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  "I think, sir, that a scan of public security cams might be useful. I'll try to pin down who has been to see Arlw this week. Or who met Arlw in public venues." She huffed out a breath. "If it was him, it was probably all set up before hand. I'll query about assassins with swords in the hush hush directorates."

  "Then you'd better head back for dinner. And watch your back. However much I appreciate having your eyes in the household, I don't want to find out who your boss really is by having to explain your death to him."

  Chapter Seven

  17 Shawwal 1407yp

  Black Point Enclave, West Coast of North America

  Ajha had time to clean up for dinner, and was delighted to find that his clothes had been cleaned while he wasn't looking. To his surprise, Whipper and Mushy were back, and looked sober. Xiat hurried into the Great Room at the last moment, before his mother marshaled her guests for a procession into the dining room. Ajki escorted her, held her chair and sat to her right.

  Imgo and Arja seated their respective wives, and Ifbo looked startled when Poppy appropriated him as an escort. Xiat glowered at him, so Ajha offered an elbow each to Krazy and Cookie. But the young women all wanted to sit together, so Ajha wound up with Imgo on one side, and Krazy on the other.

  "So, any Game points in play, or are you really on vacation?"

  Imgo half smiled. "Observing. Your mother's laying down the hatchet and allowing Ajki and the Ax to act in concert has been a startling development. Next week, back in Paris, things will get lively as everyone adjusts to the new power center."

  "Umm, adjust to the open recognition, don't you think? They've very rarely been opposed on anything but fripperies."

  "Fripperies?" Across the table Xiat was watching him carefully.

  "Issues that were highly visible, but structurally unimportant." Ajha smiled to see Mushy and Whipper paying attention.

  Imgo and Arja were both quiet, thinking back perhaps, and trying to find a major issue the Minister of Audits and the Director of External Relations had clashed on.

  Finally Imgo nodded. "The Ax audited him, personally, a month ago. Everyone figured it was animus. One. And now you think it's going public?"

  "Oh yeah."

  Across the table and to his left, Arja was looking thoughtful. Ajha trusted that his phone was at least being traced, if not tapped.

  The maids hustled out with the soup. Down the table, Mushy and Whipper sat up straight. They looked happy, and perhaps as if they were trying to not drool in public.

  Maybe I should have given more thought to disbursing that wine.

  "So, the Convention opens formally, tomorrow. Who's going to watch?"

  Krazy wrinkled her nose. "It's three days long. Well, two and a half, since they won't start till noon tomorrow. I suppose we should all listen to Uncle Axti's speech the day after, then we vote, and the third day is the official tally, declaration of the winner, and the swearing in."

  Phoebe giggled. "That will be funny! Either Uncle Ax will have to swear his personal allegiance to Arlw or the other way around. I'll bet whichever one loses will be chewing ground glass."

  "Or sound like it." Jain smirked a bit.

  Fibber shook her head. "Laugh if you want, if the Ax loses he's going to be furious. Especially about swearing fealty."

  Ajha noticed that Ajki was also keeping quiet. The soup plates departed and the salads arrived.

  "I never did pick up the other candidates’ positions on anything. How does Ozji think the redistribution should work?"

  Arja shook his head. "He wants to ignore it. Somehow he managed to not be affected."

  Fibber snickered. "Oh, so the rumors that he really doesn't ever drink water are true?"

  "Could be. A bit impractical, if you ask me. His son may be the only boy born this winter with those three genes. Frankly, I think he's too old to be able to comprehend the magnitude of the problem." Arja stabbed an innocent tomato and transferred it to his mouth.

  "Oh, hardly the only." Xiat shrugged as they looked her way. "The Bioattack concentrated on the larger enclaves and cities. That ninety-five percent number that gets tossed around is only true in a few spots. Central Paris, Alcairo, New York, Azteca . . . Black Point is too small and hard to reach to have been directly affected. And bottling methods removed the ribozymes. Mostly."

  "But . . . " Sue trailed off. "Well, I certainly didn't get tested. Did anyone here? Who dares admit it?"

