Kali wished she could come up with a way to cause the damaged airships to crash fully into the river below, but she would have to figure out a way to let the gas out of the envelopes to cause that. She had already checked all around the navigation cabin—what remained of it now that the windows and several panels had been ravaged by bullets—and she hadn’t seen a way to control the air mix. That was probably below decks in the engine room.
“Smoke?” Cedar asked, his voice incredulous. He crouched with his back to the door, keeping his head below the level of the broken windows as he reloaded a rifle and six-shooter. “Smoke is the least of our problems.”
A bullet shattering glass on its way through the navigation cabin punctuated his last word. He snarled, flicking shards out of his hair before returning to his work.
“You seem frazzled,” Kali said, crinkling her nose.
There was definitely smoke coming from somewhere nearby, and it wasn’t the simple burning gunpowder scent coming from the cannons and guns. Wood was burning, along with something else, something tarry and pungent.
“I can’t imagine why.” Cedar poked his head up enough to see through one of the broken windows, but jerked it back down immediately. “That Commissioner Steele is out there, leading the charge onto this ship along with some army captain.” He clenched his fist around the revolver. “We can’t get trapped in here by them. We can’t shoot soldiers and Mounties. They’re different from gangsters.”
The clash of steel—swords?—joined the cacophony of noise all around them. Kali suspected the soldiers were more interested in routing the gangsters than in harassing her and Cedar, at least at the moment, but black smoke coming from a hole in the door just above Cedar’s head distracted her from saying so. As she pointed at it, flames erupted, licking at the edges. The hole expanded with alarming quickness.
“You might not want to crouch so close to that,” Kali said.
Cedar glanced over his head, cursed, then rolled across the small cabin. He came up beside her, now facing the door. “I heard something hit that a minute ago. I think your witch friend may have thrown something at it.”
“She’s my witch foe, not my friend.”
Black goo dripped through the hole, the flames licking hungrily at it. A few burning drops hit the deck, wood sizzling when they landed.
“She’s a wart on a butt cheek is what she is.” Cedar pointed his revolver at the door, but didn’t seem to know what else to do. It wasn’t as if shooting at a burning hole would keep the fire from spreading.
“Can you see her?” Kali inched forward. “You might want to keep her from hurling more of whatever that goo is at our cabin.”
Cedar gripped her arm and maneuvered to move in front of her. “That’s spreading fast. We’re going to need to get out of here. I’ll kick the door open, shoot anyone giving us an irksome look, and we’ll run to the railing. I doubt—” A round of coughs interrupted him—the black smoke was particularly foul, searing Kali’s nostrils and making her wonder if there might be some poisons or at least toxins burning in that compound. “Doubt your rope is still dangling,” Cedar rasped, wiping his eyes, “but if we’re still over the river, we might be able to jump into the water and get out of this mess.”
“We’re going to run and leave them to fight it out on their own? I thought you wanted to help the town.” Kali pulled her shirt over her mouth and tried to take shallow breaths. The flames and the tarry substance had increased the hole from fist-sized to more than head-sized, and it continued to expand. She glimpsed two men running past outside. And was that Amelia still hunkering in that hatchway? What was she going to do next to hassle Kali and Cedar?
“The town’s helping itself just fine.” Cedar waved in the direction of the military ship.
The cannons fired again, nearly drowning out his words. He opened his rifle to reload, dipping into his pocket and feeling around. “I’m out of bullets.”
Kali pointed to the rifle she hadn’t used yet—she preferred tools. “Take that one.” Their ship returned fire, cannons booming nearby. “The gangsters are putting up a fight, an ugly fight.”
She tried to edge around him, to see what Amelia was doing, but Cedar deliberately blocked her route—and blocked her from the fire. More flaming droplets fell to the deck, which was also burning now.
Cedar coughed but grabbed the other rifle and aimed at something through the widening hole. Between the dark smoke billowing from the flames and his big shoulder, Kali couldn’t see his target.
