“We just have to make sure it doesn’t fall into an unscrupulous person’s hands. If we worked together we could do that. You have no idea how much I’d like to learn from you. I’ve never had a teacher.” Kali was buying time, yes, but the ache of sincerity in her voice surprised her.
It must have surprised Amelia too for she frowned thoughtfully at Kali. Might she consider it?
“It’s true I’ve no magical gifts,” Kali went on, “so I couldn’t make the alchemical potions or whatever you used to heal yourself and deflect that bullet...” She raised her eyebrows. She was guessing since she had little knowledge of witchery, but Amelia nodded slightly. “I’m told I’m a fair tinkerer though.” Kali juggled the drill so she could remove her packsack. “I love to make things. I can show you some of my handmade tools.”
“I was impressed by your vehicle,” Amelia admitted. “Nobody taught you, you say?”
“I’ve had to learn it all on my own.” Kali took another step. If Cedar gave her a chance, she would have to sprint forward and act before Amelia had time to think up something. “This drill isn’t fancy since I only had a couple of minutes to make it, but it shows you the potential flash gold has for useful things.”
Amelia’s face hardened. Mentioning the gold again had been a mistake.
“No,” Amelia said. “It’s too dangerous. And, because you know its secrets and criminals know of you, you’re too dangerous.”
A clunk sounded behind her. Cedar tossing the lodestone at one of the flying creatures?
Before she could turn around to check, metal clashed. He was attacking the cicadas. That was her cue.
Kali sprinted toward the water, gripping the drill in both hands.
Amelia sneered and pushed a lever on her control box.
With the river roaring in her ears, Kali could not hear the click-whirs of the machines, but she knew Cedar could not take them all down at once. They would be pursuing. Pursuing and shooting.
Balls hammered the granite bank, bouncing off like hail. None struck Kali, but she sprinted faster anyway.
Three strides from the shallows, she touched the flash gold flake with her thumb to turn on the drill. Cedar surprised her by running past her. He leaped into the air, clearly hoping to jump over the shield on the boat and land on Amelia. She saw him coming, though, and hurled something. A small black ball expanded into a net, entrapping him in a heartbeat.
Kali splashed into the shallows, high-kneeing it to the back of the boat.
Though the net entangled Cedar, his momentum took him into the pilot’s seat. He crashed down on top of Amelia, who shrieked in anger.
Kali reached her destination, the furnace and boiler at the back of the boat, but frigid water reached to her chest, and a strong current tugged at her body. She spread her legs, trying to brace herself on the slick bottom. She would need leverage if she meant to succeed at her task. Something akin to a cat fight was taking place in the pilot’s seat, with both people tangled in the net.
“Cedar!” Kali called. “Get out of there!”
Stones shifted and moved beneath her feet, and the current threatened to suck her into the rapids, but she found a big rock to brace her boot against.
Amelia screamed in pain.
A splash sounded—Cedar obeying her order. Good.
Kali closed her eyes, tucked her chin, and pressed the drill to the side of the boiler. As soon as she felt the tip pierce the metal casing, she dove down, hoping the water would provide her some protection from the—
Boom!
Even though she knew what to expect, she had no way to defend against the raw power of the boiler failure. The water did little to soften the blast wave, and it hurled her into the stony river bottom. Her back slammed against the rocks. Her breath escaped in a burst of bubbles.
For a dazed moment, she could do nothing. The current swept her off the rocks, and she forced her stunned limbs to work. She kicked and stroked, hoping she was angling toward the surface, but the powerful water defied her efforts. It swept her out of the shallows and into the rapids where she picked up speed.
She clawed her way to the top only to be battered against a sharp rock. She managed a gasp of air, but the torrent forced her underwater again. More rocks barred her way, and she bounced between them until her hand caught on something.
Rope?
If so, it was narrow, but she wasn’t going to complain. She twined her fingers around it and lunged for another piece with the other hand. Not rope, a net.
