Page 80 of A Flash of Golden Fire

“Unfortunately, we lost one to…” I cleared my throat, “A delicious dinner. Her name was Guinevere, may she rest in peace.”

I crossed myself and blinked back a tear.

There was a strange noise that sounded like a sneeze but that I realized was Squid giving a stifled laugh that had mostly come through his nose. He dropped his hand and broke out chortling in earnest now, and I thought that a bit too much, actually. A chortle, sure. A laugh, I’d accept. But he was enjoying the story far too much. He put a hand on the corner of the wooden pen to support himself as the chickens clucked in a disapproval that mirrored my own.

“Hmm,” I said, regarding him with distaste. “For a fellow named Squid, you’ve got a lot of cheek laughing at the names of my chickens.”

I put Elizabeth down and picked up Henrietta. “I shan’t tell you their names. Not if you’re going to laugh at them.”

Squid shook his head and tried to rein in his hilarity. “I’m not… I’m not laughing at the…chickens,” he sputtered. “I’m laughing atyou, Officer White.”

He proceeded to clutch at his chest as he gasped for breath and laughed harder.

“Or should I say, Rooster?”

I glared at the man.

“Perhaps you should say goodbye,” I said. “If the captain heard you making fun of me in this way, he’d turf you over the side.”

I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. He might just join in.

Squid sobered at that and reached out to me. “I’m so sorry. I really am. I promise to address you as Officer White henceforth. Please don’t send me back to theLantern…”

“I shall try to be the better man.”

“It’s only,” Squid said, with a hint of emotion, “that’s the first time I’ve laughed in—” He looked down at his hand and counted his fingers. “—one, two, three years.”

I gaped at him. “You haven’t laughed in three years? That’s terrible.”

“Yes. It has been.”

My attitude immediately softened.

“I would… I would love to hold…Elizabeth…if I may?” he said.

“Of course.”

I introduced Squid to every one of those chickens and then to the goats, explaining how troublesome the goats were compared to the chickens. As if to prove my point, when I opened the gate to the goat pen, one of the mad creatures pushed past between me and Squid, bawling and scrambling across the hold as if escaping certain death.

“Oh fuck!” I said, shutting the gate and taking off after the errant creature, followed by the sound of Squid’s scuffing boots as he joined me in the chase. “Fuck, he’s going up on deck,” I exclaimed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Squid’s laughter behind me indicated that he was not upset about this development in the least.

The goat—Lilith, of course—ran up the narrow steps past two crew members who cursed and threw me annoyed glares.

“Jesus Christ, White, get your fucking animal!”

“She ain’t mine,” I protested, running up the steps, closely followed by Squid who said, “Excuse me, excuse me,” so many times I began to see the amusement in this ridiculous escapade.

As we followed the goat up on deck, I caught Captain Martin’s annoyed look when he saw her. But before I could apologize or tell him to get off my fucking back, Squid shoved me aside and launched himself like a torpedo after Lilith.

I struggled to keep my balance and braced my hands on my thighs, breathing hard from all the running, and watched Squid go. Unbelievably, as Lilith was quite fast when she was on the run, Squid managed to get past her and cut her off just as she was heading for the steps up to the forecastle.

“Ho!” Squid yelled, then dove for the animal, who skidded on the slick boards as she tried to avoid him. They crashed to the deck in a cacophony of noises—Squid’s grunts of exertion and, no doubt, pain, and the goat’s squeals of astonishment.

Lilith brayed and moaned as if she were being murdered. Squid yelled for some rope. One of the crew threw him a length, and he soon had her captured. How he kept himself from strangling the damned thing, I’ll never know.

A round of applause greeted Squid’s prowess as he stood there regarding me in triumph, holding the end of the rope while Lilith pulled to get away again. She bleated helplessly and then quieted.