Dragonseers and Airships

by Chris Behrsin

  “Oh, darling, just play along with his little games. As much as I’d like to reveal every one of the king’s deepest secrets to you and then whisk you off to a foreign land, I have to hold restraint. Alsie would kill me if I let you know too much. You have to understand.”

  “Alsie?” I said.

  “Yes, she was here a moment ago. You’ll meet her soon enough. But for now, the king wants you to meet Master Artua.”

  The boy we’re here to rescue, I thought. Then I remembered what Sukina had said about masking my thoughts. Damn it.

  Francoiso smiled. “Don’t worry. We know all about that already. Soon enough, you’ll come to know that much here is not quite what it seems. Now, drink up.”

  I eyed Francoiso suspiciously. Then I unstopped the cork and poured the liquid down my throat. It tasted of liquorice, the flavour so intense I almost retched it all up again. But somehow, I got enough down for the serum to take effect.

  It sank like lead in my stomach and then a wave of relief washed over my entire body. Like a miracle drug, the headache and the nausea vanished in just a few seconds and clarity returned to my mind.

  “Remarkable,” Francoiso said. “You truly are a dragonseer. Come, get dressed and then I’ll walk you to the throne room.”

  “It’s probably best to do as he says.” Again, Sukina could talk to me in my mind. “They seem allies, but for what reason, I don’t yet understand.”

  I looked at Francoiso. “Give me a minute,” I said. I closed the door and looked down at my clothes. The shawl and trousers I’d worn for flying now had strange silver stains over them, tinted with brown around the edges. This silver pooled in certain areas, like under the armpits. I opened the wardrobe, wafted away the dust and found a modest black dress hanging there alone. I pulled it to my body. It seemed to fit my curves perfectly, as if someone had come to measure me in my sleep. I checked the window to see no one was watching – there were no curtains, and I was trapped behind some heavy iron bars. I sighed then dressed myself. Francoiso was waiting patiently outside.

  “What exactly does the king want?” I asked.

  “Oh, the boy simply needs some mother figures in his life. Alsie can be quite terrifying to an eight-year-old sometimes and, as the magazines keep telling us, here we have quite a male dominated court.”

  It was true. The magazines often discussed the fact that King Cini had not yet fathered an heir. He was young, admittedly, and probably had a good fifty years of reign ahead of him. But still, everyone believed that there should have been a young prince by now.

  The doors had been left wide open. Beyond them lay the throne room, fully resplendent in gilt and velvet and fur. The room was long, with an arched aisle leading down the centre and two wings on either side of this, separated by lines of pillars. Bas-reliefs ran around each of the pillars, and I examined the closer ones to see wars between men and the dragons. I noticed the Tree Immortal from the myth in there too, and a great armoured warrior I assumed to be Finase, holding a naked woman one arm as he slashed amongst the riots ahead of him with a claymore in his other. The woman: Finesia.

  A redguard stood aside each of the pillars, with halberds on their shoulders. Only on the row of guards to my right, could I see the pistol holstered at their hips. Interestingly, the room was open to the sky in the centre, leading up to a chimney wide enough for a dragon to fit through.

  King Cini sat on a high throne that rose much taller than him, with two golden sabres like horns protruding from the seat of it. Two steel shields stuck out from the armrests like scales protecting the flanks of some monstrous beast. The throne had been raised upon a marble dais, with a few steps leading up to it. At the bottom corner of these steps, to the king’s left, a boy played with an automaton toy – a miniature airship that the child navigated through swoops and dives.

  “Ah, Miss Sako and Miss Wells.” The king looked over at an elaborate grandfather clock ticking away on one side of the throne room. “I wondered at what time you’d eventually grace my presence.”

  Sukina gave a half-arsed curtsey, then stepped forwards. “What exactly do you want with us, Cini?” she asked. “You know that we came here for the…” She paused a moment. “Boy…”

  “My nephew? What would you want with someone so dear to me?”

  Sukina grimaced at the use of the word nephew. “He’s of no relation to you, and you know it.”

