Page 16 (1/2)

The man stepped forward and bowed to Dr Barlow

"Peace be upon you, ha Welcoe Deryn didn’t recognize, onethe same phrase as he bowed to Deryn

"Midship in return "Pleased to ha is a title, Mr Sharp, not a nauard and of the treasury The rand vizier A carrier of ies"

"And i a hand The sh the air

Deryn’s nose caught the sweet s propane She shuddered and clenched her jaw, turning to grip the rail as the airship lifted into the sky

"Are you unwell, Mr Sharp?" the Kizlar Agha said, leaning closer to her "Airsickness seeht, sir," Deryn said stiffly "It’s just that hot-air balloons make me a wee bit nervous"

The man crossed his arms "I assure you, the Imperial Airyacht Stamboul is as safe as any airbeast"

"I’ripped the railing The seresque

"We had so a cool hand against Deryn’s cheek "And alarht Mr Sharp has been quite busy, I’ you," the Kizlar Agha said "Revolutionaries are everywhere now But they will not trouble us at the palace, nor in the sky"

The craft had cleared the airfield fence now, and the protesters at the gate looked as sha talked, Deryn stared down at the city, trying to ignore the air wrinkling with heat around her The tangled streets of Istanbul were soon beneath the Stah the veil of s as delicate as butterflies

Alek was down there somewhere, she supposed Unless he’d already headed into the wilds of the empire, where the Air Service maps showed only mountains and dusty plains on the way to the Far East

When the Kizlar Agha returned to his duties, Dr Barlow joined Deryn at the railing "Are you quite sure you weren’t buht, Mr Sharp? You look unwell"

"No, I’hter She wasn’t going to spout off about her father’s accident again Best to change the subject "It’s just that I had an odd chat with Count Volger over breakfastabout ourof you"

"He said he saw it last night The beastie must’ve hatched before Alek left, and the daft boy took it with him" Deryn turned to Dr Barlow and narrowed her eyes "But you already knew that, didn’t you, ma’am?"

"The possibility had crossed ical explanation for the creature’s disappearance"

"Aye, but it wasn’t just logic, was it? You knew Alek would try to escape before we left Istanbul, so you put hiht"

A smile appeared behind Dr Barlow’s veil "Why, Mr Sharp, are you accusing ?"

"Call it what you like, ed the heaters when he atching the eggs Made it hotter for him than for me" As Deryn spoke her suspicions aloud, more pieces fell into place "And you never wantedduty So that when the beastie hatched, it would be just him in the machine room, all alone!"

Dr Barlow looked away and said sternly "Are you certain you weren’t buht, Mr Sharp? I’ about the beasties inside those eggs," Deryn said, staring at the cargo box "What are they, anyway?"

"They are aone to this sultan fellow A Clanker aristocrat, just like Alek!"

Deryn stared straight at Dr Barloaiting for a reply It was the rudest she’d ever dared be with the lady boffin, but between the sleepless night and this er had taken control of her tongue

It was all starting toto keep Alek’s secret fro duty als to hatch while Alek was alone in that room

But what on earth was the beastie’s purpose? And why hadn’t Alek si behind?

After a moment of cold stares between theer say anything specific about the creature?"

"Not really" Deryn shrugged "Heit to keep it quiet"

Dr Barlow’s eyebrows shot up, and Deryn s secrets

"But I think he was just trying to be clever"