by H. L. Burke
The last time she’d been behind bars, Mr. C had bailed her out, vouched for her, and given her a second chance. She couldn’t depend on that now. Escape was her responsibility.
Running her hands through her hair, she hit upon one of Amara’s cursed hair pins. Amara must’ve stuck two dozen into Nyssa’s hair when she styled it. Nyssa pushed it further in, hoping no one would notice it.
Time crawled. When the clock read 3:42, the door again opened and Leering-Airman entered.
Her guard peered over his magazine. “Did you investigate cabin 15?”
Leering-Airman shrugged. “Empty except for an invalid with a valid ticket and passport. The passenger manifest says he was traveling with a young lady, but apparently it was his fiancée, and she left him at the altar, so he took the trip alone. Sad story.”
Nyssa moved her hand over her mouth, uncertain if she could keep down a smile. Of course Ellis talked his way out of it. I wonder where Amara and Renard got to.
“Maybe the old man got the cabin number wrong.” The guard stood and stretched. “The young lady’s presence alone proves we have stowaway problems. What does the captain want to do about it?”
“Stem-to-stern search. Seems like a lot of trouble, though.” Leering-Airman stepped towards Nyssa’s cage, his leer returning. “Maybe I could interrogate her. Save us some time.”
Nyssa’s fists clenched.
“Back away from the girl, Morris. We aren’t savages.” Her guard scowled.
“Ah, Jepson. You’re no fun,” Morris said, but he turned his back to Nyssa again.
An alarm blared in the distance. The men jolted.
Morris opened the door and shouted out, “Hey, Bernard, what’s going on out there?”
“Someone stole the air-raft!” a voice shouted from the hall. “The Mercutio just launched.”
Chapter Eleven
Nyssa watched through the portholes as the sky turned orange, then red, then purple. The round electric lights set into the walls flickered to life, bathing the room in a pale yellow glow. The shouts overThe Mercutio's escape had long ago died down as the smaller, faster vessel outdistanced The Juliet. If Amara and Renard were aboard, they would be unlikely to come back for her or Ellis.
Her current guard was Bernard, a thirty-ish man with the olive skin of a native San Azulan. He chewed on the stem of an unlit pipe. Since open flame was inadvisable anywhere on an airship, he probably suffered withdrawal.
I wonder why he chose to work on airships if he enjoys smoking enough to carry a pipe … or maybe it’s just the object that brings him comfort, not the habit.
She rubbed her hands together. The hair pin poked into her scalp, reminding her that she needed to escape. She’d examined the lock hours before, when her guard had turned his back for a moment. It was simple, easily picked, but she’d need at least thirty seconds of privacy, and even then, where would she go? Amara and Renard had made it offThe JulietinThe Mercutio, presumably. Ellis was safe in his cabin, but going there would only drag him into the mess, once a ship-wide search commenced.
Stem-to-stern … nowhere to go unless I sprout wings. Blast you, Amara and Renard. Blast you, Blythe. I’m going crazy in here.
She tried to find comfort in prayer, but failed. It would’ve been easier had she been jailed for something she’d actually done. It wasn’t as if there weren’t enough crimes in her past to merit incarceration, pardoned or not, but to finally be free of that life and then dragged back in, based on the foolishness of others … that was ridiculously unfair. Especially when things were finally looking up again. Especially now that she had Ellis.
He won’t give up on me, but what can he do? Maybe whenThe Julietmakes port, he’ll think of something. Ellis is clever. Sparks and shocks, I want to see him again.
The lights blinked out. Then on. Then out, then on.
“What in Sam Hill?” Bernard stood and stared at the light. He opened the door. “What’s up with the lights?”
The lights in the hallway pulsed in time with the ones in the brig. Off, on, off, on … not a regular pulse either. Long pulses alternated with short flickers. Long, long, long, short, short, long … Morse code?
Nyssa concentrated, counting long and short flashes.
—- ..- - / .— .. -. -.. —- .—
Out window? She turned her head, but everything on the other side of the porthole was black.
Then the room went black too.