  Up the table, Kiaj snorted. "People travel. They go to Freeport or SanFran for dinner. The whole world was exposed."

  Xiat nodded. "But the percent of Oners affected is actually closer to seventy percent than ninety-five, and I'll bet it's lower for Black Pointers who live in the enclave."

  Ajki shrugged. "We're one of the smallest clans. We can least afford to lose Withiones. And with so many of us spread out over the globe, we have a smaller than usual percentage of our clan living in the enclave. Which is why this vote really does matter. We're going to have some rough adjustments ahead, no matter what. Redefinition won't change reality. Nor will sticking our heels in and pretending nothing has changed."

  "I heard Udzi was more realistic. First, redefine. Then go kill all the Fallen magicians." Poppy stopped with a forkful of lettuce in midair. "Which is pretty much Arlw and the Ax's stands, come to that."

  Heads turned Ajha's direction.

  He shrugged. "I suppose this late in the day it's worthless to throw blame around. But kidnapping Nighthawk was a bad idea. Bound to have nasty repercussions no matter what. We'd have been better off apologizing and not retaliating. They've already said they could replace those genes. If we asked. Nicely. And then the insanity of trying to kill Xen Wolfson . . ."

  "Apologize!" Arja looked at him in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

  Ajha shivered. "No. Just experienced, I think. When you've gone down the wrong road, you can backtrack or you can cut across. But just driving blindly straight ahead, refusing to admit you've erred, is the one course guaranteed to not get you where you want to go."

  The salads were finished quickly in the appalled silence. Large bowls of vegetables, bread, mashed potatoes were delivered, and plates with steaks were whisked from kitchen to table. Ajha savored his first bite. They just didn't get the spices quite right on the Earth books. Of course they also used real meat, from actual animals. Beef was one of the few meats he preferred from a vat. And the natural fruits and vegetables craze was very welcome.

  Kiaj cleared her throat. "Apart from the odd philosophies of his son, which he does not share, thank the One, I think Axti's practical knowledge of finances will be an asset for the Clan."

  Nods and murmurs of agreement. Conversations picked up again.

  Am I insane? Ajha considered his recent spate of outbursts dispassionately. I've never gone around just saying things like that. I know when to shut up, so maybe I'd better start doing it.

  ***

  Xiat spotted the four guys in the Great Room, and slipped out the front door to circle the house. Ajha's patio was fifteen foot wide, the width of his room. The sliding glass door was a bit to the left of centered, as she faced it. The left half did the sliding, and had been open when she searched the room. The drapes had covered the rest. Ajha could very easily have been sitting right there, in that reclining canvas chair, and awake or asleep, she'd never have seen him unless she stepped outside. Which she hadn't.

  She looked downhill. The houses on the next street were both lower on the slope and offset enough that they didn't intrude on the view down the hill. Xiat half slid down to the path, and looked back up. Someone down here might have seen him. A rider, up higher on a horse, would have been more likely to spot him. And anyone in dark clothing skulking about. But who rode at ten at night? Or later. Even with the moon almost full. Would Jioh even rent one of her horses out so late? She followed the path north, crossed the street and kept going, a path branched and headed lower, for the stables.

  The unremitting rains of the previous weeks had turn
ed the soft dirt of the arena into a swamp. Jioh had her students walking a circuit in the stable's parking lot. About the only lighted, level, and reasonably drained spot around. Xiat joined her in the middle. "This must be inconvenient."

  "I kept waiting for the arena to dry enough to get the tractor in and regrade it, add sand . . . and it kept raining." The old woman had been an Olympic champion in her youth. "I'm raking in the money, renting horses during the day, but that only works if my regular students' lessons shift to twilight. But the conference will be over in another few days and then I can move my lessons back to sensible hours. If it weren't for the moonlight, I wouldn't be able to get any riding in, myself. But the moonlight should hold out long enough for the conference to end."

  "Moonlight? Do you take to the trails after dark?"

  "Of course. Can't do a thing here. And Xurug is too old to do anything but lollop along anyway."

