Page 23 of Seer Prophet

I only looked at him, watching the heat still coursing through his light.

Both of us turned when Dulgar spoke.

“Ah,” he said, smiling. “Young love.”

I found those gold eyes staring at me.

Something about the look there made me flinch, then instinctively hide my wrist deeper in the leather cushion. I felt strangely exposed, and realized I had been?for those few seconds, at least. When I opened my light to Revik, they’d felt it, too.

Dulgar’s eyes held an open heat now.

Along with something else. Something I realized was?

Envy.

For the first time, it occurred to me Revik might be in more danger here than I was. Or maybe a different, more fatal kind of danger. I wondered suddenly, if I should be leaving him alone with this man, even for a short time.

As I thought it, Dulgar spoke.

“Love of whatever kind is always so touching, is it not?” He never took those gold eyes off me as he spoke. “One always feels like a voyeur, to witness it. Even when it is so generously displayed.”

Dulgar gave Revik and I another indulgent smile.

It never touched those gold irises.

“That is true, I’m afraid, even for one as old and jaded as myself,” Dulgar proclaimed. “For we are all romantics at heart… whether we will admit to it openly or not.”

Startled by a second pulse of real-feeling envy, I glanced at Revik.

I saw his hand stuff the green-stone necklace into the pocket of his suit coat.

I think you’re right,I told him suddenly.I don’t want to leave you.

Then don’t,Revik replied, equally soft.

Looking at his eyes, I could tell he meant it.

“Are you ready to say goodbye to her then, brother?” Dulgar gestured a more subtle motion to the four females, who now looked expectantly at me. “It will only be for a short while. We should let our sisters pamper her, and perhaps give her an excuse to go for that swim.”

I glanced at Revik, feeling his light on mine.

Making another decision, I faced Dulgar directly.

“Would it be possible for both of us to see the seers first, brother?” I asked politely. “My husband and I are most anxious to examine your current inventory. Perhaps your sisters would be kind enough to wait while you took us there, first? Or I could go alone, perhaps. Before I have my swim?” Shrugging with one hand, I smiled. “I could do this one thing for my husband, at least. So I don’t feel entirely useless… and save you both some time in the process?”

Dulgar smiled.

That harder look vanished from his eyes as he turned his head, making eye-contact with the largest of the five males who stood like sentries around our booth.

Once he had the male seer’s attention, Dulgar clicked his fingers in a rapid series that sounded almost like morse code, ending on a set of graceful motions with his hands and fingers. The latter struck me as subtly complicated, and didn’t match any seer sign language I knew, either from the Rebels, the common variety, or any of the variants I learned in Beijing.

When Dulgar looked at me next, he was smiling.

“A most helpful suggestion, Esteemed Bridge,” he purred. “I am always happy to facilitate a more efficient business transaction.” He raised his glass in a toast. “Further, I believe it is always better to conduct business when the commodity is transparently available for examination. Is it not, my lovely sister?”

He glanced at Revik before leaning closer to me.

“You can certainly see our recent crop of infiltrators… assuming your husband does not object to our using you as a proxy in this?” At Revik’s casual negative, Dulgar smiled wider. “Excellent. You can inspect them personally, Esteemed Sister, and communicate your findings to your husband when we reunite with you in a few hours.”

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