As soon as she gripped it with both hands, she felt herself being hauled out of the current. Her head broke the water. Rivulets streamed into her eyes, but she dared not let go to wipe them, so she merely trusted it was Cedar.
The current lessened, and her knee bumped against the bottom. Shallow water. She heaved a sigh of relief.
Strong hands gripped her by the armpits and pulled her out of the water. Before she could so much as wipe her eyes, she found herself crushed into a soggy hug. She did not relax into the embrace immediately; she craned her neck, searching for Amelia and the vessel. Kali had been swept a good hundred meters downriver, and she could barely see the bank where she’d started, but she squinted and spotted a couple of cicadas, flying around, lost. One crashed into a tree and went down. Others were already smashed into the ground. Kali did not see Amelia or the boat.
“You sank it,” Cedar said. “She went downriver in the rapids. I got her with my sword through the net, but it wasn’t a mortal blow. I don’t know if we’ve seen the last of her or not.”
“The last of her for today, I hope.”
Kali let herself slump against Cedar for support and warmth. Now that she was no longer thrashing to escape the current, shivers coursed through her body. Though May lacked the harsh bite of a Yukon winter, it held no warmth either, and a cold breeze needled her through sodden clothing.
Cedar released her. “We better fetch our gear and get out of the area before those prospectors come looking for us.”
“Agreed.” Kali jumped up and down. Her teeth chattered.
“Did you bring a change of clothing?” Cedar asked. “Or only tools?”
“Of course I brought clothing, and don’t you pick on me about how I packed. Not when you brought a rock.”
“A lodestone.” He grinned. “And it came in handy, didn’t it?”
She tamped down her own grin and sniffed. “Moderately, I suppose.”
“You’re still a hard lady to please, I see.”
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
EPILOGUE
Kali lined the crosshairs up with the man-shaped target tacked to the wall of her workshop. This was going to make a mess. She ought to test the device outside, but she did not want to explain it to passersby. More people were streaming into Dawson every day, and it was hard to walk out the door without tripping over someone.
Her finger found the trigger, and she tapped it. The weapon responded perfectly. A chunk of potato shot from the broad wooden barrel, sailing across the workshop until it thudded into the neck of her target.
“Spud to the jugular.” Kali lowered the weapon. “Embarrassing way to go.”
Her front door creaked open, and Cedar ducked inside. Milos, she reminded herself, determined to start calling him by his real name.
Clean-shaven and dressed in a nice button-down shirt, he strolled toward her. He gave the SAB a pat on the way by—it had taken her an entire day to fix it up so she could bring it home—and halted when he spotted the potato launcher.
“You made one?” A grin split his face as he reached out to touch it. “I didn’t truly expect you to... Can I try it?”
“Of course. You didn’t think I’d make something so silly for myself, did you?” Kali put it in his hands and grabbed the other half of her potato. “It’s like an old muzzle loader. You stuff your ammo in through the barrel. It’s bladed so it’ll shave your spud down if it’s too big. Then you need to crank that lever a few times. It pumps air into the large
-volume chamber where it builds up pressure. When you pull the trigger, that controls the dump valve and...” A concerned furrow creased Cedar’s brow so she stopped the explanation, pumped the lever, and pointed. “Just pull the trigger.”
“I may not be bright enough for this one,” he said dryly.
“No, no, you knew about the lodestone, and you set a still to blow up in about thirty seconds. I don’t even know how you did that. You’re smart.”
His eyebrows flew up. “Did you just compliment me?”
“Er, maybe.”
“Huh.”
Cedar pointed the spud gun, but did not fire right away. He met her eyes. “I just saw Bosomhall limping up the street, his arm in a sling.”
“Oh,” Kali said, not certain how she felt.
She had wondered if he made it out alive. On the one hand, she did not hate anyone enough to wish death on a person. On the other hand...it would have been better for her if Sebastian had never returned from the wilderness. Before, greed had motivated him to strike at her. Now, revenge might add extra...color to his plans for her.
“I thought you should know,” Cedar said.
