Intruder

And one had to remember, as much as Cajeiri had been affected by human society, much as he liked—no, lovedthe kid, there were triggers in Cajeiri’s psychology that were not human and did not turn in human directions.

Could Cajeiri deliberately set off the problems between his parents?

Yes. If his temper were set off, he might.

A distraction, Tabini had said. Bringing human kids down from the stationcassuming the kids’ parents would permit it, and no doubt Tabini would apply pressure to make it happen—right in the middle of this mess. Distract the boy. Keep his mind on that, while all hell broke loose?

God. That problem, of getting permission from the human parents, was going to land on Geigi’s desk.

And was he then to limit what Geigi should know, when Geigi was going to have to assure a handful of human parents that the situation would be safe for their kids?

He called Jeladi.

“Tell Narani I need security around the office. And tell Banichi I need to see all of them.”

There were chairs enough in his little office. And Narani and Jeladi would see to security outside, no stray junior servant wandering near enough to hear too much.

He had to tell them. He had to get an atevi opinion. That was paramount.

15

  It was well into morning. Nobody had been allowed out into the halls, which Cajeiri first took as a security alert in disguise when the permitted servant, Eisi, woke him, apologizing that he was late, but they had to keep the doors shut and not stir about the halls.

“Why, nadiin-ji?” he asked.

“Your father the aiji has had visitors.”

“Who was here?” he asked, and the senior servant said, “We are not to discuss it anywhere, young gentleman. May one assist you to dress?”

“Who was here?” he asked Eisi.

“One is truly instructed not to say, young gentleman. There is breakfast. Just now. One has set it on the—”

“ Whois it you serve, nadi?”

It was, deliberately, because he was angry, mani’s sort of tone. The servant looked at him, wide-eyed, and said: “The paidhi-aiji, nandi. He visited. We were not to move. So everything is late this morning. One fears—one fears breakfast is cold.”

Nand’ Bren. Nand’ Bren had been here on business, and he had been ordered to stay in his room.

That was crazy. And Eisi stood there looking upset.

“You are not to tell anyone I asked the reason,” Cajeiri said grimly, and he got out of bed. “Help me dress. Is my aishid awake?”

“Yes,” Eisi said, and hurried to the closet.

He dressed. He heard his aishid stirring about, and Jegari came in, dressed as far as shirtsleeves.

“Everything is late, nandi. We all overslept.”

“My father surely had official business this morning. With the paidhi.”

“There is all that business with your great-grandmother going on.”

“I was part of that,” he said peevishly.

“You were, nandi,” Jegari said, “but your father may have had other business with nand’ Bren.”

“One supposes.” He still did not like being left out. He slipped on the light day-coat Eisi offered him, and they went out, picking up Lucasi and Veijico and Antaro on the way to the sitting room. Eisi had set out breakfast on the modest table that served sometimes as a dining table—it was a disgusting breakfast, since the eggs were cold, there was only mild red sauce with the eggs, none of the green, so someone had made a mistake. The toast was cold.

And there was still a lot of opening and closing of the front door, so something was going on.

Boji screeched, upset. That would bring his father in if that went on. But Boji’s breakfast was late, too, and he was out of sorts. Cajeiri left his breakfast half eaten, went over to the small table, took a raw egg out of their hiding-place, and went to feed the rascal.

He carefully opened the cage. Boji saw the egg and was right by the door, ready to climb up on his arm, where Boji now preferred to sit to eat his eggs. Boji’s fu

Just as a knock sounded at the door and the door opened nearly simultaneously with the knock. Boji exploded, the eggshell flew, and Boji bounded off the top of the cage and up to a hanging plant, then off for the top of the bookcase and the hanging and on to the tall vase and, Cajeiri saw to his alarm, right for the door, where a fool of a woman stood wide-eyed with the door wide open.

Worse, she yelled and ducked.

Boji shrieked, leaped for the woodwork and sailed right over the servant’s head, right out the door into the hall.

“Get him!” Cajeiri cried, and all four of his bodyguards rushed the door, shoving the woman—one of his mother’s servants—out of the way. The servant lost her balance, rebounded off the table by the door and sent it skidding over the bare tile edge of the room before she fell flat on the tiles by the doorway.

Cajeiri ran past to the hall, but there was no sign of Boji, just Lucasi and Jegari looking about in every direction, and too many doors open. The servant’s door to the sitting room stood open, the door to his father’s office was open, and past that, there was the accommodation and the bath. The door to the further hall and the kitchens and the security station and his mother’s suite was open. Worst, the door right beside his had the servants’ passages, which went even downstairs, if thosedoors should be open. Only the door to the foyer was shut.

It was a disaster. “Why is the servants’ door open?” he asked angrily. “Which way did he go, did you see?”

“One fears he may have gotten to the far hall, nandi,” Jegari said.

Boji had no harness on. No leash.

And it was his fault. His stupidity. He had taken Boji out of the cage without his leash, because Boji would be held by his interest in the egg, and Boji was stronger and trickier than he had ever imagined.

And now Boji was loose somewhere. Even his aishid in immediate pursuit had not been fast enough to see which way he had gone.

“Antaro and Veijico are searching as quietly as possible, nandi,” Lucasi said. “Shall we search?”

“Do,” he said. “Do.” He heard a step behind him, remembered the servant and turned. The servant gave a stiff little bow. “Leave my suite alone, nadi!” he snapped at her. “You are not to open that door.”

“Young gentleman,” the woman protested.

“We have said!” It was mani’s expression, and he used it, spun on his heel and headed for the sitting room servant’s door, the first one. And the sitting room had its otherdoors open on the foyer. And even as he stood there in shock, he heard the front door open and stay open.

He went out to the front hall and the foyer, trying to compose himself, and saw his father’s major d’ receiving mail from someone, with the door standing half open. Neither man looked alarmed.

One could just imaginec

The transaction done, the major d’ closed the door and turned. “Young lord,” the major d’ said. “Your father has requested you not be in the foyer without a bodyguard.”

“And werequest this door not stand open!” he said. “Ever!” And he marched back and shut the doors between the sitting room and the foyer. Shut them hard, one and then the other.

And he had been rude, he knew, and he had been rude to the servant his aishid had knocked down, and he had insulted his father’s major d’, an estimable old man.

And Boji was missing somewhere in a very large apartment.