Emma Holloway - A Study in Ashes

It might have been a massacre, but the Blue King’s army weren’t the only ones there, and the press of civilians pouring out of Covent Garden was the least of their worries. The Yellowbacks had opened fire on the Blue. There was an enormous steamspinner coming in from the west, heading toward the gardens along the embankment, and it was firing on the Blue King and the Gold. And there was another force straight ahead, led by a giant, smiling caterpillar. She recognized the man at its helm.

Poppy’s heart leapt, and she began yelling at the top of her lungs and waving her stick in the air, not caring if nobody could hear her over the din. “Tobias!”

THE ATHENA WAS DROPPING FAST. IT WAS A SUBTLE THING, but Evelina could feel the deck sinking beneath her feet, almost as if she wasn’t firmly connected to the floor. And the ship wasn’t holding her own against the wind anymore, either; the crosscurrents of air made her shudder and bounce.

Evelina stole a nervous glance through the porthole, and the sight made her recoil in astonishment. The ground was a lot closer now, looking a lot less like a living map. They were over the outskirts of London, streets and houses sliding by beneath. We’re too close too fast , Evelina thought grimly.

A sound like a gunshot emerged from the pump, making everyone jump. Striker thumped the side of the pump again and adjusted some valves. “Bubbles in the aether,” he said.

Evelina peered nervously at the lime-green concoction, which seemed to be effervescing. She’d mixed the aether without blowing anything up, but she was still holding her breath that it wouldn’t explode. A large bubble of gas formed and popped, and the ship shuddered again, reminding Evelina of a hiccup. “It’s not supposed to do that, is it?”

“Huh,” Striker said, an odd expression on his face. “Looks like green beer.”

More bangs and pops emerged from the pump, but the ship began to stabilize. Evelina felt the rapid descent slow and then reverse, new lift floating them upward. Striker met her eyes, and they shared a moment of relief.

Evelina went to find Nick, holding on to the handrail of the walkway because the steamspinner seemed to be listing slightly from side to side, her responses sluggish. She guessed the hole in the Athena ’s side had done something to her stability.

When Evelina reached the bridge, there was only a handful of people there; everyone else was busy readying arms or repairing damage. Digby and another man seemed in charge of guiding the ship down—a task she knew would be touch and go. Nick and the Schoolmaster were at the very front, the prince pointing out something on the ground.

As Evelina drew near, she could see the green sweep of Hyde Park to the left and the grounds of Buckingham Palace coming up on the right—but nothing looked the way it was supposed to. Armed men were everywhere, but that was only the beginning. The war machines of the makers pushed forward, from Steamers armored like armadillos to many-legged trebuchets, from shambling siege towers to a gigantic drill on steam-powered wheels. Evelina caught a closer glimpse of the enormous dog that had followed them from the laboratories. Though she couldn’t hear, it seemed to sit up on its haunches and howl as the steamspinner flew overhead.

“They look like an undisciplined rabble compared to the Gold King’s army,” said the Schoolmaster. “But no one is truly powerless when they have an idea, a pint of bitter, and a screwdriver.”

The ship lurched, and Evelina stumbled. Nick turned just in time to catch her. “Athena!” he snapped, and then winced as the ship said something back.

“What’s wrong?” Evelina asked, grabbing the wall as the ship clumsily righted herself.

“She’s drunk!” Digby snapped from his position at the helm. “The bloody ship is soused as a sailor. That’s not supposed to happen.”

“We used the scrumpy to mix the aether,” Evelina explained sheepishly. “She’s literally running on fumes.”

Digby gave her an incredulous look.

Another hiccup shuddered through the vessel. “It’s giving me a headache,” Nick said under his breath. He looked as if he already had the hangover while his ship enjoyed the party. The Schoolmaster was facing the window, but his shoulders shook with laughter.

“You’re not helping, Your Highness,” Nick said sourly.

There was another hiccup and the engines sputtered.

“Losing altitude again, Captain,” Digby said, his voice tense.

The steamspinner dropped lower, coming in to land with a dangerous bob and weave. Evelina gripped Nick’s arm, dizzied by the sudden nearness of the roofs and spires as they rushed toward the ground. He clasped her hand, pulling her around to face him.

“You look afraid,” he said, his dark eyes questioning.

“I got your ship drunk. That can’t be wise.”

He smiled at that, albeit a bit painfully. “Perhaps. But you saved us, and more than once. I know that was your magic that turned those hot harpoons, Evelina. We didn’t lose a single crewman, thanks to you.”

She managed a smile. “For whatever good I did today, you’re welcome.” But she thought of everything she hadn’t done. Captain Roberts was dead and the ship badly damaged. It seemed no matter how much power one had, it was never enough.

The Athena bumped slightly as it settled to the earth. The next instant, three armies rushed the steamspinner. Only the desire to capture such a magnificent, magical ship in one piece had kept the cannons from blowing her out of the sky, and now the race was on to seize her as a prize of war. But the first of the Gold King’s troops had barely reached the Embankment Gardens when the regiments that the steam barons had purchased turned on their masters. The cavalry led by Captain Smythe was the first. They cleared a circle around the Athena , driving the enemy back to establish a protected zone clear to the river on one side and all the way to the Strand on the other.

As soon as it was even marginally safe, Evelina left the ship, needing to feel green under her feet. Nick was of the air, but she needed good earth. But as she stepped away from the ladder, to stand in the shadow of the Athena ’s belly, it took a moment to orient herself. The ship had swallowed a huge portion of the gardens, and the stink and noise of battle stripped away any sense that they were in a park. The constant booming of weapons rolled like restless thunder behind a steady roar of voices. Screams of pain, outrage, and loss swirled around them. Evelina’s magic shifted restlessly, agitated by the tension snapping through the air—and the death. The dark power within her scented prey and rose eagerly, hunger knifing through her.

Nick came up beside her, shading his eyes to see the battle. “What do you think?” His voice was sharp with concern.

Evelina blinked, called back to herself. “I think the rebels are fighting bravely, but I’m no soldier. I can’t tell who is winning.”

“Are you strong enough to do that trick of yours with the devas?” he asked with a lift of one eyebrow. “I think the steam barons’ armies could use some unexpected retooling.”

For a beat she didn’t understand what he meant, her exhausted brain slow to respond. But then she found herself grinning—with both love and an appreciation of his guile. She’d animated the prince’s machines; there was no reason not to do the same with the others. “Captain Niccolo, you are a devious man.”

“Always, but only as a force for good.”

She opened her mind to the surrounding landscape, and was dragged into the alternate landscape of war. Where smoke swirled in the sky, so did a dozen species of passion—the counterpoint to the constant cries and screams. The billows of emotion didn’t have a color, but her mind’s eye translated it as shifting shades of red and orange, snapping sheets of tortured energy rolling against the gray pall of smoke and destruction. Where the red waves gathered to a peak, crackles of blue fire fountained to white. She had seen such fires once before, the first time Magnus had taught her to use a wand. They were lives, escaping as the body that tethered them died.