Mad Ship
The Liveship Traders
Chapter One
The Liveship Ophelia
Althea's watch was over; her time was now her own. She was tired,
but pleasantly so. The spring afternoon had been almost balmy. It
was rare for the season to be this kindly and Althea had enjoyed it.
The Ophelia herself had been in an expansive mood all day. The
liveship had made the sailors' tasks easy, moving northward toward
home with a will. She was a ponderous old cog, now heavy with goods
from a successful trading journey. The early evening wind was gentle
rather than brisk, but Ophelia's sails caught every breath of it.
She slid effortlessly through the waves. Althea leaned on the
forward rail, watching the beginning of the sunset off the port bow.
Home was only a few days away.
"Mixed feelings?" Ophelia asked her with a throaty chuckle. The
buxom figurehead gave her a knowing glance over her bared shoulder.
"You know you are right," Althea conceded. "About everything.
Nothing in my life makes sense anymore." She began to tick her
confusions off on her fingers. "Here I am, serving as first on a
liveship ... read full excerpt from Mad Ship ebook
