Keilin

of the ­mountains.”
Cautiously she spat, sealed the sticky handclasp, and then wiped her hand rather gingerly on her dress.
“Now let’s talk money. Let me try your new partner, Master Skyann,” said the gem buyer, rubbing his hands.
It was a decision he regretted. She knew nothing of the value of turquoise, but Shael had been trained to read the smallest nuances of speech and gesture. She got far closer to the precise values than Keilin would have. Her hands sweated furiously through the first two transactions, but her brief glance at Keilin brought a nod of reassurance. Suddenly she knew she had the edge and, relaxing, she had the time of her life. At the end Clarence shook his head and stood up. “Phew! You’ve got yourself a damn fine partner there, young man. Next time I’ll dicker with you, I think. Now, I owe you, let me see . . .” He totted up the figures, and then got up to go and fetch the money.
“Cay, what does this mean?” she held out the hand she’d spat on.
“It means you get half of the money,” he said with a grin. “You could live for a couple of years