  "The night of the ninth. Did you by any chance go south, across Hill Street?"

  "Toward the murder, you mean? I saw you on the vid, playing assistant cop. I did, but there was nothing. Well, parties in a few of the houses." She turned to her students and raised her voice. "Are they all cooled out? Good. Head for the barn."

  "Could I ride with you, tonight? And go over the same ground?"

  Her old instructor cocked her head. "I always knew you wouldn't stick with the horses, that you'd develop different ambitions. Certainly. Let me get these kids out of the way first."

  Xiat helped put the saddles up, and then followed Jioh to the last two stalls. "You still have Nasi? I can’t be mistaking that blaze."

  "Yep. My old gal. By the time I stopped showing her, she was too old to breed. I tried, but she didn't take. I still keep my eyes open for collateral relatives of both of them. They're both so old I should . . . but then I keep hearing about these Comet Fall spells."

  "I don't know anything about them, but I know someone who does. I'll bring him down, before we all go our separate ways again."

  "Hmm, that'll quash all my dreams, won't it?" She handed Xiat a saddle and turned to the gelding in the next stall. "Usually I ride them on alternate nights. They'll enjoy getting out together."

  "There was a dignified party at that house—clinking glasses and conversation." Jioh waved at the corner house as they padded along the path. The houses to their left, uphill, would face out onto Spinnaker. Aunt Zaom's house was on the other side of Spinnaker, fourth of the generously spaced homes. "The moon was almost full, instead of just past. And I was out just a bit earlier, but it was still a bit higher in the sky."

  "It's quiet and peaceful. I can see why you like to ride at night."

  She snorted. "You should have heard the parties last night! All these young men, thinking they are quite something, with their low paying government jobs, thinking they're Players. The girls they grew up with won't be seen in public with them, and the lower class girls just call them meat. The parties are a disgrace. I loved them, when I was younger. Now I'm old and cynical." The old gelding turned uphill with a grunt. The trail ran beside a little creek, between two houses and across Spinnaker.

  "This is just a little loop, isn't it?"

  "Oh yes, the old beasties can't do the long trails anymore."

  Across Spinnaker the trail kept heading uphill, angling a bit to the south to lower the grade of the climb. They crossed the next street, Jib, where Udzi had lived. Up further, then they turned north. This was the part of the trail that ran behind Udzi's house on the west and Aunt Kiaj's house on the eastern, uphill side.

  "Any parties along here? On the ninth?"

  "Didn't hear a peep. That's Udzi's down there, isn't it?"

  "Yep. And I'm staying with distant relatives, just up there."

  Jioh glanced up and smiled just a bit. "No meat snoozing in the moonlight tonight. If I'd been younger I'd have been tempted to try a magic kiss."

  Xiat stopped her horse. Between the trees, the slope was open, the sliding marks of the foot traffic up and down obvious in the moonlight. "Could you see if anyone had been up or down the slope, then?"

  Jioh backed her horse up a bit. "No. I was being a bit silly, thinking about magic kisses. And I told myself to be serious, that slope would be slick as anything, damp ground and needles from the trees. I told myself the Princess would be all over mud before she got up there and probably out of the mood."

  "Would you recognize the man?"

  "No, the moon wasn't overhead yet, only his legs were out where you could really see them."

  A silhouette stuck his head out the door. "Hello?"

  Xiat raised her voice. "Bo? Is Ajha around?"

  "Yeah, want me to get him?"

  "If he's not doing anything important."

  A moment later Ajha walked out onto the patio. "Riding by moonlight? Very romantic."

  Xiat snorted. "We were talking, Horsemaster Jioh has two elderly champion horses. Do you know if the Comet Fall rejuvenation spells work on horses?"

  "Oh yeah. Frighteningly well. Umm, I have some filtered stuff, no assemblers, let alone von neumanns allowed. I don't know if it works as well as the original. Would you like to try it on them?"

  Jioh cleared her throat. "Yes."

  "Is this them? I'll nip up to the attic if you want. I hid my stash so it didn't get drunk in mistake for regular wine."

  "Sure."