  The boy looked up at us as if slightly curious. But the mock war he was orchestrating with his airship seemed more fascinating. In his other hand, I noticed in horror, he held a toy dragon and the airship was chasing the dragon as if to shoot it down.

  “Accusations, accusations, Miss Sako. But you know you’re not in a position to decide who the boy is. I merely wanted to introduce him to you. I thought he’d be happy to meet his new guardians.”

  “What the dragonheats are you talking about?”

  “I mean that we intend for you to look after him here in the palace. Oh, don’t give me that look. It’s not like you have any choice in the matter. You tried to sneak in and take him for yourself, but how exactly would you have done so without him raising an alarm? The boy is incredibly important to the war effort, Miss Sako.”

  Sukina looked like she wanted to spit on him. “What have you done with Faso Gordoni?”

  “The inventor is quite safe, I assure you. He’s also important to us, but it’s not as if he can’t be taught a lesson in humility, is it?”

  Somehow, it just didn’t seem right that he’d have to be stuck in cells when we were treated like princesses in court.

  “Now, Artua,” the king continued, “come forward a moment. I want you to meet your new guardian.” The boy looked at the king then back down at his airship as if he didn’t want to abandon it. “Now, Artua!”

  The boy huffed then put the airship down on the floor. He stood up and meekly approached Sukina. He offered her his hand and Sukina took it. “Nice to meet you, Miss Sako. You look like someone I know.”

  At that, I saw Sukina lose her composure for just a split second. Or maybe I felt it in the collective unconscious. Francoiso and Charth were loitering somewhere nearby – I could sense them too – as well as another presence.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, young man,” Sukina said. “Now, maybe you should return to your toys.”

  From behind the throne, a woman stepped out. It was as if she’d stepped out of the darkness, one minute she hadn’t been there and then the next she had. It was the same woman we’d seen the previous day on the airfield. Her straight raven hair was swept down past her dark skin and behind it all she had these brilliant blue eyes. “It’s time for your medicine, Artua,” she said, and she handed him a thimble. The boy looked at it in glee, tipped the contents down his throat, then returned to his toys.

  Alsie walked towards Sukina. “You will perform your duties to the king, Miss Sako. You will not leave the palace unless ordered to, or you will be shot on sight. You will teach the boy all you know about dragon songs. Then, when the time comes, he shall take the throne a true warrior in battles against the Greys.”

  So that was it. Artua was to take King Cini’s place when he passed on. How Alsie had him wrapped around her thumb I don’t know.

  “Who are you to give me such orders?” Sukina said.

  “Why, that’s Alsie Fioreletta,” the king said, and she went to sit on his lap. “My right hand maiden and most trusted advisor. I’m sure you’ve read about her in the magazines.”

  Alsie planted a kiss on Cini’s lips and ran a delicate hand down his cheek. A lot had been written about Alsie Fioreletta, including many questions about why she’d not yet born children. This was something that every hamlet, village and town in Tow wanted to know. And the magazines surmised that the king had never proposed to her for the same reason.

  I felt as if I’d been sinking into the background here. All this time, I’d been wanting to know why the wellies I was also here, but I hadn’t yet dare speak out. But at t
his point I didn’t want to be forgotten. I stepped forwards.

  “So, you need Sukina here to look after the boy, but what do you need of me?”

  The king looked down at me then smiled. His threatening nature had completely washed away now, to be replaced by this strange geniality. It was almost as if he’d accepted me into his family, though I knew behind it all how fake it was.

  “Miss Wells. You can help Sukina with her duties. And—”

  Alsie raised a hand as if to cut Cini off, and he shut up immediately. “That’s more than enough, my dear king. Dragonseer Wells, you are of great of importance to the war effort and the future of mankind. That’s all you need to know at this present moment.”

  “She’s crazy,” I telepathed to Sukina.

  “Careful what you say,” Sukina telepathed back. Of course, I still needed to learn to channel my thoughts.

  Alsie’s head jerked up as soon as I’d registered that thought, as if indeed she could hear. “Now Cini,” she said and rose up off his lap. “I believe you wanted to entertain our guests.”

