Ocean of Dust (20 page)

* * *

The next afternoon, Lissa sat alone in one of
the storerooms, a heap of used globelights in front of her. Alice
cursed and whined from the galley as she cleaned the ovens. All of
the girls hated that job, and Alice had used to force Branda to do
it, but Cook had put a stop to that. Lissa picked up a globelight
and inspected it for cracks. Then she extracted the metal pins from
the bottom and replaced them with new ones. It was a simple chore,
but boring.

"Need a hand?" a familiar male voice
asked.

She jumped and dropped the globe. It clacked
against the pile but didn't break. Mampalo sat opposite her and
smiled. She stared into his gorgeous yellow eyes, then shook her
head and looked away.

"I didn't realize there were so many globes
onboard," she said, her voice squeaking.

"Aye, and those pins bend far too easily.
I've spent many a day as a young lad doing this." He picked one up
and rolled it around in his hands.

"Can we talk about the book?" she
whispered.

His eyes flicked up and down the hallway.
"You've started it already?"

"I've finished it."

He blinked repeatedly. "You've read it
all?"

"Every page. It was great, but harder than I
thought."

He chuckled, tossed the globe into the air
and caught it.

"You're yanking my bowlines, aren't you?" He
glanced at her and his grin faded. "You read the entire book? Every
page? And it made sense?"

She poked her tongue out and threw her globe.
It hit him in the chest before rolling off into the corner. She
held up another and took aim at him.

"Why shouldn't it?" she asked. "Are you
saying I'm stupid?"

He thrust his hands into the air, then smiled
and pretended to cower.

"No, no, no. Easy. I've never ever heard of a
girl-" He waved his hands defensively. "-reading that book, or any
book, actually. I train the young 'uns day after day and they
barely get it. My own instructor used to slap me sore before it
made any sense to me."

He shrugged and looked at his
fingernails.

"I didn't understand everything," she said
quietly, and continued her work, glad that he had decided to help.
"But it did make a lot of sense, even if I've no idea what a
porcelles-triangle is, or a time-compensated-ascension-angle. I
think I've got the hang of the sun-triangle section, and..."

He stared at her, mouth open, eyes wide. He
ran his fingers through his hair.

"You really did read it," he said. "You
understand that much already?"

They worked in silence for a while, and then
he added, "So is your curiosity satisfied now?"

"Satisfied? I've only just started. Teach me
the sighting device. Please?"

Two men stomped down the ladder. They headed
aft, but their voices carried easily.

"Damn storm'll hit day after 'morrow, I tell
you," one said.

"Betcha five dujin we outrun it," the other
replied in a rough voice.

"Are they talking about that black cloud to
starboard?" she asked Mampalo. "Is it another water fountain?"

"No. I think this one's a flux storm."

She shivered. "What's that?"

The man with the rough voice snorted. "More
violent than any storm you ever saw back on yer farm, little
girl."

"I'm not from a farm," she said.

"You ain't seafolk neither." He poked his
head around the corner, and she jumped. He pulled the skin away
from his eyes with both hands and scrunched his mouth.

"A flux storm's when the Gods come out to
play." His grin was full of blackened teeth. "And they don't like
little girls."

Both men roared with laughter, and thumped
back up the ladder.

"Ignore those idiots," Mampalo said.

"So when are you going to teach me?" she
whispered.

He exhaled loudly and rolled his eyes.
"Ironically, you might turn out to be my best student. Imagine
that. It'll be our secret. Agreed?"

She nodded. "Thank you. When do we
start?"

"Tonight, in the manger. No one goes there
late."

* * *

Lissa arrived early, looking back down the
hallway to make sure no one saw her slipping inside the manger. Her
skin tingled at the thought of the clandestine meeting and her
first lesson. The animals shuffled about, lowing quietly and
kicking up grass. They were used to her presence now, so she sat on
a bail of gilli-grass, and stared at the door.

He kept her waiting for a quarter of a bell,
and then the door creaked open and he appeared, grinning and
brandishing one of the portable sighting instruments. He squeezed
between the clumsy oglons, who refused to move, and perched beside
her.

"Take this," he said. "It's called a stellar
circle."

