“I wish I could, but we’re not that powerful,” Henry said. “You’re fortunate to find this many magisters who even know how to use their powers properly.”

The magisters tasked with entrancing the soldiers went ahead. Once we’d moved out of the more settled parts of the city, the machines had run on their own steam power, but now the Mechanics cut the engines, and it was up to the magisters to power them. Even without the engines, the machines weren’t entirely silent. The wheels crunched on the road surface, the moving parts clanked and squeaked, and the loose pieces of metal in the cargo rattled at every bump.

I held my breath as the engines approached the bridge. The soldiers stood there on either side, looking like they were on guard. I waited for them to raise their weapons and challenge us, but they didn’t move at all under the spell.

The machines had to go over the bridge one at a time because they were so heavy. The smaller engine went first. The calliope was heavier, and while Bessie waited her turn to cross, Henry jumped off and joined the crew moving the calliope. The bridge groaned alarmingly as the calliope crossed, but it held. Henry and two other magisters ran back across the bridge to Bessie.

Henry swung himself up onto the engine to talk to Alec. “I don’t think the bridge will take this engine and the dynamo.”

“There’s no other way off the island,” Alec protested. “The railway bridge is too busy and the area around it too populated. I suppose we could find somewhere else to hide them. They won’t look for them up here, but I’d rather have all the machines where we can use them instead of keeping them hidden.”

“We could levitate them slightly, just enough to take some of the weight off the bridge,” Henry suggested.

“You can do that?” Alec asked, his skepticism clear on his face.

“It will take a lot of power, but I believe we can.”

“If you fail, we’ll lose our most important engines. I’d rather keep them hidden,” Alec said. “Now, are you absolutely certain you can make this work? Don’t overstate your abilities, magister.”

“We can do it,” Henry insisted, his jaw set stubbornly. He waved to the rest of the magisters, and they gathered by the engine, discussing how to manage the spell. Then they took their places, some on the dynamo and a few on the ground to walk beside the engine and dynamo. Henry sent all the Mechanics other than Alec ahead over the bridge before climbing onto the engine with Alec and me.

“Verity, you should go on, too,” Alec said.

“I told you, we can do this. She’ll be safe,” Henry said.

“I’d rather not take the chance with her life, and that will lighten the weight you have to lift.”