Duty Bound Read Online Free PDF

seductive flare
of light. He looked down, staring, or so Er Thom fancied, at the
place where he had set his coin.
    Er Thom bit his lip. Clearly, something was
wrong, and the mechanic was a crewman. His crewman, if it came to
that; he being the yos'Galan present.
    Mechanic pin'Ethil is ill, he decided. In
such case, his duty as crew-mate and as yos'Galan was plain. He
moved a step toward the man who stood, staring bleakly down at the
table.
    Clack... clack.. .clack. The Wheel came to
rest, rim-lights darkening.
    The crowd 'round the table sighed as one,
saving only Bor Gen pin'Ethil, staring, steadfast, at his coin.
    "Yellow Eleven!" called the man with the
wand. "The House wins!"
    Bor Gen pin'Ethil picked his coin up and
turned away from the table.
    The thing was done so deftly that it took Er
Thom, with his attention close upon the man, a moment to understand
what he had seen. Alas, the croupier's wand was more observant.
    It began to glow a steady and unalarming
amber. The croupier raised it high over his head at the same time
directing a courteous, "Your pardon, sir. A word with you, please,"
at Mechanic pin'Ethil's back.
    The mechanic did not heed the gentle
summons, but moved steadily away from the table. Heart in mouth, Er
Thom plunged forward, certain now that something was earnestly
amiss. Even he, the rawest of halflings, knew that a wager once
placed upon the table was sacrosanct. The House had won with Yellow
Eleven. Mechanic pin'Ethil's coin, covering Green Eight, was
forfeit, by all the rules of honor and of play.
    He needn't have hurried. The crowd parted
for two tall Terrans in formal wear. One reached down and gripped
Bor Gen pin'Ethil's arm, holding him still. The second went to the
table, carrying another wand to the croupier.
    "Malfunction?" she asked, taking the
amber-lit wand with a rueful smile. "Ah, well. A spin on the House
for everyone."
    The croupier bowed and bent, reaching into
his tray for coins to put into the questing hands of the players Er
Thom turned away in time to see the other Terran urging Mechanic
pin'Ethil forward.
    The mechanic balked and twisted, trying to
break the Terran's grip. He failed, which could not have been
unexpected, and sent a swift, panicked glance about him. Er Thom
leapt forward, the man's eye fell upon him, and his face closed,
becoming the calm, courteous face of an elder crewman.
Deliberately, he turned back to the man who held him and inclined
his head.
    "Hold!" Er Thom had reached the mechanic's
side and stared up into the face of the man who held him, and spoke
in rapid Trade. "Release him. We will come with you willingly."
    "Certainly, I will," said Mechanic
pin'Ethil. He drew a deep breath, looked calmly into Er Thom's
face, and murmured quickly in Liaden, elder crew to younger.
"Halfling, this is not yours. Go now, you should not be in this
place."
    "These persons will want Balance, will they
not?" Er Thom snapped, as if he spoke to Daav, rather than an
elder. "Who else from your crewmates is here to support you?"
    "No one, gods be praised," the other
returned. He paused before inclining his head. "Your actions do you
honor, but you must believe me--you want none of this."
    "What's the hold-up?" The female Terran was
with them, the glowing amber wand cradled in her arm. She glanced
over to her mate. "Who's the kid?"
    "I am Er Thom yos'Galan," he answered, in
his slow, careful Terran. "This man," he used his chin to point at
Mechanic pin'Ethil, "is of my crew."
    "He is, is he?" She looked briefly amused,
then shook her head and turned on her heel. "People are staring,"
she said over her shoulder to the man who held Mechanic pin'Ethil's
arm. "Bring them both."
    "Right." The man walked after her. Perforce,
Mechanic pin'Ethil walked with him, Er Thom keeping pace on his
opposite side.
    Calmly, the man never loosing his grip on
Mechanic pin'Ethil's arm, they walked through the throng of gaily
dressed people. Er Thom searched the faces in the crowd, but saw no
one he