“Of course,” he said, though he’d rather cut off his own ears than hear her say goodbye. He left Dita and J to thrash it out between them, and followed Rémy into the woods.
“So much has happened,” she said, walking ahead of him, pulling the pack from her shoulder. “And there’s something I need to show you.”
Rémy turned, and Thaddeus saw that she had unwrapped the object she’d taken from her bag. It was a golden cube, carved with intricate patterns. She traced her thumb over it before looking up at him and holding it out.
“What is it?” he asked, fascinated, taking the cube and turning it over in his hands.
“It’s a puzzle box. I have to solve it — open it,” she said. “And when I do . . . I think it will tell me how to find my brother.”
Thaddeus looked up at her in surprise. “I didn’t know you had a brother!”
“I didn’t — I don’t,” Rémy said, her face a confusion of emotions. “I might not. But on the other hand, I might, and if I do, then I’ve got to find him, haven’t I?” She bit her lip. “What if I asked you not to go back to London, Thaddeus? What if I asked you to come with me?”
“Come with you where?” Thaddeus asked. “Rémy, what do you mean? Where are you going?”
She didn’t answer. Instead she stared out through the dappled forest leaves to where the airship’s balloon drifted gently in the breeze.
“How far do you think the airship can fly?” she asked.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon Gosling always wanted to be a writer. She started as an entertainment journalist, writing about television series such as Stargate and Battlestar Galactica. Her first novel was published under a pen name in 2010. Sharon and her husband live in a very small cottage in a very remote village in the north of England, surrounded by sheep-dotted fells. The village has its own vampire, although Sharon hasn’t met it yet. The cat might have, but he seems to have been sworn to secrecy and won’t say a thing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank Laura Knowles and Julie Gassman for being such great editors and Liam Peters and Kay Fraser for creating such a beautiful cover. Thanks also to Julia Deppe for help with Dita’s German speech and to Adam for unerring support. Most of all, though, thanks to the readers!
The Ruby Airship is published in 2015 by Switch Press,
A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.switchpress.com
First published in 2013 by Curious Fox,
an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited,
7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB
Registered company number 6695582
www.curious-fox.com
Text © 2013 Sharon Gosling
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.
ISBN: 978-1-63079-004-2 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-63079-027-1 (ebook)
Summary: Rémy has left the circus and her life as a thief, but she doubts that detective Thaddeus Rec will ever truly trust her.
Designer: Kay Fraser
Cover illustration: Liam Peters
Image credit:Shutterstock © lynea
The Ruby Airship Page 30