Chasing the Green Fairy: The Airship Racing Chronicles Read online

  ALSO BY MELANIE KARSAK

  The Harvesting Series:

  The Harvesting

  The Airship Racing Chronicles:

  Chasing the Star Garden (Book I)

  Forthcoming: Chasing the Fog (Book III)

  Also Forthcoming:

  Lady Macbeth; Wyrd Queen of Scotland

  Clockpunk Press, March 2014

  Copyright 2014 Melanie Karsak

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without permission from the author.

  Song lyrics in Ch. 7 adapted from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

  This is a work of fiction. References to historical people, organizations, events, places, and establishments are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Published by Clockpunk Press

  PO Box 560367

  Rockledge, FL 32956-0367

  www.clockpunkpress.com

  ISBN-13: 978-0615957517

  ISBN-10: 061595751X

  Edited by Cat Carlson Amick

  Cover art and book design by Damonza.com

  Formatting by Inkstain Interior Book Designing

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  A sabotaged airship.

  A recovering opium addict.

  A messenger with life-shattering news.

  With the 1824 British airship qualifying race only weeks away, Lily Stargazer is at the top of her game. She’s racing like a pro, truly in love, and living clean. But on one ill-omened day, everything changes.

  Pulled head-long into the ancient secrets of the realm, Lily soon finds herself embroiled in Celtic mysteries and fairy lore. And she’s not quite sure how she got there, or even if she wants to be involved. But Lily soon finds herself chasing the spirit of the realm while putting her own ghosts to rest. And only accepting the truth—about her heart and her country—can save her.

  In memory of Barbara

  A CHARTREUSE-COLORED LEAF FLUTTERED DOWN onto the wheel of the Stargazer. It was early morning. The mist covering the surface of the Thames reflected the rosy sunrise. Yawning, I reached out to brush it away only find it was not a leaf at all. Carefully, I balanced the fragile creature on the tip of my finger.

  “Mornin’, Lil. Hey, what’s that?” Jessup called as he bounced onto the deck of the Stargazer.

  Angus was cursing as he cranked out the repair platform below the ship. We were preparing for our morning practice run to Edinburgh.

  “A luna moth,” I replied.

  “I thought maybe you’d finally caught the green fairy,” Jessup joked as he climbed into the burner basket.

  I grinned. The moth’s green wings, dotted with yellowish eyes, wagged slowly up and down. It was beautiful, but it was dying. “My mother once told me that they are fey things, that they live in the other realm until it’s their time to die. Then, they come to humans.”

  “Why?” Jessup asked as he adjusted the valves. Orange flame sparked to life.

  “She said that even enchanted things want to be truly loved at least once.”

  “Don’t we all?” he replied with a laugh.

  A harsh wind blew across the Thames, clearing the morning mist. It snatched the delicate creature from my hands. I tried to catch it, but the breeze pulled it from me even as it was dying. I lost it to the wind.

  I sighed heavily as I picked up my tools then bounded over the side of the ship to the repair platform. I pulled out a dolly and rolled under, joining Angus who had fallen remarkably silent. The moment I saw the gear assembly on the Stargazer, I understood why.

  “What the hell?” I whispered.

  “Aye, lassie.”

  “Jessup!” I shouted. “Get the tower guards down here!”

  “What’s wrong?” Jessup called.

  “The Stargazer has been sabotaged!”

  I stared at the mangled gears. From the saw marks on the gear assembly to the metal shrapnel blown around the galley, it was clear what had happened. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.

  Seconds later I heard Jessup’s boots hit the platform and the sound of him running toward the guard station.

  “They removed Sal’s torque mechanism. Sawed the bloody thing right off,” Angus said angrily.

  “But . . . who?” I stammered.

  “The Dilettanti?” Angus offered as he strained to examine the rest of the assembly.

  “No,” I said as I touched the saw marks. The rough metal cut my finger. “That business is finished. Byron saw to that.” I stuck my bloodied finger in my mouth. The salty taste of blood mixed with the tang of gear grease.

  “Then who?”

  “Someone who didn’t want us to race in the qualifying. Someone who wanted to learn what had us running so fast.”

  We were less than a month out from the British qualifying. While there were other good race teams in the realm, no one raced better than us. After all, we were the champions of the 1823 World Grand Prix. My stunt in Paris had brought us heaps of acclaim, but not all our British competitors were impressed. Envy had set in.

  “Grant?” Angus suggested.

  Julius Grant, whose team was sponsored by Westminster Gas Light, was our greatest competition at home. He hated us. He was annoyed that we were sponsored by Byron, annoyed that I was female, and annoyed that we were faster than him. Grant was the most likely suspect. But he was not the only one. “Almost too obvious. What about Lord D?” I wondered aloud.

  “He’d love to, but he doesn’t have the stones,” Angus replied. “Might be someone who doesn’t want us in the Prix. If they take us out during qualifying, we aren’t a threat abroad.”

  “That means it could be anyone.”

  “Hell, maybe one of Byron’s lovers took a stab at you.”

  “But I’m not even romantically involved with him anymore.”

