Heavy smoke clouds rolled against the lights like miniature thunderheads. Through it Nathan watched the pale faces of the women who seldom saw daylight, and the bronze leathered faces of the spacemen. He could see them wondering who he was and if he were with Firebird, for he had not spoken to her since they had come in.
Firebird made it clear. She turned abruptly and faced the room. "Folks, I want you to meet Nathan Ormondy. You all knew his father. Thymar was killed on Venus and Nathan has come to take his place on the spaceways. Come up and have a drink to the new spaceman, who is as good a man as his father ever was."
The music died. The room seemed to freeze.
Nathan stared at Firebird. She was smiling as if at some secret joke. The little fool, Nathan thought. She knew this would happen. Even his limited knowledge of their codes told him that much.
A big bronze spaceman at the nearest table looked up from his cards. "We don't let women buy our drinks," he said. He turned back to the cards.
Nathan swore under his breath. What was Firebird trying to do? But it was his move now.
The big spaceman picked up a card from his hand and moved to throw it on the table. The card vanished in midair and flakes of ash fell to the table. He glanced up at Nathan's flame lance carelessly resting against his hip.
"Perhaps you would accept an invitation from me," said Nathan slowly.
The spaceman eyed him narrowly. "We don't let women buy our drinks," he said.