had never managed - without speaking a word of German.
Alek might have trained in combat and tactics his whole life, but Dylan was a real soldier. He swore with an effortless extravagance, and during lunch had thrown a knife three meters and hit an apple square in its heart. He was skinnier than most boys his age, but could work alongside men and be treated as their equal. Even his lingering black eye from the crash had a piratical swagger to it.
In a way Dylan was the sort of boy Alek would have wanted to be, if he hadn't been born the son of an archduke.
"Well, don't worry," Alek said, clapping a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "The Stormwalker can carry all the food your airbeast needs. Though I can't see how one creature could eat all this."
"Don't be daft. The Leviathan isn't one creature," Dylan said. "It's a whole tangle of beasties - what they call an ecosystem."
Alek nodded slowly. "Did I hear Dr. Barlow say something about bats?"
"Aye, the fléchette bats. You should see those wee beasties at work."
"Fléchette? Like 'dart' in French?"
"That sounds right," Dylan said. "The bats gobble up these metal spikes, then release them over the enemy."
"They eat spikes," Alek said slowly. "And then ... release them?"
Dylan stifled a laugh. "Aye, in the usual way."
Alek blinked. The boy couldn't possibly be saying what Alek thought he was. Perhaps it was another of his peculiar jokes.
"Well, I'm glad we're at peace, so your bats won't be, um ... releasing their fléchettes on us."
Dylan nodded, a serious look on his face. "I'm glad too, Alek. Everyone says that Clankers only care about their machines. But you're not like that."
"Well, of course not."
"It was dead brave, coming across that ice alone."
Alek cleared his throat. "Anyone would have done the same."
"That's a load of blether. You got in trouble for helping us, didn't you?"
"I can't argue with that."
Dylan held out his hand. "Well, it was barking decent of you."
"Thank you, sir." Alek took the boy's hand and shook. "And it was decent of you to save me from a fiery death."
"That doesn't count," Dylan said. "It would've been my fiery death as well!"
Alek laughed. "I appreciate it nonetheless - as long as you promise not to hold me at knifepoint again."
"I promise," Dylan said, but his face stayed serious. "It must have been rough, having to run away from home."
"It was," Alek said, then looked at the boy suspiciously. "Did Dr. Barlow ask you to find out who I am?"
"The boffin doesn't need my help." Dylan snorted. "She already reckons you must be quite important."
"Because of this castle? Because they came for me in a walker?"
Dylan shook his head. "Because they traded a barking count for you."
Alek swore softly. Dr. Barlow had understood perfectly when he'd called Volger by his title. And that wasn't the only foolish thing he'd let slip.
"Can I trust you, Dylan? To keep a secret."
The boy looked at him askance. "Not if it's a danger to the ship."
"Of course not. It's just that ... Do you mind not telling Dr. Barlow what I said about being an orphan?" Alek paused, wondering if simply asking this would give him away. "If she knows that, she'll figure out who I am. And then there might be trouble between us again."
Dylan stared at Alek a moment, then nodded solemnly. "I can keep that secret. Your family's no business of ours."
Chapter 24
"Thank you." As they shook hands again, Alek felt a burden lift, knowing that Dylan would keep his word. After a month of being betrayed - by his family, his country's allies, and his own government - it was a relief to trust someone.
He shivered and stamped his feet. "Shall we get out of this cold?"
"Aye. A hot cup of tea would be brilliant."
"We can build a fire!" Alek said, realizing that there was no need to hide their smoke anymore. Another good thing about helping the Darwinists - he could have a warm bath and a hot meal for the first time in weeks.
Dinner was an extravagant affair, but bathing was better.
First Bauer packed the tub with snow, then melted it with pots of boiling water. The resulting bath was deliciously hot, and for the first time in a month removed the engine grease from under Alek's fingernails. With a lady present, Klopp, Bauer, and Hoffman all shaved, and Dylan complained loudly that he hadn't brought his razor, though the boy hardly seemed to need it.
Dr. Barlow,