“Do what she says, Pa,” Joshua pleaded. “It’s not worth it!”
“The owners put their trust in me…” Elisha said.
“And they betrayed that trust,” said Kate. “How do you think I found out about the barrels and what is really inside them? Who knew the secret? And who did the talking? Not you or your son.”
Elisha glowered at her, but he rested his hand on his son’s shoulder and Kate judged he was at least considering her ultimatum. She had to decide what to do if he proved stubborn, and she steeled herself to carry out her threat.
Dalgren gave a warning hoot. Kate looked ahead to see the channel widening. The ferry was about to sail out of the Snake, which meant they were only a few miles from the refinery. Kate waved at Dalgren, letting him know everything was under control and he could go on ahead and get into position.
Dalgren nodded. Folding his wings close to his body, he dove down beneath the fog and disappeared.
Kate looked back at Elisha and and saw that he had apparently given up the fight, for he was binding his leg with the bandage. Kate gave an inward sigh of relief and used the pistol to gesture to the son.
“You take the helm, Joshua. I assume you can sail this boat?”
“I can sail the ferry through the channel,” said boy. “But I’ve never docked it. Pa does that. He says it’s too tricky for me to try yet.”
Kate looked to the father for an explanation.
“The heat rising from the land and the vats can cause the wind to shift,” said Elisha. “Requires an experienced hand at the helm to keep from crashing.”
Kate guessed he was telling the truth. He had no reason to lie and every reason to protect himself and his son.
“I’ll stay at the helm,” she said. “Joshua, you be ready to help if I need you.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Elisha asked, glowering. “This boat is how I earn my bread.”
“I once sailed a three-masted schooner through a cyclone,” said Kate. “You sit there where I can keep an eye on you.”
She brandished her pistol, then placed it on the shelf beneath the helm. “The hammer is cocked. Say or do anything I don’t like and you may yet have that tragic accident.”
Elisha gave a grim nod.
Kate steered the ferry toward the refinery. Dalgren, as planned, would hopefully be in place below the fog. He wouldn’t be able to see much of what was going on from his vantage point, which was why Kate carried the bosun’s whistle. She could summon him in an emergency.
The ferry sailed along the channel, and the refinery came into view. Kate knew what to expect. Each island had two docks—a smaller one to handle the ferries and the large dock for the tankers that hauled the liquid Breath.
Kate sailed toward the smaller of the two. She saw five barrels lined up on the dock, but she couldn’t take time to examine them. She was watching the dockmaster. If he didn’t feel comfortable, if he thought anything was wrong, he would refuse to extend the docking arm. Kate had a plan for such a contingency, but she hoped she didn’t have to use it.
A flag flying from the top of one of the vats fluttered in the breeze, and Kate could see that, as Elisha had warned, the wind was erratic. She made adjustments to reduce the lift and slowed to a crawl.
“Be ready with the lines,” she told Joshua.
Thus far, she had been speaking in Rosian, but now she switched to Braffan. “And just in case you were thinking of tipping off your friends, Captain, you should know that I am fluent in your language as well. Now give the dockmaster a wave, let him know all is well.”
Elisha raised his arm and shouted, “The Elisha Jones asking permission to dock!”
“I know who you are, Elisha,” the dockmaster yelled back with a grin. “No need to be so formal.”
He placed his hands on the controls. The motor whirred to life. The docking arm creaked and started to extend.
Kate steered the ferry to meet it.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Phillip and Thomas walked out of the laboratory, thankful to once more breathe fresh air. They stood blinking as their eyes adjusted to the bright summer sunshine. The moment he could see, Thomas looked at the dock. The barrels were lined up, ready for loading.
“What in God’s name was making that awful smell?” Phillip grumbled. “I was glad we didn’t eat lunch. What time is it?”
Thomas took out his pocket watch.
“Almost time to meet our ferry,” he said in a low tone. “As a matter of fact, I think I see one nearing the dock.”