Bernard shouted. He stumbled out the door into the darkened hall, calling for engineering.
Nyssa felt for the door. She pulled out the hair pin and inserted it into the keyhole. With one ear pressed against the lock, listening to clicks of the tumblers, she poked until the door opened.
Out the window?
Hands outstretched, she made her way to the nearest porthole. It was about two feet in diameter. She pushed, and it swung outward. Cold air smacked her in the face.
A light bobbed towards her. Something swished then thunked against the outside of the hull. Nyssa flinched. The swish repeated. A grappling hook clattered through the window and caught on the edge of the porthole.
She dared to stick her head out again. The rope descended at a steep-angle towards the mysterious light.
“Slide down!” a voice shouted, faint against the wind.
Nyssa blanched. Dangle like a spider from a web? With God-only-knows how far to drop beneath me?
“Hurry!”
The lights came back to life. It would only be minutes, perhaps seconds, until her guard checked on her. With a swift prayer, Nyssa slipped her shoulders and arms through the porthole, clinging to the rope with both hands. It quivered like a living thing. She wormed through to her hips. She unfastened her belt and looped it around the rope. At least it’s too dark to worry about looking down. Let’s pretend it’s only a short drop. That’ll help.
She wriggled, kicked, and pulled with her arms until her bottom half came free. Gravity kicked her in the gut. Shrieking, she slid, down the length of the rope. Its rough fibers tore at her skin.
The bobbing light rushed towards her. She slammed into something solid and flat. Her teeth vibrated in her skull. Her legs kicked, hanging in space over the edge of the air-raft.
Hands pulled her up and back. The rope snapped—or someone cut it—and the air-raft tilted. Nyssa’s stomach heaved.
“We’ve got her! Let’s get away!” The voice was Amara’s.
Nyssa didn’t have time to decide how she felt about that. A propeller sputtered, andThe Mercutiobounced away, leaving the lights ofThe Juliet shrinking behind them.
Nyssa sat up. Amara stood above her and Renard at the helm. There was no sign of Ellis.
Amara crossed her arms. “A thank you is in order, don’t you think?”
Nyssa’s shoulders tensed. “A thank you? For causing this whole mess? For being a pain in my derriére since you robbed us in that alley? I wouldn’t have been in that cage if it weren’t for you two idiots.”
“You wouldn’t have been in that cage if you hadn’t conspired with my uncle! Renard wanted to leave you there, and I would’ve too if Ellis hadn’t been so persuasive.” Amara scowled.
“I didn’t have a choice. At least your uncle was upfront about wanting the gem. You had to concoct some hogwash story about being star-crossed lovers.” Nyssa rubbed her sore arms. Welts stood up on her wrist where she’d grazed the rope coming down. “Was anything you told us true?”
“Most of it was.” Renard tied off the raft’s wheel. “We left out a few things that were none of your business.”
“Considering they got me locked up then forced me to tumble through space to get free again, I think they’re now my business.” Nyssa drew herself up. “Who does that gem really belong to?”
“The royal family of San Azula,” Renard said. He swallowed, dropped his eyes, and sighed. “My family … and I failed them.” He sank onto the bench.
Nyssa recoiled. “Your family? You’re some sort of royalty?” Renard was
not her idea of Prince Charming, not in the slightest.
“Renard is the eldest son of the Duke of San Azula.” Amara tossed her hair.
“Of course he is.” Nyssa rolled her eyes. “Really, why should I believe any of this? Of course you’d claim to have the right to the gem.”
“I have nothing to lose now. My mission has failed. Blythe has the gem, and there is no way to reclaim it, or my honor.”
“Mission? I’m confused.” Nyssa sat upon the other bench, facing Renard.
Amara settled beside her man and draped herself around his neck.
Nyssa cleared her throat. “What or who are you, Renard? A lovesick Romeo escaping with his Juliet? Or the son of a duke? Or a spy on a mission?”
“Maybe a bit of all three … but unfortunately I have failed and lost all I hoped to gain.”
“You still have me, my love,” Amara whispered.
He smiled and patted her hand.
