Ocean of Dust (36 page)

All correspondence to be addressed to Oban
or Captain Porrensa.

She leaped from the table, dragging Branda to
her feet. "Oban is sending me for real training as a
navigator."

An image popped into her head of the immense
sea cave set into the cliff with snow falling all around; the image
the Klynaks had shown her. It had to be Etra. Her mind tickled with
a rasping laugh. Then it and the image vanished.

Branda wrapped her arms around Lissa, her
little face beaming. "I so happy for you. Is what you wished."

Lissa had to restrain herself from dancing
around the room.

"More than I wished for. Much more." Her
smile faded and she sat. Her heart and dream crushed. "My family
can't afford to pay for such a thing."

The incredible opportunity was snatched from
her grasp with that realization. Her eyes moistened but she was
determined not to cry in front of the captain.

"Oban has offered to pay all expenses," he
said, and poured more wine.

Her head snapped up and she stared at him.
Her jaw dropped and then she remembered her manners.

"How can I ever repay him for that?"

The captain laughed. "By not failing your
classes? Oban will not appreciate you wasting his money."

"Of course not." She nodded furiously. "I'll
work so hard. I'll study after classes. I'll not miss a single
lesson. I'll listen, and learn, and earn the navigator’s faith in
me. I'll make him proud. I'll make you both proud of me, sir."

He gave a long, bass laugh, and then looked
at her sternly. "Be sure you do."

She gulped her gej-juice. Her heart raced.
She hated to waste her dinner, but she had passed being hungry. If
only she could start her classes right now.

Branda was quiet, endlessly cutting her meat
into smaller pieces and not eating any of them. Lissa touched her
arm, realizing that poor Branda would be stuck on the ship without
her.

"I glad you go to Etra," Branda muttered.
"You have adventure, as always."

Lissa sighed, put her arms around Branda's
shoulders and looked at the captain with pleading eyes. His gaze
flicked between the two girls, then he downed his wine and
nodded.

"Branda," he said. "She's going to need you
in Etra, you know?"

Branda looked up. "She is?"

"Of course. She'll need a friendly face to
get her through the long days."

The spark returned to Branda's eyes. A smile
spread slowly across the tiny girl's face and then tears flowed,
like a miniature of the hydro-mountain on Us-imyan. Lissa's vision
blurred and she felt the warmth of her own tears running down her
nose. Their bodies trembled together with each sob.

You'll be there, won't you?

Safe journey.

"Thank you so much, captain," she gulped
between her sobs. "I will never forget it, or your ship. I will
bake you and the navigator as many pies as you can eat."

He chuckled.

She blinked rapidly and turned to Branda. "I
can't wait for
our
adventures in Etra."

** The End **

Thank you to my wonderful wife, Tamara, for
putting up with my hours locked away at the keyboard, and for
humoring my unpredictable frustrations or rabid excitement along
the way. A huge thanks to my developmental copyeditor, Lynnette
Labelle, who whipped this book into shape. Remaining typos are all
mine. To Erin at EDHGraphics for my enticing cover, and to my
readers for their helpful insight, constructive critiquing and
excellent suggestions, all of which made this book better: Dan
Jeffries, Deborah Reed, Adrianna Lewis, Paula Margulies, John van
Roekel, Jilliane and Jared Alag-Cardinal, and Lisa Shapiro.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this
book, please consider leaving a review.

I'd love to hear from you. You can connect
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http://www.graemeing.com
,

Email: [email protected],

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@GraemeIng
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