Read Online Ocean of Dust by Graeme Ing - Free Book Online

bake you say?"
    Lissa nodded.
    "Better than Alice, I hope. Go next door and
show me. I'll be along shortly to taste your efforts."
    This was something she could do, so Lissa
limped into the small room that adjoined the galley, excited to
impress. She scanned the pots of spices and other ingredients, and
licked her lips. What should she make? Bem-spice cakes had always
been a favorite, and she sighed at the memory of baking them with
her mother. Her eyes sparkled. Yes, the secret ingredient.
Perfect!
    It took a while to figure out how to start
the flameless azk-ore oven, and she set about gathering what she
needed, humming to herself. Soon, a sweet and spicy aroma filled
the room. When the orange-colored loaf cakes lay cooling on a rack,
Cook returned, sniffing the air.
    "Let me taste," she said, eyes narrowed as
she examined the loaves.
    Lissa cut her a slice and Cook took a nibble.
Crumbs lingered on her thin lips.
    "Hmph," she said, and pushed the whole slice
into her mouth and licked her fingers.
    "Good flavor, and you put something hot in
there didn't you?" She nodded. "I like it. Well, don't waste them.
Take them to the men upstairs."
    Lissa blinked. The men got to eat cake?
    "Don’t stand there, girl."
    * * *
    The mess deck appeared cavernous compared to
the cramped rooms on the galley deck. The same dull globelights
swung from the overhead beams, sending eerie shadows bouncing
around with each roll of the ship. Didn’t anybody change the
globes? Rows of scheepas had been secured against the walls, along
with bundles of clothing and personal items. A thick layer of grey
dust covered everything.
    A couple of men sat alone, mending rope or
sewing clothes, but one table was crowded with six of the crew. She
shook her head. Shouldn't they be working instead of gambling? She
hesitated, remembering their mocking laughter but clenched her
teeth and lurched across the room. She set her plate of cakes down
on a corner of the table, avoiding their cards and coins.
    "What's this?" one man said, stroking an
unkempt brown beard, spiked with grey.
    "Bem-spice cake," she squeaked. "I baked it.
Cook said to bring it here."
    "Nice. Fetch beer too," another man said, and
gestured toward a barrel tied against the side wall. He handed her
a large, wooden flagon.
    She walked away. That hadn't been so bad. She
filled the flagon, thinking that the beer looked thin. Her father
used to water the beer when he thought his patrons were too drunk
to notice.
    Sinister green eyes hovered at the back of
the room. She’d forgotten all about the creature in the shadows.
The eyes blinked three times and moved toward her, avoiding the
light from the globes. What was that thing? She hurried back to the
men, grimacing as pain stabbed down her bruised leg. She found them
gorging on thick slices of cake, slurping with their mouths open
and spraying crumbs into their beards and all over the table.
    "Delicious," brown-beard said, cutting
another slice with a wicked-looking knife. "That Alice girl don't
cook too good."
    The other men nodded, and Lissa relaxed,
perching on one end of the bench.
    "Wanna play?" the only clean-shaven man
asked. A recent scar ran from his nose to one eye.
    She gently rubbed her own puffed-up, black
eye and glanced at the cards on the table. She knew their game.
Back in the inn, a couple of travelers had thought it funny to
watch a ten Sunturn girl play Bandit-cards.
    "I don't have money," she said, glancing at
each man. "And Cook will beat me if I don't get back to work."
    "Looks like she already did," brown-beard
said. His friends laughed, and Lissa’s cheeks burned.
    "What d'ya think, Grad?" Scarface said to
brown-beard.
    "It'll be fun, I reckon. Si' down, girl."
Grad laughed, and pushed her back down. "We can handle Cook.
Everyone advance the girl a coupla coins."
    She stacked the precious silver coins. Unable
to resist the cake's aroma, she cut a tiny slice and nibbled while
Grad dealt the dirty, dog-eared cards. It wouldn't