A Tale of Two Airships (Take to the Skies Book 2) (4 page)

I scanned the dozens of airships parked in place in this backwater docking bay. However, before I caught a glimpse, Spade came racing up to us. Based on his wide eyes and the horror gripping him, I knew what he’d say before his mouth opened. The worst had already happened.

“Captain, the Desire—she’s gone.”

Chapter Four

Spade’s words echoed, but I couldn’t process the reality of what they meant. Instead, a buzzing spread through my mind, and my fingertips numbed as I stared at the docks, searching. Searching for my girl.

A parade of beat-up hulls and deflated, patched balloons passed under my gaze but none of them had the sleek hardwood and sturdy body of my home. The Desire’s class befit a more expensive ship, but her toughness fit the rabble living aboard. She’d signified Captain Morris for me in every way possible—I never doubted for a heartbeat why he’d chosen her years ago. And this ship, my inheritance from a man who left this world too early, was nowhere to be found.

Voices sounded around me, but my world tunneled into the line of ships along the ragged dock and honed in on the vacant spot. The reality hovered right out of reach. Hands shook my shoulders, but I ignored the motion, fixated on the emptiness.

A slap stung my cheek, followed by the flash of Isabella’s glassy eyes.

Tendrils of pain radiating from my skin tugged me from numb and back to the horror we’d stumbled upon. My girl was gone. For a heartbeat of a second, hope stole me away. Geoff and Adelle must’ve made a gut call to steer her clear of trouble, and my comm would be buzzing in a moment. However, the jump from those gypsies in the alley and Julian’s stalling tactics sent off too many telltale signs of trouble to latch onto delusions. While my heart strained in my chest, begging me buy the self-deception, I was Captain. Logic had to overrule my heart sometimes.

“Crew, let’s head to the end of the docks where the Desire had berthed. Spade, you didn’t get any communications from Geoff or Adelle?” I shot a glance to him. Spade shook his head, confirming my suspicions and the response shearing my insides in half. One step at a time. If I tried to process the ramifications of my missing ship and crew, I’d shut down. Crumble in a ball, and Geoff wouldn’t be there to pick up the pieces. Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed, hard, quickening my pace.

The space where she’d waited for me lay empty, but I didn’t see splinters in the water—her departure had been smooth. My imagination began to encroach, the treacherous bastard, so I forced it away. If those gypsy bastards did anything to harm my crew, I’d massacre the lot of them. They would suffer in ways I hadn’t yet discovered.

Isabella tensed her jaw, those unshed tears glistening in her eyes like dew. Mordecai strode around the perimeter, halting to scrutinize scuffs in the wood. Jack had sunk to the ground, his hands rifling through his hair. Spade—well, he stood there arms crossed over his suspenders and scanning the horizon, as if he might catch a glimpse of the Desire high in the skies. As for me, I couldn’t waste time. Every second I dithered, the gypsies got further away, and for the first time in my seven years, I was landed with no escape.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the barred up office where the docking master waited to collect payments on whatever ships slid into view. He’d better have some answers. My jaw clicked as I clenched it and marched to the door. This sort of rough and tumble place, he’d be pushing for coins if we wanted information, and he’d have a pistol nearby for the rowdier folks. Poor man, he’d never met me.

As I turned the knob, I flung the door open, hard, and Matilda came out to greet our docking master. The weasly man from this morning popped up in his seat, and though his hand jumped for his revolver, he stopped when cold steel bit into his temple.

“I’m not required to intervene.” He avoided my eyes and stammered.

I shook my head. Well now, someone had seen everything to the nails in the planks. “No, you’re not, and I’m in the interest of playing fair. All I’m requiring right here and now is you telling me what the hell happened.”

His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “I’d never seen tech before like it, but as the group of thieves advanced, they dropped a metal contraption that emitted a squeal—hurt my ears in a mighty way, even from here. Everyone on board dropped.”

“Dead?” I interjected, urgency squeezing my voice.

He chewed on his lip, wiping his sweaty palms down on his wrinkled trousers. “I don’t think they’d bother tying ‘em up if the crew was dead.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to keep my relief under wraps. “Did you recognize the attackers? Notice any details?”

