Starfall

by Jamie Sedgwick

  “Stay inside!” he called down to the others. “You’re safe in here.”

  He glanced at Tasha, who was staring up at him with a worried look. Their Tal’mar senses had already noticed what the humans hadn’t. This wasn’t ordinary rain, it was starfall. And the blast they had heard could only mean one thing. Loren’s plan had somehow gone catastrophically wrong.

  Chapter 31

  That night, River got a firsthand look at the destruction of battle. Many soldiers were dead. Many more soon would be. The governing council of Sanctuary had sent a handful of healers with the Tal’mar archers to aid with the wounded. The healers were powerful and extremely skilled, but they were unmatched by the sheer numbers.

  River and the others did what they could to help, bandaging wounds, triaging the worst cases to stabilize them until healers could come along and do something more permanent. Breeze did the best she could with her own healing abilities, but unfortunately her skills were not nearly so refined as the Tal’mar, and her strength was limited by her own injury.

  Already, there could be little doubt that the rain of starfall had had some effect on them. Undoubtedly, the healers performed in excess of their usual abilities and they endured longer than anyone could reasonably have expected. Even Breeze worked late into the night, purging infections and mending deep wounds according to her limited skill set.

  At one point while Breeze was resting, she glanced over to see her daughter moving among the wounded soldiers. She watched River for a moment, a feeling of great pride surging up within her. River was so unlike her, Breeze thought, so brash and fearless... and yet at moments, she almost seemed like a twin. It would be nice if they could talk some time, share stories, maybe even discuss their inventions.

  She watched as River tended to a man’s wounds and then moved on to another. Suddenly, River stiffened. She jerked her gaze to the side. Breeze followed her stare, and saw a tall Vangar warrior across the encampment. He stood next to a fire, a mug in his hand, his gaze fixed on River. Breeze instantly recognized him as the Vangar who had saved her and Tinker on the battlefield. The two youngsters locked gazes for a moment, and then River turned away. It was hard to tell from that distance, but Breeze thought she might be blushing. The Vangar lowered his head to gaze into the fire.

  Later that night, pockets of fog appeared here and there throughout the Badlands. Soldiers began to experience hallucinations and panic attacks. River realized what was going on when she saw one of the knights arguing with his mechanical horse, and her mind instantly recalled the crew’s experiences with the Dragon’s Breath at Stormwatch. She explained this to the healers and military commanders, who sent out warnings to all the soldiers and militiamen to avoid the fog. By then, more than two hundred fighters were already experiencing symptoms.

  During the night, other strange behaviors came to their attention. Kale’s broadsword, for example, began to glow with a strange fiery hue, and it refused to go back into its sheath. No matter how many times he tried, the weapon would not sheath. Sir Gavin claimed that his armor was speaking to him, and several witnesses swore that they had seen Micah and Morgane walking at the outskirts of camp accompanied by a dragon. All of this was of course nonsense, or so they told themselves the next morning when the light of the sun burned away the fog, and with it, the hallucinations.

  When River woke to the frosty desert morning, she felt a moment of panic. She didn’t see Rowena there, and feared that the captain had taken her airship and left. However, she soon realized that the Skyhart now rested at the north end of the camp, where Rowena’s men were unloading the ship’s cargo.

  The fire had burned low, and River stoked it to keep her companions warm. On the ground about the fire, sleeping under heavy cloaks and blankets, were Tinker, Breeze, River’s brother Crow and her stepfather Tam, and a dozen other people -some she had known before and others River had met while triaging the wounded the night before. She settled down on one of the logs they had used as improvised seating, and gazed into the flames.

  A hand touched her shoulder, and River jumped. A mug of steaming java appeared before her. She glanced up and saw a familiar masculine face grinning back at her. The burn scar on his cheek was unmistakable. “Kale! Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “And it’s Dane now.”

  “Yes, I heard.” She accepted the drink, and he settled on the log next to her. The warrior had abandoned his armor in favor of common breeches, boots, and a tunic. Over this, he wore a heavy wool cloak with a fur lining. He looked as roguish as ever, except that there was something different about his face. She tilted her head, looking sideways at him, her blonde bangs streaking down over her eyes. “So you married Aileen.”

  “I did.”

  “And she made you a king?”

  He nodded. “Strange, isn’t it? It’s not what I ever expected.”

  “Nor I. But they say it suits you.”

  He straightened, taking a deep breath that inflated his barrel chest. “I suppose it does. I’m not really sure why. Something changed when you left. I guess I realized... I suppose it doesn’t matter now. I knew what I had to do.”

  “You love her,” River said, drawing her gaze back to the flames. “I can see that. That’s what changed you. She has changed you.”

  He didn’t respond, and they fell silent for a moment. River took a sip of the java, savoring the bitter taste and the warmth cascading down into her belly. Dane shifted next to her. “I do love her,” he said, “but that’s not why I stayed at Dragonwall. They needed me. It’s like a switch flipped inside of me, and suddenly I knew Dragonwall was where I was meant to be. I knew that it was time to stop behaving like a child; it was time to do something for others instead of myself, for once.”

