The woman’s pronouncement was greeted with a stunned silence.

The warden said, “Miss . . .”

“Lady Marissa Fisher, at your service. Third cousin to the king and sole heir to the Fisher family fortune, may my parents rest in peace. My family manse serves as headquarters for one of the finest preparatory academies in Ethinium, and one of only three in Greater Umbria designed specifically for those children who will be enhanced in order to enter royal service in the Venture Society. The other two academies are for boys, sad to say. That makes us rather unique, at least so far as Umbrian schools go.”

“I . . . Lady Fisher, this is a most delicate mission we about to embark upon.”

“Oh, I’m quite aware of what you are facing, Warden. These girls are no stranger to danger, have no fear. They are my oldest students and they have all been enhanced. You see, all my girls are enhanced late in their third year. The fourth year they spend learning how to control themselves before graduation. These students should perform quite well for your little mission, and they are already members of the Royal Venture Society. Show him your badges, girls.”

As one, they all pulled out their RVS badges and flashed them at the warden.

Allison and Abigail watched in open-mouthed admiration.

Abigail pulled her mother’s sleeve.

“I want to go to that school!” she whispered.

“Me too!” her sister said.

Logan struggled to regain control of the situation. He felt like the conversation had spiraled completely out of control.

“I just find it difficult, milady, to subject women . . . of a such a tender age . . . to the rigors that will be facing us. After all, these are evil men with destruction in their hearts.”

“Warden, I assure you my girls are as capable as any other Venture Society member of their age and training. More so, even. We have been preparing for missions such as this one for years. Will you now deny them their moment of golden opportunity for kith and crown? My cousin the king will certainly hear of this if you do.”

That statement broke Logan’s resolve at last.

“We simply must be going, and I do not have time to wait for another team. If you wish to risk your neck, and those of your charges you are bringing along with you, then so be it. I have witnesses present, including Sir O’Reilly, a Member of Parliament, who will attest at any inquest I may be subjected to in the event of your untimely demise, that I attempted to talk you out of this.”

He looked to O’Reilly for moral support. O’Reilly nodded back.

Relieved, the Warden said, “Come along then. Let’s get up there and chase these Darhaven ships down before they disappear again.”

Marissa Fisher turned and curtsied politely to the O’Reillys.

Over her shoulder she said, “Come along, girls,” and marched after Logan.

The students followed in single file, staring straight ahead. The last one turned and looked at Allison and Abigail, flashing them a toothy smile as she marched on by.

“I want to go to that school! I simply must go to that school!”

“Me too! I’m going there, even if I have to run away from home!”

“Girls, now is not the time. We will discuss your education at a later time.”

“But mother! I want to go there! Will go there! I simply must!”

“Me too!”

Powell pulled his eyes away from the people marching into the airship’s cabin and looked back at the family gathered around him.

“Begging everyone’s pardon,” he said, “but I must see to my ship. Then there will be a formal report to write. If you all will excuse me, I really must be going.”

“Quite right, Mr. Powell,” O’Reilly said. “Don’t let us keep you. We should return to the ship as well, and retrieve our luggage. Let us head back to the Silver Comet, everyone.”

Powell walked quickly away, intent on putting distance between himself and the family. He had had quite enough of the O’Reillys and their wild daughters.

“A school like that is probably about right for those two hellions,” he muttered softly to himself.

The O’Reillys stayed a moment longer and watched the final preparations for the royal airship to lift off. They stepped back, well out of the way from stray ropes.

Father and mother stood behind the two girls, each with hands on their shoulders. It seemed a tender moment, but in reality it helped prevent Abigail and Allison from running off and trying to jump on the ship at the last minute.

The nurses stood to either side, and everyone watched as the winches unwound the ropes, letting the ship ascend. Its motors roared to life after it drifted free from the aerodrome’s platform, and it began a long swing around to head back in a westerly direction.

“I want to be just like them!” Allison said. “I want to be in the Venture Society and go fight evil doers and take on black airships. We did that tonight! I want to do it every night!”

“Me too!”

Helen said, “Oh, dear. This is really too much. Surely you sweet little girls don’t wish to put yourselves in harm’s way like that very often? Good heavens. Oh dear, oh dear.”

“I sure do! I want to sic it to those Darhaven scum! We’re in Ethinium, now. Let’s go down into the vault while we’re here, Abigail.”

“Let’s!”

“Absolutely not. Now, stay close, girls. Let us find some help in retrieving our luggage from Mr. Powell’s ship, and if you are very good tonight and tomorrow and over the course of the next few days, your mother and I will consider paying a visit to Lady Fisher’s school while we’re here.”

“Garrison!”

“It’s quite alright, dear. It won’t hurt to simply pay the school a visit.”

Both the girls ran ahead, cheering. The nurses hurried after them. Their parents followed at a more leisurely pace.

“You can’t seriously hope to enroll them in a school designed for girls going into the Venture Society!”

O’Reilly shrugged as his wife wrapped her hand in the crook of his arm. They walked back to Powell’s air ship slowly while the girls and their nurses hurried on ahead.

“It may not be a bad idea, Olivia. Look how well they did, disabling those dark airships tonight. I daresay I could not have shot a machinegun that well. Granted it was mounted in a turret, and so it didn’t kick like a big normally would. But they handled the task with aplomb. This leads me to believe the Venture Society might be just place for them. And if a school exists to prepare them for that life . . . all the better.”