Maybe she could, if she dressed quickly.
Kat turned and eyed the clothing Fitz had left on the table, a brown skirt with a matching brown corset and boots. Dark stockings and a white blouse with ruffles down the front lay folded beside the brown clothing. There was even a tortoiseshell comb for her hair.
Kat crossed the room, checked the door and slid the chain across, then went back to the table. There was no way to cover the windows, although how a person would be able to view in, she didn’t know.
She carried the clothes to the bed and laid them out. Standing between the bed and windows, she pulled the blouse on and buttoned it up. The ruffles felt extravagant after the plain blouses she was used to wearing. And the neckline, although not low enough to be considered improper, was certainly lower than any World City lady would wear. It was more the current style in Austrium, or so Marianne had said one morning at the academy while browsing one of those new fashion catalogs.
Wary, Kat picked up the skirt next and held it against her hips. It fell to mid-calf. She let out a sigh. At least the skirt was long enough. Most Austrium women were wearing their skirts at knee length. An image of the ladies from the dancing hall Stephen had dragged her into darted across her mind, with their legs flashing beneath their short skirts.
She blushed. It could be worse.
Kat pulled on the stockings, buttoned her boots, and pulled on the skirt. Lastly, she placed the corset over her blouse and skirt, working the clasps in front then tugging on the laces in back. Most young women grew up with a maid to help them dress, but her father never saw a reason to hire more house help apart from Ms. Stuart. Ms. Stuart taught her how to dress herself, and given that she was on the run now, she was thankful for her independence.
She pulled on the laces, tightening both the top and the bottom of the corset at the same time until the two sets of laces were taut in the middle, right at her waist. She adjusted the corset one more time, checked the laces, and tied the laces into a bow.
There.
She fingered the belt loops and thin brass chains that hung from the corset, and the pouch that sat snug against her right hip. What were they for? Perhaps she would ask Fitz.
Kat smoothed her skirt one more time, then ran her fingers through her hair. Satisfied, she pulled the strands back into a simple chignon and pinned it in place with the comb.
She breathed in deeply and let it out with one long sigh as she glanced at the door behind her. There was one person on this ship she didn’t want to see, but chances were she would run into him.
Stephen Grey.
Chapter
4
The moment Kat stepped onto the deck, all thoughts of Stephen vanished from her mind. Wispy clouds floated by, just beyond the edge of the ship. Mesmerized, she walked across the deck and grabbed the railing. She held out one hand. The cloud was more like mist—cold, wet, and semi-opaque. A moment later the air grew clear.
“I would hate to see such a lovely lady fall.”
Kat gasped and turned around, holding her hand to her chest as if she had burned it. A man stood a couple feet away, a black patch over his right eye. He wore a long, black duster that rustled in the wind. His dark, shaggy hair hung around his face and his one good eye—brilliant blue—studied her.
He bowed. “Captain Robert Grim.” He looked up. “And you are Miss Bloodmayne.”
Kat pulled her shoulders back, years of etiquette grilled into her by Ms. Stuart taking over. “Yes. A pleasure to meet you, Captain Grim. I take it I owe you my thanks.”
Captain Grim straightened. “Nonsense. You are a guest here on the Lancelot. Have you ever flown before?”
A smile touched her lips. “No, I haven’t. This is incredible!”
Her words appeared to have a positive effect on the captain. He grinned and held out an arm. “I’m afraid Fitz had an emergency to take care of, so now I have the pleasure of taking you on a tour of my ship.”
Kat took his arm and before she could say another word, Grim whirled her around and headed for the top deck. Her skirt spun around her boots, and a light wet mist pressed against her face.
“I’m glad to see my sister’s clothes fit you.”
Kat glanced down at the ruffled blouse and corset. She touched one of the thin brass chains that hung near the pouch.
“Sarah used to fly with me until she married a gent last year. I had that corset especially made for her. She was never content to just fly; she had to be doing something on the ship. Always had a tool in her hand. Those chains, belt loops, and pouch are where she kept her gear.”
Kat’s face softened. “I see.” She had a feeling she would have liked this Sarah.
“She left a chest of clothes behind, so let Fitz know if you need anything else.”
“Thank you.”
Grim led her up a set of stairs toward the top deck, which stretched out across the front of the ship, about twenty feet wide, coming to a rounded point at the end. The ship’s wheel was set in the middle. A man, tall, with long brown hair tied back, stood behind the wheel with his hands on either side of the helm. He wore a loose white shirt that rippled with the wind. A tattoo flowed along his neck and disappeared into his shirt.
He spotted Grim and Kat and nodded. “Captain. Miss.”
“Anders,” Grim said, then glanced at Kat. “Anders is my first mate. Been with me almost as long as I’ve been a pirate.”
Kat felt as though she had been punched. “A p-pirate?”
“Oh, yes.” Grim’s one good eye crinkled. “Did I forget to mention that?”
Yes, and so had Fitz. Convenient. Did Stephen know Captain Grim? Or had this ship just been a convenient way to flee World City?
Grim chuckled and Anders gave her a wink. “Don’t worry, we are honorable pirates.”
