Steam Dogs (31 page)

CHAPTER
74

The wizard struck Welsie full in the face and she fell hard, but
Simon could do nothing for her. The draugs were already swarming over the deck
from the
Alberta
, giving the flames
of the burning cabin a wide berth. Two had already reached the stairs and he
had no weapon. Nothing.

Sir Magnus towered over Welsie’s inert form, shaking with rage,
urging the draugs to move faster. Coming up the stairs behind him, the closest
draug made as if to grab for him, but Simon managed to slip just out of reach.

Another explosion, larger than the first, rocked the ship.

Simon clung to the railing to keep his balance, while the
unsuspecting draugs were knocked off their feet and tumbled down the stairs,
but that wouldn’t stop them for long. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t,
wouldn’t
leave Welsie. The knife gleamed
on the deck below, far out of reach. They’d be on him in moments.

The knife didn’t matter. Nothing would stop a draug. The memory of
Hamm’s attack gave him pause.

Except fire
.

All he needed was a distraction. Welsie was so close.

Simon opened himself fully to his greenfire. Immediately a raging
inferno of green flames engulfed him, illuminating the
Slough Maid
with a brilliant chartreuse light. This was the first
time he’d given himself permission to give full rein to his greenfire since
he’d been a boy, and it felt wonderful.

Sir Magnus took a step back, but the effect on the draugs was
instantaneous.

As a group, they crouched and backed away, as if to flee, but the
Greenwich dock was already several hundred feet behind them. Angrily, Sir
Magnus bellowed orders, commanding them to attack, but they paid him no mind,
and in ones and twos, slipped over the side into the Thames and sank like
stones below the waters.

 
Sir Magnus backed
away, dragging Welsie’s limp body by the arm as he retreated down the railing.
In his rage, he didn’t notice that Welsie had turned her head toward Simon Her
eyes were open, her expression one of stark terror.

She moved slightly, and Simon saw she was holding one of the
dueling pistols.

He moved closer, hoping to frighten the wizard into dropping her. “Let
go of her.”

But the wizard’s rage, if anything, had grown hotter. “You’re a
fake!” His hands closed into fists “Your father was right! You’re no mage—you’ve
got no fire magick. You’re nothing!”

Sir Magnus reached for now missing gun at his belt.

“Throw it here!” Simon shouted.

She half-tossed, half-slid the pistol across the deck.
 

Simon dove for it, and the heavy grip fell into his hand. Without
thinking, he pulled the trigger.

But his aim was high. Sir Magnus screamed. He grabbed the side of
his head and fell against the railing, as yet another explosion shook the
ship—it was much bigger than any of the others.
 

Sir Magnus was thrown headfirst over the railing.

Simon scrambled toward Welsie and pulled her tight against him. The
Slough Maid began to founder in the current. “Are you all right?” he asked.

She clung to him. “Where’s Sir Magnus?”

Cautiously, they peered over the railing, only to see the wizard’s
motionless body lying on the deck below, his head at an unnatural angle. “He’s
dead.”

Welsie suddenly tensed and gave a shouted warning. “Behind you!”

The dead thing that had once been Hamm Foine stumbled toward them
from the pilot house. The wallowing motion of the ship knocked him to his knees
and as they watched, he collapsed into a hulk of rotting flesh. Whatever magick
Sir Magnus had infused the draugs with had been withdrawn. The body before them
was nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

With the wizard’s passing, the draugs had also perished.

They were alone on the
Slough
Maid.
Simon shook her by her shoulders. “Can you pilot this thing? We’ve
got to turn it around. We’ve got to go back for Roman and Louie.”

Her freckles stood starkly against her pale skin, but she nodded
and skittered around the corpse into the pilot house to take the helm. She eased
up on the power to the engines, and the rocking motion of the ship smoothed
out. “The rudder is sluggish. I don’t think we have enough power to make
headway against the current, but I’ll try.”

She pulled on the whistle cable and paused to let the blast echo a
warning across the river. Then with a practiced turn of the wheel, she made a wide
turn in the middle of the channel. The ship bucked more than a little as it
headed against the current.

Simon raced down the stairs to the bow of the main deck, holding
his flaming hand held aloft, hoping to spot the men in the water. How would
they ever find them at this time of night?

