A gout of flame erupted from below.
“It’s a dragon!” another man cried. “It’s a dragon and it’s flaming!”
“Stand by the —” Nevins began, turning to the gun crews but cutting himself off as he saw the empty gun ports. “Get bows and arrows! We’ll show this thing!”
Lieutenant Garrett turned to him in absolute amazement. “Sir? Are you mad?” Before Nevins could reply, Garrett turned around and shouted. “Abandon ship! Abandon ship! All hands, throw ropes over the sides and go down them.” He turned to the young mage. “Can you start us down?”
Borkis’ jaw fell.
“Well?” Garrett demanded. “Can you?”
Mutely, the mage nodded.
“Then do it!” Garrett shouted. “Do it or we’ll all burn!”
Borkis turned imploringly to Captain Nevins. Nevins looked at the flames rising from below and sighed. “Do it. It’s our only hope.” The captain turned to the man at the wheel. “Turn us south.”
Epilog
The sun rose brightly the next morning over a huge plain of destruction. East Pass Fort lay shattered and broken under a pile of rock where it had tumbled down the slopes of the hill on which it had once rested.
It was joined by the shattered remnants of one airship and the burnt timbers of another.
A small group of battered men were making their way south, toward the railway.
An exhausted Jarin stood in human form at the top of the hill, with Rabel and Ellen standing beside him. Shortly, they were joined by Queen Diam, her daughters, and Granno.
“What do we do now?” Diam asked.
“The King’s cavalry broke through the pass,” Granno said. “By now they’ve taken Korin’s Pass. The whole pass is open to Markel and his men.”
“So we failed,” Ellen said miserably.
“We destroyed two of their ships,” Jarin said. “Isn’t that something?”
“And we know how to build floating forts,” Diam said. “And we can build them fast.”
“With Geros’ help,” Jarin said. He glanced toward Rabel who had said nothing. “Rabel? We can build more, can’t we?”
Rabel nodded glumly.
“What’s wrong?” Ellen asked him.
Rabel raised his head and looked at the others. “Where’s Ibb?”
Ophidian’s Honor
Book 9
Twin Soul series
Chapter One
The sun rose over a huge plain of destruction. There was no sign of life among the rubble. East Pass Fort lay shattered and broken under a pile of rock where it had tumbled down the slopes of the hill on which it had once rested. The huge guns were buried under the mass of the rock-built fort and the hill on which it had been constructed.
Nearby were the shattered wooden remains — just a bare skeleton — of what once had been proud airship. Further were the blackened timbers of a second airship — all that remained of King Markel’s surprise attack on Soria.
A small group of battered men were making their way south, toward the railway. Survivors from the fort or the airship, it wasn’t clear from this distance.
#
The dragon Jarin stood in human form at the top of the hill, with Rabel and Ellen Ford standing beside him. They were joined by the queen of the underground Zwergs, Diam, her daughters, Imay and Lissy, as well as Granno, her trusted general.
“What do we do now?” Diam asked.
“The King’s cavalry broke through,” Granno said. “By now they’ve taken Korin’s Pass. The whole pass is open to Markel and his men.”
“So we failed,” Ellen said miserably.
“We destroyed two of their ships,” Jarin said. “Isn’t that something?”
“And we know how to build floating forts,” Diam said. “And we can build them fast.”
“With Geros’ help,” Jarin said. He glanced toward Rabel who had said nothing. “Rabel? We can build more, can’t we?”
Rabel nodded glumly.
“What’s wrong?” Ellen asked him.
Rabel raised his head and looked at the others. “Where’s Ibb?”
The others looked at him in alarm and then they all craned their necks back to the rubble that had once been the East Pass Fort… and the last known location of the metal man, Ibb.
“We have to find him!” Ellen said, breaking free of the others and starting determinedly down toward the ruins.
“He’s dead!” Diam said, “You’ll only be wasting your time!”
“He’s made of metal, he may have survived,” Rabel said stoutly. He turned to Jarin. The tired teen met his eyes briefly, turned away and called over his shoulder, “Climb on!”
In the next instant he had turned into his dragon self. Rabel called to Ellen who turned, spotted the dragon, and raced back happily to throw herself on his back. Rabel climbed aboard more leisurely.
“What are you doing?” Queen Diam shouted as strong dragon wings lifted the three up to the sky.
“We’re saving our friend!” Ellen called back down, waving a hand toward the fort.
Diam fumed and turned expectantly to Granno.
“Do we help them or leave them to their own devices?” the older Zwerg asked.
Diam scowled, shaking her head. “We help them. Hamo Beck was in that fort.” She started trudging after the vanishing dragon toward the ruins below.
They didn’t walk far. The dragon dropped his companions at the edge of the rubble and returned to the Zwerg, changing quickly back to his human form.
“If it please your majesty, I shall be honored to convey you hence,” Jarin said, gesturing to the ruins.
