Everwild (Skinjacker 2)

"Milos, I'm glad you're here," Mary said, not even noticing the champagne. Speedo was there, and there was another Afterlight as well--one who Milos had never seen before. He sat in the red leather armchair--the one that used to be Pugsy's--and Mary was offering him candy from her private stash.

"He's one of Mary's long-distance scouts," Speedo explained, "and he just got back." Apparently he was an important player in Mary's war against "the forces of dark chocolate," as she liked to call it.

The boy then tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and closed his eyes. The others, who knew what was coming, ducked, just as the boy released an earth-shaking sneeze. Milos was the only one caught unawares, and was splattered with more unspeakable ecto-stuff than ought to be allowed in any universe.

"I'm sorry, Milos," said Mary. "I should have warned you. But every talent comes with its own stumbling block, and the Sniffer is no exception." She turned to the boy. "You really should cover your mouth when you sneeze."

"I know, but I always forget."

Speedo rose from the chair he had hidden behind, and threw a rag to Milos to clean himself, but it was much too small to do the job.

Mary was not bothered by the deluge--she would have someone clean it later. What mattered was the news the Sniffer brought back with him. And what news it was! "How marvelous! How absolutely marvelous!" she said after he told her what he had learned. It was exactly the information she needed. She now knew not only Nick's location, but the size of his vapor, and where he was going. And as for this "Ripper" he seemed to have acquired, how much damage could she do, really? The ripper was just one against a thousand.

Mary stood up, her plan already taking shape in her mind. She would see Nick again, and she would see him soon ... but it would be on her terms.

"Well, if the Chocolate Ogre has gone to Memphis to find Allie the Outcast, I think we should meet him there. A thousand of ours--against four hundred of his!"

Milos just stood there, a little shell-shocked by the sudden shift of direction. It was the first time she noticed he held a bottle of ... was that champagne?

Speedo, as always, was wary. "You had a thousand last time ... and you know what happened."

The memory only made Mary more determined. "Last time he went behind my back. So this time, we'll sneak behind his!"

"There's one more thing," the Sniffer said. "I smelled something ... nasty ... that was also moving toward Memphis. I'm not sure what it was, but if I didn't know better, I'd think it was the McGill."

It caught Mary off guard. She felt her afterglow sputter liked a burner low on gas. She hoped no one saw it. "The McGill no longer exists," she proclaimed. "In fact, he never did. Speedo! Make a note that I should point out the nonexistence of the McGill in my next book."

"Yes, Miss Mary."

And then she turned to Milos. He still stood there dripping with the Sniffer's unpleasantness. Even so, she found she wanted to embrace him, but restrained herself. "Milos, I asked you to be patient, and now your patience will be rewarded." Then she went to her bookshelf. "We will defeat the Ogre in Memphis, and from there we will begin our crusade to unite the East and the West." Mary ran her finger over the book spines, then pulled out the heavy volume on Civil Engineering.

Milos was amused. "Don't tell me--you wish me to build a bridge in your honor!"

"Not exactly." She held it out to him. "I want you to study this--because in this book are the blueprints for every bridge that crosses the Mississippi River."

"Yes, but these are all living-world bridges," Milos pointed out. "They are of no use to us."

Mary put the book firmly into his hands. "Come now, Milos," she said with a smile that, on anyone else but Mary Hightower, might be called wicked, "I think you're much smarter than that."

She sent Milos to clean up, and requested she meet him in the non-slimed Portside Promenade, on the opposite side of the ship, when he was done.

Milos was still reeling from this change in circumstance. All of them leaving Chicago, a war with the Chocolate Ogre, and the possibility of Allie being brought into the mix. But then this might not be a bad thing. This battle could provide him an opportunity to make himself truly indispensable to Mary. And what if Milos could bring Allie in--even if only as a prisoner? That would certainly win him huge points.

The Portside Promenade was a mirror image of the Starboard promenade, except that it still had the airship's original furniture. Mary told him she was planning to gut it, and turn it into a playroom for the younger children, but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

When Milos arrived, all squeaky-clean, Mary had already opened the champagne, and poured two glasses.

"I never usually consume spirits," Mary told him, "but I suppose we have a lot to celebrate."

Milos hesitated. "Consume spirits?"

"Drink alcohol," Mary explained. "What on earth did you think I meant?"

Milos just chuckled in his own embarrassment, which seemed to please her.

"Let's toast," she said. "What shall we toast to?"

"To the Governess of the East, and soon to be West," suggested Milos. "The beautiful catcher of lost souls."