I’d been hoping that when we returned Kate would just melt back in with the other passengers on the beach, and I would slip unnoticed aboard the Aurora and report late for duty. And that would be that. But as we neared the beach we could hear Miss Simpkins’s voice. We peeped out from behind a palm. She was yelling at Mr. Lisbon. Worse luck, the captain was nearby, talking to some of the other passengers, and he had turned to see what all the fuss was about.

“What do you mean, you don’t know where she is?” Miss Simpkins was shrieking at the chief steward. “She might have been eaten by savages, or a snapping turtle, or some other monstrosity on this island you’ve crashed us on!”

I hung back behind the tree.

“Come on,” said Kate. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

She strode ahead, and as there was no point in lurking alone behind a palm all afternoon, I fell into step beside her.

“Hello,” Kate called out with a cheery wave. “I’m terribly sorry. Have you been looking for me? I didn’t want to wake you, Marjorie. You looked so fabulously peaceful, and I know how you hate to have your naps interrupted.”

“Kate, where on earth have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

“Yes, I’m sure. I went for a stroll, just along the beach and then in among the trees for a bit. The scenery really is extraordinary here.”

By this time, Miss Simpkins’s gaze had settled on me with the weight of an anvil.

“He was with you, was he?”

The captain was nearing us, hands clasped behind his back, looking on.

“Of course,” said Kate. “He accompanied me.”

“Captain Walken!” said Miss Simpkins. “This is quite improper. Don’t think I haven’t been keeping an eye on all this. Your cabin boy there has been forcing his attentions on Miss de Vries.”

I blushed just to hear the words spoken.

“He’s done nothing of the sort,” said Kate severely. “I asked him to escort me on a walk into the forest, and he kindly did so, on his off watch. He was a credit to his ship and captain.”

Miss Simpkins looked no less displeased. “Surely, Captain Walken, fraternizing with the passengers is forbidden the crew.”

“It seems to me, Miss Simpkins,” the captain replied, “that Mr. Cruse was only trying to accommodate a passenger’s request. Although it might have been more sensible to stay within sight of the ship.”

“Exactly what Mr. Cruse said,” Kate agreed. “He was most sensible. It was my idea to go farther afield. I’m sorry, Marjorie, for the worry I caused.”

“You were gone several hours!” protested the chaperone, gripping her hair as if it was about to blast off her head.

“Miss de Vries,” said Captain Walken, “perhaps it would be best for all involved if you stuck a little closer to home from now on, what do you say? Spare your poor chaperone the worry—and your parents too no doubt.”

Kate looked at me. “Mr. Cruse, thank you so much for escorting me, and I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you.”

“Not at all, Miss de Vries. Good day, Miss Simpkins.” I gave her a nod and turned back to the ship, Captain Walken at my side.

“Am I right in saying this is the first time you’ve ever been late for duty, Mr. Cruse?”

My ears felt hot. “Yes, sir, I believe so.”

“After the rigors of last night a bit of sleep might have been in order.”

“I know, sir. But I couldn’t sleep.”

“Fair enough. But we need you safe and sound, Mr. Cruse. You’re too valuable to us to be off sightseeing. I see no need to make a note of this in your record. You may go about your duty.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He could have been much harder on me. Being late for duty was taken very seriously aboard an airship, and it was usually put in your record. The captain strode on ahead then turned round.

“Ah, Mr. Cruse, I’ve got a bit of good news for you.”

“Sir?”

“We’ve enough hydrium to lift off. Ah, see, I thought that would please you. But we’ll need to lighten first. And there’s more repairs yet to do. But she’ll fly again, Mr. Cruse. She’ll fly. Now to work!”

