The Dream Thief by Kari Kilgore (books for 10th graders txt) 📕

Karl half smiled, turning the needle end of the hypo, then the plunger, close to his eyes.

"And is everything you Build so useful?"

"No, not at all," she said. "Most are no bigger than a bottle of Thunderclap and just about that effective. I probably could make something larger, but I've never tried. Partly because what they've asked for has been small. Partly for the same reason you don't like this. I don't want to hurt one of them."

"Is what you're selling illegal then?"

"No, not illegal," she said. "I'd imagine if more people knew what residents of Waldron's Gate were so eager to collect, it might be. The worst you could say for it now is most would find it distasteful. I certainly do."

"And yet you supply these things," he said. "By stealing from Builders."

"You wouldn't want legitimate suppliers of things like this, Karl." Loretta leaned forward and stared into his eyes. "What I do keeps a trade in flesh you don't want to imagine from taking over. And if you could help me find a way to do this without damaging the Builders I need, that can only make your job easier."

"Sounds to me like you've got it all figured out except for me helping you become a better..." His face went pale, and he closed his eyes for a second. Loretta could only wait, but she wouldn't forget that reaction. "A better thief. If I can't agree to do that, and I'm not making any promises, what do you need me for?"

"Once you think about it, you might change your mind about that part," Loretta said. "But I could use your help for other things too. I'll have to get my gyro-compass repaired, and that means a long and dangerous journey from here. I need protection. From what I've seen tonight, you could easily do that."

"What I could do or not doesn't matter," Karl said. "I'm not going to agree to a damned thing tonight. Let me see that compass, or whatever you have that's broken."

He still looked unsettled for whatever reason, but he didn't sound like he was refusing her. Not yet.

"I need to get it out of my pack," she said. "There by the door."

"Then do it. Don't make any fast moves, and I won't have to."

Loretta wasn't unaware of how his eyes followed her when she knelt by the door. Nothing about her body was hidden by the soft leather. Even with almost no skin showing, the view was scandalous and more than a little titillating.

Karl could look all he wanted. As long as he didn't want to look too closely at the Dragon, she was willing to share.

Loretta dropped the mangled gyro-compass into his hands. The brighter light made it painfully clear she needed a replacement, not a repair.

He turned it carefully, examining the broken and twisted wires.

"And this stops you from doing whatever you were trying to do tonight?"

"Whatever I Build would be lost," she said. "The gyro-compass helps me send it to the right place."

"Would it work for anyone else?"

Loretta was glad Karl wasn't looking at her, his eyes still focused on what couldn't be repaired. Of course. A non-Builder in a family full of them. That might work to get around his distaste.

"That one is tuned to work for me," she said. "No one else could use it even if it weren't broken. I don't suppose you're good with wires and magnets and such?"

"No, that's not me." He shook his head before giving the compass back. Loretta dropped it back into the pack and closed it. "So you're saying as long as you don't have this thing in working order, you won't be out stealing from Builders?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Karl. I'll also say if you help me, if you go with me to get this one replaced, it's quite possible another can be made. So far I've only Built obscene playthings for the idle class. That doesn't mean we couldn't do something far more useful."

"If they Build what they want for themselves," Karl said, "that could be more of a strain on them, not less."

"You may be right," Loretta said. She wasn't yet sure if his quick mind would be good or bad for her. "Maybe we can figure that out together."

"Maybe," he said, closing his eyes for a second. "That's enough for one night. I don't see why I should believe a word you've said with no proof of any kind. For all I know, that black tube really is some kind of blaster or spyglass. With this thing broken, you'll say you have no way to prove it. Right?"

Loretta couldn't do anything but nod. His brief smile didn't reach his eyes.

"We're going to have to come to some kind of arrangement here anyway," he said. "I need to get back before dawn. I doubt even your guard would want to face my mother if I just disappear out of her house. We each know the other's names. I don't have any other loyal guards, but I do have the option to turn you in."

"You do," she said. "Though I'm not sure what they'd prosecute me for. As you pointed out, I can't do a thing without my gyro-compass, including incriminating myself. You know I have the option to call Bess in here right now."

"And yet you haven't." He got to his feet, holding the club and the hypo. "I'm not going to turn you in. At least not yet. You have a lot more to tell me, and you still want to try to persuade me to do whatever you really want. Can we hold that truce until later today?"

Loretta permitted herself a smile, a small one he would most likely not understand. He didn't realize it yet, but Karl was going to do what she needed. He was still interested enough to be listening and wanting to ask more. And she was getting a much clearer idea of the tiny little pushes