“Have Les Mullins and Captain Dirkson left to find Marshal Cage?”
“Yes, sir. Several hours ago.”
“Good. Take this coin, and man the
“What about the hunter and wolf, sir?”
“If you find them, leave them behind. Alive. If Shunt wants them dead, he’ll have to do it himself.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lieutenant Foster turned toward the shed to ready the scout ship, leaving the heavier armed ships behind for General Alabaster Saint and the troops if they needed them.
“Sir?” Foster asked before he’d gone more than a step or two.
“Yes?”
“What about Mr. Shunt? What will you do with him?”
“I will break him to my will, Mr. Foster. Follow the compass, and set a flare when you’ve found the witch and deviser. Then we will discuss Mr. Shunt’s fate when we have what he most wants in our hands.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Rose Small dreamed she was swimming in tea and honey. It was a lovely dream, warm and comforting.
“Rose,” Mae’s voice said as she drifted. “Wake up. You need to drink this.”
She wanted to tell Mae she didn’t need anything to drink. She was surrounded by tea. Then something cold and wet pressed against her forehead, and her lips, making her very thirsty.
All the tea around her tasted like dust.
“Wake up, Rose,” Mae said again. “Time to wake up.”
It took Rose several tries, but she finally lifted her eyelids.
Pain rolled through her back and chest, and made her stomach sour. She was cold, hot, and raw from the top of her head, hurting the most down the left side of her face, shoulder, and arm. She bit her lip but could not stifle a moan.
Mae sat next to her. She leaned in and Rose could see her better in the low light of the room.
“Hey, there now,” Mae said. “This will help the pain. Just take a couple drinks.”
Mae held the cup to Rose’s mouth, which was good. Rose didn’t think she had enough strength in her whole body to lift even one hand, much less support a whole cup.
The tea came on bitter and green at first, and then was sweet and strong with the hot burn of alcohol.
“Water?” she asked after taking down as much of the tea as she could. She didn’t want to cough, didn’t want to jangle her body so harshly, but the burn of the tea was too strong in her throat.
Mae pulled the cup away, then held another at her lips. Rose swallowed several gulps of water until the fire in her belly cooled and her throat soothed.
“I’m going to change the compress on your shoulder,” Mae said softly. “I have a new stock of medicines, and it’s going to help you feel better.”
The warm numbing of whatever Mae had put in that tea was already spreading sweetly through her. She felt more awake, and although not completely out of pain, it was at a much more tolerable distance.
“That helped,” Rose said. “I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
“It’s coca leaves,” Mae said. “From Peru.”
“Sounds fancy,” she said as Mae spread a greenish-black paste onto a clean cotton cloth and then poured what looked like tea over the top of the cloth.
Mae whispered something, and the words made Rose’s head itch and her nose tickle. She wondered if Mae’s words held magic, or a blessing.
Rose always did like the idea of Mae having magic at her fingertips. Seemed like such a handy thing to keep around.
“Is that helping yet?” Mae asked.
“The pain is better,” Rose said. “We’re not on the airship, are we? With Captain Lee Hink?”
“No,” Mae said, pulling the covers down to Rose’s waist.
From the coolness, Rose suddenly realized she was mostly naked.
Mae gently slipped Rose’s shift out of the way so she could place the compress over her shoulder.
Rose sucked in a breath and blew it out between her teeth to try to keep from screaming. But it was only a few breaths more before her shoulder stopped hurting so. And then a few breaths after that Rose actually felt… well, not better, but not quite so torn up.
“…so we are in a mountain, a cavern, carved out by the man—Old Jack,” Mae was saying as she gently lifted and turned the cool wet rag on Rose’s forehead. “Who has us as his guests, but only through the generous and constant payment of Captain Hink.”
“Is he here still?” Rose asked.
Mae’s hands stilled a moment and then she looked down at Rose and smiled. “Captain Hink? Yes, he is. And he’s asked after you.”
“The captain?” Rose asked. “The airship captain?”
“That’s the one,” Mae said. “He’s out in the main room eating a meal. Everyone is out there—his crew, Mr. Hunt, and a crew from another airship.”
“Another airship?” Rose said as a flush of warmth spread out to the tips of her fingers and toes. “How wonderful. Could you help me sit? I’d like to see this place.”
“I don’t know…”
“Please? I feel so much better right now. I’d like to see this place. I’d like to see everything I can.”
“Let me get a few things.” Mae walked a little ways off.
Rose turned her head to watch and pain bit down hard enough to make her stop breathing.
She was still under a lot of hurt. But at least she could see a few cots lined off in one direction. The walls were unhewn stone, dark, with clever shelves chipped into them and lanterns set here and there. It almost made the place look like a night sky broken by stars.
“What mountain are we inside, and how did we get here?” Rose asked.
Mae came back with a blanket rolled in her arms.
“We are north of the Bitterroots. I’m not clear as to our exact location. Captain Hink said this is Old Jack’s place. Jack takes in airships for supplies and repairs.” Mae reached down and quick as a wink lifted Rose by her waist and tucked the blanket behind her to prop her up a bit.
It hurt, and Rose let out a whimper, but got over it quick enough.
“How exotic,” she said.
“I think it’s damp, dark, and not nearly as warm as I prefer,” Mae said. “But it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. Apparently, Mr. Jack has blasted a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms in the hills.
“I have been informed, in no uncertain terms, that I am not to go wandering off down any random tunnel just because my curiosity takes hold of my feet. Apparently, if I do, I’ll lose all sense and be lost forever.”
Rose smiled. “Sounds like you. Always with a whim in your eyes.”
“Well, there’s some truth to that. Lately.” She paused and took some time to make sure Rose’s blanket was tucked in properly.
Rose stretched the fingers on her good hand, touching Mae. “You’ve done fine. More than fine. I saw you on the ship. We were going to crash. You…you gave us a blessing and saw that we landed properly, didn’t you?”
“I wasn’t in my mind. I don’t think I should have…I didn’t ask the captain if he wanted…”
“I’m sure he wanted to see us all back to land safely. You did right by us. Thank you, Mae.”
“It’s done,” Mae said. “If I can undo the harm, I will. But not until I return to the sisters.”
“Do you hear them here? The sisters?” Rose asked.
“No.” Mae frowned. “It’s something about these mountains. The silence is thick. Not that I’m complaining. The spell set on me to return me home is…”
Rose would have said “punishing,” but Mae just set her shoulders straight a bit and said, “Insistent.”