I get points if I hit their ship, right?
Of course, Noli invented. One point for every time you make the ball they send hit them instead of us. Ten points if you blow up their ship.
Ten points? She squealed in delight.
Yes. But you have to give the body back when we’re done. Understood?
I promise. I’ll win. I’m so good at this.
Noli relinquished the body as the ship released the first cannonball at them with a deafening boom. Now.
The sprite held out their hand and frowned in concentration, making the ball veer to the right, missing them, but not returning to strike to the other ship.
Oh, I missed, the sprite pouted.
As long as it misses us we’re fine, Noli soothed, heart racing. So much rested on the sprite, who wasn’t always reliable.
But I wanted a point.
Two more cannon balls streaked across the sky, one from each cannon, the booms from the discharge so loud they seemed to rattle her down to her very core. You have two more tries, Noli told her.
The spite lobbed the first back at the cannon ship, barely missing their deck, but the second nearly hit the Vixen’s Revenge.
Good job, keep focused, you nearly hit one, you’ll get that point next time, I’m sure. Noli knew from experience scolding would only frustrate her. A frustrated sprite wouldn’t be able to get the job done. The cannons fired two more.
Take that, the sprite yelled as she lobbed the first cannon ball back in an arc that hit a ship squarely in the balloon, causing it to dissolve into a ball of fire. Ten points, she squealed, dancing a little, ten points.
Don’t miss this one, Noli cried as the second one careened right at them.
Oh no! The spite deflected this one, again just barely.
Careful. Noli watched the one ship sink toward the ground in a ball of fire, parachutes popping open as men abandoned ship. The other ship threw ropes and deployed men on hoverboards to help their fallen comrades.
Another cannonball hurled toward them.
I got it, I got it, the sprite cried. In a perfect volley the cannonball arched back to the cannon ship, hitting their gas-filled balloon. As soon as it made impact, the hydrogen exploded, that ship joining the other in defeat as it careened to the ground. More parachutes deployed. Ten points! The sprite all but crowed aloud.
And that was why helium should be used instead of hydrogen.
Flying figs, they’d done it! Knees giving out, Noli sank to the ground in relief and she realized she had control of the body. You did such an amazing job. Twenty points for you, none for them. You win, she praised.
The sprite preened. What do I win?
“Noli what are you doing up here?” Captain Vix’s shout roused Noli out of her internal conversation.
“I … I was just helping,” Noli stammered, fear pushing the elation at their success aside.
“I gave you an order and you disobeyed it—that’s treason.” Vix’s voice rose in pitch as her face contorted in anger.
“I … I’m so sorry, Captain,” Noli stared at her feet. Had Vix seen? There was no way she could explain what she’d done. But Kevighn had been correct, there was no alternative.
“Go to your room, now, and stay there. I’ll deal with you later. First we have to get out of here.” Vix scolded her like a naughty child.
She was right, Noli had disobeyed a direct order to stay below and tend the engines. “Yes, Captain.” She untied the rope around her waist and tried to keep the tears out of her eyes, since Vix wouldn’t be moved—or amused. “I’m sorry, Captain,” she added, making her way to the hatch that would take her below.
“You’d better be.” Vix turned to shout at Kevighn.
Noli went below, heart heavy.
Why is she mad? We won the game? the sprite asked.
Never mind. You won, do you want to weave now or sleep? Sleep pressed down on her, but she should reward the sprite. Noli still couldn’t believe how well she’d done.
Sleep. But we can weave later? We’re close to finishing.
Noli yawned as she trudged to her room, ever footfall heavy. Of course.
When she reached her little room she realized Rahel slept soundly in her hammock. Oh well. Not even bothering to pull on her nightdress, Noli climbed into the hammock, wrapping her arms around the little girl and the doll and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
“Noli, wakey, wakey,” Rahel whispered.
Noli’s eyes fluttered open in time to see Rahel making the doll dance. On her chest.
“Winky brought you something to eat. Are you in trouble?” Rahel frowned in concern.
