Quill by A. C. Cobble

Author:A. C. Cobble [Cobble, A. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781947683167
Publisher: Cobble Publishing LLC
Published: 2019-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

The Captain I

She spun on her heel and began barking orders. In front of her, sailors jumped to it, steady hands on the ropes and canvas as they piled more on, preparing to run before the dark wall of cloud that was looming behind.

Sparing a look back at the duke, she saw he’d settled down with his elbows on the gunwale, looking ahead of them. The strange girl, daggers on her hips, was peering back. Nervous eyes, the only sign she wasn’t as comfortable on deck as Ainsley herself. She’d seen the look before in plenty of salt-stained sailors and battle-hardened soldiers. There was something different about doing it one thousand yards above a storm-tossed sea.

“In a moment,” called Ainsley, “we’ll string ropes along the deck. You ought to use them.”

The girl grimaced and nodded her thanks.

Ainsley turned and dashed off after a man who was lazily looping a thick rope into a loose knot.

“Tight, Samuels, tight!” she barked. “You see what’s coming behind us?”

“What’s that, First Mate?” drawled the sailor.

She cuffed him on the side of the head. “I’m the captain, Mister Samuels. Until you hear different, you keep calling me that. If the duke himself can do it, then you damn well better. Otherwise, I’ll be happy to show you off the side of the ship next time we’re over land.”

The man grunted and bent to his work on the knot with an added burst of determination.

She strode across the desk, knowing Samuel’s newfound dedication wouldn’t last and making a note to keep an eye on the man. It wouldn’t do, allowing laziness so early in her tenure. Haines had taught her that. Show a strong hand early, and you won’t have to later. Haines… She couldn’t believe what she’d heard, but it was no rumor. She’d heard it from too many tongues. Haines had murdered Governor Dalyrimple. Murdered him in cold blood and then died himself. If what she’d heard was true, then good riddance as far as she was concerned. Poison, a coward’s weapon, if ever there was one.

She spit over the side of the railing, offering a silent curse for Captain Haines’ name. She was glad a man — a murderer — like that had departed the face of the earth, and it didn’t hurt that she’d gotten command of his airship in the bargain.

The spirits were dealing a fair hand for once.

All around her, the sailors scrambled to get their work done and to avoid her attention. As she made it to the quarterdeck and climbed to where the wheel would have been located on a conventional vessel, a fresh sheet of canvas rose behind her, high up the mainmast.

They were piling on every stitch of it they could to catch the powerful winds that ran before a storm. With a little luck, they’d be propelled at four times the speed of a racing horse and make landfall before the storm caught them. They could soak the stones, lowering the airship to right above the ground, and then lower the canvas and secure the ship to ride it out.

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