 

And backbreaking work it was, lightening the ship. The officers and captain had already made up a list. We had to shed thousands of pounds, and the cargo holds were the obvious place to start. The bay doors were wide open, and the davits were swung out over the sides, lowering crates onto the sand. After that, we had to shift it by hand. We had no forklifts or trolleys. Try lifting a heavy crate with a team of other men, your feet sinking and slewing about in the sand with the tropical afternoon sun beating down on your neck, and sweat making your palms so slippery you worry you’ll lose your grip, as you stagger off toward the shelter of the trees to stack it all up as neatly as you can.

Still, every pound I lifted was a pound lighter for the Aurora. With every crate we took off, she would rise a little higher off the sand. The sailmakers had been working like galley slaves to seal off the leaking gas cells and were still patching the ship’s outer skin. It was my turn now to help heal the ship.

Knees aching, I helped lower yet another crate to the sand. I leaned against it, catching my breath. On the side was stenciled MCGAHERN’S RUBBER HOSING. This was the fifth one we’d shifted now, and who’d have thought it would be so heavy. It almost made me angry. We were breaking our backs carrying out crates of useless rubber hosing. How much rubber hosing did the world need?

“All right?” Baz asked, looking at me.

“Rubber hosing,” I grunted.

“I know, it’s absurd.” He sniffed, and we headed back to the ship for more. Across the beach passengers were sipping cocktails and chilled fruit juices now. It wasn’t often I wished I were serving rather than working on the ship, but now the thought was tempting. Off a ways from the main group I could see Kate. She’d brought out her camera and had it set up on a tripod. It was tilted toward the sky and had some big long lens that was probably telescopic attached to it. Her hand shielding her eyes, Kate swept the blue, bleached sky with her gaze. I knew what she was looking for. I looked up too but saw nothing except wispy clouds.

A beefy gentleman with one of those irritating bristly mustaches was standing beneath the cargo bay doors, watching us unload. He’d been there for a while, smoking a foul-smelling cigar. Now he was jabbing a sausage-shaped finger at the crate being swung out on the davit.

“Be careful with that one, all of you,” he commanded, spewing out noxious smoke. “That’s personal effects in there. Antiques. I don’t want any of them damaged. They’re in mint condition.”

“We’ll be as careful as we can, sir,” said Baz.

“And look here, I don’t like where you’re putting them. You can’t just leave it all out in the open like that. My antiques will warp in the heat, they’ll bleach in the sun!”

“We’ll cover them all in tarpaulins when we’re through, sir,” Baz grunted as we lifted. There were six of us on this crate, it was so heavy.

“See that you do,” said the man, circling around us as we carried his crate across the sand. “It’s disgraceful, this whole business.”

We could leave you behind instead, I wanted to say. But we can’t promise you won’t get warped in the heat.

“And how do you propose we’re to get our belongings back?” he demanded. “Have you thought of that?”

“A ship will be dispatched once we reach port.”

The man sniffed. “First pirates steal our valuables, now we’re expected to abandon the rest! And what if they’re ruined in the meantime?”

“Your insurance will cover the loss, sir,” I gasped as we staggered toward the trees.

The gentleman blew cigar smoke at me, his face screwed tight. “Fine for you to say. I don’t see you lot putting your things out on the beach.”

“Well, sir,” came the captain’s voice behind me, “the lad, like most of his crewmates, has the clothes on his back, plus a second set, toiletries, and a few books and letters from home. That wouldn’t make much of a difference, now, would it? But if I asked them to, they would part with every last thing willingly. They know it would be in the best interest of the ship and all who sail on her.”

The gentleman said nothing, puffing on his cigar before turning on his heel and walking back to the other passengers.

“Please carry on, gentlemen,” said the captain. “You’re doing fine work.”

 

The sun was low in the sky, and pretty much the entire crew was out on the beach, manning the Aurora’s lines. In a few moments we’d see if she would fly again. Baz and I were off the ship’s starboard side. I’d untied my knot and left a few turns around the palm trunk, and we were both leaning back on the line, awaiting orders.

“Slowly now!” the captain called out, holding tight to his own line near the ship’s bow. “Let’s see how she’s doing.”

