Heart of Steel - Meljean Brook [63]
Five months ago, Jasper Evans had famously escaped the English navy, who had been firebombing his underground compound in Calais. He’d taken with him his ladylove, Dame Sawtooth—an airship pirate who was everything that her name suggested. Unlike the laborers in the occupied territories who had tools grafted to their bodies by the Horde, the Dame was a New Worlder who’d chosen her augmentation: a jaw full of sawblades instead of teeth.
He glanced back at the crew. Captain Guillouet had disappeared from the quarterdeck, probably gone below. Most of the aviators on deck were at the side of the ship, looking down at the harvester.
A light dusting of snow covered the machine. The round hatch at the top had been left open. Though Archimedes couldn’t believe that the two fugitives would be hiding inside, Yasmeen knew them better than he. He’d heard tales of Scarsdale and Captain Corsair drinking them under the table in the Port Fallow taverns, simply for the fun of listening to Evans’s soused ramblings.
“Would Evans and the Dame be in there?” he asked.
“No. But if he is, we’re complete fools to be hovering over the clearing like this. Jasper is cracked but he isn’t harmless.” Her gaze swept the edges of the clearing. “No zombies yet.”
“No. But they’ll come.” Archimedes nodded toward the four marines who’d climbed up to the main deck and were setting their rapid-fire guns near the bow. “Especially if they begin shooting.”
Zombies were attracted to noise and movement. When Archimedes was on the ground, he couldn’t always avoid moving, especially if he needed to get around. But avoiding any noise was critical to survival.
Unless he was running for his life. Then noise became optional and better than dying.
Hassan climbed out of the hatchway and onto the deck, rubbing the sleep from his face. He joined Archimedes and Yasmeen at the side and looked over. “Captain Guillouet tells me that this man and woman have a large reward on their capture, whether dead or alive.”
“That’s true,” Archimedes said. The English navy had sent notice to almost every town on the North Sea, spurring too many unprepared excursions into zombie-infested Europe. “It’s fifty livre each.”
“Shall we attempt it, then? I know it is not the sort of treasure we intended to find.”
Not a clockwork army, but still lucrative. He looked to Yasmeen, who was shaking her head.
“The Dame was barely alive when they escaped. She might have died during their journey, but he loves her. He wouldn’t leave her body down there to rot. And leaving the hatch open . . . if he’s alive, he wouldn’t have. If he died inside, he wouldn’t have.”
“He might have left it open while he was gathering provisions.” Archimedes was familiar with that tactic. “If he’s chased, he doesn’t have to take time to open it again.”
“But that also means that he hasn’t returned—so he’d be a zombie or lying dead out there somewhere.” She indicated the dense forest with a sweep of her hand. “But there’s also the way he left the harvester out in the open like this. It’s not like him. After the navy stole the steelcoat suits from him, he guards his inventions.”
Hassan nodded thoughtfully. “I agree, it sounds unlikely that either is inside. But would you be willing to take a closer look to be certain?”
Fifty or a hundred livre was a lot to pass up. “I’ll go down,” Archimedes said.
“Then I will, too.” Yasmeen met his eyes. “At least if Dame Sawtooth’s body is there, she’s easy to identify.”
Archimedes saw the crew moving toward the cargo lift and stopped them. “That makes too much noise. We’ll take the rope ladder.”
They unrolled it quickly. He glanced at Yasmeen, who was slipping off her long coat and heavy hat.
“I’ll go down first,” she said.
“But—”
“I’m faster. If any zombies do come, I can kill them before you do.” She glanced at