It was heavier than it looked, and she used
both hands. The metal discs were cold to the touch. Hundreds of
minuscule numbers had been etched into the center disc. A pair of
adjustment dials protruded from the bottom, which she suspected
rotated a second, smaller disc, while the other manipulated a tiny
square of glass. It reflected the globelight around the room in a
flickering motion, chased by a family of solags. She turned the
stellar circle over in her hands, and rubbed the beveled edges and
ornate fittings. It was far more impressive in real life than the
book had indicated.

"Go ahead," he prompted. "Put it to your eye
and get a feel. Hold it here and here."

He leaned across, took her left hand and
placed it on the main disc. She quivered at his soft touch and
warmth spread through her body. She let him slide her right hand to
the bottom, where he placed her fingers on the adjustment dials.
Her heart raced.

The doors sprang open.

Alice and Lyndon stepped into the room,
globelights held high. Animals scattered in all directions,
bleating and lowing, slipping on the slick grass and crashing into
the walls. Jab-birds squawked and fluttered across the room.

"Just as I thought," Alice screeched. She
kicked a solag. It bucked before scampering behind an oglon, which
lurched sideways and knocked a food trough over. Feed sprayed
across the room.

"I knew you two were seeing each other behind
my back." Her face was purple, and her bottom lip quivered in a
pout. Her fists clenched and opened repeatedly.

Lissa tore her hands from Mampalo's and
dropped the stellar circle behind her. Alice couldn't know what
they were doing. Lissa would die if Mampalo got in trouble. She
edged away from him.

"It's not what you think," she said.

"We're not doing anything behind your back,"
Mampalo said quietly. He stood and brushed down the tunic of his
uniform. "It's not your business-"

"I'm not stupid. I've seen you together. Like
this afternoon. 'Need a hand?'" She made a whiney imitation of
Mampalo, and then turned on Lissa. "You've been desperate to steal
him from me, haven't you? I hate you."

She stamped her foot, and the animals pushed
further from her. "He's mine."

Lissa glanced at Mampalo. He smiled at Alice
and patted the air with his hands.

"Alice," he said and stepped toward her,
hands away from his sides. "It's late. Stop before you say
something you'll regret."

"I told you this was a bad idea," Lyndon
mumbled.

"Shut up," Alice hissed.

Lissa glanced from Alice to Mampalo and back
to Alice. If this was the reason for the hatred between them then
she could end it right now, but she probably couldn’t get the girl
to believe her. Her shoulders slumped.

Alice uttered a squealing cry of anguish and
charged across the room toward Lissa, dodging Mampalo as he tried
to grab her.

"I'm not going to regret this," she said and
formed a pair of fists.

She slipped in a fresh pile of dung, and
tumbled forward, her eyes wide. She flailed to grab hold of a
solag, but it bolted out of reach and she sprawled facedown in the
grass underfoot. Lyndon cackled like a burri-bird, but when he saw
no one else had joined in, he shut his mouth with a clack of
teeth.

Mampalo rushed forward to help Alice. She
smacked his hands away and slowly got to her feet, holding her head
high, her face quivering and bright red. Gilli-grass stuck to her
dress and hair. Lissa couldn't help but stare at her.

"You need to cool off," Mampalo said. "Let me
escort you for some fresh air."

He snagged her arm and dragged her toward the
door. He glanced at Lissa and grimaced.

"I'll get you," Alice mouthed to Lissa behind
his back, and then they both left the room.

Lissa glanced at Lyndon. Why was he even
here?

"Can't you explain to her-?" she began, but
he ignored her and walked out.

* * *

After breakfast the next morning, Lissa and
Branda left the galley loaded with bowls of steaming oodspal, oglon
milk, and flatbreads stuffed with cold sliced meat. They had made
it a habit to leave Alice to eat alone in the galley. The moment
they stepped into the storeroom, Lyndon leaped from the shadows,
scowling and his jaw clenched.

Branda cried out.

He smashed the breakfast from her hand. The
wooden bowl clattered to the floor, spraying oodspal over the floor
and walls. Her flatbread landed at his feet and he crushed it with
his toe. He clapped his other hand across her mouth.

"Be quiet."

