Buono sat in the bow, stuffing bread in his mouth as the other men rowed. He watched the sand bar at Chioggia slip past on his right and realized that he had never been so far from home in his life. Every beat of the oars brought him still farther. He knew he would have to pull an oar himself soon. For now, Buono watched green hills and sand beaches roll by as he left Ravenna and Venice further and further behind.
“You’re the new man,” a cheerful voice behind him said.
Buono turned. He saw a tanned and care-lined face surrounded by grey-shot hair. The other man’s beard was bushy and untrimmed. He wore a soft black cap and dull, dark robes.
“I’m Elihu. Physician. How did you fare against Achilles?”
Buono laughed. “You mean before he lifted me up over his head, or after? Didn’t you see?”
“No, no,” Elihu said, scratching the side of his nose with a long fingernail. “I never watch fighting if I can help it. I can tell enough from the results.”
“What do you see, physician?”
Elihu studied the marks on Buono’s face. “You stood too close to him. Let me have your left hand.”
“My chest hurts the most,” Buono said, “He–”
“Quiet,” Elihu ordered. He put his fingers on the vein in Buono’s wrist and counted the seconds to himself. “echad…shtayim…shalosh…arba…” Buono didn’t recognize the language.
“Fluttering. Like a bird with a broken wing,” Elihu said. “You shouldn’t drink so much.”
“You can tell I was drinking?”
“I can tell a lot of things. How did you hurt your kidney?”
“What?” Buono had to think about it. “Oh– that was before. Someone punched me.”
Elihu nodded slowly. “I didn’t think Achilles did that to you. From the look of your face, he was quite gentle.”
“Gentle?! He nearly crushed my heart!”
“Tch. Your heart is fine.” Elihu rummaged in a large bag. “I can give you a draught to help your bile. Drink plenty of clean water if you can get it. No more wine today.”
“All right,” Buono agreed.
“Close your eyes, please.”
Buono did it. An instant later he screamed–every cut and mark Achilles had made on his face was burning. The stabbing pain shot through his head and made his teeth rattle. He opened his eyes, and saw Elihu taking a white cloth away from his face.
“What — what was that?” Buono demanded.
“Try to keep your face clean,” Elihu answered. “And remember what I said about the water.”
“What are you?” Buono asked. “Some kind of sorcerer?”
“Tch. You’re smarter than that, I think. By the way, you owe me a denarius.”
“I haven’t–”
“Don’t worry,” Elihu said, “Master Achilles will take it from your pay. Shalom! Welcome aboard the ship Sant’Agata.”