The Cloud Hopper joined the Trundler Calvados Armada and they were now just one more gaily colored Trundler vessel among many others selling the apple brandy. Miri navigated the Hopper expertly in and under and over and around the various ships floating in the harbor to bring the vessel as near the Silver Raven as she thought was wise. She kept the tall masts and sails of another vessel between her ship and the Silver Raven as cover. Sailors on board the ship, seeing the Trundler boat, yelled and waved for Miri to come closer.
“Captain! Look!” Dag called.
He had his spyglass out, was keeping watch. Stephano had lowered his glass to rub his eyes. He lifted the glass again.
Henry Wallace-the man they had known as Russo-was standing on the deck of the Silver Raven. Beside him was Rodrigo, unmistakable in his lavender coat. Wallace was holding a pistol to Rodrigo’s head. Rodrigo, seeing them, lifted his hand in a light and airy wave. Stephano swore and lowered the glass.
“Dip the flag, Gythe. Let Wallace know we get his goddam message.”
Gythe lowered the Cloud Hopper’s flag up and down. Sir Henry waved his hat in return and shoved Rodrigo into a deck chair where a sailor stood guard over him. Sir Henry went to speak to the captain.
Taking advantage of the confusion in the harbor, the Silver Raven set sail. Undoubtedly the captain had told the harbormaster he was giving up his place at the docks, and no one paid attention to the Raven as she left, maneuvering carefully to avoid running into another ship. The merchant ship would be safe until she tried to run. Then the shore batteries would turn their cannons and their magically guided rockets on her. The navy ships would fire a warning shot across her bows and then, if she kept sailing, ship and shore batteries would both fire in earnest.
The merchant vessel was considerably larger than the Cloud Hopper. Designed for long voyages into the deep Breath, the two-decker had two large masts that supported twice the number of balloons as the Trundler vessel. The Raven carried a crew of at least forty men, but, being a merchant vessel, she was armed only with swivel guns which were used to fend off pirates. The Cloud Hopper was more maneuverable and more heavily armed. Stephano wondered what Wallace was going to do. Was this an attempt to flee made in desperation or did he have some sort of plan?
He has a plan, thought Stephano gloomily. He knows I’ll urge the navy to let him go so that he won’t harm Rigo. Of course, once he’s escaped, he’ll kill my friend.
“Keep on him,” Stephano told Miri.
“What do you think the navy will do?” Miri asked.
“Knowing the navy,” said Stephano bitterly. “Nothing.”
During the time required for Miri and Gythe to prepare the Cloud Hopper for sailing, Stephano had dispatched an urgent message to the naval flagship, the Royal Lion, one of King Alaric’s new balloonless ships that relied on the Blood of God, the liquefied form of the Breath, to remain afloat. Stephano had used his name and had even gone to the extreme of invoking his mother’s name to tell the navy that the Silver Raven was carrying extremely valuable cargo. He pleaded with the admiral not to fire, but to attempt to capture the Silver Raven and take all the passengers into custody.
He was not very hopeful the navy would agree. Stephano had few friends in the Royal Navy anymore, especially after the incident at the Estaran fortress and his duel with Hastind, the man who had ordered his guns to fire on Lady Cam. Unfortunately, Hastind was now the Commander of the Westfirth Squadron and the Royal Lion was his ship. Hastind would certainly not be inclined to do any favors for Captain de Guichen. Stephano’s only hope was Dubois-the man he’d shot. The grand bishop’s agent could order the navy to try to seize the vessel, take Wallace alive. But Dubois could also order that the Silver Raven be blown out of the skies.
“We could stop the ship, sir,” Dag suggested. “Shoot off a spar, puncture the balloons…”
Stephano shook his head. “Wallace would kill Rigo.”
“Again, sir, I am sorry,” said Dag heavily. “This is my fault.”
Stephano clapped his friend on his shoulder and managed a reassuring smile. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only person in this boat who screws up. Run out the cannons, make sure they’re loaded and ready to fire.”
Gythe gestured to the hull of the Cloud Hopper and made signs to her sister, who translated. “Gythe says she has replaced the magical defenses. She and Rigo did it together. He showed her how to lay the spells properly this time.”
Gythe shifted her worried gaze to the Silver Raven. They could see Rodrigo on deck. His lavender coat showed up well against the backdrop of the gray cliffs.
“She wants to know if Rigo will be all right,” said Miri.
“He’ll be fine,” said Stephano, wishing he meant it. He added briskly, “Dag’s going to run out the guns. Gythe, you’d best take the Doctor to the storeroom.”
“What’s the point of running out the guns?” Miri asked, as her sister went to corner the cat, who knew where he was headed apparently, for he ran underneath a deck chair. “Wallace knows you won’t shoot his ship.”
“The captain of the Silver Raven doesn’t know that,” said Stephano. He paused, then added, “And then there’s the naval ships.”
Miri stared at him, aghast. “You’re planning to take on a naval warship?”
“I won’t let anyone harm Rigo, Miri,” Stephano said. He turned to face her. “But you have the final say. This is your boat. If you don’t want to risk it, I understand. Sail over to shore and let me get off. I’ll find some other way-”
“How dare you?” Miri flared.
“How dare I what?” Stephano asked, startled.
“How dare you accuse me of letting someone harm Rigo?” Miri wiped away her tears and blinked her eyes, trying all the while to steer.
Stephano was taken aback. “Miri, I didn’t say anything of the kind
… I just wanted you to know…”
“Get off my bridge, Captain de Guichen,” said Miri, through clenched teeth. “Go help Dag. Or are you going to get rid of him as well? I suppose you figure you’ll take on a sixty-four-gun warship single-handed!”
“Miri, you know I didn’t mean it-”
“Go!” Miri ordered.
But instead of going, Stephano put his arm around her and hugged her close.
“Thank you,” he said huskily.
“Get along with you!” Miri snapped. “Let me do my job before we smash into that trawler up ahead.”
Stephano lifted the glass to his eye to have another look at the Silver Raven. Stephano was armed and wearing his heavy flight coat and light chain shirt. The dragon pistol was in its holster on his right side, opposite his rapier. Loaded muskets stood in a weapon stand against the ship’s rail. Dag wore his breastplate that still bore the burn marks from the demons’ ambush. He had a pair of pistols tucked into his belt. His blunderbuss and his boarding ax were in a nearby weapon stand.
The Hopper and the Silver Raven were both coming up on the Old Fort, leaving the dockyards and the mass of ships behind. Apparently, no one aboard any of the blockade ships had noticed the Silver Raven trying to slip out. The ship glided along, hugging the shoreline, with the Cloud Hopper in dogged pursuit.
“He’s sinking into the Breath,” said Stephano suddenly, alarmed.
“He’s leaking air on purpose,” said Miri. “The captain is reducing the lift of the ship’s balloons; that’s why they’re flattening out. Raven is slowly losing altitude, hoping no one will notice. He’s going to hide himself in the mists.”
Miri gave a lopsided smile. “We’ve done that ourselves a time or two, as I recall. It’s not a pleasant way to travel by any means, but then he only has to stay down there until he’s well away from the patrol ships.”
“Keep with him, Miri,” said Stephano.