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"Two black eyes? You alere an overachiever"

Sophronia grinned and then stopped It hurt too runted "Activate the soldier mechanicals and fire on the ship"

"Not a very coas in the hallways as we go up? More explosive that way"

"I like the way you think," said Sophronia before she realized what she’d said

"I always hated this school" Monique wrinkled her perfect little nose "Spent a lot of ti ways to destroy it"

"Now I see why you wanted to come aboard"

"Pure joy of it," finished the blonde with a sneer "Let’s get to it, then"

"What’s in the carpetbag?"

"Options" Monique was annoyingly mysterious

Sophronia didn’t knohat to think about that Was Monique to be trusted? Probably not But sos must be taken on faith She probably did want to destroy the airship Monique was siirls ible They worked unfortunately well together--settling into a pattern Sophronia would take one knee, and Monique, as taller and uninjured, would stand on Sophronia’s bent leg with a hand to her head for balance, knocking out the gas valves and fixtures in the hallith a closed fan They got good at it, like some weird acrobatic dance They left behind theas and the fallen reht covers Dangerous indeed

Professor Braithas nowhere to be found They had no tione Sophronia was, as a result, unexpectedly grateful for Monique’s coirl rarely said more than tords in a row At least Sophronia had someone with her at the end

She tried once to start up a conversation "How long has Felix Mersey been working for your hive?"

"Long enough"

"Did you recruit hiht deny it That was confirh

"What are you after, Monique? What have you been instructed to collect?" The carpetbag wasn’t empty, but it was suspiciously floppy Even so, Sophronia was careful not to let the girl out of her sight, and, because she was no fool, not to let Monique get within fifty paces of the record rooination, but Sophronia was certain that frustrated the blonde

Together they attained the forward squeak deck Sophronia ran to the s on one side She opened it with the gold key froled the switch exactly as the head--a bell with hundreds of sister bells throughout the airship Now, if the Pickles of the ship, they would know Sophronia’s location This squeak deck was the only place that particular alarm could be activated

Sophronia turned to watch The soldier mechanicals were stored in the rear upper deck, but she’d never seen thee before Tracks telescoped out from the side of that deck The soldiers ht they would, but out onto the rear squeak deck and onto these bridges as if into nothingness, the tracks for under the first mechanical’s wheels as it moved They rolled across thetracks that arched in over the railings and split into the multiple tracks inset in the wood under Sophronia’s feet