Ocean of Dust (10 page)

"Hello, Liss," Pete said, sliding down beside
her. He grinned and she smiled back.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked.

"Getting away from everyone, especially Alice
and Farq."

His grin vanished. "You want me to
leave?"

"No, stay. Shouldn't you be working?"

"I like to watch the flux vanes," he
said.

She blinked several times. He pointed behind
her and she swiveled around for a better view. Several of the crew
had climbed atop the winches and gathered about a horizontal wheel.
The metal screeched as they heaved on it and chains rattled as they
took up the slack. At the ends of the metal booms hanging off the
sides of the ship, the chains snapped taut. The crew chief appeared
beside the men and echoed instructions shouted down from the
command deck. Few of the words made sense to her until he yelled,
"Lower away."

The men heaved the wheel hand over hand, turn
after turn. Shiny chain emerged from beneath their feet with a
deafening clanking noise. It banged and scraped as it moved out
along the metal arm, around the pulley, and dropped further into
the dust ocean. Lissa chewed her lip and looked back and forth
between the men and the chain.

"They're lowering the vanes," Pete said.
"That means they're expecting a deep flux current."

"I don't understand." She shook her head.
"How do you know all this?"

"'Cause I've been watching them do this every
time, while you've been below cooking yummy food for us all." He
licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Those chains are connected to big spiky
things called flux vanes, which dangle below the surface. They make
the ship move." He shrugged with one shoulder. "Every so often they
change the depth of the vanes, trying to find a good flux
current."

Images of the sparks and colors flicked into
Lissa's head.

"So the flux current flows into the vanes and
up the chain to here," she said. "That makes sense. That's what the
globelights are wired into. So the deeper the current, the stronger
it is?"

He scratched his nose. "I guess. I hadn't
thought that far."

The grating noise stopped. The men locked the
wheel in place.

Her head began to throb, as if someone had
turned on a switch in her head. She massaged her temples. Why did
her head hurt whenever she was near or thought about the metal
booms and the colors? What was happening to her that didn’t seem to
affect anyone else?

Chapter 9 - The Dare

Lissa walked barefoot across the cold, wooden
deck. Icy air pimpled her skin with goose bumps, so she wrapped her
arms about her body. No stars shone in the inky, overcast sky. A
single globelight swung back and forth ahead of her.

Silence engulfed her. Her steps made no
noise. No orders were shouted, no sound of work being done, not
even the creaking of the ship's timbers. Something tickled in the
depths of her mind. This wasn't right. She tensed. Where had the
crew gone? Why wasn't the deck moving under her feet?

A figure emerged from the shadows. His heavy,
green robe brushed the deck at his feet, and his head was hidden
within its hood. She took another step and stopped. To one side
stood a pedestal supporting a bowl, from which grey dust poured,
cascading endlessly and spreading out across the floor. With a
start, she remembered the man with the gnarled fingers from the
command deck.

"What's happening?" she cried. "Hello?"

No sound came from her mouth.

The figure slowly raised his arms. She gasped
at the sight of his hands, tiny and not wrinkled or scabbed. The
hands of a woman.

Her arms trembled in the cold air, and her
heart thumped when he lifted his head and looked her way. Red,
alien eyes glowed fiercely from the pool of darkness inside his
hood. She screamed but made no sound. Slow and deliberate, he
slipped the hood from his head. She saw herself within the green
robe, her eyes flickering pools of scarlet, and her flowing auburn
hair sparkling with blues and purples. Her hands flew to her
mouth.

An incessant whisper shattered the silence,
first one voice, another, and finally a whole chorus, seemingly
surrounding her. She whirled about. No one was there.

Lisssssa...

Stumbling, she fell backwards.

She crashed to the floor, and her scheepa
swung wildly, whacking her in the back of the head. Heart still
racing, she crawled behind a sack of hoobin-beets. Her hands went
to her ears and she peered toward the dimly lit opening to the
hallway.

The hooded figure and the whispering were
gone. She lowered her hands and controlled her breathing. Now, the
only sound was the muted snoring of the men on the deck above.

It was only a nightmare.

What time was it? Should she try going back
to sleep? The image of her face with the red eyes was vivid. What
if the dream had been a premonition, and-?

