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"From what I’ve seen, sir, the heavy cables are all attached to the gondola below But this must be here for some reason Pretty useless, if it can’t hold a ht"

"I suppose," Alek said He could think of other creatures that could use the cable Ithawks to roost on

Hoffed a loop of rope fro with our gear We should send soo," Alek said

"Not with your injury, young htest of us" Alek held out his hand "Give er, who nodded and said, "Tie that around his waist, so he doesn’t kill hier was letting hio first

The wildcount read his expression and smiled "If that cable breaks, we’ll all be stuck here, so it hardly htest, after all"

"So y, Count?"

"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day"

Alek didn’t answer, but the creature bristled on his shoulder, as if sensing his annoyance

Klopp let out a chuckle as he knelt and tied the heavier rope around Alek’s waist Soon it was secure, the other end gripped by Bauer, Hoffer said

Alek nodded and turned aalking down the slope of the airbeast’s head The others let the rope out slowly, a gentle pull at his waist It reminded Alek of when he was ten and his father would let hi a firm hand on his belt Of course, back then he’d felt much safer

The slender cable stretched out ahead, disappearing arasped the cable in both hands

"I hope you’re not afraid of heights, beastie"

The newborn creature just looked at hiht, then," Alek said, and stepped off into the void He dangled for a s up to wrap theh its claws sank deep into his shoulder, the beastie didn’tfaceup like this - Alek couldn’t see the dark ground below, only his own hands clenching the rope and the stars above He pulled hi into the backs of his knees as he inched along

Halfway across, Alek was breathing hard His injured rib had begun to throb, and his hands were losing feeling The night air turned the sweat on his forehead cold As he inched away froer and heavier

He i He would fall for an awfulhi hih for the whale itself to awaken and protest

Thehands sloped gently upward now, and was harder than ever to cli the wind in the struts of the tower

Alek gritted his teeth and pulled hi er’s cruel fencing lessons

Finally a metal strut ca there for a , then hauled hiers he untied the thick rope from around his waist and knotted it to the strut Now that it stretched all the way back to the airship’s head, the rope seeh a ton How had he carried it so far?

Alek lay on his back and watched as the others prepared to cross, dividing up the satchels of tools and weapons It was odd to see the Leviathan fronificant, like some minuscule creature about to be sed by a whale

But the darkness beyond the airship was vaster still It was dotted with the fires of the protesters at the airfield gate, and past those, the lights of the city

"Constantinople," he said softly

"Mmm, Constantinople," the creature said

Chapter Fifteen

Cli down the toas sih its center, and the five of them descended quickly

Or was it six of theht of the fabricated beast riding on his shoulder The single word it had spoken made the ani solid

Alek hadn’t told the others, of course Volger was terrified enough of et rid of the newborn creature?

At least it see that one word, it hadn’t uttered another sound

As they neared the bottom of the stairs, Alek found hiht fro two officers on duty inside But the faint green glow didn’t reach the shadoithin the tower

The Leviathan’s guards stood at attention in the airship’s hatches Groundeach other warily The rest of the Otto an eye on the protesters

No one was guarding the base of the , a fat crescent in the sky, and the tower cast a long shadow pointing west, away fro that slender finger of darkness, heading for an ee

Alek wondered ould happen if they were spotted now The Leviathan’s crew had no authority here on Ottoman soil But he doubted that the Darwinists would let their only engineers slip aithout a fight For that ners trespassing on their airfield

All in all, it seemed better to remain unseen

Suddenly the newborn creature stood up on its hind legs, its ears twisting back toward the ship Alek came to a halt and listened The distant shriek of a coer, I think they’ve - "

A hydrogen sniffer’s howl pierced the night The sound caine pod - so," Volger whispered "We’re half a kilometer from the fence They’ll search the ship before they think to look out here"