Coming of Wisdom by Dave Duncan

Author:Dave Duncan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Epic, Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: E-Reads, Ltd.
Published: 2010-07-02T04:00:00+00:00

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"It's too late to drop them overboard," Tomiyano said angrily. Sapphire had just overtaken a wallowing ore barge and was about to pass on the leeward side of a cattle boat. It would not steal their wind, but the neighborhood would be low-class for a few minutes.

Yes, it was much too late―there were witnesses. The River was busy as a marketplace. Morning sunlight danced on the bustling waters. River gulls screamed and swooped overhead. Brota said nothing.

"We could buy a ship apiece with that damned sword. Not to mention his hairclip. And however many more gems he may have in his pouch." In four days he had made a remarkable recovery. The swellings were going down, although his shoulders were striped in more shades than a seamstress' silk box, and he moved his arms as if they were old as the sutras. He was leaning on the rail at her side, grumbling. She did not think he was serious, but if she showed interest he might be. Trying her out, tempting. His ordeal had not made him easier to handle. Whatever the cost, he had felled a swordsman of the Seventh, and very few sailors had ever been able to claim that.

"Company astern," he added.

She turned to eye the galley overtaking, its gilded oars moving like wings, its prow embellished with shiny enameled arabesques. It was heading to cut her off before she passed the cattle boat. The stench caught Sapphire briefly. Ugh!

"He's going to die," Tomiyano said. He turned around and cautiously leaned elbows on the rail. His chest was almost as gaudy as his back, and his burned face was flaking. "His leg looks like a melon. Have you listened to him? Not a word makes any sense. Gibberish!"

"I told you to stay out of the deckhouse."

"I did. I looked in the window. And you can smell his wound from the hold. Damned landlubbers all over the ship! That Nnanji is dangerous. Every time I look at him, I expect him to start denouncing someone. Self-righteous young whelp!"

Brota did not speak. Nnanji had promised no denunciation in Ki San. Nnanji was under control. Thana had needed very little coaching. He revolved around her like a trained moth.

"And that Katanji!" Tomiyano spat over the rail.

Obviously his liver had been tainted by the bruised blood. A rhubarb purgative was what he needed. She wondered if beer would disguise the taste, for he would never take it voluntarily. "You're the only one to complain about him. He seems to get along with everyone else."

"That's what I mean! Have you seen how Diwa looks at him? And Mei? But we are going to throw them off in Ki San, aren't we?"

Brota nudged the tiller judiciously. Perhaps it had been a mistake never to accept passengers before―Tomiyano was reacting as if he'd been raped, and some of the others were almost as bad. He had been born on Sapphire and had never slept anywhere else in his life. He worshiped the old hulk.

Roars of fury came floating across from the galley.

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