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The thought brought a smile to Raima's face. "Aff, maybe I get your meaning, but I am not sure. You have to understand that I grew up with them, so I am blind in that area. It is hard to be sure how I could be different."
Easy, Phelan. This discussion, could get you into lots of trouble.He shrugged, then lifted his right wrist and pulled at the cord binding it. "Except for you and the Khan, everyone else looks no further than this wristlet when they look at me. You see the person I am, for better or worse. Without your help, I might not have survived this long."
A devilish gleam lit her azure eyes. "Oh, I do not think that is true, Phelan Patrick Kell. Perhaps I look beyond your bondcord because you seem different from the other bondsmen."
Phelan raised an eyebrow. "If I may be so bold ... how, why?"
She leaned easily against the hatch's edge. "The Khan's interest in you first opened the door, I believe. At first I resented being assigned to nursemaid you, but now I do not find the duty so odious ..."
"There is a God ..."
"That is one of the things I like about you, Phelan. You have a wit and express it easily. You don't seem to be plotting your escape, but I know you are smart and dangerous enough to have that idea somewhere in your head." She saluted him with a nod. "Most of all, your sense of independence seems to set you apart from the others. You are so much a Mech Warrior that the bondcord will forever chafe your spirit."
He half-closed his eyes, considering her words. She's right. I would love to escape this tin whale, or at least get a message out. Have I given myself away, or is she just very good at sizing up the opposition?
He forced himself to smile easily. "I thank you for your insight."
"And I thank you for yours as well." She returned his smile. "I have to ask you about something you said before. You knew your grandparents, quiaff?"
"Sure. Grandpa Kell's still alive. He's slowed down a bit at age eighty-seven, but he still manages his holding. Grandpa Ward died in the war before I was born, but Grandma Ward is alive and lives on Arc-Royal."
Ra
Phelan shook his head. "Nope. He'll be eighty-eight this October."
"Amazing." Something squeaked in the room behind her.
Half-turning, Ra
Phelan blinked twice and pointed at it with his left hand. "What in hell is that?"
Before Ra
Its face, hind parts, and tail made it look like a small primate, but the wings marked it as a creature apart from monkeys and apes. It chattered melodically on his shoulder and gently wrapped its tail around Phelan's neck like an old friend draping his arm over the mercenary's shoulders. Red and white stripes of fur on its face made it look comically fierce.
Ra
Phelan shrugged gently so as not to disturb Jehu. "I don't know. I don't even know what Jehu is, so I can't imagine what I did to inspire his trust."
"Her," Ra
"Hey, be careful. You pulled meout of the Periphery."
Ra
Jehu unfurled her wings and hugged Phelan's head, an experience he found much like being smothered with a musky sweater, then leaped into the air. Ra
Reaching the turbolift, Phelan punched the button on the wall. "Yeah, pets are special."
"Do you have one, quiaff?"
The mercenary shook his head. "Had. He was a dog named Gri
Ra
"He died." Phelan swallowed, trying to choke back the lump in his throat. "We were on station in the Free Worlds League, very close to the border with the Capellan Confederation. Chancellor Romano Liao had sent a Maskirovka assassin to kill Dan Allard—he was a Major at the time—and his family. Dan is Romano's brother-in-law, and that witch decided to kill his whole family to get at Justin Allard, Dan's brother and husband of her sister Candace. The assassin got the wrong house, and assumed I was one of Dan's kids.
"Gri
Ra
"Yeah, that was definitely the up-side of the whole experience." The Kell Hound sighed heavily. "I named my 'Mech 'Gri
She squeezed his hand again. The lift door opened, but she kept hold of his hand even after they'd stepped into the corridor. Phelan tried to read her expression as their fingers drifted apart, but her profile revealed nothing. Does she just feel sorry for me, or is there something more there? I'll admit to being confused and not a little gun-shy after Tyra. No, it must be just pity, nothing more. Remember Phelan, you are an outsider and a bondsman, and these people ultimately are your enemies.
22
Jump Ship Dire Wolf, L-5 Orbit
New Bergen, Rasalhague Province, Free Rasalhague Republic
3 May 3050
Instead of taking him to the Khan's personal quarters, Ra