Leashing the Tempest Read Online Free PDF Page A

shore?” the man said, pointing to the windows, where there was nothing but ocean and storm clouds. “We’re going away from the shore, not toward it, little man.”
    That did it.
    Lon recognized Jupe’s intentions a second before I did and loudly warned his son, “Don’t you dare!”
    But it was too late.
    Jupe had gritted his teeth and was already blurting out something that was more a general expression of frustration than a command: “Shut up and sit down, you . . .” Jupe paused, searching for words in the middle of using his knack, finally selecting what was in all probability the least offensive of the putdowns he was juggling. “Brainless idiot.”
    A dazed look spread over the captain’s face. His mouth slackened. Shoulders went limp. Halo grew smaller. A moment later, he sank to the floor and sat.
    The cabin was silent as we watched him, waiting to see what would happen. After a few seconds, I walked over to the man and waved my hand in his face. “Captain Christie? Can you hear me?”
    No response. He just stared ahead with glazed-over eyes.
    Lon squatted next to me and, in turns, shook the man’s shoulders and called out his name. When it was clear the captain wasn’t coming around, Lon muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    Jupe made a small noise, just as surprised as the rest of us. “Uh-oh.”
    â€œGodammit,” Lon complained. “What the hell have you done to him?”
    â€œCrap. I don’t know. He can’t literally be brainless . . . can he?”
    â€œYou’d better sure as shit hope not. What did I tell you about using your knack?” Jupe gritted his teeth in embarrassment as Lon plowed on, not waiting for an answer. “I told you to ask permission and never use it on strangers.”
    â€œHe’s not a stranger. And I’m sorry, but he was being—”
    â€œThis is not a joke, ” Lon barked. “You can’t go around using it without thinking.”
    â€œOkay, okay,” Jupe said, scratching the side of his neck. “I’ll fix it. Give me a second.”
    â€œYes, you damn well will.”
    â€œHold on. Let’s think about this carefully,” I said, stepping between the two of them. “You didn’t ‘make’ him brainless, Jupe. You must’ve just tricked his mind into believing that he’s, well—”
    â€œDumb,” Kar Yee said. “You turned him into an imbecile. But let’s be honest—it wasn’t a very far trip.”
    I shot Kar Yee a not-helping look. “What’s done is done. Let’s just get him back to normal.”
    After a few minutes of heated debate, we settled on the best way to counter the captain’s condition, and Jupe geared up for another try. “Captain Christie, you will forget my last command and return to your normal state.”
    Nothing.
    He tried again. “Captain Christie, you are not a brainless idiot. You can speak and function as you did when you walked down here.”
    Nope.
    â€œCaptain Christie, you want to talk and stand up and you aren’t a brainless idiot.”
    He tried three more times, variations on the same message, but nothing registered. The captain just stared blankly across the room, unmoving.
    â€œOh, God,” Jupe moaned.
    â€œMaybe you need to cool down and try again in a few minutes,” I said, squeezing his shoulder for encouragement. “Let’s all just stay calm and wait it out. Everything’s going to be fine.”
    But as we waited, staring at the mute captain like he was a pot of water heating to boil, the light inside the salon began to dim. After a couple of minutes, a steady rain stippled the cabin windows and pattered against the hull.
    Not good.
    And if anyone had any doubts about what was transpiring outside, Kar Yee vocalized our fears. “Guess the captain’s cloudbusting knack