“You there,” came the voice of a crew member on deck. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Ready?” Brennan asked, and when the others nodded, Hilt pulled the rope.
The lifeboat swung out immediately, knocking Hilt off his feet and jostling them all to the left before it sprung into space. Hilt tumbled across the bottom of the boat and slid into Elena’s lap as they were all rammed against the rear of the boat. The sail unfurled and there was a puff of warmth as Red Wonder blew out from beneath the rigging and caused the sail to billow, full of warm air. The boat slowed and Hilt rolled off Elena.
“Excuse me,” he said, and found the barrel of Bunce’s twirler in his face.
“Never do anything like that again,” she warned him.
“Call off your guard dog,” Hilt told Elena, “It was an accident.”
