“You. Care to make things easy on yourself? We can lower a rope, so you can climb up. Might even spare your partner cowering behind the sled there.”
Kali did not look behind her. She did not want to draw attention to Cedar. “I could make things that easy, but only if you agree to spare himandthe sled. It’s a prototype, and it’s worth a fortune.”
“Is it now?” The captain stroked her chin.
“I mean, it might be valuable to some people in the business,” Kali blurted, as if she knew she had said too much and wanted to cover her words. “No use for pirates. And it’d be a pain to tote out of here. Best to let my colleague finish up the race with it, and I’ll go peacefully with you.”
The captain had already turned her back to the rail. She waved a hand, and a coal-smeared man came into view. The engineer, Kali guessed. They had a quick conversation, which involved frequent gesturing at the sled and the airship.
The female bandit pointed Cedar’s direction, and Kali grimaced. Having someone who had seen him fight could ruin everything. But the captain merely waved for the bandit to pay attention to the harpoon launcher.
“New plan,” the captain said to Kali. “We’re taking the sled too.”
“What?” Kali yelled. “You don’t need to-it’s of no use to you. It’s-”
“Mine now.” The captain rested a hand on the harpoon launcher. “Shoot the man if he tries anything.”
“The sled is heavy,” Kali said, continuing to argue to keep their attention focused on her. “Are you sure you’ll be able to fly with so much extra weight?”
Nobody was paying attention to her. The ship drew lower and lower, then angled toward the sled. Men threw ropes with grappling hooks over the sides.
Kali crossed her fingers inside her gloves. The ship floated closer.
Just as she feared Cedar was waiting too long, the jar flew over her head, a flame dancing along its fuse.
“Look out!” someone shouted.
“Attack!”
“No, it’s a-whatisthat?”
A rifle cracked behind her. The jar exploded against the balloon.
Flames burst to life. They licked the balloon walls, burning the kerosene concoction, but they did not pierce the material. The fire would die quickly without access to the hydrogen inside.
“Damn, damn.” Kali spun and ran for the sled. “Cedar, you need to-”
A foot in front of her, a harpoon slammed into the ice. She lunged to the side to avoid the quivering shaft, but slipped. She flailed, trying to catch her balance. The ice thwarted her, and she landed on her back. Hard. Air whooshed from her lungs, and the blow stunned her.
“Get her!” someone cried.
A rifle fired again. Certain someone was shooting at her, Kali buried her head beneath her arms.
An explosion ripped across the frozen lake. Wind blasted Kali’s hat from her head. The ensuing jumble of shouts and screams were too tangled to decipher.
Kali peeped between her arms.
Smoke choked the air, blocking out the sun. The airship was careening across the lake, flames streaking from the balloon’s side. It crashed into the ice and skidded a half mile before ramming into the shoreline.
A gloved hand descended into her vision. “This hydrogen you speak of… It seems it’s flammable.”
She accepted his hand. “Highly.”
“Smart lady.” Cedar surprised her by pulling her into a hug.
With the immediate threat gone, Kali’s legs grew rubbery, and she was glad for his support. “I still don’t trust you,” she felt compelled to add.
Cedar chuckled. “Perhaps not, but I’m beginning to trust you.”
The words surprised her, not only because he said them but because they made a lump form in her throat. She could not remember anyone ever saying that to her. Not trusting her voice, she decided not to respond. A hug was fine, but she certainly did not want him thinking his words affected her.
Sled runners rasped on the ice behind them.
Kali pulled away from Cedar. A team of dogs trotted past, angling their sled to skirt the fissure. The musher, an older man with a trapline above town, lifted a hand.
“Good show.” He smirked. “Hope it doesn’t delay you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Kali called. “We’ll catch up.”
A second sled team was passing farther down. “Don’t bring that trouble back to town, McAlister!”
Kali gritted her teeth. “Let’s get going, Cedar.”
