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 I m not sure she s ignoring me, Dax said after giving it some thought.  It s just that
she s had some bad experiences with her last boyfriend, and she wants to go back to the
man she left behind on Rutara. Says he was a good man and she shouldn t have left him.
 Which means she wouldn t want a reprobate like you?
 I m not a reprobate! Dax exclaimed.  Why would you say that?
Threldigan regarded him with a raised brow.  You re certainly trying to look the part and
you act it sometimes. I ve seen you with women. You tell them all sorts of horror stories
to get rid of them. It could be that your reputation has come back to haunt you, my
friend.
 I ve never told anyone any horror stories! I just tell them that if they want me, they have
to do Waroun first.
 And if that s not a horror story, I ve never heard one, Threldigan replied.  You make
your bed and you lie in it& 
 So, what do I do now?
 I think you d better come and pick me up. Threldigan shook his head.  It s time I
moved on anyway. I ve always had a hankering to visit Rutara. Perhaps I should come
along for the ride.
 Where are you?
 Rhylos, Threldigan replied with a barely suppressed smile.
Dax winced. Rhylos had the virtue of being in a nearby star system, but that was about
the only advantage to Threldigan being on that particular planet.  Think you could meet
me at the spaceport?
Threldigan threw back his head, laughing.  What s the matter? Afraid those two
Davordian hookers still want your head on a platter or, should I say, your dick?
 As I recall, it was my balls they were after, Dax said ruefully.  The only girls who ever
took me up on the deal.
 Yeah, they fucked Waroun, and you still wouldn t do them.
 I never said I would, just that if I ever was to do it, they had to do Waroun first.
Threldigan grinned.  They were really pissed.
 Tell me about it. The two women had come after him with knives, swearing they d
castrate him if they ever caught up with him. Fortunately, Dax had been able to outrun
them and had since made a point of never staying on Rhylos for very long, nor did he
advertise his visits.  Waroun was pleased, though. He still talks about it.
 I ll bet he does. How soon can you get here?
 In about& twenty-nine standard hours, Dax replied, consulting his charts.  We re not
far from there, and it s on the way.
 How fortunate, Threldigan said pleasantly.  Should I spread the news?
Dax gave him a sickly smile.  Not if you ever want to hitch a ride with me again.
 I won t say a word, Threldigan promised.  But you know how unscrupulous those
spaceport officials can be.
 I ll wear body armor.
 You do that, Threldigan said.  I ll be waiting for your hail. In the meantime, don t do
anything stupid to alienate this woman. You know how you are.
Dax sighed.  Yeah, I know. See you soon.
Dax terminated the link and leaned back in his chair. This could either be the best idea
he d ever had or one of the worst. Time would tell&
 If she s on Rutara, Vandig reported,  no one has seen her. Her mother hasn t heard
from her in six months, and Russ, well, he s very happy without her. Said she had a bit of
a temper.
Eantle chuckled softly. Apparently Sliv s daughter was a lot like her dad. Easy enough to
get along with most of the time, but sometimes& Eantle missed his old friend had
dreamed of watching the New Age begin at his side, but since that wasn t meant to be, it
was up to him to see to it that Sliv s death hadn t been in vain.
 The port authority had him taking off with two Kitnocks and a Drell, Vandig went on,
 but the ship hasn t landed on those worlds either.
 They haven t had much time, Eantle mused.  And he could easily have made a side trip
to pick up someone else. It s probably worth checking out the surrounding systems, just
in case.
 You make it sound like there are millions of us out there looking, Vandig said with a
snort.
 True, but they apparently aren t trying to hide, either. That Dax Vandilorsk the best I
can tell, he might take you anywhere you want to go, no questions asked, but he s always
followed the regulations and files a flight plan. He was going to the Kitnock and Drell
homeworlds, and then on to Rutara. No mention of Aquerei. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]