It took all Faline had to not to shriek out in pain.

“Stop it, Duncan,” Lukas growled out. “Fallon’s one of the crew now.”

“I suppose you’re right,” the man snapped, then yanked Faline back so hard, she staggered to keep her balance. “I do owe you something, though,” he said.

Pain erupted from her eye as Duncan’s fist buried itself in her face. The world spun around, and she fell to the deck. “That’s for biting me. Now we’re even.”

Cupping her eye, Faline groaned. Even the bear bite hadn’t been that bad. Someone grabbed her arm, and she tried to shake it off. But the grip was insistent. “It’s me,” Lukas said in low tones.

“You’re relieved, Lukas. Take your buddy back to the galley before I decide to see how he floats.”

Faline stumbled to her feet, assisted by Lukas. But she turned and, through her good eye, looked at Duncan. “So help me, I’m going to kill you, you bastard.”

Duncan barked out a laugh. “Get in line, Shark bait, but if you don’t succeed, I’ll kill you real slow.”

Lukas pushed and dragged Faline back to the galley.

Argus snorted awake from his bunk, then glowered and shook his head. “Damn, I did tell you to avoid pissing off people, didn’t I?”

“It was Duncan,” Lukas said. He leaned close to her. “Stay away from him.” Then he disappeared back into the hallway.

Argus stared into her face, which throbbed uncontrollably. She couldn’t get her left eye open at all. He poked at her wound, and she jerked away in pain. “Boy, he sure popped you one.”

Faline slumped against the wall, her head pounding, eye swollen shut. Tears flowed down her cheeks, soaking her tunic top.

“Now, now. No use crying.” Argus said as he sat next to her. “I will admit, Duncan put a hurt on you.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Can you keep a secret?”

She tried to look at him but couldn’t see because of her swollen eye. “What is it?” she said through sobs and sniffling.

He placed the palm of his hand over her eye. “Sona,” he whispered.

A burning sensation erupted from her eye, but in an instant, the pain subsided, and she could see out of it. With jittery fingers, she felt around the edges. It was still sore, but most of the pain was gone. She glanced at Argus, who was grimacing and twisting in his seat. “You know the Old Ways?”

Argus took a deep breath, then sighed a ragged breath. “The Old Ways? Is that what your people call it?”

She nodded her head.

“Well, yes, I guess so.” He grimaced and spit. A couple of bloody teeth hit the floor. “Damn, lost two more.”

“Why did you heal me?” Faline asked.

“I could say out of the goodness of my heart, but the reality is that I need you healthy, and not looking like tenderized meat.” He shook himself and stood. “C’mon, let’s get some rest. We need to be up and ready to feed the animals by morning.” He turned and walked toward the bunk area. She followed.

“You take the top bunk, I sleep down here.”

She clambered up into the bunk and rolled into it. A bit of straw lay under a blanket, rough and scratchy, it was nothing like what she had back in the settlement but was much better than anything she’d had since. Staring up at the wooden ceiling, the events of the last day played through her mind. At least Alax was safe. Her thoughts turned darker and more primitive as she thought about what Duncan had done. She’d make him pay. Finally, she thought of Argus. “Thank you,” she said aloud, not sure if he’d even hear it.

“Yup,” the man grumbled, then started snoring.

Dawn came too early. Argus’ meaty hands shook her so hard she thought she’d fall apart.

“Git up. Damn, you sleep hard.”

“Sorry,” Faline slurred, stifling a yawn. Everything was dark except for an oil lamp burning brightly back in the galley. She slid out of the bunk and stumbled into the galley. The ship lurched from side to side, and wooden beams creaked and groaned in chorus.

“Looks like we have some weather to deal with today, which ain’t so bad. Makes for another tack-and-ale meal. The crew will line up and come by. Give everyone double rations, they’ll be working hard to keep the weather from sinking us.”

Sure enough, the crew filed by, even Duncan and Lukas, looking annoyed at having to eat floured lumps again. Serves them right, damned murderers. The process went slowly, though, as the ship kept pitching and rolling. Eventually, everyone who could had made their way to the galley. By the time they finished, Faline’s stomach growled.

“Better get some for yourself,” Argus said, noticing the noise.

“Is there nothing fresh on this boat?” Faline asked, scanning through the lumps of tack for one that wasn’t thoroughly covered with weevils.

“Sorry, you came on board at the end of our journey. Most of the fresh things are long gone. If we don’t get more on shore raids, we do without.”

She pulled out a couple of lumps that looked semi-edible and dropped them in her ale. Without the rum to flavor it, she had to conclude between a contest of farinaem, tack, and dirt clods, tack came in slightly better than dirt, but not as bad as farinaem. Within minutes of swallowing the tack, her intestines grew sore, and she felt the sudden urge to relieve herself.

She looked for a pisspot. “Where do I go to…crap?” she asked.

“To the head,” Argus replied, pointing toward the front of the ship.

“The what?” Faline said.

“Near the bow, the front of the ship. You’ll see. Go on, but be careful of the weather.”

She nodded, having absolutely no idea of what she was looking for. After stumbling up the steps to the deck, she threw open the doors and found it wet. Spray came over the rails at regular intervals. A crewman stumbled past her, and she grabbed his arm. “Where’s the head?” she screamed over the wind noise.