But as the
Slough Maid
slowly headed back upriver, Arvel and the
Il
Colibri
swept up from behind them and hovered just a few feet off the bow. Nuncio
stood in the open doorway and gave Simon and Welsie a double ‘thumbs up’.

Behind Nuncio, swathed in thick woolen blankets, sat a rather
soggy-looking Louie Ma beside Inspector Roman Greenslade, with his dog, Henry
on his lap.

CHAPTER
75

EPILOG

The Isle of Capri

Arvel unrolled the latest drawings across the table saying, “Put
the glasses on the corners to hold down the corners.”

“Aye, Captain,” answered Simon, with a glance to Welsie. They were
at their usual table, on the plaza outside
Perla
.
These past four months on Capri had changed them both, but the change in
Welsie’s appearance still surprised him. In England, she had been a beautiful
flower blooming in the marsh, but here she had blossomed into a strikingly
beautiful woman. The sun had warmed the tone of her freckled skin and
brightened highlights in her coppery hair. No worries lined her brow these
days; she never seemed to stop smiling.

Steps away, the brilliant blue of the Mediterranean sea and sky
brought out the blue flecks and intelligent sparkle in her hazel eyes. Dressed
simply in a beige watered silk gown, she was truly stunning.

He knew, with a certainty from the bottom of his soul, that he had
never been so happy.

Her eyes shifted away from him,

From across the plaza, a dog barked and her smile widened to a
grin. “Oh look! It’s Henry!”

Sure enough the little brown terrier came racing toward them a
run, trailing a red leather leash behind him. With no hesitation, the dog leapt
up into Welsie’s lap, quivering with excitement.

“What? Where...?” Simon stood, scanning the plaza, looking for the
Inspector.

“There,” Arvel pointed.

Simon had to look close to be sure, because Roman Greenslade, dressed
in the loose cotton pants, blouse, and cap of a fisherman, looked little like
the police inspector he remembered.

Greenslade grinned as he hustled across the plaza, a heavy-looking
leather valise at his side. Welsie embraced him, while Simon and Arvel pounded
him warmly on the back.

Arvel called to the waiter for another chair and a bottle of the
house spumante.

Greenslade seemed inordinately pleased to be among them. Welsie gripped
his hand and pulled him into the chair beside her. “What are you doing here?”
She demanded.

Simon found himself just as pleased see the inspector looking so
well, and marveled at the change in his friend. That haunted, long-faced
expression he’d had in England was gone. Losing his father had been a terrible
blow, but today he looked years younger than Simon remembered. “Good heavens
bloke, however did you find us?”

Greenslade set the heavy bag down beside his chair. “Louie told me
where to find you, and Henry led me here.”

Simon took a seat opposite Welsie, and to his surprise, the dog came
right over and jumped right up into his lap. “Hey, the little traitor remembers
me!” He scratched the terrier under the chin and the little dog leaned into
him. It wasn’t so long ago he’d been jealous of the dog’s preference for Roman,
but no more. They seemed like they belonged together. With a start, Simon
realized he no longer harbored jealous feelings toward the man, either.

And as he observed the two of them laughing together, Simon
thought that part of it was that Greenslade wasn’t mooning over Welsie any more.
Well, well. He certainly appeared to have exorcised more than a few demons over
these past several months. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter—it was good
to see him.

“Did Louie come with you?” Arvel asked.

Roman shook his head. “No,” he grinned, “But he sends his regards.
He decided to stay on the island. I sold him my father’s bar and he’s making a
go of it. He nodded at Simon. “Thought you might like to know, he’s got the
boy, Twitch, helping him. After you cleared the lad’s mind of Vetch’s
influence, he’s doing much better.”

The inspector gazed around the table. “But I’m here on official
business. You all left so quickly."

Simon gave him a wry smile. “We didn’t want to overstay our
welcome, given the uncertainty of my ah, legal status.”

Arvel frowned. “What exactly is our legal status?”

Roman opened the valise at his feet and pulled out a large bundle
of bank notes and slid it across the table toward Arvel. “That’s ten thousand
pounds reward money there, Captain Paretti. Her Majesty sends her deepest
thanks.”