“Get ready to run,” he ordered.
Before she could object, he fired, then leaped to his feet. He kicked the burning door, but it opened inward and hadn’t burned down enough to cave. A board flew free, but the door itself held in the frame. He cursed and kicked out more boards, hardly heeding the flames.
“Follow me,” he shouted, then dove through the hole, fire burning all around him. A droplet of black goo smacked onto his back as he flew through, and he screamed.
Startled, Kali almost fell over. She’d never heard such a pained cry from him.
That didn’t keep him from rolling into a crouch as soon as he landed, then firing toward the hatchway. Amelia? Kali couldn’t see around him to tell if she was still there or had ducked back inside.
Instead of diving through the hole—she didn’t want to take the same burn as he had—Kali grabbed a hat on the deck under the control panel. The pilot was either dead or unconscious. She doubted he would miss it.
With the hat in hand, she edged close to the doorknob. It remained intact, though most of the boards had been burned or kicked out. Tarry smoke assailed her nostrils and her eyes, making everything water. She grabbed the door latch, using the hat to protect her hand from the heat. Thankfully, it still worked. She flung the burning door open, more flame-eaten boards falling out as it struck the wall.
Cedar fired as she ran out onto the deck next to him. She felt vulnerable out in the open, even though smoke clouded the air and reduced visibility, but he was still firing at the hatchway, and she didn’t want to run to the railing without him. She didn’t want to run at all. As crazy as it was to stay here, she wanted to crash these ships and keep the gangsters from getting away. That third airship, wherever it was, was probably still undamaged. It might even now be coming about to help in the fray, to try and drive off the military craft again.
Gunshots came from the side. Cedar cursed, and rolled away from his spot, firing back in that direction as he did so. Kali gripped her hammer and groped for something helpful to do.
With Cedar distracted, Amelia leaned out the hatchway again, her arm lifted to throw something.
Kali reacted instantly, hurling her hammer at the woman. She must have been focused on Cedar because she didn’t see the spinning tool coming until it was almost upon her. She tried to duck, but it clipped her temple. She cried out and lost her footing, one boot sliding on the deck, the boards still damp from the rain. Whatever that was in her hand—it looked like a black rubber ball, but surely it couldn’t be anything so innocuous—flew free from her fingers. First it sailed upward, but it hit the jamb of the hatchway above her and broke open. Like a balloon, it popped, and black droplets rained out, many of them falling upon Amelia.
She screamed, the noise so abrupt and alarming that all of the gunfire and shouts on the deck fell silent. The black goo burst into flames, including the stuff that had spattered her. Amelia screamed again and rolled about on the deck. She flung her satchel off and tore at the buttons of her clothing, trying to escape.
Kali raced forward, though she had no idea how to help. Smother her with a blanket? She didn’t have a blanket. She didn’t have anything anymore, not even the hammer.
Amelia leaped to her feet, flames eating at her even though she had torn off some of her clothing. The black stuff clung to her skin even as it burned, dozens of patches of flame smoking on her flesh and also on the deck at her feet. Still screaming, she sprinted for the railing. Nobody tried to stop h
er. She leaped over the side, not even looking first. Were they over the river? The docks? The city? Kali couldn’t tell from the middle of the airship.
Cedar grabbed her arm. “Time to go,” he urged, jerking his chin toward the opposite railing.
Commissioner Steele stood there, a cutlass in one hand and a revolver in the other as he stared at them, recognition burning in his eyes.
“Distract him,” Kali whispered, her gaze latching onto the one thing Amelia had left behind. Her satchel.
It was smoking, a tiny hole burned in the side, but she ought to be able to poke inside without being hurt. She lunged toward it, but Cedar, his gaze locked onto the Mountie through the smoke, did not let her go.
“Kali, no. There are too many.”
Steele gave an order to his men, and several rifles lifted toward Cedar. Cedar could have lifted his own to fire back, but he tried to pull Kali toward the railing instead, in the same direction that Amelia had gone.
