One of the best things about writing the series Senta and the Steel Dragon is that Senta is really a different character in each book.  She starts at age 8 in book 1 (age 6 in book 0), and progresses to age 17 in book 5.  In The Voyage of the Minotaur, she really is kind of a goofy little kid.  One would hardly suspect from this book, were it not for the title of the series, that she was the main character.  Still, she has several great scenes in the story.  Arguably the best is this one, in which she encounters Mr. Maalik Murty.

She didn’t know how long she lay there, but eventually she had the feeling that someone else was there with her.  She opened her eyes to see a pasty-faced man with a very round face and horn-rimmed glasses looking down at her.  His hair was slicked down and oily looking and he had a pinched expression on his face that made his mouth look unnaturally small.  She looked at him for several moments and he looked back and blinked several times.

“Hello,” said Senta.

“Hello,” he replied.  “Are you all right?”

“I don’t know.”

The man smiled without showing his teeth.  His smile reached from his chin to the middle of his nose.  His eyes, magnified by glasses, stayed the same.  He had no facial hair or sideburns, but he had several small cuts on his face as if he had injured himself while shaving.  His suit was charcoal colored, and slightly shabby; something that Senta wouldn’t have noticed a few weeks before.

“Do you want to try getting up?” he asked.

“All right.”

Senta sat up and immediately threw up at the man’s feet.  Most of the vomit splattered across the wooden deck, though a bit of it ended up on his shoes and pants cuffs.

“Gawp,” said the dragon within his carrier.

The man’s mouth twitched to one side, but all he said was, “Feeling better?”

Senta nodded.

“Good,” he said.  “We should get you somewhere where you can get washed up.  Do you know how to get to your cabin from here?”

“No.”

“Then, I’ll take you to my cabin.”

“Um, I don’t know.”

“You wouldn’t want anyone to see you with vomit all over your shoes, would you?”

Senta looked down and, sure enough, she had gotten vomit on her own shoes too.  The man took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet.  She was still pretty wobbly.  He began to walk slowly along the deck, pulling her along with him. 

“Gawp,” said the dragon, louder.

They went in the doorway just behind the one through which Senta had exited, and walked down the corridor.  Senta started to feel a little better.  At the end of the hallway, a set of narrow steps led down to the lower deck.  Senta didn’t really want to go down, but the pasty-faced man had her hand firmly in his.

“Senta!”

Senta and the man both turned to see Miss Lusk walking down the hallway toward them.  Though she was the shortest of the women that had been at the dinner party that evening, Miss Lusk was almost the exact same height as the oily-haired man.  Her hat, which was a large straw affair covered in pink chiffon with a flower accent, made her seem a bit taller than him.

“Where are you going, Senta?” asked Miss Lusk.

“We were just going to get her cleaned up,” said the man.  “The poor thing got sick on deck and lost her dinner.”

“Good evening, Mr. Murty,”

“Good evening, Miss Lusk.”

“It was very kind of you to help out with a sick child.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” he replied.  They stood looking at each other for a very long moment.  Senta looked from one to the other.

“Well, we’ll go on and get the child cleaned up,” said Mr. Murty.

“I think I should take it from here.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to take the child below.”

“Wouldn’t be appropriate?” he asked.  “Why not?”

“Taking care of children isn’t a man’s job.”  Miss Lusk took Senta’s other hand and pulled until the child had both arms stretched out in either direction.

“I really don’t mind.  I love children,” said Mr. Murty.

“You’ll make quite a father one day, I’m sure.”

“Let me take her.”

“I’ll take care of her,” said Miss Lusk.  “I am a woman.”

“Yes, I keep forgetting,” said Mr. Murty, letting go of Senta’s hand.  “Um, what with your, um, mathematics skills and all.”

“Good night, Mr. Murty!” Miss Lusk hurried down the hall with the girl in tow.