  “Of course,” he said. “Miss Wells and Miss Sako, you must indeed be hungry. Come and let us enjoy a fine and royal feast.”

  We left Alsie and the boy in the throne room. The king again led us to that pagoda with the emerald marble table. The same two gold and silver teapots were laid upon it, alongside three covered dishes, surrounded by silver spoons and goblets.

  A maid walked over to the table to lift the plate covers. Underneath one was a few quails stuffed with walnuts and apricots, under another, potatoes roasted in goose fat and a third had grilled aubergines sprinkled with finely diced garlic. I didn’t know what Faso was eating in his cell, but it couldn’t be anything as rich as this.

  “We can talk in this channel,” Sukina said in the collective unconscious. “I have enough mental acuity to mask our thoughts from everyone else.”

  “Good,” I replied mentally. “So, what do you think’s going on here?”

  “It’s madness. Why would the king treat us with such grace?”

  “Beats me,” I said and despite the food smelling amazing, I wasn’t really so hungry. “Last time I checked, we were his enemy.”

  “And yet he trusts us to raise the boy. And why does he trust Alsie Fioreletta so much? Something strange is going on in this court that I don’t quite like.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said, and I looked at the cup of Exalmpora that was placed in front of me – the silver swirling inside the clear thin liquid.

  “Well, drink up before you eat,” King Cini said. “It will help you regain your appetite.” And I turned to see a Pattersoni rifle pointed at my head, which I wouldn’t see for very long if I didn’t obey the king’s wishes.

  This time, I felt no resistance. It was almost as if the liquid was pulling me towards it. I wanted its power. I wanted whatever it held within.

  I took the cup to my lips, closed my eyes and took the liquid down in one. My muscles immediately loosened, and the world began to swirl around me again.

  “My, my, you are enjoying yourself,” Cini said.

  Then the day flowed into night and I remembered even less of it than the previous day.

  I woke up squirming underneath the woollen bed covers, again from lucid dreams. I could hear Sukina’s voice in my mind and, strangely, it made sense this time.

  “Pontopa, are you awake now?” she asked. “Pontopa…”

  “I am,” I said. “Sleepy…”

  “I can hear your dreams.”

  “I can hear yours. What is that… The Exalmpora?”

  “I don’t know. But must defeat it… We must persevere, Pontopa… We must push it away.”

  “Francoiso, Charth, Alsie… Can they hear us?”

  “I don’t think I can keep them out the channel,” Sukina said. “Too much Exalmpora to concentrate.”

  “But why are they here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I felt my eyes getting heavy again. “Sukina,” I said. And I wanted to say something else, but I’d already forgotten what.

  “Yes?”

  “Sukina?” I must have fallen asleep. When I awoke again, I tried to reach out to her. But I was answered only by a sea of gibberish and more dreams of death.

  24

  I didn’t have any initiative to explore the palace the next day. I just wanted to get to the king’s entertainment pagoda and drink the Exalmpora, even though I knew such feelings weren’t good for me.

  I didn’t have much of a headache either, surprisingly. And my power to connect to the collective unconscious seemed strengthened. I knew the locations of Sukina, Charth, Francoiso, Alsie, and even Velos in the palace.

  I felt a touch of shame then. How long had I been in here without even thinking about Velos, let alone my parents? But that thought soon became replaced with an urge to hunt down the Exalmpora and drink it copiously.

  I knew Francoiso was waiting outside my door before I opened it. He hadn’t even knocked this time. And this time he didn’t have a vial containing the cure for the Exalmpora. Although, I didn’t particularly want it at that point.

  “Darling,” he said in the collective unconscious. “You’re getting even more beautiful by the day, both inside and out. Though my brother keeps reminding me I have to teach you to resist the Exalmpora, I must say I’m liking the effects it has on you.”

  “Why is Cini making us drink that stuff?” I asked. Although, I have to say it wasn’t as if I was showing much resistance anymore.

