Dragonseers and Airships

by Chris Behrsin

  “Brother, you know we’re not trying to create monsters,” Charth said.

  Francoiso looked back at Charth and I followed his gaze to see that both Sukina and Charth had a similar sour look as Alsie. Whatever their plan was, clearly, I wasn’t in on it.

  “What the dragonheats is going on here?” I asked.

  “That,” Alsie said, “we only reveal on a need-to-know basis. Go and entertain the king for now, and we’ll meet again in a couple of days. Meanwhile I must attend to business elsewhere.”

  “I guess you need a holiday, huh?” I said but she didn’t take any time to respond. One moment she was there and then a blink of the eye she was gone. A roar came from the chimney and a cold gust of wind swept down, scattering dust and ash in its wake.

  “Come,” Charth said. “We should attend to the king.”

  Francoiso took hold of my hand and we turned towards the door.

  “Wait!” the call came from little Artua. He put down his toys and shuffled up to Sukina. The boy looked up into Sukina’s eyes.

  Artua pulled back a little, surprised. Tears of recognition welled in the boy’s eyes. “Mamo?” he said. Now that Alsie had gone, it appeared he felt a little freer to speak.

  Sukina’s cold expression immediately broke down. She pulled Artua close to her and buried her head in the boy’s hair.

  “Taka, how you’ve grown,” she said. “Gerhaun will make a woman out of you. I promise you that…”

  “But I’m a boy… I don’t want to become a woman.” He looked up at Charth.

  Charth stepped between Sukina and the boy – girl. I must say, I was shaking my head in disbelief. How could everyone, the media, have been so fooled? The king’s nephew was Sukina’s daughter, a girl!

  “That’s enough! What are you doing, Sukina?” Charth pulled the two away from each other. “If those words were to fall on the wrong ears…”

  Sukina spun on him. “Now Alsie and the king are out of earshot, I can talk freely to him.”

  “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “And what does it matter? At least this way Taka knows who his mother is.”

  “What’s going on, Sukina?” I just had to ask. “What the dragonheats is this all about?”

  Sukina looked at me and said nothing. She still had tears in her eyes.

  Francoiso took my arm in his. “Come on darling, we better leave these three in peace.” He led me out towards the entertainment pagoda.

  No food was set out on the table this time, just the standard gold and silver teapots and those tiny ornate cups. There were no guards or maids anymore. It was just me, Sukina, Francoiso, Charth, and King Cini.

  The king poured out the Exalmpora before me and I felt myself immediately drawn to it. I’d been desperate to get to this point all day and now I took down the concoction in one, instantly forgetting my hunger pangs.

  “Careful,” Sukina telepathed. “You have to learn to control it.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Francoiso said in my mind as he gently teased my ear. His hot breath sent a pleasant tingle down my spine. “You’re strong enough to handle this stuff. I was the same.”

  “Francoiso, stop encouraging her,” Charth said. “She needs to keep her rational mind.”

  “But Charth, tomorrow we get to—”

  “Don’t you dare,” Sukina said, still in the collective unconscious.

  “And what exactly will stop me?”

  I had a feeling I knew what he meant and the warmth rushing down below told me I also wanted it. I turned to Francoiso and planted a kiss on his lips.

  “Damn it, Francoiso, you know what Alsie ordered. Did you even give her the cure? You don’t want her getting suspicious again, do you?” All this time we were having a conversation within our minds, and the king who sat there staring at Sukina’s cup, had absolutely no idea.

  “And while Alsie’s gone, don’t you think we can have a little fun? She never has to know, brother.”

  I giggled. I liked the idea of having a little fun.

  “Francoiso, you’re crossing the line,” Sukina said. Her and Charth definitely had an allegiance, though at that point I didn’t really care. I wanted pretty much what Francoiso did.

  “And you need to drink your Exalmpora,” Francoiso said. “Because the king, right now, is getting suspicious.”

