Devon Monk - Tin Swift

Cedar had expected the captain and Molly would be helping Rose walk. But instead, Captain Hink had picked her up in his arms and was carrying her, wrapped in her blanket, his own coat draped over that to keep the worst of the rain off her.

Molly walked next to him, a duffel slung over her shoulder, her tool belt bulky beneath her long coat.

Cedar helped Hink ease Rose into the wagon and up onto the cot. Molly slipped in next and tucked a rolled-up blanket under Rose’s shoulder.

The captain knelt at the back of the wagon, frowning at the women. Cedar knew he was listening to the fans of the airship, to try to get a read on which bird it was.

“Let’s go,” Cedar said.

Captain Hink nodded. “I’ll sit the controls with Guffin.” He swung out of the wagon, and a moment later, the muler’s engine puffed up and started rolling.

The buggy shook a bit at first, then it seemed to glide. Cedar hadn’t seen a smooth trail in the rocky outcropping. And he hadn’t seen rails. But the way the buggy was rigged up made for much easier travel than he’d expected.

Mae didn’t say a thing throughout the ride, and Rose only whimpered now and again when a particularly hard bump jostled her.

The sound of the wind died down and then even the clattering of raindrops on the oilskin stopped. There were no windows in the buggy, but they’d gone under cover.

“Where are we now?” Cedar asked.

“In the muler shed next to our accommodations,” Molly said.

“Do we all stay in one room?” he said.

“Of course. There’s privacy and there’s privacy, Mr. Hunt,” Molly said. “But in these catacombs, we’ll want to stay in eyeshot of each other. Person can get lost in Old Jack’s place. Get killed too. By taking the wrong turn in the tunnels, or forgetting to add an extra copper to whatever it is Jack’s selling.”

“Are there other guests here?”

She shook her head. “Didn’t see any ships except for the one coming in.”

“Can you tell which ship it is?”

Molly rubbed at the short crop of hair above her ears, smoothing back the stubble there, her eyes tight at the corner as if she were squinting to read a distant sign. “Might be the Constant , or the Dawn Breaker .” She listened for a moment more. “But I don’t think so.”

The buggy rolled to a stop and the hiss of steam being vented filled the air.

“This is our stop,” Molly said.

Cedar opened the buggy door and helped lead Mae out.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Good,” Cedar said. “We’re headed to our room for the night.” He held her hand as they walked out into the unremarkable and dimly lit cavern that housed two more mulers, both silent and cold.

Mr. Seldom was across the way a bit. He leaned in a doorway. Bright yellow light spilled past him to orange up his hair and paint his shadow on the rough floor.

Cedar and Mae headed that way, walking through the door past Seldom, who gave them a nod before they stepped into the room beyond.

Bigger than a barn, it really was a hollowed-out hole in the stones. Stone ceiling, walls, floor all worked smooth and painted in whitewash, with lights set up and about in such a way as to make the place look comfortable. A fire crackled away in a carved hearth, so well vented he didn’t even smell the ash or smoke. A stack of supplies, hooks with pots, and a hand pump with a bucket and a large washtub all took up that side of the room.

The main of the room was set with tables and chairs and, surprisingly, a shelf with a few books and map tubes piled on it.

He didn’t know if there were sleeping rooms, but there was plenty of floor space to put out a bedroll.

“Just a little farther and we’ll have that dry bed,” he told Mae.

“Cedar,” Mae said. “Mr. Hunt?” She squeezed his hand.

Cedar looked down at her.

Mae’s eyes were bright. Clear. Her cheeks were flushed as if she’d just woken too quickly from a deep dream.

“I’m fine. Truly. It’s much…quieter here.” She looked around, taking in her surroundings, then took in a good deep breath.

“Maybe it’s the stone,” she said. “I’m feeling much more myself. Let me help. Where’s Rose?”

“In the buggy,” Cedar said, a little stunned by her complete turnaround. “Are you sure?”

Mae smiled, an aching hint of happiness before sadness, or perhaps fear, took it away again. “I think we should embrace our luck as it comes, Mr. Hunt. And right now I am…feeling much better. Are there medical supplies at our disposal?”

“We’ll have to ask the captain about that.”

“Ask the captain about what?” Hink asked as he strode into the room, his hat in one hand so he could shake the rain off it.

Molly and Seldom had found a litter from someplace and gotten Rose upon it. They were carrying her across the room, Wil walking at her side, his ears up, nose working the scents in the room. He stared at Cedar, and then followed Rose as Molly and Seldom took her through a doorway on the far side of the room.

“Where are they taking her?” Cedar asked.

The captain put his hat under his arm and opened his satchel. He dug out his flask, took a swig from it, then walked it over to Cedar. “Beds back that way. Enough bunks for us all.” He handed Cedar the flask, and Cedar took a long swallow.

It was good bourbon.

“Do we have medical supplies, Captain?” Mae asked.

Hink’s eyebrows shot up and he looked from Cedar to Mae, then took another pull on the flask.

“We will,” he said. “As soon as I pry them out of Old Jack’s greedy fingers. What exactly do you think you’ll need, Mrs. Lindson?”

Mae glanced off the way Rose had been taken. “I’ll need to see her first. But something to take the pain. It’d be best if it didn’t knock her completely out. Am I to assume we have only a modicum of safety here, and that we will be leaving as soon as possible?”

“That’s about the gist of it,” Hink said. “I’m pleased to see you’re feeling better, Mrs. Lindson.”

“Thank you, Captain,” she said. “Let me check on Miss Small. Then perhaps I could accompany you to speak with Mr. Jack about medicine?”

Hink shot Cedar a quick look and Cedar nodded. “Of course,” the captain said. “Rather not pay for something we’d throw away.”

“Very well. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Mae headed across the room, steady on her feet, and as near as Cedar could tell, clearheaded.

“Isn’t that something?” Hink said. “Or maybe it’s not. She come and go like that a lot?”

The captain pulled out a chair and folded down into it with a grateful grunt.

“She’s usually very clear,” Cedar said. “Days have been hard lately.”

“Ain’t they always?” Hink took one last drink from the flask, then tucked it back into his coat.

“Molly didn’t recognize the ship,” Cedar said.

“Seldom’s putting his eyes on it. We’ll know soon.”

“Bad kind of hole to die in,” Cedar noted.

“Haven’t yet met a hole I wanted to die in,” Hink agreed. “Ansell’s putting fuel on board before he beds down. Coal. And he has the barrels out to catch the rain. If we need to crack the sky, we’ll have power.”

“Will the ship hold together for flight?”

“Not far. And this is the last friendly, well, relatively so, resupply station that has what we’d need for repairs. If you want to get those women to Kansas, we’ll need the day, maybe two.”

“I don’t know that Rose has that long.”

Hink looked up at Cedar. The captain’s eyes were sober, tired. None of them had snatched more than a handful of sleep. And the captain looked like he’d been riding too hard for too long well before they’d fallen in together.