sipping hers—which wasn’t difficult since it was sweet and frothy and probably the best thing she had ever tasted. Still keeping her eyes fixed on the table in front of her, she was nonetheless aware of Onca’s scrutiny.
“You can’t read very well, can you?” he finally asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
“It wouldn’t be if I hadn’t known Tarq. He had a helluva time learning to read, and he never did get good at it. Something about words being sort of jumbled up when he looked at them. Since you’ve been on the street since the age of ten, I’m guessing you didn’t get to spend much time in school.” He nodded at Jatki. “Or you, either.”
“Jatki taught me some stuff,” Kim said. “She went to school until she was almost thirteen.”
If Onca thought it strange that she was speaking for her friend, he kept it to himself. “I’m not much of a teacher, but I bet Captain could pull up some educational programs. You two could learn all kinds of stuff from him.”
“Great idea,” Roncas said. “He could teach them to annoy the crap out of you.”
“Okay. So maybe it isn’t a good idea,” Onca grumbled. “Forget I said anything.”
Kim had just been offered the one thing she wanted most of all, and he was letting it drop? “I think I’d like that. But we need to find our friends first.”
Roncas gave Onca a nudge. “Looks like you’ll be starting a school for street kids.”
“There are already schools like that. I’m offering them a home.”
Kim gaped at him in disbelief. “You’d let us live in your house ?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
Kim could think of a hundred reasons why not. Not the least of which was the way Jatki was trembling.
He scares me , she said in fingerspeak.
“I’m pretty sure we can trust him,” Kim said aloud. She could understand that language far better than she could speak it. Zetithian knuckles didn’t crack quite as easily as those of Kitnocks.
“Yes, you can trust me,” Onca said. “If nothing else, I have Ganyn to vouch for my character. That is, if you trust Darconian waitresses.” He didn’t wait for Jatki to reply before continuing. “So, Jatki. Why don’t you tell us how those little pigs captured you and made you swallow a tracking beacon?”
Jatki reached for Kim’s hand beneath the table, and Kim gave it a reassuring squeeze. Jatki had been so brave while making plans for this mission. Kim didn’t fully understand what her problem was now, unless one of the Rackenspries had hurt her. Then again, they had made her swallow a beacon, and somehow Kim doubted Jatki had been very cooperative.
“I—I followed the Herpatronian,” Jatki said. “I thought if I saw where he went, we would know more about where to look for the other girls.”
“Good idea,” Onca said with a nod. “What went wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I think he expected to be followed because he hadn’t gone far when he turned down another street. By the time I got to the corner, he was gone. Then those creeps jumped out and grabbed me.”
“The plot thickens,” Roncas said. “So you never saw where any of them wound up?”
Jatki shook her head. “I was too scared to follow them after they let me go.” She glanced at Kim. “And I had no idea where to find you . All I could do was go back to our meeting place.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I think they’re after you, Kim.”
“That’s not too surprising,” Onca said. “She’s the one that got away. She’s a danger to them, and they know it.”
“So what do we do now?” Kim asked.
“Hmm…well, they used Jatki as bait to try to get you . I guess we should use her as bait to catch them .”
Jatki started cracking her knuckles again.
“Oh, I don’t mean you, specifically,” he said. “I mean the tracking beacon. We could put it on someone else, and they’d follow the signal right into our trap.”
Kim tried to find a fault with this plan and couldn’t do it. Yet. “But
“You can’t read very well, can you?” he finally asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
“It wouldn’t be if I hadn’t known Tarq. He had a helluva time learning to read, and he never did get good at it. Something about words being sort of jumbled up when he looked at them. Since you’ve been on the street since the age of ten, I’m guessing you didn’t get to spend much time in school.” He nodded at Jatki. “Or you, either.”
“Jatki taught me some stuff,” Kim said. “She went to school until she was almost thirteen.”
If Onca thought it strange that she was speaking for her friend, he kept it to himself. “I’m not much of a teacher, but I bet Captain could pull up some educational programs. You two could learn all kinds of stuff from him.”
“Great idea,” Roncas said. “He could teach them to annoy the crap out of you.”
“Okay. So maybe it isn’t a good idea,” Onca grumbled. “Forget I said anything.”
Kim had just been offered the one thing she wanted most of all, and he was letting it drop? “I think I’d like that. But we need to find our friends first.”
Roncas gave Onca a nudge. “Looks like you’ll be starting a school for street kids.”
“There are already schools like that. I’m offering them a home.”
Kim gaped at him in disbelief. “You’d let us live in your house ?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
Kim could think of a hundred reasons why not. Not the least of which was the way Jatki was trembling.
He scares me , she said in fingerspeak.
“I’m pretty sure we can trust him,” Kim said aloud. She could understand that language far better than she could speak it. Zetithian knuckles didn’t crack quite as easily as those of Kitnocks.
“Yes, you can trust me,” Onca said. “If nothing else, I have Ganyn to vouch for my character. That is, if you trust Darconian waitresses.” He didn’t wait for Jatki to reply before continuing. “So, Jatki. Why don’t you tell us how those little pigs captured you and made you swallow a tracking beacon?”
Jatki reached for Kim’s hand beneath the table, and Kim gave it a reassuring squeeze. Jatki had been so brave while making plans for this mission. Kim didn’t fully understand what her problem was now, unless one of the Rackenspries had hurt her. Then again, they had made her swallow a beacon, and somehow Kim doubted Jatki had been very cooperative.
“I—I followed the Herpatronian,” Jatki said. “I thought if I saw where he went, we would know more about where to look for the other girls.”
“Good idea,” Onca said with a nod. “What went wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I think he expected to be followed because he hadn’t gone far when he turned down another street. By the time I got to the corner, he was gone. Then those creeps jumped out and grabbed me.”
“The plot thickens,” Roncas said. “So you never saw where any of them wound up?”
Jatki shook her head. “I was too scared to follow them after they let me go.” She glanced at Kim. “And I had no idea where to find you . All I could do was go back to our meeting place.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I think they’re after you, Kim.”
“That’s not too surprising,” Onca said. “She’s the one that got away. She’s a danger to them, and they know it.”
“So what do we do now?” Kim asked.
“Hmm…well, they used Jatki as bait to try to get you . I guess we should use her as bait to catch them .”
Jatki started cracking her knuckles again.
“Oh, I don’t mean you, specifically,” he said. “I mean the tracking beacon. We could put it on someone else, and they’d follow the signal right into our trap.”
Kim tried to find a fault with this plan and couldn’t do it. Yet. “But
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