“We’re going to ride a dragon!” Lissy shrieked, clapping her hands together with joy. Imay, the older, looked at her mother hopefully.
Diam smiled down at her two daughters. “Yes, we’re going to ride a dragon,” she agreed. She turned to glance up at the tall youth. “We won’t be too heavy for you?”
Jarin jerked his head up and laughed. “You’re little!”
“We weigh a lot,” Granno warned. “And you’re exhausted, no doubt, from your efforts last night.”
“Climb on,” Jarin said, turning and jumping back into his dragon form, craning his now long neck back toward them, his red eyes gleaming humorously.
“I’ll help the children up first, if it please your majesty,” Granno offered.
“It does not,” Diam said haughtily, raising her arms up and gesturing for him to lift her to the dragon’s side. “I’ll not have my daughters in danger before me.”
Granno grunted in agreement and deftly hauled the small queen onto the dragon’s back. Diam found a good perch and turned back to her daughters, gesturing with her hand. Granno lifted first Imay and then Lissy who both clambered forward and joined their mother at the dragon’s neck. Granno looked at the three and his brow creased. “There’s no more room!”
Jarin roared loudly and leapt up into the air, turning back swiftly in one tail length before reaching down and grabbing a much-surprised Granno with his front talons.
“Granno,” Diam said, looking down to her surprised general, “even I know it’s never wise to taunt a dragon.”
“So I see,” Granno said, glancing over his shoulder to the ground disappearing below them and then, hastily, back up to his queen and her daughters a-dragonback.
#
“Sir, sir!” Tortis Borkin cried, pointing up to the sky behind him. “It’s a dragon!”
Captain Nevins, formerly of the airship Warrior, before that of the naval ship of the same name, paused in his slow trudge westward to crane his neck up to the sky.
“Probably the same one that burnt us out of the sky,” Nevins said grimly, turning back to trudge onward.
“But — but — sir!” Tortis wailed.
�
��If it wants to burn us, or eat us, it will,” Nevins said, moving one foot in front of the other with grim determination. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“It’s landing by the ruins of the fort,” Tortis said a moment later. “And now it’s going up again.” A moment later, he added, “And landing.” By his voice, Nevins could tell that the apprentice mage had stopped his forward movement to watch the dragon. “What’s it picking up?” Tortis said to himself. “Children?”
Intrigued, Nevins turned back and saw that Tortis was a good twenty yards behind him. Nevins pulled out the telescope he’d somehow kept from breaking during their hellish descent and trained it on the dragon.
“Those are Zwergs,” Nevins said, surprised, when he fixed the dragon in his sight.
“Zwergs?”
“One of the earth children,” Nevins said. “Never thought I’d see them in daylight. Rumor says they don’t like it much.” He pursed his lips. “Good with metal.” He trained the telescope back to where the dragon had picked up its passengers. “There are tales told that they have mountains of gold and jewels.”
“And how can we carry such things?” Borkis grumbled.
“In an airship,” Nevins said.
“If one had an airship,” Borkis said.
“And a mage powerful enough to lift the weight,” Nevins said. He started back to the mage, reaching him just as the dragon landed and disappeared from view. He clapped Borkis on the shoulder. “I happen to be in the presence of just such a person,” he told the tired teen. He cocked his head and said, “How would you like to get very rich?”
Tortis Borkin met his look with wide eyes which narrowed quickly in thought. Slowly he nodded. “I’d like that very much,” he said. “I’d like it a great deal.”
Nevins waved a hand to the ruined fort. “It’s not going anywhere for a while. So we’ll know where to go looking for the gold. And we know where to get dragon’s steel —” he pointed to the glinting long thin strips of steel — “that can be used to make most excellent steam engines.”
Borkin’s eyes widened once more and then he gulped as Nevins used his grip to turn the mage around.
“For the moment, we must report to the king,” Nevins said. “He’ll be most happy to hear that his plans are progressing.” He tightened his grip on the mage. “And he’ll be very happy with the way you learned how to lift his airships so much better than that ass Tirpin.”
“I can teach others, too,” Borkin said. “I know some promising lads —”
“Good,” Nevins broke in. “But for the moment, let us concentrate on getting out of here alive, shall we?”
Chapter Two
“Sir, sir, two men approaching!” a private roared out from the edge of the encampment.
Brigadier General Diggory Filbert emerged from his tent and turned toward the sound
. “On foot or on horse?”
“On foot, sir,” the private replied, unaware of the rank of his questioner as the private was dutifully still staring out from the edge of their camp.
“Captain of the guard!” Filbert called.
“Sir!”
“Have them searched and brought to my tent,” Filbert ordered. “Damned extraordinary,” he muttered to himself, stepping back out of the night.
“Sir?” Gibbons, his man servant asked, scuttling anxiously toward him.