Isabella stepped in view of the doorframe, her shadow in clear definition. “No need. My people were responsible.” Even though she held her chin high, shame colored her cheeks at the admission. Mordecai stepped past her and pressed a scarf into my hands, imprinted with the same line piercing through two arcs and interspersed with two dots. The one tattooed on the men who’d jumped us, and the one tattooed on Isabella’s ankle. Somewhere along the way we’d spit in her clan’s pudding.

“Any light to shed on why your people seized our girl?” I asked through gritted teeth. Though Isabella hadn’t up and stolen my ship, I couldn’t help the anger directing my tongue.

She gripped the doorframe tight as she shook her head. “All of this is a mystery to me. From the sparrow, to Julian’s appearance, and now to…this. When I left, I divorced myself from the narrow-minded group.”

The docking master’s hand began inching to his side while he thought I counted notches in the ceiling. Fool man didn’t realize I always paid attention, though at this point we wouldn’t find out any more from him. “We’re heading out. Don’t try anything funny,” I announced, keeping my pistol trained on him as we double-stepped out of his office. We strode down the docks to where Jack and Spade watched the horizon, their look of longing matching the feeling deep in my bones. 

So many of ours stuck on board and out of reach. My stomach tightened at the thought of little Adelle and Edwin tied and scared. At Seth in chains. And Geoff—my Geoff, out of reach. Nausea rode my senses, but I fought the impulse to contribute with the wretched stench of the docks and instead, gripped the wooden railing for support.

“Step one, we need to find a way to the skies again.” I stared out at the blue expanse, so far away from my reach right now. I’d skimmed my fingers through those clouds once upon a time, but here on land, I stood impotent. “Don’t suppose one of these fine folks would lend us one?”

“We don’t have near enough to consider renting either.” Spade’s hand jumped to the coin purse tied to his holster. He’d always been one of the grounding points, like Seth—one of the assurances our ship would run true. Seeing him stranded here on land pained me, like watching a fish flop on bone-dry planks, desperate to return to the sea.

Mordecai ran a hand through his long golden locks. “I’ve been through these streets aplenty. I might know some folks who could help.”

“Help us procure an airship or track down the Desire?” I lifted an eyebrow. “And let’s be up front about this, how much will they want in payment? Because we’re not overflowing with cash at the moment.”

Mordecai leaned against the wooden mooring point and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, talking to her can’t cost anything at least. She’s a bounty hunter.”

The gears started turning in my head again. Bounty hunters I could work with. After running bounty jobs for the captain over so many years, I understood their loyalties and motivations. Unlike merchants who tried to win your trust too early, bounty hunters had the same distrustful nature as us scavengers of the sky. They had no reason to help unless I gave them one, but given the right incentive, you then had an indispensible ally—for the duration of the bounty of course.

“Let’s meet your friend, Mordecai. The sooner we can get up in the skies, the sooner we can get our friends back.”

***

Sweat pricked the nape of my neck the moment the Shadow Ward started tromping us through the prissier section of town. Give me a bar brawl, cutthroats, thieves, and shambling hellhole bars any day. I’d prefer anything to the suffocating propriety on these streets. Not only that, but to say we stood out would pale the comparison. We were the beat-up, worn leather flats amidst a ballroom ensemble.

“Do we
have
to meet up with your friend here?” I whined as we walked along, talking to keep my mind away from worry. My guilt and shame waited in the dark corner of my mind I didn’t want to poke. The second I stepped foot into that darkness, I was more liable to find my way to the bottom of a bottle than out of this mess.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little class, Bea.” Mordecai passed me a half-lidded stare. “Even if you look like you crawled out of a trash heap, with enough high brow attitude no one will bother you here.”

“See that’s the exact sort of swagger I don’t like. Pissed off folks make me laugh, but pretentious sets my blood boiling.” I placed my hands on my hips while we strode through the streets. Auto-carts passed us with a groan and clank every couple of minutes or so, but the accompanying clouds of perfume blinded me so much I couldn’t make out the folks inside. I wheezed after a virulent strain of freesia and let it continue to fuel my foul mood. Right now I needed to punch someone, not to sit down for tea with some empty-headed upper class strumpet.

