We reached the top deck without seeing anyone; clearly, the Icarus'santisocial atmosphere was still unsullied by anything resembling genuine camaraderie.

Tera's door was closed. Bracing myself, I tapped the release pad; and as thedoor slid open I dodged inside.

From my previous clandestine visit to Tera's room I knew she used the lower ofthe three bunks, and that supposed knowledge nearly got me killed. Even as Iaimed my charge toward the lower bunk, I belatedly saw in the light filteringin from the corridor that that particular bunk was in fact empty. My eyes trackedupward, caught sight of the body and sudden movement on the top bunk—clearly, she alternated bunks, probably for exactly this purpose.

I altered course in mid-charge, nearly wrenching my back in the process, reaching for her mouth to keep her from screaming. There was a faint glint ofsomething metallic in her hand, and I shifted the direction of my hands towardthe object as she tried to bring it around to bear on me. I won by a thin- sliced fraction of a second, and with a twist of my wrist wrenched it out of her hand.

With my other hand I reached again for her mouth; but even as I could see hertaking a deep breath Ixil's left hand closed almost delicately across it, hisright taking up a supporting position behind her head.

"It's all right, Tera," I assured her quickly. "We just want to talk."

She ignored me, grabbing Ixil's hand and trying to pry it away—consideringKalixiri musculature, a complete waste of effort. From the movements of herhead I guessed she was also trying to bite him, another waste of effort. Behind us, the door slid shut, plunging the silent struggle into darkness. "Really, that's all we want," I said, stepping across the darkened room and switching on thelight. "We thought it would be better if what we had to say was kept quietfrom the others for the moment."

Tera grunted something unintelligible but undoubtedly quite rude from behindIxil's hand, her eyes doing their best to skewer me. "Nice to see you'rearmed, too," I added, looking at the gun I'd taken from her. It was a short-barreledshotgun-style pepperbox pistol, capable of making a considerable mess of anassailant at the close range inherent in shipboard combat without the dangerof accidentally rupturing the hull in the process. My earlier search of her roomhadn't turned it up; clearly, she made a habit of carrying it around with her.

"Of course, this thing's loud enough to have brought the whole ship down onus.

Good thing you didn't get a chance to fire. If Ixil takes his hand away, willyou promise not to make a fuss until you hear what we have to say?"

Her eyes flicked to her gun in my hand. Reluctantly, I thought, she nodded.

"Good," I said, nodding to Ixil.

He pulled his hands away slowly, ready to put them back again if she renegedon her promise. "What do you want?" she said in a low voice. There was a fairdegree of tension in her face, I saw, but whatever panic there might have beenhad already disappeared.

"Like I said, to talk," I told her. "We want to find out what you know aboutthis ship, Tera." I lifted my eyebrows. "Or should I call you Elaina?"

The corner of her mouth twitched. Not much, but enough to show I'd hit thebull's-eye. Uncle Arthur had indeed come through. "Elaina?" she askedcautiously.

"Elaina," I said. "Elaina Tera Cameron. Daughter of Arno Cameron. The man whoput all of us aboard this ship."

CHAPTER 12

FOR THE SPACE of a dozen heartbeats I thought she was going to try to play outthe masquerade. She lay there on her bunk, propped up on one elbow, and staredat me, a dozen expressions flicking across her face. And then, the one hand Icould see tightened into a fist, and I knew she'd given up. "What gave meaway?" she asked calmly.

"It wasn't anything you said or did," I assured her. "Though now in retrospectI can see hints that you were more than you seemed. That nicely fortuitoustimingwhen you first came to the bridge, for instance, making sure that I didn'tjust pocket the money your father had left for us and stroll casually off the ship.

No, we simply picked up some additional information which included theinteresting note that Cameron's daughter hadn't been seen for a while. Ourinformant was kind enough to include a photo that was just barely adequate."

"I see," she said. "Where exactly did this information come from?"

"You know how we're connected," I said, my voice heavy with significance.

"Just leave it at that."

She seemed to measure me with her eyes. "All right," she said. "So. Now what?"

"Now what is that you tell us what the hell this is all about," I said.

"Starting with where your father is."

"He's back on Meima, of course," she said. "You ought to know—you took offwithout him."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but that won't wash. The whole planet was looking tohang a murder charge on him, and there aren't a hell of a lot of places therewhere a human could hide."

"Which means he was already aboard when you left," Ixil added. "I presume hewas the one Jordan chased briefly around the 'tweenhull area?"

Tera grimaced. So did I, feeling like a complete fool. All the way up from thelower deck knowing she was Cameron's daughter, and that part had never evenoccurred to me. "So he's the one who tapped into my intercom," I said. "Andwho tried to kill Ixil with the cutting torch."

"Dad wasn't trying to hurt him," Tera snapped, her face flushing. "Not Ixil oranyone else." She transferred her glare to Ixil. "He thought you'd beprofessional enough to check the torch before you tried lighting it."

"I'd already done so," he said calmly. "Under the circumstances, I should haveknown to check it again."

"I'm sorry," she growled, her expression one of anger mixed with guilt. "Forwhatever it's worth, he felt very bad about you getting hurt."

Ixil inclined his head. "I accept his apology."

"Accept it in person, why don't you," I put in. "Elaina, we need to talk toyourfather right away."

"Tera," she corrected me. "And Dad's not here. He got off at Potosi."

I threw a glance at Ixil. The biggest Patth shipping facility in the entireregion; and that was where Cameron had chosen to jump ship? "Why?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "He didn't say anything about it to me beforehand.

All I know is that when we all got back after looking for Shawn, he and his thingswere gone."

Ixil rumbled in his throat. "You'll forgive me if I say that makes no sensewhatsoever."

"You can search the ship yourselves if you want," she countered tartly. "Itell you, he's not here."

"Let's go back to the beginning," I interrupted them, not about to let thisdegenerate into a reality-versus-logic argument if I could help it. "Let'sstart with how you got to Meima and why you're aboard the Icarus under thissemiassumed identity."

Tera looked back and forth between us, a wary look on her face. "Why should Itell either of you anything?" she demanded. "You've already admitted yoursouls are owned by a crime boss. Why should I trust you?"

"Because you have to trust someone," I told her, putting on my quietly earnest face and gunning it for all it was worth. "And as far as this ship and creware concerned, we're it. Did you know the Patth are hunting for us?"

She swallowed. "Yes. There were hints even before we left Meima, and Dad heardyou talking about it in your cabin."

"All right," I said. "Then remember back to Potosi, where one of our fellowcrewers called in a tip that nearly got us impounded by the Najiki Customsagents."

"How do you know it was one of us?" she asked.

"Because no one except the seven of us knew we were running under the nameSleeping Beauty at the time," I said. "If I hadn't gotten us out of that whenI did, the Icarus would inevitably have wound up in Patth hands. That ought toprove I'm on your side."