The slow progress back along the spar was a nightmare, then Kira had to grasp the shrouds leading higher up even as the pitching of the ship tried to throw her into space. The rigging was slick with water and blood from the torn hands of the crew, but everyone went, feeling the motion getting worse the higher they climbed.

Kira knew her hands were trembling with fatigue and fear, but she kept moving. Her mother had told her that. Sometimes the worst thing you could do was stop, because then you'd never get moving again. And her mother should certainly know. The part of Kira that had envied her mother's adventures looked out upon the raging seas, blinked away the wind-driven sheets of rain, and realized that her mother had spoken the truth when she'd denied enjoying them. "Sometimes I've been so scared I couldn't breathe." Knowing the things her mother had done, Kira had never believed her mother could truly have been afraid, but now Kira watched herself climbing higher while the storm tore at her, while icy claws of fear dug into her guts, and realized just how frightened her mother must have been at such times.

Along the spar again, Kira's temper rose at the blind fury of the storm, somehow warming her and giving her the strength to keep working to help reef the topsail, reducing its area enough to bring down the strain on the mast to bearable levels.

Done. The mast swung in a wild arc, almost pitching her off again. Kira clung to her holds and yelled once more. "Everyone back down! Get on deck! Be careful!"

The absurdity of her last comment was lost in a surging wave of terror as the mast whipped around again. Kira tried to move her hands and couldn't. They were locked onto their holds and refused to release. She clung there, frozen with fear, wondering how long it would be before the strength in her hands failed and she was hurled out into the sky.

Someone was tugging at her. Kira turned her head and saw Jason there, one hand pulling at her arm. He was shouting, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Come on, Kira!"

How could he think she could do this?

But Jason wasn't going to move until she did.

Kira made a tremendous effort and one of her hands came free to reach for the next hand hold. Jason backed along the spar with her until they reached the shrouds, then they started down the ratlines, the water thrown into their faces beginning to taste of salt again as wind-driven spray from the sea mixed with the rain.