Pinion by Jay Lake

Author:Jay Lake [Lake, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: SteamPunk, Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2010-03-29T22:00:00+00:00

They slipped into the dank, guano-smelling darkness of the sea cave. Torches and electricks strung from the submarine showed the upper plates being restored as her engine compartment hatches were resealed.

“We go into the waters once more,” she told al-Wazir.

“Where bound, Mask? Me, I have errands in Africa. A Brass man needs helping, and a mad doctor besides.”

“If you wish to be left there, it can be done,” she said with a serene confidence. Her purposes had been made clear by Wang’s arrival in Goa, as if the scales had dropped from her eyes. God, answering her prayers with a burst of inspiration?

The only counterweight to the Silent Order was the white birds, so to the white birds she must go in her full estate as a Mask.

“I am bound for Europe,” Childress told al-Wazir. “And the halls of the avebianco. I will finish the mission of the Mask Poinsard, and take her place in their councils, to stem the Golden Bridge and the Silent Order.”

“How will you do that?” He shipped the oars as they glided to the stone pier. A Chinese sailor called down a greeting.

“First, Suez.” She smiled into the darkness. “We will find our way beyond that. England if we must, or at least the avebianco redoubt at Valetta, in Malta.”

Al-Wazir busied himself making them fast, then helped Childress up the ladder. The sharp whiff of his fight was still clear enough to stir the hairs on her neck. His male essence made her mindful of Captain Leung. To her surprise, Childress found no shame in that thought.

“Mayhap I’ll come with you,” the Scotsman growled. For a brief, strange moment she took him to mean that he, too, longed for the captain. “See this duty through before I resume my own.”

“Chief, voyaging with you has been no duty so far. A privilege, rather.” Childress touched his cheek. “Now go to attend to your shore party while I report to Captain Leung.”

“Aye, Mask. And you be having a care for that heart of yours.” He winked, then walked away into the deeper shadows of the cave.

I fool no one, she thought, and realized she did not mind. Behind her, the launch splashed against the pier. Childress turned to look. The little hull rocked in the water, but no one was there.

PAOLINA

The woman Gashansunu took her back to the amphitheater by moonlight that evening. The day had been quiet, though Gashansunu and Hethor seemed to have been arguing. Ming shadowed her all through the afternoon, very nervous about the sorceress and taking no trouble to conceal his dislike.

Paolina did not find the woman so terribly difficult or strange enough to fear. She was different, and powerful, but this was just as true of Hethor. Or, admittedly, Paolina herself.

Now they stood amid the textured noises of evening. The screeching of the jungled daylight had subsided, but the insect hum was louder. Frogs gave voice in a rhythmic echo that seemed to reach beyond the horizon. Larger things splashed in the river, moving against the slow, greasy waters.

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