Arvel slipped the fat bundle into his vest pocket. “Please, call
me Arvel.” Any man who hands me ten thousand pounds is a good friend. This will
more than pay for the building of the new ship.”

“I’ve also been asked to inquire as to your future plans. Her
Majesty was quite impressed with you, Arvel, and wanted to know if you are
still planning to build that commercial air fleet you spoke to her about.”

“Of course!” Arvel beamed. “We were disappointed to hear the
Germans received the royal the commission to build the British Air Fleet. Not
surprised, mind you, but disappointed.” He waved his hand across the drawing
spread out across the table. “You can tell her we’ve just finalized the plans
to for four ships, each of which will be more advanced than the
Il Colibri
.”

Welsie reached across the table and took Simon’s hand. “And you
can be sure, Roman, that from now on, Steam Dogs Transport Service will be
funded through
legitimate
means.”

Simon gave her hand a friendly squeeze. The ship would’ve already
been built by now if she hadn’t insisted, but she’d gotten Arvel to agree as
well, and it was admittedly nice not to have to keep moving all the time. He
loved their life here in Capri.

“A wise choice,” Roman answered, but he wasn’t done yet. He reached
into the pocket of his baggy pants and pulled out a small object wrapped in
tissue paper and handed it to Welsie.

“Officially, a series of explosions in the engine room of the
Slough Maid
caused it to crash into
Her Majesty’s Yacht Alberta
where it was
docked at the Greenwich Pier. Fortunately, the Queen was not aboard at the
time, having previously decided to make an unannounced visit to the Naval
Hospital. However more than a hundred crewmen were killed in the accident, and
the entire crew of the
Slough Maid
appears to have drowned. Their bodies have yet to be recovered.”

He handed the packet to Welsie. “She asked me to give you this. If
you and Arvel hadn’t begged her to leave when you did, and if Simon hadn’t
stopped Sir Magnus, a great many more people would have died.”

She unwrapped the paper and her eyes widened at the sight of the
bow-shaped platinum brooch studded with diamonds. “Good heavens, are you
serious?”

“It’s from her personal collection.”

Simon whistled at the sight. “We never expected this. Thank you.”

How soon do you have to go back?” Welsie asked.

“Surely you’ll stay with us,” Simon agreed. “We’ve leased a lovely
place that’s just steps from the beach.”

 
“Oh yes!” Welsie
grabbed his hand. “Please say you will."

Roman seemed pleased, if somewhat embarrassed by their invitation.
“Well, I suppose I could stay, for a day or so. I’ve quit the force. With
Padraig gone, there was nothing but murk and cold and bad memories left on the
Isle of Dogs. Padraig had the right idea, you know. I’m done taking orders from
anyone. From now on, Henry and I are following the sun and enjoying life.
Aren’t we, lad?”

The dog dozed peacefully on the warm cobblestones, no doubt
chasing rabbits in his dreams.

“I can’t see you idle for long, mate.” Simon leaned forward. “We
were just talking about you the other day, and how we needed to bring in
another partner. Why not throw your hand in with us? The future is with steam
and steel, Roman. That reward money will get us well started on building the
fleet for our transport company. And Arvel’s designs for the new ship are amazing.”

 
Arvel tapped the
drawing excitedly. “I call it a helicraft. Or hovership. Something like that. It
will be faster and have more carrying capacity than the
Il Colibri
. There will be nothing like it.”

The bottle arrived and Simon filled glasses of sparkling wine for
all of them. He handed one to Roman. “So what do you say? Are you with us?”

 
“After all we’ve been
through together, you’re like family, now,” Arvel added.

“We’ve plenty of room,” Welsie added.

Roman grinned. “I’m glad to hear you say that, because I’ve been authorized
by Her Majesty to offer you a private commission for your first job.” He put
the heavy valise on the table. “There’s enough gold in here to completely fund
your first two ships, if you’re interested. What do you say?”

 
Simon opened the
valise and looked inside. He took a deep breath and nodded. “There’s more than
enough here,” he said. He gave a questioning look to Arvel and Welsie. Their
eager expressions gave him his answer.

“What’s the job, mate?”

END