Liar's Island: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

the other seagoing vessels he’d had the pleasure to board in the past, which wasn’t that many; more often he traveled on river craft, if he went aboard ships at all. The crew members ignored him with the same disinterest possessed by underpaid and overworked people everywhere. Maybe these strange and exotic Vudrani wouldn’t be so strange after all.
    The mate led him belowdecks, into space sufficiently cramped that Rodrick had to duck his head. “You’ll be staying in my quarters,” Pia said, and Rodrick winced. It was never a good idea to inconvenience someone you’d be stuck with on the small world of a ship for … how long? He had no idea how far it was to Jalmeray. He really should have tried to find that hypothetical person who’d read a book about the island, but there had been a notable shortage of reputable scholars in the grog shop, so the failure wasn’t really Rodrick’s fault.
    â€œI’m terribly sorry to displace you, perhaps we could share…” He trailed off when she opened a wooden door, revealing a space the size of a fat man’s coffin, with a sea chest (locked, of course, not that locks usually gave Rodrick much trouble, if it came to that), a narrow bunk that folded down from the wall, and a tiny table. The table was crowded by a two-foot high bronze idol of a many-armed woman, holding aloft various small objects of doubtless great religious significance, surrounded by seashells and small piles of salt. That’s right—the Vudrani were supposed to have hundreds or thousands of gods, weren’t they? He hoped there wouldn’t be a quiz. “Then again, I suppose sharing it would be a bit tight.”
    She shrugged. “I’ll take the second mate’s room, and his is nearly as big as mine, so I don’t care. The third mate’s the one who’ll be angry with you. He’s been bumped down to sleeping with the regular crew on deck or in a rope hammock.” She pointed at the idol, then at the chest. “Don’t meddle with my things. If you do, I’ll know. We probably can’t kill you, which is what we usually do with thieves, but if you only keelhaul someone a little bit, they usually live.”
    â€œThe captain has even better quarters, I suppose?” Rodrick said.
    Pia snorted. “We’re to treat you like an honored guest, not like the thakur himself. Don’t get above yourself. The captain’s giving me a little slice of her own share of profits for my trouble, anyway. She figures the inconvenience of ferrying you around is worth it to show the folk in the palace she’s reliable and accommodating. She thinks there might be some opportunity in it for her.” She sniffed. “The captain says you can dine with her tonight, if you wash the stink off first. For lunch you can settle for the same rations the crew get. At least they’re fresh, us being straight out of port. In the meantime, well. You’re not confined to quarters or anything, but try not to get in the way.”
    She went off, and Rodrick closed the door, not bothering to hook the little latch—it wouldn’t keep the door shut if anyone really wanted to come in, though it would probably keep the door from flying open every time they crested a wave. He drew Hrym, who sighed contentedly, like a man released from a cage, and set the blade down on top of the sea chest.
    â€œYou mind if I get some sleep?” Rodrick said. “I have a date with that hangover I mentioned.”
    â€œFine, fine, just scatter some gold on the chest for me to rest on, would you?” Hrym had been a dragon in a past life, sort of—it was complicated—and was never happier than when he rested atop a heap of treasures, though Rodrick could usually provide only a very modest hoard.
    He moved Hrym to the bed. “Didn’t someone threaten to keelhaul us once before?” Rodrick shook out a handful of