Ship of Destiny

In late afternoon, they stopped to buy fish chowder and fresh-baked bread. There they first heard how the boy-priest who had stood his ground between Ke

Althea found herself speechless. Wintrow? Kyle had done that to Wintrow, his own son, her nephew?

Brashen choked slightly on his chowder, but managed to ask, "And what fate did Ke

The man shrugged callously. "What he deserved, no doubt. Over the side to the serpents with the rest. So he does with the full crew of every slaver he takes." He raised an eyebrow at Brashen. "I thought everyone knew that."

"But not the boy?" Althea asked softly.

"The boy weren't crew. I told you. He was a slave on the ship."

"Ah." She looked at Brashen. "That would make sense." The ship turning on Kyle and accepting Ke

So. Where did that leave her? For one treacherous instant, she wondered if she were free. If Vivacia was happy with Wintrow aboard her, if she was content with Ke

Then she thought of Vivacia, quickening under her hands as she slipped the final peg into the figurehead, the peg her father had filled with his anima as he died. That was hers. Not Wintrow's, certainly not Ke

She found she blamed Kyle more than Ke

TIME HAD BECOME A SLIPPERY CREATURE THAT WRITHED IN PARAGON'S GRIP. Did he rest at anchor in Divvytown's harbor, or did his outstretched wings send him sliding aloft on an updraft? Did he wait for young Ke

Deep in his hold, in the darkness, where the curve of the bow made a cramped space beneath the deck, was the blood place. It was too small for a man to stand or even creep, but a small, battered boy could shelter there, rolled in a tight ball while his blood dripped onto Paragon's wizardwood, and they shared their misery. There Ke

And his nightmares.

During those times, Paragon had discovered his unique ability. He could take away the pain, the nightmares, and even the bad memories. Not completely, of course. To take all the memory away would have left the boy a fool. But he could absorb the pain just as he absorbed the blood from his beatings. He could dim the agony and soften the edges of Ke

Even Ke

That was how it was supposed to have been.

The admission disturbed ancient pain, shifting it like unsecured cargo pounding him during a storm. The depth of his failure overwhelmed him. He had betrayed his family, he had betrayed the last true-hearted member of his blood. He had tried to be loyal, he had tried to stay dead, but then the serpents had come, prodding and nosing at him, speaking to him without words, confusing him as to who he was and where his loyalties should lie. They had frightened him, and in his fear he had forgotten his promises, forgotten his duty, forgotten everything except his need for his family to comfort and reassure him. He had gone home. Slowly, through the seasons, he had drifted, following friendly currents, until he had returned, a derelict, to the shores of Bingtown.

And all that befell him there was only just punishment for his faithlessness. How could he feel anger with Ke

The light tread of ru

He could not tell her. She would not understand, and to speak would only break his promise more thoroughly than it was already broken. He bowed his face into his hands and sobbed, his shoulders shaking and his hands trembling.

"There, I told you, didn't I? It's him." The voices came from below. Someone was down there on the water near the bow, staring up at him. Staring and jeering and mocking. Soon they would begin to throw things. Dead fish and rotten fruit.

"You down there, stand clear of our ship!" Amber warned them in a stern voice. "Take your gig away from here."

They paid no attention. "If he was Igrot's ship, then where is Igrot's star?" another voice demanded. "He put that star on everything that belonged to him."

The long-ago horror of the star being cut into his chest was eclipsed by the memory of a thousand inky needle-pricks jabbing the same emblem into his hip. He began to tremble. Every plank in his body shuddered. The calm waters of the lagoon shivered against him.

"Paragon. Steady, steady. It will be all right. Say nothing." Amber spoke swiftly, trying to calm him, but her words could not take away the ancient sting.