncle visit you?”
    His gaze slid away. “No.”
    So they had.
    “Did you give them any gilt?”
    “I’m an artist and always broke, what do you think?”
    She thought he had.
    “Senchal, they are bad men. We have to file a Family action against them, declaring them a danger to us and the community.”
    His pale face turned mulish and she knew she’d already lost. “They aren’t that bad,” he said.
    She didn’t think their father had ever hit him. Ever stolen anything important from him. Probably had even given him a few gilt now and then . . . and affection. A person would do a lot for affection from someone they loved.
    “Look,” she said, trying again. “The authorities won’t do anything against them until they’ve investigated our claims, but meanwhile it will keep them away from us.”
    But Senchal was shaking his head. “No. Can’t. Gotta go.”
    He cut the scry with a quick flat-handed gesture . . . before she said something stupid like he wouldn’t be getting any more monthly “loans,” either. The words had been ready to spurt from her mouth. Mean words. Like those her father would say. She loathed that most of all.
    She gathered up Mica, the cat’s soft fur caressing her palms. “You want to see another new place?”
    Mica opened sleepy eyes, yawned wide, showing tiny, pointy teeth and red tongue. Where?
    “Horsetail Park Guardhouse.”
    Fun, the little cat said, but she was asleep when Camellia attached her to her shoulder with the safety spell.
    A guardswoman commiserated with Camellia as she filed the complaint, and praised Mica. Camellia let out a long, slow breath. Here she was believed. As she’d told her father, she was a respected member of the community, and he was shady.
    The guard shook her head as she consulted papyrus. “He and your uncle are on our watch list. I have a note that they just boarded a luxury airship to Gael City.”
    Gilt from Camellia’s bracelet had bought those tickets. She unclenched her jaw to thank the woman.
    A male guard came in, glanced at the complaint, and jerked a bit. “Filing a report on your father ? A noble lord?”
    “Shut up, Reptan,” the guardswoman said, “and if you want to know what happened instead of reacting like a stup, read the report.”
    Without answering, Camellia went to the teleportation pad and left.
    Men. They were no good.
    A woman had found the lost ship and Camellia’s tea set, which was the foundation of her career. A woman judge had ruled the set was hers. A woman had bought the large urn from the tea set for a more-than-fair price. Those three women, nearly strangers, had helped her escape her house and found her business, her life.
    She loved and valued her friends, Glyssa and Tiana, who were more like sisters. She could count on them if no one else. Men had only hurt her.
     
     
    S he’d scried her fighting trainer for an appointment and was cleaning up the mess when two feminine voices called, “Camellia!”
    “You left your door open,” Glyssa scolded.
    Camellia had opened her front door so her father’s and uncle’s odor would be whisked away by the wind and the fragrance of her flowers would infuse her home.
    Glyssa stopped on the threshold of the bedroom as she saw the pieces of the jewelry box.
    “You’ve been crying,” Tiana said, coming over to put her arms around Camellia.
    “That man has been here. That bastard of a father of yours.” Glyssa’s hiss was hard. She put her arms around Camellia and Tiana and they had a threesome hug. “Your uncle, too?”
    “Yes,” Camellia hiccupped. The damn tears were starting again.
    “What did they get?”