Steamed by Katie MacAlister Page B

I would enjoy knowing. She seemed a sensible young woman, hardworking, and knowledgeable in her job. I had no doubt she would rise in rank within the Aerocorps . . . but that didn’t explain why I was taken with an idiotic urge to shove her out of the room.
    “ Mr. Ho?” Jack asked, giving her a considering look.
    The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
    “It is a custom in the Aerocorps to refer to all members of the crew in the masculine form, regardless of gender,” I said, annoyed with how stiff my voice sounded. I would not be influenced by this scoundrel! “It is an archaic rule, I agree, but we are bound to follow the traditions of the Corps, and thus Miss Ho is referred to as Mr. while she serves on board this ship. Mr. Ho, this gentleman’s sister is indisposed. She appears to have no injuries, but I would feel more comfortable if you were to examine her.”
    “Certainly.”
    “Mr. Fletcher, perhaps you would step out into the gangway while Mr. Ho works,” I said, gesturing toward the door.
    Jack gave the steward a long look, then nodded and opened the door, waiting for me to go through.
    “You will precede me, please,” I said, fighting the urge to brush back a lock of his hair that had fallen forward on his brow.
    “For God’s sake . . .” He went through the door, stopping abruptly just beyond it, moving only when I gave him a gentle shove between the shoulder blades.
    “Good God in heaven . . .” His voice held an odd mixture of awe, surprise, and disbelief as his head tilted back, his gaze going upward.
    “Is something the matter?” I asked, trying to hold on to a shred of patience. I had to admit that one part of me was dying to know what outrageous thing he would say next. What came out of his mouth wasn’t at all what I expected.
    “This is an airship,” he said, spinning around to face me as he gestured toward the aluminum girders and struts that made up the framework containing the balloon envelopes. “It’s really an airship.”
    “What did you expect?” I asked, confused by the honest astonishment visible on his face. I searched his eyes, but found nothing there but profound surprise.
    “But . . .” He turned slowly in a circle, his gaze darting from the balloon envelope directly above us to the six others that spanned the length of the airship. “But this is real. It can’t be, but it is. I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life.”
    “You’ve never been on an airship before?” I couldn’t help but ask.
    “No.” He turned back to me, his gaze earnest as he took my free hand. “Octavia, what’s happened to me? How did Hallie and I get here?”
    I stared at him, not wanting to believe the evidence before me, but I couldn’t deny the truth—he was genuinely confused.
    “I wish I could answer that, but I cannot,” I said, strangely touched by the way he clung to my hand as his gaze rose once more to the supporting structures of the airship. “But we will find out, Mr. Fletcher. You may rest assured that we will find out.”

Sing Hallelujah, C’mon Get Happy

    “ I don’t understand, Jack. I just don’t understand. Ex-Ip lain it to me. Explain how this could happen to us!”
    “I don’t know exactly what happened to us, Hal.” I held my sister in my arms, more to keep her from running amok and possibly hurting herself than to comfort her. She was too distraught to gain comfort from anything but a serious dose of Valium.
    “I know what it is.” Hallie pushed back from me, her face tight with suspicion. “You’re having me on, aren’t you? This is some great big elaborate joke you’ve concocted to pay me back for selling you at an auction. Well, it isn’t going to work, Jack. You and your skinny little buddy there aren’t going to make me believe we’re in some sort of weirdo fantasy world. I don’t know how you got me onto this blimp, or whatever it is, but I want down now. I have a lunch date with a really fabulous personal