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before the Reduction. He’s the one who found those wild horses a few years back. The giant ones all the Luddites around here have?” Bess rolled her eyes. “What Pen wouldn’t do to get his hands on one of those horses. But Innovation won’t sell him one, no matter what. I should know—I’ve been the recipient of all Pen’s anger when he gets Captain Innovation’s latest rejection letter. You know what they say—‘kill the messenger.’ Or the scribe, in my case.”
    “Ever think about reading it wrong and telling him he can have a horse?” Kai joked.
    Bess smiled at the thought. “Yeah, but then who would get the beating when it doesn’t show up? Not Innovation, that’s for sure. And it seems Innovation’s rich enough without Pen’s business.”
    Kai put his hand against the hull for support as surprise and envy coursed through his system.
    This man, this Innovation, was an explorer . He’d been off the island . He was rich. Rich on his own .
    “That’s why Pen wants in this race. Each entrant is contributing to the prize pool and Innovation has put up one of his best horses. Guess Pen figures it’s his only way to get his hands on one.”
    “The usual scare tactics didn’t work?”
    “Sometimes,” Bess said ruefully, “I think Nicodemus Innovation is the only Post in the enclave who isn’t afraid of Pen.”
    That settled it. Kai needed to learn more about this man as soon as possible.
    “So about the boat—” Bess was saying.

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    “Yes.” Kai waved a distracted hand in her direction. “It’ll be in fine shape for the race. Won’t make Pen an expert skipper, though. I grew up near the Boatwright Estate, so I’ve seen what it takes to pilot a ship.” Kai was no expert either, but he’d always wanted to learn. Unfortunately, the Boatwright’s shipyards had been shut down since he was a child. “I don’t think he’s got anyone to help him there.”
    Though, Kai thought, it wasn’t as if this was a sailing race, where the skipper’s ability to read the water and the wind was all-important. In a motorboat race, it took only an understanding of the physics of moving on water and the ability to make the engine work harder.
    “No, I suppose not,” Bess said, frowning. “That’s some relief, at least, though I suppose in my condition I shouldn’t be hoping something happens to sour his mood. Most folks I know are dying to see him brought down in some way. If only we dared, right? Maybe if we weren’t so valuable to him, he would let us go.”
    “He’ll never let us go,” Kai grumbled. “If we’re not valuable to him as a mechanic and a scribe, he’ll keep us around for brute labor. And when we’re not valuable for that— Well, there’s always chum.”
    Bess squeezed her eyes shut, and Kai bit his tongue. That’s right: Pen had killed Sid just to show his power. Sid had been a good laborer, but he’d been far more valuable to Pen dead, as an example of how ruthless a master Pen could be. And though Kai didn’t really think Pen would kill Bess’s baby, he had no doubt their master would use the child to keep the woman under his thumb.
    “I can’t stand it anymore, Kai,” she whispered. “I can’t stand it. He always wins, no matter what. Just once, I’d like to see him lose, the way we’ve lost … everything.”
    “So, what?” Kai blurted. “You want me to sabotage him?”

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    She touched the hull, then lifted her eyes to Kai’s face. For the first time ever, Kai read hope on her face. “Can you do that?”
    Making themselves worthless was no way to escape from Pen’s control. The only option was making themselves even more precious than ever. Precious enough for others to notice.
    He shook his head once, very slowly. “I’m not going to make Pen lose, Bess. I’m going to make him win.”

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