“My poor friend can’t hold his ale,” Rodrigo remarked to those who stared as they stumbled past.
Canal Street was not as crowded as the other city streets, and Piefer’s assassins were closing in. Stephano kept going by sheer will alone; moving in a kind of pain-tinged daze.
He was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, when Rodrigo steered him to a halt. They had left the market area of Canal Street behind without Stephano even knowing it and were in a quieter area, surrounded by large warehouses.
“We’re here,” Rodrigo said, holding onto Stephano. “We made it. Well, almost.”
Stephano could see the Cloud Hopper tethered to the dock. The houseboat measured close to sixty feet in length, with a raised sterncastle and forecastle and a full lower deck. She had an upper and lower mast, along with an upper boom. Short wings extended out from the hull from just behind the curve of the bow and ending in front of the sterncastle. Airscrews, used for maneuvering, were mounted into the rear edge of each wing.
A refined and concentrated form of the Breath was stored in the balloons that were tethered to the mainmast and boom. The Breath in the balloons could be magically charged to create a much greater amount of lift than was present in the Breath naturally. The Breath was also trapped inside the lift tanks built into the hull at the base of the Cloud Hopper’s stubby wings. The lift tanks were wooden barrels with a thin iron lining set with protective magical constructs that allowed the tank to be pressurized, thus providing even greater lift capability. Cables connected both the balloons and the tanks to the helm-a brass panel inscribed with magical constructs. The helmsman could control the amount of lift in the balloons and the tanks, as well as the magical energy that powered the airscrews from this panel. Spare tanks built into the hull contained additional quantities of the gas, should the balloons tear or the tanks rupture.
To reach the boat, Stephano and Rodrigo would have to cross the boardwalk-a promenade made of wooden planks that ran the length of Canal Street. The boardwalk was a popular place for people to take a stroll on a fine Breadun afternoon. A fence running along the boardwalk protected pedestrians from tumbling (or jumping) into the canal. Piers led from the boardwalk to the stalls where the barges and houseboats were moored.
Today being a weekday, the promenade was empty. The Cloud Hopper was the only houseboat currently docked in this part of the canal. The entire broad expanse of boardwalk lay between Stephano and Rodrigo and the houseboat. They would be easy targets for Piefer’s assassins, who had drawn their pistols and were coming toward them.
Dag paced anxiously back and forth on the prow of the Cloud Hopper. Miri stood beside him, both of them worried. They had not yet caught sight of Rodrigo and Stephano, who were keeping to the shadows. And waiting on the promenade for news was Benoit.
“Dag!” Rodrigo risked a shout and waved. “We need help!” He pointed at the two assassins.
Dag heard, looked, and understood. He had obviously been expecting trouble, because he had his blunderbuss ready, propped against the ship’s rail. He picked it up and swiftly loaded it with shot and powder.
“There’s going to be gunfire,” he told Miri, his words booming through the quiet. “Tell Gythe to stay below with Doctor Ellington. You do whatever it is you do to get this boat airborne.”
“Do you need help?” Miri yelled back. She was a fair shot with a pistol, and Dag said she was the fastest person at reloading he’d ever known.
“No,” said Dag coolly. “There’s only two of them. I can handle it. You get ready to take us out into the Breath.”
“Mr. Benoit,” he shouted to the old man on the pier, who had been gesticulating wildly with his cane at the sight of Rodrigo. “I suggest you seek cover!”
Benoit hobbled over to crouch behind a large barrel of creosote that had been left on the pier. He drew an ancient pistol.
“Who am I shooting at?” he asked, squinting his eyes to see.
“No one!” Dag shouted, more frightened of the old man’s shaking hand than he was of the assassins.
Dag raised the blunderbuss to his shoulder and yelled at Rodrigo and Stephano. “Run for it! I’ll cover you!”
“One last effort,” said Rodrigo. “Can you make it?”
Stephano nodded. Dag took aim.
“Now!” Rodrigo said. He ran, and Stephano stumbled across the boardwalk.
A gate in the fence permitted access to the pier. The two assassins fired their pistols and Dag fired off the blunderbuss simultaneously. Rodrigo reached out his hand to open the gate. A bullet grazed it. Splinters flew. Rodrigo swore and snatched back his bleeding hand. He kicked open the gate and ran through it and onto the pier. Stephano stumbled and fell to the ground.
A peppering shot from the blunderbuss forced the two assassins to seek cover. Rodrigo ran back to grab hold of Stephano, who had managed to regain his feet. Miri lowered the gangplank. Rodrigo helped Stephano to cross to the Cloud Hopper.
“You’re bleeding!” said Miri to Stephano, and she put her arm around him.
“I’m bleeding, too,” Rodrigo said, holding out his hand.
Miri snorted. “Make yourself useful. Go cast off the line!”
Dag dropped the blunderbuss and drew a long-barreled pistol. The two assassins raised their heads. Dag fired, and they ducked back down.
“Cast off!” he yelled to Rodrigo.
Miri lowered Stephano to the deck, then ran over to the helm, which was located on the upper part of the forecastle. She stopped when she saw Gythe was already there, handling the controls.
“I told you to stay below deck!” Miri told her sister.
Gythe pointed at Stephano and then turned away. Miri regarded her in frustration, then decided that arguing would waste too much time. She went back to tend to Stephano.
Rodrigo ran along the pier to where a thick rope held the boat tethered to the dock. As he leaned down to take hold of the line, a bullet tore through the air where his head had been. Rodrigo dropped to the pier with a panicked howl.
“That was a damn fine shot,” said Dag, impressed. He looked around, puzzled. “Where did it come from?”
“Piefer!” Stephano gasped. “Everyone take cover!”
He grabbed hold of Miri and dragged her down beside him on the deck. Gythe crouched behind the protective shielding surrounding the boat’s controls. Rodrigo remained on the pier, hugging the wooden planks. Dag picked up another pistol.
“Dag, get down!” Stephano yelled. “Piefer’s using one of those new-fangled rifles!”
“Is he?” said Dag, adding wistfully, “I’d dearly love to get my hands on one of those!”
A bullet went zinging past his head. Dag had been keeping watch for the muzzle flash and, seeing it, he aimed his pistol and fired. Realizing he’d been spotted, Piefer ran out of the shadows.
“He’s on the move,” Dag called. “Cast off!”
“Are you sure he’s gone?” Rodrigo asked fearfully.
“Cast off!” Dag roared.
Rodrigo crawled on his hands and knees to reach the line, wrestled with it a moment, then managed to get it free. The Cloud Hopper started to drift away. Gythe steered the houseboat, keeping it close to the pier, and Miri yelled for Rodrigo to jump for it.
Rodrigo had just begun to run toward the gangplank, when one of Piefer’s men leaped up suddenly from behind the fence line and brought his pistol to bear, aiming for Rodrigo. Dag saw the danger, but he was reloading and there was nothing he could do except shout a warning.
A shot fired, coming from the vicinity of the creosote barrel. The assassin spun around from the force of the bullet and fell onto the boardwalk.
Benoit stood up, waving the smoking pistol and shouting defiantly, “Did you see that, sir?”
“You old fool, get out of here!” Stephano yelled. “Help me to my feet, Miri! He’s going to get himself killed!”