Tin Swift(66)

Guffin and Captain Hink waited near the front buggy, Hink’s eyes on the door to the Swift.

Guffin slipped into the buggy’s seat and Captain Hink came around the back of the wagon to help Cedar get Mae settled under the canopy. A lantern hung from the ceiling inside the wagon, the light revealing a bench along one side, and a cot along the other. The floor was smooth, and covered in a clean canvas that smelled surprisingly of herbs, as if it had been boiled in chamomile.

“I’ll stay with her,” Captain Hink said, “if you want to help Molly with Miss Small.”

Mae sat on the bench, her eyes closed, her hands folded in her lap. She was in no state to look out for herself. Cedar hesitated.

“Go on ahead,” he said to the captain. Wil would be there beside Rose. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Captain Hink studied his face for a moment, then nodded. Cedar didn’t know if the captain thought he didn’t trust him with Mae or did trust him with Rose.

“Miss Small,” Captain Hink started. “She’s…well, I want you to know you can trust—”

The rumble of engines rolled over the thrashing of the wind.

An airship. Close enough it must be landing.

“God blast it,” Hink muttered.

“More trouble?” Cedar asked.

“Maybe not. But the way my luck’s been running?” He plowed off to the Swift and it wasn’t but a moment later that he and Molly appeared in the door, Wil a shadow skulking behind them.

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.