with Doctor Ellington. You do whatever it is you do to get this boat airborne.”
“Do you need help?” Miri yelled back. She was a fair shot with a pistol, and Dag said she was the fastest person at reloading he’d ever known.
“No,” said Dag coolly. “There’s only two of them. I can handle it. You get ready to take us out into the Breath.”
“Mr. Benoit,” he shouted to the old man on the pier, who had been gesticulating wildly with his cane at the sight of Rodrigo. “I suggest you seek cover!”
Benoit hobbled over to crouch behind a large barrel of creosote that had been left on the pier. He drew an ancient pistol.
“Who am I shooting at?” he asked, squinting his eyes to see.
“No one!” Dag shouted, more frightened of the old man’s shaking hand than he was of the assassins.
Dag raised the blunderbuss to his shoulder and yelled at Rodrigo and Stephano. “Run for it! I’ll cover you!”
“One last effort,” said Rodrigo. “Can you make it?”
Stephano nodded. Dag took aim.
“Now!” Rodrigo said. He ran, and Stephano stumbled across the boardwalk.
A gate in the fence permitted access to the pier. The two assassins fired their pistols and Dag fired off the blunderbuss simultaneously. Rodrigo reached out his hand to open the gate. A bullet grazed it. Splinters flew. Rodrigo swore and snatched back his bleeding hand. He kicked open the gate and ran through it and onto the pier. Stephano stumbled and fell to the ground.
A peppering shot from the blunderbuss forced the two assassins to seek cover. Rodrigo ran back to grab hold of Stephano, who had managed to regain his feet. Miri lowered the gangplank. Rodrigo helped Stephano to cross to the Cloud Hopper.
“You’re bleeding!” said Miri to Stephano, and she put her arm around him.
“I’m bleeding, too,” Rodrigo said, holding out his hand.
Miri snorted. “Make yourself useful. Go cast off the line!”
Dag dropped the blunderbuss and drew a long-barreled pistol. The two assassins raised their heads. Dag fired, and they ducked back down.
“Cast off!” he yelled to Rodrigo.
Miri lowered Stephano to the deck, then ran over to the helm, which was located on the upper part of the forecastle. She stopped when she saw Gythe was already there, handling the controls.
“I told you to stay below deck!” Miri told her sister.
Gythe pointed at Stephano and then turned away. Miri regarded her in frustration, then decided that arguing would waste too much time. She went back to tend to Stephano.
Rodrigo ran along the pier to where a thick rope held the boat tethered to the dock. As he leaned down to take hold of the line, a bullet tore through the air where his head had been. Rodrigo dropped to the pier with a panicked howl.
“That was a damn fine shot,” said Dag, impressed. He looked around, puzzled. “Where did it come from?”
“Piefer!” Stephano gasped. “Everyone take cover!”
He grabbed hold of Miri and dragged her down beside him on the deck. Gythe crouched behind the protective shielding surrounding the boat’s controls. Rodrigo remained on the pier, hugging the wooden planks. Dag picked up another pistol.
“Dag, get down!” Stephano yelled. “Piefer’s using one of those new-fangled rifles!”
“Is he?” said Dag, adding wistfully, “I’d dearly love to get my hands on one of those!”
A bullet went zinging past his head. Dag had been keeping watch for the muzzle flash and, seeing it, he aimed his pistol and fired. Realizing he’d been spotted, Piefer ran out of the shadows.
“He’s on the move,” Dag called. “Cast off!”
“Are you sure he’s gone?” Rodrigo asked fearfully.
“Cast off!” Dag roared.
Rodrigo crawled on his hands and knees to reach the line, wrestled with it a moment, then managed to get it free. The Cloud Hopper started to drift away. Gythe steered the houseboat, keeping it close to the pier, and Miri yelled for Rodrigo to jump for it.
Rodrigo had just begun to run toward the gangplank, when one of Piefer’s men leaped up suddenly from behind the fence line and brought his pistol to bear, aiming for Rodrigo. Dag saw the danger, but he was reloading and there was nothing he could do except shout a warning.
A shot fired, coming from the vicinity of the creosote barrel. The assassin spun around from the force of the bullet and fell onto the boardwalk.
Benoit stood up, waving the smoking pistol and shouting defiantly, “Did you see that, sir?”
“You old fool, get out of here!” Stephano yelled. “Help me to my feet, Miri! He’s going to get himself killed!”
“He’s taking your advice, Captain,” Dag reported, keeping an eye on Benoit, who had left his creosote barrel and was making a dash for one of the warehouses. Dag added in admiring tones, “He can move damn fast for a cripple.”
Rodrigo raced across the gangplank. Dag heaved it in while Gythe sent power into the helm. According to the Church, channelers could touch God’s Hand as He sent magic flowing through the world and open themselves up to act as a conduit. Gythe could hear God’s voice like a song and draw His strength into herself and then direct the magical energy into the control panel’s constructs. The magical energy arced through the gas and caused the boat to begin to rise.
The Cloud Hopper’s two airscrews began to whirl; the sails billowed. Gythe turned the starboard airscrew to full ahead and the larboard screws to full reverse, swinging the bow of the boat toward the harbor. A strong breeze filled the Cloud Hopper’s sails and the boat drifted down the canal toward the harbor. Beyond was the vast expanse and pink-tinged mists of the Breath.
Piefer fired again as the Cloud Hopper began to put distance between them. Stephano was leaning against the rail, ignoring Miri’s scolding and her urgent attempts to make him go below. He saw the flash and heard the report and looked around anxiously. Piefer had missed apparently; everyone was safe.
The sail billowed and the houseboat gained speed. The gap between the ship and pier widened. As Stephano watched the Freyan lower his gun, he was back in the cemetery watching Piefer lower his pistol as Valazquez’s corpse, with its shattered bloody pulp of a head, sagged to the ground.
Sir Richard Piefer. Slouch Hat. Which was he? Who was he? A noble lord who could act the part of a drunken idler or an idler who could take the part of a noble lord? Whoever he was, he had the means and connections to hire spies and assassins and arm them and himself with rare and expensive rifles. Stephano stared at the Freyan, fixing his face in his mind.
“I don’t know who the Hell you are,” Stephano shouted. “But you and I will meet again. That’s a promise.”
The Freyan smiled at Stephano and shrugged with his languid grace. He thrust his pistol in his belt, tucked his rifle in the crook of his arm, and strolled off into the shadows.
Stephano’s strength gave out. He felt himself falling and had the horrible idea he was falling into the emptiness of the Breath, but Dag caught hold of him and lowered him down. He saw Miri’s frightened face, and he smiled to reassure her, and then he sank into a dark dream in which he was driving a hansom cab through the halls of the palace, trying to find his father…
Dubois had followed Harrington and the assassins as they were following Stephano and Rodrigo. Dubois had not taken part in the fight, for the crew of the Cloud Hopper seemed to have that matter in hand. He stood on the pier and watched the Trundler boat sail safely away. He recognized the big man, Dag, from the episode in the park, as well as the two pretty female Trundlers who manned and probably owned the boat. Dubois watched Harrington and his remaining assassin toss the body of their compatriot into the canal and then separate.
Dubois tailed Harrington back to his inn. Finding his own agent still on duty in a tavern across the street, Dubois gave him the sign that he was to continue to keep an eye on Harrington, and returned to his lodgings.
An eventful morning, Dubois thought, as he dined on roasted fowl and suet pudding.
