Here’s the next chapter in my new novel, Trans-Continental: Cannon Belle Run! This is the third book in the Trans-Continental series, which can be read independently of Girl in the Gears and Mississippi Queen if you’re curious.

This book is being written as a serial, published and collected on this site and on Royal Road, if you want to read ahead.

Note: Reality Check, Trans-Continental, and The Multiverse Blues all occur in the same multiverse, in that chronological order.

Chapter Seven – Bat and Rattlesnake

Chapter Eight – Thomas and Goldie

“She actually said ‘home free’,”cried Captain Levi. “Is she daft, temptin’ fate like that? An’ look where we are now!”

I had to admit, I didn’t know where we were now. The Clair de Lune rested on a knob of a hill, lit by the sleepy rays of predawn. The ship’s camouflage remained locked in night mode, black as tar. The hill overlooked silos, barns, and a farmhouse nearby. An older, bearded man with a long rifle and a golden retriever strode towards us at an unhurried pace, still a quarter of a mile away.

“We had no idea the airship would break down,” I began. “And I didn’t see Friday tamper with anything up in the—”

“Yer friend’s such a mechanical expert, hmph! An’ she’s been up there with the weird genius lady for what, a half an hour now? An’ we’re still grounded. How long till Dixie or that batshit crazy Friday an’ her Knobbers catch up ta us? Huh? Mebbe we should jes’ turn blondie over? Save our skins!”

I drew breath to shout at him, but reconsidered and let it out in a gust of frustration. “Levi, we have to talk about that. She’s obviously a dangerous asset. Mags said she couldn’t let Dionne fall into her own country’s hands.”

“That so? Seems like a dingbat, if’n ye ask me. Nobody did, eh? I’m jes’ the pilot, not part of the crew, eh?”

I sighed. “It’s not like that—“

His glare made me take a step backwards. He shook a finger at me. “Yes. It’s exactly like that. Ye don’t see me as part of yer team, an’ I get it. You two are thick as thieves. Thicker. An’ we got history, I know it. But we all work for the Queen now, right? Only, I’m not so sure the two of you do!”

“What? You’re questioning our loyalty? We owe Melony so much. New Orleans is our only home!”

He narrowed his eyes. “An’ yet, yer off dealin’ with yer sister, ain’tcha? An’ pickin’ up a pretty asset, eh? An’ not once have ye said a word about goin’ back to New Orleans. Duffy’s tried to convince me to go further west, more’n once. Don’t think I didn’t notice. Now. Out wit’ it. What’s yer real plan.”

I glanced at the man with the gun and his dog, now nearly in shouting range, certainly in shooting range. “I promise you, Levi, we’ll talk later. But not in front of the farmer.”

Levi shook his finger once more. “I’ll hold ye ta that!”

“Hey! Hello!” cried the farmer, his rifle aimed at the ground in front of him as he approached. “Having some trouble with your ship?”

Levi and I tried to answer him at the same time, but I realized now wasn’t the time to sort out who was in charge, so I let him talk.

“Hey y’all!” said Levi, approaching the man with his empty hands held out in front of him. “Yeah, we were out for a cruise, and a bird got in our fans, so we’re workin’ on it. We’ll be on our way soon.”

The man stopped a dozen paces from us. He wore a long denim coat and a tall hat with a wide brim. His dog circled him once, then sat by his side, eyes on Levi and me, ears perked forward. “I’m Thomas, and this here’s Goldie. Why don’t the two of you come on back to my place, and we’ll have breakfast.”

Levi and I exchanged a look, and I spoke. “I’m Ida, and this is Captain Levi. The rest of the crew’s inside the ship. We shouldn’t stray far.”

“An’ we need ta be on our way,” added Levi, glancing at the Clair de Lune. “Thank ye for yer offer o’ hospitality!”

Thomas favored us with a lazy smile and scanned the skies. “But you’ve got to eat. Everyone’s got to eat. Your crew’ll work smarter on a full stomach. I can whip up some pancakes with butter and syrup! Got some fresh apple butter if you prefer. Sorry, I’m out of coffee, but I have plenty of dandelion root for tea!”

Goldie barked twice and stood, aimed at the ship.

Duffy stuck her head out of the airship hatch. “That bitch left something corrosive that messed up the main wiring harness! Gonna need a serious rewirin’!” She stopped when she noticed our company.

Thomas’s rifle never so much as twitched, so unsurprised was he. His blue eyes sparkled in the first rays of sunlight. “Thomas Dillard, ma’am. And you might be?”

Duffy flushed and grinned. “Beggin’ your pardon, hey? I’m Duffy, I’m the ship’s mechanic.”

“Nice ship you all have there,” drawled Thomas. “Be a shame if your journey were cut short. I’ve got a big barn that might just fit her. Used to be a hangar, during the War.”

“Which war were that?” asked Levi. “We got a few goin’ on right now.”

Thomas smiled and waved a hand vaguely in the air. “The big one, a while back. Wars are such nasty affairs. Breakfast is much more civilized, don’t you think? I can get a team of horses to pull your ship into the barn, and we’ll sit down together. Sound good?”

