Just the other day, Santiago had overheard Brocco and Wiley talking about what had happened that day on the beach. It was difficult for Santiago to completely understand what they were saying. Humans had words and ideas that were so foreign to rats. Through their many words he’d grasped only one thing. That day on the beach, the captain had become immortal.
But what was that, exactly? Was Santiago immortal too? He must be. Did immortal mean you were always hungry, always wanting more? Why would the captain want that?
“The party has started, sir, Your Excellence Majesty,” Brocco said. “Your guests are waiting for you.”
“Wonderful,” the captain said. “Almost ready.”
Wiley pulled his pipe out of his mouth. “You gonna experiment on those people? Like you did the last time?” He said the word experiment with some amount of disgust. A dangerous tone to take with the captain, Santiago thought.
“Yes, Wiley,” Captain Vincent said. “I told you I would need to conduct many experiments to test my powers, to understand how they work and their effects. I can’t do what I want when I don’t know what I can do.”
“Yeah,” Brocco agreed. “We can’t just go changing things willy-nilly, Wiley. We don’t want to make a bloody mess of the world.”
“Of course not,” the captain said. “We are not savages.” He dusted the lapels of his waistcoat. Santiago helped dust off the shoulders with his tail.
“It just doesn’t seem right,” Wiley said. “Experimenting on those people’s lives and all, without them knowing.”
“If it bothers you that much, Wiley,” the captain said, “perhaps you’d rather I experiment upon you? Would that make you feel better?”
Wiley took a few steps back. “No, sir. No, it would not.”
“Then stop your moral philosophizing and go greet our guests. Make them welcome and comfortable. Hand out bags of gold and jewels, if it will clear your conscience.”
“Yes, sir.” Brocco and Wiley both bowed and left. Santiago whipped his tail at their retreating figures. He was thinking neither of them would last very long, for different reasons. Brocco was annoyingly eager. He tried too hard. Agreed too much. He could feel it grating on the captain’s nerves. But Wiley was the opposite. He seemed to question more and more. He seemed hesitant. Must be all those books he read. Too many words in the head, too many voices. Wiley was confused, didn’t know which voices to listen to or which words were the right ones. Of course, it was the captain he should be listening to, following. That should have been obvious, given his power. But for some reason it wasn’t to Wiley. Santiago would have to keep an eye on him.
“Santiago, I’m afraid you will have to hide yourself tonight,” the captain said, adjusting his crown. “You know my guests will not care for your presence.”
All Santiago’s enjoyment dissolved at these words. Cruel captain! Santiago hissed. Santiago best! Humans slop!
“Of course, Santiago, you are of more value to me than anyone,” the captain said. “You are my most trusted adviser, my most faithful servant, but remember our mission. It’s best if my subjects are in a relaxed state when I perform my experiments. Now go.”
Santiago twitched with annoyance but obeyed. He crawled inside the captain’s inner pocket. To appease himself, he chanted, Most faithful, most faithful, most faithful, over and over as the captain walked out of his cabin and headed to the upper deck. The captain would surely do away with Brocco and Wiley and all the rest sooner or later, but Santiago knew he would never discard him.
The Vermillion, able to transform into any kind of vessel, was currently a luxury ocean liner with rich interiors of crystal chandeliers, red tapestries trimmed in gold, and a grand staircase. It was supposedly a similar design to some famous ship, Santiago heard Wiley say. Apparently it had sunk in the Atlantic sometime in the early twentieth century.
But Santiago didn’t care a whisker for any of that. He was here for the food. He was so hungry, and there were piles and piles of food of all kinds—colorful arrangements of fruit and vegetables, roasted game and fish and fowl, breads and cheese, soups and noodles, and delicacies of unknown origin. There were tall cakes decorated with flowers and pearls, small cakes topped with cherries, little lacy cookies, pastries with nuts and honey, small glasses of mousse with cream. Albert was currently piling a plate high with cakes and cookies.
Santiago’s incessant hunger overwhelmed him. He scurried toward the food tables and started to nibble on a bit of lemon tart.
The party was a bizarre sight, even to Santiago who had seen some bizarre things in his unusually long rat life. It seemed like the guests had been gathered from all parts of the world and throughout every possible era. The captain had said he needed a good variety for his experiments, and so he had been collecting subjects. The one who stuck out most to Santiago was a woman wearing a dress as wide as she was tall, with her white-powdered hair stacked in a high pile of curls. Santiago thought she looked like a frilly, layered cake and had half a mind to go and nibble on the edges of her dress. At her side was a short man wearing an embroidered jacket and breeches and high-heeled shoes. Behind that strange couple was a group of people dressed in nothing but white sheets, and behind them a group wearing colorful silk robes with wide draping sleeves. There were girls in straight dresses with sequins and fringe, others in sweeping gowns, and some in large hoop skirts that knocked over glasses and furniture whenever they moved. There were several women wearing birds on their heads, which made Santiago hiss, even though he knew they were dead. There were men in full suits of armor, others in poofy