The man frowned at her, then pointed to the front of the ship.

She wandered that direction, grabbing hold of anything to keep her balance. Near the bow, she spotted someone squatting near the bowsprit, back to the railing and holding onto a rope for dear life. His pants were down around his ankles. Spray hit her face, cooling her cheeks. At least she knew now where the head was.

The crewman noticed her and waved toward the other side of the boat. Sure enough, there was a small wooden seat next to the railing, and a stick with a sponge roped next to it. Hiding that she was a girl was going to be more difficult in such an exposed location. Despite the rolling and pitching of the deck, which had thankfully slowed, she turned and faced the crewman sitting on the other side, just an arm’s length away. The man was bent over, grimacing with eyes closed. Taking advantage of the man’s lack of focus, she quickly grasped the back of her waistband, yanked it down and sat quickly. To her dismay, the boat chose to dip at that moment, and she very nearly pitched backward into the gulf waters. Pants around her ankles, and with everything exposed, she shot a look toward the crewman. But as she did so, a wave lapped over the bow and drenched them thoroughly. She grabbed the rope nearby, slid back, and hung on for dear life.

Nature took its course, and she tried to use the sponge to clean up, though the surging seawater certainly helped on that account. The crewman opposite her tottered off, looking as if he’d been better off having fallen overboard. She wondered if he’d seen her nether regions, but figured he’d probably been too distracted to know for sure. She wasn’t sure what else to do, but maybe using the head at night would be the best approach. In broad daylight, it would be awfully hard to disguise who she was.

By the time she got back, every inch of her was wet. Argus took one look at her. “Go change your clothes.”

She shook her head. “I don’t have any onboard.”

Argus sighed, then turned and opened a sea trunk. He tossed some clothes to her. “Use these. They belonged to the last cabin boy.”

She glanced around but saw no place to change. Argus noticed. “Just throw them on. I’ll hang your current clothes up. They’ll dry by tomorrow.”

She hesitated. How was she going to strip down without Argus realizing what she was?

Argus shifted crates and checked the ropes tying them down. All she could hope for was the best. She turned to face the corner and began to peel off wet clothes. By now, what she had worn into exile was full of rips and holes that couldn’t otherwise be mended. The clothes Argus had given her were heavy linen, but well put together, with solid seams and no holes. In fact, they almost looked like a completely new set of clothes, as if they hadn’t been worn.

“Here,” Argus said, from directly behind her, and his hand appeared on her shoulder. She froze and stood completely naked with the man’s hand on her shoulder.

“What—” she stammered. She pulled the shirt to her chest and turned slightly to see what he wanted.

In his hand was a small container. “Put this on your eye,” he said, pushing it at her.

Tremulously, she took it, hand shaking all the while.

“Oh, for Creator’s sake, get dressed, you’re freezing to death,” Argus said.

A stinging swat hit her behind. Argus laughed and turned away.

She quickly set the salve aside and pulled the tunic over her head. It was several sizes too large, which in some respects was okay, since it disguised her chest. Not that she needed any help in that department, but she would need to be careful not to expose too much of her neckline. The pants, on the other hand, fit nicely, sliding over her hips and thighs just right. It was then that she realized that the clothes were indeed built for a boy. Large in the chest and narrow in the waist. That wouldn’t be a problem, yet. A small thought bubbled up that she would have to adapt when she became a woman. That thought prompted others to consider that she hadn’t really given much thought. She was becoming a woman, though slowly, but at some point, she would have to deal with ‘the change’ and all that entailed. Fear shot through her, but she squelched as much as she could and finished by pulling on mid-calf leather boots.

Whatever else she could say about the clothes, they were at least dry and warm. Though in curiously good condition. “Argus, what happened to the boy who had these clothes?”

“Dunno, he disappeared one night. Was having a problem with one of the crew, and I suspect he got tossed over the side during the night.” Argus shrugged, “That sometimes happens. That’s why I tell you to stay away from the bad ones.”

“But which ones are the bad ones?”

“I suppose I ought to at least clue you in on that. Aden’s the worst, he’s the first mate, and didn’t get that way by waiting in line, if you get my drift. The leader of the second watch, Duncan, ain’t much better. In fact, he and Aden are not friendly at all. It’s best you stay out of that mess. The one you really got to watch out for is Iago. He’s a devious little turd who would murder you just as soon as look at you.”

“I know Duncan. You will point out the rest?”

Argus nodded. “Least I can do.”

“How about Lukas?”

“Oh, him … he’s the second mate and one of your better ones. I don’t know him too terribly well, but he’s got a good reputation from the rest of the crew.”

“Who’s in charge?”

“That be Schmidt. He’s neither good nor bad, just all business, and very good at it too.” Argus smacked his forehead. “Damn, I was supposed to take him some dinner a few minutes ago.” He leaped up and grabbed a basket and a pitcher of ale. “Take this, I’ll lead the way.”

Faline grabbed the items being offered and followed him into a back hallway. At a heavy wooden door, he banged three times.

A loud voice barked back, “Enter.” Argus pushed on the door, and it creaked inward.