Leviathan

“That’s a load of blether. You got in trouble for helping us, didn’t you?”

“I can’t argue with that.”

Dylan held out his hand. “Well, it was barking decent of you.”

“Thank you, sir.” Alek took the boy’s hand and shook. “And it was decent of you to save me from a fiery death.”

“That doesn’t count,” Dylan said. “It would’ve been my fiery death as well!”

Alek laughed. “I appreciate it nonetheless—as long as you promise not to hold me at knifepoint again.”

“I promise,” Dylan said, but his face stayed serious. “It must have been rough, having to run away from home.”

“It was,” Alek said, then looked at the boy suspiciously. “Did Dr. Barlow ask you to find out who I am?”

“The boffin doesn’t need my help.” Dylan snorted. “She already reckons you must be quite important.”

“Because of this castle? Because they came for me in a walker?”

Dylan shook his head. “Because they traded a barking count for you.”

Alek swore softly. Dr. Barlow had understood perfectly when he’d called Volger by his title. And that wasn’t the only foolish thing he’d let slip.

“Can I trust you, Dylan? To keep a secret.”

The boy looked at him askance. “Not if it’s a danger to the ship.”

“Of course not. It’s just that … Do you mind not telling Dr. Barlow what I said about being an orphan?” Alek paused, wondering if simply asking this would give him away. “If she knows that, she’ll figure out who I am. And then there might be trouble between us again.”

Dylan stared at Alek a moment, then nodded solemnly. “I can keep that secret. Your family’s no business of ours.”

“Thank you.” As they shook hands again, Alek felt a burden lift, knowing that Dylan would keep his word. After a month of being betrayed—by his family, his country’s allies, and his own government—it was a relief to trust someone.

He shivered and stamped his feet. “Shall we get out of this cold?”

“Aye. A hot cup of tea would be brilliant.”

“We can build a fire!” Alek said, realizing that there was no need to hide their smoke anymore. Another good thing about helping the Darwinists—he could have a warm bath and a hot meal for the first time in weeks.

Dinner was an extravagant affair, but bathing was better.

First Bauer packed the tub with snow, then melted it with pots of boiling water. The resulting bath was deliciously hot, and for the first time in a month removed the engine grease from under Alek’s fingernails. With a lady present, Klopp, Bauer, and Hoffman all shaved, and Dylan complained loudly that he hadn’t brought his razor, though the boy hardly seemed to need it.

Dr. Barlow, of course, was disinclined to bathe in a castle full of men. But when Dylan didn’t take advantage of the bathtub either, Alek wondered if hot water flowed freely aboard the Darwinists’ airship.

Hoffman thawed a lamb over the fire, while Master Klopp and Bauer cooked a vast pot of potatoes in chicken broth, onions, and black pepper. The feast went on past dark, despite how exhausted they all were.

It was refreshing to have a lady at the table. As Alek had suspected, Dr. Barlow’s spoken German was quite fluent. And Dylan somehow managed to make the other men laugh with only the words he’d picked up in one day.

As the night drew on, Alek began to wonder when next he would see an unfamiliar face. After hiding for five weeks, he’d already half forgotten what it was like to meet a new person, or to make a new friend.

What if he were stuck in this castle for years?

The next morning Alek’s first steps were slow ones.

The sledge wouldn’t budge at first, like a dog refusing to take a walk. But finally its runners cracked their overnight coat of ice and began to scrape along the courtyard stones.

As the Stormwalker neared the gate, Alek wondered if the sledge behind them was straight.

Master Klopp read his mind. “Perhaps I should watch out the hatch, like Volger.”

“No offense, Klopp,” Alek said, “but you’re a bit too sturdy to stand on my shoulders.”

The master of mechaniks shrugged, looking relieved.

“Perhaps Mr. Sharp can help,” Dr. Barlow suggested in German. She was sitting in the commander’s chair again, Tazza at her feet.

Alek agreed, and soon Dylan was halfway up through the hatch, facing backward, his boots settled on Alek’s shoulders.

“At least we know the sledge fits through the door,” Klopp muttered. “Since it is the door.”

After a few bumps and scrapes they were out on the open ice. But dragging the sledge was still like walking through molasses. Every step set the engines groaning. Annoyingly, Dylan stayed up top, his boots bouncing on Alek’s shoulders.

“Be ready to speed up a bit,” Klopp said as they reached the slope leading down from the castle. “We don’t want our cargo sliding into us from behind.”

Alek nodded, grasping the saunters tighter. Going down the hill, the sledge would build up its own momentum.

With a metal clang Dylan dropped back down into the cabin.

“They’re here!”

They all looked at him, speechless.

“To rescue us!” he shouted. “Two airships, coming over the mountains ahead!”

Alek brought the Stormwalker to a quick halt, looking at Klopp. “Cut us loose. We need to get Volger back!”

“But they’ll think we’re attacking.”

“Wait a moment, both of you,” Dr. Barlow said. “According to the captain the Air Service shouldn’t be here for a week!”

Master Klopp didn’t answer, leaning forward and raising his glasses to his eyes. His gaze swept the sky a moment, then fixed on a single spot, a frown growing on his face.

Alek squinted out the viewport and saw them—two dots just above the horizon. He silenced the walker, listening for the sound of the airship’s engines across the snow.

“Not airbeasts,” Klopp said simply. “They’re the kaiser’s zeppelins, coming for the kill.”

THIRTY-ONE

Deryn listened to the old mechanic arguing with Alek.

She didn’t have to speak Clanker to know what they were saying —she’d heard the word “zeppelin” come from Klopp’s mouth. So it wasn’t rescuers coming …

It was barking Germans!

She reckoned Klopp wanted to slink back to the castle and let the zeppelins do their work. The airships wouldn’t have spotted the Stormwalker yet. So once the Leviathan was destroyed, Alek and his friends could go back into hiding.

Dr. Barlow was about to join the argument, but Deryn silenced her with a hand on one shoulder, knowing exactly what to say.

“Your friend Volger’s out there, Alek. Because he traded himself for you!”

“I know that,” Alek said. “But it seems Volger planned for this. He made Klopp promise to keep me hidden if the Germans came.”

Deryn sighed. That count was a shifty one.

Alek switched back to Clanker-talk, ordering Klopp to disconnect the walker from the sledge. It was odd how