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The door whooshed sideways. Gillie sensed two things immediately. Mack was
very glad to see her. And not so glad to find her locked in his office with
Fitch Tobias.
Been waiting long? Mack asked.
Only a few minutes.
No, sir.
Gillie gritted her teeth as Tobias s denial ran over her words. The two of
them sounded positively guilty.
Mack s gaze went over her shoulder, then down. That s for Magefather Rigo?
She knew what he referred to. The case with the crystal shards. She stepped
as casually as she could toward his desk, as if the case and its contents
concerned her not at all. Couldn t change her life, rip her heart out. Make a
liar of her.
No, worse. Make a goddess out of her.
Tobias retrieved the case, shot a quick glance at Gillie before he answered.
You requested I leave it in your office.
Not on the floor.
That was an accident, sir.
Mack frowned. What kind of accident?
Don t open it. Dear gods, don t open that case!
Nothing, sir.
Lieutenant
It fell. Tobias glanced at the case almost as if to reassure himself it was
still in his arms and in one piece.
Look, but don t open,Gillie pleaded. She edged further back against the desk.
But it didn t fall far, Tobias added hurriedly. Everything s fine. I
checked.
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She gave Mack a bright smile when he turned to her. Everything s fine, she
echoed.Just don t open the godsdamned case!
Bring it here. He motioned to his desk as he headed for his chair. You
know what s in there? he asked Gillie.
Crystal. Like the rune sellers have. She backed away from the desk, still
smiling.
His mouth thinned slightly. He nodded at Tobias. Had there been anyone other
than Captain Davr in here when you opened this, you d be facing a serious
breach of security. I m sure you know that.
Yes, sir. It won t happen again, sir.
Mack s features relaxed, but he kept one hand on top of the case. If there s
nothing else, Lieutenant, you re free to go.
Thank you, sir. He gave a tight bow. A pleasant evening to you. And you,
My La CaptainGillieDavr. His last words moved almost as quickly as his
boots.
I may be working him too hard. Mack drummed his fingers on top of the case.
Gillie s face ached from smiling. Oh?
He s usually not that jumpy. Something . . . He shook his head as if
arguing with himself, then patted the case. Not something. This. His parents
are with the temple. He s almost fanatically devoted to Lady Kiasidira.
I hadn t noticed.
A rude noise sounded through her mind. Simon s snort of disbelief.
Good thing I showed up when I did, or he would ve worked hard on converting
you. Especially with the pieces from the Lady s ship in here. He fingered the
lock.
Gillie wondered how she d later explain it if she were suddenly forced to
bolt for the door.
You saw the crystal? Mack asked.
Yes. Don t open it. Don t open it.
This isn t what you ve seen out there, in those kiosks. This is he tapped
the lock extraordinary. There was a noted reverence in his tone, and for a
moment his gaze seemed unfocused, distant. Gillie winced internally at his
devotion.
I know true crystal gives off a purple color when touched by a Raheiran,
Mack continued. But I never really believed it until I saw Magefather Rigo
handle these pieces. I know he says he s only partly Raheiran, not a true one.
But I saw the crystals glow.
Impossible.The word jumped into her mind so clearly, for a moment she was
afraid she d shouted it out loud. The crystals glowed when the magefather that
fat, pompous charlatan touched them? Impossible. She would ve known. Simon
would ve known.
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It had to be a trick. Some light source, perhaps in a ring or a bracelet or a
watch. She d seen rune sellers attempt that. But the light was always uneven
or too concentrated. Easily discerned as a fake.
Mack wasn t the kind of man to be taken in by trickery. But there was no
other logical explanation. Unless . . .
Unless Rigo had a Melandan heritage. A Fav lhir. Crystal would respond to
someone with a Melandan mageline, though very faintly. And they d have to be
touching it.
Ready for that drink? Mack asked, standing.
A Melandan wizard. It never occurred to her the Fav lhir might have
resurrected their mageline and already be here on Cirrus One. She d never
thought to check. Not that she was in a position to take any immediate actions
if they were.
Go get that drink. I ll see what I can learn.
Be careful, Simon. Dear gods, be very, very careful.
She took Mack s offered hand. I could use a drink right about now.
Tough day?
No. Tough couple of centuries.
The officers club was considerably more crowded than it had been last night,
but Mack found two chairs and a small table by one of the viewports. The
droid server whirred over, returned a few minutes later with two glasses of
Devil s Breath, neat.
You re having second thoughts, aren t you? Mack turned his glass around in
his hands. He hadn t sipped it yet.
Gillie had already taken two mouthfuls of hers. That shouldn t have been
sufficient potency to keep her from understanding his question. But she didn t
understand it.
Of course, her attempts to keep a light constant contact with Simon while her
mind simultaneously ran through the events of the past hour weren t helping.
Second thoughts?
He tried to smile, failed. You ve been quiet. I came on a little too fast
last night, didn t I?
A small pain fluttered around her heart. He mistook her distraction for
disinterest. I ve still got a few things to work out with Sim with
theSerendipity. Gods damnit, Gillaine! she berated herself mentally.Pay
attention to what comes out of your mouth! It s not you. It s my ship, and
the auxiliary thruster, and the feed coils, and . . . well, you know, the
usual repair stuff.
She was babbling. She heard herself babbling. She shut up.
You don t owe me for that, he said quietly. The Khalar have always helped
a ship in distress. I don t want you to think that last night was a request
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for repayment.
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