But Cedar was pulling his pack off the sled. He shouldered it, checked his sword, and reloaded his rifle.
“What’re you doing?” she asked. “You’re leaving?”
He pointed the rifle at the burning wreck. “I want to make sure nobody’s left to come after us on foot.”
“It’ll be dark before you make it there and back. I can’t wait for you. I have to press on. I have to-”
Cedar gripped her arm. “I know. I’ll catch up to you when you make camp.”
Kali watched for a moment as he jogged across the ice and snow. As capable as he was, she felt guilty about letting him go off alone. There had been a lot of pirates manning that ship. Many would be injured, and some might be dead, but there would be able-bodied men and women left too.
She yanked her gaze away and returned to the sled. Cedar knew what he was doing. She had to focus on the race. The last night was coming up, and she had expected to be ahead by this point. Larger and less maneuverable, her sled would be at a disadvantage weaving amongst the tightly spaced trees that dotted the remaining terrain. She had to make sure she regained the lead before nightfall. That was the only way she would be in position to fly into town at the head of the pack in the morning.
Part VI
Kali lay in the lean-to, her back to the furnace. Darkness smothered the forest, and she had no lantern fuel left to light her lamp.
“Don’t need light,” she told herself. It was long past midnight, long past the time she should be sleeping.
But her ears strained, listening for footsteps crunching through the snow. The starlit trail ought to be easy to follow, even at night. Cedar should have caught up hours ago-if he hadn’t been hurt. Or worse.
Kali groaned and rubbed her face. Why was she worrying about him? She had only known him two days.
Two days in which he had saved her life numerous times. More, he had saved hersledfrom saboteurs. She probably shouldn’t value a piece of machinery more than her own hide, but, damn it, it made her grin just thinking of him sneaking up on those brutes from town.
That grin faded at the realization that dawn lurked only a couple hours away. She could not go back and search for him now. If she did, it was over. The race was lost. She had caught up to the other mushers but not gotten ahead before darkness fell, so she needed an early start in the morning. She needed to be well-rested. She definitely did not need to be lying awake, imagining Cedar buried in a snow drift with a bullet in his leg, trying to claw his way toward help, frostbite blackening his fingers and toes. Death on the horizon.
Kali groaned again, sat up, and grabbed her boots, her rifle, and a couple smoke nuts. “Fool. I’m a fool.”
She slipped outside, wincing as cold air enveloped her. She stoked the furnace and broke camp, not bothering to pack the tent. It might have been faster to leave everything and tramp back to the lake on foot, but, concerned for Cedar or not, she would not leave her sled in plain sight where it could tempt saboteurs.
A few dogs barked as she passed other teams bedded down alongside the trail, but she chugged through without pausing to acknowledge questioning grunts from sleepy mushers.
The first hint of dawn brightened the southern sky when she neared the lake. She tucked the sled into a hollow beside the trail, then, rifle in hand, padded onto the ice.
Even in the dim lighting, the airship wreckage was easy to see. Flames still burned in spots, lighting charred trees and casting an orange glow onto the ice.
Kali ski
rted the shoreline, clinging to the shadows as she headed toward the downed ship. She had not gone far when a dark form on the ice came into view. A person? A body? Cedar?
She slid a glove off so she could rest a finger on the trigger of her rifle. Frigid air chafed exposed skin. She eased forward. The form did not move. Queasiness stirred in her belly when she drew close enough to identify it: a charred body. He, or she, must have been thrown far in the crash.
A branch snapped in the woods.
Kali dropped to a knee and raised the rifle. The cold wooden stock chilled her cheek.
A shadow moved amongst the trees. Wolf.
She held her fire, not wanting to risk alerting anyone with a shot. Besides, grisly as the thought was, the wolf had a meal; it would not likely bother her.
Kali passed more bodies. She was glad darkness cloaked their faces, but she imagined their shocked expressions, their terrified eyes, nonetheless. Knowing she was responsible for their deaths did not sit well with her. Self-defense or not, she had caused a lot of carnage.
