Read Peacemaker (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #3) Online

Authors: Lindsay Buroker

Tags: #fantasy, #steampunk, #fantasy adventure, #historical fantasy, #ya fantasy, #fantasy novella, #ya steampunk, #ya historical fantasy, #flash gold

Peacemaker (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #3) (17 page)

BOOK: Peacemaker (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #3)
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Kali tried to suck in a deep breath so she
could call out for help, but too much weight pressed against her
lungs. She couldn’t breathe. Tears of frustration and fear sprang
to her eyes. She was going to die here, all because she’d been
greedy and tried to find a shortcut to getting an airship. She’d
never escape the Yukon, never see the world, never know a winter
that wasn’t icy and dark.


Kali!”

Hope stirred. It was Cedar. But his voice
sounded far away, and flames leapt all about Kali. Could he reach
her in time?

She tried to lift her head, to use the last
of her air to cry out, but she couldn’t budge her cheek from the
deck.

Boots came into view, not one set but two.
Cedar and…Lockhart?

Kali couldn’t tell. Everything was so
bright, so hot. Pain stabbed her head and her eyes.

Scrapes sounded, and she sensed the men
pulling wood off of her. The great weight shifted on her back,
lessening, and she finally gulped in a breath of hot, smoky air.
She’d lost her kerchief. Dumb thing to notice.

Hands gripped her beneath the armpits, and
more rubble fell away from her as someone pulled her free. Cedar.
She could barely make him out through her bleary eyes, but he swept
her up in both arms, carrying her against his chest.


Take her somewhere safe.”
That was Lockhart. He stood amongst the burning debris, both hands
on the wheel.

Confusion swarmed over Kali. Had they made
peace? Or perhaps declared a truce until the city was safe?

Before she could ask, Cedar rushed out the
door. In long running strides, he carried her to the railing where
his rope was tied, the end dangling into the darkness below.

On her back in his arms, Kali had a view of
the balloon, of the way the flames flickered all about it, burning
into the material, compromising its integrity. She stiffened.


The balloon!” she tried
to shout. Her voice came out raspy and weak. “Get out of there!”
she yelled as loudly as she could.

Cedar leaped over the railing without
slowing. Wind whistled past her face, and she thought they’d fall
all the way to the ground, but he twisted in the air and caught the
rope. He shimmied down it and landed lightly on—a dock? Had they
made it to the river? Kali twisted her neck, trying to see.

Before she got her bearings, a massive boom
shook the earth, and the sky exploded in flames. The power of the
shock wave knocked Cedar down, and Kali fell to the dock on top of
him. He rolled over her to protect her, but she still saw the
airship, a great fiery ball, plunging into the Yukon River.

It was the last thing Kali saw before her
world disappeared in blackness.

Epilogue

 

Kali woke in a bed in a log room with
daylight streaming in the window. It was a real glass window, and a
black doctor’s bag sat on a nearby stool. Doc Morgan’s place, she
guessed. Conversations drifted through the open window, and voices
of teamsters managing horses came from farther away, so she
gathered the city hadn’t burned down.

Taking a deep breath evoked pain on the
backside of her ribs, and she decided shallow breaths had more
appeal. She turned her head to find Cedar slumped in a chair near
her bed. His eyes were closed, his head was thrown back, and his
mouth hung open. Kali smiled, tickled by the idea of the deadly
bounty hunter in repose. She was reluctant to wake him, but she
wanted to know what had happened in the end.


I hope—” Kali’s voice
came out hoarse and scratchy, and speaking hurt. She lowered it to
a whisper to finish. “I hope Cudgel doesn’t stroll by when you’re
such an easy target.”

A single eye opened. “My back is to the
wall, and I can see the door and the window from here.”


Is it hard to see with
your eyes closed?”


Not if you’re
good.”

As hard as talking was, Kali couldn’t resist
the urge to tease him. “Someone been filling your head with notions
that you’re good?”


Not often enough.”
Cedar’s other eye opened, and the pair swiveled to regard
her.


Not my fault you haven’t
been around much.” Kali eyed the hand-hewn rafters in the ceiling.
“I suppose that’ll continue now that you’re certain Cudgel’s
here.”


Well, I was staying away
so he wouldn’t learn that I had feelings for you, but it sounds
like he already figured out that we’re…something—” Cedar lifted his
eyebrows, and Kali nodded, “—so I expect that’s a good reason for
us to stick together. Then he’d have to go through me to hurt
you.”


I can take care of
myself,” Kali said, more out of habit than any objection to
spending time with him.


Oh, I
know
that, but, strange as it seems,
I like to be around you.” Cedar leaned toward her, and Kali turned
her face, expecting a kiss, but he hesitated, a question in his
eyes.

He must wonder if she forgave him, if she
still accepted him now that she knew about his not entirely
honorable past. Kali twitched a shoulder. It wasn’t like she was
perfect either. Tarnation, she’d slept with that weasel, Sebastian.
For all she knew, he had a wife or three down south somewhere.

Kali lifted her hand and brushed her fingers
along his jaw. “I see you’re stubbly again. Didn’t we talk about
you adopting shaving on a more regular basis?”

His eyes crinkled, and he kissed her. It was
a might more chaste and gentle than she would have preferred, but
she supposed a woman with broken ribs ought not to have too much
excitement in her day.

When Cedar drew back, Kali settled against
the pillow again and said, “That was nice, but don’t think I’ll let
you loiter around me if kissing is all you’ve got in mind. As I
recall, you promised to put blade to board and help me build my
airship.”

Cedar smiled. “You’re still a hard woman to
impress, I see.”


