Free Chasing the Lantern by Jonathon Burgess Page A

you. We'll be picking up Lucian tonight, and I want things shipshape and the lot of you familiar with your stations. Mister Smalls will have your shifts and assignments settled."  He made to turn away when one of the pirates spoke up.
    "But Captain, where are we going?"
    Fengel turned back, smiling. "Whatever kind of question is that? We're going after the loot, my mates. Buried treasure. Enough to make us all fat as kings." He descended and left the room as the assembled pirates fell to chattering excitedly.
    Lina gave a sigh, then blushed as she realized what she'd done. I've got to fix that. This was a new life for her. Nursing a flame for the captain would not end well, regardless of what the plays and penny-papers said.
    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