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The stony-skinned fish filled its cheeks with water before they broke the surface and Zenith filled his lungs with air right after. The net came up near the ship’s side, giving Zenith a close view of several haphazard repairs made to the sun-bleached wood. Glancing up, he noted that the mainsail had been stitched together from smaller pieces of cloth. It seemed that this vessel’s best days were behind it.
As his ears cleared, Zenith heard the metallic crank of a winch. A voice shouted, “Two to come aboard, Captain! Crag and his latest catch. Quite . . . unusual, this one.”
A gravelly, feminine voice said, “Unusual is what we’re after, Mister Burrel.”
“Begging your pardon, ma’am,” said the first voice. “But I don’t think this is our kind of unusual.”
As the net rose above the deck of the ship, Zenith got his first look at the crew. The five bipedal creatures he saw were all of the same species. Dark brown tusks jutted down from their white, whiskered, walrus-like snouts. They had dense fur much like seals, but it too was white, and covered the entirety of their round heads, triangular ears, and paw-like hands, which sported short black claws. The rest of their plump bodies were hidden beneath loose-fitting garments, suggesting there had been days of greater abundance in their collective past. Their large blue eyes stared up at him with a mix of disgust and disbelief.
The captain, wearing a navy-blue peaked cap and double breasted peacoat, shook her head and sighed. “Right as always, Mister Burrel. Exactly, what are you playing at, Crag?”
A sailor sporting a large gold loop earing from one ear spat on the deck, crossed himself and said, “He’s brought an imp aboard, he has. Throw them both back, Burrel.”
“Stow your nonsense, Augur,” said Burrel, who was manning the winch. He swung the net around and quickly lowered it to the deck. “I’m sure Crag will offer a logical explanation as to the origins of this beastie.”
The stony-skinned fish jumped from the netting, flopped across the deck, and flipped up into a small fishbowl nestled on top of a coil of rope. Crag resurfaced and said, “What a sorry bunch of greenhorns! Can none of you recognize a Firman?”
“As in Terra Firmament?” said a burly sailor with a red kerchief around her thick neck. “And what exactly would an air-breathing, land mammal from another world be doing at the bottom of the Scalding Sea?”
Augur crossed himself again and said, “Crag’s returned to Orcus Gate, Captain. Despite your many warnings.”
Crag took another breath underwater and came back up. “Portals to other worlds are perfectly natural.”
The captain strode toward Crag’s fishbowl. “Erratic and unstable is more like it. You’ve seen for yourself what emerges from the portals as of late. Nasty fiends from bizarre worlds.” She bowed her head slightly toward Zenith. “Present company excluded.”
Augur muttered, “Present company included,” and spat over his shoulder.
“Nasty, unique fiends, Captain,” said Crag. “Things the likes of which we’ve never seen, and which might fetch us a tidy sum.”
“Are you saying you want to sell this Firman?” asked the kerchiefed sailor.
“No, I'm not talking about him. The Firman saved my tail. I was just returning the favor.”
“Do your charity work on your own time, Crag,” said the captain. “Your job is to lure deep sea creatures, GrahBhagian creatures, to our cool water net so we can bring them up unharmed. This fleshy freak, no offense, Firman, is worthless.”
“Throw the imp back,” said Augur. “It’s bad luck.”
The kerchiefed sailor and the fifth deckhand, who wore a blue and white striped long-sleeved shirt, both mumbled in agreement.
Zenith wrestled with the net, hoping to escape before it was hoisted aloft. “Hold on,” he said. “Let’s not be hasty.”
Crag said, “That would be a waste of resources, Captain. The Firman’s young and strong. Why not put him to work?”
“Yes.” Zenith nodded. “Happy to help out.” |
