He thought it over. “It would take days to get there. But it might work. You have something of your mother’s pragmatism, little Raida. I guess you win.”
“Maybe we both win.”
There was silence. Then he said coldly, “Must I beg?”
“Make me an offer.”
He sighed. “There has been a sighting of a school of Spline. Wild Spline.”
I was startled. “Wild?”
“These Spline are still spacegoing. But certain of their behavioral traits have reverted to an ancestral state. They believe they swim in their primordial ocean … ”
I breathed, “Nobody has ever hunted a Spline.”
“It would be glorious. Like the old days. Hily would be proud.” It was as if I could hear his smile.
I was content with the deal. It was enough that I’d beaten him; I didn’t need to destroy him.
Not yet. Not until I know who killed my mother.
We argued percentages, all the way down toward the light.