Lindsay Buroker - Peacemaker

She armed the smoke nut and drew back herhand to throw. Someone grabbed her wrist.

Kali spun, her free hand reaching for theman-stopper, but she thought it might be Cedar or Lockhart andwasn’t as quick to draw as she might have been. She didn’trecognize the dark figure before her, though, and a calloused handcaught her other wrist before she could grab the gun. Someone elseappeared and ripped the smoke nut from her grasp, then hurled itonto the roof. It went off, shards of metal pinging against stovepipes and chimneys, but the building kept it from doing any gooddown in the alley.

Kali tried to twist free of her captor’sgrip, but he was strong and he wasn’t alone. Three other men hadcome into view. Behind them a rope ladder dangled from the sky. Notthe sky. The pirate airship. Even with the limited view and thenight darkness, she recognized its black silhouette blotting outthe stars above.

Mud squished behind her. “What we got here?”a deep voice rumbled over the continuing struggles of his femalecaptive. “Two for the price of one?” He laughed, a dark, cruellaugh that sent a chill down Kali’s spine. “She’s familiar too. Youthe one what was skulking around in the woods?”

The chill deepened. Had he been watching allthe time? While she and Cedar questioned the other pirate?

“Hurry up,” someone said,already jumping for the ladder. “There’s a Pinkerton detective onhis way out, and Ralph can only keep him busy so long.”

As the men backed toward the ladder, Kalirallied for one more escape attempt. She tried to jam a knee intoher captor’s groin, but he saw the move coming and blocked her.Someone grabbed her from behind and slipped a bag over her head.Kali twisted her neck and tried to bite the man through the burlap.She caught something-a hand? — between her teeth, but a fist slammedinto her temple. Pain ricocheted through her head. The bag made itstuffy and hard to breathe, and she gasped for air.

“Feisty wench, ain’t she?”Sparwood asked, predatory hunger in his voice.

“Just like you like ’em.”The other men laughed.

Idiot, Kali, she cursed herself. They nevershould have believed that pirate’s story.

She sucked in a deep breath to scream forCedar, but she’d barely gotten the “C” out when a hand clamped downon her mouth. Someone hoisted her legs into the air and wound ropeabout her wrists and ankles. In heartbeats she was tied tight. Shebit down on the hand gagging her, and a man cursed. Before shecould try to scream again, another fist collided with her head. Herdazed body refused to comply with her brain’s orders to keepfighting, and the men hauled her up the ladder.

The shrapnel being flung from her smoke nuthad ceased, and only its smoke lingered in the air as they climbed.Kali cursed Lockhart for being slow, but more, she cursed herselffor not sticking with Cedar. Talking to Lockhart had been a wasteof time, and now she was captured, in the hands of a rapist andmurderer, surrounded by a whole crew that apparently supportedhim.

Kali’s captors dragged her into the bowelsof the airship. Though the bag over her head stole her sight, thestifling heat told her where they were. The boiler room.

The man carrying Kali dropped her like asack of corn meal, and her shoulder hit hard, sending a fresh stabof pain through her. While men shuffled about, and chains clackednearby, Kali fantasized about commandeering the ship, sailing tothe North Pole, and making these louts walk the plank. She’d leavethem on a sheet of ice where they could become a nice snack for apassing polar bear.

Someone grabbed her by the head and pulledoff the sack, removing numerous strands of hair at the same time.It was hard to glower effectively from one’s back on the floor, butKali gave it her best.

The men ignored her icy stare. A burlypirate clapped a leg iron around one of her ankles. Its chain ranfive feet to an eyelet in front of a bin of coal and two furnaces.The pirate cut the rope that tied her ankles together. Kali liftedher bound wrists, hoping he would do the same for them. He didnot.

“We don’t allow anyonefree passage on our vessel,” a graying reed of a man said. Scarspeppered his face, and he wore an eye patch like the pirates instorybooks. He lacked only a parrot to perch on his shoulder,though such birds were probably hard to come by in northern climes.He took a shovel from a scruffy man cloaked from head to foot insoot. “Everybody here works, ain’t that right, Chum?”

“Oh, aye, Cap’n,” thesooty man said.

Kali remained quiet. Working in the boilerroom sounded far better than being mauled by that Sparwood, but shewasn’t about to say so. The other woman the pirates had kidnappedwas nowhere to be seen, and Kali scowled at the realization ofwhere she must be. Would she be next?

“Take all of her things,”the captain said.

Invasive hands pawed at Kali, and shegritted her teeth. With her wrists tied and her leg chained, shecould do little to fight the intrusion, though she stood with oneleg slightly in front of the other, blocking the view of the anklethat held her vial of flash gold. She hoped the man wouldn’t thinkto check her socks. Maybe she should have taken the vial back toher workshop and locked it in its safe, behind a series of boobytraps. Too late now.

Unfortunately, the man searching her provedadept at finding things. He removed her remaining smoke nut, hergun, and every single tool in her pockets.

“Tarnation, girl,” thepirate said, “you rob a tool shop?”

“Your murderers caught mewhen I was in the middle of a project,” Kali said.

“I ain’t murderedanyone.”

“You let it happen on yourship.” Though she was responding to the man searching her, Kalilooked the captain in the eyes when she spoke. She thought of theairship hovering above the alley behind the Aurora, and of thatladder dangling down. “You even help out, don’t you?” Thatexplained why Cedar hadn’t found a trail at the murdered woman’shome. “You drop that bastard down and pick him up when he’s done,don’t you? You help him perpetrate the idea that there’s somethingotherworldly involved in these murders, since there’s nothing butthose fake bead patches to be found.”

Kali was surprised the pirates had chosensuch a public target this time, a woman getting ready for a show ina saloon full of people. Maybe it’d been a last hit before the shipcleared out of town. Or maybe they’d counted on Sparwood getting into steal the girl without anyone up front hearing about it. Kali’sstomach clenched at the idea of him leaving a bead patch in thechanging room and people blaming “spirits” for the girl’sdisappearance.

The captain lifted his chin in response toKali’s accusations. “Sparwood’s my best worker and fights betterthan ten men combined, and he doesn’t ask for a cut of the loot. Hejust wants the leeway to pursue his…hobby.”

“That’s loathsome,” Kalisaid, “and so are you if you help.”

“What’s this?” The mansearching her had found all of her tools and weapons, and moveddown to her ankles. Kali winced when he patted at the lump there.Having these slimy pirates running around with such power was thelast thing she wanted.

The man pulled out her vial and held italoft. The flakes inside the clear container appeared no differentfrom regular gold, but they glowed softly, sending occasionalstreaks of yellow lightning coursing through the glass tube.

“That,” a new voice saidfrom a hatchway leading to an upper deck, “is what I was hopingshe’d have, and it’s why I’ve offered you more money than the Scarof Skagway for her capture.”

The owner of the voice climbed down aladder, boots ringing on the metal rungs. He clasped his handsbehind his back and strolled toward the furnaces to join thecaptain and others in regarding Kali.