Shaman by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff Read Free Book Online

next move until he felt someone nudge his ribs. It was Danetta Price.
    â€œHello there,” she said, peering at him inquiringly. “Where have you been?”
    He smiled ruefully. “Just wool-gathering.”
    â€œWool... what?”
    â€œAn old rural expression. Star-gazing.”
    â€œAh. So, Prof, tell me what’s my next move? How do I pry the Eldest away from ‘Chief Benz?’”
    â€œI’m not sure. I... Danetta, will you tell me something?”
    â€œIf I can. What?”
    â€œZarber made a comment the other day about you preferring a Professor of Anthropology over a Doctor of Biz-Psych. Any idea what he meant?”
    She nodded. “Sure. It’s no particular secret. Zarber was one of the applicants for your job. We hired you—he went on to B-B.”
    Rhys was stunned. “You hired me?”
    Danetta eyed him humorously. “I do imprint your pay account, don’t I?”
    â€œBut, why me instead of Zarber? He already had a reputation as a crack negotiator.”
    â€œYes, he did. On Earth and in the colonies and among the few cultures we’ve connected with that were, shall we say, of the same mind about business. But he had no experience with non-urban cultures. Not even the ones on Earth. This man thinks a peace pipe is an odd bit of scrap metal. If someone handed him one, he’d probably put the wrong end in his mouth. He knows Human psychology and only the narrow band-width that applies to business, at that. And in my experience, it’s not the urban society that has the most valuable resources to offer. I can handle the deals with urban cultures myself—in fact, I like doing it. What I needed was someone who could deal with divergent cultures in their own language and in their own element. You can do that. It seems to come naturally to you.” She waved the blue tail that hung over her left shoulder. “Do you think Zarber would have thought of adapting to Pa-Kai culture like this without your lead?”
    Rhys shook his head.
    Danetta smiled. “I know you have trouble understanding Twenty-third century Urban Man, but you’re bloody good divining what makes someone like your friend Pa-Lili tick. Am I right?”
    â€œI hope so,” said Rhys. He sounded dubious, but realized he felt much better about the whole situation. “Then you don’t mind this rigmarole?” He gestured at their combined adornment.
    â€œMind? This is a vacation, Rhys. Besides, how often does a woman in my position get to dress up like this?... Now, how do I get the Eldest’s attention?”
    Rhys eyed the Pa-Kai leader. “Wait for a break in conversation, then compliment him on the feast and the colors of his dress. End your leading sentence with praises like: Most Elegant One, Most Vibrant One. Refer to the color of his dress a lot. How varied the hues, how vivid. Then, apologize for being here four days late and explain that you had Clan business that had to be taken care of. They set great store by conscientious leadership. You have an advantage in that you’re female. The Pa-Kai believe females make the best leaders because they have a natural tendency toward nurture and cooperation.”
    â€œReally?” Danetta glanced up at the B-B surrogate CEO. “Then why would Zarber choose a male Chief? He has quite a few female staff members.”
    â€œBut they’re all in subordinate roles. Besides, he probably accepted the obvious evidence that the Eldest was a male. I have it on good authority that that’s a fairly rare occurrence. The last Eldest was female. About sixty percent of the other Chieftains are female and so are a majority of the Shaman.”
    Danetta nodded. “How important is the Shaman?”
    â€œA lot more important that Zarber seems to think... I hope.”
    â€œCould he be right? Is approaching the Eldest ‘man to man,’ as it were, a good tactic?”
    â€œHe could be