A yell came from the bow, the end of the ship that had crashed into the other ship—the two craft were attached, broken hulls stuck together, neither able to steer and only their envelopes keeping them aloft. A group of at least twenty gangsters charged toward the commissioner and his men, all wielding guns, knives, and swords. Reinforcements from the other ship.
Steele’s attention was drawn from Cedar, and Cedar, watching it all, let his grip on Kali’s arm lessen. She pulled away from him and lunged for the satchel, careful to avoid the flames spreading from the spot where that tarry ball had exploded. She snatched the strap of the bag just as Cedar caught her again, pulling her toward the railing.
Twice as many gangsters as Mounties and soldiers engaged in battle, and neither side paid attention to Kali or Cedar.
“Wait,” she said, finding a squishy but substantial ball in the satchel. It was the only thing left inside, and it appeared to be identical to the device that had burned Amelia. It felt strange in Kali’s hand, almost like gelatin. She held it as though it was more fragile than an eggshell.
Cedar growled in her ear, the sound just audible over the clashing of steel and the firing of guns. “Better throw that overboard right away,” he said. “Make sure it lands in the river.”
“I have a better idea.”
Without waiting for a rebuttal, Kali ran around the burning navigation cabin, what remained of it, keeping the structure between her and the battling men. She reached the bow of the ship, cradling the gelatinous ball in her hands, and looked up, gauging the distance to the envelope on the craft they were attached to. She was fairly certain she could hit it from here, but Cedar was the one with the stronger arm and the crack aim. Thank his protective streak, he had run after her.
“Here.” She held the ball toward him.
“Are you insane? I don’t want that.”
“Remember the first time we blew up an airship together?” She tilted her head toward the envelope.
He looked up, then down at the ball, and seemed to catch on. That didn’t keep him from grimacing.
“It might stop the fighting,” Kali said.
Already, many men were down, if not dead, over where the Mounties and gangsters were clashing.
Cedar sighed. “Give it to me.”
Kali laid the ball gently on his palm.
“Do we have to light it?”
“I don’t think so. She didn’t.” Kali shuddered, remembering the way it had exploded all over Amelia and burst into flames. She looked down, wondering if the woman had made it to the water and if the river had quenched the flames. With an alarmed jolt, she realized they weren’t over the water. Wherever Amelia had fallen, it hadn’t been into the river.
“Here it goes,” Cedar said, drawing back his arm.
“Wait,” Kali said, spotting movement behind the other airship. “There’s the third one.”
“You want me to wait and throw this at it instead? Kali, they’re arming their cannons.”
She hesitated. While it might be more desirable to take out the most mobile of the craft before it could approach and disgorge any more soldiers, they might get themselves shot if they waited. Alert men lined the railing, gesturing and arming weapons as the ship drifted closer.
“No, you’re right. Just hit that one. We’re close enough to it—” she waved at the bow of their ship and how it was smashed into the side of the other ship and stuck there, “—that our envelope might catch some of the flames too.”
“And that would be good because… why?”
“This ship would crash too.”
“With us on it.”
“Just throw the ball, Cedar. We’ll survive.” Maybe she shouldn’t be so confident, especially since they weren’t over the river. Her thought of simply jumping to safety in the water had been dashed.
Before she could second-guess herself further, Cedar hurled the gelatinous ball.
It appeared tiny—miniscule—as it hurtled toward the massive airship envelope. Kali almost laughed as it disappeared into the darkness. It would probably bounce off and do nothing. Or it would strike but be too small to be effective.
