Fritz Leiber - Ship of Shadows

Spar bit cleanly through his wrist lashings and immediately doubled over to bite his ankles loose.

Crown dove at him. Pausing to draw knives, the four girls did the same.

Phanette, Doucette, and Rixende went limp. Spar had the impression that small black balls had glanced from their skulls.

There wasn’t time to bite his feet loose, so he straightened. Crown hit his chest as Almodie hit his feet.

Crown and Spar giant-swung around the shroud. Then Almodie had cut Spar’s ankles loose. As they spun off along the tangent, Spar tried to knee Crown in the groin, but Crown twisted and evaded the blow as they moved toward the inboard wall.

There was the snick of Crown’s knife unfolding. Spar saw the dark wrist and grabbed it. He butted at Crown’s jaw. Crown evaded. Spar set his teeth in Crown’s neck and bit.

Blood covered Spar’s face, spurted over it. He spat out a hunk of flesh. Crown convulsed. Spar fought off the knife. Crown went limp. That the pressure in a man should work against him.

Spar shook the blood from his face. Through its beads, he saw Keeper and Kim side by side. Almodie was clutching his ankles. Phanette, Doucette, Rixende floated.

Keeper said proudly, “I shot them with my gun for drunks. I knocked them out. Now I’ll cut their throats, if you wish.”

Spar said, “No more throat-cutting. No more blood.” Shaking off Almodie’s hands, he took off for Doc, picking up Doucette’s floating knife by the way.

He slashed Doc’s lashings and cut the gag from his face.

Meanwhile Kim hissed, “Sstole and ssecreted Keeper’s sscrip from the boxx. Ashshured him you sstole it, Sspar. You and Ssuzzy. Sso he came. Keeper izz a shshlemiel.”

Keeper said, “I saw Suzy’s foot going into the big chewer. I knew it by its anklet of hearts. After that I had the courage to kill Crown or anyone. I loved Suzy.”

Doc cleared his throat and croaked, “Moonmist.” Spar found a triple pouch and Doc sucked it all. Doc said, “Crown spoke the truth. Windrush is a plastic survival ship from Earth. Earth—” He motioned toward the dull orange round disappearing aft in the window “—poisoned herself with smog pollution and with nuclear war. She spent gold for war, plastic for survival. Best forgotten. Windrush went mad. Understandably. Even without the Lethean rickettsia, or Styx ricks, as you call it. Thought Windrush was the cosmos. Crown kidnapped me to get my drugs, kept me alive to know the doses.”

Spar looked at Keeper. “Clean up here,” he ordered. “Feed Crown to the big chewer.”

Almodie pulled herself from Spar’s ankles to his waist. “There was a second survival ship. Circumluna. When Windrush went mad, my father and mother—and you—were sent here, to investigate and cure. But my father died and you got Styx ricks. My mother died just before I was given to Crown. She sent you Kim.”

Kim hissed, “My fforebear came from Circumluna to Windrush, too. Great grandmother. Taught me the ffigures for Windrushsh… Radiuss from moon-ccenter, 2,500 miles. Period, ssixx hours—sso, the sshort dayss. A terranth izz the time it takess Earth to move through a consstellation, and sso on.”

Doc said, “So, Spar, you’re the only one who remembers without cynicism. You’ll have to take over. It’s all yours, Spar.”

Spar had to agree.