The ship dropped anchor far enough away that I couldn’t have hit it with a fireball.

  Fyga might have had the experience and control to get her magic that far, but she focused on up close magic, so even she would have trouble.

  It wasn’t Sir Kaeso that came for us either. A pudgy, short young man in a dirty red shirt rowed out to meet us.

  “I thought there were four masters.” The young man kept his eyes low.

  “One o’ us is still under da weather, so ta speak.” Captain Jace winked. “But it’s a lovely night, so let’s not spoil it with such talk.” The bald man settled on a wooden seat. “I hear there’s grub?”

  He had eaten some of the grain soup that Dame Isough had cooked, but he was still acting hungry. I didn’t blame him, it wasn’t filling and since we were rationing it, there was just enough in the bowl to count as having eaten a meal.

  Val and I took our seats and the boy pushed the boat back in the water, then jumped in.

  Captain Jace picked up his wooden leg and planted it in front of the young man. “Do ya want ta hear about the time a shark ate my leg.” The Captain slapped his leg when the young man’s eyes widened. “I knew, cain’t put a plug on a good stary. So there I was, divin’ for pearls. All I had was my skivvies an’ a knife with a blade like this.” He held up three fingers and squeezed them together.

  “I saw da biggest clam ya ever will lay yar eyes on.” The bald man spread his arms wide. “This big, no fib.” He brought his hands back together and started mimicking prying open the clam by shoving the fingers on his right hand between the closed thumb and fingers on his left.

  “Now this clam didn't want ta give up it’s prize, no sir, but I ain’t no quiter either!” He let out a belly laugh. “But while I was workin’ on it, I felt these hairs on da back o’ ma neck stand up, like this.” He touched the back of his neck, then wiggled his fingers as he moved them away.

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  “So I turn around an’ there is the biggest, the meanest, the ugliest shark you will ever lay yar eyes on, no fib.” He spread his arms up and down to imitate jaws. “I ain’t one ta back down from a fight neither, but a wise man has to know what happens when ya bring a knife ta a shark fight.” He let out a huge laugh. “Do ya think I’m a smart man?” He grinned at the young man rowing the boat.

  The rotund man looked at me for a hint as to the way he should answer. I saw the pleading in his brown eyes.

  “Don’t look at them, I’m da one tellin’ da story!” Captain Jace snapped his fingers in the man’s field of vision.

  “Sorry.” The young man looked down.

  “Nothin’ ta be sorry about.” The bald man smiled. “Where was I? Oh, yeah! This monster o’ a beast slammed inta ma, nose ta belly button.” He touched his stomach. “I was lucky that I workin’ on da clam, otherwise, the monster wouldn’t have hit ma from the side.” He slapped his wooden leg.

  “What’d you do?” The young man’s rowing was slowing down as he listened to the tale.

  Val rolled her eyes beside me, then leaned over the boat just enough that her fingers touched the water. The boat started moving faster as she fed her magic into the water.

  “I’ll tell ya what I done!” Captain Jace started slashing with his three fingers. “I stabbed far all I was worth!” He balled up his left fist. “An’ I punched it in da nose a good smackin’!” The one-eyed man winked. “But that monster wanted a meal and a meal it got.” He lowered his voice as he rubbed his wooden leg that stopped just below the knee.

  “I woulda finished it off, but I was runnin’ low on air. It swam off after it took ma leg, but I took its eye.” He tapped his cheek, then looked over at the water. “That’s why I’m always on da lookout for that dark triangle.” He grabbed the young man around the shoulders and waved his arm out towards the sea.

  “Somewhere out thar is a one-eyed monster that’s got a hungerin’ far da rest o’ me!” The bald man grinned and puffed out his chest. “But there ain’t nothin’ that’ll snack on da rest o’ Captain Jace Malvern Perrous!”

  The boat clunked against the side of the ship. The one-legged man stood up and grabbed the rope ladder that was waiting for us. “Don’t worry kiddo, we got a long voyage. Ya’ll get ta hear lots more o’ ma stories!”

  Val sighed as she waited for the older man to climb up the ladder. Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she muttered under her breath. “And none of us can wait.”

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