I knew right away she was stronger. I could feel the pull of her through the taut line. Hand over hand we let it out. My eyes were fixed on the Aurora.

She shivered.

And then she lifted, and my heart lifted with her.

A huge cheer burst from all of us, crew and passengers alike.

She was lifting, and we were all cheering. Her belly, which had been nearly grounded, was now a few feet off the sand.

“That’s my girl,” I said under my breath.

“Let her come!” cried the captain. “Let her rise now! She’s our phoenix. She’s our homesick angel! Steady now!”

Her tail fin, badly crumpled, lifted free of the sand. We let the Aurora rise. She was properly aloft now, landlocked no more. My eyes were ablur, but I dared not take my hands off the line to wipe them. I watched as, inch by inch, she lifted higher.

“And hold her there!” cried the captain. “Tie her off, gentlemen, with your best knots. Make tight ropes of each and every line!”

We tied off. The Aurora’s belly had about seven feet of clearance now. She hovered there over the beach, and there was no finer sight to me in the wide world and all her skies and seas.

“Good heavens, look at you,” Baz said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “She’s all right, you know.”

“That’s why I’m blubbering,” I said, coughing away my tears, swiping at my cheeks. I glanced up at him and saw his eyes were shining too.

“You’ve got me all emotional now,” said Baz, laughing. “Get a grip on yourself, young Matt Cruse. We’re all of us going home.”

“You’ll be a married man after all,” I said to him.

“She may not have me, now I’ve gone and kept her waiting.”

“You had the very best of excuses.”

“Pirates!” he said.

“Murderous pirates and a sinking ship and a crash-landing on a tropical island!”

“And let’s not forget my valiant acts!” Baz added. “I served cool beverages in blazing tropical heat; I helped shade the rich and privileged.”

“You’re a proper hero,” I assured him.

We were making our way back toward the ship where the captain and officers were already inspecting her underbelly. It was not a pretty sight.

“We can mend scrapes and broken bones well enough,” Captain Walken said. “Mr. Chen, what do you make of the tail fin and rudder?”

“A day’s work, sir.”

“Make it tomorrow’s work, then, Mr. Chen. I’ve worked you all like packhorses today. Aside from essential watch duty and cabin crew, you’re all on shore leave for the evening!”

“Permission to give you three cheers, Captain.”

“If absolutely necessary.”

We gave the captain three great cheers.

“Now then,” he said, “I believe that our esteemed chef, Mr. Vlad, has been preparing something wonderful for dinner. I urge you to enjoy it. My heartfelt thanks to you all for your labors. Now I must go relay the good news to our passengers.”

 

The captain had allowed all the passengers back on board, and everyone in the dining room was in a merry mood that night. In the kitchen, I’d never seen Vlad happier. Earlier in the afternoon, he’d sent his four assistant chefs into the lagoon to catch fish and since had been slow-cooking them in great pits on the beach.

“Look at this,” he’d said to me, pointing a cleaning knife at an enormous colorful fish laid out on the kitchen counter. “Have you ever seen anything so lovely? Look at the texture of her flesh, here. You see? She is beautiful. The fish here are finer than any I’ve seen anywhere.” He sucked in his breath and looked across the kitchen at some distant mirage. “I could stay here, yes? Stay here and open a restaurant. People would come from all over the world to eat fish such as this.” He pointed his knife at me. “You, Mr. Cruse, would you travel across the world for such a meal?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Good boy. You’re a good boy. Now go and tell my idiot cooks to hurry up with those mangoes.”

After they’d spent hours fishing, Vlad had sent his assistants climbing trees to gather coconuts and mangoes and pineapples. Judging from the smells coming from the kitchen and wafting across the beach, we were all in for an exotic feast.

All the windows were thrown wide, and the warm, perfumed night air filled the lounges and dining rooms. It still amazed me, the view from the windows: palms and sand and a turquoise lagoon, still aglow even as the sun sank below the horizon.