The early morning’s events rained down on her with the force of a thunderstorm as she sat up and rested her still-shod feet on the floor. “Only a little, why do you ask?”
“Winky’s been checking on you and we’re supposed to let you sleep, and the grumpy man-lady has been yelling a lot.” Rahel made the doll dance on the hammock.
Noli wasn’t sure how all this related to her being in trouble. “We should be in San Francisco soon—then we’ll try to find your papa.”
Rahel danced around the tiny room, holding the doll tightly in her arms. “Oh, I’ll have to give you back your dolly. Thank you for sharing.”
One look at Rahel was all Noli needed. “You may keep Charlotte. I’ll make Jeff win me a new dolly.”
“Truly?” A giant smile broke out across Rahel’s face. Noli couldn’t help but grin at the little moppet. “Truly.”
The moment Kevighn slunk up the stairs to get some coffee he could hear arguing on the bridge. At least if they were fighting, Vix wouldn’t see him. He feared if she did they might toss him off the moving ship instead of booting him off when they arrived in San Francisco.
Actually, getting off in San Fran wasn’t a bad idea, he could find Ciarán. But that meant leaving Magnolia. If he could get anywhere near her he’d ask her to come with him. Unfortunately, Vix had Asa guarding the door to the engine room.
Kevighn was certain Vix had seen Magnolia in action. Actually, his fair blossom had been something, lobbing those cannon balls as if playing that idiotic game that Tiana’s ladies enjoyed, the one with nets and golden balls.
Of course, to a mortal, the sight of sweet Magnolia, in her cape and bonnet, using magic to send cannonballs back to the cannon ship might be terrifying.
“I don’t like this idea at all,” Vix retorted. “I don’t think this is the right place for your sister.”
“Will you at least tell me what you saw?” Jeff asked.
Kevighn quietly helped himself to a cup of coffee as he eavesdropped.
“Will you tell me why you want her on the drop? Kyran is particular,” Vix retorted.
Kyran? Kevighn’s ears pricked. Kyran was one of Ciarán’s aliases.
Wait, why were they doing business with Ciarán?
“I think Noli knows … about their kind. I’ve seen the design on her knife before—on one of their knives. Her valise has to be magic—there’s no explanation as to how she could have brought all those dresses in a regular one,” Jeff insisted.
“But how would she know?”
“I think this Charlotte must have been one of them, since she received the knife and the valise from her. For all we know they could have been the ones who kidnapped her.”
Kevighn nearly dropped his mug. How close they were to the truth, well, about the kidnapping, not about Charlotte.
“Even if she does know of them, what good would bringing her with you do?” Vix added.
“I … I just think I need to bring her. Also, she reacted to the artifact, the one we stole from the museum in Denver. She noticed it in the case when she went with me inspect the museum during open hours. I know there’s more to what Kyran is telling us.” Jeff sighed.
“We’re thieves,” Vix hissed. “It doesn’t matter why someone wants something or if their stories line up. All that matters is that they pay us.”
Wait. Artifacts. Museum thefts. Rode
rick’s message about a job Ciarán needed him to do. What exactly was his old friend up to?
Well, he was about to find out.
There was no way that Vix would allow him accompany Jeff and Noli on the drop—and he wasn’t about to reveal he was Fae. Not yet. When Jeff and Noli went to meet him Kevighn would follow—if nothing else than to make good on Roderick’s message to find Ciarán.
Sixteen
The Drop
Noli hunched over the watch chain as she wove, the project nearing completion. Still trapped in her room like a disobedient child, she had to do something to keep from going mad. Rahel seemed to be the only one allowed to come and go freely and they’d played “dolly tea party” more times than she cared to count. The sprite liked dolly tea party. Noli wasn’t actually sure where the little girl had currently gone off to.
Maybe Thad was guarding her door. If she asked, he’d probably show her more knife fighting or help her practice what he’d been teaching her bit-by-bit on the sly.
“Noli?” Jeff rapped on the closed door.
“Come in.” Noli held her spot in the elaborate weave with a cog … almost done.