Nyssa glanced around. “What about Ellis?”
“He said he’d disembark in San Azula with the other passengers. We’ll pilot the raft to the far side of the island, hide it, then trek back to meet him at my family’s home.” Renard grimaced. “Father is going to have a big ‘I told you so’ gloat. He thought my going after the Dragon’s Heart was the ultimate in idiocy. If not for me meeting Amara, I’d say he was right.”
“Start at the beginning,” Nyssa said. Now that she was sure Ellis was safe, she didn’t mind waiting through the full story, even if it took a while and induced many more eye-rolls.
“It starts generations ago, when Amara’s great-grandfather tried to buy the Dragon’s Heart from my great-grandmother. When he was turned down, he left San Azula in a huff, only for the gem to disappear from the royal vault less than a year later. Everyone knew Cedric Blythe was behind it, but we could never prove he was in possession of the gem. Almost thirty years later, his family grew bold enough to allow their eldest daughter to wear it at her wedding. Our suspicions confirmed, we first made an attempt to reclaim it.”
“Cheeky of them,” Nyssa said. “Parading it in front of the world that way.”
“The Blythe family swore they’d purchased the gem through a legitimate dealer. The court case stretched on for decades, and just when it looked as if our family might win and finally have our treasured heirloom returned to us, the Blythes reported a break-in. The only thing of value missing? The Dragon’s Heart, of course.”
“Convenient.” Nyssa nodded.
“Indeed. We all knew they had it, but with the family respected citizenc of New Taured, we could never get the warrants for officials to search their holdings. By the time I came of age, my family had given up on the idea of ever recovering the jewel. I became obsessed with it. Against my father’s wishes, I traveled to New Taured, changed my name, and infiltrated the Blythe household as a member of the staff. Two years, slaving as a footman, to regain what is mine.” He shook his head. “But at least in that time, I met Amara.”
“I knew you were a prince the moment I laid eyes on you.” She beamed.
“Yeah, his nobility is clear. I’m guessing Amara got you to the gem?” Nyssa prodded.
“I knew where it was kept, but I had no idea it didn’t belong to my family,” Amara said. “Of course I agreed to help him get it back.”
“Yes, but unfortunately that’s when things went awry. I had no way to get myself and Amara back to San Azula. All my plans were for a single man, traveling alone, and my funds had been eaten up. Amara had an idea to pay for things with her jewelry, but that only got us so far. Then when the forger who refused to sell us the passports mentioned that another young couple would claim them, we saw it as a sign from God.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever received a sign from God, but I’m pretty sure if I did, it wouldn’t be ordering me to break one of His Ten Commandments. I hear He’s rather serious about those.” Nyssa chewed on her bottom lip. She was sorry Renard wouldn’t be able to bring the Dragon’s Heart home. At least everyone is safe. “You could’ve told us this from the get-go. I could’ve used the tip about Blythe.”
“We thought we had that under control,” Amara said. “You see, my uncle has this signaling device he uses to communicate with his henchman, Barabbas, but I know the frequency. We’ve been listening in since we realized he was onThe Juliet. Mostly using the radio here, on this little boat.”
She pointed towards a glowing console in the back of the air-raft, with a small videophone and radio speakers. “That’s how we knew when he captured you. It let us get away in time. Ellis said he’d contact us throughThe Mercutio’s radio, and that’s how we set up your rescue. Speaking of which, we should probably check in on him again, before we’re out of range, let him know you’re safe. He’s probably worried about you. He’s such a dear.”
Nyssa blushed. “Yes, Ellis is wonderful.” At least that’s one thing Amara and I see eye to eye on.
Nyssa stepped to the videophone and flipped it on. After a moment of static, a wavering, black-and-white image of Ellis flickered into view.
He grinned. “Got my message, I see?” Feedback caused a slight echo in his voice, but his buoyant tone warmed her heart.
“Yes. Using the ship’s lights was clever.”
“You were the one who pointed out the electronics in our room were tied to the entire system. Knowing that, it was easy to figure out.” He leaned closer to the screen. “I’d almost forgotten what a great team we are. Like old times, huh?”
