Leiria came back to the present, feeling Jooli's eyes on her. 'The woman's name was Nerisa,' she said.
'Safar loved her and she died tragically.'
She shrugged. 'What's more tragic is that Safar believes it was his fault. Just as he thinks that he is to blame for Methydia's death.'
'Is there any truth to it?' Jooli asked.
'None at all,' Leiria said. 'But Safar's like that. He takes on guilt faster than anyone I've ever met.'
Jooli eyed her. 'You're in love with him, too,' she said.
Leiria blushed. She said, low, 'Yes. We were … lovers once.'
'And he sent you away,' Jooli asked, 'because of his guilt?'
Leiria wiped an eye. 'No, I sent him away,' she said. 'Or I left, at any rate. But it was because of his guilt, yes.'
'And now you wished you hadn't?' Jooli asked.
Leiria only nodded.
'What are you going to do about it?' Jooli prodded.
Leiria shook her head. 'Nothing,' she said. 'What's done is done.'
Jooli put a hand on her shoulder. 'Sister,' she said, 'thank you for keeping me from making a big mistake.'
She looked Leiria straight in the eye. 'Let me return the favor by giving you a word of advice. You are wrong, sister. You were wrong then and are wrong now. And when the right time comes, be sure to correct the mistake. And you'll both be happier for it.'
Then she turned and walked back to her cabin. Leiria stared after her, too surprised to answer.
'Something's wrong with my father,' Palimak said.
He was lying on his bunk, arms behind his head, the two Favorites perched on his chest nibbling sugar rolls and cheese.
Gundara belched. 'Of course there's something wrong with him,' he said. 'He's a master, isn't he?
Masters always have worms in their brains.' Another belch. 'Present company not included, of course.'
'Speaking of worms,' Gundaree said. 'I found a nice fat one in a biscuit the other day. It was dee-lish-shous! Better than old cheese.'
'You're such a disgusting thing,' Gundara sneered. 'How can you stand yourself?'
'Worms, worms, worms,' Gundaree said.
'Stop it!' Gundara shouted. 'You're making me sick!'
'Big fat juicy ones,' Gundaree continued. 'Worms in your sweets. Worms in your sugar buns. Worms, worms, worms!'
'Shut up, you!'
'Don't you say shut up! You shut up!'
'Shut up, shut up, shut-Ouch!'
Gundara rubbed his backside. Palimak had just given it a stinging flick with his finger. 'Why'd you do that?' he whined. 'I wasn't the one talking about worms.'
'And I didn't say shut up first! You-ouch!'
Now it was Gundaree's turn to rub his tender behind.
'Do I have your attention now, boys?' Palimak asked.
The twins muttered, 'Yes, Little Master,' while rubbing their rears.
'Now, I was talking about my father,' Palimak said. 'There's something wrong, but I can't figure out what it is. Ever since he got back, he's been acting … well … I don't know…' He shrugged … 'Strange, I guess.'
'Seems the same to me,' Gundara said.
'Me too,' Gundaree agreed.
'Why are you asking
People are people, which is pretty stupid.'
'Yeah,' Gundaree said. 'People are sometimes stupid one way. Sometimes stupid another. So it's all the same to us. Stupid is stupid. What more is there to know?'
Palimak sighed, trying not to become impatient. He fed them more sugar buns and cheese to shut them up.
'I was talking about magic,' he said. 'Could something have happened to him in that spellworld that somehow affected him?'
Gundara shrugged. 'Sure, it could have,' he said. 'But it didn't.'
'How do you know?' Palimak asked.
Gundaree snickered. 'There he goes, just like people. Acting stupid.'
'I'm also part demon,' Palimak reminded him.
Gundara belched loudly. 'What's the difference?' he said. 'Stupid with fingers, or stupid with talons. Still stupid.'
'All right,' Palimak said. 'I'm being stupid. But if I'm so stupid, how am I supposed to know unless somebody tells me.'
Gundaree giggled. 'That's our job,' he said. 'Stay with you always and tell you when you're being stupid.'
'Not that you ever listen,' Gundara said. 'Lots of times we say, a€?Run, Palimak, run! Run for your life!''
He gave Palimak an admonishing look. 'But you don't run. And someday they're going to catch you.
Mark my words!'
'I'm marking them,' Palimak said. 'But you still didn't answer my question. Why am I being stupid about my father?'
Gundaree gave a long and weary sigh. 'Because, Little Master,' he said, 'if something magic was going on we'd
'But you're both better at that kind of thing than I am,' Palimak said. 'Much better. The witch who made you gave you heightened powers so you could protect your masters.' He pointed at the door. 'Why, if something that meant me harm was walking toward this at cabin this very minute, you'd both know. And warn me. Right?'
Gundara shuddered. 'Something's coming, Little Master!' he suddenly squealed.
'Stop fooling around,' Palimak said, getting irritated. 'I'm serious about this!'
'And so are we!' Gundaree cried. 'Look out, Little Master, here it comes!'
And at that moment Palimak heard a heavy body thump against his cabin door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Coralean was tossing fitfully in his bunk when he heard the scratching at his cabin door.
He'd spent a miserable day both cajoling and threatening his fleet captains, all of whom had been stricken with jealousy over the handsome sums paid to the crew of the
Never mind that none of them had actually wanted to join Safar on his mysterious mission. Never mind that the camel had been let out of the stable and now everyone knew Safar's mission was a dangerous around-the-world voyage with minimal chance of success.
The mere thought that other men were enjoying fatter purses than theirs was more than those pirates could bear. They wanted more money, they wanted it now, or they would lift the blockade on King Rhodes.
In the end, Coralean had used all his persuasive powers to get them to agree upon a lesser sum. Although he'd sweetened the contracts with promises of bonuses for every month spent on station patrolling the Syrapian coast.
The problem was that Coralean was uncertain how successful he'd actually been. Blockade work was