Jeff popped his head in. “We’re going to be arriving in San Francisco soon.”
“May I go with Vix to deliver the girls?” She returned to her weaving, anxious to finish. “I’ll miss Rahel.”
His eyebrows rose. “They haven’t been onboard that long.”
“I’ll still miss her.” She kept weaving. Just a few rows to go.
Jeff sat on her hammock. “You do understand that what you did was wrong?”
“Yes, Jeff.” Her voice went bland as she completed another row. She’d replayed the scenario in her head. Every time she’d chosen the same way. Constantly being protected and coddled was tiresome. She wasn’t some vapid pile of mush.
“Mr. Silver won’t be coming with us when we leave port, it’s not working out.” Jeff looked as if he were truly fascinated by the needlework pillow on the hammock.
Noli finished the final row of the section. “What you mean is that Vix blames him for me disobeying orders.”
Jeff’s jaw gritted. “Mr. Silver isn’t suited for this ship.”
“And I am?” It wasn’t Kevighn’s fault. The sprite had saved them all. But it wasn’t like she could tell anyone that. Noli finished off the section and added it to the others. Using her little knife, she trimmed all the ends neatly. Now to assemble the five pieces into a chain.
His hand lay on her shoulder. “You’re still learning. Besides, I need your help.”
“Did you burn the food?” She scrunched her nose at the thought. Cooking would get her out of this miniscule space.
“Actually, I need you to help me with something even more important. I need you to accompany me on a drop.”
“A drop?” Noli made a face as she attached the silver clasps and joined the sections into a single chain. “What’s that?”
“We’ve been collecting items for a client,” he explained. “Now it’s time to make the exchange, the artifacts for the money.”
“You want me to accompany you?” Noli’s fingers traced the complex design of the watch chain as she pondered his words. The little beads and clips she’d bought to accent it sparked in the dim light.
Jeff nodded. “This client is quite refined and doesn’t like Vix much. We always do drops in pairs and you’re far less suspicious than Asa or Thad. Why don’t you get ready? Wear something pretty.”
“What sort of pretty?” Her mouth clamped shut. She sounded like such a nit-wit.
“Like something you might wear when visiting someone in the morning?” Jeff’s face contorted in puzzlement.
“I’m sure I have something,” she replied. He wanted her to go with him on his air pirate business? And Vix allowed it?
Wait. Findlay House was in San Francisco. A chill enveloped her entire body.
Jeff frowned as he stood. “What’s wrong?”
“Please, don’t send me back to Findlay.” Tears pricked her eyes at the thought of that dreadful place, the watch chain falling through her fingers onto the worktable. “Send me to Boston, but not Findlay.”
His arms enveloped her. “I’m not sending you anywhere. You, with your fine manners and pretty dresses, are going to help me deliver some artifacts to a very genteel man who appreciates such things. Then we’ll go have tea, how does that sound?”
Tea sounded quite nice, actually.
And cake, the sprite added. Could that be my prize?
Yes, that sounds perfect.
“All right, then. But I want cake.” She looked up at him and he wiped a tear off her cheek with his thumb. “Will you send in Rahel?”
Jeff smiled as he smoothed her hair. “Of course.”
“Which one?” Noli held up two hats, the bonnet which matched the cape and the blue derby with a little bird on it.
Rahel looked from one to the other and back again. “The bird one.”
Noli put the derby on, making sure her hair covered the points of her ears. “This always has been my favorite.”
“I may keep Charlotte? Forevers?” Rahel clutched the doll to her chest.
“Yes. Forevers. Just promise me you’ll take good care of her.” Noli stowed the bonnet and donned her cape. She’d decided to wear her blue dress with the slightly shorter skirt and the bell sleeves. One probably needed freedom of movement when on a drop, and ever her mother had deemed it perfectly proper for daywear.
“Oh, I will. I promise.” Rahel looked up at her with large, solemn eyes. “Will I ever see you again?”
Noli sniffed, she’s already grown so fond of the little girl. “You are going to be reunited with your papa. That’s the most important thing of all.”