Still, she remembered the way the tiny hole in the door had become a large one. Maybe…
The ball spattered against the side of the envelope. Flames burst from the substance immediately, appearing like a tiny campfire burning on the side of the dark oblong balloon. Kali gripped the railing, hoping that—
The substance burned through abruptly, and a gout of flame spewed out of the side of the envelope, like lava erupting from a volcano. The airship was wrenched to the side with such power that the deck tilted. It tore away from the craft Kali and Cedar remained on, the force making their own deck shake. Flames spread along the balloon like a wildfire out of control on a dry prairie, and the airship pitched downward, crashing into the bow of the third airship as it dropped. For a moment, the envelopes of the two craft were close enough to touch, and the flames jumped from one to the other. An explosion roared as the gas in that balloon ignited.
Kali clenched a triumphant fist. She hadn’t expected that, but almost jumped, excited that something had finally gone their way.
“Stay here,” Cedar barked.
She looked after him in confusion as he sprinted in the direction of the battle. They had just put two of the gangster airships out of commission. Surely, this was the time for them to slip away, find a rope and escape over the side before Commissioner Steele found the opportunity to target them again.
Ignoring Cedar’s order, as usual, Kali crept after him. He had disappeared from view around the navigation cabin, though she could still see people fighting through the broken windows. She crept to the corner, careful not to draw attention to herself. The closest thing to a weapon she had was Amelia’s satchel. She poked into it as she advanced, wondering if she might have missed anything else in the bottom.
Something cool and metal lay nestled in the corner. She jerked her hand back, remembering those scorpion balls.
Yells and gunshots made her look around the corner, worried Cedar had thrown himself into trouble for some reason. She groaned when she spotted him. He had squared off in the middle of the chaos against a huge bear of a man with tattoos on his cheeks. The thug wielded a club and a dagger and stood over a downed Mountie officer. Kali glimpsed a mustache and thought it might be Commissioner Steele. He was curled up, blood leaking through his fingers where he gripped his side. His weapons were nowhere nearby, and the rest of his men had been driven back by the superior numbers of the gangsters. Apparently, the brutes hadn’t yet seen what was happening to their two other ships. They still believed they had the advantage, and maybe in this particular skirmish they did.
The thug tried to pound his club down onto the officer, but Cedar caught it with his rifle, which he held in both hands. He must have run out of ammunition if he was resorting to using it as a staff. As tall as Cedar was, this man was even taller—and bigger, with the fat on his arms not slowing him down at all. Maybe he was the leader here,
Cudgel’s second-in-command. Whoever he was, he gave Cedar a hard time, swiping at him with both weapons. Cedar was better at fashioning a makeshift staff than Kali, but he struggled to hold his ground under the big man’s assault. Worse, several gangsters flanked him, some shooting at the Mounties but others looking like they were thinking of shooting Cedar.
Kali shoved her hand back into the satchel, pulling out the metal ball. It definitely looked like one of the ones that had unfurled to unleash scorpions. She thought about throwing it at the back of the thug’s head and hoping for the best, but slid her fingers along the seams instead. There had to be a switch, something that triggered the creatures to leap out of their cocoons a couple of seconds after being released. Or was that done simply by rolling the balls? Amelia had been careful to roll them, not throw them.
An oomph sounded above the noise of the skirmish. Cedar had landed a blow to his opponent’s stomach with the butt of his rifle. He followed it up, stepping in, right beside Steele as he thrust the rifle butt toward the gangster thug’s chin. The big man jerked his head back in time to avoid the blow, and he slashed at Cedar with his knife.
Kali found what seemed to be a tiny button in one of the seams. She hesitated to push it. What if she rolled the ball toward the thug’s boot, and he moved? The device might bump into Steele instead—the man had climbed to his hands and knees, but wasn’t moving out of the way quickly. Blood dripped to the deck under him.
Cedar roared, deflecting a blow from the club, then rammed his shoulder into his opponent. The big man stumbled and tripped over Steele. As he toppled backward, Kali pushed the button and rolled the ball toward the gangster. The man hit the deck hard, but he didn’t stay there, not with Cedar lunging after him.
Kali winced when the thug rolled to his feet, certain the scorpion ball would roll right between his legs. It might even hit Cedar.