Chasing the Lantern(21)

Someone dropped down beside her, and she jumped. It was the thin navigator, Maxim. His unruly hair dangled to his shoulders like a black curtain, and he stared down his beak of a nose at her.

"No one likes to sit near me," he said, a faint accent coloring his voice. "It's the daemon on my shoulder. But you look like an outsider too, so I am joining you."

This again. "I'm not an outsider," she muttered defiantly. Lina couldn't help but notice the small bubble of open space that enclosed them; otherwise, the table was packed.

The navigator raised an eye. "No?

She threw down half an egg. "No! I was on that longboat, same as the rest of you. I fought to the serpent, and helped us get into the harbor."

Maxim peeled a banana. His fingers were long and lithe, like a pianist. "That you did," he replied neutrally. The aetherite frowned, as if he had just been told something that he didn't like. Surreptitiously, he laid down the banana and retrieved both salt and pepper shakers from the table near the others.

"Captain's a good man," he said conversationally. "Most of us here used to work under him. On a Perinese ship. H.M.S. Reliable. Know what he was then?"

"No," said Lina. His abrasive manners aside, Maxim's words made Lina curious.

"Petty Officer."

Lina recalled the internal map she'd long ago built of navies and their rankings. In her former line of work, it had paid to know such things. "Not commissioned then?"

"No. Fengel was a better sailor, leader, and swordsman than anyone alive on that ship. But he's lowborn, yes? No patronage." Maxim fiddled with the pepper shaker in his hands, as if he were nervous. "Perinese ships...do you know how most sailors end up on them?"

Lina nodded. "Press ganging."

"Yes. Slavery, really." He returned the pepper shaker to where he'd found it. "Slavery is a rough thing, and the Perinese know they need to be rough in return to make it work. But Fengel...Captain Fengel looked out for us all, took floggings he need not have more than once."

Maxim picked up the salt shaker next and fiddled with it. "What happened next?" she prompted after a moment.

He set the saltshaker down in front of her. "Bad storm. Sick captain. First mate could not handle it. Fengel stepped up and saved us all, took command when no one else was able to." He shrugged. "Made everyone up the chain look bad. They were going to execute him. Now, pirate crews are democracies, yes? So, we took a Crewman's Vote. Then mutinied, made Fengel our captain. Took the Reliable and made for Haventown." The navigator touched her hand, drawing in close. "My point is, most of us have been together since the beginning. Others will be cordial, but if you want to be accepted as one of us, you must earn it. Earn their respect, yes?"

Lina felt a sinking sensation. She picked up the salt shaker and her half-eaten egg. "Haven't you ever wanted to make a change? To start fresh?"

Maxim turned his palms upward, leaning back. "It's just how things are. We're mostly good people, though. You've got a chance with us. Any crew really, one must—"

A cry came from down the table. Lina peered past the navigator to a burly male pirate sitting at the end of their bench. He had grabbed the pepper shaker and upended it over his plate. The cap had fallen off, dumping its contents everywhere. Lina and several others laughed at the prank.

"Maxim!" cried the pirate. "You horse's ass!"

The navigator turned around slowly. "The daemon made me do it," he said. "Earned a small Working. Be thankful."

The pirate swore and stood, taking his ruined breakfast elsewhere. He gave Lina a dirty look as he left. Belatedly she realized her mistake. Great. I really shouldn't have laughed. The strange navigator was right, she was going to have to earn acceptance.

Lina upended the salt shaker over her egg without stopping to think. The end flew off, dumping a tablespoons' worth of salt to spill over her egg, hand, and the rest of her plate. She cursed and started back, then glared at the aetherite.

"Daemon made me do it," he said with a shrug.

Maxim turned to look out across the room. Lina followed his gaze to a knot of pirates at the far end from them, Oscar Pleasant in their midst. He was telling a story, punctuated by obscene hand gestures and glances in her direction. His assembled mates laughed uproariously.

"He is causing you trouble," said Maxim. "You should do something about that." Then he stood, leaving her alone again.

Lina picked about her plate for anything edible. Eventually she stood and left the mess to find Henry Smalls. As he'd said, she found herself assigned to the night-watch under the huge piratess, gunnery mistress Sarah Lome. Lina was told she would be expected to fight, and help in any emergencies that threatened the ship. Otherwise her time was her own and she was simply expected to stay out of the way. Depressed now, and still feeling exhausted from their ordeal, Lina drank more water, found the head, and then went back to bed. She awoke around seventh bell, late in the afternoon.