pte

ntral living area and Elena could hear femini

arrived as well, " Benjamin told he

years ago, but on the DF cell phones caused more problems than they were worth, so an internal phone system was a standard feature. Elena dialed the number for Mateo's parents with

groggy voi

ling. I just heard about the Theran and wanted to check on you." Elena refrained fr

t, " Tomas said, his v

t wanting to wake up more of h

side. The Carloti's lost a couple of ships. At least two are unaccounted for, but known to

Elena asked, thinki

tired. "We are all more or less h

some solutions to that. Will you and A

nine at the Morning Glory?" he suggested. Elena nodded, recalling that the Morning Glory had large tables suitable

'll see you there." She left him to g

she settled herself on the c

k on things now and again?" Elena smiled and batted her eyes at him in mock flirtat

"Every time I see ships that have been through a

asked dryly. "

m afraid she is once again taking to the high seas

with a grin. "It comes from having to fight t

n added nodding sag

ng back. I have family that work the trade routes between, in the contes

"And is that the officia

They fight, we catch friendly fire. It happens. We're me

or some merchants,

family of war… profit

not. I've seen the goods

as he shuffled a deck of cards without looking at them. The shuffling sounded l

akfast with my aunt and uncle in the morning and will have to leave a little before nine. I need to vi

m, " Benjamin said, ges

was. "I'm for bed, enjoy your card game, leave the girls alone

full day then?" Thomps

s big a hurry. Normally her stays at the DF were limited to the length of time it took to load her cargo and grab a hot meal. Besides, she knew Smith was waiting, which didn't exactly make her eager to

oor of the closet and exchanged her all-purpose black dress for a pair of worn yoga pants and a t-shirt. She turned out the light and slid

k down to see what color the dress was, as she was looking at her dance partner. He wore a white porcelain mask that hid all of his features. His eyes were merely dark holes in the mask. The mask was held

could see no sign of skin. The skin at his neck was likewise covered with a high collar and a cravat. The snowy cloth of the cravat looked like si

ir instruments gleamed in the light. Noticing the light, Elena looked up and saw

rl. The crystal drops of the chandelier turned to rain and began to fall. Her dance partner looked at her and Elena felt drawn into the depths of his eyes. The

er in the dreams. She did not recognize the voice. Elena opened her mouth to ask what

t the pain of her landing. Elena looked down and saw the gold star was now

s of the churned up sea. She heard a frightened cry calling out from below decks and started to turn. A flash of lightning

d herself against the wind and into the pilot house. She saw Spin curled up in a wet

ain Calabrese, can you hear me?" Elena recognized Thompson's voice. "Elena this is Will Thompson

isite detail. Instead of seeing just a channel of darkness between two freestanding pillars, she saw that the edges were layered as if something had punched through a ream of

y becoming deep enough to allow her passage. Elena pushed forward and felt the familiar bump and swirl of lights as the Storm Chaser entered the cha

slowly allowed the channel to sink back to its normal depth. She didn't want to release it all at once in case it was damaged by he

eous and hollow. She glanced towards a sound in the doorway. Benjamin stood

aw the outline of a smaller ship behind them. Its design marked it as m

he covers and dashed to the bathroom. She managed to make it to the toilet before the contents of her stomach erupted out of her

shed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash. She gargled twice to remove the acid taste from the back of her mouth. Then with

if he was frowning or not. His features were veiled in shadow and h

to the side to let her pass, but she could feel him watching her as she moved down the hall. She closed her bedroom door behind her. Once

felt herself start to shake a little, but with an effort, she forced her breathing to cal

the dreams, Andre had been her partner. That changed when she first began to pull a

he voice for a moment. It didn't sound familiar. It was deep and definite

aid. The name didn't sound familiar. Elena wished she had not left her dream jo

itable writing instrument in the depths of the drawer. It seemed the nightstand became the repository of pencils with no points and pens with no

thing else changed there, but shipboard was ano

was new and sounded more like a cry than actual words. Two things struck her abou

the rag doll he held. Elena shivered. She listed child on the notepad and then added radio to the list. In every dream before this one, she noticed

had not bothered naming their scouting ships, a sign of ill luck in her mind. "Maybe they will star

was demolished when only half of the ship made it

see Thompson standing on the following ship. This time it had been destroyed and she knew all aboard were lost. A soft knock on her door

t the mug to her. Elena reached out to take it, not because she wanted the t

ou, " sh

so I tend to carry a few of the tea bags when I travel to places with unknown foods." For some reason the thought struck Elena as fu

wake the others,

in her chuckles. It was hard to tell in the h

owing her mirth and wrapping

d for a moment the situation seemed oddly intimate. Thompson blinked and backed away, as though realizing it

herself and realized she was frowning into her tea. She inhaled the scent of peppermint and was forced to admit that the mint and the heat were helpful. She t

. Even when he saved her life from Therese's careening

more intimate than normal. The lack of light, whispering like co-conspirators in order to avoid waking the others, the fact that even though y

, letting her eyes scan the list as she continued to sip her tea. The words she listed as bull

hat she was a little nervous about going back to sleep. She placed the empty mug, notepad and pen on the nightstand and turned o