Read Online Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon - Free Book Online

already dirty,” Zori said. “Come on…hold on to my sleeve, so I can crawl.”
    A short crawl brought them to a door at the far end of the kitchen. Zori put her shoulder to it; it didn’t budge. When she looked up, she saw the touchpad of a security lock and the words PANTRY: EMPLOYEES ONLY. Back the way they’d come, the crowd heaved and struggled, the back of it retreating toward them. This end of the work space had no convenient gaps to hide in.
    Memory burst on her. She had been in a kitchen, the kitchen of her childhood home, looking up from this angle. She wasn’t supposed to be in there, but Estelle had been cross, pulling her hair as she combed it, and Cook, who didn’t like Estelle, would probably let her sit on her lap, might even give her a cookie or jam roll. But Cook wasn’t there. The child-Zori had the idea of hiding in the pantry, waiting for Cook to come back.
    When footsteps came into the kitchen, she shrank back, leaving the pantry door open just a crack, in case it was Estelle and not Cook.
    “You can’t—!” Mama’s voice, high and tense. “You can’t stop me! I’ll tell—!” Something that sounded like a book slammed onto a desk. A cry of pain.
    “You!” Daddy’s voice, menacing. “You’ll tell no one.”
    “You hit me!”
    A laugh, ugly and not funny at all. “That wasn’t a hit. That was a promise. Remember what I told you.”
    “My family—” Mama’s voice now was shaky, barely heard through sobs.
    Another laugh. “Your family’s a long way away. I’m here. And if you leave—what do you think will happen to the child?”
    Mama crying. Daddy angry. Child-Zori couldn’t stand it. She’d opened the door; she’d said—something she couldn’t remember. She’d seen her mother, hand pressed to her face, crying. Her father whirling around, his face shifting in an instant from a terrifying mask of rage to the familiar smile; his hand opening to lay something—she had not seen what—on the counter.
    “Zori, you little minx! What are you doing in the kitchen at this hour?” His voice, warm and welcoming. He’d held out his arms; she’d run to him, already sobbing in fright and confusion. “What—did you want a cookie? Did Estelle scold you?”
    She tucked her head into his shoulder. “Daddy—”
    “Hush, child.” He felt the same as always, the big warm shoulder, the broad strong hands gentle, comforting, as they supported her. She lifted her head, seeing through a blur of tears her mother’s white face, a shaking hand pressed against one cheek. “Don’t be scared, little bird. You’re safe with me. Your mother’s just upset.” He turned to look at her, facing Zori away from her mother. “Now, my dear, don’t you see you’ve scared the child?”
    She relaxed into his arms. From behind her, her mother’s voice, no longer high and tense, but once more the cool voice she expected, said, “Zori, I’m sorry if I scared you. Your father is quite right. But you should not be running to the kitchen for treats between meals. I’ll speak to Estelle.”
    “Oh, let the child have a cookie,” her father said. With his thumb, he gently lifted her chin, wiped away the last tears. “Cheer up, little bird. If I say you can have a cookie, even your mother has to agree.”
    “Of course,” her mother said. “One of the plain—”
    “Chocolate,” her father said. “One of the special ones. This time.”
    The chocolate cookie had melted in her mouth, the flavor so rare and tantalizing that she had not noticed anything odd in the sleepy feeling, the softening of memory’s sharp edges. Until now.
    She could hardly breathe, as that and other memories long buried unfolded and changed her known past. “I’m scared,” the girl said.
    “I’m Zori,” Zori said. “Hi, Scared.” It was all she could think of, in the turmoil, but the girl’s face relaxed for an instant and she giggled.
    “That’s silly…my name’s Hordin. But I am scared. Why aren’t the