And there was Kate, sitting in her usual seat, but where was her chaperone?

“How is Miss Simpkins this evening?” I asked as I put the napkin on her lap.

“She’s feeling poorly. She’s retired to bed with a violent tropical headache.”

“Tropical headache?” I placed a hot roll on her side plate.

“Thank you. That’s what the ship’s doctor said, but I think he was simply being kind. I think she just wanted to get back into her comfy bed. The beach was a little too stressful for her. Your ship’s doctor is rather dashing, isn’t he?”

“Is he?” I said, taken somewhat aback.

“He is,” Kate said firmly. “Now, look what I found.” She had a fat little book in her hand—how many books had she brought? I wondered—and flipped pages.

“I always thought Doc Halliday was kind of odd looking,” I muttered.

“There, look at this,” Kate said, pointing.

It was a tinted picture of the little red snake that had sent us running through the forest.

“Perfectly harmless,” she said, smiling, as she read the description. “Apparently it jumps like that to frighten off predators. It’s not at all poisonous.”

“Cheeky devil,” I said, pouring some water from the decanter into Kate’s glass.

“I’m very grateful to the little fellow. If it weren’t for him, we might not have found the skeleton.”

“Maybe you’d like one as a pet?”

“Well, at least we know it’s not poisonous. So when we go back, no worries.”

Going back I looked over to the captain, seated at the head table with his officers and a number of passengers.

“Would you like the fish or the suckling pig tonight, Miss de Vries?” I asked with professional courtesy as Baz swirled close by with three plates balanced in his hands.

“The fish, of course. I could smell it baking for the last hour.”

“Very good, miss.”

“We’ll talk later,” she said, eyes twinkling as I moved away.

We didn’t get the chance to talk again until much later. Dinner had been served and eagerly devoured. The dessert trolleys had made their rounds; the men had retreated to the smoking room, the women left behind in the starboard lounge to await their partners’ smoggy return. People headed off to bed earlier than usual, no doubt exhausted by watching the crew work all day. I tended bar. Kate stayed behind, reading. One by one, the passengers left, until it was just Kate sitting there. I started wiping down tables. I wasn’t sure I was ready for Kate just now.

“Aren’t you going to do this one?” she asked when I’d cleaned every table but hers. “You’re not avoiding me, are you?”

“Of course not.”

“When do you get off duty?”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea, going back.”

“Of course it’s a good idea. We need to take pictures and gather up the bones.”

“The captain asked you to stay near the ship.”

“Yes, but I’m under no obligation to obey him. I gave no promise.”

“Well, he had a word with me afterward.”

“Did he forbid you from leaving the ship?”

“Not exactly.” I recited our brief conversation to her.

“Well, I don’t see what the problem is,” she said. “You wouldn’t be disobeying a direct order. He just wants you to be safe. He doesn’t want you to be late again. You won’t be.”

She was just shaping things the way she wanted, I knew that.

I said nothing. Her voice was low and urgent when she next spoke.

“Matt, you promised.”

“I know.”

“This is something the world has never seen. We can’t just leave it here. We’ve discovered something amazing, you and I!”

I liked the “you and I” part. I felt tugged in all different directions.

“I want to help you,” I said miserably. “I want to get the bones, I do. But the captain wants me with the ship.” It wasn’t just disobeying orders; I couldn’t help feeling that if I left the Aurora, some disaster would befall the ship. It would be tempting fate. “Don’t ask me to choose, please. It’s not fair. You or the captain. You or the ship.”

“It doesn’t seem a very difficult choice to me,” Kate said, her nostrils narrowing. “Anyway, I don’t see what the ship’s got to do with this.”

“It’s my home.”

“It’s not your home,” she said impatiently. “It’s where you work, that’s all.”

I looked at her, not trusting myself to speak. She didn’t understand anything.

“Fine,” she said. “I don’t want to force you. I can ask Mr. Lunardi.”

