Someone came down from the rigging and landed next to me in the basket. “Good evening to you, miss,” he said. I might not have recognized Mick in clean clothes, a close-fitting leather coat, and a leather hood with goggles, but I couldn’t mistake his voice.

“I’m glad you’ve recovered from your premature demise,” I said dryly. He grinned and darted to the rear of the basket.

Alec shifted uncomfortably, and I suspected that if I could have seen his eyes, they would have been full of remorse. “About that,” he said. “I know you were angry.”

“But it was for the cause,” I concluded. “And what about that riot?”

“I wasn’t a part of it, but it was meant to show the anger of the masses against the magisters. Our own show of force, you might say.”

“How did the mob escape? The newspaper said they just vanished.”

“It’s only a mob when they’re all together, causing trouble. No one takes much notice of individuals coming and going if they disperse before the authorities arrive.”

I wasn’t sure I believed that, especially since I detected a hint of amusement in his voice that implied there was more to the story that he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—tell me. “Did they spare my house on purpose, because of me?”

“That I can’t tell you, but the leaders of the movement know about you. In fact, this ship is named for you.” He braced me so I could lean farther over the rim of the basket to see the name painted on the side in red lettering: Liberty. “Well, Everett named his ship for the cause, but between you and me, it’s all about you.”

The basket itself was painted a mottled grayish-blue color, as was the lemon-shaped balloon above us. Against a partly cloudy night sky, it was practically invisible. “How does it run?” I asked. “You didn’t steal a magical vessel, did you?”

“It’s electric. We store the energy from the dynamo in a battery. This is a test run to see if it works on an airship.”

“If it works?” I gasped, grabbing the side of the basket.

He grinned. “Don’t worry, the ship’s sound. Everett’s had it for a while. It’s the power supply we’re testing. We’ll stay in the air, no matter what. The question is whether we can go where we want. We should have just enough power to get around the island, but it’s enough to give us a look at where they’re placing the troops, and this is quicker than sending people all over the city.” He leaned over to look at the ground below. “Looks like we’re almost there.”