Stop it!

She rubbed her eyes and combed her hair back.
Curiosity compelled to go up on deck, to see that it hadn't been
real. Clenching her fists, she climbed the ladder to the mess deck.
Rows of men rocked gently in scheepas strung between wooden posts.
How did they sleep with such a cacophony of snoring, snorts, and
coughing? Padding silently in her bare feet, she continued up to
the main deck, shivering in a gust of cold, night air.

Two men stood by the mast, as if on guard,
smoking pipes and muttering to each other. Lights shone from the
cabins above the infirmary. Medepo, the largest of the four moons,
hung high in the star-filled sky, and she could easily make out its
gibbous disc. One man sat alone, cross-legged on top of an
equipment locker. Her heart fluttered, identifying him as the young
officer with the mesmerizing eyes.

"Can I join you?" she whispered.

He jolted his head up in surprise, causing
his hooped earrings and beads to jangle. A handsome smile spread
across his face.

"Climb up."

She sat beside him and they looked out over
the dark ocean. The silence unnerved her, so she thought long and
hard for something to say.

"I've never seen a man with so much
jewelry."

He glanced at her quizzically and her cheeks
became hot.
That was a dumb thing to say.

"I mean... I like them. They're very
colorful-" She stared at her fingers.

He chuckled. "Thank you. It's how my people
identify their home clans."

"Who are your people?"

"I'm a Drujan," he replied.

"From the western continent?" She pictured
the hand-shaped land on the map.

His incredible eyes locked with hers, his
blazing yellow in the globelight. Her stomach flipped and her skin
became suddenly warm.

"How'd you know that?" he said. "Few
travelers come to Druja. I can't imagine where you even heard of
it, let alone know where it is."

"I love looking at maps. I remember seeing it
right on the edge, far from everywhere. Is the ship going that
way?"

"I wish." He sighed and peered out into the
darkness. "We've been running south since Gobar."

"So where are we going?"

"We're due at Us-imyan in an eight-day. Do
you know where that is too?"

She shook her head. Another place she'd have
to see from the deck. When the ship had docked at Gobar she had
longed to explore its streets and get closer to its immense,
multi-spired fortress, but she had been forbidden to leave the
ship. Maybe she'd never be allowed to set foot on land again.
Unless… unless Alice and Lyndon had an escape plan and she could
somehow make use of it.

High above, the smaller of the two bells rang
a single time. He jumped from the locker. "Duty calls. Thanks for
your company. You should get some sleep."

He bobbed his head and climbed up to the
command deck. She watched him, until a sudden gust sprayed dust all
over her, and she hurried below, coughing and brushing her
clothes.

* * *

Two days later, raised voices brought her
running to the galley. Alice had Branda pinned against the sink,
alternately shouting and slapping the little girl, who dodged the
attacks as best she could. Tears streamed down Branda's face.

"What're you doing?" Lissa cried, crossing
the room in three strides. "Let her go."

She forced herself between them and shoved
Alice across the room.

"Mind your own business," Alice screamed,
shoving back. "Get lost."

"Branda's half your size, you bully. Leave
her alone."

"Make me." Alice's face was purple, her eyes
were scrunched, and her mouth made a sneer.

Lissa raised her hand to thump her but
hesitated. The look in Alice's eyes was murderous. Instead, she
grabbed Alice's wrists, and they wrestled. Alice dragged her to the
floor.

"Stop," Branda shrieked.

"You've been mean and horrible since you met
me," Lissa shouted as they rolled about. "If you hate me, don't
take it out on Branda."

Alice grabbed a handful of Lissa's hair and
yanked it. Lissa squealed.

"You and your pretty, red hair," Alice said,
and pulled Lissa's head to the floor by her hair.

Lissa slapped Alice’s face and kneed her in
the stomach. Free of her grasp, Lissa scrambled to her feet.

"Branda, watch for Cook," she said, then to
Alice, "I won't let you terrorize Branda."

Alice tugged her leg and pulled her back
down.

"I'll do what I like until you stop trying to
be Cook's pet." She grabbed Lissa's hair again and tried to drag
her across the floor.