  Ajha ducked inside.

  Mushy and Whipped slid down the slope. They didn't even look disappointed when they were close enough to discern the Horsemaster's age in the moonlight.

  "Is this your Olympic horse?"

  Of course, Jioh was famous.

  "Both of them. Nasi from '82 and Xurug from '86."

  "I didn't know horses lived that long."

  "Most of them don't. These two are ancient."

  Ajha reappeared, and slid down carefully, a mixing bowl from the kitchen in his hands. The horses whiffed at it. Nasi stuck her nose in and drank. Ajha got it away from her and offered it to Xurug. He slurped up the rest and licked the bowl.

  "I doubt it'll have the extreme effect of the original, but it'll be interesting to see how much it helps. Huh. Maybe I can sell peace with Comet Fall with a promise to save all the old pets."

  "You are too weird. " Bo scowled. "Why peace? Scared you're going to die?"

  "People do tend to, in wars," Ajha pointed out.

  "Not people like us." Whipper looked disgusted.

  "One! Do you really think the Multitude is going to fight for us, if we keep up these stupid attitudes? Go back to the founding documents. They declared everyone equal before the law and government. They sought to concentrate the power of the One to strengthen the whole, not create a detached elite. The status games we Oners play are bad enough, how we treat the Multitude is insupportable. Why the hell should they fight and die over an insult to our Oneness?"

  "Got it!" The new voice was gloating. "That was priceless!"

  Xiat squinted into the darkness and spotted the form, the oversized vidcam on the shoulder . . . Ajha is toast.

  The Newsie retreated hastily, as if expecting pursuit.

  Nasi tossed her head and pranced. The boys retreated from the hooves.

  "I'll come by the stable tomorrow and check them, if you don't mind." Ajha started up the slope.

  "Thank you." Jioh sounded a bit stunned. She turned Xurug and Xiat followed.

  "Where did you find him?"

  "Remember when the Ax divorced his wife over a Clostuone baby? That was Ajha. Apparently he's making a career of affronting people."

  "And he's damned good at it." They cut downhill and into the dark stable yard.

  Xurug neighed, waking horses and getting neighs in return. Nasi danced around and actually reached out and nipped him.

  Jioh laughed. "None of that, Miss. At least his tonic seems to be sound, whatever his odd philosophy."

  Xiat snorted, and unsaddled the mare, brushed her and sneezed in a blizzard of hair. "Maybe he should call it instant shed toni
c." In the floodlights the chestnut mare gleamed. "I'll come by tomorrow too, so you can kill me if he's poisoned them or something." She led Nasi down the row and put her back into her stall.

  "See you tomorrow. Behave, Xurug!" Jioh towed the gelding away from another, his ears pinned back. "Starting fights at your age!"

  Chapter Eight

  18 Shawwal 1407yp

  Black Point Enclave, West Coast of North America

  "As if we didn't have enough problems already!" Arja turned and glared at Ajha.

  Ajha looked up at the vid screen. The night dark forest made an excellent dramatic backdrop. Horses milling, and Ajha in the moonlight, the light level enhanced by the news producer, declaiming on the meaning of the founding documents. "Oh. Dear. One."

  The screen switched back to the station's news room. "The One is said to be sending an examiner. In other news . . . "

  Ajha walked off to find breakfast. He rather thought he was going to need at least one good meal today.

  He was halfway through an omelet when his father stalked into the room. Leaned on the table and stared at him. "Do you realize what is happening?" His voice was soft, almost conversational.

  "I hope I'm wrong in what I'm trying hard to not think about."

  "I . . . am not sure what I hope." His father stared at him, baffled. "Seventy-three years ago, I did what was expected of me automatically, not even thinking about it. My father was so furious about your test results that I didn't stop to think how I felt, let alone Kiaj. I think it took a week for the reality to sink in, and I've cursed myself ever since."

  "Isn't seventy-three years long enough to curse? Maybe it's time you did something about it instead. Go tell Mother your regrets."

  The tough old man straightened. "I should have . . . I'm sorry . . . "