Isabella shook her head, a rueful smile curling her lips. “Darling, if you can get out of there without a fistfight, I’ll pay for the round.”

I snorted. “Never have I turned down a free drink.”

Our surroundings mutated as we walked, from the muck I deemed comfortable to a thick air of social rigidity a few towns over. The differences between Shantytown and Elizabeth surprised me to no degree, and in the span of an hour we’d crossed over into a different universe. No more piss-laden streets and officials looking the other way. In fact, on these posh, clean sidewalks, we were getting more than a couple glares from the frills-and-flash wearing families out for a stroll as well as the uniforms who cast a clear shade of dislike our way.

The bright sunlight glared on my shoulders, causing a prickle of irritation to enhance what already dwelled there. Spade’s silence weighed heavy with all the same worries the rest of crew’s hush held. Isabella and Mordecai attempted light discussion, but both avoided their normal rehash of old gypsy stories. As for Jack, his shoulders slumped and the concern wrinkled his brows, complementing the serious gravity around him.

Stepping up a couple paces, I slung an arm over his shoulders. “Why so grim, Jackie-boy?”

“I don’t get how the rest of you can be so cavalier.” His voice came out flat with worry and irritation. “Our home’s been stolen, and who knows how the crew fares? They could all be dead.”

His comments struck a chord with all of us, tapping into our inner fears. I caught the press of Isabella’s lips and the tightening of Mordecai’s jaw. Even though my ship sailed in the air without me, I was still Captain, and it was my job to maintain morale. Irritation flushed through me clear as the skies today. I grabbed Jack by the collar, forcing him to look my way.

“We’re cavalier because we have to be.” I lifted my chin and enacted the best Captain’s glare I could muster. “You’re part of this crew, which means you know better than to sink into the mire of fear and pity. Start acting like the man I know you can be. Clinging to fear wastes energy better spent getting our girl back and saving our crew—and we need all the energy we can get, because the second we descend on those gypsy bastards, they’ll wish the Desire never entered their crosshairs.”

Jack tensed his jaw, as if he would take a bite out of anyone in range. Good, I could use a tussle. However, the second his gaze swept my way, all the aggression melted out of him, and he let out a heaving sigh. “Won’t happen again, Captain.”

“And while we’re at it, let’s clear the air. Isabella and Mordecai, you don’t have to keep skirting around gypsy topics. Don’t you dare let yourselves feel a second of shame over those bastards’ actions. We all got duped, but we’re going to make it right.” Talking patched me up in a way brooding never would. As long as I kept running my mouth, I could focus on the present and avoid the gaping hole carved into my chest from the absence of our ship and crew.

Isabella threw an arm around my shoulders and gave a squeeze. “Yes, yes, my big, tough captain. We’ll give them hell.” With a smile on her face, she tapped her head against mine before heading back to keep pace with Mordecai.

Though I itched to punch something, her small action sent a tendril of comfort through me, enough to settle myself down. A plan hovered right out of reach, but focus kept evading me at the moment. Our number one priority was taking to the skies once more, because down here we were screwed. Particularly in this infested country, where at any turn we could run into a redcoat or Morlock. Without the Desire, we’d have no getaway.

Our boots clacked along the polished cobblestone as Mordecai made a right turn, leading us down a narrower street, this one crammed with shopfronts. Each turn brought us closer to this contact of his whose help we needed in a fierce way. However, this is where bravado served us best, because entering an exchange while desperate was a recipe to get taken advantage of. After all, blustering on in landed us into this gypsy mess in the first place.

This section of the streets, globe lights with long brass stems lined the pathway, which must create a beautiful sight at night. Highbrow men and women passed us wearing more money in their heirloom rings and silken dresses and cravats than we pulled in a year’s worth of jobs. And the morons wondered why they got robbed when they waggled their flash in places like Shantytown.