Indeed, I am, sir. What
happened to Lockhart?” Kali wondered if the detective would
continue to be a problem, though she couldn’t imagine someone
surviving that explosion.

Cedar’s smile faded. “He’s dead.” He drew a
Colt from a holster in a belt hanging over the chair, and she
gathered that he had gone to check for himself. He turned the
weapon over in his hand, studying it, or perhaps not seeing it at
all. “I ran into the cabin when I saw the ceiling fall. I wasn’t
paying attention to anything but—” His voice grew tight, as if he
was working around a lump in his throat, and he had to clear it
before he could continue. “I would have been an easy target. I
guess he figured that at that moment saving you and the city was
more important than shooting me.” His voice grew soft. “I don’t
know if I’d have been able to get you out of that cabin if not for
his help.”

Kali closed her eyes. It was strange and
uncomfortable to be beholden to a dead man. How did one repay a
debt like that? “He seemed like a decent fellow,” she said. “Just
too stubborn to listen to the truth, but I reckon that’s a lot of
men.”


Most.”

If Cedar was relieved that the detective
wouldn’t be following him any more, he did not show it. But then,
the Pinkertons would probably send someone else when they learned
of Lockhart’s death. Perhaps he had only traded a known enemy for a
new, unknown one.


It’s wrong, isn’t it?”
Kali asked. “Decent people trying to kill each other, not even
knowing they are more alike than not, not realizing they got no
rightful reason to be enemies.”

Cedar offered a neutral grunt. Maybe he
still felt a measure of guilt for the role he’d played in that
woman’s death. He returned the revolver to its holster.

Kali watched it. “He told me he wanted to
bring peace with that.”


I know.”


They say the Pinkertons
are supposed to be the righteous hand of the law, but it’s foolish
to think you can make peace if the only tool you have is a
gun.”


Is that comment supposed
to apply to me too?” Cedar asked. “Because I also have a
sword.”

Kali snorted. “The tool I’m really looking
forward to seeing you handle is a saw.”


Ah, yes, about
that—”

Footsteps sounded on the wooden sidewalk
outside the window, and a knock came at the door. Cedar did not
tense or reach for a weapon.


Come in,” he
called.

The door opened, and Kéitlyudee strolled in
with young Tadzi limping after. Kéitlyudee had cleaned up and wore
a beaded caribou dress and sandals. The bruises on her face had
started to fade, which made Kali toss a surprised glance at
Cedar.


How long have I been
out?”


Couple days,” he said.
“You’ve been in and out. You were beat soundly up there, broken
ribs and burns. Doc gave you a draught to make you sleep and heal
up.”

Kali couldn’t fault that, she supposed, but
it made her uneasy to think of days passing without her knowing
it.

Tadzi bounced to a stop in front of Cedar.
“My cousins are working the crane with those two smiths, and
they’ll have the engine out soon. The deck’s all busted and burned,
but lots of the hull is still serviceable.”

Kali stared at him. “What’s this?”


I told Chief Isaac what
you did for me,” Kéitlyudee said, “and how what you did will give
peace to the spirits of all the girls that were killed by that
monster. Now you’re…” She shrugged.


You’re a hero!” Tadzi
blurted. “Cedar said you’re building an airship too.” His eyes
nearly bulged out of his head.


The Hän were thinking of
a feast in your honor,” Cedar told Kali with a sly look, “but I
said if they really wanted to honor you, they could send some
people to help you salvage that ship and build the hull to your new
one.”


How many people?” Kali
whispered, visions of a legion of workers dancing in her head.
Maybe she
could
finish before winter came after all.


About a dozen. And some
of the townsfolk are helping get the airship out of the water. The
mayor said you were welcome to what’s left, and he’s appreciative
that you kept the city from burning. So if you’ve ever wanted a
favor, now might be the time to ask.”


I…” Kali stifled a
grimace. Though the pirates were to blame for much of the mess, it
had been her desire to take over the ship that had put Dawson in
jeopardy in the first place. It didn’t seem right to be anyone’s
hero over that. She had just fixed the problem she’d caused and
nearly gotten herself killed in the process.


My grandma said I could
come help you with it,” Tadzi said. “If you’ll have me. I could
carve the masthead!”


I’d like to help too,”
Kéitlyudee said. “What I owe you can never be repaid.”


I…”


You’re not speechless,
are you?” Cedar smirked. “I’ve never seen that on you.”


I…don’t know what to
say,” Kali said.


Thank you is a popular
choice,” Cedar said, then told Kéitlyudee, “She’s hard to impress
and has difficulty showing gratitude.”


Do not.” Kali tried to
punch him in the shoulder, but her ribs hurt too much and she
aborted the motion.


See?” Cedar asked the
others.

Kali glared around the room. “Shouldn’t you
all be working?”


Aye, Captain.” Still
smirking, Cedar saluted and ushered the others out of the
room.

 

~

 

Afterword

 

Thank you for
reading
Peacemaker
and following along with Kali and Cedar's adventures. If you
want to be notified when I release a new book, hold a contest, or
give away ebook coupons, please visit my “book news” page
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I'd also love to hear from
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blog
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Thanks for
reading!

 

Also by the
Author

 

THE EMPEROR’S EDGE
UNIVERSE

 

NOVELS

 

The Emperor’s
Edge

Dark Currents

Deadly Games

Conspiracy (Spring
2012)

 

Encrypted

 

SHORT STORIES

 

Ice Cracker II (and other
short stories)

The Assassin’s
Curse

 

THE FLASH GOLD
CHRONICLES

 

Flash Gold

Hunted

Peacemaker

 

BOOK: Peacemaker (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #3)
11.89Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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