“Thank God for some action!” Phillip said. “This day has lasted about a year so far. Should we casually start to stroll that direction? Where is Norgaard?”
“He stopped to talk to a friend,” said Thomas. “No, wait. Damn! Here he comes…”
“Keep walking,” said Phillip.
“Ah, Master Norgaard,” Thomas said, half turning. “Our ferry is approaching and we must be shoving off. Thank you so much for your instructive tour.”
The master crafter looked alarmed and hurried to catch up. “I fear you are mistaken, gentlemen. That ferry is not the one you take. It … uh … doesn’t go back to the mainland, you see. It stops here, then goes on to the next refinery—”
“In that case, this would be an excellent opportunity to observe the workings of the docking arm,” said Phillip.
“Splendid idea,” said Thomas, and the two increased their pace.
“I assure you, gentlemen, you won’t find it all that interesting,” said Master Norgaard.
Thomas stopped and rounded on the man.
“Is there some reason you are trying to keep us from watching the ferry dock, Master Norgaard?”
“One would think you were trying to hide something,” said Phillip.
“No, no, nothing like that, I assure you,” said Master Norgaard. “I’ll just come with you—”
“No need,” Thomas said, smiling. “Go enjoy your lunch.”
“We will join you in a moment,” Phillip added.
Master Norgaard looked from them to the dock and the barrels, then back at them. He frowned, clearly wondering what was going on. He obviously didn’t want them anywhere near the barrels.
“Thank you again,” said Thomas, shaking hands. “We will make certain to mention your name when we speak to the owners.”
“We dine with them tonight,” said Phillip, shaking hands in turn.
He and Thomas walked toward the dock, leaving Master Norgaard to gaze after them.
“He suspects something. Is he watching us?” Thomas asked.
Phillip glanced cautiously over his shoulder. “Yes, but he’s not coming after us. Uh-oh, there he goes. Heading toward the main office.”
“He might be going to alert someone,” said Thomas. “We need to hurry.”
The two arrived in time to see the docking arm latch on to the ferry and start hauling it over to the dock, where men were standing by, ready to load the barrels. The foreman frowned as he saw Thomas and Phillip approach and ran toward them, waving them off.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, but only workers are permitted in this area while the ferry is loading. Too dangerous.”
“No worries!” Thomas said, stopping just short of the dock. “We are here merely to observe.”
“Yes, carry on,” said Phillip.
The foreman, shaking his head, went back to his duties.
“I can see three people on board the ferry,” Thomas said in a low voice. “Two men and a boy. You cover the man on the bench and the boy. I’ll take the man at the helm. When the clamp releases, we make our move.”
“For king and country,” said Phillip, with a glance at his friend.
“For king and country,” Thomas repeated with a grin.
* * *
Kate stood at the helm of the Elisha Jones. Thus far, everything was going smoothly. She had maneuvered the ferry so that the docking cleat was in the correct position. Now she could only wait as the dockmaster hauled the ferry
toward the dock.
Joshua stood by the starboard bulwark, ready to throw out the mooring line. The boy was terrified and kept casting nervous glances in her direction. Kate hoped that no one would notice, or if they did, that they would put it down to the unusual nature of this job.
Elisha sat on the bench, visiting back and forth with a couple of the dockworkers, explaining how he had injured his leg. When he introduced Kate, saying she was his wife’s cousin, Kate smiled, but said nothing, concentrating on her work. Docking was a tricky maneuver and no one could blame her for not being sociable. She kept her hands on the brass panel, conscious of the pistol right underneath, and cast a surreptitious glance at the activity on the dock, looking for signs of possible trouble.
Four men stood near the barrels, ready to load them onto the ferry. Two men were handling the docking arm and conversing with Elisha. The dockmaster stood at the controls, manipulating the arm. The foreman strode up and down, keeping an eye on everything and giving orders.
As Kate watched, the foreman bore down on two well-dressed gentlemen who had strolled over to observe the proceedings. They apparently didn’t belong here, because the foreman was shouting at them and waving his arms, telling them to back off. The two retreated to the end of the dock, then stood their ground. The foreman obviously didn’t like it, but he didn’t argue. Giving them a surly glance, he walked back over to talk to the dockmaster.
