Ultimate Nyssa Glass by H. Burke (best value ebook reader .txt) 📕

turned orange, then red, then purple. The round electric lights set into the walls flickered to life, bathing the room in a pale yellow glow. The shouts overThe Mercutio's escape had long ago died down as the smaller, faster vessel outdistanced The Juliet. If Amara and Renard were aboard, they would be unlikely to come back for her or Ellis.

Her current guard was Bernard, a thirty-ish man with the olive skin of a native San Azulan. He chewed on the stem of an unlit pipe. Since open flame was inadvisable anywhere on an airship, he probably suffered withdrawal.

I wonder why he chose to work on airships if he enjoys smoking enough to carry a pipe … or maybe it’s just the object that brings him comfort, not the habit.

She rubbed her hands together. The hair pin poked into her scalp, reminding her that she needed to escape. She’d examined the lock hours before, when her guard had turned his back for a moment. It was simple, easily picked, but she’d need at least thirty seconds of privacy, and even then, where would she go? Amara and Renard had made it offThe JulietinThe Mercutio, presumably. Ellis was safe in his cabin, but going there would only drag him into the mess, once a ship-wide search commenced.

Stem-to-stern … nowhere to go unless I sprout wings. Blast you, Amara and Renard. Blast you, Blythe. I’m going crazy in here.

She tried to find comfort in prayer, but failed. It would’ve been easier had she been jailed for something she’d actually done. It wasn’t as if there weren’t enough crimes in her past to merit incarceration, pardoned or not, but to finally be free of that life and then dragged back in, based on the foolishness of others … that was ridiculously unfair. Especially when things were finally looking up again. Especially now that she had Ellis.

He won’t give up on me, but what can he do? Maybe whenThe Julietmakes port, he’ll think of something. Ellis is clever. Sparks and shocks, I want to see him again.

The lights blinked out. Then on. Then out, then on.

“What in Sam Hill?” Bernard stood and stared at the light. He opened the door. “What’s up with the lights?”

The lights in the hallway pulsed in time with the ones in the brig. Off, on, off, on … not a regular pulse either. Long pulses alternated with short flickers. Long, long, long, short, short, long … Morse code?

Nyssa concentrated, counting long and short flashes.

—- ..- - / .— .. -. -.. —- .—

Out window? She turned her head, but everything on the other side of the porthole was black.

Then the room went black too.

Bernard shouted. He stumbled out the door into the darkened hall, calling for engineering.

Nyssa felt for the door. She pulled out the hair pin and inserted it into the keyhole. With one ear pressed against the lock, listening to clicks of the tumblers, she poked until the door opened.

Out the window?

Hands outstretched, she made her way to the nearest porthole. It was about two feet in diameter. She pushed, and it swung outward. Cold air smacked her in the face.

A light bobbed towards her. Something swished then thunked against the outside of the hull. Nyssa flinched. The swish repeated. A grappling hook clattered through the window and caught on the edge of the porthole.

She dared to stick her head out again. The rope descended at a steep-angle towards the mysterious light.

“Slide down!” a voice shouted, faint against the wind.

Nyssa blanched. Dangle like a spider from a web? With God-only-knows how far to drop beneath me?

“Hurry!”

The lights came back to life. It would only be minutes, perhaps seconds, until her guard checked on her. With a swift prayer, Nyssa slipped her shoulders and arms through the porthole, clinging to the rope with both hands. It quivered like a living thing. She wormed through to her hips. She unfastened her belt and looped it around the rope. At least it’s too dark to worry about looking down. Let’s pretend it’s only a short drop. That’ll help.

She wriggled, kicked, and pulled with her arms until her bottom half came free. Gravity kicked her in the gut. Shrieking, she slid, down the length of the rope. Its rough fibers tore at her skin.

The bobbing light rushed towards her. She slammed into something solid and flat. Her teeth vibrated in her skull. Her legs kicked, hanging in space over the edge of the air-raft.

Hands pulled her up and back. The rope snapped—or someone cut it—and the air-raft tilted. Nyssa’s stomach heaved.

“We’ve got her! Let’s get away!” The voice was Amara’s.

Nyssa didn’t have time to decide how she felt about that. A propeller sputtered, andThe Mercutiobounced away, leaving the lights ofThe Juliet shrinking behind them.

Nyssa sat up. Amara stood above her and Renard at the helm. There was no sign of Ellis.

Amara crossed her arms. “A thank you is in order, don’t you think?”

Nyssa’s shoulders tensed. “A thank you? For causing this whole mess? For being a pain in my derriére since you robbed us in that alley? I wouldn’t have been in that cage if it weren’t for you two idiots.”

“You wouldn’t have been in that cage if you hadn’t conspired with my uncle! Renard wanted to leave you there, and I would’ve too if Ellis hadn’t been so persuasive.” Amara scowled.

“I didn’t have a choice. At least your uncle was upfront about wanting the gem. You had to concoct some hogwash story about being star-crossed lovers.” Nyssa rubbed her sore arms. Welts stood up on her wrist where she’d grazed the rope coming down. “Was anything you told us true?”

“Most of it was.” Renard tied off the raft’s wheel. “We left out a few things that were none of your business.”

“Considering they got me locked up then forced me to tumble through space to get free again, I think they’re now my business.” Nyssa drew herself up. “Who does that gem really belong to?”

“The royal