Inheritor

Meanwhile the car thumped and rumbled its way toward the airport.

A happy family, on its way to the beach, Bren thought, surveying his complement of catatonic, well-dressed roommate and heavily armed security in black leather and silver studs, themselves in high spirits and having a good time.

“We were duea vacation,” Banichi remarked cheerfully. They were not quite so vacation-bound that he or any of his fellow Guild members took advantage of the stocked breakfast juice bar in the aiji’s own, red velvet-appointed subway car, but Banichi did sit down at his ease, stretch out his huge body and heave a sigh. And doubtless it wasfar better than a rooftop in the peninsula. “We’re due rain, of course, but it’s spring—what can one hope?”

“It should still be fine,” Jago said from her vantage by the door, one hand loosely on a hanging strap. “The sea, the sand—”

“The cold fogs.”

“Nadiin,” Bren said, and roused himself to the same level of enthusiasm as his security, “we are safe, we are away, lord Tatiseigi is visiting his ownapartment tonight, we are notthere, and I believe they have gotten the illicit television downstairs.”

“The Guard is guarding it, nand’ paidhi,” Banichi said, “with its usual zeal, of course.”

There were grins. Probably Jase didn’t follow the joke. But security was in a high good mood and the car rocked and thundered on, swayed around the turn that meant the airport station was coming up. Junior security, who had their baggage under close watch, would get it all aboard the vans.

The subway train stopped, security rose to take routine positions as the doors opened and security went out first.

Bren collected Jase, left the details to his staff, and sure enough the vans were waiting, with Bu-javid security in charge from begi

“Careful,” he said, fearing Jase’s balance problems, but Jase made a clean step out of the car and onto the concrete.

Jase had no difficulty there, and none in boarding the waiting van. He flung himself into the seat, however, as if relieved to sit down; his face was a little pale, his eye-blinks grown rapid as they did when he was fighting problems in perspective. Bren sat down more slowly beside him, with Banichi and Jago immediately after while others were loading the luggage into the second van under Tano’s supervision.

The van whisked them to the waiting plane and braked right by the ladder. Immediately, the second van was with them, bringing the luggage, which was not alone their clothes, but the clutter of weaponry and electronics that went with the paidhi wherever he and his security went.

It was Tabini’s jet. And it was needful now, Banichi out first and Jago next, and Bren third, for Jase to climb down from the van into the noise of the jet engines, and walk, on a flat surface and under a sky with a few gray-bottomed clouds, from the roofed van to the ladder and up the ladder into the plane. Jase made the step, didn’t look up (which he’d said especially bothered him), and crossed to the ladder, shaking off Jago’s offered hand.

“Wait,” Bren said to Banichi and Jago, because the metal ladder shook when that pair climbed it with their usual energy, and he didn’t figure that would help Jase at all, whose knuckles were white on the rail as he climbed doggedly toward the boarding platform, his eyes on the steps, never on his surroundings.

Jase went inside, to be met by the co-pilot. Bren went up next and Jago and Banichi followed him; Tano and Algini stayed below to stand watch over the luggage-loading.

The computer, alone of their luggage, went in the cabin with them; Jago had it, and tucked it into a storage area, while outside the luggage-loading went so fast that the hatch thumped down while Jase was settling into his seat in the table-chair grouping and while Bren was saying hello to the pilot and co-pilot.

“One hopes for a quieter flight, nand’ paidhi,” the pilot said.

He’d actually forgottenabout the boy from Dur during the last twenty hours, during which they’d accomplished the logistics and arrangements, and during which uncle Tatiseigi had lodged in Ilisidi’s hospitality.

They were away and clear. The boy from Dur had his ribboned card which might save him from parental wrath, the apartment was still intact after the state reception, and the television was out of the pantry, entertaining the House Guard for the duration of uncle Tatiseigi’s stay, which should about equal their days on the western shore near Saduri.

“I anticipate a quiet flight and a quiet ten days, nadi,” Bren said to the pilot and co-pilot, “and I hope you and your associate have ample time for a little fishing yourselves. I’ve expressed the wish the staff could lodge you at some place that would allow it for however long you have at leisure.”

“Nand’ paidhi, they have done so, and we thank you, nand’ Jase as well.” This with a nod toward the seating where Jase had belted in.

“Nadi,” Bren said in ending the conversation, and went back to sit beside Jase. He didfeel better now that things were underway. His blood was moving faster with their stirring about, and the slight headache was diminishing: possibly the sleeping pill had worn off.

“It’s excellent weather for flying. A smooth flight, nadi. Sun shining. Calm air.”

“Yes,” Jase said. It was a word. It was a response. Then: “Too close to the planet,” Jase muttered, then gri

And meanwhile Jase, being around staff who’d forgive him his mistakes, was trying again, understanding again, and regaining a little shaky confidence in himself.

“ Please belt in, nadiin,” the co-pilot said over the intercom. The engines roared into action.

And as the plane began to taxi toward the runway, with security taking their seats and belting in around them, Jase’s knuckles were white on the armrests.

Couldn’t fault that reaction. He’d explained to Jase andYolanda the physics by which planes stayed in the air during their initial flight to Shejidan, but there was so much new then and since that he wasn’t sure how much had stayed with him. They’d come from a rough landing on the Taiben preserve, an overnight at Taiben only sufficient to catch their breaths, then a rail trip ending in a hasty boarding of the aiji’s plane to fly them all to the international airport at Shejidan.

After they’d landed at Shejidan, there’d been no hesitation: the aiji’s guards had packed Yolanda and Deana Hanks both onto a second, atevi-piloted commercial plane bound for Mospheira, and hastened him and Jase onto the van and then into the subway station on a fast trip to the Bu-javid, to enter the aiji’s very careful security arrangements, all to assure—in a world seething with change and disturbance at that moment—that nothing befell the two paidhiin.