“I’ll show you where the Crown is.”
“What if you win?”
She considered. “I should get something. Empty your pockets.” He did so. “Is that a real state-security hand- corn? I’ll take it!”
“I’ll have a hard time getting home without it,” he pointed out.
“You haven’t got anything else worth taking,” said the Princess. She pulled over the chair from the desk, and motioned for him to take the stool. He sat on it awkwardly. “The red-and-black balls are mine. The green-and-black ones are yours. I go first.”
“I sense that going first is a good thing,” he said mildly. “Shouldn’t we draw lots?”
“Never mind about that,” said the Princess. “And, oh, listen. I know I’m just a kid, but I beat Hyram all the time, and he was planetary champion for eight years. I mean, in case you were worried about being fair.”
Tal bent over the square. “I wasn’t,” he said.
Keylinn and Spider were waiting in Tal’s office when Gabriel came in. “Hello,” he said, and he went straight to the pile of books he’d left behind the couch and began putting them in the sack he’d brought.
“What are you doing?” asked Spider.
Gabriel beamed. ‘The Lady Iolanthe advertised among the link-boys for someone who knew how to read and would be interested in helping her put together a tutorial library for herself. She wants to go through every history book we’ve got access to—anyway, she wants someone to scan them with her and figure out which ones to concentrate on.” He kept putting in books. “Isn’t it wonderful? I can spend all the time I want to in the records now. It’s part of my job.”
Keylinn said, “Does she know your history? Where you’re from?”
Gabriel’s smile went out. “I don’t think so. Why? Was I supposed to tell her?”
“No,” they said at once. Spider said, “Does Tal know about this?”
“I mentioned it to him when she was interviewing. Just before he went downhill. He seemed to think it was a good idea.”
“He would,” said Spider.
“Is something wrong?” asked Gabriel.
“No, no. Not a thing.”
Keylinn said, “He means that we congratulate you on your new job, and we’re sorry we won’t be seeing as much of you here. Isn’t that what you meant, Spider?”
“Yeah, that’s what I meant. Good luck in your new post.”
“Thank you,” he said uncertainly. He swung the pack over his back and staggered under the load. “I’ll be back for the others.”
He left and the door slid shut behind him.
“Poor little thing,” said Spider sadly. “So young to be a spy.”
“Let’s hope he has a career to go to,” said Keylinn pointedly. The vault door hung open, a mute reminder of their problems.
“If anything happens to Tal,” said Spider, “I’ll be on line in Transport, finagling a ride to the closest station.”
“You’ll be second on line behind me,” said Keylinn. “And I’m sure nothing would please him more than to hear us admit it.”
“Good thing he’s not here.” Spider cast her a quick look, then looked away and said, “Key?”
“Yes?”
“How long do you have to go on your contract?” Silence.
“Well, what are you going to do when your time’s up? What’s Tal going to do?”
A longer silence.
“You know, maybe we should call him on that hand- corn. It’s been hours since you gave him the word. We’re just lucky nobody’s shown up from Pearl.”
“I don’t know. He might be busy.” Keylinn stretched her legs in the desk chair.
“He might be having trouble.”
“In which case a chat with us will be of dubious benefit.”
“You’ve been hanging around him too long.”
She stopped swinging in the chair, placed her fingertips on the desk and stared at them as though they were alien. “Sorry. I was trying to extrapolate. It’s hard to break in and out of pattern.”
Spider said, “You know, a couple of times in the last few weeks I’ve thought you were getting a little close to taberani. Isn’t that the word for it, the third level of Graykey mist—”
“Why, Spider, you can read after all,” she said coldly. He couldn’t know what a wounding thing that was to say to a Graykey.
He flushed. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
After a moment she said, “I beg your pardon, Spider. There may be some truth in what you say. I’ve done my best to walk the line, but the danger is always there. The circumstances here are not what they are at home.” She inspected her hands, flexing them as though they belonged to someone else. “Let’s leave the topic alone, if you don’t mind. I would prefer it that way.”
He started to pace. “Well, I still think we should call him.”
Keylinn sighed. She activated the desk link and put through the greeting sequence to Baret Station’s communications path. In a moment she heard Tal’s voice.
“Yes?”
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m fine.”
Spider moved over to join her. “Are you having any problems?”
“Yes ”
“What?”
“My so-called allies are interrupting me.”
“Oh,” said Spider. He switched off.
Keylinn leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. “Spider? The other day in Schuyler Plaza? I’m surprised you hid under the car. What if the whole thing got sprayed?”
“Don’t think that wasn’t going through my mind.”
She pulled the chair up straight and let her feet down with a thump. “He’s been down there for hours. What can he be doing?”
“Your move,” said the Princess.
“Don’t rush me.” Tal studied the board. He’d already lost two sides’ worth of stones. This side he was taking his time between moves. Suddenly he smiled, reached over, and moved two green stones. “My set,” he said, and tilted the cube to the next side.
The Princess looked at him angrily.
“Not a bad sort of game,” said Tal, three sides later, as he took the Princess’s final defense stone. “I win.”
She got up quickly, scattering pieces on
