Free The Nutcracker Coup by Janet Kagan Page B

ducked his head in shame. “Chornian,” he said.
    For once, Marianne couldn’t restrain herself. “Why?” she asked, and she heard the unprofessional belligerence in her own voice.
    “For saying something I dare not repeat, not even in your language,” Tatep said, “unless I wish to have my quills clipped.”
    Marianne took a deep breath. “I apologize for asking, Tatep. It was stupid of me.” Best thing to do would be to get the hell out and let Chornian complete his errand without being shamed in front of the two of them. “Though,” she said aloud, not caring if it was professional or not, “it’s Halemtat who should be shamed, not Chornian.”
    Tatep’s eyes widened, and Marianne knew she’d gone too far. She thanked the glassblower politely in Rejoicer and promised to return on Debem Opp Chorr to examine the samples.
    As they left Killim’s, Marianne heard the scurry behind them-Chornian entering the shop as quickly and as unobtrusively as possible. She set her mouth-her silence raging-and followed Tatep without a backward glance.
    At last they reached the communal wood. Trying for some semblance of normalcy, Marianne asked Tatep for the particulars of an unfamiliar tree.
    “Huep,” he said. “Very good for carving, but not very good for eating.” He paused a moment, thoughtfully. “I think I’ve put that wrong. The flavor is very good, but it’s very low in food value. It grows prodigiously, though, so a lot of people eat too much of it when they shouldn’t.”
    “Junk food,” said Marianne, nodding. She explained the term to Tatep and he concurred.
    “Youngsters are particularly fond of it-but it wouldn’t be a good gift for Hapet and Achinto.”
    “Then let’s concentrate on good healthy food for Hapet and Achinto,” said Marianne.
    Deeper in the wood, they found a stand of the trees the embassy staff had dubbed gnomewood for its gnarly, stunted appearance. Tatep proclaimed this perfect, and Marianne set about to chop the proper branches. Gathering food was more a matter of pruning than chopping down, she’d learned, and she followed Tatep’s careful instructions so she did not damage the tree’s productive capabilities in the process.
    “Now this one-just here,” he said. “See, Marianne? Above the boll, for new growth will spring from the boll soon after your Awakening. If you damage the boll, however, there will be no new growth on this branch again.”
    Marianne chopped with care. The chopping took some of the edge off her anger. Then she inspected the gnomewood and found a second possibility. “Here,” she said. “Would this be the proper place?”
    “Yes,” said Tatep, obviously pleased that she’d caught on so quickly. “That’s right.” He waited until she had lopped off the second branch and properly chosen a third and then he said,
    “Chornian said
    Halemtat had the twining tricks of a talemtat. One of his children liked the rhyme and repeated it.”
    “Talemtat is the vine that strangles the tree it climbs, am I right?” She kept her voice very low.
    Instead of answering aloud, Tatep nodded.
    “Did Halemtat-did Halemtat order the child clipped as well?”
    Tatep’s eyelids shaded his pupils darkly. “The entire family. He ordered the entire family clipped.”
    So that was why Chornian was running the errands. He would risk his own shame to protect his family from the awful embarrassment-for a Rejoicer-of appearing in public with their quills Page 3

    clipped.
    She took out her anger on yet another branch of the gnomewood. When the branch fell-on her foot, as luck would have it-she sat down of a heap, thinking to examine the bruise, then looked Tatep straight in the eye. “How long? How long does it take for the quills to grow out again?”
    After much of a year, she hadn’t yet seen evidence that an adult’s quills regenerated at all. “They do regrow?”
    “After several Awakenings,” he said. “The regrowth can be quickened by eating welspeth