“Mr. Lunardi!”

“Yes, I’m sure he’d be delighted to accompany me.”

“You don’t mind sharing your little secret, then?” Our secret. My heart was beating slow and hard and angry.

“I’m sure he can keep a secret. He seems a perfect gentleman.”

“A much better bet than a cabin boy, you’re quite right. I’m sure you’ll be much more comfortable with Mr. Lunardi. Good night, miss.”

I turned and walked away, trembling inside with rage. I’d been useful to her, that was all. That was the only reason she had been friendly to me.

“Matt,” she said, when I was near the door. I stopped. “I’m not going to ask Mr. Lunardi. You know I wouldn’t do that. You’re the only one I trust.”

I gave a hollow laugh, unconvinced. “And what if I say no?”

“I suppose I’ll just have to go by myself.”

She would too. I almost smiled, half in vexation, half in admiration of her pigheaded willfulness. She’d go and get lost, and then I’d feel it was somehow my fault. There’d be a big search party, and that would waste even more of the ship’s time. And she might get hurt. I sighed. If I went with her, it would only take a few hours.

“I’m not on duty again till noon,” I said, without turning to face her. “We can leave at first light. We’ll have to be quick, though.”

“Thank you,” she said, walking over. “Thank you so much, Matt. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. I didn’t mean to imply that Mr. Lunardi was—”

“—any better than me? Well he is, isn’t he? Let’s not pretend. He’s wealthy, he’s older, he’s handsome, he’s a junior officer…”

“Is he?”

“Of course he is,” I fairly shouted. “Assistant sailmaker. Didn’t you notice the insignia on his collar?”

“I didn’t, no.”

“The golden wheels? Blazing like little suns?”

She shook her head. “All those insignia look the same to me. Everyone seems to have them.”

“Not me,” I said hotly.

“And I don’t find him handsome, by the way.”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t,” she said firmly. “His type of looks are not at all to my liking. You know, the only problem with first thing in the morning is the light might not be at its best in the forest.”

“Take it or leave it,” I said. “There might not be another chance before we take off.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’ve got a flash anyway.”

“What about Miss Simpkins?” I asked.

“Oh, she’ll be bedridden.” Kate said it without a trace of sympathy. “I know all about her headaches. Half the time they’re just to get off work.”

“Well, her work is particularly horrible,” I said.

She looked put out for a moment before she realized I was joking.

“Marjorie won’t even know I’ve left the ship,” she said. “I’ll leave her a note telling her I’ll be at breakfast and then reading in the lounge so I won’t disturb her rest. So that’s all taken care of.”

It was a bad decision I was making, I knew that. But I couldn’t have her cavorting alone in the forest. Besides, I did want to see the bones again, and I wanted her to have them. It made me feel good to help her.

“About six-thirty, then,” I said. “Meet me at the base of the grand staircase.”

 

I was exhausted, and I should have fallen asleep the moment my cheek touched the pillow. But I could not. I tried to lull myself to sleep with images of flight. I imagined the Aurora lifting off into a cloudless sky, imagined myself at her controls, flying her. But every time I almost dozed off, some part of my mind would start to panic and jerk me away from sleep, and my heart would race. It was just like being back in the cramped, low-ceilinged apartment in Lionsgate City.

I hated it, feeling this way about my beloved cabin. It was small, but that didn’t matter: when the Aurora was aloft the cabin was as big as the sky, and in a single night gave me a sleep as wide as continents and deep as oceans.

Now it was a cell.

It was four in the morning before my body could finally endure no more, and despite the turbulence in my brain, I slept—

—and dreamed I was running along the beach. The skeleton was bounding after me, its bony wings flared, its legs stretching long as it soared weightlessly over the sand. Its jaws gaped.

I was so slow, so weak. I could barely lift my feet from the sand to take a stride. Why couldn’t I go faster? It would be upon me in a moment. What was wrong with me? I should have been able to fly free, but I could not leave the earth.