“Yes, thank you.” Kali pushed aside her worries for another time. “Are you going to try that thing, or not?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He lifted it, aimed, and fired. The potato chunk soared across the workshop and took the target in the eye. It was amazing that someone so tall, muscular, and battle-hardened could grin like a school boy, but he managed it.
“Accurate, good velocity, nice.” He lowered the gun, and his grin softened to something warm and intimate.
She blushed, remembering their kiss, and stuffed her hands in her overall pockets while studying the floor. “So, uhm, sorry you didn’t get any closer to finding Cudgel. Blazes, we didn’t even get to collect a bounty on anyone up there.”
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that. First, I need to apologize for getting you involved in that mess. I didn’t realize just how despicable Bosomhall was. You never would have walked into his trap if it hadn’t been my idea to use him and his claim. Second...” Cedar drew a purse from within his duster, counted out a stack of Morgan silver dollars, and set them on her workbench.
Kali scratched her head. “You’re not trying to pay me for the spud launcher, are you?”
“No, that’s your fifty percent from Koothrapai.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She eyed the stack, thought of the parts she could buy with it, and her fingers twitched toward it. She forced those fingers back into her pocket. “You were right,” she made herself say. “I didn’t do anything, so it’s not fitting I get a cut.”
“No, you were right. We have a deal. Fifty-fifty on everything. And anyway...” He was the one to stick his hands in his pockets now. “I didn’t get in this for the money. My reasons for hesitating to give you your share earlier were...personal.”
“Oh?” What was he about? Kali tried to read his face, but he was studying the floorboards.
“I was concerned that you’d get your airship put together and leave the Yukon forever.”
“That is my plan,” she said.
“Without me,” Cedar added.
Kali blinked. “Oh. I didn’t realize that was a concern of yours.”
“I can’t leave without getting Cudgel, and if Wilder spoke the truth, he’s either in Dawson or on his way. Thanks to the gold, I reckon half the world will be up here before long. He’s not going to miss out on it.”
“Uh huh. So, what you’re really saying is you’d miss me if I left.”
He looked up from the floor. “That’s what I’m saying. Did you think I’d let someone I wasn’t partial to curl up in my Euklisia Rug?”
“I’ve known men who would curl up with just about any woman.”
“But not in their expensive, mail-ordered-from-Wales Euklisia Rug.”
“So, I’m special?”
“Oh, I think you know that.” Cedar tapped the barrel of the potato launcher.
“Well, yes, but not everyone appreciates it.”
“I do. And I’d be honored if you’d accompany me to the dancing hall tonight.”
Kali bit her lip to keep from grinning like a fool. Then a realization struck. “I don’t have a dress!” Sebastian had given her a couple—he’d said it was embarrassing to be seen in public with her when she was wearing her greasy work clothes, the ass—but she hadn’t bothered to hunt for them after her home in Moose Hollow had been burglarized.
Cedar nodded to the stack of silver coins. “Perhaps you could purchase a suitable garment with your earnings.”
“You want me to buy a dress with my airship money?”
“It was just a thought.”
She considered him for a moment, then plucked at her grime-streaked overalls. “Would you dance with me if I wore this?”
“Of course.” His blue eyes crinkled. “Though now that most of the snow has melted, nudity is an option too.”
“I’ll buy a dress.”
“If you insist.”
THE END
AFTERWORD
Thank you for sharing this adventure with Kali, Cedar, and myself. If you’d like to see more “Flash Gold” stories, please consider leaving a review online or telling a fantasy-loving friend about these ebooks. Those little things help an author a great deal!
You can also stop by my site and sign up for the newsletter. About once a month, I give out ebook coupons or run a contest with book giveaways. And, of course, you’ll be the first to know when I release a new story.
Happy reading!
~Lindsay
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
NOVELS:
The Emperor’s Edge
Dark Currents
Encrypted
SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS:
Flash Gold
The Goblin Brothers Adventures
Ice Cracker II (and other short stories)
Lindsay Buroker, Hunted [The Flash Gold Chronicles]
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