  “You already know part of it, my buttercup. The properties of that serum will make you more loyal to those you see the most. But that’s not all, I’m afraid. The king wants you to become dragonmen, just like us. Or in your case, I guess, a dragonwoman.”

  “He wants us to become dragonwomen? Wait… Is this how you became this way?”

  “Oh, darling,” Francoiso said. “I’m not yet ready to tell you how I came to be. Maybe sometime later in our relationship I can reveal my hidden secrets.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  “Come on, you must get dressed. King Cini, buffoon that he is, has plans which in many ways I’m quite looking forward to.”

  My black dress again had those ugly silver stains on it. So, I opened the wardrobe this time to find a stunning opal green long dress, so wide at the back it left me virtually naked there, and in other places the cloth flowed casually over my curves.

  I stepped outside to see Francoiso waiting, nonchalantly whistling as he leant against the wall. He offered me his arm. “Shall we?”

  I took his arm, appreciating his muscles and the warmth of his body against mine. We flirted and made small talk until we reached King Cini’s throne room.

  “Ah, such a fine couple already,” the king said as we entered the room. “Francoiso, my friend, I must say I’m slightly envious.”

  King Cini sat in red splendid robes on top of his throne. Artua stood beside him in his normal spot. Again, he was playing with his airships, but this time it seemed the dragon was the good guy in pursuit of the airship who had stolen some goods. Alsie stepped forward from her place hidden behind the throne and rubbed Artua on the head.

  “Francoiso and Pontopa,” she said. “Why don’t you put your toys away and greet them?”

  King Cini turned his head to Alsie. “It’s about time he starts calling them Auntie and Uncle, don’t you think?”

  Alsie returned a look of scorn, then swallowed it down. “Very well, your highness,” she said. And she gave a slight curtsey as if mocking him. “However you wish it to be.”

  “Alsie, I remind you who’s in charge here. Artua, return to your toys for the while. I will call you when needs be.” My, my, it looked as Alsie and the king had had a bit of a lover’s tiff.

  Alsie gave the king a contemptuous look as if to say, I’m really the one in control here and no damn king is going to get in my way. There was a certain power to that woman even greater than in the Lamford brothers. I
could sense it in her, almost as if it thrummed through my own body as well.

  I heard the click of Sukina’s heels approaching and Charth’s heavy boots shuffling behind. They also walked arm-in-arm, although Sukina didn’t quite meld to Charth like I felt I melded to Francoiso. Each step of hers seemed cautious as if she was willing her feet forward when her body didn’t really want to move.

  “Another remarkable couple, don’t you think, Alsie? I think they’ll make a perfect team.”

  “You already know my opinion on that,” Alsie said. “I’ve told you full well these things need time to stew, Exalmpora or not.”

  “And who, I ask, is king here? You are just my mistress, and if you show any resistance, I’ll also lock you up like the Gordoni boy.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” Alsie said. I half expected when Cini stood, given how red his face looked, that he was about to order his guards to arrest her. But he simply left Artua and Alsie there together and walked towards the entrance. “Come,” he said to Sukina and myself. “It’s time to have a feast and then I shall announce the news.”

  “You’re a fool,” Alsie called after him. “What is he?” she said to Artua.

  “You’re a fool,” the boy parroted, as if entranced.

  The king turned back, his face purple. “One more word out of you, woman, and I’ll have you hanging from the gibbets.”

  Alsie produced a dagger from her belt. “Just try me…”

  The king huffed and walked out the room.

  “Oh, Alsie,” Francoiso said. “Do you have to be such a spoilsport all the time?”

  Alsie replaced the dagger in her belt and turned her contemptuous look upon Francoiso. “I should remind you what Finesia wills, Francoiso. Although, after you and your brother’s antics lately, I’m not sure you quite understand this. I hope that you’ve been giving the dragonseer the vials,” Alsie looked at me, “because she doesn’t look particularly sober right now.”

  Francoiso didn’t seem afraid of Alsie’s aggressive tone. “I just like to have a little fun. But neither you nor my brother seem to know what that is.”