Vapour Whispers on the Iron Ferry

Aboard the great coal-burning zeppelin *Kurogane*, Kazuki attends to the whims of the wealthy as they drift across toxic planetary cloud decks. His gift is simple: he smells every lie, every spike of terror, and every drop of venom in the circulating air. That is how he knows the reclusive countess in Suite Nine is no mortal passenger. Shizuka is a mist-vampire, an uncanny entity that feeds on the emotional exhalations of dying men. When her nocturnal hunting trips trip the ship's pneumatic scrubbers, Kazuki should raise the alarm. Instead, her cool, intoxicating presence brings peace to his overstimulated mind. But in the thin air between worlds, desire is as volatile as steam.