Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls - Jane Lindskold [93]
I reach out and touch the baby. He coos and with one hand lets go of Betwixt and Between to hold my finger.
“If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong,” I reply after a minute.
“I see,” Professor Isabella says, looking between the baby’s face and mine. “You saw what Aldrich was doing to this child. Dylan was a slave all his life and, for all her apparent freedom, so was Eleanora.”
I nod, content to see some of her confusion leave, even if she does not completely understand.
“Don’t forget what he did to Sarah,” Abalone adds. “Aldrich bred for her like he did for the others and so he created the block between her and true speech. She’ll never escape his touch on her, no matter how good we treat her.”
“Maybe,” Professor Isabella says, a thoughtful look on her face. “I saw this child’s files before we purged them. Aldrich was working to negate Sarah’s negative traits. Perhaps the baby will be able to talk both to us and to her.”
“Or at least hear what she does and share it more easily,” Midline agrees. “I like that.”
“Whatever the child may do in the future,” Professor Isabella says, patting the baby’s rump, “we had better stop and get diapers before we return to the Jungle. He’s wet himself.”
“Mowgli, the Frog, I will call thee,” I say, giggling. “He shall live to run with the Pack and to hunt with the Pack.”
“Mowgli, the Frog! That’s good—he’s all wet!” Abalone laughs and the rest join in. “I have money to get Mowgli diapers. I emptied Ailanthus’ petty—well, not so petty—cash accounts while I was mucking around in the system. There’s money enough for diapers and more.”
“After we get rid of this car,” Peep promises cheerfully, “we’ll stop at a store for stuff for the niño. Will that be soon enough, Professor Isabella?”
“I suppose that it will have to be,” she answers.
The diaper, however, complains loudly. Only I—and Mowgli—hear. Smiling, I pat my dragons and they sing enthusiastically enough to fill our ears with silent song.
Looking over Peep’s shoulder, I see the lights of the city spreading before us like a sea of diamonds. The sedan dips, angles, and we begin our descent.
Tor Books by Jane Lindskold
Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls
The Buried Pyramid
Child of a Rainless Year
Through Wolf’s Eyes
Wolf’s Head, Wolf’s Heart
The Dragon of Despair
Wolf Captured
Wolf Hunting
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
BROTHER TO DRAGONS, COMPANION TO OWLS
Copyright © 1994 by Jane Lindskold
Previously published in 1994 by Avon Books.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
An Orb Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lindskold, Jane M.
Brother to dragons, companion to owls / Jane Lindskold.—1st Orb ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN: 978-1-4299-8294-8
I. Title.
PS3562.I51248B76 2006
813'.6—dc22 2006040049