Read Online The Fall of Tartarus by Eric Brown - Free Book Online Page B

.’
    The
Shipmaster cleared his throat. ‘And you, sir? I take it that you will join our
crew?’
    Blackman
assented. ‘I would be honoured to serve as the eyes of the Swan.’
    ‘This
calls for a celebration - but first let us show young Sinclair my ship.’
    The
tour of inspection was perfunctory enough.
    ‘Manoeuvrability
is the key to our success,’ he said. ‘To dodge the corals we need shifting
weights on the lower deck. My crew - yourself included, Sinclair - will provide
this weight.’ He indicated a dozen timber constructions, like crucifixes, that
projected at angles from the gunwales and overhung the water. ‘In unison, upon
my command, you will throw yourself from one to the other of these. I’m using
more crew than any other ship, but I hope that our increased weight in that
department will be offset by the fact that the Swan is lighter than most
of the other vessels. You’ve seen enough? Let’s join the others in the tavern.’
    And
thus was my crash-course in the mariner’s art concluded.
    We
found the crew of the Golden Swan in a tavern done out like the cabin of
a ship. Gastarian ordered drinks and we sat at a corner table. Blackman left
after just one drink - the revelry did not accord with his pensive mood. I sat
for the rest of the evening with the tiny Messenger on my lap, drunk less from
the alcohol I consumed than from Loi’s presence. We talked and talked, of
everything and nothing, of ourselves, our pasts and futures, our hopes and
fears . . .
    Loi
must have been reading my mind. ‘Come,’ she said, dragging me from my chair.
    We
sprinted down Mariners’ Walk to the Jasmine hotel, ran hand in hand up the wide
staircase. I stopped outside the bedroom and stared in shock at the door. ‘What
. . .’ I began.
    The
lock had been forced, the wood of the jamb splintered. The door stood ajar. I
pushed it open and stepped into the room, Loi beside me. A few drawers hung
open, and the mattress of my bed had been dislodged as if the intruders had
expected to find valuables beneath it.
    I
checked my travelling bag.
    ‘Did
they take anything?’ Loi asked.
    ‘I
don’t think so. Fortunately I had my credit chip with me. Just a minute—’
    ‘What’s
wrong?’
    I
emptied out my bag, but it was nowhere to be seen.
    ‘My
father’s persona-cube,’ I whispered. I slumped amid my tumbled belongings. ‘But
who could possibly have wanted my father’s persona-cube?’
    Loi
stroked my cheek. ‘Some evil sailor,’ she said, ‘who’d wipe it clean and
programme it with his own identity? Oh, Sinclair, I’m so sorry.’
    I
hardly knew how to react appropriately. The cube had been so much a part of my
life that I could not imagine being without it. And yet its loss seemed less
important - and in some strange way symbolic - because of the feelings I had
for the girl now kneeling before me.
    We
came together in a fierce embrace and stumbled towards the bed.
     
    The
hectic events of the following morning allowed me no time to brood over the
loss of the cube, or to reflect upon the night spent with Loi.
    At
first light I was awoken by a knock upon the door. ‘Sinclair,’ Gastarian said.
‘It is the morning of the race.’
    The
sun was just above the horizon and already Mariners’ Walk was thronged with
spectators gathered to watch the ships as they sailed downriver to the starting
point. We followed Gastarian and Blackman through the crowds towards the Golden Swan. All along the waterfront sailors were boarding their vessels,
and race officials checked to ensure that no crews exceeded eighteen, the
maximum allowed. We swarmed aboard the Swan and took our stations.
    Gastarian
stood tall and proud before the wheel on the upper deck, calling encouragement
down to us. Loi sat cross-legged on the lower deck, smiling across at me from
time to time. Blackman affixed his spars and rose aloft, his flickering wings
lifting him high above the masts of the ship. While four of the crew set the
sails, the