trainer, and I’m not going to miss it because you’ve dreamt up some grandiose practical joke!”
“It’s not a joke,” I said. “It’s real. This ship is real. This guy is real. Er . . . what was your name again?”
The tall, skinny kid who looked like he was about twenty, with slicked-back red hair and the vaguest hint of a mustache, straightened up and cleared his throat. “I am Aldous Christian, the chief officer on His Imperial Majesty’s Airship Tesla .”
“Nice to meet you, Al. I know Octavia told you to keep an eye on us, but is there somewhere else we can go other than this cabin? I think my sister needs to see a bit more of the ship.”
He frowned. “The captain didn’t say anything about you leaving the cabin.”
“Then she can’t mind if we do,” I pointed out, taking Hallie by the arm. “Come on, Hal. This is something you have to see.”
“I think the captain meant for you to stay here—,” Al started to say, but I had other plans. I pulled a lead-footed Hallie out into the corridor, and up a curved flight of stairs, stopping at a landing that was open to the main part of the airship. “There. See?”
She looked around, her expression bored. “It’s a movie set.”
“Not even close.”
She shook her head. “It has to be. Where did you get the sort of money to rent a whole movie set, Jack? That has to run to thousands, especially with the actors you had to hire to go with it.”
“Such a skeptic,” I sighed. “Hey, Al, is there a window somewhere that Hallie can look out? There’s no way she can say we’re on a movie set if we’re a thousand feet in the air.”
“There’s the observation platform, but we’ve landed in Marseilles to fill the boilers,” he said.
“Maybe that’ll convince you,” I told Hallie, taking her by the hand and pulling her back down the stairs. There had to be an exit somewhere on the lower level of the ship.
“What, more sets? Not even close. And stop pulling me around. I want to go to lunch with Luis and admire his abs.”
“Sir! Mr. Fletcher! You can’t do that!” Al the officer said, running after us. “The captain wouldn’t like it at all. No one is allowed off the ship while we’re taking on water.”
“There has to be some sort of an entrance down here,” I said, dragging Hallie down another flight of stairs with me to the area where we’d woken up. “If this is a cargo bay . . . ah, daylight!”
“I’ll give it to you, it’s quite an elaborate set,” Hallie commented as she looked around curiously. “Hi. You must be one of the actors my brother hired.”
A boy of about fifteen whirled around from where he was peering out of a door, staring at us in surprise. “Er ...”
“Pardon us,” I told the kid, pulling Hallie after me as I jumped down into hard-packed dirt. “There. Now tell me this is a movie set.”
“What’s he doing?” the kid asked Al.
“Get the captain,” he answered, his narrow face worried as he jumped down after us. “Sir, I must insist that you return to the Tesla . The captain will be very angry indeed if you violate the ship’s rules.”
Hallie was silent as she looked around us. I had to admit that the sight was somewhat awe inspiring, at least to our eyes. The small wooden building in front of us was nothing out of the ordinary, nor were the two huge water towers behind it, one of which was currently pouring water into an opening in the airship, assumably loading up the steam boilers. But it was the scene that lay beyond that had Hallie’s eyes opening wide.
“It’s . . . a city,” she said, blinking a couple of times.
“Yeah. A hell of a city,” I said, shaking off the hand that Al had placed on my arm. I walked past the wooden building, my gaze following the dirt road that snaked away from us, down a gentle slope to the town below. “Holy shit, that’s amazing. Look, Hal—carriages and horses and ladies in long skirts.”
“I’m not seeing this,” she said,
“It’s not a joke,” I said. “It’s real. This ship is real. This guy is real. Er . . . what was your name again?”
The tall, skinny kid who looked like he was about twenty, with slicked-back red hair and the vaguest hint of a mustache, straightened up and cleared his throat. “I am Aldous Christian, the chief officer on His Imperial Majesty’s Airship Tesla .”
“Nice to meet you, Al. I know Octavia told you to keep an eye on us, but is there somewhere else we can go other than this cabin? I think my sister needs to see a bit more of the ship.”
He frowned. “The captain didn’t say anything about you leaving the cabin.”
“Then she can’t mind if we do,” I pointed out, taking Hallie by the arm. “Come on, Hal. This is something you have to see.”
“I think the captain meant for you to stay here—,” Al started to say, but I had other plans. I pulled a lead-footed Hallie out into the corridor, and up a curved flight of stairs, stopping at a landing that was open to the main part of the airship. “There. See?”
She looked around, her expression bored. “It’s a movie set.”
“Not even close.”
She shook her head. “It has to be. Where did you get the sort of money to rent a whole movie set, Jack? That has to run to thousands, especially with the actors you had to hire to go with it.”
“Such a skeptic,” I sighed. “Hey, Al, is there a window somewhere that Hallie can look out? There’s no way she can say we’re on a movie set if we’re a thousand feet in the air.”
“There’s the observation platform, but we’ve landed in Marseilles to fill the boilers,” he said.
“Maybe that’ll convince you,” I told Hallie, taking her by the hand and pulling her back down the stairs. There had to be an exit somewhere on the lower level of the ship.
“What, more sets? Not even close. And stop pulling me around. I want to go to lunch with Luis and admire his abs.”
“Sir! Mr. Fletcher! You can’t do that!” Al the officer said, running after us. “The captain wouldn’t like it at all. No one is allowed off the ship while we’re taking on water.”
“There has to be some sort of an entrance down here,” I said, dragging Hallie down another flight of stairs with me to the area where we’d woken up. “If this is a cargo bay . . . ah, daylight!”
“I’ll give it to you, it’s quite an elaborate set,” Hallie commented as she looked around curiously. “Hi. You must be one of the actors my brother hired.”
A boy of about fifteen whirled around from where he was peering out of a door, staring at us in surprise. “Er ...”
“Pardon us,” I told the kid, pulling Hallie after me as I jumped down into hard-packed dirt. “There. Now tell me this is a movie set.”
“What’s he doing?” the kid asked Al.
“Get the captain,” he answered, his narrow face worried as he jumped down after us. “Sir, I must insist that you return to the Tesla . The captain will be very angry indeed if you violate the ship’s rules.”
Hallie was silent as she looked around us. I had to admit that the sight was somewhat awe inspiring, at least to our eyes. The small wooden building in front of us was nothing out of the ordinary, nor were the two huge water towers behind it, one of which was currently pouring water into an opening in the airship, assumably loading up the steam boilers. But it was the scene that lay beyond that had Hallie’s eyes opening wide.
“It’s . . . a city,” she said, blinking a couple of times.
“Yeah. A hell of a city,” I said, shaking off the hand that Al had placed on my arm. I walked past the wooden building, my gaze following the dirt road that snaked away from us, down a gentle slope to the town below. “Holy shit, that’s amazing. Look, Hal—carriages and horses and ladies in long skirts.”
“I’m not seeing this,” she said,
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