Free Palace by Katharine Kerr, Mark Kreighbaum Page B

to kill Vida today. Fancy that.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘During the festival. A Lep chased her, she said, a Lep in a Lifegiver’s robes.’
    ‘Vi-Kata’s idea of a joke. Lifegiver, life taker. Really funny.’ Hi got up and walked over to her. Much to his surprise she turned and leaned into his arms. He could feel her shaking - an even bigger surprise. Even though she stood taller than he, at that moment she seemed small to him, small and soft.
    ‘But why?’ Arno said, rising. ‘I mean, who is this kid?’
    Aleen twisted free of Hi’s embrace and gave Arno a look that made him step back.
    ‘You’ll find out later,’ she snapped. ‘Vida deserves to hear it, too.’
    ‘Sure, hey, calm down.’ Hi was half expecting her to turn on him for that soothing tone of voice, but she merely took a deep breath, as if following orders. ‘If the girl’s in danger, let’s get her some protection. Hand me that comm, will you? I need to call my bodyguard.’
    * * *
    By the middle of the evening, the kitchen stood piled high with pans and spattered with grease. Honking and hissing, Sugar wandered outside for a well-deserved breath of moist air, while Vida programmed the cleaning bot. Two little saccule scullery workers stood watching, sucking the webs between their fingers.
    ‘There, all done,’ Vida said. ‘You can push the red button now.’
    They stared up at her hopelessly. No matter how many times Vida explained about the on switch, they simply could not retain the information. She pressed the red button for them, and the bot whirred to life. Squealing with delight, the scullies followed as it slid toward the nearest pile of garbage. Vida straightened up and found Tia standing in the doorway.
    ‘Aleen wants to see you. Now.’
    ‘Oh God. How loath! She’s not even going to wait till morning to yell at me.’
    ‘I’m afraid not. Vida, be careful. Watch what you say. I’ve never heard Aleen sound so ... so ...’
    ‘She’s furious, I’ll bet.’
    ‘Well, yes, but that’s not what I meant. Something’s really wrong.’
    Vida felt as if her stomach had dropped a long cold way. She pulled off her apron, tossed it on the floor for the saccules to pick up, and bolted from the kitchen. All the way up in the lift booth, she could feel herself shaking. At the door to the public bedroom, she laid her palm on the announce panel so the door could tell Aleen she’d arrived.
    ‘Come in, Vida,’ Aleen’s voice sounded from the speaker. ‘The Eye of God has finally found you.’
    When Vida walked in and found Se Hivel there, sitting in a grey datachair, she was so startled she could barely speak.
    ‘Vida, sit down.’ Aleen pointed at an armless formfit chair that she must have dragged in from her office. ‘You may trust Se Hivel. He’s trying to help us.’
    When Vida sat, Aleen hesitated, then took her usual overstuffed chair, a little behind Se Hivel.
    ‘First, tell me about the Lep.’ Aleen sounded neutral, indifferent even. ‘The one who chased you.’
    Vida thought she’d seen all of Aleen’s moods, but this was a new one. While Vida talked, telling Aleen about her run through the longtube and the roof park, the Madam sat perfectly still. Se Hivel, however, leaned forward, nodding now and again at some detail.
    ‘And so I hid in the tower.’ Vida hesitated; she should tell Aleen everything, but the revenant had saved her life, after all, and it had been afraid of something, too. ‘I thought I was a goner, but some men, humans, got into the garden. They were drunk, I think, and yelling and stuff. So the Lep ran away.’
    ‘You’re sure about that scaling on his wrist?’
    ‘Yeah. I looked really carefully.’
    ‘Well, we all know about your memory. Green and red spirals with a blue counter stroke?’
    She glanced at Se Hivel. ‘That’s a very minor line that died out some years ago. Obviously a false design. The Lep must have dyed his scales. Clever.’
    ‘Why was he chasing me, Madam?’
    Aleen ignored