He watched the opening exchange with the interest of a general observing children at chess, lips pursed thoughtfully. Then he took a step to the left and . . .
. . . and just freaking vanished. I don’t mean that he went behind a veil, or teleported, or opened a portal to the Nevernever. I can do those things, if I have to. This guy took a step and just up and up went away, as if stepping behind a telephone pole and never appearing on the other side. Gone. Just gone.

Except that in this case, “gone” turned out to be six inches behind me.

My ears suddenly twinged hard, like when the pressure shifts in an airplane, and the empty space behind me wasn’t empty anymore. I whirled, drawing my revolver, raising it—

—too late. Drakul caught the weapon’s barrel in the pale fingers of one hand and simply crushed it shut.

Marcone began muttering in a language I didn’t recognize and pointed a finger at the ground twenty yards away and to his left. He indicated another position to his right with his other hand, at a point equidistant from the first, said something, and there was a crackling sound in the air, like . . . broken wind chimes, maybe.

Ethniu came out of the water with the Eye already bursting forth in a tidal roar of red energy, lashing out unstoppably at Marcone.

Marcone simply stepped to his left and vanished into a chorus of broken wind chimes—reappearing at the point he’d pointed to with his left hand, clear of the beam.

Ethniu shrieked in rage, slewing the gaze of the Eye around wantonly, though the motion was slower than it should have been and seemed to take physical effort from her straining neck muscles as she swept her gaze around, searching for Marcone. She spotted him with another scream, but he simply took a second step, vanishing from the first point of the triangle he’d indicated, and appeared in the second in another shower of clinking-crystal sounds.

Holy crap. Direct point-to-point translocation was something that the White Council kept in a section called “Highly Theoretical and Dangerous Magic” in the wizard’s library at the complex in Edinburgh. I knew, because years ago when I’d asked about it, I’d been put on the no-access list for the entire section.

Which . . . well, to be fair, probably wasn’t entirely unwise.

• Crystals (Lift Crystal and Core Crystal as well as trim crystals and weapon crystals for the cannons)- provides power for the ship and keeps it aloft.  Bigger crystal = More expensive as a general rule.  Some of the older and larger varieties of crystal are priceless.  These are typically all reserved for the Fleet.  The lift crystal is enclosed by the Haslett Cage.  Extreme maneuvers put a large degree of stress on the ship's timbers and may rip the lift crystal from the ship itself.
• Shroud - defensive energy field similar to a magnetic field that can be emitted to protect from energy weapons from other ships.  It is extremely costly for the Core crystal to keep in place for extended periods, and ripple fire (rapid fire shots in the same place) can wear down and penetrate the defense.
• Webbing - etheric analog for sails.  The webbing gets electrically charged by the crystals to help steer the ship.  This charge allows the webbing to interact with etheric currents in the atmosphere (aka aerosphere).  Webbing typically extends too far from the ship to be protected by the Shroud.  The powered webs attract mistmaws.
• Mundane Sails - Uses the wind to sail and has the added benefit of being quieter than steam powered engines.  They are not used by many airships anymore.
• Steam Engines - Steam powered motors commonly used for maneuvering when a ship cannot use its webbing for some reason.  The engines are loud.
• Plate Armor - Plates of brass and copper-shrouded steel used to protect some airships beyond their basic wood structure.
• Lifelines - A lifeline was a six-to-nine-foot length of heavy, braided line or leather with a clip on either end, and every man was required to have three of them on him when general quarters was sounded.  Used to anchor sailors to the ship while doing dramatic maneuvers in the air.
• Cannons - energy weapons similar to the gauntlets but on a larger scale.  Made of steel, brass, and copper and powered by crystals.  Sometimes not accurate at long ranges.

• Battlecruiser - (e.g. Itasca) Larger vessel designed specifically to run down ships like Predator; uses multiple power cores and armor plating.
• Cortez-class Ship - (e.g. Auroran ship targeted by the Predator) Large merchant cruiser; has heavier guns and shroud than Predator.  Even though they are trading ships, they are usually well armed and have been known to carry an entire company of Marines.
• Destroyer Ship - (e.g. Predator, Captain Grimm's ship) small ship without armor plating and able to perform reliable diving attacks on other ships.  Smaller than a light cruiser.
• Battleship - Little is known; unable to perform an effective diving attack.
• Dreadnought - Little is known; unable to perform an effective diving attack.  The largest ship in the Fleet is named Dreadnought, so there may not be a Dreadnought class of ships.