Today, please enjoy a sneak peek at the first chapter of Chasing the Green Fairy, The Airship Racing Chronicles Book II, releasing March 4th!
Chapter
1:
A
chartreuse-colored leaf fluttered down onto the wheel of the Stargazer. It was
early morning. The mist covering the surface of the Thames reflected the rosy
sunrise. Yawning, I reached out to brush it away only find it was not a leaf at
all. Carefully, I balanced the fragile creature on the tip of my finger.
“Mornin’, Lil.
Hey, what’s that?” Jessup called as he bounced onto the deck of the Stargazer.
Angus was
cursing as he cranked out the repair platform below the ship. We were preparing
for our morning practice run to Edinburgh.
“A luna moth,” I
replied.
“I thought maybe
you’d finally caught the green fairy,” Jessup joked as he climbed into the
burner basket.
I grinned. The
moth’s green wings, dotted with yellowish eyes, wagged slowly up and down. It
was beautiful, but it was dying. “My mother once told me that they are fey
things, that they live in the other realm until it’s their time to die. Then,
they come to humans.”
“Why?” Jessup
asked as he adjusted the valves. Orange flame sparked to life.
“She said that
even enchanted things want to be truly loved at least once.”
“Don’t we all?”
he replied with a laugh.
A harsh wind
blew across the Thames, clearing the morning mist. It snatched the delicate
creature from my hands. I tried to catch it, but the breeze pulled it from me
even as it was dying. I lost it to the wind.
I sighed heavily
as I picked up my tools then bounded over the side of the ship to the repair
platform. I pulled out a dolly and rolled under, joining Angus who had fallen
remarkably silent. The moment I saw the gear assembly on the Stargazer, I
understood why.
“What the hell?”
I whispered.
“Aye, lassie.”
“Jessup!” I
shouted. “Get the tower guards down here!”
“What’s wrong?”
Jessup called.
“The Stargazer
has been sabotaged!”
I stared at the
mangled gears. From the saw marks on the gear assembly to the metal shrapnel
blown around the galley, it was clear what had happened. I felt like someone
had punched me in the gut.
Seconds later I
heard Jessup’s boots hit the platform and the sound of him running toward the
guard station.
“They removed
Sal’s torque mechanism. Sawed the bloody thing right off,” Angus said angrily.
“But . . . who?”
I stammered.
“The
Dilettanti?” Angus offered as he strained to examine the rest of the assembly.
“No,” I said as
I touched the saw marks. The rough metal cut my finger. “That business is
finished. Byron saw to that.” I stuck my bloodied finger in my mouth. The salty
taste of blood mixed with the tang of gear grease.
“Then who?”
“Someone who
didn’t want us to race in the qualifying. Someone who wanted to learn what had
us running so fast.”
We were less
than a month out from the British qualifying. While there were other good race
teams in the realm, no one raced better than us. After all, we were the
champions of the 1823 World Grand Prix. My stunt in Paris had brought us heaps
of acclaim, but not all our British competitors were impressed. Envy had set
in.
“Grant?” Angus
suggested.
Julius Grant,
whose team was sponsored by Westminster Gas Light, was our greatest competition
at home. He hated us. He was annoyed that we were sponsored by Byron, annoyed
that I was female, and annoyed that we were faster than him. Grant was the most
likely suspect. But he was not the only one. “Almost too obvious. What about
Lord D?” I wondered aloud.
“He’d love to,
but he doesn’t have the stones,” Angus replied. “Might be someone who doesn’t
want us in the Prix. If they take us out during qualifying, we aren’t a threat
abroad.”
“That means it
could be anyone.”
“Hell, maybe one
of Byron’s lovers took a stab at you.”
“But I’m not
even romantically involved with him anymore.”
“The rest of the
world doesn’t know that.”
I rolled out
from under the ship. Leaning against the Stargazer, I wiped my hands. The cut
stung as grease mingled with the open wound. I wanted to either beat someone to
death or cry. I wasn’t sure which. Maybe both.
Angus joined me.
“Can we get it
fixed in time?” I asked him.
He wiped sweat
from his bald head as he thought. “It’ll be close. I’ll need Sal’s help.”
“You? Need Sal?”
“Aye, lassie.”
“He’s busy
getting the factory ready, but he’ll come.”
Jessup returned
with Edwin, the stationmaster, and Reggie, one of the guards.
“Where the hell
were your people last night?” Angus demanded of Edwin. We’d known Edwin for a
long time, and we trusted the guards in London. Something wasn’t right.
As Angus and
Edwin discussed, a terrible ache rocked my stomach. I set my hand on the side
of the Stargazer. Her honey-colored timbers shone in the sunlight. Just as
sleek and beautiful as she was the first time I laid eyes on her, she was my
pride and joy. My ship. My love. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“What do you
think, Lil?” Jessup asked.
Clearly, I’d
missed something. “Pardon?”
“Edwin suggested
we post a private guard,” Jessup explained.
I nodded. “We’ll
sort it out.”
“Lily, I’m so
sorry. Someone must have sneaked past us. I can’t believe it,” Edwin said. His
clear blue eyes were brimming with tears.
I set my hand on
his shoulder. “Who was stationed on this end last night?”
“Morton.”
I sighed. I
wasn’t one to point fingers, but that explained it. “Was he still drunk when he
went home this morning?” I asked Reggie.
Reggie shifted
uncomfortably as Edwin turned to look at him. “He was,” Reggie answered after a
moment.
“That lazy,
rummy bloke. I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!” Edwin shouted, and in an angry
huff, stomped back down the platform.
“Sorry, Lily.
Angus. Jessup. I won’t take my eyes off her,” Reggie said sadly then went to
take a post near the Stargazer.
“We’ll sleep on
the ship until we get a guard on board,” I told Angus and Jessup who nodded in
agreement.
“A guard . . .
but who can we trust?” Jessup asked.
“The Stargazer
is family. We need family to keep her safe,” Angus replied then looked at me.
“You mean . . .
Duncan?” About three years earlier, I’d been, albeit briefly, in a relationship
with Angus’ older brother Duncan. While I’d fallen for Duncan the moment I’d
laid eyes on him, we were not suited for one another. Back then, I wasn’t ready
to give up Byron or anything else.
Angus shrugged.
“I suppose he’s over you by now.”
“That’s all well
and good,” Jessup spat, “but we need someone to look into this! Someone needs
to be held accountable! We should send for the Bow Street boys.”
Angus shook his
head. “Only if we want everyone in London to know.”
“Well, we need
to do something!” Jessup protested.
“Let’s keep it
quiet. I’ll talk to Phineas,” I replied.
Jessup nodded
eagerly. “Yeah. Good idea.”
Angus frowned.
“Are you sure about that?”
Phineas and I
had a convoluted opiate history, but as Angus knew well, I’d been keeping my
habits in check. “It’ll be fine. I’ll check in with Phin, go get Sal, and come
back. We can head out to the league meeting together.”
“If Grant looks
even a wee bit guilty, I’m going to squeeze his neck,” Angus cursed.
“If he looks
guilty, I’ll help you,” I replied. I set my hand on the Stargazer. It was so
painful to see something you loved damaged.
“It’ll be all
right, Lil,” Jessup said trying to comfort me. “We’ll get her fixed.”
I smiled weakly
at Jessup then turned to leave. I knew he was right, but it didn’t make me feel
any better.
Giveaway Time!
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