Chasing the Lantern(38)

She placed her hands upon the reel and twisted. It gave only a little. Lina threw herself at it. The reel wound a little bit, and the skysail moved inward slightly. Bit by bit, swearing under her breath, she pulled it in. Finished, she stepped back to view it. The skysail wriggled and twisted, even folded up. But it would hold.

The ship still shook. There were five more sails to go.

Through the yelling of the captain and the frantic movement of the crew, Lina raced unnoticed. One by one she pulled them in, the second, third, fourth, and fifth. The ship shook less, leveled out. She was working on the sixth, near the helm in the stern, when a hand landed on her shoulder, spinning her about.

Lucian Thorne stood before her, Captain Fengel and Henry Smalls just behind. Smalls looked confused and the captain impassive, like stone. Maxim, stood at the helm past them, staring at the eye of the Maelstrom, as if seeing nothing else.

"What are you doing, girl?" The first mate glared down at her, furious. "We need to tack around the edge of the storm!"

Lina wanted to wince, to shrink away. "It was too late!" she said. "We were already caught up in the Maelstrom, and the skysails were tearing away!"

"The skysails would have been fine!" shouted Lucian. The dashing, easygoing man she'd seen was gone, replaced by the rough second-in-command of a crew of brigands and rogues. "We've taken them through aetherstorms like this just fine. You think you know better? We're going to be stuck in the eye now until we can fire up the furnace again and propel our way out! We've lost hours of travel because of you!"

"The girl is correct." Everyone turned at the harsh, almost mechanical voice. The Mechanist stalked over from the mouth of the rear hatchway, moving like a machine. "This ship is not your Flittergrasp. You presume too much about her capabilities." He turned to Captain Fengel. "The skysails installed upon the Dawnhawk are light, and will speed you more efficiently than any built by the Brotherhood so far. But they are fragile. You should have consulted me before adopting this tactic. A penalty will be applied to the fee after the voyage, as well as costs to repair the skysails, should they prove necessary."

Dismay flashed across Fengel's face. Whether at the fee or the possible damage to the ship, Lina could not say. Her captain visibly regained his composure, then nodded stiffly at the Mechanist. "My apologies, sir. The Brothers of the Cog know their own equipment best, of course." He glanced over to Lucian and Lina. "Miss Stone," he said, changing the subject. "What was it you did to lure away the scryn?"

Lina blinked in surprise. "Corsair's Cure-all," she said. "It's how I got rid of the one from earlier."

Captain Fengel raised an eyebrow. Then he moved to the rail to peer overboard. Lina shrugged off Lucian's hand and took a step back, glancing over the gunwales as well. Below them flew the cloud of scryn. They swarmed around the last islet where the cask had fallen and shattered. The creatures screeched and fought, but ignored the Dawnhawk in favor of the spilled liquor.

Fengel turned back to face them. "I see," he said. "Lucian. It appears that Miss Stone has acted both quickly and cleverly. She is to be commended. Sir Mechanist, please bring up the furnace, if you would, before beginning your inspection."

Lina released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The Mechanist glared at them all, but gave a nod and moved away belowdecks to comply. Lucian sighed and shook his head. He turned away to shout orders at the pirate crew scattered about. Fengel made to move back to the helm where Maxim stood. He paused.

"Miss Stone?" he said, half-turning. His green eyes pinned her, not pleasantly.

Lina swallowed. "Sir?"

"Initiative is prized. But in the future, I would appreciate it if you would notify me of such intentions before acting upon them."

Lina blushed. "I would have, sir. But there wasn't time. We'd have lost the skysails, at the least."

"Duly noted." The captain walked away, shouting orders for the wounded to be taken below and the ship to be seen to.

Lina frowned, not sure what to think or how to feel. She realized that one person still stood at her side. Henry Smalls leaned in. "How did you know we wouldn't be becalmed?" he asked.

Lina looked at him blankly. "We're on an airship. There isn't even any wind trapping us here. It's just the aether, right?" She looked after Lucian, and the captain, suddenly worried. "Should I...?"

"No. Just give them a bit. You did the right thing, twice over. Lucian just feels guilty he didn't solve the problems, and the Captain didn't like you going against his orders. Still, he commended you. And if he said it, he meant it; I know the man. Maybe just...find somewhere unobtrusive for a bit, eh?"