Smoke choked the air, blocking out the sun. The airship was careening across the lake, flames streaking from the balloon’s side. It crashed into the ice and skidded a half mile before ramming into the shoreline.
A gloved hand descended into her vision. “This hydrogen you speak of… It seems it’s flammable.”
She accepted his hand. “Highly.”
“Smart lady.” Cedar surprised her by pulling her into a hug.
With the immediate threat gone, Kali’s legs grew rubbery, and she was glad for his support. “I still don’t trust you,” she felt compelled to add.
Cedar chuckled. “Perhaps not, but I’m beginning to trust you.”
The words surprised her, not only because he said them but because they made a lump form in her throat. She could not remember anyone ever saying that to her. Not trusting her voice, she decided not to respond. A hug was fine, but she certainly did not want him thinking his words affected her.
Sled runners rasped on the ice behind them.
Kali pulled away from Cedar. A team of dogs trotted past, angling their sled to skirt the fissure. The musher, an older man with a trapline above town, lifted a hand.
“Good show.” He smirked. “Hope it doesn’t delay you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Kali called. “We’ll catch up.”
A second sled team was passing farther down. “Don’t bring that trouble back to town, McAlister!”
Kali gritted her teeth. “Let’s get going, Cedar.”
But Cedar was pulling his pack off the sled. He shouldered it, checked his sword, and reloaded his rifle.
“What’re you doing?” she asked. “You’re leaving?”
He pointed the rifle at the burning wreck. “I want to make sure nobody’s left to come after us on foot.”
“It’ll be dark before you make it there and back. I can’t wait for you. I have to press on. I have to-”
Cedar gripped her arm. “I know. I’ll catch up to you when you make camp.”
Kali watched for a moment as he jogged across the ice and snow. As capable as he was, she felt guilty about letting him go off alone. There had been a lot of pirates manning that ship. Many would be injured, and some might be dead, but there would be able-bodied men and women left too.
She yanked her gaze away and returned to the sled. Cedar knew what he was doing. She had to focus on the race. The last night was coming up, and she had expected to be ahead by this point. Larger and less maneuverable, her sled would be at a disadvantage weaving amongst the tightly spaced trees that dotted the remaining terrain. She had to make sure she regained the lead before nightfall. That was the only way she would be in position to fly into town at the head of the pack in the morning.
Part VI
Kali lay in the lean-to, her back to the furnace. Darkness smothered the forest, and she had no lantern fuel left to light her lamp.
“Don’t need light,” she told herself. It was long past midnight, long past the time she should be sleeping.
But her ears strained, listening for footsteps crunching through the snow. The starlit trail ought to be easy to follow, even at night. Cedar should have caught up hours ago-if he hadn’t been hurt. Or worse.
Kali groaned and rubbed her face. Why was she worrying about him? She had only known him two days.
Two days in which he had saved her life numerous times. More, he had saved her
That grin faded at the realization that dawn lurked only a couple hours away. She could not go back and search for him now. If she did, it was over. The race was lost. She had caught up to the other mushers but not gotten ahead before darkness fell, so she needed an early start in the morning. She needed to be well-rested. She definitely did not need to be lying awake, imagining Cedar buried in a snow drift with a bullet in his leg, trying to claw his way toward help, frostbite blackening his fingers and toes. Death on the horizon.
Kali groaned again, sat up, and grabbed her boots, her rifle, and a couple smoke nuts. “Fool. I’m a fool.”
She slipped outside, wincing as cold air enveloped her. She stoked the furnace and broke camp, not bothering to pack the tent. It might have been faster to leave everything and tramp back to the lake on foot, but, concerned for Cedar or not, she would not leave her sled in plain sight where it could tempt saboteurs.
A few dogs barked as she passed other teams bedded down alongside the trail, but she chugged through without pausing to acknowledge questioning grunts from sleepy mushers.
The first hint of dawn brightened the southern sky when she neared the lake. She tucked the sled into a hollow beside the trail, then, rifle in hand, padded onto the ice.
Even in the dim lighting, the airship wreckage was easy to see. Flames still burned in spots, lighting charred trees and casting an orange glow onto the ice.
Kali skirted the shoreline, clinging to the shadows as she headed toward the downed ship. She had not gone far when a dark form on the ice came into view. A person? A body? Cedar?
She slid a glove off so she could rest a finger on the trigger of her rifle. Frigid air chafed exposed skin. She eased forward. The form did not move. Queasiness stirred in her belly when she drew close enough to identify it: a charred body. He, or she, must have been thrown far in the crash.
A branch snapped in the woods.
Kali dropped to a knee and raised the rifle. The cold wooden stock chilled her cheek.
A shadow moved amongst the trees. Wolf.
She held her fire, not wanting to risk alerting anyone with a shot. Besides, grisly as the thought was, the wolf had a meal; it would not likely bother her.
Kali passed more bodies. She was glad darkness cloaked their faces, but she imagined their shocked expressions, their terrified eyes, nonetheless. Knowing she was responsible for their deaths did not sit well with her. Self-defense or not, she had caused a lot of carnage.
But not all of it. Her mouth fell open when she came to the next body. This one was missing a head.
Her first instinct was to look away, but curiosity kept her eyes riveted. How in tarnation had someone been thrown clear in a way that removed his head? And for that matter… She searched the ice all about her. Where
Kali crouched for a closer look. Her stomach churned at the scent of blood, but she told herself it could be worse. The temperature had already frozen the corpse.
The head had been cleanly severed by something sharp. Her thoughts went to Cedar’s sword, but she dismissed the notion. He might kill someone, but he hardly seemed the sort of loony to run around hacking off people’s heads.
Kali left the decapitated pirate, continuing toward the wreckage. On the way, she passed two more corpses, these downed by more normal means: bullets.
She picked through scattered boards and cargo sprawled about the crash. She grew uneasy as she entered the ring of light around the ship. The flames made it easier for her to see, but they would also make it easier for others to see
Copious footprints crisscrossed the area, and, here and there, blood spotted the snow. She lifted a broken pocket watch on a chain, then laid it back down.
Kali was not sure what she expected to find; everyone around the ship was dead. If it was Cedar’s doing, he should have finished and returned to the sled. At the least, she would have met him on the trail. If someone else was responsible…she might turn a corner and find his body as well.
A soft thump sounded-something bumping against wood. Kali tensed. Someone, or something, was still in the airship.
It had pitched sideways when it skidded across the ice, and the decks would be too slanted to walk upon. If she could find a way on. The crumpled and charred remains of the balloon swaddled much of the craft. She rounded the bow and spotted a ragged hole in the hull. It might offer entry.
