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Though Bryce had been no expert on steam engines, some of my old ship’s crew from earth had been. According to Eric Ryall, Vohanna had taken members of that crew as prisoners. Below me was evidence that the would-be goddess had milked the information on steam from their minds. For a moment, I wondered just how hard Vohanna had to work to get gunpowder from Bryce. Then I forced that thought aside.*

[* Although Ruenn didn’t seem to think of it, I wondered why Vohanna, if she were a product of an advanced civilization, would need to steal technological knowledge from a group of early-twentieth-century humans. Then it occurred to me that I, who live in the twenty-first century, don’t have the faintest idea how to build an airplane or computer.—CAG]

By now, Valyan would have reached Timmuzz with Kreeg. He would have spoken to Rannon about Vohanna and a Nyshphalian battle fleet would be on the way to the jungle of Vohan. It was what I’d hoped for. If I knew Rannon and her father, it was exactly what was happening. And when that fleet arrived I would have led them into a trap. This one ship and its cannons would be devastating enough. If there were others like it then the air fleet of my adopted homeland would be pulverized. Rannon with it, perhaps. I doubted she’d stay behind in Timmuzz.

I had to do something. But what?

Finding a way down from the ledge was easy enough, and there were outcroppings of stone and clumps of a desiccated, mesquite-like brush that offered ample concealment as I worked my way across the cavern. I had no idea how plants were growing here where no sunlight penetrated, and there was certainly nothing of green about them. But I was thankful for the cover, especially as the brilliant shine from the light globes grew stronger near the ship. Soon, I had to crawl from one hiding place to another to remain undetected. I sweated more.

At fifty yards distance, from behind a detritus pile of scrap metal, I raised my head to study the scene around the ship. The vessel seemed largely finished. Much of the scaffolding had been removed and the catwalks strung high above the decks were empty of laborers. I saw a lot of guards, which suggested that Vohanna did not trust her own workers much. I liked that idea.

I noted one officer in particular, an arrogant and strutting fellow who wore a gold-chased helm and a scarlet cloak while the others wore helmets and cloaks of simple gray. There was something about him I did not care for—perhaps it was just that he seemed too aware of his duties while his men looked lax and bored—and I waited until he had gone around the far side of the ship before acting on the vague plan forming in my mind.

A few yards off from my position there drifted one of the light globes. I’d assumed at first that these were some sort of hanging lantern, but had soon realized my mistake. They floated...freely, glass spheres that burned bluish-white without fire. Sorcery? Or some scientific principle that I had no name for? No matter.

I’d already noted that, twenty yards beyond the globe, a lone sentry stood relieving himself against a bush. Stacked timber hid him from any direct view from the ship, and in my creeping across the cave I’d seen others come to that place for the same purpose. As I’d gotten closer, the smell had let me know that the spot was in regular use. That regularity was why I’d chosen this particular scrap heap.

The man finished his task and turned to go. I picked up a rock, hurled it. The light globe smashed in a shower of sparks and the startled guard spun around. He’d half pulled his blade in the jolt of the moment, but now he pushed the weapon back into its sheath and muttered curses as he stalked to investigate.

I smiled grimly. The laxity I thought I’d seen in the guards was real apparently. It was as if this man couldn’t conceive of a true threat to his mistress’s power. I circled the debris pile as he came closer to my position, then rose behind him silently and locked