Soothsayer (30 page)

Penelope sighed deeply.

"Whatever happens here, at least it will finally be over,” she said. “I'm
so
tired."

"I know,” said the Mouse sympathetically.

There was a momentary silence, as Penelope continued brushing dust from the doll. Finally she turned to the Mouse.

"Can we eat now?"

"Sure,” said the Mouse. “I don't know if the restaurant has any food the Mock Turtle can eat, though."

"It will hurt his feelings if we don't ask him to come,” said Penelope.

"If he
has
any feelings,” said the Mouse, remembering the little scene at the desk.

"Everyone has feelings, Mouse,” said Penelope.

The Mouse sighed and tousled the girl's blonde hair. “I know,” she said. “I guess I'm just tired, too."

They left their room and knocked on the Mock Turtle's door. The alien emerged a moment later.

"Have they arrived?” it asked.

"We're hungry,” said Penelope. “We're going across the street to eat at the restaurant. Would you like to come with us?"

"If you so wish it, Soothsayer,” said the Mock Turtle.

"I think we should stay together,” said Penelope.

They walked down the stairs and past the desk, which was now deserted. The Mouse opened the door, almost stepped on a small, catlike marsupial that had been sunning itself, and headed off toward the restaurant, followed closely by Penelope and the alien.

"Mouse?” said Penelope, when they had covered half the distance.

"What is it?"

"Whatever they charge us for the food, pay it."

"But the Turtle can't even eat human food,” said the Mouse. She turned to the alien. “Can you?"

"No,” answered the Mock Turtle.

"So why should I let them overcharge us?” continued the Mouse. “If they object to his presence, he can wait outside."

"Pay it,” said Penelope. “It's not polite to make him wait outside."

"At this rate we'll be out of money by tomorrow night,” said the Mouse. “I'm sure the Turtle will understand."

"We won't need the money by tomorrow night,” said Penelope.

"Why not?"

"Because whatever's going to happen will be over by then."

"Let's be optimistic and assume we're all going to live through it,” said the Mouse. “If we do, we'll need money."

"If we do, then you'll take if off the bodies of the people who
don't
live,” answered Penelope, dismissing the subject.

She climbed the steps of the restaurant's broad veranda, then paused to look at a wooden porch swing. “That's very nice,” she said. “Can I sit on it when we're through eating?"

"I don't know why not,” said the Mouse, still preoccupied with what the girl had just said about the impending events.

They entered the restaurant, which consisted of eight tables, all empty, each covered with an inexpensive, faded tablecloth. A pudgy, middle-aged woman walked out from another room and approached them.

"Can I help you?” she said coldly, regarding the Mock Turtle with open contempt.

"We'd like to have lunch,” said Penelope.

"Too late for lunch,” said the woman.

"Dinner, then,” said the Mouse.

"Too early for dinner."

The Mouse walked to a table and seated herself. “We'll wait,” she announced, signaling Penelope and the Mock Turtle to join her.

The woman disappeared into the room from which she had emerged, then came out again a moment later.

"All we've got is stew,” she said.

"What kind of salad do you have?” asked the Mouse.

"I said all we've got is stew."

"What's it made of?"

"Beef and vegetables,” said the woman.

"Can you make more if you have to?"

"I suppose so. Do you plan to eat twelve pounds of it?"

"No. But I want you to take some of those vegetables you would use to make more stew, and make me a salad,” said the Mouse.

"You ever have a salad made of potatoes before?” asked the woman with a harsh laugh.

"No, and I don't plan to have one now. However long it takes to make a simple salad, I'll wait.” She paused. “We'll all wait."

"I'd like some stew, please,” added Penelope.

The woman jerked a thumb in the Mock Turtle's direction. “What does
it
eat?"

"Nothing, thank you,” said the alien.

The woman turned on her heel and left the room.

"I've never seen a place like this,” said the Mouse. “You'd think they'd never met an alien before."

"Probably most of them haven't,” said the Mock Turtle. “Killhaven is an insular, isolated world."

"Then they ought to be curious."

"It is my experience that your race manifests its curiosity in unusual ways,” said the alien with no show of emotion. “This experience is not unfamiliar to me."

