CHAPTER ONE

'By Orthcan's shoal and the tides of Marnain, I'd give anything for a change in luck,'� Ed Brasheer cursed, while Fate tossed his storm battered ship on a wild ocean. The vessel shuddered before dropping from the crest of another wave.

Above the tumultuous storm, the groan of stressed timber alarmed the skipper. The forward mast bowed against the force of the wind and threatened to splinter. Lashed to the helm, Brasheer swore while rain and wave fought to shred storm set sails. He lifted tired eyes as the tempest speared lightning through dark clouds to reveal the weather's fury.

Saturated beneath heavy oilskins, the captain spat a mouthful of rain when the small ship rolled and bucked against the drogue. Salt water sluiced over the bowsprit. Waves crashed across the scuppers, from bow to stern.

'If we lose another mast this storm will ruin me.'�

'Careful what you ask for, Captain,'� Toby, his first mate shouted. Wind stole words from chapped lips. 'You never know who's listening.'�

Both men staggered as the ship drove her bow into another wave. The deck tilted. Bowsprit dug deep. For a heartbeat, Ed's whole world turned on end as water washed across the vessel's waist.

On the forward yard, a crewman screamed when a storm sail shredded and the sheet whipped across his face. With one foot caught in the rigging, the man swung above black water. Ed held his breath, thinking his ship would spear into bottomless depths. While his heart pounded, the wave broke beneath the hull thrusting The Petrel's stern high into rain-drenched air.

'Get him down!'� Ed fought to hold the ship straight into the next set of waves. 'Look lively! The wind has died a little.'�

'No Captain, it's died a lot!'� Even over the creaking hull, driving rain and raging sea, Ed could hear the first mate's voice lift with a shrill tremor. The storm didn't seem to frighten Toby as much as the tempest's demise.

'What have I done?'� Ed spun while rain eased and furious seas settled. He refused to believe one impulsive oath could change Destiny. 'We've ridden through the worst, Toby. Bilge and blisters, we survived.'�

'You mean our luck changed.'� Toby's accusation made the captain shiver. 'I'll see to getting Crimp cut down and treated, sir.'� The first mate's face gleamed white in the muted light of heavy clouds. He pointed to a bedraggled bundle strewn across the forward hatch. 'You can see to our guest. What ill wind or providence would dump a stranger onto our decks in weather as foul as this?'�

Brasheer looked into the green underbelly of storm-ridden clouds. He untied an oilskin cap and shook his head.

'I dare say we are about to find out.'� He pointed to a large silver object floating in the sky, high above the tallest mast. 'Have you ever seen a creature or a creation as strange as this?'�

As Toby looked skyward, intense light engulfed the ship and a flying machine hovered beneath the clouds.

'Silt and seaweed, preserve us.'�

***

Blue skies offered perfect conditions while a traveling wind teased sails on both masts. With his crewman's head treated and the forward mast strengthened Brasheer set course for home. While weather held, he ordered storm sails repaired.

Once the crew looked busy, Ed called to Toby and together they nudged their newest crewmember.

'Wake Tag, you're going to live.'�

A blond head lifted. Eyes as blue as a calm ocean, turned to watch Ed. They seemed to focus with difficulty and asked more questions than speech could relay. While Ed smiled and tried to sort through his own tangled memories, those blue eyes appeared to stain black. Like a nervous octopus, pitch soaked into the clear iris. Tendrils of darkness stained vivid blue.

Before Ed could identify due cause, a frisson of dread ran along his spine. In the blink of an eye, he looked into clear orbs again. The chill of premonition passed when Toby offered the stranger a hand. For reasons Ed didn't question, he knew this stranger's name was Tag Seawell and bore a conviction the stranger should remain aboard The Petrel. All recollection of the flying ship and the stranger's arrival had been erased from memory.

'What is this place?'� Tag accepted Toby's hand while he crawled to his knees. Ed watched expression change as the stranger glanced around, bracing against the bulwark. 'A boat? I'm on a freaking ship?'�

''The Petrel'.'� Toby looked toward Ed. 'Tag, you have taken a head wound. Your memory may seem confused.'�

'I know my own memory is sorely tested.'� Brasheer rubbed his bald crown. 'I tend to believe that you joined us several weeks ago on a run north along the coast.'� The captain frowned. 'At least that's what I remember, though I can't find a mention of Tag Seawell's arrival in the log.'�

'Curse the Sorathii, those bleeding space pirates.'� Tag clutched the rail before getting to unsteady feet. 'How dare they. What do they think?'� Tag doubled over, as if struck by cramp.

Again, Ed could see dark streaks staining blue eyes. He heard gulls cry as they flew toward their island home and breathed the salt carried on a clean breeze. With deliberate effort, he put aside the spasm of fear knotting his gut.

'Tag, whatever doubts you have, come from your head wound. Nothing more.'� Ed spoke as if recalling a faded dream. 'As far as I can recall, you've been a bilge rat all your life. Don't ask questions, for all our sakes. You are welcome here.'�

'Bastards. Foul reptilian bastards. I will see them burn.'�

When Tag's anger grew, black swirled in his eyes. Ed found his palms sweating. He couldn't understand why the little man's anger could reduce him to being afraid when he could face the ocean's fury with a smile and not raise a sweat.

'I swear they will rot in the Abyss for their manipulative interference with my life. By the One and by the Powers, I will not rest until they are driven from every habitable planet in the known universe'�'�

Toby shook his head.

'Captain?'� Toby prompted. Ed knew the ranting would reach the ears of the other crewmembers and sailors at the best of times held superstitions as creed. If Tag continued his tirade, the trip home would become difficult.

'I don't know.'� Ed shrugged. A madman would reduce the crew to a bundle of paranoid wenches. 'Enough Tag. Shut up. You are ranting. Perhaps a little poppy or Libby's weed could calm you. Does your head ache?'�

'You sorry wretches. I don't have a head wound.'� Tag raised a hand to wipe his face. He touched his stubbled beard as though rediscovering puberty. 'I won't forget. I can feel my memory corrupting. Help me. Please don't let them steal my mind.'�

'Who?'� Toby took a step back and looked around. Ed Brasheer shook his head.

'There is no one here, Tag. You are safe now. Relax. No one is going to steal anything from my ship.'�

'Help me!'� Tag fell to his knees and held his head between his hands. 'Help me'�'�

Brasheer crouched in front of Tag and rested a hand on his back while the man began to weep. When Tag raised his head, the darkness swirling in his eyes turned black.
Toby tapped Ed on the shoulder.

'Sir, you want to take a look out here.'�

'What?'� Ed leapt to his feet and followed Toby's gaze. A pod of Darksea whales broke the surface of the water. The creatures surrounded the ship, caressing the hull with their pectoral fins. They rolled pale bellies against the woodwork. Warm air, jettisoned from their blowholes, stank of fish and the noise sounded like a blacksmith's bellows.

Ed clutched the rail of the bow and listened while the enthralling song of the whales reverberated through the water.

'Have you ever?'� Toby asked in an awed whisper. Ed shook his head and glanced back to where Tag collapsed on the deck.

'Blood and barnacles, what have we done, Toby?'�

'Darksea whales are supposed to bring you good luck. Isn't that what you wanted?'� Toby crouched beside the sleeping figure. 'Do you care to wake him and ask?'�

Ed Brasheer strummed his fingers on the rail of his ship and pursed his lips. He considered the newcomer and wondered if there was a connection between the madman's arrival and his own rash oath. The Petrel was overdue a change for the better but who would pay the cost?

'Let him wake in his own time Toby, but as soon as he does, I want to know about it.'�

***

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