  River gave him a faint smile. “And how is that working?”

  Dane snorted. “I’m exhausted.”

  They both laughed. “I have children now,” he went on. “I have responsibilities: family to look after, knights to command, refugees and townsfolk to feed. I must have been insane to agree to this.”

  “Yet you seem happier than before,” River said.

  “I know. It’s strange, but true. I never would have guessed I’d be happy this way -never having a minute to myself, a minute to think or do what I please- but it has been good for me... I haven’t gambled in months. The only drink I’ve had in a week is a decanter of wine I shared with Aileen, and we both fell asleep before it was finished.”

  River laughed. It was so hard to imagine Kale -Dane- living this strange domesticated life. Yet somehow, it seemed to suit him perfectly. He seemed to have grown into the role, and despite a certain lingering sense of loss, she couldn’t help the cheerful, hopeful mood swelling within her. This was right for him, River realized. This was what he was meant to do.

  “Ahem,” said a gruff voice behind them. “Am I interruptin’ something?”

  They turned to see Gavin standing at the edge of the campsite. The old knight was holding a tray of food and a fresh pot of java. He looked less like a knight than a lonely old hobo in his tattered gray cloak and breeches, with his unkempt beard and ratty hair. “Thought you might be hungry. Care for a bite?”

  “Please!” River said.

  The smell of breakfast and the sound of their voices roused the others, and soon they were all talking, laughing, and sharing stories as if things had always been this way. Micah and Morgane joined them, having gone off to sleep alone somewhere else in the camp. Not long after they returned, Aileen arrived.

  The others fell silent, observing River’s face as Aileen stepped into the circle. The queen bent over to kiss her husband on the cheek and then turned to River, who still sat next to him.

  “River,” Aileen said, first taking her hand and then bending low to embrace her. “We never met when you were in Dragonwall, but I’ve heard so much about you. It is an honor to meet you.”

  “It is?” River said, blinking up at her.

  “Of course! I
’ve heard so many stories about your inventions and the adventures you’ve had. You truly are as beautiful as they say. I think half the men in Dragonwall were heartbroken when you left. At least one in particular, I know of.”

  She shot her husband a grin, and Dane blushed. The others howled with laughter. “Come with me,” Aileen said. “Let us walk together.”

  As they left, River glanced back at Dane and saw him staring after them with a worried look. She forced back the laughter that threatened to come bubbling out of her. She didn’t know why it was so funny to see him uncomfortable, but it seemed to be a good thing.

  “I want you to know I harbor no ill will towards you,” Aileen said as they wandered through the camp. “If even half the stories about you weren’t true, which I know they all are, I could still see why Dane loves you.”

  “We’re just friends,” River said. “It’s you he loves, or he wouldn’t have done all this. It’s not like him to... to settle down. To be honest, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed.”

  “I know that. I know Dane loves me. He loves us both.” She turned to face River, taking River’s hands in her own. “Please understand you are welcome at Dragonwall any time. We are like sisters now, you and I. If you ever come to me in need, I will not deny you. I swear it.”

  “Thank you,” River replied, feeling a little overwhelmed. “I think I’m beginning to see why Kale fell in love with you.”

  Aileen smiled. “Will you come back to Dragonwall and stay with us, for a time? I would be honored to have you as our guest. And as for Dane, if he wishes to marry you also, I would not forbid it.”

  “No!” River blurted. “No, I... I have to go to Ironhold. After that, I’m not sure. I think I need to spend time with my family. I never realized how much I missed them, until I saw them again.”

  “I understand. Just know that you are welcome any time.”

  After returning to camp, River spent a leisurely morning waiting for word that Rowena was ready to fly. This gave her time to reunite with her family and find out what they had been doing. More importantly, it gave her the chance to convince them to come back with her to Ironhold. For some reason, River felt that it was important for them all to be together. Perhaps it was the fact that she’d missed them in their absence, or maybe it was just that she wanted to find out what it was like to be part of a real family for a little while.

  Whatever the reason, the others didn’t require much convincing. Tam and Crow were fed up with the politics of Sanctuary. “The Tal’mar never change,” her brooding father-in-law said with a curl of his lip. “Every breath is intrigue. They plot and scheme in their sleep. They’re my own kin, and I find myself wanting to hold their heads underwater.”

  “And it’s boring,” Crow added. “The city is more suffocating every day. It doesn’t help that we ran out of starfall, and my wing is useless.” This was in reference to the cleverly designed cloak he had once owned that allowed him to fly. Sanctuary’s reserves of starfall had already been dwindling; this was the reason for the Iron Horse’s original mission, and now it seemed that none of the shipments they’d sent had ever made it to the city.

  “They turn the lights off at night!” Crow continued. “What sense does that make? Isn’t the whole purpose of lights to be used at night?”

  “As you can see, your brother is quite spoiled,” said Tam. “He should be grateful for what he has.”

  They all stared at her, waiting for River’s response. She burst out laughing so hard that she doubled over. When they finally pried out of her what she was laughing about, she only said, “It’s just good to have my family.”

