ground pull away. When Chaz and Vilaris joined me, we
hopped out through the gash and hustled off into the shadows, even
as the deck began to ring out with the sounds of the cops’
boots.
Taking cover behind a nearby airship, we waited for
Blaylocke. I figured he’d build up the gumption to disembark sooner
or later. It turned out to be sooner. When we saw him hit the
ground, we waved our hands and whispered insults at him until we
got his attention.
The last time I ever laid eyes on her, The
Secant’s Clarity was putting on a brave performance, making her
cumbersome rise from the floater and giving the cops a bear of a
time trying to bring her back down. She drifted backward through
the sea of ships at rest, bouncing off hulls and masts until she’d
risen high enough to clear them. I wondered how long it was going
to take those law-lovers to figure out we were using the ballonets
for hot-air lift instead of cold-air ballast. Thinking about it
still makes me laugh.
Vilaris led us to the far outskirts of the airfield.
We were so close to the aft of the floater that it felt like the
stream was going to suck me off the edge if I didn’t keep two feet
on the ground. The city lights were distant and diffused, lost in a
haze of nighttime clouds. I searched the sky for the Clarity , but either she’d been swept away into the gloom, or
the cops had grounded her somewhere in the airfield.
It was there, on that remote corner of Mallentis,
that we first met the Galeskimmer and her crew. She was a
beauty of a streamboat, slender and flat-bottomed, with a pair of
silver turbines and a single sail for riding with the wind. Nothing
close to the size or power of my Ostelle —she was even
shorter than The Secant’s Clarity —but for our purposes,
she’d serve just fine.
We had only the clothes on our back and the
belongings in our bags. It was a good thing, too, as we soon found
out. The Galeskimmer had only one deck and twice as many
crewmembers as the Clarity . Now that we were coming aboard,
she’d have triple the Clarity ’s crew, in total.
“These are my friends,” Vilaris said when we
arrived, flushed and out of breath.
“Captain Sable Brunswick, at your service.” The
voice was strong, bolder somehow than the mouse of a woman who
owned it. She was short and thin, all pep and sparkle as she swung
down from the deck and gave us a low bow that felt excessive under
the circumstances. Her hair was tied back in a simple dirty-blond
braid beneath the plumed tricorn she removed when she greeted us.
The vest she wore was loose, and the pants that looked as though
they had once hugged her slender hips were roomy.
“ Acting … Captain,” said the elderly fellow
who emerged after her. He was tall and sinewy, his mouth puckered
up tight beneath a snowy white beard, his clothes in need of
mending.
Sable gave the old man a look, her blue eyes as
sharp as daggers. “Allow me to introduce Landon Scofield, the Galeskimmer ’s quartermaster and a constant thorn in my
side,” she told us. “We hear you’re in need of a lift.”
She was looking at me, so I answered. “If she’s
fast. Looks like she’s got it where it counts.”
The Captainess smirked. “Who… me, or the ship?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, lady,” I said. “There’ll be
plenty of time for me to tell you how great you are, if you can
prove it.”
“I’ve never been one for games, Mr…”
I gave Vilaris a sideways look. “Call me
Nordstrom.”
Sable wasn’t fooled. “Well Mr. Nordstrom, I don’t
like games, so let’s put it all out on the table, shall we? I think
you’d better take a look at this.”
She shoved a sheet of curled parchment toward me. I
took it from her and unrolled it. There I was, WANTED. They’d even
included my middle name. I didn’t even know I had a middle
name. Thanks to those law-loving parents of mine, the whole stream
knew it now.
“This is a terrible picture,” I said. “Who’d the
Civs hire to draw
hopped out through the gash and hustled off into the shadows, even
as the deck began to ring out with the sounds of the cops’
boots.
Taking cover behind a nearby airship, we waited for
Blaylocke. I figured he’d build up the gumption to disembark sooner
or later. It turned out to be sooner. When we saw him hit the
ground, we waved our hands and whispered insults at him until we
got his attention.
The last time I ever laid eyes on her, The
Secant’s Clarity was putting on a brave performance, making her
cumbersome rise from the floater and giving the cops a bear of a
time trying to bring her back down. She drifted backward through
the sea of ships at rest, bouncing off hulls and masts until she’d
risen high enough to clear them. I wondered how long it was going
to take those law-lovers to figure out we were using the ballonets
for hot-air lift instead of cold-air ballast. Thinking about it
still makes me laugh.
Vilaris led us to the far outskirts of the airfield.
We were so close to the aft of the floater that it felt like the
stream was going to suck me off the edge if I didn’t keep two feet
on the ground. The city lights were distant and diffused, lost in a
haze of nighttime clouds. I searched the sky for the Clarity , but either she’d been swept away into the gloom, or
the cops had grounded her somewhere in the airfield.
It was there, on that remote corner of Mallentis,
that we first met the Galeskimmer and her crew. She was a
beauty of a streamboat, slender and flat-bottomed, with a pair of
silver turbines and a single sail for riding with the wind. Nothing
close to the size or power of my Ostelle —she was even
shorter than The Secant’s Clarity —but for our purposes,
she’d serve just fine.
We had only the clothes on our back and the
belongings in our bags. It was a good thing, too, as we soon found
out. The Galeskimmer had only one deck and twice as many
crewmembers as the Clarity . Now that we were coming aboard,
she’d have triple the Clarity ’s crew, in total.
“These are my friends,” Vilaris said when we
arrived, flushed and out of breath.
“Captain Sable Brunswick, at your service.” The
voice was strong, bolder somehow than the mouse of a woman who
owned it. She was short and thin, all pep and sparkle as she swung
down from the deck and gave us a low bow that felt excessive under
the circumstances. Her hair was tied back in a simple dirty-blond
braid beneath the plumed tricorn she removed when she greeted us.
The vest she wore was loose, and the pants that looked as though
they had once hugged her slender hips were roomy.
“ Acting … Captain,” said the elderly fellow
who emerged after her. He was tall and sinewy, his mouth puckered
up tight beneath a snowy white beard, his clothes in need of
mending.
Sable gave the old man a look, her blue eyes as
sharp as daggers. “Allow me to introduce Landon Scofield, the Galeskimmer ’s quartermaster and a constant thorn in my
side,” she told us. “We hear you’re in need of a lift.”
She was looking at me, so I answered. “If she’s
fast. Looks like she’s got it where it counts.”
The Captainess smirked. “Who… me, or the ship?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, lady,” I said. “There’ll be
plenty of time for me to tell you how great you are, if you can
prove it.”
“I’ve never been one for games, Mr…”
I gave Vilaris a sideways look. “Call me
Nordstrom.”
Sable wasn’t fooled. “Well Mr. Nordstrom, I don’t
like games, so let’s put it all out on the table, shall we? I think
you’d better take a look at this.”
She shoved a sheet of curled parchment toward me. I
took it from her and unrolled it. There I was, WANTED. They’d even
included my middle name. I didn’t even know I had a middle
name. Thanks to those law-loving parents of mine, the whole stream
knew it now.
“This is a terrible picture,” I said. “Who’d the
Civs hire to draw
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