Lissa had barely turned before her head
snapped back as Alice grabbed her hair and yanked it down. Pain
lanced through her scalp. She squealed and bent backwards to
prevent her hair from being ripped from her head. She rotated and
tried to bash Alice over the head with her bowl, but Alice sent it
flying into the corner. Alice grabbed her by the waist and pushed
her to the floor, dodging Lissa's flailing arms and legs, landing
on top of Lissa.

"Hold her," Alice barked.

Lyndon moved his nose against Branda's. "One
scream and I'll beat you to a pulp."

Branda stamped hard on his foot, making him
howl. He backhanded her across the face. Lissa winced. Despite her
tiny size, Branda shoved him against the bulkhead and kneed him
between the legs.

"Let him have it," Lissa cried, then Alice
smashed her head against the hard floor.

After kicking Alice's shin, Lissa managed to
roll on top of her, and pinned her arms. Alice spat repeatedly, but
Lissa didn't dare release her grip to wipe away the disgusting
drool oozing down her face.

Lyndon slapped Branda and she flew through
the air, crumpling in a heap out in the hallway. He walked toward
her.

"Leave that one, you moron," Alice screamed.
"Get her off me."

He dragged Lissa off, allowing Alice to leap
on her back and knock her to the floor, flat on her stomach.

"Now you're mine," Alice said in a low
voice.

Lissa's heart jumped, thinking for a fleeting
moment that Farq was in the room. She lay, panting with her cheek
pressed into the wooden boards, her mind racing. Alice thrust a
blade under her nose, one of the serrated knives that Lissa had
spent so long sharpening. Her heart pounded. She struggled and
kicked, fighting for breath. Lyndon knelt and held her hands
down.

"Branda," she wheezed. "Go."

Branda had gotten to her feet, and despite
blood spreading over one arm and an oozing cut on her mouth, she
started back into the room.

"Get help, quickly," Lissa said.

Branda hesitated, and then ran for the
ladder.

"Let her go," Alice said, and then waved the
knife in front of Lissa's face. "I could kill you right now."

Struggling had worn Lissa out. Her chest
heaved and her nose flared. She coughed, squirming enough to be
able to breath. If she could get one hand free, then Alice would
pay. Lyndon's fingers dug into her wrists, preventing her from
getting any purchase on the wooden deck to throw Alice off.

"But if I do," Alice continued, "then I can't
continue to torment you, and that's a lot more fun."

Lissa froze. Alice's voice was cold and
controlled. What did she plan to do?

"Hurry up," Lyndon said. "The whole crew will
be here soon."

"Shut up, you idiot. Let me do this my
way."

Lissa could no longer see the knife. Her skin
prickled, and her muscles tensed, spasming as she imagined the
blade stabbing into her. A well-placed slice could leave her
crippled for life. Her breath came in short, fast pants.

"If you hurt me, Farq will whip you," she
said.

Alice laughed.

"Scared of facing me in a fair fight, is that
it?" Lissa asked, hating that her voice squeaked. "You know I'd
beat you without that knife-"

Alice yanked her hair and wadded a huge ball
of it into her grip, holding Lissa's head up by her scalp. Lissa’s
neck burned. She felt the knife dragging across her hair, close to
her neck.

No, not that!

She screamed and screamed, but her cries were
muffled by Lyndon's hand clamped across her mouth. The pressure on
her jaw prevented her biting him. The cutting seemed to go on
forever, until the pressure on her scalp finally eased. Her head
crashed onto the floor.

"Sit up," Alice said, and she and Lyndon
stepped away.

Lissa rolled sideways into a sitting
position, back against a sack of vegetables. Alice threw an
enormous bundle of auburn hair into her lap.

"Pick up your trash." She spun on her heel
and left the room, head high, grinning from ear to ear.

Lissa caressed the long strands of her hair.
Everything was numb. The room seemed to fade away, as if nothing
was real except the hair in her hands. There was so much of it. Ten
Sunturns of growth.

Slowly, she raised one hand to the base of
her neck. A ragged hairline ran between her ears. She jerked her
hand away. Tears gushed down her face and she shook with deep,
uncontrollable sobs.

Chapter 18 - The Flux Storm