She looked around the others. "The invitation's obvious, ladies and gentlemen, but should we accept it?"
Zared raised an eyebrow. "Of course. It is our rendezvous, Captain."
Adena ignored him. The opinions that counted would come from her crew.
Jake swept the flop of hair from his face and, after a moment, nodded. He looked reluctant. "We should stay on alert at all times, Cap'n. We go in that place, and we'll be boxed-in. No way to leave in a hurry."
The other crew members nodded. Adena took a deep breath. "Understood. But we have a job to do." She glanced at Zared. He looked out at the cityscape, appearing totally unconcerned. "Mr. Dyer, take us in."
Jake went to work. Oculus Nightingale descended, the engine note changing to a throaty growl and the beat of the props becoming more percussive as they slowed. Gravity shifted and swung beneath her feet. Adena clasped her hands behind her back and watched the operation. I hope I haven't just made a fatal mistake...
Chapter 8
A human — or close to human — crew worked the mooring tower. Adena looked at it doubtfully. It appeared a gimcrack apparatus, made from former crossbeams and scraps of metal; yet it accepted the great airship's docking probe with nothing more than a brief deep creak. The docking crew waved to the flight deck, making the sign to cut engines.
Jake looked around. No trouble or danger threatened. Adena heard him emit a soft sigh of relief.
"Secure engines," Jake said. "Shore party, prepare to disembark."
She nodded to him. "Thank you, Mr. Dyer. Greg?"
He limped over. She took his arm and steered him to the rear of the bridge where a junior officer secured the control board to dockside status. Adena waited for the woman to depart before turning to Greg. "Are you okay with going ashore?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "I have to find out what happened to Cathy."
"I ask because it's not going to be easy for you facing Pure Bloods and their kin again, especially in this place."
Greg gave a sour grin. "I'll survive."
"I've no doubt. C'mon, then. Zared?"
The supercargo turned away from staring out at the scene and nodded, falling into step behind Adena and Greg. She led the way off the flight deck and down to the hold where she pointed at the damaged door. "Once we've made contact and offloaded, I'm going to see if we can stay a while longer to effect repairs to that."
Greg examined the damage. "Will the Pure Bloods allow it, Captain?"
"They can be tricky, but I don't see why they shouldn't."
Zared gave her a thin smile. "But they might see a reason why they shouldn't."
Adena glared at him but bit her tongue. She gestured to the crew on duty to open the hatch. As soon as they'd opened it, Zared didn't wait for an invitation. He walked straight to the ramp made by the door and out into the huge extemporized hangar.
The others followed, crew members staying alert by the cargo hatch, fingers on the triggers of air rifles and crossbows. Greg recognized the formidable Penny, the ventral gunner, as she stood scanning their surroundings. She saw him looking and gave him a friendly nod along with a once-over that was distinctly appraising.
The door vibrated under Adena's feet as she walked down to the packed rubble floor of the hangar. As soon as she set foot on the ground a square of pale blue light appeared as a door opened in a shadowy corner. A party of five individuals emerged, one carrying a blue-shaded lantern on a pole, and walked toward them. Adena could make out the tall, willowy form of a Pure Blood and the hulking shapes of two Overseers. The remaining two people appeared human, or perhaps Quadsang. A smell compounded of burnt iron, cinnamon and male Pure Blood pheromones reached her nostrils. She twitched.
The Pure Blood stopped about five paces away and stared at them all as if committing their faces to memory. For all Adena knew, the being was doing exactly that. It sneered at her.
"I am Erinacht, of House Caronel. You have the goods?"
Zared bowed to it with his hand on his heart. "We do, Excellency. Perhaps you'll permit us to bring it down for your inspection?"
Erinacht gave a languid wave of his hand. "Do so."
Zared bowed again and turned to signal the cargo bay crew. One by one they lowered ten crates from the confines of the hold, and one by one Erinacht inspected the seals. At his direction Zared opened each crate, revealing a mass of machine parts and tools nestling within straw packaging.
Erinacht took his time and examined all the crates and most of the contents, picking them up to look them over. Adena waited with growing, but concealed impatience until he nodded satisfaction.
"This is acceptable." He flicked a finger to one of the human slaves, a woman with mousy brown hair. Adena felt Greg tense. Without looking she grabbed his hand and held it, speaking to him in a low voice out the side of her mouth. "Don't!"
He relaxed a bit. "It's not her."
The woman bowed to Erinacht and handed him a large cloth bag. It clinked with a satisfying sound. Erinacht weighed the bag, his eyes on Zared. "Your payment, merchant."
Zared bowed and reached for the bag as Erinacht held it out.
A sound like a violin playing the note of C four octaves above middle C cut through the air, making her, Greg and the cargo crew wince. A violet flash lit the whole space of the hangar, casting walkways and gantries into stark relief. Someone screamed.
Adena flinched and turned away, purple-green afterimages flaring across her vision. The straw in one of the crates exploded into the air, filling it with chaff. She looked back in time
