waiting.
“Tel, I’m staying over at the old Ser’s until Erica’s ready for an escort. Val should be calling in the next half hour. Give me an interconn here when she does. You have the ’com seq? My apartment.”
“Yes, sir, I have it.”
“Thanks, Tel.”
Jael cleared the frequency settings, then went into the bath, stripping off his Bondman’s clothes as he went. He only had time for ten minutes of Gam Chi calisthenics and a shower before a buzz recalled him to the comconsole. The exercises were a well entrenched habit he’d let slip lately, and that was asking fate. He needed to be on top, physically and mentally, more than ever now. He wrapped a towel around his still wet body and reached for a headset.
“Yes, Tel.”
“Your call from Val, sir. Go ahead.”
“Jael?”
He took a quick breath, wondering, as he always did, at the sudden tightness in his throat. He’d been right all those years ago. A green-eyed Fesh sweet, and a heart-holder; that more than anything.
“Are you well, sister?” Then, with a short laugh, “Sorry. That name probably rubs wrong.”
He was relieved to hear her laugh; it sounded easy and without too much of an edge.
“Brother, from you it sounds good, and I’m well, other than being in my usual state of near frenzy. You’d better talk to Erica about transing another medical package.”
“Val, you haven’t tossed down all those pills already?”
“Not quite; don’t worry. How’s Alex?”
He braced himself to answer the question. “No change. But he’s no worse.”
There was a brief pause; he could almost see her nodding acceptance of all the implications in that.
“Well, I’ve finally got something to report from here, Jael. At least
that’s
a change.”
“Thank the God. What is it?”
“All those hours of eavesdropping on the Sisters’s gossip paid off finally. I have something more on Sister Betha. Jael, she was a
Bond
.”
He stared at the lights on the console, wondering why those words seemed so incomprehensible. If Betha was—
“You better lay it out for me, Val.”
“I picked up three of the senior Sisters talking in the pantry—that seems to be a favorite gossiping spot—and Sister Betha’s murder came up. They refer to it as her ‘passing.’ Anyway, one of them put forth the theory that the assassin, the ‘insane Bond,’ was someone out of Betha’s past. She said, ‘After all, Betha
was
a Bond. Perhaps
he
was the real reason she came to Saint Petra’s to begin with.’ Then she went on to say something about how everybody
knows
how uncontrollable Bonds are when it comes to ‘bodily desires.’ ”
Jael managed a laugh, but it was short-lived.
“But how did they know Betha was a Bond? You said every Sister’s past life is a closed chapter. No one but the Supra’s lined in on it.”
There was a hint of impatience in her tone. “Jael, I’m sure no one
told
them she was a Bond. They knew the same way you’d know. How long does it take you to read anyone’s class just from the way they act and talk?”
“Point, sister. Five minutes, usually, but I’ve never tried to read anyone in a nun’s suit.”
“Well, that might take you
six
minutes. The Sisters probably aren’t as quick, so give them a couple of days. But they had somewhere around
four months
. That’s something else that came out in this conversation. They were trying to remember exactly when Betha entered the cloister. The consensus was that it was just before Saint Budh’s day, and that was 10 Avril.”
“And Lady Adrien disappeared 3 Avril.” That was only thinking in words, and he didn’t expect a response. He went to a chair and sank into it, pushing a hand through his damp hair. “Oh, ’Zion, that’s the first ray of light we’ve had since . . . Val, the Master of Shadows made a slip. Betha had to be
Mariet
. He’d be going on height and weight, and Mariet was Adrien’s mannequin.” Then he stopped, frowning. “Unless Mariet wasn’t
“Tel, I’m staying over at the old Ser’s until Erica’s ready for an escort. Val should be calling in the next half hour. Give me an interconn here when she does. You have the ’com seq? My apartment.”
“Yes, sir, I have it.”
“Thanks, Tel.”
Jael cleared the frequency settings, then went into the bath, stripping off his Bondman’s clothes as he went. He only had time for ten minutes of Gam Chi calisthenics and a shower before a buzz recalled him to the comconsole. The exercises were a well entrenched habit he’d let slip lately, and that was asking fate. He needed to be on top, physically and mentally, more than ever now. He wrapped a towel around his still wet body and reached for a headset.
“Yes, Tel.”
“Your call from Val, sir. Go ahead.”
“Jael?”
He took a quick breath, wondering, as he always did, at the sudden tightness in his throat. He’d been right all those years ago. A green-eyed Fesh sweet, and a heart-holder; that more than anything.
“Are you well, sister?” Then, with a short laugh, “Sorry. That name probably rubs wrong.”
He was relieved to hear her laugh; it sounded easy and without too much of an edge.
“Brother, from you it sounds good, and I’m well, other than being in my usual state of near frenzy. You’d better talk to Erica about transing another medical package.”
“Val, you haven’t tossed down all those pills already?”
“Not quite; don’t worry. How’s Alex?”
He braced himself to answer the question. “No change. But he’s no worse.”
There was a brief pause; he could almost see her nodding acceptance of all the implications in that.
“Well, I’ve finally got something to report from here, Jael. At least
that’s
a change.”
“Thank the God. What is it?”
“All those hours of eavesdropping on the Sisters’s gossip paid off finally. I have something more on Sister Betha. Jael, she was a
Bond
.”
He stared at the lights on the console, wondering why those words seemed so incomprehensible. If Betha was—
“You better lay it out for me, Val.”
“I picked up three of the senior Sisters talking in the pantry—that seems to be a favorite gossiping spot—and Sister Betha’s murder came up. They refer to it as her ‘passing.’ Anyway, one of them put forth the theory that the assassin, the ‘insane Bond,’ was someone out of Betha’s past. She said, ‘After all, Betha
was
a Bond. Perhaps
he
was the real reason she came to Saint Petra’s to begin with.’ Then she went on to say something about how everybody
knows
how uncontrollable Bonds are when it comes to ‘bodily desires.’ ”
Jael managed a laugh, but it was short-lived.
“But how did they know Betha was a Bond? You said every Sister’s past life is a closed chapter. No one but the Supra’s lined in on it.”
There was a hint of impatience in her tone. “Jael, I’m sure no one
told
them she was a Bond. They knew the same way you’d know. How long does it take you to read anyone’s class just from the way they act and talk?”
“Point, sister. Five minutes, usually, but I’ve never tried to read anyone in a nun’s suit.”
“Well, that might take you
six
minutes. The Sisters probably aren’t as quick, so give them a couple of days. But they had somewhere around
four months
. That’s something else that came out in this conversation. They were trying to remember exactly when Betha entered the cloister. The consensus was that it was just before Saint Budh’s day, and that was 10 Avril.”
“And Lady Adrien disappeared 3 Avril.” That was only thinking in words, and he didn’t expect a response. He went to a chair and sank into it, pushing a hand through his damp hair. “Oh, ’Zion, that’s the first ray of light we’ve had since . . . Val, the Master of Shadows made a slip. Betha had to be
Mariet
. He’d be going on height and weight, and Mariet was Adrien’s mannequin.” Then he stopped, frowning. “Unless Mariet wasn’t
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