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great Poseidon,” he said to counter Gracus’s compliment to his skill in sailing. “This land dweller knows nothing of the powers of your seas. Do not vent your anger at his ignorance upon myself and my poor ship.”
    The two men took their midday meal together in a tavern, and Gracus regaled his friend with tales of life in the barracks with his oddly assorted family.
    â€œSo you wish to bring your cats along with us,” Alexos remarked as Gracus finished his cup of wine.
    â€œIs there something amiss?”
    The Greek sea captain grinned, making his face even more hideous to look upon. “Not at all. In fact, I shall be pleased to have your cats aboard, for this time I sail with a full shipload of grain.”
    Gracus raised his eyebrows. “And you do not wish to sail with a shipload of mice and rats.”
    Alexos nodded. “Your cats will be more welcome, actually, than yourselves. For I shall not have to feed them.” He laughed.
    The men parted and Gracus hurried back to his quarters, well pleased with finding not just a very capable captain with whom to sail, but a friend of many years.
    Early the next morning Gracus flicked the reins across the back of his horse, and his chariot caught the first rays of the rising sun.
    Behind the chariot came another horse pulling a small cart with Citus, Polla, and the three cats in their basket.
    â€œSo that’s what we looked like as we entered the outlying parts of Lepcis Magna,” Kezia commented, admiring the gleaming chariot, polished and bearing Gracus as befitted a warrior. “I wish all of the city could have seen us in our grandeur!”
    Abishag settled herself to sleep in the basket while Kezia and Ira stood with their front paws upon the basket rim, looking at the sights. At least we are now started on our way again. I hope we are still following the prophecies correctly. It has been so long since Ptolemy first taught me, I fear forgetting some of his directions.
    Gracus’s few possessions and the fewer yet of his servant and slave filled only part of the cart bed. In the darkest corner of the cart Asmodeus crouched beneath a wineskin. Finally, a taste of adventure once again. A few other rats should be on board, and they may have many amusing tales with which to regale me. And if the seafaring life suits me, I will abandon my post of nursemaid to these country simpletons and remain aboard. Ah, the exotic foods I may yet sample!
    Aboard the Oceanos , Gracus and Polla were given a cabin next to Alexos’s captain’s quarters. Citus would bunk with the seamen, either above or belowdecks depending upon the weather. The weather itself would determine whether their passage was easy or difficult, as well as the duration of their voyage.
    Several of the sailors muttered among themselves when they first spied Citus carrying the basket of cats aboard. Alexos, who saw more with his one good eye than most captains who still had both, noticed this. Unrest among my sailors? Ah, again those two I but recently signed. Well, I shall not be sorry if they find another ship once we reach Tyre, for I am heartily tired of their whispers and moans. I will deal with this on the morrow.
    At dawn the next day the ship was fully loaded with her cargo of grain and passengers. Alexos poured wine for all aboard and then carefully poured the first cup into the harbor water, asking Poseidon for a safe journey and fair weather. He next lifted his own wine cup and poured a few drops onto the plate Citus used to feed the cats.
    â€œAnd your blessing, O mighty Poseidon, on these your servants also, for they will rid my ship of vermin, and I shall bring rich gifts to your temple in Tyre.” Sailors stared as Ira sauntered up to the plate and stuck his tongue into the wine drops.
    â€œYou must take a sip, too,” he hissed at his foster sisters. “Otherwise, we will offend their gods and the sailors will fear punishment for the entire