  Sukina looked down at the cup. Charth glanced once at the king, then took hold of Sukina’s hand, guided it towards the cup and helped Sukina raise it to her lips. He took hold of her neck and Sukina’s body trembled as the liquid left the cup. Then Charth pushed his body closer to Sukina and tipped her head back while he planted a long and passionate kiss.

  “See, brother,” Francoiso said. “You want it too.”

  I felt Sukina’s mind melt away in the collective unconscious. We spoke a little, but her voice had become more flippant. And as I looked at her beautiful, polished face, her features started to warp, almost as if she was becoming a dragon herself.

  “You know what we have to do,” Charth said. “We keep King Cini entertained until it’s time to turn the cards.”

  “Why are you always such a boring stickler, Charth?” Francoiso asked.

  But Charth didn’t seem interested in his games. Instead he addressed me in the collective unconscious. “I must apologize for my brother’s behaviour. He wasn’t always a slave to his emotions. Just know he’s a better person deep inside.”

  “Excuse me,” Francoiso said. “This is my future wife you’re talking to. You’re meant to sing praises about me. Tell her what a fine specimen of a man I am.”

  “Start behaving like a gentleman, and maybe I will.”

  But, it seemed, that Francoiso had other plans for me. Part of me knew I should be planning my escape, questioning Sukina about what she was so concerned about, worrying about my parents, finding a way to break Artua and Faso out of there. But this Exalmpora had turned me into a different person. I no longer felt the tugs and the whirls of my senses. Instead, I was more attuned to them as I’d ever been. And, unlike the other nights, I remember everything that happened that night (up to a point), like you remember the most vivid of dreams.

  As we kissed, and Francoiso’s tongue played with mine then ran itself down the back of my neck and then spine, I forgot Cini was even in the room. I saw his face watching, but it had become like part of the scenery. This Exalmpora had turned me into a wild animal, a thing of passion. And all I knew is I wanted Francoiso, there and then.

  “My, my,” King Cini said. “This is getting quite raunchy now, isn’t it? You must back away, Charth and Francoiso, because you know the customs. By all means, in a couple of days, you can take them to your bedchambers.”

  Charth straightened up and stepped back immediately with a curt nod. Francoiso took a little longer to run his hands around my waist and I knew where those hands were going.

  “Francoiso,” the king said. “That’s an order.”

  I huffed as his arms left mine. But I still sat obediently on my wooden chair.

  “All these leader types are such spoilsports. Why can’t they just learn to be free?” Francoiso said in the collective unconscious.

  “Because we live for higher purposes than our desires,” Charth said.

  “Sometimes,” Francoiso said. “I wonder if we’d be better off just being ourselves…” He took a step back from me.

  King Cini was sat on his stool, watching us with curiosity. “Really, you people fascinate me with your private conversations. Who knows what you were talking about. Well, it doesn’t matter. I made a promise yesterday to reveal what’s in the Exalmpora, and now it’s time to tell.”

  “Oh, do say, you handsome man,” Sukina said. Then she started to giggle, and I joined in, not knowing exactly what we were giggling at.

  “I do like how you’re enjoying yourself so much,” King Cini said. “You drink enough Exalmpora and you’ll actually want to stay here. Then, you can help our scientists work out how to create armies
of people like the Lamford Brothers and Alsie, to replace our damn unreliable machines.”

  I poured myself some more secicao and then almost snorted it out all over the table. “Faso says you’re stealing his technology,” I said. “Can’t say how he’d feel if you then replaced his machines.”

  “Yes, yes,” the king said. “He does grumble a lot, doesn’t he? You would have thought he’d take a hint by now.”

  “I’m sure you’re treating him well down there,” Sukina said. “You are such a kind and handsome man.”

  “Like royalty, for a prison cell,” the king said. “You should see how the King of Cadigan treats his prisoners, not to mention your home country of Orkc. Mr Gordoni’s mentioned you a few times, Miss Sako.”

  “He didn’t say anything about me?” I asked, feeling strangely jealous for a moment. I guess not so much because I wanted Faso’s attention, but the Exalmpora was making me want any attention no matter who it was from.