  “The rest of the world doesn’t know that.”

  I rolled out from under the ship. Leaning against the Stargazer, I wiped my hands. The cut stung as grease mingled with the open wound. I wanted to either beat someone to death or cry. I wasn’t sure which. Maybe both.

  Angus joined me.

  “Can we get it fixed in time?” I asked him.

  He wiped sweat from his bald head as he thought. “It’ll be close. I’ll need Sal’s help.”

  “You? Need Sal?”

  “Aye, lassie.”

  “He’s busy getting the factory ready, but he’ll come.”

  Jessup returned with Edwin, the stationmaster, and Reggie, one of the guards.

  “Where the hell were your people last night?” Angus demanded of Edwin. We’d known Edwin for a long time, and we trusted the guards in London. Something wasn’t right.

  As Angu
s and Edwin discussed, a terrible ache rocked my stomach. I set my hand on the side of the Stargazer. Her honey-colored timbers shone in the sunlight. Just as sleek and beautiful as she was the first time I laid eyes on her, she was my pride and joy. My ship. My love. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “What do you think, Lil?” Jessup asked.

  Clearly, I’d missed something. “Pardon?”

  “Edwin suggested we post a private guard,” Jessup explained.

  I nodded. “We’ll sort it out.”

  “Lily, I’m so sorry. Someone must have sneaked past us. I can’t believe it,” Edwin said. His clear blue eyes were brimming with tears.

  I set my hand on his shoulder. “Who was stationed on this end last night?”

  “Morton.”

  I sighed. I wasn’t one to point fingers, but that explained it. “Was he still drunk when he went home this morning?” I asked Reggie.

  Reggie shifted uncomfortably as Edwin turned to look at him. “He was,” Reggie answered after a moment.

  “That lazy, rummy bloke. I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!” Edwin shouted, and in an angry huff, stomped back down the platform.

  “Sorry, Lily. Angus. Jessup. I won’t take my eyes off her,” Reggie said sadly then went to take a post near the Stargazer.

  “We’ll sleep on the ship until we get a guard on board,” I told Angus and Jessup who nodded in agreement.

  “A guard . . . but who can we trust?” Jessup asked.

  “The Stargazer is family. We need family to keep her safe,” Angus replied then looked at me.

  “You mean . . . Duncan?” About three years earlier, I’d been, albeit briefly, in a relationship with Angus’ older brother Duncan. While I’d fallen for Duncan the moment I’d laid eyes on him, we were not suited for one another. Back then, I wasn’t ready to give up Byron or anything else.

  Angus shrugged. “I suppose he’s over you by now.”

  “That’s all well and good,” Jessup spat, “but we need someone to look into this! Someone needs to be held accountable! We should send for the Bow Street boys.”

  Angus shook his head. “Only if we want everyone in London to know.”

  “Well, we need to do something!” Jessup protested.

  “Let’s keep it quiet. I’ll talk to Phineas,” I replied.

  Jessup nodded eagerly. “Yeah. Good idea.”

  Angus frowned. “Are you sure about that?”

  Phineas and I had a convoluted opiate history, but as Angus knew well, I’d been keeping my habits in check. “It’ll be fine. I’ll check in with Phin, go get Sal, and come back. We can head out to the league meeting together.”

  “If Grant looks even a wee bit guilty, I’m going to squeeze his neck,” Angus cursed.

  “If he looks guilty, I’ll help you,” I replied. I set my hand on the Stargazer. It was so painful to see something you loved damaged.

  “It’ll be all right, Lil,” Jessup said trying to comfort me. “We’ll get her fixed.”

  I smiled weakly at Jessup then turned to leave. I knew he was right, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

  I RAPPED ON THE DOOR of Phineas’ home, a well-appointed townhouse situated just off Hyde Park, clacking the brass bumblebee door clacker loudly. I waited for what felt like an eternity. On both sides of Phin’s townhouse, the neighboring residences had arched foyers. The vista gave me vertigo. I was about to bang again when the butler, but not Phin’s usual man, opened the door.

  “Yes?” the man asked, looking me over from head to toe.

  “Yes? I’m here to see Phineas.”

  “Master Shaw is not in.”

  “Yeah, that’s a lie. Tell him Lily is here.”

  The man frowned then closed the door. I sighed and waited. The butler returned several minutes later.

  “My apologies, Miss Stargazer. Mr. Shaw had indicated he was not permitting guests, but he said I may let you in. He is in the conservatory,” the butler said. “You may see yourself back.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Kent.”

  “Kent. Nice to meet you. In the future . . . well, Phin always sees me.”

  “So he indicated. I do wish he’d said so before,” the man said with an exasperated expression. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Stargazer.”

  “Call me Lily,” I said with a smile then headed toward the back.

