The Mad Voyage of Prince Malock Read Online Free PDF Page A

guess you Destanians don't have stomachs of steel after all. Let me clean this
up. I'll get you some water and after that you should take a nap.
You need it.”
    ***

Chapter Two
     
    O ver the next few days, Kinker spent all of
his time in bed, being tended to by Telka. He saw no other
visitors. None of the other sailors came down to visit or see him,
although he often heard them bustling by in the hall outside, going
to and fro, perhaps doing chores. He figured Malock had ordered the
crew to leave him alone until he was better, but that just made him
feel a little depressed because he had no one to talk to except
Telka. And Telka was not a very interesting conversationalist.
    It wasn't that Telka was an uninteresting man. The
doctor had apparently worked on ships his whole life, having been
the son of two famous ship's doctors from the island of Shika. He
claimed to have been a student of the great doctor Ashef and had an
almost encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, magical healing methods,
and how the body worked.
    That sounded fine and dandy to Kinker, but for
whatever reason, Telka refused to answer any of Kinker's questions
about the ship, its crew, or anything else relating to the voyage.
Every time the conversation turned toward those questions, Telka
would immediately shut up and check Kinker's pulse or give him
another bowl of that lime fish soup (which Kinker now knew to take
in small servings).
    Another thing Kinker noticed was how unprepared
Telka appeared, despite supposedly being a good doctor. His medical
cabinets were either bare or full of bottles and equipment that
didn't look like any medical supplies Kinker had ever seen. Once,
looking over Telka's shoulder as the doctor searched for some
medicine to soothe Kinker's sore throat, he spotted a bottle of red
juice with the label 'MEDICINE' on it and its cap missing. Red
juice wasn't a medicine, as far as Kinker knew, so he had no idea
what it was doing inside a doctor's medical cabinet.
    That was when he remembered that the ship had
already been through so much on this voyage. Though he had not seen
any other patients, Kinker figured that sickness and injuries must
be pretty common on board this ship. Maybe Telka had used up most
of his medical supplies taking care of them. There was still so
much Kinker didn't know and so much Telka refused to tell him that
Kinker found himself growing increasingly restless.
    That restlessness wasn't the only reason he found it
difficult to sleep. The mattress was uncomfortable and rough. The
sheets were surprisingly clean, but they still smelled faintly of
dried blood, puke, and other bodily fluids, like everything else in
the medical room. At night, Kinker didn't get much sleep. Often
he'd stay awake, the horrible scents filling his nostrils,
listening to the wind and waves that beat against the lee of the
ship. He was used to sleeping on ships, but for whatever reason, he
just couldn't sleep on this one.
    Finally, on the third day after Kinker awoke, Telka
declared him ready to work. Kinker knew that already. He had
recovered quite speedily the day after speaking with Malock, but
until today the doctor had argued for caution and so held him back
for two days. That was annoying, but when Kinker remembered that he
wasn't looking forward to whatever work Malock had planned for him,
it was easier to take.
    Telka left to find Malock, returning about five
minutes later. The prince looked much the same as he always did,
except more frazzled and annoyed, like he hadn't got much sleep
himself. He stood near the door, arms folded across his chest,
impatiently waiting while Kinker got out of bed and got
dressed.
    Because Kinker had no clothes of his own, Telka gave
Kinker a ratty pea coat, thin white shirt, and rough pants to
compensate, as well as some leather boots to cover his feet. The
outfit was a tight fit, but as they didn't have anything else for
him to wear, Kinker didn't complain.
    When Kinker finished buttoning his pea