Jeff stood at the door, looking ever the dapper gentleman, a black attaché case in one hand. He held out his arm to her. “Shall we?”
She grabbed her parasol and planted a kiss on Rahel’s blonde head. “Be good.”
Rahel gave her a wave, sniffing into her sleeve. “Bye, bye.”
Noli dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief as they walked up the stairs. Thankfully, Jeff didn’t say anything, he just patted her shoulder.
He led her through the bustling San Francisco Air Terminal. They caught a motorcab to a very posh part of town filled will elegant buildings and homes—all newly built after the earthquake nearly seven years before and truly modern with plenty of brass and glass.
How could Jeff move so easily through the city that had stolen their father? Unbeknownst to most, the earthquake had opened up rifts to the Otherworld. Some simply let aether—magic—escape into their realm, but others were large enough for people to fall through.
Kevighn insisted her father was long gone, but Noli held fast to the idea that he still might be alive someplace in the Otherworld.
“Who are we calling on?” Noli asked as they walked through streets crowded with people, streetcars, and autos. A few flying cars and hoverboards swooped overhead. She pulled her cape closer to ward off the chill. At least no snow lay on the ground.
“We are meeting a gentleman named Kyran. He asked us to … collect … some artifacts,” Jeff replied, holding the attaché case tightly.
Collect? He meant steal. This man paid the crew to steal things. She nodded toward the attaché case. “A painting won’t fit in there.”
Jeff laughed. “It would if rolled. But no, he’s asked for … other things.”
Noli stopped in her tracks. “Museums. You stole things from museums. Los Angeles … Denver … ”
“Shhh,” he soothed. “You can’t have hysterics right here on the sidewalk.”
She turned to face him, eyes narrowing as she held up her parasol. “For your information, Jeffrey Cornelius Braddock, I don’t have hysterics. However, I do have a parasol and I know how to use it.”
His hands flew up in surrender. “Point taken. They’re just random bits of things. If they weren’t so old, they would be junk.” Jeff gestured
to the elegant restaurant in front of them. “Let’s meet Kyran and get our money.”
They entered the place, which reminded her of the establishments they’d gone to with their parents, once. Places where men made business deals and women chatted with their friends over cups of tea or coffee. White linencovered tables filled with well-dressed people eating a late breakfast dotted the room.
“That’s Kyran over there.” Jeff gestured to a man with regal stature and a mop of dark blond curls sitting at one of the tables, reading the newspaper.
“Him?” Noli studied the man from a distance as she smoothed her skirt. “He looks familiar.” The man looked up from his paper, but not directly at them. Noli caught a glimpse of eyes green like oak leaves. V’s eyes. She sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s who we’re meeting?”
“Do you know him?” The corners of his lips turned down.
Noli gulped. She didn’t know him, but she knew exactly who he was. “His name isn’t Kyran. It’s Brogan.”
As in Uncle Brogan, V and James’ uncle, the current king of the earth court. Her chest tightened. Why was her brother consorting with the likes of him?
“I hardly expected him to use his real name,” Jeff whispered. “Wait—how do you know that? Was he the one who kidnapped you?”
“We can’t do business with him, we can’t,” Noli hissed, snatching the attaché case out of Jeff’s hand. She ran out of the restaurant and down the street.
And right into someone.
“Slow down.” Kevighn’s arms wrapped around her.
“Kevighn, what are you doing here?” Noli made a face as she stared up into his familiar piercing yellow eyes.
“Following you. What are you doing?”
Kevighn was following her? That didn’t actually surprise her since he hadn’t gotten to say farewell aboard the ship. Also, he was the one person who might be able to assist her with her current predicament.
Noli held up the attaché case. “Jeff is doing business with King Brogan.”
“What?” Kevighn dragged her into a space between two buildings where they were out of the way of those going about their business.
“He calls himself Kyran but he’s not, he’s King Brogan and he’s been having Jeff steal things from museums.” Noli examined the outside of the attaché case. “What do you suppose they stole?”
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