Lissa yelped and moaned, got on all fours and
took a firm grip of Alice's hair. She tugged it mercilessly and
didn't let go until Alice screamed. She swung a punch, but Lissa
dodged and slapped her back. An angry red mark formed on Alice's
cheek. They let go in unison and sprang away from each other.

Alice shook, her fists were clenched, and her
eyes were sharp and icy. Lissa blew out her breath and held out her
hand, palm forward.

"Look…" she lowered her voice. "I'm not
trying to be Cook's favorite. I don't want to take anything from
you."

Alice spat in her face. "Don't you dare pity
me. I know you're playing all pretty to steal Mamp from me."

"Huh?" Lissa let her arm drop.

Alice seized the opportunity to snatch her
wrist and twist it. Lissa cried out and smashed Alice's head onto
the table, holding it there.

"Who're you talking about?" Lissa asked.

"Don't pretend. I saw you two the other
night, sitting together on deck. Other times too. I've seen you,
all blushes and cuteness in front of him."

So,
he
was the Mampalo that Branda had
mentioned.

"Stop fighting will you?" she said calmly.
She released Alice's head and moved to the other side of the table.
They eyed each other. "I'm not flirting with him. Anyway, you've
got Lyndon."

"Lyndon?" Alice spluttered. "You stupid girl.
What makes you think I'm after that idiot?"

"I... I saw you both-" Alice's suspicious
glare made Lissa shut her mouth. "You can hate me, I don't care,
but leave Branda alone."

"Cook!" Branda hissed from the doorway.

They brushed themselves down and did their
best to smooth their wayward hair. When Cook entered, all three
girls made themselves busy, but the argument continued in whispered
snarls each time they passed one another.

"I can beat you anytime," Alice whispered by
the oven.

Lissa's body ached, and her scalp burned, but
Alice seemed unaffected by their fight. Lissa sliced meat for
sandwiches, trying to think how to put an end to the war.

"I'll hurt you worse than Farq if you don't
back off Mamp," Alice muttered by the sink.

"I won't let you bully Branda," Lissa hissed
when they reached in the same drawer.

Finally, Cook left the room and they resumed
the argument face to face.

"I dare you to stop me," Alice said, hands on
hips, like a mini version of Cook. "I dare you, or I'll make
Branda's life hell."

"Stop it," Branda cried, her eyes brimming
with tears. "She trap you, Lissa."

Lissa knew that Alice already had. She
glanced at Branda, who stroked her short hair obsessively.

"All right," Lissa said loudly to prevent her
voice from trembling. "If I do your dare, you'll leave Branda
alone?"

Alice nodded.

"What do I have to do?"

A sneer spread across Alice's face and she
clapped her hands together.

"This afternoon, march into Farq's office
uninvited, and if you get out in one piece, I'll leave Branda
alone."

Branda rushed to Lissa's side and clung on to
her arm, trembling uncontrollably.

"No," she said. "No, Lissa. Not Farq. Not do
that for me."

Lissa's shoulders slumped. Farq was the worst
thing Alice could have dreamed up. She glanced at Alice’s mocking
expression, and then at the tears rolling down Branda’s cheeks. She
took her friend’s hand and squeezed it.

"All right, I'll do it," she said.

Alice sauntered out of the galley, humming to
herself.

"You must back down," Branda said. "Do not do
this for me. Farq kill you. Please."

"He won't." Lissa faked a smile. "I have a
plan."

But she didn't have a plan. Chewing her
bottom lip bloody, she made herself busy hoping Branda wouldn't
notice her trembling. She swept the hallway for the second time
that day. Alice had probably planned it all from the start, goaded
Lissa on purpose. What a fool she’d been! She relived her beating
on the command deck. Her palms turned clammy and her heart pounded.
Taking Alice's beatings was one thing, but Farq was not someone to
play games with.
What was I thinking?

Alice stepped out of a storeroom and
shouldered her into the wall. "Don't worry if Farq rips your arms
off," she sneered. "Since you're the physiker's pet as well as
Cook's, I'm sure he'll fix you up. Maybe you can bribe him with one
of your stupid cakes. Only two bells to suns-set and then you lose.
I'll be watching."