best, and that heâd never really got on with the other children.
Dannie listened with raised eyebrows. âYou think thatâs bad? Youâve never seen a workhouse.â And by the time sheâd related the squalor, the lingering hunger, the constant threat of disease, the staffâs physical and mental abuse, the regular fights and occasional murder, Jack and Ruthâs mouths were hanging open.
âYep, youâve definitely had the worst luck of us all,â Ruth said weakly.
âWell, I donât know
for sure
whether Iâm an orphan,â Dannie qualified. âI never knew my mum; she disappeared pretty much as soon as I was out of her body. She might still be around somewhere, but Iâm not fussed. As far as Iâm concerned, I only had one parent.â
Jack realized it was a mark of how much he liked Dannie that he wasnât annoyed that he couldnât be alone with Ruth. They hadnât spent any time together, just the two of them, since the previous Sunday, and the chances were increasingly unlikely with Ruthâs renewed duties as captain of
The Golden Turtle.
The first night, he had been so exhausted from factory work and their anti-Cult escapades that heâd been asleep as soon as heâd hit the bunk and for fourteen hours solid afterward. But the second, he found himself rolling over and over, each position less comfortable than the last, unable to rest his mind. His thoughts were on Lucy and Alex.
It had been over a week now since he had heard from Inari. He wondered if it was possible to summon the foxâheâd never tried it; the spirit had always appeared to himâbut, he supposed, if there was nothing to report, then everything must be fine. He knew Lucy could look after herself, probably better than he could, but that didnât stop him from worrying about her or the three others with her, even though he didnât know them nearly as well. He imagined it must be something like how a big brother would feel towards a little sister.
In fact, he was much more concerned about Alex, who heâd received no news about at all since their departure from Earth six weeks ago. Jack agreed with Sardâr that Alex was probably still alive: Icarus wouldnât have gone to the trouble of abducting him unless he was more useful to the Cult alive than dead. But that introduced a whole new range of unpleasant ideas, like what the Cultists might do to get him to talk. He knew Alex was resilient, more so than anyone else heâd ever met, but how long could he hold out against Dark alchemy and demons? And if he had already cracked, would they just kill him as he was of no more use to them?
Finally, he gave up trying to sleep and went to see if Sardâr, in the next cabin, was awake. He knocked, and the elf called for him to come in.
As he entered, Jack was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu from the very first time the two of them had spoken at length, after Sardâr had been rescued from the heart of Mount Fafnir. The amber lights were low, shadows stretching across the floor and collecting in the corners of the cabin. The elf lay in bed, looking just as physically drained as he had after coming out of the volcano, his ochre eyes half-closed and his face drawn between curtains of grey-flecked dark hair. As before, Jack saw a strong semblance of a Zoroastrian priest in deep thought.
The elf beckoned him to sit on the end of the bed. âYou couldnât sleep either, I take it?â
âNope,â Jack replied, leaning back against the wall.
âWhatâs on your mind?â
Jack explained his concerns about Lucy and Alex.
âYes, I miss Adâ too. And Hakim, obviously. And Vincent. But we havenât chosen an easy life, have we? I suppose itâs up to us to sacrifice comfort and the closeness of loved ones for the good of everyone else.â
âIâm not complaining.â Jack replied quickly, âI made
Dannie listened with raised eyebrows. âYou think thatâs bad? Youâve never seen a workhouse.â And by the time sheâd related the squalor, the lingering hunger, the constant threat of disease, the staffâs physical and mental abuse, the regular fights and occasional murder, Jack and Ruthâs mouths were hanging open.
âYep, youâve definitely had the worst luck of us all,â Ruth said weakly.
âWell, I donât know
for sure
whether Iâm an orphan,â Dannie qualified. âI never knew my mum; she disappeared pretty much as soon as I was out of her body. She might still be around somewhere, but Iâm not fussed. As far as Iâm concerned, I only had one parent.â
Jack realized it was a mark of how much he liked Dannie that he wasnât annoyed that he couldnât be alone with Ruth. They hadnât spent any time together, just the two of them, since the previous Sunday, and the chances were increasingly unlikely with Ruthâs renewed duties as captain of
The Golden Turtle.
The first night, he had been so exhausted from factory work and their anti-Cult escapades that heâd been asleep as soon as heâd hit the bunk and for fourteen hours solid afterward. But the second, he found himself rolling over and over, each position less comfortable than the last, unable to rest his mind. His thoughts were on Lucy and Alex.
It had been over a week now since he had heard from Inari. He wondered if it was possible to summon the foxâheâd never tried it; the spirit had always appeared to himâbut, he supposed, if there was nothing to report, then everything must be fine. He knew Lucy could look after herself, probably better than he could, but that didnât stop him from worrying about her or the three others with her, even though he didnât know them nearly as well. He imagined it must be something like how a big brother would feel towards a little sister.
In fact, he was much more concerned about Alex, who heâd received no news about at all since their departure from Earth six weeks ago. Jack agreed with Sardâr that Alex was probably still alive: Icarus wouldnât have gone to the trouble of abducting him unless he was more useful to the Cult alive than dead. But that introduced a whole new range of unpleasant ideas, like what the Cultists might do to get him to talk. He knew Alex was resilient, more so than anyone else heâd ever met, but how long could he hold out against Dark alchemy and demons? And if he had already cracked, would they just kill him as he was of no more use to them?
Finally, he gave up trying to sleep and went to see if Sardâr, in the next cabin, was awake. He knocked, and the elf called for him to come in.
As he entered, Jack was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu from the very first time the two of them had spoken at length, after Sardâr had been rescued from the heart of Mount Fafnir. The amber lights were low, shadows stretching across the floor and collecting in the corners of the cabin. The elf lay in bed, looking just as physically drained as he had after coming out of the volcano, his ochre eyes half-closed and his face drawn between curtains of grey-flecked dark hair. As before, Jack saw a strong semblance of a Zoroastrian priest in deep thought.
The elf beckoned him to sit on the end of the bed. âYou couldnât sleep either, I take it?â
âNope,â Jack replied, leaning back against the wall.
âWhatâs on your mind?â
Jack explained his concerns about Lucy and Alex.
âYes, I miss Adâ too. And Hakim, obviously. And Vincent. But we havenât chosen an easy life, have we? I suppose itâs up to us to sacrifice comfort and the closeness of loved ones for the good of everyone else.â
âIâm not complaining.â Jack replied quickly, âI made
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