"Doris Egan - Ivory 01 - The Gate of Ivory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Egan Doris)

do what you just did."

"I didn't get very far, though." When he didn't reply, I said, "Why did
the cards become hot? And what about that building on fireтАФ"

"A temporary problem, I'm sureтАФit may have something to do with
your predecessor in this position. She was involved in an accident, which
is why I had to find a replacement."

I was ready to ask more questions when he brought out my advance. It
was more money than I'd seen in the last six months.

"Thank you, graciousтАФah, Ran."

He blinked. "A plain 'sir' will do. I know Athena makes less use of
formality than we do, but there's no need to go overboard."

"Yes, sir." I took the money.

On the way back to the market I realized what the woman on the ship
had been doing. She had been dealing out cards.

Trade Square Marketplace is the loudest, busiest, and most dangerous
corner of the Imperial Capital, which is the loudest, busiest, and most
dangerous corner of Ivory; which is not a planet known for its peaceful
style of living. But it was the only place lawless enough to let a stranger
earn a living, and the only place well-organized enough to protect me
while I earned it. The Square only looks like chaos cubed; those of us who
sold there knew it was as carefully run as a Pyrene military maneuver. I
paid a weekly fee to the Merchant's AssociationтАФa non-official,
profit-making organizationтАФand was not disturbed by thieves, cutthroats,
pickpockets, or policemen. Irsa sponsored my membership in the
Association; she was the closest thing to a friend I had here. I went
straight from Ran Cormallon's office to her fruit stall in the market.

"Cormallon," she said thoughtfully. "They're big fish. Not one of the six
Houses, but one of them that claims to be seventh. Specialize in sorcery, I
hear, and other things less respectable. Lots of money there. Didn't I tell
you when I saw him?"

"But how much of that money am I likely to see, do you think? Can I
trust him to let me stay around when the job is over? Burial fees are so
much cheaper. And I didn't likeтАФ" I paused. I hadn't liked the way his
offer of employment came hard on the heels of my admission about my
lack of family. I may be a dim-witted out-lander, but I was well aware that
I was probably the only person in the market that day who wasn't
protected by some sort of kinship web.

"If you ask, I'd say the Cormallons are rich enough to be able to afford a
little honesty. They've got their good name to consider, tooтАФthey've always