  By noon, the Skyhart was ready to fly. River, Breeze, Tinker, and all the others piled on board (with the exception of King Dane and Queen Aileen, who had their own matters to attend). This time, the flight was actually enjoyable. It gave River the opportunity to tell the others about everything that had happened in Ironhold.

  Breeze remained quite distressed over the fate of Socrates, but River insisted that despite what she had seen, the automaton must have survived. “How can you be so sure?” her mother said at one point when they were alone on the upper deck. “You yourself saw him torn apart.”

  River couldn’t say why. “I just have a feeling, that’s all. And I know he had something to do with what happened yesterday. The robots never would have come to our aid, otherwise.”

  River seemed about to say something else, but she froze, her gaze fixed on a person standing at the other end of the ship.

  “Is something wrong?” Breeze said.

  “No, it’s just... Isn’t that the man I saw on the battlefield yesterday?”

  “Yes, I believe it is. A very brave warrior.”

  River locked gazes with her. “He’s a Vangar?”

  “Yes. Is that a problem?”

  “I don’t know. I just...” She knotted up her eyebrows. “What is he doing here?”

  “I asked him to come,” Breeze said. “Actually, he asked. I said it was fine. I hope you don’t mind.”

  River frowned at her. “Why? I mean, why did he want to come?”

  Her mother’s grin widened. “I don’t know,” she said with a wink. “I’m sure we’ll find out.”

  The discussion ended as someone called out that the city was up ahead. River turned that way, and saw the iron wall on the horizon, the tall black spires of Ironhold rising into the sky. They fell silent in anticipation of their arrival.

  It was early evening when the Skyhart settled down in a city that seemed very much changed in the last day and a half. Gone were the street sideshows, the vendors, the robots acting out bizarre imitations of human life. Instead, they found the streets mostly empty except for machines doing routine city maintenance. An emissary however, did greet them at the landing site in the city’s park. River recognized the machine as the guard who had stalked her through the city on her previous visit.

  “You,” she said as the robot approached the group outside the Skyhart. “What do you want?”

  “I am here to bring you to Socrates.”

  “He’s alive?” Breeze said.

  “Who can say whether or not any of us are truly alive?” mused the machine. River snorted. It took all of her self control not to knock the thing over and rip its head off. Instead, she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.

  “Lead the way,” she said.

  They crossed the park and climbed into waiting steamwagons at the street. The drivers guided the wagons around the square and past the castle, to a section of town River had only briefly passed through in her earlier explorations. They took a side street and pulled into a paved parking area in front of a large metal building with a curved glass roof. It was impossible to see through the glass because it reflected the sky and the buildings around it, but from the outside, the structure appeared to be a massive conservatory, or possibly an aviary. They followed the android inside.

  River caught her breath as she entered through the doorway. The place hummed with the noise of robots cutting and grinding metal, blacksmithing and welding, performing thousands of miscellaneous tasks. But none of this held her attention. What riveted her focus was the massive airship hovering just a few feet above the floor.

  The ship was larger than any she’d ever seen, save perhaps Juntavar, the flying city created by the Vangars. It had a broad metal hull with rows of cannon ports and several decks lined with windows and balconies jutting out of the side. The upper deck rested a few yards below an air balloon so massive that, even though only partially inflated, it seemed to fill the entire space.

  “Your timing is perfect,” said a familiar but somewhat tinny-sounding voice overhead. River followed the sound to a brass horn attached to the hull of the ship.

  “Socrates?” River said.

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  “Where are you? How do we get inside?”

  “You’re looking at me,” Socrates said in an amused tone.
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br />   River took a few steps back, almost to the wall. She drew her gaze along the sleek metal hull, the gun ports and windows, the balconies... “I can’t see you!”

  “I don’t know how you could miss me,” Socrates said. “You’re standing right next to me!”

  River and the others exchanged perplexed looks. The voice of Socrates said, “Come around to the aft end, and I will explain.”

  They spent a minute or two walking around the ship and weaving their way through the working robots. As they came around the rudder, they saw a huge iron skull with a crown resting in the corner of the building. Morgane let out a gasp.

  “The Iron King,” River said. “I knew it was you. But how? What happened?”

  “Altaire attacked me,” said the automaton’s voice, this time from a speaker horn mounted on a nearby balcony.

  “Yes, I saw that.”

  “After dismantling me, his servants used me for spare parts. They identified a set of items that were necessary for the completion of the Iron King. It was Altaire’s plan to put his memory and logic circuits into the king, but instead they accidentally deposited mine. I became the Iron King, if only for a while.

  “When I realized what had happened, I questioned Altaire and dragged the truth out of him. That was when I knew where you had gone, and that you would need my help.”

  “That is fascinating,” River said, “but why don’t you just let us in and tell us in person?”

  Tinker cleared his throat. “River, I think he is telling us in person.”

  She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

  Tinker and Breeze exchanged a look. Breeze stepped closer. “I think what Socrates is trying to tell us is that he is the ship. Somehow, he transferred his consciousness or his memories into the ship.”

  “Precisely,” Socrates said through the speaker horn.

  River took a few steps back, gazing up at the ship in disbelief. “I don’t understand. Why would you do that? How is it even possible?”