Clan and Conviction (Clan Beginnings) Read Free Page A

less. 
    He bowed deeper than usual to Utta.  “Thank you, Head Investigator.”  Trying not to sound too eager, he asked Wynhod, “Shall we discuss this over breakfast?”
    “Since I’ve only had one meal so far this morning, absolutely,” Wynhod said, his voice that pleasing rumble Gelan remembered all too well. 
    Gelan chuckled, remembering how he used to tease the Nobek that nothing standing still was safe from Wynhod’s stomach.  Obviously, his prodigious appetite had not changed.
    They left Utta’s office, Gelan suddenly nervous and excited.  He couldn’t wait to get Wynhod alone and find out how he’s ended up in this territory.  His mood was even good in the wake of the Nobek’s appearance.  The fury he’d fallen into after Amik’s death had finally lessened to a need to find and incarcerate rather than mindlessly destroy.
    * * * *
    The eating establishment Gelan took Wynhod to had a nice balcony cut into the side of the mountain it was housed in.  It overlooked the same valley his apartment did, though the restaurant resided several levels higher.  With summer, the peaks were densely forested, offering a silvery-lavender carpet to the scenery.  It was still early enough in the day that the heat hadn’t yet become a factor in enjoying the outdoors.
    The balcony had been hewn right from the mountain’s rock itself and polished to a high sheen.  It wasn’t heavily populated right now, the workday having begun for most.  Gelan and Wynhod had the corner area right next to the railing all to themselves. 
    Gelan tried to concentrate on the menu vid in front of him.  He suddenly felt awkward with Wynhod.  Seven years had passed without communication despite the fact they’d been inseparable when he lived in the Northwest Mountain Territory.  They’d cut off the relationship when he transferred, deciding the distance made it too troublesome to keep up.  It had been a clean, amicable breakup.  Still, Gelan had missed his former lover, the man he’d once thought he might clan.  He hadn’t dwelled on Wynhod too much, certainly not enough to make his life miserable.  Yet, the absence had been there all the time, kind of like a missing tooth that you got used to not having anymore.
    Now Wynhod reappeared in his life.  The man sat cross-legged on a thick cushion across the low table from him, bigger than life.  Now his partner, no less.
    Gelan forced himself to choose food, not sure he really wanted the vina meat with stemmed sprouts on fresh-baked bread.  The dish simply fell under where his finger poked.  Wynhod chose the same and finalized the order.  The menu winked out.
    They were left with nothing to do but eye each other uncomfortably.  Seven years.  Gelan couldn’t get past the thought now that the initial excitement of seeing Wynhod had passed.  What did one say to a former lover after that stretch of time?
    The Nobek tried a smile that looked nearly painful.  “So.  Other than the obvious issue of your partner’s death, how are you?”
    “Good.”
    After that single word, Gelan’s verbal skills abandoned him.  Ancestors, what was he supposed to say to this man?  Ask after Wynhod’s parents?  Question the Nobek about the work he’d done after Gelan had left?  Talk about his hobby of mountain climbing?  Seven years seemed like a lot of ground to cover, more like a stretch of eons.
    Gelan suddenly decided not to do that awkward dance.  It wasn’t his style, and it had never been Wynhod’s either.  Neither of them had ever been about finesse.
    Baldly he asked, “Are you clanned?”
    Wynhod looked relieved by the abrupt honest inquiry.  “No.  You?”
    “No.”  He gave the Nobek a grin that showed his appreciation, both past and present.  “I’m surprised no one grabbed you up.”
    Wynhod grinned back.  “They tried.  They weren’t you.”
    Gelan started.  He believed in brutal openness, but he hadn’t expected Wynhod to say something like