“Which witch called to report this?” I asked.
“Morgana.”
“She could be playing us.”
“Yes, she could be,” he agreed. “Which is why I’m not going to the university to talk to her and the other coven leaders. I’m sending Basanti instead.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to hunt down the thief. And you’re coming with me,” he told me.
“Me? Why me?”
“Because no one has been able to track the thief, and finding people is your specialty.”
The thief wasn’t stupid. The fact that we couldn’t find him on any of the video feeds told me he knew where all the street cameras were. And he must have used a potion to cover his retreat because Nero couldn’t find a trail—magical or physical—to follow. But that was ok. Back when I’d been a bounty hunter on the Frontier of civilization, I’d had neither video feeds nor the Legion’s extensive arsenal of magic to help me. It was time to go back to basics.
Avarice was one of humanity’s greatest failings, but I chose to see it as one of my most useful tools. A bundle of hundred-dollar bills went a long way in tracking a criminal, even on the relatively prosperous streets of New York. Within fifteen minutes, we’d followed the thief’s trail from one helpful bystander to another. The money I offered them kept them talking, and the sight of the angel beside me kept them from lying to my face. That was efficiency at its peak, so Nero should have been happy. Instead, he looked like he’d soiled his shiny angel halo just by watching me bribe the local population.
“Stop it,” I said as we hurried toward the Sunken Ship. The last guy we’d spoken to had told us we’d find the ‘flying ninja’ in an old warehouse by that name.
“Stop what?” Nero asked.
“Stop giving off that disgusted expression like something stinky died inside of your nose.”
“I am giving off no such expression.”
“You don’t approve of my methods.”
“You are stuffing hundred-dollar bills into the hands of strangers. It is…”
“Unseemly?” I suggested, arching my brows.
“Yes. A soldier of the Legion does not stoop to bribery.”
“You asked for my help, and this is what it is. Your one thousand dignified soldiers of the Legion were unable to find the thief. Sometimes, the dignified way doesn’t work. Sometimes, you just have to get your hands dirty.”
“It remains to be seen whether anything at all will come of us getting our hands dirty.”
“Oh, something always comes of it,” I said, grinning. “It’s just not always what you expected. Embrace the unexpected, Colonel. It’s what makes life worth living.”
“You are a very unusual woman.”
“Thank you.”
I stopped in front of a faded wooden sign with the words ‘The Sunken Ship’ painted across its uneven surface. The warehouse past the sign was in even worse shape. The roof was gone, and only three of the four walls were still standing. I could see into the hollow building, and it was empty.
“Not what you expected?” Nero asked me.
“No.” My eyes traced the broken edges of the rotting building, up an elevator shaft to a raised platform. About the size of my living room, the platform was completely enclosed in glass. “I don’t think the Sunken Ship is a warehouse.” I tilted my head back further to gaze up into the sky. A crimson and bronze silhouette floated in front of the bright, full moon. “I think it’s an airship.”
19
The Sunken Ship
A quick glance at the timetable posted to the wall of the decaying warehouse told me my guess had been right on the money. The Sunken Ship was an all-night floating party over New York City, and we’d just missed the final boarding call. We were stuck down here on the ground while the thief was up there now, plotting something evil.
“We have to find a way up there,” I told Nero. “Before the thief blows that ship out of the sky. Or poisons everyone on board.” I swallowed hard. “Or both. Maybe we can get a helicopter and—”
“Leda.”
I turned to look at him. “What?”
“I am an angel. I can fly us up there.”
“Both of us?”
“I can lift considerably more than your body weight.”
“Oh, right,” I said, suddenly feeling stupid.
He stepped in closer. “Put your arms around me.”
As I looped my hands around his shoulders, his hands settled on my hips. In that instant, I flipped from feeling mildly stupid to feeling really self-conscious. Magic crackled in the air, and Nero’s wings spread out from his body. Every time I saw that gorgeous blend of black, green, and blue feathers, my breath froze in my chest for a moment, as though my body wanted to freeze time, to give me just one moment to truly appreciate the exquisite perfection of his wings.
Nero bent his knees, then shot up into the air like a rocket. A moment later, we were high over the city, his wings pushing us toward the airship in hard, powerful strokes. We were moving fast—really fast. The night air slid across my face, moving down my body in cool rivulets. I shivered.
“You’re cold,” Nero said.
“No, I’m flying,” I said, grinning. “This is just… I don’t even know what words could describe it.”
His eyes flickered to me. “You feel like it is the most natural thing in the world. You feel like before this moment, some part of you was incomplete.”