Goliath

soon they were crowding into the dorsal steering house, the aft-most shelter on the ship.

“Get that wire secure,” Mr. Rigby ordered.

Alek translated for Hoffman, who set to work. The bosun plunked down heavily on a box of spare engine parts, and Deryn pulld off her gloves and rubbed her hands together, then whistled for glowworm light.

The dorsal steering house wasn’t luxurious. It was full of parts for tending the ship’s rear engines, and had its own master wheel if the bridge somehow lost rudder control. Thankfully it was connected by passageways to the airbeast’s gut, so a squick of warmth rose from an open hatchway in the floor.

Once the wire was tied fast, Hoffman said a few words to Alek, then descended into the airship, unspooling still more wire behind him.

“Where’s he off to?” Deryn asked Alek.

“Mr. Tesla wants the antenna to run down through the ship, all the way to his laboratory.”

“Aye, anything to keep him dry,” Deryn muttered. She wondered exactly what the Clanker boffin was up to. Back in Tokyo he’d proven he could send radio waves around the world. What more could he do from up here in the sky?

The bosun still wore a pained expression, so the three waited a few minutes before moving on. Every gust of wind made the steering house shudder, the rain-spattered windows rattling in their frames. Deryn felt the floor shifting beneath her. The airbeast was flexing its body, turning its face away from the force of the storm. This close to the tail, it was easy to feel the giant body shift, like being at the end of a vast, slow whip.

The ratlines creaked around them, and an unfamiliar metal groan came through the sounds of wind and rain. The wire leading out into the storm went taut beside Deryn, then shuddered and fell slack.

“Blast it,” the bosun sighed. “That wire must have been too short.”

“But Mr. Tesla’s measurements were quite precise!” Alek said.

“Aye, of course they were.” Deryn shook her head. “Too precise. He was thinking of the Leviathan as a zeppelin, a dead thing, rigid from bow to stern. But an airbeast bends, and more than usual in this barking storm.”

Alek stood up, looking out. “Perhaps someone might have mentioned that to him!”

“Your Mr. Tesla never bothered to ask,” the bosun said flatly. “But repairs will have to wait. They’ll be starting the engines up again soon.”

Alek looked as though he were going to argue, but Deryn put a hand on his shoulder.

“They’re idle for now, Mr. Rigby.” She stepped to the windows, shielding her eyes with her hands. “And the break might be close by.”

The bosun snorted. “All right. Pop out and take a look.”

Deryn opened the door a bit and squeezed out onto the blustery expanse of the topside. A moment later something caught her eye. At least five hundred feet away, near the base of the hump, a glimmer of silver danced in the rain.

“One end of the wire’s got loose, sir,” she called over her shoulder. “Maybe twenty yards of it. And it’sflailing about in the wind!”

Mr. Rigby got to his feet and joined her at the door, then swore.

“When the engines come back, that’ll get a bit lively! Could even cut into the membrane!” He crossed to the gut hatchway. “I’m afraid you’ve got to go back out, lad, and secure both loose ends. I’ll find a message lizard and tell the bridge to hold the engines still for a bit longer.”

“Aye, sir.” Deryn pulled her gloves back on.

The bosun paused halfway down into the hatch. “Wait a few minutes to make sure they’ve got the message, then get it done fast. Whatever happens, I don’t want you out there at full-ahead!”

The bosun dropped away, and Deryn began to search the parts drawers. All she needed was some pliers and a short length of wire.

“I’m going with you,” Alek said.

She started to say no. The bosun hadn’t given orders one way or the other, and she could handle the job herself. But if Mr. Rigby’s message arrived too late and the ship went to top speed again, anyone alone out there could be swept away into the sea.

Besides, who knew what Alek would get up to if she left him here alone?

“I’m not afraid,” he added.

“You should be,” Deryn said. “But you’re right, it’s better if we stick together. Hand me that rope.”

“Ready?” Deryn asked.

“I suppose so.” Alek looked down at the rope tied to his flight suit’s harness. He wondered what Count Volger would say about him being bound to a common girl. Probably something unpleasant.

But it was certainly better than letting a friend go out there on her own.

Deryn opened the hatchway, and a rush of cold air sent a fresh chill through Alek’s sodden flight suit. As he followed her out into the rain, the five meters of rope between them grew heavy with water.

“If the engines start up, drop flat and hold on to the ratlines,” Deryn said.

Alek didn’t argue. The few moments of downpour at full-ahead had been convincing enough.

He followed Deryn toward the bow, keeping to the middle of the spine, his hands out for balance. Down below, the ocean’s surface was in furious motion, the wind tearing whitecaps off the waves like they were plumes of steam.

“ ‘Pacific’ means ‘peaceful,’” he said. “So far, this ocean isn’t living up to its name.”

“Aye, and believe me, it’s much worse down there than it looks. We’ve matched the speed of the wind, so all we’re feeling is the odd gust.”

Alek nodded. The sky was dark, the rain still falling, and he could smell a deadly hint of lightningBut the air was eerily calm. It was like being in the placid eye of a storm, with its energies boiling all around them, waiting to be unleashed.

“Then, why’s that loose wire blowing about?

Deryn’s hand described an arc in the air. “The hump always has an untidy bit of airflow behind it when the ship’s free-ballooning, ever since the earliest airbeasts were fabricated. The boffins have never been able to fix it.”

“You mean Darwinism has its flaws?”

“So has nature. Ever seen a red-footed booby try to land?”

Alek frowned. “I’m afraid I have no knowledge of red-footed boobies.”

“Well, I’ve never actually seen one myself. But everybody says they’re barking hilarious!”

They were drawing near the airbeast’s hump, and Alek felt the air growing restive around them. The loose section of antenna looked like a glint of silver dancing on the ratlines.

“Step carefully here,” Deryn called.

With every meter the troubled airflow grew worse, driving the rain into a blur against Alek’s goggles. But he didn’t dare take them off. The loose wire was flailing like the tentacle of some dying creature, and he didn’t fancy leaving his eyes unprotected.

Deryn came to a halt. “Do you hear that?”

Alek listened. Above the chattering of rain he heard a distant thrum.

“The rear motivator engines?”

“Aye, on low speed.” She shook her head. “Just a bit of steering, let’s hope. Come on!”

She jogged toward the flailing wire, dragging Alek by his harness. The wind shifted every few seconds now, sending the falling rain into a dozen little whirlwinds. The wire skittered away as Deryn made a jump for it, but Alek managed to plant a boot down to bring its thrashing to a halt.

Deryn reached into her tool bag. “I’m going to splice another ten yards on to the antenna. That should be loose enough to keep it from snapping again. Go find the other end of the break.”

“I can’t go anywhere, Deryn. We’re tied together, remember?”