Jack L. Chalker - Changewinds 2 by Riders of the Winds

Author:Riders of the Winds [Winds, Riders of the]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-02-15T01:12:21.615000+00:00

"By now she can ride very well, and she fights when she has to. Don't sell her short because of her size or her looks. She's kind of weird, though, even when she's normal. Most girls dream of growing up and becoming princesses; she's got a shot at princess and she desperately wants to be a floor scrubber or grape stomper." Quickly, but in as much detail as he could—or knew—he described Sam and her past in Tubikosa, sparing no details. When he finished, he added, "Now I'll show you the last vision I had available of her from the Jewel of Omak."

There was a slight spark and Kira felt her forehead tingle, and suddenly in her mind there was a full, three-dimensional vision of Sam, animated, even speaking.

"I can understand her low aspirations," Kira commented dryly. "The others I see there with the painted bodies?"

"The tall, skinny one with the design riot is Boday. I told you about her. The other one is Charley."

Kira gave a low whistle. "And this Sam should or could look like that! I can see the resemblance, almost like sisters, but you cannot really see the potential of one in the other."

"I know. Part of that is attitude. Even when she looked like that she thought she didn't. You don't have to psychoanalyze or cure her of her hangups, just get her to me in one piece."

Kira gave a faint smile. "That will be a most interesting challenge."

Medac Pasedo did a low, lazy circle in the sky and then descended towards the caravan that had pulled in and made a basic camp near the supplies building just down from the Governor's Residence. The men would stay in the residence guest quarters tonight and sleep on real beds and eat decent food.

Crim watched the big man land on the run and then slow to a stop, get his land bearings, then walk over to the train. "Hello, Medac," he said, using no formalities. When the Duke's son had been changed by the winds he had forfeited all titles and claims automatically; legally he was lower than a commoner, although here in his father's domain he was certainly a privileged person, a highborn. To Crim he was neither the creature the Akhbreed considered him nor the near-deity that the people of the refuge regarded him, but merely an equal.

"Crim, it is good to see you," Medac said sincerely. "Did you have a hard trip?"

"Only the Kudaan, as usual," the Navigator replied. "If you all weren't here I'd skip this whole place, frankly. Ovens are for cooking, not for living. About the only good thing about Kudaan is that it dries up my sinuses and any cold I might have and keeps me from catching another for weeks. Even diseases know better than to live here."

Medac did not laugh, although he also was not offended. "I love this place," he said softly. "It has a beauty and an isolation that becomes a part of you. But, enough! We have gone through this many times before.

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