But not all of it. Her mouth fell open when she came to the next body. This one was missing a head.
Her first instinct was to look away, but curiosity kept her eyes riveted. How in tarnation had someone been thrown clear in a way that removed his head? And for that matter… She searched the ice all about her. Wherewasthe head?
Kali crouched for a closer look. Her stomach churned at the scent of blood, but she told herself it could be worse. The temperature had already frozen the corpse.
The head had been cleanly severed by something sharp. Her thoughts went to Cedar’s sword, but she dismissed the notion. He might kill someone, but he hardly seemed the sort of loony to run around hacking off people’s heads.
Kali left the decapitated pirate, continuing toward the wreckage. On the way, she passed two more corpses, these downed by more normal means: bullets.
She picked through scattered boards and cargo sprawled about the crash. She grew uneasy as she entered the ring of light around the ship. The flames made it easier for her to see, but they would also make it easier for others to seeher. Anyone hidden in the forest would have a clear view of her poking about. She stayed low, moving from broken tree to smashed crate to the shadows at the base of the ship.
Copious footprints crisscrossed the area, and, here and there, blood spotted the snow. She lifted a broken pocket watch on a chain, then laid it back down.
Kali was not sure what she expected to find; everyone around the ship was dead. If it was Cedar’s doing, he should have finished and returned to the sled. At the least, she would have met him on the trail. If someone else was responsible…she might turn a corner and find his body as well.
A soft thump sounded-something bumping against wood. Kali tensed. Someone, or something, was still in the airship.
It had pitched sideways when it skidded across the ice, and the decks would be too slanted to walk upon. If she could find a way on. The crumpled and charred remains of the balloon swaddled much of the craft. She rounded the bow and spotted a ragged hole in the hull. It might offer entry.
Kali crept to within a couple paces of it and paused, head tilted, ears straining. No voices murmured inside, and she had not heard another thump since the first. Shards of wood sprinkled the snow about the hole and footprints led to and from it.
She eased the last couple steps to peer inside. A bulky object hunkered on the threshold. In the predawn light, she struggled to make out details. She touched it and encountered damp canvas. Something lumpy in a sack. She found the opening and tugged it down, so the flames burning in a nearby tree would illuminate the contents.
A pair of lifeless human eyes stared up at her.
Kali screamed and dropped the sack of severed heads. She skittered back, heart in her throat, rifle clenched in both hands.
Footsteps pounded inside the ship, and she backed farther. Her outburst had been a mistake. Now they knew she was there.
A dark figured loomed in the hole.
She jerked her rifle up to shoot before it could.
“Kali!”
At the last second, the name pierced her fear-clouded mind, and she kept from firing.
“It’s me.” Cedar stepped out, arms spread. One hand gripped his sword. “They’re all dead. It’s all right.”
“Allright?” Kali’s voice cracked. “What’re youdoing? Why are you-are you the one running around decapitating people? What the-whodoesthat?” Her heart was pounding her ribs like the pistons in a steam engine.
“Easy,” Cedar said as if he were soothing a beast. “I can explain.”
“Do so.” The calm detachment in her voice surprised her. She did not feel calm. Or detached. The flames created strange shadows on Cedar’s face and gleamed yellow against his sword. Blood dripped from the blade to the snow.
“I’m not decapitating everyone,” he said, “just the ones I recognize as having money on their heads. I’m a bounty hunter. The heads are required as proof of the deed done, so I can collect the reward.” He hesitated, and she realized she had not lowered the rifle. “I only hunt criminals. You’ve nothing to fear from me, Kali.”
“Oh, I’m not afraid. I’ve got my gun, and I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, you can.”
There was a fondness in his voice that she might have found flattering if he were not standing next to a sack full of heads he had cut off. And that was not the only problem. Her gears clicked into place.