  Phineas’ house was a hodgepodge of the odd and unusual. You could barely blaze a path through the ornate sculptures, carved masks, tinkered contraptions, tables crowded with jars of god-only-knew-what, and a copious amount of plants. Now and then, you even had to duck a bird flitting past. I stopped to look at a locked box with a human skull on its lid. Shaking my head, I wound my way back. The glass-roofed conservatory, situated at the center of Phin’s odd little house, allowed him to grow his herbals in private. And there, amongst all the wildly growing plants, I found Phineas, shirtless, pouring a bubbling yellow liquid into a copper pot.

  “Have a seat, Lily. Almost done,” he said.

  I looked around. There were no chairs anywhere, but I spotted a large tribal drum. I sat on it and watched him work.

  “What’s brewing?” I asked as I eyed Phineas over. He looked paler than usual. His face looked drawn, and though it was rather cool, he was sweating profusely. His auburn-colored hair, wet with sweat, stuck to his head, and he’d grown a moustache since the last time I saw him.

  “I think I’ve finally got a good extraction of refined opium,” he said. “A tinker at the market made me a device to spin the tinctures, to separate them at a higher velocity than ever before. I’m getting much more refined products now.”

  Phineas and I had once shared a passion for opium. For me, it had been a passion of habit, a way to dull the pain. For him, it was a passion of science. Phineas had an eye for detail, understanding a puzzle down to its very roots. While nothing escaped him, he put much of his mental energy toward herbals. Sometimes he was after medicine. Sometimes he was after pleasure. As I watched him work, I tried not to think about smoking opium. But it was impossible. Around me, beds of opium flowers were in full bloom. Heaps of the dried herbs littered a nearby table. I was ashamed of the craving it caused.

  “There,” he said, stirring the pot. “We’ll know in an hour. Too bad you aren’t in the habit anymore. We could try it together.”

  “You look like you could use a break. And a nap. And a meal.”

  Phineas shrugged. He mopped off his forehead and wiped down his armpits and chest. His skin was pasty, and he looked like he’d lost weight. His pants were hanging low on his waist. I tried not to notice the dark hair trailing down from his bellybutton below his belt. I looked away as he pulled on his shirt. I wondered if I used to look like him, a bit eaten up, when I’d let my habit get the best of me. “Tea?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  Phin motioned for me to follow him to his small kitchen at the back of the house. After clanging around in the cupboards for several minutes, he retrieved a teapot. It took him two tries, but he finally filled it with water and set it to heat. “So . . . what brings you by?” he asked, flopping into a chair across from me.

  “Someone tampered with the Stargazer.”

  “Tampered?”

  “Removed one of our modified devices. Sabotaged the ship.”

  Phineas got up and looked in his cupboards again. “I don’t have any sugar.”

  “That’s fine.”

  Phin’s hands shook as he prepared the tea. The china clattered.

  “Sit down,” I said then got up and started preparing the cups.

  “A woman’s hand is sweeter anyway,” Phineas said then sat again. “The Stargazer . . . that’s awful,” he said, picking a tobacco pipe up off the table. “I’ll come by tomorrow and have a look, start talking to people. Surely someone saw something. I’ll get to work.”

  “Don’t forget,” I warned. Phineas was great at sorting out details when he was himself. Right now, however, he wa
s seeing the stars.

  “Forget what?” he joked.

  I grinned and shook my head. I went back into his cupboards for another look around. Inside, I found a jar of jam. There was a box of biscuits on the counter. I spread the jam thereon and set the plate down in front of Phineas. “Eat.”

  He began munching immediately. “Oh! I nearly forget something,” he said, his mouth full. “I followed up on your inquiry about that man, Temenos, the one the Venetian tracked down. I found the same information her people did. It appears this Dorian Temenos died in Portugal.”

  In the heat of the quest for Aphrodite, I had tried to shake off the news that my father was dead. Upon return to London, however, the mystery haunted me. I’d asked Phin to contact Celeste’s order. They were pleased to help me and passed on all their information to Phineas. “How did he die?” I asked. I set down the tea, again joining him at the table.

  “I’ve got a record of him arriving in Lisbon then his death record about six months later. No other details.”

  “Oh,” was all I could think to say. I took a sip of tea. The news left me unsatisfied. “Nothing else about him?”

  “Not yet. No family records. No work records. I can travel to Lisbon if you want.”

  I shook my head. Something told me it was time to leave well enough alone. “No, that’s okay.”

  “I’ll be passing through Southwark later this week. I’ll inquire about the grave you’d asked about—the woman at the debtor’s prison. You still want me to do that?”

  I nodded then set the cup down. I pressed my fingertips against my forehead. My head had started to ache.

  “You all right, Lil? You want me to bring you something mild?”

  Yes, I did. “No, I can’t.” I opened my eyes and looked inside my cup. The tea leaves had fallen into the shape of the triskelion, the symbol painted on the balloon of the Stargazer.

  “Don’t let this bit with the Stargazer rattle you. You might love that ship, but to others, it’s just a beautiful thing they want a piece of. They don’t care about it the way you do.”

  I smiled at Phin and set my hand on his.

  He squeezed my fingers. His hazel eyes twinkled. I knew the look all too well. More than once, Phineas and I had enjoyed too much herbal and woke up in bed together. “You still with the Italian?” he asked slyly.