“Is there such a thing?” She said the words before she could stop her tongue.
Grim laughed again and Anders joined him. “There can be, and there is.”
“Is Stephen paying you for this voyage?” The thought of Stephen paying her passage made her feel ill.
Grim sobered. “No. Stephen and I are old friends. He telegraphed me stating you were both in great danger and needed a fast getaway. I happened to be in World City, preparing for a blockade run, when Stephen contacted me. And now here you are on my ship, safe and sound.”
“I see.” Fitz had said something about a rescue, and from the top of the Tower.
“So what exactly happened?”
Kat glanced back at Captain Grim. “Pardon?”
He folded his arms. “Stephen hasn’t said a word about what happened back at the Tower, or why you were there. All I know is you came aboard my ship unconscious and near death.” He watched her with that one eye of his.
The blood drained from her face. She wasn’t ready to share with anyone what had happened to her at the Tower, certainly not with a man she hardly knew.
Grim dropped his hand. “Well, whatever happened back in the city, it unnerved Stephen. I’ve never seen him run from a fight before, but he did run. To save you.”
She brushed the base of her neck. “I-I didn’t know.” She glanced over the railing at the blue sky. Why? Why had Stephen come back? Why did he save her after he had left her there? She couldn’t remember anything after her father had come and talked to her in the lab.
She still couldn’t believe what she had witnessed of her father. Yes, he had been absent most of her life, so she barely knew him. But the man who had stood over her—his cold, calculating stare, his words twisting inside her mind—that had not been her father. Not the one she had always dreamed about.
“You are the culmination of my life’s work.”
Her hand tightened around her throat. An experiment. That’s all she had been to him. Then he had started the tests.
“Anyway . . .”
Kat turned back.
Grim brushed his coat and readjusted his cuffs. “You are a guest here on my ship. You’re safe, just as I prom
ised Stephen you would be.”
Anders had quietly slipped away from their conversation, his hand holding the wheel steady, his gaze set across the ship toward the bow.
“Thank you.” She wanted to feel safe, but what her father had done back at the Tower had left her feeling tainted inside. She was a monster, and it was only a matter of time before it came back to the surface.
He smiled and held out his arm. “Come, let’s finish our tour.”
Kat took a deep breath and nodded. A tour would be a welcome distraction.
•••
Kat had never been on a ship before, neither in the water nor in the air. The Lancelot was large, with a full deck, another top deck, and two levels below those. The bottom level held the cargo, the middle level the living quarters for the crew, the galley, and the motor house for the ship. On either side of the main deck were the captain’s quarters and the navigation room. The top deck and helm were located above the captain’s cabin.
Two main towers rose from the deck with a rotor on top of each. Four smaller towers were attached to the sides of the ship, two on each side, all four with smaller rotors.
The rotors filled the air with a steady hum as they propelled the Lancelot through the sky. Wherever the ship was in relation to the sun, panels were propped open to catch the light and transform it into energy. Kat watched two of the sailors prop open a set of panels along the side of the deck. Back home in World City, almost everything ran on steam, gas, or the new source of power, electricity.
“How do you use panels to catch the sun’s rays?” she asked Grim.
Grim leaned back against the railing on his elbows. “I had a drink with a young man down south a couple years ago. He was fiddling with the concept, and I offered to back his project on the condition that if he was able to turn the sunlight into energy, I wanted to add it to my ship. What could be better for an airship than a way to harness free power here in the sky? A little over a year later, he tested his panels on Lancelot, and we’ve been flying with them ever since.”
Kat studied the panels, tapping her chin as she did so. It was a brilliant idea. If only she could get a closer look at one of those pa—
A figure stopped near the stairs, just a shadow in the corner of her eye. Before she could think, Kat swerved her head—and froze.
Stephen stood at the bottom of the steps that led to the top deck. He stared back, his expression unreadable. His blond hair whipped around his face. His leather duster swirled above his boots, blowing back every few strokes to reveal a white shirt, trousers, and his gun holsters.
He turned abruptly and headed up the stairs.
Kat stood there, her feet nailed to the spot. A sharp ache clawed its way up her middle. Stephen may as well have walked over to her and slapped her face.
He disappeared beyond the top deck.
Why had he saved her? Out of duty? Regret? Kat turned, gripped the railing, and closed her eyes. Maybe he should have left her at the Tower.
No. Not there. Never again. Even if it meant Stephen’s cold presence.
“Interesting,” Grim said quietly.
Kat took a deep breath. “Where are we going?” She grit her teeth against the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
“Austrium, my dear.”
“Austrium?” She turned and looked at Grim.
“I’m technically a blockade runner for World City. A privateer. However, I prefer the title pirate. Sounds more adventurous, wouldn’t you agree?”
Kat frowned. The ache that had been building inside her vanished near her heart, washing away all feeling. She glanced again at the deck where Stephen had disappeared, but felt only a hint of the ache that had pierced her moments before.
Strange.
“Are you all right?”
Kat glanced at Grim again.
He stared back with a concerned frown. “Perhaps we should get you back to your room.”
“But isn’t it your room?”