“You joined up with me, knowing I’d be a target?” she asked. “That these thugs were after me? You figured I’d make some good bait, and you could stand back and shoot at the people shooting at me?”
Wind moaned across the lake and through the trees. A wolf howled. Cedar said nothing. Kali shook her head slowly as she stared at him. She had not wanted to be right.
“How much will you make for turning those heads in to…wherever the head depository is?” she asked.
“One thousand dollars for Captain Brandt, and a couple hundred for the lesser felons.”
“I see,” Kali said. “I guess you don’t need my one hundred dollars then. Which is good because coming back to check on you means I don’t have a chance of winning now. Because I’m stupid. Because I bothered being worried you’d been captured or shot.” She finally lowered her rifle. “Thanks so much for your help out here.”
“Kali,” Cedar said softly. “I didn’t ask you to-”
“No. No, you didn’t.” She kicked snow. “Like I said, I’m just a stupid fool. Nothing new.”
Tears stung her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of him. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and turned her back.
“Kali….”
She stalked away. A part of her wanted him to run after her, to apologize for using her. A part of her was relieved when he did not.
Part VII
Kali chugged into town well after the race finished. Gray clouds hovered low, promising snow. Smoke wafted from chimneys, and the smell of burning wood hung in the air. Nobody lingered at the finish line by the docks, though boisterous noises flowed from the bit house up the bank. The winner buying everyone rounds, no doubt.
She wondered if she would have won if she had not gone back. Surely she would have if she had not been attacked three times and could have pushed straight through without delays. She could have taken the winnings, ordered the parts she needed, and escaped Moose Hollow by summer. She could have sailed the winds and explored the world, a moving target the pirates and gangsters would never catch. But not now. She scraped at ice droplets in her lashes, telling herself it was weariness that made her eyes water, not self-pity.
A lone figure rushed outside when Kali steamed down main street.
“Honey, you made it. Thank the Lord.” Nelly jumped off the covered sidewalk and threw her arms around Kali.
“You weren’t expecting me to? What’d the other racers say?”
“Not much, but there were men here looking for
you yesterday. Mean men. They roughed up a couple of my girls.”
Kali winced. Her troubles were bubbling over to affect others.
“And…” Nelly bit her lip.
“What else?” Kali asked, certain she did not want to know.
“They ransacked your home.”
Kali’s shoulders slumped. She told Nelly about the last couple days while they trudged up the street with the sled. As promised, the door to her workshop had been kicked in and hung from a single, broken hinge.
Kali gripped the frame for support and gazed inside. Ransacked, yes, that was a suitable word. Devastated and violated also came to mind. Tools, upturned furniture, and her half-started projects scattered the floor, many in pieces now. A trunk from her bedroom lay beneath the railing, clothes thrown free.
Nelly laid a hand on Kali’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey. About your home and especially about the race. I can’t help but feel your loss is my fault. I thought that fellow seemed a good sort. You know you’re welcome to stay at my place as long as you need.”
“Thanks,” Kali mumbled. Maybe the fact she had not slept the night before was a blessing, for gazing at the carnage left her more numb than anything else.
The door to the cubby where she kept the mechanical hounds was bashed in. A crowbar and pickaxe lay on the floor before it. She needed to check…
“Nelly, could you let me be alone for a spell?”
“Of course. You come by my place for dinner. I insist.”
Kali nodded. Though spending time with all those pretty girls in their pretty dresses always made her feel awkward, some company would be better than none.
As soon as Nelly left, Kali shuffled through the mess to check on the dogs. Someone had dumped pipe tobacco on the floor, and the scent of smoke lingered in the air. She propped her rifle against the wall and pushed aside wreckage to peer inside the cubby. The pickaxe had done its work. The dog bodies were mutilated, heads dented beyond recognition. Scraps of metal littered the floor.
Brass plaques screwed into the dogs’ backs had been torn off. She checked inside. The thumbnail-sized piece of flash gold that powered each hound was gone.
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