فصل 7

7

Scrawny, with Potential

Tyger Salazar was going places!

After a life of wasting time and taking up space, he was now professionally paid to waste time and take up space! He couldn’t imagine a better life for himself—and with all the brushing shoulders with scythes, he knew that eventually one of them would take notice of him. He figured that he might have a ring held out to him and get a year of immunity. He never expected one of them would hire Tyger for a permanent position. Much less a scythe from another region!

“You entertained us at a party last year,” the woman on the phone had said. “We liked your style.” She offered him more than twice the money he was making, gave him an address, and a date and time to be there.

When he got off the train, he immediately knew he wasn’t in MidMerica anymore. In the Texas region, the official language was Mortal English spoken with a sort of musical accent. It was close enough to Common that Tyger could understand it, but working so hard exhausted his brain. It was like listening to Shakespeare.

Everybody dressed a little different, and walked with a very cool swagger that he could get used to. He wondered how long he’d get to be here. Long enough and he’d be able to buy himself that car his parents never would, so he wouldn’t have to take publicars everywhere.

The meeting was in a city called San Antonio, and the address turned out to be the penthouse suite of a highrise overlooking a little river. He assumed a party might already be going on. A perpetual one. That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

He was greeted at the door not by a servant, but by a scythe. A woman with dark hair and a slight PanAsian leaning, who looked familiar.

“Tyger Salazar, I presume.”

“You presume right.” He stepped in. The decor was ornate, which he expected. What he didn’t expect was the complete absence of other guests. But as he once told Rowan, he went where the day took him. He could roll with whatever got thrown his way.

He thought she might offer him food, or maybe a drink after his long voyage, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked him over, like one might look over livestock at an auction.

“I like your robe,” he told her, figuring flattery couldn’t hurt.

“Thank you,” she said. “Take off your shirt, please.”

Tyger sighed. So it was going to be that kind of encounter. Again, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Once his shirt was off, she studied him even more closely. She had him flex his biceps, and checked how solid they were.

“Scrawny,” she said, “but there’s potential.”

“Whaddaya mean ‘scrawny’? I work out!”

“Not enough,” she told him, “but that’s an easy fix.” Then she backed away, assessed him for a moment more, and said, “Physically you wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice, but under the circumstances, you’re absolutely perfect.” Tyger expected more, but she offered nothing else. “Absolutely perfect for what?” “You’ll know when it’s time for you to know.”

And then finally it clicked, and excitement swept through him. “You’re choosing me to be an apprentice!” For the first time she grinned. “Yes, you could say that,” she said.

“Oh, man, this is the best news ever! You won’t be disappointed. I’m a quick learner—and I’m smart. I mean, not school-smart, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve got brains up the wazoo!” She took a step closer and smiled. The emeralds on her bright green robe caught the light and sparkled.

“Trust me,” said Scythe Rand, “for this apprenticeship, your brains aren’t going to matter at all.”