Taking a scrap of paper, she scrawled a quick note to her mother.
Dear Mama,
I love you, I love you so much. But I can’t go to with you. I’m sorry.
Go to Boston and start over. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.
None of this is your fault. I promise. You’re the best mother a girl could want and I hope to see you again someday. Give everyone in Boston my love.
Always,
Noli
A sense of finality coated her, clinging to her skin, as she clutched her valise and gazed around her room one last time. This was it. Her mother would return to Boston and this would never be home again—not in the way it was.
Wiping a tear from her eye, she blew out the candle lamp, put her good cape around her shoulders, and grabbed some black gloves and dark blue bonnet. Goodbye room.
Noli crept down the hallway, boots in her hand. She paused in front of her mother’s closed door. “I love you,” she whispered.
Padding down the stairs, she grabbed her tool box and her magnifying goggles from the sewing room and shoved those in her valise. She pulled on her boots and bonnet, tucked the small knife inside her boot, then turned in a circle in the kitchen, taking one last look. Goodbye house. Sniffing, she walked out into the cold night.
Jeff stood outside the back door, stamping his feet and blowing on his hands. “It’s about time.” He tugged on her cape, the same one she’d worn earlier. “A little fancy for an airship.”
“It keeps me warm.” Not all places were as temperate as Los Angeles.
They climbed on the hoverboard, Noli adjusting her stance for the weight of the bag, arms wrapped around her brother.
“You’re doing the right thing, Noli,” he assured as they rose into the sky.
Goodbye Los Angeles. As bittersweet as this was, excitement built within her. After all, she was running away with an air pirate.
Four
The Vixen’s Revenge
As she and Jeff descended on his hoverboard, Noli gazed in awe at the many airships docked at the Grand Central Air Terminal. The station housed everything from the tiny, bird-like sparrow-class schooners held together with twine and rivets to luxury eagle-class liners, sweeping pleasure boats like the one that would take her mother and grandfather to Boston.
Mama. A pang of sadness shot through her, but excitement pushed it away. Her mother would be fine.
They landed near the main building, the street in front bustling with carriages, motorcabs, hoverboards, flying cars, passengers, and aeronauts.
“Stay close.” Jeff tucked his hoverboard under his arm, then offered her his free one. They strolled through the main building of the station with its ticket counters and baggage check, bars, restaurants, and shops. People hurried about even this late at night.
They left passenger terminal and entered another, this one dimmer, grimmer, and dingier. The floors were sticky, making her glad she wore a shorter dress. Her nose wrinkled at the ripe smell. Even the people here seemed … fiercer.
This place doesn’t look fun, the sprite whispered.
No it didn’t. Maybe she should retrieve her parasol for self-defense.
“This is the terminal for cargo vessels. There’s also one for private pleasure craft.” Jeff glared at a man with one arm and a scar on his face who stalked past them with a scowl on this face which caused her to inch closer to her brother.
Ah, the cargo vessel terminal. Many cargo vessels were reputable, but most folks who worked on them weren’t people Grandfather Montgomery would ever invite over for tea.
“Whenever we’re in port stay with me—even passenger terminals aren’t safe for a lady alone.” He pulled her to him.
They passed a drinking establishment, lively with noise and packed with bodies. Two men unceremoniously threw another out the door onto the ground right at their feet. Jeff pulled her out of the way. They went through a doorway marked “docks” and navigated several flights of rickety stairs and went out another door. The cool night air kissed her face and the sight of moored airships greeted them as they walked out onto the wooden docks, the ground far below.
Her eyes widened as she took everything in under the dim gas lamps. It had been some time since she’d seen so many airships up close. Most of them were smaller, raven or falcon-class with a few little sparrows, most looking like a cross between birds and pirate ships. Balloons filled with helium or hydrogen bobbed among the wooden and metal ship bodies. One or two looked like repurposed military ships—more of a gunmetal gray then dark wood and gleaming brass, with a tiny cabin and one large balloon.
She frowned as they walked past a sparrow, a small wooden schooner, more bird-like than boat like. One gasfilled balloon held it aloft and an outboard engine sat on each side of the wooden body. Hull riddled with bullet holes, two men dressed similarly to Jeff stood on ladders and worked to repair it by gas lamp.
Jeff raised an arm in greeting. “Encounter some trouble, Finn?”
One of the men waved back from his perch on a ladder. “Blasted MoBatts nearly shot us out of the sky over Deseret. Don’t know what’s going on but steer clear if you can. Those MoBatts are sons of—” He blushed and tipped his floppy cap at Noli. “My apologies, miss.”
“No offense taken,” she bobbed her head in greeting. What was a MoBatt?
Jeff shook his head and pushed her past the men, giving them a wave goodbye. “Noli, let me show you my ship.”
Finn eyed them curiously, but waved back as they moved down the docks.
Noli stayed close to her brother. The high wooden pier didn’t have nets or fences like the ones she’d been to before and it was a long way to the ground below.
Can we throw something off the dock and see what happens? the sprite asked.
Maybe later. She and Jeff had done that as children.
“Who was he?” Noli asked.
“Finn’s a good friend of mine, he flies decoy. I didn’t introduce you because on second thought, he’s not someone you should be acquainted with.” He grimaced. “I’m starting to think this wasn’t the best idea.”
Her jaw gritted as she shifted her valise on her shoulder. “If you force me to go to Boston, I’ll run away.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.” He squeezed her arm and they passed more beautiful airships of all shapes and sizes.
“What’s a MoBatt?” She made a face as she tried to think of what it could be.
“Deseret Territory’s private security force. They can’t have their own army but the U.S. has no problem with them having private security, especially ones that like to chase air pirates.”
“Deseret?” Noli blinked. “We studied them in school. What an odd little territory.” It was in between Nevada and Colorado. “Do you think they’ll ever have to become a state?”
“I think as long as they pay taxes, use U.S. currency, obey the law, and don’t deny settlers, the government will leave them be. Did you know that drinking and gambling are illegal there?” He made face as if was a terrible, horrible thing.
Noli laughed at his expression. “I suppose opium and joy-houses are illegal as well? What a completely inhospitable place.”