"Then why are you risking your life to save one of us?” asked the Mouse, suddenly feeling defensive.

"Because she is the Soothsayer,” said the Mock Turtle, as if explaining the obvious to a small child.

The pudgy woman suddenly reappeared, placed a garden salad before the Mouse and a plate of stew in front of Penelope without uttering a word, then turned to leave.

"We'd like some water, too,” said the Mouse.

She glared at the Mouse, then left and returned with two glasses of water a moment later.

"Thank you,” said Penelope, as she left again.

The Mouse began eating her salad, made a face, and searched through it for a sign of dressing. She couldn't find any, and finally she shrugged and continued eating. “You know,” she remarked, “I get the distinct feeling that they're not very happy to see
any
of us."

"They lead very rigid, insular lives,” said the Mock Turtle. “We have disrupted them."

"But we can't be the only visitors they've ever seen,” said the Mouse. “After all, they
do
have a hotel and a restaurant."

"They are probably patronized by farmers who come to town to shop for seeds and supplies, and by off-planet agents who come here to buy the crops."

"Perhaps,” said the Mouse.

"We make an unlikely party,” continued the Mock Turtle. “Furthermore, you and I are both heavily armed, nor did we announce our arrival in advance."

"Well, I hope they're no more hospitable to the others when they show up,” said the Mouse. Suddenly she grinned. “Maybe they'll all starve to death trying to get service here."

As if on cue, the pudgy woman returned to the dining room.

"That'll be five hundred credits, cash,” she announced.

"Five hundred credits for one bowl of salad and one plate of stew?” demanded the Mouse.

"If you don't like the price, you shouldn't have eaten the food,” said the woman.

"Mouse...” said Penelope softly.

The Mouse looked at the little girl, then pulled some bills out of her money pouch.

"How much of a tip do you think we should leave?” she asked caustically.

"I don't want any tip from you,” said the woman. “Just pay up and leave."

The Mouse handed over the money.

"We'll leave when we're ready to,” she said.

The woman glared at her. “When the shooting starts, just see to it that you're not in my restaurant."

"What shooting?” asked the Mouse.

"Don't play dumb with
me
,” said the woman. “We heard on the subspace radio that there's a bunch of bounty hunters bound for Killhaven. Since no one here has broken any laws, it stands to reason that you're the ones they're after.” She paused. “I want you out of my restaurant. If we had any police here, I'd turn you in myself."

"I told you,” said the Mouse coldly. “We'll leave when we're ready."

Penelope reached across the table and laid a hand on the Mouse's wrist. “It's all right, Mouse. I'm through eating."

"All right,” said the Mouse, getting to her feet. “Let's go try out that swing."

"I don't want to any more,” said Penelope.

"Don't let her frighten you,” said the Mouse, still angry.

"I'm not afraid of her, Mouse."

"You're sure you don't want to sit on the swing?"

"I'm sure,” answered the girl.

The Mouse shrugged. “All right,” she said. “Let's go back to our room."

They left the dining room, walked out the door, and started climbing down the steps of the veranda.

"Well, maybe it wasn't xenophobia after all,” said the Mouse.

"Maybe it wasn't
only
xenophobia,” the Mock Turtle corrected her.

They began walking back to the rooming house. When they were in the middle of the dirt street separating the two buildings, Penelope suddenly froze in her tracks.

"What is it?” asked the Mouse solicitously.

"He's here already."

"He?"

Penelope stared fixedly at a point just beyond the Mouse's left shoulder.

"
Him!
” she whispered.

The Mouse turned and saw two men standing at the door of the hotel. One was the Forever Kid.

"Hello, Mouse,” said the other. “You led us one hell of a chase."

"Hello, Carlos,” said the Mouse.

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"Come no closer,” said the Mock Turtle.

"And who are
you
?” demanded the Iceman.

"I am a friend of the Soothsayer,” replied the alien. “That is enough for you to know."

"So she's the Soothsayer now?"

"And I am in her service."

