Eden's Jester Read Online Free PDF

 
    “I would expect Death to know more about those whom he visits,” he said.
    “I’m sure he does. But I don’t, and he rarely tells me anything. He’s a cagey sort of fellow, you know?” I said.
    “I don’t. That would be between him and you, as the details of this ship are between my superior and me, and between my crew and me.”
    This guy was either crazy or very well adjusted. I suppose there is little difference when all is said and done. Still, I was impressed by his courage.
    “You’re pretty spunky for a man who just met someone like me,” I said.
    “I am a man. I am not a fool. I’ve been prepared for this day.”
    “Huh. And your crew?”  
    His eyes narrowed.  
    “I choose them personally. They have to be men I can trust and count on. They have to be men of faith.”
    “And why is that?” I asked.
    “Information is valuable, and we ride rough waters.” He mustered a glare. “And you never know when pirates, or worse, might board you.”  
    “Sounds like they need guns, not faith,” I said.
    “The seas are strange. We wander into waters most men couldn’t fathom. We have to believe in our mission, or we end up in the wrong port.”
    That didn’t make any sense. “The sea is the sea. Men have been on it from the beginning,” I said.
    “You obviously have not. Permit me a moment to explain.” He walked to a small desk in the center of the bridge, opened a drawer and pulled out a roll of paper. He flipped it from one end with an easy snap of his wrist, and a chart of the Caribbean Sea draped over the desk like a tablecloth. He pointed to a red circle near Bermuda.  
    “Once, we tailed a freighter in the Caribbean making for the West Indies. The ship ran less than a mile ahead. Without any warning, the seas turned white and heaved as if God himself had pulled the plug. The freighter vanished to the bottom, but left us untouched.”
    “What was it?” I asked.
    “A methane bubble. Millions of cubic feet of gas released from ice down deep. The ship rides the sea one minute and finds herself with nothing but foul smelling gas below her hull the next. It can happen anywhere, any time.
    “My men saw it. They crossed that very same stretch of sea that day, and have crossed it many times since. They are good men. They believe in our mission. They know it’s important.” A look of defiance sparked within his soul. “You’re not going to harm them, are you?”  
    I extended my senses to encompass the rest of the vessel. Eleven more souls were there. All of them had the same solid inner fiber as this man. He chose his men well.
    “Captain,” I said, for now I could see that he was, “that’s a hard question and is really determined by forces far greater than I, whom they shall meet in about one minute.”
    He breathed a few deep breaths and straightened his uniform.
    “What is your name, agent of Death?” he asked.
    “It’s Elson. Why?”
    The captain thought it over for a moment, then grinned.  
    “Then I’m certainly not afraid of you,” he said, “no matter what your intent.”
    I thought about what he could mean, and came up empty.  
    “I don’t get the name magic. What’s your name?”
    “Richard.”
    I considered that, looking for some meaning.  
    “Nope. I get nothing. Your name doesn’t mean anything to me.”
    He laughed. “That’s because those who gave it to me didn’t know any better.”
    I had no idea what this guy was talking about, but time was up. I reached into the fuel tanks and, like the elemental had done, blew a little ether to release all their stored energy in one instant, incinerating the ship and all aboard.

CHAPTER FOUR

    I had met few men who could stare down death. Killing them was no fun. The Captain Richard affair--as I would come to call it--made me think of an old friend I owed a visit.  
    Three groups had taught me most of what I know. Elementals taught me about energy and matter. Engineers that I spied on taught me tactics.