The two gentlemen clearly didn’t belong; Kate studied them intently. Beyond the fact that they were gentry, she could learn little else. Their tricorns concealed their faces. They lounged at their ease in their fine clothes, appeared relaxed, and did not once look in the direction of the barrels. Kate took them as members of the bone-idle rich, here to visit a refinery as they might visit a menagerie, intent on observing the feeding habits of the working class. She had other worries and she dismissed them.
No one was guarding the crystals. Given their immense value, Kate had expected the barrels to be surrounded by men with pistols. As it was, no one was armed with so much as a billy club. Kate wondered uneasily if Elisha could have been telling her the truth, and she had gone to all this trouble, risked her life, to steal five empty barrels.
Kate licked her dry lips and wiped her sweaty palms on her slops. When she caught herself nervously shifting from one foot to the other, she forced herself to stand still.
The docking procedure was interminably slow. The docking arm creaked and rattled as it inched the ferry toward the dock. Kate had to resist the impulse to look over the side of the hull to see if she could catch a glimpse of Dalgren.
“He is there,” she assured herself. “Ready to come to my aid. Ready to help me to steal five bloody, empty barrels.”
Kate was sweltering, standing at the helm in the hot sun, and she took off the kerchief she had wrapped around her head and shook out her sweat-damp curls. She used the handkerchief to mop her neck and forehead. She could always have it to alert Dalgren.
Finally, after what seemed ages, the ferry docked. Joshua tossed the mooring cable to the waiting dockworkers. The clamp would remain attached to the cleat until the cargo had been loaded.
Joshua lowered the gangplank and the four men set to work, tipping the barrels onto their sides and then rolling them up the gangplank. The barrels appeared to contain something, for the men had to exert some effort to haul them on board. Kate was relieved and, to some extent, reassured.
Elisha directed where and how the barrels were to be stowed, so as to distribute the weight evenly about the small boat. Once the men had placed the last barrel to Elisha’s satisfaction, they bid him have a safe journey and left the boat.
Joshua raised the gangplank. The dockmaster shouted that he was going to release the clamp. The workers stood by, ready to free the mooring cable, while Joshua waited at the rail to haul it in.
Kate watched the docking arm, holding her breath. The arm shuddered; the clamp opened like a hand and let go of the ferry. Free of the clamp, the ferry dropped down below the level of the dock and began to slowly drift away.
Kate stood at the helm, ready to send the magic to the airscrews when the ferry was clear of the dock. She was about to yell up to the workers, who were looking down at her, to cast off the line when she heard shouts coming from behind her. She turned, startled, to see the two well-dressed gentlemen racing across the dock toward the ferry.
Another man was running behind them, bellowing at the top of his lungs, “Stop them! They are here to steal the crystals!”
The workers began yelling and tried without success to catch the two gentlemen. No one had been paying any attention to them, and their sudden move had taken everyone by surprise, including Kate, who stared in amazement. Their intent was apparent. They were going to jump onto the moving ferry.
The boat continued to drift, widening the gap between the dock and the ferry. Anyone trying to leap down into the boat was risking either a deadly plunge into the Breath or breaking his neck.
The first did not hesitate. He made the jump and landed safely on his feet, lithe as a cat. The second was about to follow when the foreman grabbed him from behind. He whipped around, socked the foreman in the jaw, and then made an arm-flailing, heart-stopping leap for the deck. He came down hard. His friend was there to steady him.
“You all right?” asked his friend.
“I think so!” was the breathless reply.
“Good, carry on. You cover him. I’ll take the helmsman.”
The young man who had made the hard landing limped over to Elisha. Kate could see that he was holding a pistol. The other man walked up to her. He had lost his hat in his mad dash; his black curly hair had come loose, and straggled about his face. He glanced at Kate, started to say something, and then stopped, startled.
