Read Online Changing Vision by Julie E. Czerneda - Free Book Online

not it’s been my fault. You’re very good at interpreting me; I can’t always do the same with you.” He paused, putting out one hand as if his Human nature needed touch, but thinking better of it. “This time, Es, you were wrong about me. Can’t you admit it?”
    I felt my lip trying to curl over a fang, not a caring expression in this form. “I admit I hadn’t considered the Kraals’ experiment—if it continues at all—or that they could somehow use my gift to find you. Anyway, it’s all so unlikely as to be ridiculous. They’d need their scanner right on top of you.”
    The not-so-ridiculous thing was that Paul was very close in his suspicions. There was someone who could conceivably use the medallion’s contents to find him—me—an ability I’d desperately wanted each and every time he’d left Minas XII and my protection. Which was regularly. This being the last thing I wanted the proud Human to suspect, I changed the subject. “I see no point in worrying about some phantom technology. I’m concerned with the First Rule.”
    “To be hidden is to be safe,” Paul said, as if repeating a lesson by rote. “It isn’t hard to remember, Es. I do agree.”
    I let the lip do what it wanted. “Then how did you obtain those images if you didn’t contact anyone from your—former life?”
    I thought his skin turned pale, as though I’d inadvertently struck him. “I’d have thought it obvious, Es,” my friend said in too even a voice, “since you were the one to insist we have the capability to dig into any database in the Commonwealth without being caught.”
    Oh, dear
, I said to myself, belatedly realizing many things, including how readily the system in my office could be turned from its secret search for others of my kind to something more focused. Simply collecting images of individual Humans, who were prone to bureaucracy and redundant records, would have taken almost no effort at all.
    As Paul said, we’d had our share of misunderstandings. I looked down my shaved muzzle at him, remembering each and every instance in exquisite detail, knowing he hadn’treally been fair to himself: many had been my fault. I tended to jump to conclusions, to assume I knew exactly what he or any being would do simply because I understood their physical natures so thoroughly.
Just like this time
, I confessed in the privacy of my own thoughts.
    Paul stifled a yawn suddenly, then held up his medallion on its chain once more, letting it swing lightly. “I really do appreciate the honor you’ve paid me with this, Es.” A wave at the table, with its bowl of deserted leftovers and surely cold eggs. “We have time for another attempt before Chase will be ready. If you are hungry?”
    This was like my friend, not to insist on an apology I’d find difficult to frame, to move us along. My stomach growled, and he smiled. “I take it that’s a yes?”
    “As long as I can dump the prawlies,” I agreed, suddenly lighthearted and ready to accept what was given. As I had all those times before, I promised myself to think more carefully before judging his or any being’s actions.
    A promise I unfortunately failed to keep.
    As shipcities went, the one on Minas XII was a patchwork quilt with a rotting hole at its center. There had been no plan or grandiose vision behind its beginning, middle, or future. The world had breathable air and potable water for most theta-class species, including Humans. That made it cheap. And Minas XII lay within a day translight of a growing number of valuable mining settlements, while remaining comfortably distant from existing systems—and their taxes. That made it very appealing to freighters and other entrepreneurs looking for a fresh start.
    Minas XII herself dictated the terms. Her storm-ridden climate and jagged, geologically-active surface severely limited the amount of flat, firm ground suited to those trying to land. There were deep irregular valleys, smooth-floored by virtue of not