Honovi glanced over his shoulder at the map spread out on the worktable, pinned down, the flat shard of clarion crystal settled over the ink dot marking out Foxborough. “Yes, but you can’t make it to the city. The rail station was destroyed by wardens.”
“We heard those warnings. Ksenia is stopping the train a few miles out from the city walls. Will you remain in the sky?”
It was where he operated best, but he wasn’t going to leave rescuing Blaine to anyone else. “I’ll ride with the ground troops into the city. Once we’re notified the train has come to a stop, we’ll descend.”
“Very well. We’ll see you soon.”
Lore signed off, and Honovi set the radio back down in its cradle, focusing on the sky. It was perhaps fifteen minutes later when the radio crackled to life again, with Ksenia on the other side of the line giving him the go-ahead to descend.
Night flying was always tricky, but Honovi reversed the ballonets and let the airship sink, the only one to break formation. He listened as Caoimhe called out slight adjustments from her spot near the railing out on the deck. Honovi kept his eyes on the gauges rather than the impossible-to-see horizon.
It wasn’t like that night raid, where he’d needed to match speed with a steam train. This time, the train was already stopped, and it was only a matter of maneuvering to get the airship low enough alongside the engine car for a crew member to toss a rope ladder overboard.
Caoimhe took over the controls, giving him a firm nod as she slid into his spot. “We’ll see you on the other side. May the stars guide you.”
Honovi stayed only long enough to roll up the map and shove it back into the travel case. He hooked the crystal pendant back around his throat and left the flight deck for the ladder. It was a matter of muscle memory to swing himself over the railing and climb down. When he was a few feet up from the dirt, he jumped the rest of the way, landing with a grunt.
Headlamps shining from helmets and handheld lights gripped in fists were all the illumination Ksenia had allowed for the moment. She and Lore waited for him by the engine carriage, the heat coming off the metal warming the air around them. Honovi jogged to their position as behind him, the airship’s engines changed pitch to the tones for ascent, theCelestial Spriterising back up into the night sky where it belonged.
Down the length of the steam trains, Ashion soldiers disembarked train carriages and worked to unload supplies. Light was kept to a minimum, which left everyone in dim pockets of illumination that made the hair on the back of Honovi’s neck stand on end. Everyone knew that being outside in the open, past the walls, was a risk, even if the land was cleared by wardens. The Northern Plains was still home to wild beasts, and people were known to die out on the roads. Spores traveled on the wind, and the night had never stopped revenants, only made them difficult to see and kill.
“I have wardens patrolling and the ones positioned outside Foxborough have reported no revenant sightings,” Ksenia said, correctly reading Honovi’s wary glance over his shoulder at the dark behind them. “This land was cleared back in spring.”
“Doesn’t mean anything with the influx of revenants in the west,” Lore muttered.
“That’s not our doing.”
“I didn’t say it was. We can blame the death-defying machine on that mess.” Lore jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Let’s get our racing carriages. Caris was kind enough to add a Zip gun to one of them before we left Veran.”
“You let her put vehicular weaponry on a racing carriage?” Honovi asked.
Lore gave him a droll look as he fell into step beside her. “There was no letting involved. Caris was adamant we have a way to protect ourselves while driving. We let her work on that rather than work herself up in a strop about not coming along.”
Ksenia snorted. “You can’t keep a person leashed all their life if you want them to actually walk their own road.”
Honovi agreed, but he knew if Caris had come along and they lost her, Blaine would blame himself for not being there. “I know.”
The racing carriages in question were stored in one of the forward train carriages. Lanterns hung from hooks on the inside, providing light to see by. The steam train must have been one used by the Ashion army. Unlike civilian freight steam trains, even the train carriages used for storage were connected with covered walkways, allowing people to walk the length of it while it was in motion.
The racing carriages were secured on the left-hand side. The modified one had a low-built body, two narrow seats, and a low-profile windshield frame, the glass removed. The paint had been pristine once—that is, until Caris had welded the Zip gun onto its hood. The quick-firing heavy-caliber gun had been placed in front of the passenger-side seat, its handles protruding through where glass once sat. It was maneuverable, and a belt of bullets was draped down into the footwell.
Lore patted the top of the Zip gun, a grimly pleased smile on her face. “It’ll be good protection once we’re in Foxborough.”
“We don’t know where Blaine is in the city,” Honovi said.
Ksenia waved aside his worry. “I had a warden retrieve a Foxborough map from the resupply station in Veran. I traced over the ink with the kind we used on your map. Your crystal will work the same on it as the world map.”
Honovi didn’t think twice about undoing the pouch on his belt and passing over the clarion crystal shard. “Caoimhe is ready to drop bombs on the city gate to get us inside.”
“The Clockwork Brigade is prepared to keep Daijalan supporters at bay on the other side. I’ve been coordinating with them in code on the ride over. We’re hoping to keep civilian casualties to a minimum,” Lore said.
“Will your cogs be enough?”
Lore crossed her arms over her chest as she watched a soldier undo the heavy-duty straps hooked over each tire of the racing carriages used to secure them for transport. “My understanding is the Marshal sent quite a few Daijalan chains west. They’re ready to assist.”
“We’ll have backup from the wardens standing guard beyond the wall as well. They’re prepared to act as escort once we’re inside,” Ksenia said.
Honovi stepped closer to the modified racing carriages, settling his hand on the cool barrel of the Zip gun. When he looked up from it, he found Lore staring at him, never blinking. She gave him a tight smile. “Ready to get your husband back?”