“Duffy? What’s taking you so long? I need that heterodyne converter—oh.” Dionne appeared in the hatchway behind Duffy and pressed her lips into a line, eyes taking in the scene.

“On second thought,” said Levi, “Breakfast would be de-lightful, sir.”

“No, it’s just ‘Thomas’. No ‘sir’, no rank, no title. Not anymore. Not for my guests!” His smile was as warm as the rising sun behind us. “Come, let’s get your ship into shelter. I fear there’s a storm on the way, and it wouldn’t do to leave such a thing out exposed to the weather.”

I peered up at the wisps of cloud, lit pink by the sunrise. I sniffed the still morning air, and though I detected no sign of bad weather, I decided a farmer knew such things best.

True to his word, Thomas and his plow horses helped us tow the Clair de Lune into the old hangar. The ship was too long to shut the giant barn doors, and it scraped the rafters, but it was better shelter than standing out in the open.

Captain Levi visibly relaxed. “It’ll do. Thank you, Thomas.”

Thomas smiled and waved for us to follow him.

Once inside, he removed his yellow leather boots, and had us remove ours as well. He showed us a basin to wash up. As he stood and waited for us to all complete our ablutions, it seemed that it wasn’t an optional request. Duffy tried to apologize for the soot she left on his old towels, but Thomas wouldn’t hear it.

And then we each found ourselves put to work, beating eggs, churning butter, sifting flour, fetching milk, honey, and blackberry syrup. Dionne took charge of making the tea.

When we all sat down to breakfast, Thomas broke out a harmonica and began to play a merry tune. It struck me as odd to eat while he played, but afterwards he sat and tucked in with the rest of us.

“Tastes better this way, doesn’t it?” said Thomas, sipping his tea.

Dionne smiled. “What, with honey?”

He shook his head. “Certainly, but I meant everything is better if you’ve put in the work yourself. I appreciate the help, of course, but the point was to do something together so we enjoy the result even more.”

Captain Levi chuckled. “Sound like my ol’ memaw. Yer not wrong, though.”

Thomas just smiled, took a forkful of syrupy pancake, and watched the rest of us.

“Thank you for breakfast,” said Dionne. “You’re very kind, and a perfect host.”

Goldie barked twice and sat down next to Thomas. He reached down and touched her nose and laughed. “Seems Goldie likes you. Otherwise, she’d be on her guard. So, where are you all headed in such a hurry?”

I looked at Duffy, and we both looked at Levi.

“California,” said Dionne.

“Is that so?” said Levi, eyes fixed on Dionne.

“That’s something we should discuss with our captain,” I said, the calm of breakfast burned away by rising panic.

“Well,” said Duffy, “It’s clear we can’t go back to New Orleans right away. That’s exactly where Dixie—and Friday—expect us to go.”

“Ain’t California about as out of the way as anything?”

“That’s why they’ll least expect it!”

I coughed. “We shouldn’t trouble Thomas—”

Goldie barked once, and wagged her tail.

“That is, we shouldn’t trouble Thomas and Goldie with this debate.”

Thomas smiled and nodded. “No trouble at all. Not from ol’ Thomas and his Goldie, at least.”

Goldie barked twice and I would swear she winked at me.

“I should think you’d worry more about the storm that’s comin’,” he said, gesturing at the kitchen window behind him, which showed a blue sky with no visible clouds. A willow tree swayed in the gentlest of breezes.

Dionne’s forehead creased. “I don’t see—”

A familiar low growl reached our ears just then, and a shadow passed over the willow tree.

“Dixie!” hissed Duffy. “They’ve found us!”

Levi stood so abruptly that his chair fell over behind him.

Thomas put up both hands and laughed. “No, my friends. You are safe, while you are my guests. No one will bother you here. Let the storm roll past. Have some rest. You look tired. So tired. Please rest a while.”

“We gotta go!” said Duffy, stifling a sudden yawn.

“How ya gonna do that?” asked Levi. “You said she needs rewirin’. An’ even if she were air-worthy, we can’t outrun that aeroplane, ‘specially not in broad daylight.”

The drone of the Dixie aircraft grew softer, then louder, and the iron pans hanging from the walls clanked a nervous ditty in its wake.

Duffy stood and drew her revolver. “I’m not resting with them buzzin’ around up there!”

Thomas shook with laughter, his eyes bright. “Think you’ll shoot ‘em down with that? Even if you could, I won’t have it. There are no wars here. Not on my property. Stay. Rest. Let the storm pass. You are safe here, all of you.”

For a moment, the suspicious part of my mind wondered if he’d slipped something into the syrup, or the tea, because I wanted nothing more than to put my head down and sleep right there at the table. I struggled against it and stood, holding myself up by leaning on the heavy wooden table. “Duffy, we’ve been going for the past 24 hours, with little sleep before that. I don’t know about you, but it’s all catching up to me. If Thomas says we’re safe, this might be the only respite we get for days. I say we take him up on it.”

The growl of the Dixie aeroplane grew softer and further away, until we could hear it no more.

And then, a thunderclap. Clouds rolled in, as if in pursuit of the aircraft.

“Yeah, okay. You win. But I’ll take first watch.”