Free Beneath a Burning Sky (The Dawnhawk Trilogy Book 3) by Jonathon Burgess

place. Hockton appeared adorably confused, and even the corpse-stink from his earlier task had faded. Without a word, he’d joined her search for Oscar Pleasant. Her little game with him was working . But that wasn’t important. She was going to find that traitor Oscar and string him up by his toes. Bastard. Thinks he can attack the captain? Thinks he can burn us out of here? They’d been enemies, but to throw in with the Perinese? Unthinkable.
    Behind the captivating ex-soldier stood Allen, hefting a boarding hatchet in both hands, his shoulders likewise drooping. Rastalak crouched behind them, peering at the outhouse. Fengel had sent them to scout the Skydocks for any sign of their wayward crewman. So far they’d found none. This alley was the last place Oscar could have hidden before the manhunt started. Lina was certain that he was here.
    “Well, if you want to go back and tell the captains that we almost finished the search, go right ahead.”
    Allen stepped forward, boarding hatchet in hand. “Of course not,” he said with quavering conviction, apparently glad to one-up Michael. “Show yourself, coward! Or we’re coming in after you!”
    Michael glared at him. “Damned straight we are!” he added. Cutlass in hand, he pushed past Allen to pound on the outhouse door with his fist. “Open up, you rogue! I don’t care how you even got in there.”
    Allen glared at Michael and hefted his hatchet. Behind them, Rastalak sighed. Lina grinned. It probably wasn’t fair to keep doing this to the young Mechanist, especially now, of all times, but Allen’s crush just made Hockton jump so eagerly , where she was involved. And if it drove them to find that bastard Oscar, so much the better.
    The young Mechanist strode up to the door and took a swing with his hatchet. The awkward blow sent a shiver through the ramshackle structure. “Enough waiting!” said Allen. “That bastard tried to help burn down the Skydocks! He’s had his chance to cooperate.”
    Michael narrowed his eyes. He pushed up beside Allen and hacked with his sword. Egging each other on, both young men raced to rip apart the outhouse door.
    The popping chop of steel against wood echoed back down the alleyway. Runt raised his head from her shoulder to hiss in irritation at the noise. Lina comforted him. In a way, tonight’s excitement had been a good thing; the fighting had allowed her pet to vent his aggression. The little scryn had been growing more and more irritable of late, and she did not know why. Probably just all the damned Revenants walking around . Goddess knows they’ve got everyone on edge.
    “Lina,” hissed Rastalak. Her crewmate poked his reptilian head forward, twisting it in a curious, inquisitive way. “Mr. Hockton makes a fair point. Why should Oscar come here? There is a whole jungle beyond the town.”
    Lina raised an eyebrow at him. “So? Why would anyone ever go out there? It’s full of awful things, like spiders and whatnot.” Rastalak had been with the crew almost a year now. He’d spent most of it in a state of befuddlement but had otherwise adapted well. Obviously, there were still things for him to learn.
    The outhouse door collapsed with a crash of rotting wood, sending up a cloud of dust and spores. Hockton shielded his face, then raised his cutlass and peered into the gloom of the interior. “All right, Oscar! We’re coming in there for you!”
    Allen finished coughing and looked at his competitor in alarm. “Yeah!” he cried.
    Both men glared at each other. Then they leaped forward, hands outstretched as they forced themselves into the darkened shack with bloodthirsty shouts.
    The shouts turned to cries of alarm. Lina saw a confusion of flailing limbs from both men, now stuck half inside the outhouse. The structure shook and the roof fell in, and then the walls buckled and shuddered. Michael was yelling at the top of his voice, and Allen screamed like a little girl.
    They forced themselves free as the