“Actually, they refused my offer.” He enjoyed his sister’s surprise. “The Roamers prefer to keep their secrets and don’t really want any green priests.”

“That’s a switch from what we usually hear,” Idriss said under his breath.

“I suggested we might arrange for direct deliveries of ekti to Theroc, without going through approved Hansa intermediaries. Think of the cost we’ll save.”

“Think of how upset the Hansa will be,” Sarein said, alarmed. “Do we want to invite so much trouble and ill will, considering that we don’t use much ekti for ourselves anyway?”

“Still,” Mother Alexa said, plucking a slice of pair-pear from a tray, “every step of independence benefits us in the long run.”

36: RAYMOND AGUERRA

36RAYMOND AGUERRA

Then the nauseating effects of the stunner wore off, the pounding in Raymond’s head masked the fact that he was lying on a plush, warm bed. He slowly returned to consciousness and noticed that he seemed to be floating. His body was surrounded by slick sheets, lying on a comfortable gelatin-filled mattress. His fingers twitched, his thighs clenched.

Raymond opened his eyes, and the flood of light sent sledgehammers of pain into his skull. He groaned deep in his throat, but it came out only as a faint sound. The last thing he remembered was the blond-haired man threatening him with the stunner, his professional-looking companions hustling Raymond toward the unmarked vehicle. Kidnapping him!

He sat up and forced himself to endure the wash of nausea. Someone had taken him here. Was it a group of perverts out to snatch any young man—or had they been after him in particular? Why would anyone be interested in a poor kid with no prospects and a family that could barely make ends meet?

His family! Now he remembered the flaming wreckage of his apartment complex, the barricade lines and security troops, the fire-suppression engineers and their copters dumping extinguishant foam all over the smoldering remains.

There’s nothing left inside but ashes and dental work.

When the orchestra of ragged nerve endings quieted to a mild clamor, he opened his eyes again and looked around him. He lay in a small chamber without windows. The walls held fine tapestries; delicate vases stood on pedestals in the corners. A basin filled with trickling water made quiet music.

He needed to know what had happened to his mother and brothers!

He smelled faint perfumes and noticed several stubby candles—real candles—set into small alcoves. He eased himself from the sloshing bed, which tried to wrap itself around him. The light seemed to come from everywhere, a muted illumination from the fabric of the wall itself. He couldn’t understand where he was.