“You’re a woman!”
She stared at him, and the first thought that came unbidden into her head was that he had the clearest, brightest, bluest eyes she had ever seen. The second thought was far less charitable. She had never been so angry.
“And you are a bloody fool!” Kate said through gritted teeth. “What the devil do you think you’re doing?”
“My name is Thomas,” he said, speaking Braffan with an Estaran accent. “And didn’t you hear what they are shouting? My friend and I are here to steal the crystals.”
“The hell you are!” Kate said, glowering.
The mooring cable was still attached. The dockworkers were lined up on the dock, yelling down at them, and seemed to be urging each other to jump onto the ferry to effect a rescue. No one appeared eager to do so, however.
Thomas opened his coat just enough for Kate to see the butt of a pistol. “Order them to cast off the mooring line.”
“Go to hell!” said Kate.
Reaching beneath the helm, she grabbed hold of her own pistol, and raised it just enough that Thomas could see it was aimed at his heart. Holding him at gunpoint, she ran her other hand over the magical constructs on the brass helm, activated the airscrews, and sent magic to the lift tanks and the balloon.
The ferry began to rise and Kate steered toward the dock. She was thinking fast, trying desperately to salvage the shipwreck of her plan.
Thomas looked at the pistol, looked at her, and smiled. “You know what I think? I think you’re here to steal the crystals, as well.”
Kate glowered at him. “Maybe I am. If I hand you over, I’ll be a hero. They will let me sail away with the crystals and they’ll take you and your friend to prison.”
The dockworkers were valiantly hauling the ferry back to shore, as the docking arm reached out for the cleat. Joshua stood at the rail, gaping at the two strangers. Elisha was grim-faced, certain this was not going to end well. The second young man, the one who had tumbled into the boat, was watching the ferry creep closer to shore.
“Uh, Thomas, we should—” The young man caught sight of Kate and stopped in midsentence. “Good God! It’s you!”
She stared at him. “Pip?”
&n
bsp; Thomas stared at both of them. “How do you know this woman? Who is she?” He looked back at Kate. “Who are you? What is going on?”
Kate kept the pistol aimed at Thomas. Taking the other from her belt, she aimed it at Phillip.
“This is what is going on,” she said, speaking Freyan. “When we get close to the dock, you two are going to jump off. I’m sorry, Pip. This is business, not personal.”
“Kate, let’s talk—” Phillip began, but he didn’t finish. His gaze shifted to a point over her shoulder, off the bow. His expression altered.
“Thomas! We have a problem.”
Kate kept her pistols aimed at both of them. “If you think I’m going to fall for that old ruse…”
“Not a ruse, I’m afraid,” said Thomas. “A ship’s boat is headed this way, filled with marines. You can see for yourself.”
Kate glanced over her shoulder. A contingent of armed marines wearing Guundaran uniforms and carrying muskets was sailing toward the ferry. The marines had mounted a swivel gun on the prow of their boat. Kate swore under her breath. The Braffans knew the Guundarans were patrolling the channel around the refinery. That was the reason no one on the dock had bothered to guard the crystals. She should have trusted her instincts.
The ferry was coming close to the dock, and the dockmaster was lowering the clamp. A Guundaran officer on board the pinnace must not have noticed anything was amiss, however, because he waved to them in a friendly manner.
“Hail the ferry!” he called in clumsy Braffan. “We have come to offer you safe escort!”
“What the—” Thomas was perplexed.
“They don’t know anything’s wrong!” Phillip said suddenly. “Look, Tom, the marines are seated, their muskets at their sides, not aimed at us.”
“By God, you’re right!” Thomas said. “No one will get hurt if we all keep calm—”
Elisha had no intention of keeping calm. Jumping to his feet, he began bellowing, “Soldiers! Run for it, boy!,” and went lumbering across the deck. He grabbed hold of Joshua, heaved his son over the rail, and watched him land safely on the dock. He then cast a bitter glance at Kate, clambered over the rail, and dropped to the dock below.
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