  “Not yet. Although I do know he holds you in high regards, Miss Wells, beauty that you are.”

  That sent me ecstatic and I punched King Cini jokingly on the shoulder.

  “Yes, you’re right,” Sukina said. “Anyway, you must tell us what’s in the Exalmpora. We’re most certainly desperate to know.”

  “Ah, that silver stuff you see in there is dragon blood.”

  “But dragon blood isn’t silver,” Sukina said.

  “Not just any dragon blood, you see, my dear. But blood of a dragon queen. My father collected it during the dragonheats, and it’s kept perfectly preserved ever since. A scientist who used to work here called Captain Colas discovered that when you mix it with secicao, it has profound effects on dragonseers, as you can see.”

  I saw Charth grimace at the mention of the name Captain Colas and Francoiso shifted awkwardly.

  “That’s remarkable,” I said. “You hear that Sukina? A drug that can control us…” I giggled again.

  “It is,” King Cini said. “And now for my other good news. Here at court, we’ve decided to announce a royal wedding. Pontopa Wells and Sukina Sako, you will marry my cousins: Charth and Francoiso Lamford.”

  “That’s wonderful news,” Sukina said.

  “Marvellous,” I said. “When will it happen?” I wished in all honesty that it was right now so we could get on with the good stuff.

  “Patience, my dears,” the king said. “We first much pick a suitable place for their proposal. So I’ve arranged a hunt for you tomorrow, to give you time to spend with your husbands to be.”

  “Just wait a couple more days, darling,” Francoiso said out loud.

  “Good,” King Cini said. “I’m glad to know everyone is happy. Francoiso and Charth, you are now dismissed to make preparations for tomorrow.”

  They descended the stairs without another word either for real or in the collective unconscious. I drank more Exalmpora to such an extent that the world again became a haze.

  The next thing I remembered that night was standing outside my room with Charth holding an empty vial with tiny traces of green in it.

  “Unfortunately,” he said, “I couldn’t trust Francoiso to give you the cure this evening. He seems to think you’re better off with the Exalmpora, but if you keep drinking it without the antidote, you risk becoming a product of your emotions. A truly wild beast.”

  I looked in astonishment at Charth. “Can Francoiso hear us?”

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “As brothers, we’re forever bound to the same channel when we speak in the collective unconscious. But I know how to separate what I say out loud from my thoughts.”

  “So, tell me. Why the dragonheats are you helping us?”

  “If I could tell you more,” Charth said. “I would. Just know for now that this is all part of the grand plan.” He left me there and I entered my room and, for the first time in the palace, I actually remembered crawling into bed. I took off my clothes, sank into the soft blankets and I reached out into the collective unconscious.

  “Sukina, are you there?” I asked.

  “Yes, dear, but be careful what you think. There’s only so much I can say.”

  “I just want to know what the dragonheats is going on. Artua is now Taka, your daughter? Why didn’t you tell me Sukina?”

  “I trust you, Pontopa. But until today, Alsie has been listening. I just didn’t want you revealing the wrong thing. She’s not as easy to block out as everyone else.”

  “But what does it matter? The king knows that Artua is your daughter, surely.”

  “He doesn’t. It was the only way we could keep her from being executed Pontopa. Hide her in the palace and pretend she’s a boy. Or at least that’s what I was told at the time.”

  “You mean you knew Francoiso, Charth, and Alsie all this time?”

  “Just Charth and Alsie.”

  “Dragonheats, Sukina. Why so many secrets?”

  “The less you tell people, the more people you save. I learned this lesson the hard way a long time ago.”

  “Sukina—” I really was lost for words.

  “Just, Pontopa… If anything happens to me, make sure Taka stays safe.”

  “Sukina, don’t speak like this. We’ll have to get out together. You’ll see.”

  “Yes,” Sukina said. “We’ll see.”

  We fell silent for a moment. Somehow, a faint sliver of moonlight had managed to creep its way through the secicao clouds, and I could see the forms of the wardrobe and the fireplace in my bedchambers. The cure had only been partly effective and I so through the faint light, I could still see swirling patterns within the darkness.