He cocked the eyebrow over his one good eye. “Would you rather sleep with the crew?”
Kat blinked, an image of the hold below lined with hammocks, each one with a man sleeping inside flitting across her mind.
Grim smiled. “I didn’t think so. Come, I’ll take you back and have Fitz bring you something to eat.”
He held out his arm and Kat took it, grateful for something to hold on to. “You’re right, I am feeling a little fatigued.”
Grim gave her a polite nod and led her across the main deck toward the door that led to his private quarters.
•••
Kat stood before the mirror late that evening in just her borrowed undergarments and a long bandage wrapped around her middle. A nightgown and robe draped across the nearby bench. She touched the area above her heart with her fingertip. She still couldn’t feel anything.
“What’s happening to me?” she whispered to her image. Not only did she feel nothing physically near her heart, she didn’t feel anything inside either. She remembered Stephen’s look, and a ghost of the ache filled her belly. But it wasn’t as strong, not as intense now. As if there were a hole where her heart used to be, sucking in all feeling.
But how? Why? She rubbed her face and turned away from the mirror. Her mind raced through everything she could remember from school, but none of the scientific journals or lectures came close to explaining what was happening to her.
The voice from her dreams said she was dying. Was it possible? Was she dying from the inside out?
Kat spun around and grabbed the nightgown. After she pulled on the light garment and robe, she headed back to the table. Fitz had been kind enough to procure a pen and a couple pieces of paper for her. She sat down and stared out at the inky blackness beyond the glass bulkhead, pen in hand.
What did she know?
She turned back to the paper and started writing. She knew her father had been experimenting, trying to unlock the power around death. Kat paused. What did that even mean? She shook her head and continued.
He experimented on corpses, eventually moving on to those close to death. She clenched her jaw, the pen moving furiously across the paper. He never explained what he did during his experiments, but he did hint that he had moved away from scientific methods to the mystical, and in doing so, had somehow opened up a door into the unknown.
Kat held the pen above a paper filled with notes. “Father, what did you do?” she whispered. “What did you do to me?”
Was it even possible to find an answer? After all, her father had strayed from science, and because of that, perhaps the answer could not be found in science.
Her fingers tightened around the pen. If her father had used mystical methods to change her, she wanted nothing to do with that sort of research. She would stick to measurable science. There had to be an answer somewhere. All she had to do was find it. And she would continue to search for Dr. Latimer, alone, once she left this ship. He was a man of science as well, even with all that talk of souls in his articles.
She tapped the end of the pen against the table. Then again, maybe this . . . thing, this numbness, would eventually heal, and she would be back to normal again. Or sort of normal.
Kat dropped the pen and held her head in her hands, her hair covering her face. What am I thinking? I’ve never been normal.
Her heart sank. And maybe I never will be.
Chapter
5
Kat always seemed to miss Stephen when she left the captain’s cabin. When she stepped out on the deck, he disappeared through the door down to the lower levels of the ship. When she entered the galley, he left through the back. In some ways, it was a relief. As much as she wanted answers, she wasn’t ready to see him, not yet. The very sight of him brought on a hurricane of emotions. Emotions that could trigger the monster inside her. A monster she did not want awakened.
She spent most of her time evaluating everything she knew and could remember from her brief time at the Tower, writing down her thoughts on the handful
of paper in her possession. If only she had access to the Tower’s library. With what she knew now about what her father had done to her, perhaps the texts and books she’d read previously would provide new insight and possible answers to her condition.
But what if there was no answer to be found in the physical world?
The thought niggled the back of her mind, growing like a weed in the shadows. Her father had tapped into something powerful, something that went beyond her limited understanding.
Did souls really exist inside people? And could they be damaged? Or worse? Was her soul dying?
No! Kat slammed her hand on the table, rustling the papers beneath her palm. I won’t go there, not yet. Not until I have exhausted every other possibility. Her head throbbed above her right eye. I just need a break to clear my mind. Then I’ll keep working. She stood and stretched her back before heading for the main deck.
Once outside, a smile spread across her face and the tightness along her back loosened. Cool wind rushed across her face. Distant clouds billowed over the open sea. The rising sun spread its glorious rays across the ship, making her wish her life were different. What she wouldn’t give just to stay on the Lancelot here in the clouds, away from the city and the people and the problems back home. Not once had the monster stirred since she had come aboard the airship. Perhaps it, too, was calmed by the rhythmic rotors and the freedom of the skies.
Kat held onto the railing and closed her eyes. The rotors pulled curls out from her hasty chignon and twisted her skirt around her boots. She breathed in the cold, sweet air, and smiled. Ms. Stuart once said that God lived in heaven. When she had asked where heaven was, Ms. Stuart had stammered, then said somewhere in the sky.
Yes, she could believe that. If she were God, she would want to live up here, too.
Something moved behind her. Kat opened her eyes and turned. Stephen stood a couple feet away.
Her smile fell as heat rushed through her body.
Stephen stared at her, a pained expression on his face.
Her hands began to tremble. Kat clenched them together and turned back toward the railing. The calm from moments ago vanished, its vacuum filled with an aching hurt.
Awakened Page 3
