Mad Ship

"I'll take care of it, Captain," Sorcor promised in irritation. "Where's he at?" he demanded of the hand.

"Hold on a moment, Sorcor. Perhaps I'll have a word with this cook." Ke

The young pirate looked uncomfortable now. "He's holed up in the galley, sir. We got the door half kicked down, but he's got a lot of knives and choppers in there. Pretty good at throwing them, too, for an old man with one eye."

Wintrow saw a change come over Ke

Sorcor was used to taking orders. He didn't hesitate, just bobbed his head and turned. He was already barking orders as he strode away. Win-trow became aware of slaves. They were standing on the deck in listless groups, blinking at the sunlight. Coated with filth, shivering in the shock of the fresh air, they looked bewildered at the sudden change. The smell and the dazed faces suddenly took him back to the night the slaves emerged from Vivacia's hold. A wave of pity swept over him. Some of them were so feeble they had to be helped to stand. Slave after slave emerged from the holds. He looked at them, and knew the ineffable Tightness of what Ke

"Wintrow!"

There was a spark of a

As he crossed the deck, he heard the roaring of serpents, followed by a sudden splashing. They were throwing bodies to the creatures. An appreciative murmur and laughter rose from the watching pirates as the serpents squabbled over the feed.

"Leave off that!" he heard Sorcor bellow. "They'll have all the dead soon enough. Get the slaves out of the hold and onto the other ships. Swiftly, now! I want to cut this wreck loose as soon as we can."

The galley was in a low deckhouse. Blades drawn, a cluster of pirates huddled around the door, unaware of Ke

"He's here," Ke

They dispersed quickly, but not willingly, with many a backward glance. The rumor of treasure was enough to hold any man's interest, but Igrot's treasure was legendary. Plainly, they would have liked to stay and hear what bait the man would trade for his life. Ke

"You the captain?"

"I am. Show yourself."

The man peeped one eye around the door, then darted back out of sight. "I got something to trade. You let me live, I'll tell you where Igrot the Bold stashed his loot. The whole lot. Not just all he got from the treasure barge, but all he took afore that."

"No one knows where Igrot hid his treasure," Ke

"Well, I did. Been waiting for years to get to where I could go back and get it. But I never was in the right position. Anytime I'd a told, all I woulda got is a knife in the back. And not just any man could go after it. It would take a special ship. A ship like you got, just the same as Igrot once had… and I'm sure you're taking my drift now. There's places as a liveship can go that no other can follow. But now, well, I told you enough. You keep me alive, I'll lead you there. But you gotta let me live."

Ke

"Hey! Hey, you, Captain, what say you? Is it a deal? It's more treasure than you can ever imagine. Heaps of it, and half of it magical Bingtown Trader stuff. You could just walk right in and take it. You'll be the richest man alive. All you got to do is say I can live." The cook sounded jubilant. "That's a fair trade, isn't it?"

The ship's list had begun to increase markedly. Wintrow could hear Sorcor and his men hurrying the slaves along. One man's voice raised suddenly. "He's dead, woman. Nothing we can do. Leave him." A woman's sudden wail of anguish floated on the sea wind, but around the door, all was silent. Ke

"Hey? Hey, Cap, you out there still?"

Ke

"Stop dallying here. This ship is going down," he exclaimed in a

Ke

"He wants to be alone with her." Etta stated it as blunt fact. Jealousy flamed in her eyes.

Wintrow looked down at the deck to keep her from seeing the same thing in his face.

"FOR A MAN IN HIDING, YOU LIVE IN STYLE, ALTHEA OBSERVED, SMILING.

Grag gri

The swinging lantern scattered light around them dizzily. Patterned candlelight danced in the darkness of his eyes. He wore a dark shirt, open at the throat, and loose white trousers. When he moved his head, the light gleamed warmly on his gold earring. The summer sun had bronzed him; his coloring made him seem a part of the forest evening. When his teeth flashed white in a smile, he seemed the easy-going sailor lad from Rinstin. He looked about the clearing in front of the cottage and sighed peacefully.