  “Sukina,” I said eventually. “Who is the father?”

  “What? Who?” I’d just aroused her from sleep. I don’t know how she managed to close her off to the world so easily. But then, she was a light sleeper and easy to wake up again.

  “The father, Sukina. Taka’s father. It’s not Faso… Is it?”

  “It’s Faso, yes.”

  “What? Does he know?”

  “I never told him. Colas came to see me when I was just getting the first bouts of morning sickness. Then we had to leave.”

  “And the child was born.”

  “Yes, but the world was too dangerous. Colas, he promised he’d keep the child safe. It wasn’t until later that he told me where the child was. That was when I first met Charth. He—”

  But Sukina was cut off from a piercing noise in the collective unconscious. That same kind of shriek that ratcheted my brains so much that it extended into the physical and pierced my eardrums. I clutched my hands to my ears.

  Alsie had returned.

  I tried to reach out more to Sukina. I had so many questions. But clearly, Alsie didn’t want her answering and I could learn no more. Something about that screech also made me suddenly feel exhausted. I was quickly asleep.

  Part VII

  Francoiso

  “For romance and for desire. What else is there to live for?”

  Francoiso Lamford

  25

  The next day, my head was even clearer than it had been any previous day. The dress in the wardrobe was designed for the day ahead of me – deep red, with frilly lacy bits around the neckline and low hemline.

  In some countries they wore such dresses on the day of wedding, with pomp and circumstance and ceremony. But in Tow, women in high circles would only wear such clothes on the days they were to be engaged.

  I’d half believed I’d never wear one of these. Although I was still young, I had never at that point considered settling down. With Velos and my runs south, I’d always thought I’d be some kind of free spirit, never marrying. And now, here I was looking at a dress to prepare for a wedding that deep inside, I wasn’t sure I wanted.

  But then, I wanted the Exalmpora. I wanted to get to the king’s entertainment pagoda and drink, and drink, and become that wild, lusty girl and wrap my lips around Francoiso’s. Though my mind didn’t seem to want the wedding, my body wanted him. And, de
spite the cure Charth had given me the previous night, my body had more control over me than my mind.

  “Don’t let your instincts get the better of you, Pontopa,” Sukina said inside my mind. “If you let yourself succumb to this Exalmpora then you will lose your rational mind.”

  And at the same time, Francoiso spoke in the collective unconscious, almost as if he’d found a way to listen in to Sukina’s channel. “Darling,” he said. “I know you’re such a wild girl at heart and neither you nor I were meant to be tamed.”

  His words sent a trill of passion down me. I got dressed, ready in time for the knock on the door. It wasn’t Francoiso standing outside, but one of the king’s valets, an adolescent wearing a blue flat cap and black frilly suit. “Miss Wells. The king says it’s time to prepare for the grand occasion. He wants you in his throne room this instant.”

  Well, that was rather a direct way for a servant to speak to someone who was about to become royalty. The valet led me to the throne room. King Cini sat on his throne with Francoiso and Charth standing on either side of him. Alsie was nearby, I could sense her but couldn’t see her. As was Sukina’s daughter Taka – somehow, I could sense her too.

  Sukina entered the room just behind me and then the king stood up from his cushions to address us both. “Bright and early this morning and neither of you look too bad for the wear. The Exalmpora must be working quicker than I’d expected.”

  “Yes, my liege,” Sukina said. “We’re certainly enjoying the company.”

  Sukina, of course, was only acting. We had to make the king believe the Exalmpora was taking control of us. Even if the Lamford brothers kept giving us the antidote to keep it away.

  “It’s a wonderful day today, sire,” I said. “A perfect day for an engagement.”

  “Well, I hope you’re looking forward to the occasion as much as I am,” King Cini said. “I’m sure you’ve read about these ceremonies in magazines and I want to create the kind of occasion that two dragonseers deserve. And then the country will be extremely happy to hear that you’ve joined our ranks in the war effort against the Greys.”