Rue had known that Lord Akeldama was her guardian as well as her adopted father, and she’d known it was some sort of deal her parents struck to keep the vampires from killing her. She hadn’t realised that it incurred an obligation of protection from all vampires. Now that she was legally an adult, that protection was gone. And then she’d cocked up her legal standing with the Crown as well.
What had Dama said? “Just a little token, Puggle, because, you’re all grown up and a fully-fledged independent now, and knowing your family propensities, you’re going to need a ruddy big gun.” She’d dismissed her parents’ concern, thought they were just being overprotective and worried.
Family propensities come wrapped in Italian silk. “Cousin, hmm? I take it Grandfather Alessandro enjoyed dropping his breeches overmuch?”
“Bit of a cad, to be honest with you. Your mother never knew she had an older half-brother, did she? Poor old Dad. Took me in for Templar training, just like him, just like all us daemons get in Italy.” His mouth curled against her skin. “It’s an honour to be Templar trained. We do God’s work. We are weapons of His justice. Doomed to burn in hell because we’ve no soul to get into heaven. But we work for God while we’re here. And that’s what counts.”
“You trying to convince me or yourself?” Rue kept him talking while her mind whirled. There had to be a way to turn the tables on this man.
“Oh, the little soul-stealer has teeth.”
“Who, me?”
“An original, you are. I imagine they want to study you. Maybe cut you up a bit. See how you tick.”
“Charming.”
“Don’t worry, cousin. I won’t let them hurt you. Much.”
He was focused on her and she was naked. She wondered if he carried any of their shared grandfather’s propensities. She wriggled a bit, testing – not a get free wiggle, but an introducing my bottom wiggle. Wouldn’t you know? It appears he likes curvy young ladies.
“Stop that.”
There came a solid hiss and a wet thunk. The Italian jerked against Rue and then slid to the deck, arms loosening about her, although he stayed mostly coiled about her body until he lay slack at her feet. It was an unpleasant experience.
Rue stepped free.
At the same time, she saw the other man with the sundowner gun collapse.
Both men had darts sticking out of their backs. Lefoux-made numbing darts, Rue was pretty darn certain. But who had fired them? Even if Quesnel made it out of bed, he couldn’t make it up the stair from engineering.
Rue twisted to look behind her to the poop deck, and there – all forgotten – stood the twins. Percy was wearing Quesnel’s wrist emitter, looking frightened but also fierce and set. Primrose was holding the Parasol-of-Another-Colour steady in the firing position. She had it aimed now at one of the other invaders. There was a look of both possession and anger on her pretty face. Rue swallowed a smile. The man she’d shot had been threatening Tasherit.
“Told you that parasol would go with some outfit of yours eventually.” Rue grinned at her.
Prim didn’t take her eyes off her next target. “I concede the point. Sometimes it is better to be practical than pretty.”
“Very nice shooting, both of you.” Rue believed in giving praise when due.
“We Tunstells can be practical as well as pretty.” Now Primrose was grinning.
Percy joined in the game. “I hope you’ll excuse us interfering in your little family spat?”
“By all means, carry on, my dears.” Rue nodded to her two oldest friends.
Percy gave Rue a most un-Percy like wink and returned to steadying the airship, which was still holding position over the floating island. He seemed to think, and Rue concurred, that if they needed to abandon ship, or crash-land, a bouncy papyrus bubble was a better option than Lake Victoria.
Rue returned her attention to the standoff around her. The odds were now in their favour. Certainly the four remaining men were armed, but not with sundowner guns. And they knew it. They were looking nervous and kept waving their pistols about, trying to decide on targets.
Rue said, without malice, to her crew, “Didn’t I hear Miss Sekhmet ask you all to clear the trash off the deck? Well, I fully concur, my dears, and frankly I’m rather peckish. If we could conclude our business with these gentlemen?” The decklings relaxed at her ridiculousness. This was the Lady Captain they were accustomed to. They were even accustomed to her being naked.
A pause.
“And… fire!” Rue relished the order.
The decklings and Primrose fired on the four remaining invaders. Spoo and Willard also took the order as an excuse to let loose a Gatling barrage at the enemy dirigibles. Rue hoped they weren’t wasting bullets but didn’t turn to find out.
Two of the invaders fell, one bloodied and screaming. The other incapacitated by Prim’s numbing dart. That was one powerful parasol, and Primrose was an inordinately good shot.