Free The Cutting Edge by Dave Duncan

animals, and when this one saw the condition of the rack-boned, starving beasts in Sea Beauty's hold, then he lost his temper.
    He was also part jotunn.
    He displayed an astonishing fluency in nautical language. Soon he had lifted Captain Efflio bodily and was busily shaking him like a floor mat, and when Krushbark started to object, he was blocked by the king's friend Krath, who was even bigger, while a large number of enormous golden-haired locals heard the king's fury and came sauntering up the plank carrying harpoons and gutting knives and whatever else they had been working with, and it seemed Sea Beauty had been invaded by the Krasnegarian militia, and her captain was about to be taken apart, limb by limb, organ by organ.
    Then Princess Kadie burst into tears. The madness faded from the gray eyes. The faun jotunn put the captain down, and turned to pick up the girl and hug her, and comfort her. The boy was pale, also, but saying nothing.
    The locals smirked and began drifting away again, regretful that the excitement was over without a drop spilled.
    "Get them unloaded, Krath," the king said hoarsely, still cuddling the girl to him, his voice muffled by her hair. "All right, honey, all right! Daddy's not mad anymore. "
    "Did you ever kill a man, Father?" the boy asked, as if inquiring about horseracing, or model ship building.
    His Majesty looked down at him coldly. "Yes, Gath. I did. Several. I once killed a thane with an ax." He peered around his daughter's head and looked meanly at the captain. "He deserved it."
    He obviously thought Efflio did, too.
    When all the horses had been assembled on the dock, shivering and complaining, the king came striding aft again, to where the master huddled within his frightened officers, trying to edge behind the sheltering bulk of Krushbark.
    His Majesty was still in a poor humor.
    "I think eleven of them will make it," he snapped. "I'll deliver the receipt before you leave. And if you ever bring us stock again, Cap'n, they had better be in better condition than those!" He glared.
    "It was a miscalculation, sire. The fodder-"
    "It certainly was! But you did pick up my two brats, and for that I am grateful. I said I would shout for the beer, and I'm a man of my word. Just tell them I said to put it on my slate."
    "That's very generous of your Majesty," Efflio muttered, appalled to think what free beer would do to his crew.
    "Don't worry about a watch. No one will touch your ship here." A hint of a smile softened the faun's anger. "For your jotnar I recommend the Beached Whale. Our locals will be happy to provide whatever sport they need, and there's a good bonesetter across the street. Imps may prefer the Southern Dream--but take your own dice. I notice you have some gnomes aboard. That's unusual hereabouts."
    Gnomes? "Oh, yes, gnomes." He'd forgotten. "I don't suppose they'll fancy beer?"
    "I have no idea!" Efflio said. Never in his life had he spared a thought for gnomes' drinking habits.
    "They lack the capacity," the king said knowledgeably. "Tell them I'll send down a couple of bottles of wine and a tasty bag of offal. If you can spare them for a day or two after you've cleaned up, I could use their help in the palace cellars." He scowled again. "Rats. And remember what I said about horses! " He turned on his heel and strode away.
6
    Sea Beauty needed several days to refit before she could load another cargo. Most of the crew needed several days to recover from the king's hospitality. Efflio passed the time in arranging a return hire: furs, narwhal ivory, and salted fish. Obviously the Krasnegar run could be profitable, which explained some df the trouble he had experienced obtaining information about it in Shaldokan.
    The captain soon began to fret about the weather, for the season was late. He was also appalled to discover that his altercation with the king had been even more dangerous than he had realized, for the king was a sorcerer. So said all the locals he talked with in