Free Serpent's Gift by A. C. Crispin, Deborah A. Marshall Page A

wall, the girl could sense the psychologist's mind, but it was impossible to read anything from it, with that "noise" resounding in her head.
    Heather pulled back until she was safely inside her own mind again, wincing from a sharp headache that sprang up. "Oh, look what I've done," she gabbled, putting the glass down and mopping
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    at the spill she'd made. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so clumsy."
    Rob Gable watched her grimly. "Heather," he said finally, "look at me."
    The girl took a deep breath, then sat back in her chair, forcing herself to meet his gaze squarely. Rob's eyes narrowed as he ¦
    slowly, deliberately pushed his dark, curly hair back from his face, revealing his left ear, which bore a small, glittering earcuff.
    "See this?"
    She nodded.
    "Do you know what it is?"
    Heather had a sinking suspicion, but she had never seen one before, only heard of them, so she shook her head. The headache had eased off, but still throbbed dully behind her eyes.
    "It's a teledistort," Rob told her. "It protects my mind from unwanted telepathic contact. I hoped when I put it on a few minutes ago that it was an unnecessary precaution."
    Oh, shit! Caught cold! It was a struggle to keep her resentment and anger from showing on her face, but she schooled her features to meek apology.
    "I'm really sorry, Dr. Rob. I know I shouldn't do that, but I got into a bad habit of scanning people automatically, back when my uncle Fred was being so mean. Sometimes I could sense when he was going to hit me in time to get out of range." That ought to make him feel pretty shitty, she thought smugly. It was actually half-true ... her telepathy had saved her from a slap or a boxed ear more than once in the past, when she'd been living with Uncle Fred and Aunt Natalie. But Heather had been an accomplished telepathic snoop since before she'd learned to read.
    Rob's grim expression thawed slightly. "I can understand how that kind of habit could get started, considering the unfortunate circumstances. But"--he leaned forward, his eyes holding hers-- "it's got to stop, understand?"
    "Well, sure ... I..." she found herself stammering again. *Damn you, Heather, get hold of yourself, the part of her mind she thought of as her "survivor-self" (because that's what it helped her do) barked. You can't let this shrink push you around! "I understand," she said more composedly.
    "I had a great-aunt who was telepathic, and my daughter, Claire, is a telepath," Rob said, "so I know something about 'how an ethical esper is supposed to behave. I'm sure they taught at Melbourne that it's wrong to read someone's mind without knowledge or permission, right?"
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    "Yeah," Heather muttered, looking down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap.
    "We have the same rule here. You'll be starting classes tomorrow, and the teachers in your Telepathic Techniques course will be emphasizing that rule. We're a small community here, living in fairly close quarters. It's important that everyone respect the rights of others." He smiled faintly. "Don't forget that certain aliens can sense indiscriminate telepathic snooping, as most humans can't And if they sensed it, they'd be rightfully furious."
    "Really?" Heather was startled; she'd never heard that before. "Which aliens?" Could it be the Simiu who can do that? But no, she hadn't sensed any telepathic awareness in Khuharkk' yesterday--only his anger, which she couldn't help "reading."
    Rob smiled faintly. "I think it might be better if I didn't spell that out for you,"
    he said dryly. "At least, not yet. Right now, I'd like to discuss what happened yesterday between you and Khuharkk'."
    Heather felt a sullen anger bubbling inside her, but forced herself to remain impassive. "I'd like to hear about what happened from your point of view,"
    Rob continued. "I'll be talking about all this with Khuharkk' later, and I'll get his version then."
    She hesitated, biting her lip, and the psychologist added, "I'm not asking so I can scold