"If she was anyone else in the galaxy, I would say that she needed all the friends she could get,” said the Iceman. “I suppose you know that half a dozen ships are due to land before nightfall."

"Yes—but you are the only one she fears,” said the Mock Turtle. “Keep your distance."

"He's not going to touch the little girl,” said the Forever Kid. He turned to the Mouse. “I'm still on your payroll; I figure that includes protecting the girl.” He paused. “Unless you want the rest of your money back, that is."

"Keep the money,” said the Mouse as an enormous surge of relief swept over her. “You're still working for me."

"Well, Iceman?” said the Kid. “We haven't settled what we were going to do when we caught up with them. It seems to me that it's about time we found out where you stand."

"We have time, yet,” said the Iceman. “Anything we decide right now is going to be disputed by a dozen or more bounty hunters. If we start shooting each other, there will be that many less of us to stand against them."

"Why should we believe you, Carlos?” demanded the Mouse.

The Iceman stared into the little girl's eyes. “Tell them,” he said.

"He's not going to do anything to me at least until we're safe from the others,” said Penelope.

"What about later?” asked the Mouse.

"I don't know."

The Mouse turned to face the Iceman once again. “Carlos?"

"She doesn't know because
I
don't know,” he replied.

"I'm still wondering if I can trust you,” said the Mouse.

"It is impossible for the Soothsayer to err,” said the Mock Turtle tranquilly. It began walking toward the rooming house. “Come. Let us go inside and make our plans. We are very visible targets here on the street."

The Iceman nodded his agreement, and the five of them entered the rooming house. The old man was back at the desk.

"No rooms left,” he said sullenly. “We're all sold out."

"We don't want a room,” replied the Iceman.

"We don't allow visitors."

The Iceman stared at the old man for a long moment.

"Leave,” he said at last.

"This is
my
rooming house!"

"Don't make me say it again,” said the Iceman. He didn't raise his voice; if anything, he spoke even more softly. But there was something in his tone that convinced the old man to get up and walk out the door without saying another word. At the same time the Mouse became aware of Penelope pressing very hard against her hip and leg, as if she were trying to keep the Mouse between herself and the Iceman.

"We've got a little time,” said the Iceman. “About an hour or so. Where can we talk?"

"There's a lounge over there,” said the Mouse, pointing to an adjacent room that was dominated by a large, brick fireplace.

They entered it, with the Forever Kid leaning against the doorjamb, where he had a view of the empty street. Penelope waited until the Iceman had seated himself on a chair, then sat as far away from him as possible. The Mouse joined her a moment later, and the Mock Turtle, finding no furniture that would accommodate the huge, horny hump on its back, stood in a corner, from which it could observe all of them.

"Well?” said the Mouse. “What do we do now?"

"Now we wait,” said the Iceman.

"Then we kill ‘em all,” added the Forever Kid happily.

"Don't ask
him
what to do,” said the Iceman wryly. “He can't wait to take them all on single-handed."

"Why aren't we trying to get away before they arrive?” asked the Mouse. “I know why we can't use
our
ship, but why can't we all leave in yours?"

"Because the Democracy's got a couple of battle cruisers on the way here,” answered the Iceman. “They won't arrive for a couple of days, but we can't outgun them, and while our ships are a little faster, they can carry a lot more fuel—they'd catch us the first time we put into a port with a fuel depot.” He paused. “The only way to get away cleanly is to do to them what you tried to do to us: change ships and hope they don't figure it out as quickly as we did."

"And the only ships worth taking belong to the bounty hunters,” added the Forever Kid.

"So there's no alternative,” said the Mouse. “We stay and fight."

"There's an alternative,” said the Iceman.

"What is it?” asked the Mouse.

"Leave the girl here and get out now. They're not interested in any of the rest of us."

"
No!
” shouted Penelope.

"Never!” said the Mock Turtle.

"That was a foolish suggestion, Carlos,” said the Mouse, trying to control her anger.

"Probably,” he replied. “But you
did
ask for alternatives.” He stared at Penelope again. “You'd never let us get away with it, would you?"

"Why do you hate me so?” asked Penelope, edging closer to the Mouse and holding her hand as if for comfort.