Syfax intercepted the old man in the gray coat and hat. “Crime scene. You’ll have to leave.”
“Crime scene!” The man swerved around the major. “What happened here? Was anyone hurt?”
Taziri said, “Yes.”
“Well, I am a doctor, you know. Where am I needed?”
Syfax raised an eyebrow. “A doctor? Really?”
“Yes. Evander of Athens, physician and surgeon.”
A Hellan doctor? Better than nothing. “Great, doc, I’ve got a patient for you.” Syfax clamped a strong hand on the doctor’s shoulder and steered him to a nearby stretcher surrounded by armed men. “He was burned and beaten. Can you fix him up?”
Evander knelt by the body and began probing inside the shredded jacket and shirt where some crumpled rags and gauze fluttered in the wind. “This is some nice field world. Very nice. Tell me, exactly how much lard did you slather on this man before you tried stitching him back together like an old shoe? What is this, twine?” He glared up at the officers gathered around him.
Kenan winced and looked away.
“Doc, I need to speak to this man as soon as possible.” Syfax knelt beside him. “Can you wake him up?”
“If you wish to hear a great deal of screaming, then yes, yes I can.” The Hellan nodded seriously. “These burns are extensive. I will need to treat them before I even try to wake him. The pain would be unbearable. The shock could even stop his heart.”
Syfax thumbed his nose and frowned. “Then we’ll take him with us and talk to him later. And you too, doc.”
“With you? Where? What’s going on here?” Evander frowned. “I was summoned to your capital by Her Highness, the queen herself. We are leaving first thing in the morning. I’m not going anywhere but Orossa. The matter is quite urgent, which is the only reason why I’m traveling in these damned flying ships.”
“Well, your airship is coming with me and there won’t be a train to Orossa any time soon, so you can come with me now or go find yourself a mule.” Syfax stepped back from the crowd around Hamuy and raised his voice. “This is a matter of national security, and we are wasting time. Kenan!”
The corporal jogged forward.
“Get the prisoner onto the airship. Ohana, prep for takeoff. Doc, I’d like you on board, but I can’t order you to. You can come with us or go the old fashioned way. It should only take a week or so.”
“A week? The old fashioned way? I don’t have time for any of that.” The little man sputtered under his breath in Hellan, and then snapped, “If I it means getting to the capital any quicker, then I’ll come with you.”
Syfax wasn’t paying attention. Of course he’s coming with us. He watched Kenan struggle with the unconscious Hamuy for a moment, then reached down and helped haul the body across the field and through the narrow door of the Halcyon ’s gondola.
Dark wood panels and dark brass trim lined the edges of the narrow cabin with tiny electric lights gleaming and reflecting in every little nook and corner. They dumped Hamuy on the hard deck with a thump as the doctor shuffled in behind them and slid back onto one of the upholstered benches in the rear of the cabin.
And how are you doing, little lady? Syfax stared at the back of the woman’s head in the pilot’s seat. Taziri wasn’t moving. The lieutenant sat with one hand on the throttle and one on the flight stick, feet flat on the pedals. A faint hum ran through the cabin, but no steam engine huffed and no heat rolled off the rear wall. Aw crap, she’s a zombie.
Syfax stepped over Hamuy and leaned his head into the cockpit. “We’re ready to go whenever you are, lieutenant.”
“I’m ready. We’ll be lifting off on my mark,” she said. The men outside lashed the lines to the Halcyon ’s outer rails and jogged away. Taziri settled back into the seat and flexed the pedals, rotating the forward propellers back and forth just outside the cockpit windows. She wrapped her scarf loosely over her mouth and nose with one hand as she flipped a few switches on the engineer’s station with the other. Then she angled the propellers down and eased the throttle forward. “Mark.”
As the grass lay down in rippling waves behind the wash of the propellers, the world dropped out from beneath the ship and the bright chaos of the airfield shrank and vanished amidst the countless tiny lights of Tingis. Syfax glanced from the dozens of wavering needles in the gauges to the silk tell-tales flapping outside the cabin, and let his feet feel for the tremors in the hull as the wind buffeted and whirled around the airship. Smooth ride. Maybe she’s going to be all right after all.
Taziri dimmed the overhead cockpit lights, leaving only the instruments glowing, and their eyes began to adjust to the darkness. The compass needle in front of her spun lazily. “Major, we’re coming about to proceed south to Zili.”
“Good. Get this thing up to full speed and keep an eye out for the Copper Crake.”
Taziri nodded and eased the throttles forward. Syfax stepped carefully back into the cabin, one hand always gripping the overhead rails for balance. The floor shuddered and shifted ever so slightly with the wind and the irregular surges from the engines.
“Now.” The old Hellan reached under his seat and pulled out a black leather bag. “Let’s see about this wretch.” He knelt beside Hamuy and began pulling out his supplies. “I can treat the burns, somewhat. He’ll be horribly disfigured, but he may live. Maybe. The bruises are ugly too. We can assume a concussion, at least.”
“When can I talk to him?” Syfax peered down at them.
The doctor rolled up his sleeves. “Ask me again in an hour.”
Syfax caught Kenan’s eye and pointed at him to stay with the doctor. Then the major returned to the cockpit and squeezed into the empty engineer’s seat. The glowing needles on the console shivered behind their glass faces and the tools stowed in the netting swung silently overhead. “This must be the quietest airship I’ve ever been on.”
“We hear that a lot.” Taziri glanced at him. “Please don’t touch anything, sir.”
He grunted and took his arm off the console. “Quick to launch, too.”
Taziri nodded. “Major, if you don’t mind my asking, what exactly is the plan? Even if we find the Copper Crake, I can’t force them to land.”
“I know. That’s why I only brought one man with me.” Syfax stared out through the wide windows at the perfect blackness outside. The cockpit lights were just bright enough to keep his eyes from focusing on whatever lay below them. “We’re just backup at this point. I’m counting on the police in Port Chellah to spot the Crake and intercept the ambassador.”
“Do you think the ambassador was kidnapped?”
“Maybe. Maybe Hamuy turned on her. Or maybe he was following her orders. Too early to say, really. Blowing up a few engines and killing a bunch of passengers is a good way to scare people, keep them from traveling, that sort of thing. Standard terror tactic these days. We had something similar down in Acra a few months ago. Pastoral extremists.”
Taziri looked up to her right at the small mirror mounted on the wall where she could see the cabin behind her. “Back in the hangar, he didn’t even say anything.”
Syfax nodded slowly. Here it comes.
“He just walked up to her and stabbed her. He didn’t even hesitate. He just stabbed her. She wasn’t even armed.” Taziri took a long, deep breath and exhaled against her scarf. “You hear about these things happening in Persia or Songhai. But it doesn’t happen here. Not even in the riots. Stabbing a woman in the face? You don’t see that. You don’t even hear about that. Ever.”
“I know.”
“I’m sure you do, major.” She looked back at him.
“Listen, I want you to put Hamuy out of your mind, Ohana.”
“Out of…?” Her hands shook above the controls for a brief moment, snapping into fists, and then gripping the sticks again. “He’s lying right there. He’s right there behind me. The man who…and I-”
Syfax nodded. “Ohana, I get it. Trust me. There’ll be plenty of time for Hamuy later. He’s not going anywhere, and your captain has the best doctors in Tingis patching her up as we speak. But right now I need you to focus on flying this boat. Can you do that for me?”
She swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. How’s that arm?” He nodded at her left hand.