“You’re slightly better looking now.” She winked.
He laughed.
A crash echoed through the videophone, and Ellis started. His mouth dropped open.
“Is everything all right?” Nyssa asked.
Something blocked the picture. Shouts rang out. Nyssa breath left her in a gasp.
She leapt to the videophone. “Can you hear me? Ellis? Ellis!”
Dear Lord, please let him be okay.
The screen flickered to life again, but instead of Ellis, Blythe now sat on the other side.
Nyssa’s knees wobbled.
“Hello, young lady.” Blythe smiled. “Is my niece there? We need to talk.”
Chapter Twelve
Nyssa bit her tongue to hold in the storm of angry words that threatened to burst out. As satisfying as it might be, it wouldn’t help Ellis.
Amara came to her side, her arms crossed. “Uncle, what do you want? You have the gem. You’ve won. Go home.”
“Won?” Blythe snorted. “While you and your paramour go flying off in spite of the inconvenience you put me through? That could at best be considered a draw. You’re family, Amara, so I’ll let you off easily, and I bear no ill-will towards the thief and her crippled friend. No, they were never more than convenient tools for me.” He leaned forward, hands on top of his cane. “But Renard Azores stole from me, and I need to send a very clear message to anyone who might consider doing the same.”
“Ellis has done nothing to you! To anyone.” Nyssa’s hands shook with rage. “Where is he? What have you done to him?”
“Your friend is unharmed … for now. I didn’t realize he was involved with you, in spite of our chance encounter, but when the captain informed me that cabin 15 only housed a young cripple, I put two and two together. I know once we reach San Azula, Renard’s family won’t allow his extradition, so legal punishment is off the table … and never my preference anyway. I want to devise something much more satisfying and permanent than a prison term.”
Amara gave a whimper. Nyssa ignored her and concentrated on what little of the room she could see beyond Blythe. No Ellis.
“I’ve paid the captain handsomely for a few hours alone on the ship after the passengers disembark,” Blythe continued. “We’ll be moored far enough offshore to avoid witnesses and any interference from your family. There, Renard, you will turn yourself over to me, and in return, I will free my prisoner, unscathed, if you’re timely.”
Nyssa turned to Renard. The young man stood b
ack, stony-faced.
“I will contact you again whenThe Juliet reaches San Azula,” Blythe continued. “As I said, I have nothing against your friend, but if Renard is too cowardly to face me, Ellis will suffer.”
The screen blinked out. Nyssa’s heart pounded against her chest. Sweat dripped down her neck, but she still shivered.
“He can’t … he can’t really expect Renard just to give himself up to … to die?” Amara stammered.
“There’s no honor in giving into his demands,” Renard said.
“There’s no honor in letting Ellis die!” Nyssa took a step towards him. “We have to save him.”
“What can we do? If I could get to my family, they might be able to send help, but Blythe will know if we try that. If he sees any sign of San Azulan authorities approachingThe Juliet, he’ll kill your friend.” Renard drew himself up. “I’m the heir to the Duchy of San Azula. I have a responsibility to survive to lead my people.”
Nyssa drew a steadying breath. “Responsibility didn’t stop you from running off on some insane impulse to steal back the Dragon’s Heart. Is that stupid piece of shiny rock more valuable than Ellis?”
Renard hesitated. “Well, from a purely monetary standpoint—”
Nyssa gave a strangled cry and swung for Renard’s stupid face. He deflected the blow, his nostrils flaring.
“Ellis is worth a thousand times more than that stupid necklace!” she shrieked. “Ellis didn’t get us into this mess because he’s not an idiot! Ellis would never hurt a fly, and you’re letting him face …” She struck again, but this time Renard didn’t flinch. Her open hand slapped his cheek.
Her palm stung. She swallowed, her whole body shaking. Renard stood, his face expressionless. She didn’t like violence. Even in her worst days on the streets, she’d usually been able to get out of fights with her wit rather than her fists. Striking out in anger, throwing the first punch, it just wasn’t her.