“You’re no use!” Filbert swore, flashing a hand toward the man and whacking him soundly on the head. “Have something warm brought in and get my officers assembled. We’ve plans to make.”
“Sir!” Gibbons replied, beetling out of the tent and carefully not rubbing his wounded head until safely out of sight.
Filbert swore again to the empty tent. “What a way to run a war, what?”
His father was well up in the king’s favor. Filbert had earned his rank — paid for with two chests of gold — and he was looking to earn higher whenever his father could gain more gold. This ordering of troops and marching off to war was something he hadn’t counted on, even less being sent out on his own to lead “the all-important eastward flank of our pincer movement” — as General Tashigg had told him. Tashigg! Where was the man? He was supposed to be coming up with the rest of the troops, the two other brigades and the heavy guns of the rest of the Second Division but all Filbert had seen arrive in the past day or so was the last of his troops — and then the trains had stopped. Something about needing them for the seaward forces.
“Just wait until Walpish tells you it’s clear, then march your troops through the pass,” Tashigg had ordered him.
Walpish! Some effete horseman wandering about with cavalry.
“If there’s any problem, the airships will help you,” Tashigg had concluded. “They’ll be your eyes in the sky and their guns will drive the enemy before you!”
Well, Filbert had not seen any of these blasted airships everyone keep blathering about. They could hardly help if they weren’t —
His tent rustled and he turned toward the intrusion.
The captain of the guard, Welless, nodded and gestured to two travel-stained men who preceded him.
“You asked to see these men, sir,” Welless said, following in behind them.
“Where’s the guard?” Filbert demanded. Gods! Didn’t the fool know he was supposed to guard his general? What did the man think Captain of the Guard meant, anyway?
“They’re our men, sir,” Welless replied.
“Spies?” Filbert rasped. “They’re certainly not in any uniform I recognize!”
“I am Captain Ismael Nevins, of his majesty’s royal airship Warrior,” the first man said, bowing slightly.
Filbert waved a hand at him. “Never heard of you!” A moment later, he added, “You’ve come to report, have you? Did Walpish send you?”
Nevins shook his head. “I just arrived.”
“What?” Filbert growled in alarm. “I thought your ship was faster.” He added, as the thought came to him, “And weren’t you supposed to destroy a fort or something?”
“The East Pass Fort,” Nevins said in agreement. “And we did.”
“Good!” Filbert grunted. “That’s something, then.” He pursed his lips. “What about Walpish? Is the pass clear? Are you going to lead us?”
“The fort is destroyed, I’ve no doubt that the pass is clear,” Nevins said, his eyes flashing. “I’m here to get transport back to the king. He’ll want to hear from me.”
“Transport?” Filbert repeated. “Isn’t an airship transport? Like a boat but out of water?” His eyes popped as he barked a laugh at his own jest. His laughter died down when he realized that no one else had joined him. Sour lot.
“Our airships were destroyed,” the other man spoke up. “The fort shot one down and the dragon destroyed the other.”
“I thought you were going to fly above the fort,” Captain Welless said diffidently.
“The fort flew above us!” the man replied.
“And you are?” Captain Welless demanded.
“Tortis Borkin, mage,” Nevins said. “And the reason we survived.”
“A fort flew?” Filbert said.
“Floated, actually,” Borkin replied. Filbert arched an eyebrow menacingly at the man for his lack of manners but the other seemed unable to notice. “I’m thinking they might have used magnets — huge magnets —”
“Enough,” Nevins said. He turned to the General. “We must get back to the king. We’ll need more airships here and he’ll want our knowledge.”
“Well, I certainly have no use for you,” Filbert allowed with an airy wave of his hand. “A captain without a ship is not much of a captain, if you ask me.”
Captain Nevins gave him a hard, cold look, his fists clenched to his sides. “If you’ll get us some horses and let us know where to meet the next train —”
�
�Train!” Filbert barked. “My good man, there’ll be no more trains for the next week or so I’m told!”
“No trains?” the mage Borkis squeaked. He turned to Nevins and then back to the General. “Horses?”
“You’d have to get them off Walpish,” Filbert replied, waving them off. “I’ve only got my string here and I’m not letting you have one of them.” The mere thought of having one of these men on one of his mares!
“I’ve always liked horses,” Nevins said politely. “How many did you bring for the campaign, sir?”
“None of your damned business, sir!” Filbert replied heatedly. “It’s hard enough finding them bedding, let alone fodder, out here.”
“I’m sure,” Nevins said, his expression thoughtful. He turned to Borkis. “Well, we must see if we can’t find another way, come along, mage.”
Filbert followed their departure with his eyes and then snorted. “Really! These air people are no better than the sea people they replaced!”
“Sir,” Captain Welless said in half-hearted agreement.
Filbert recoiled as though seeing him for the first time. “What are you still doing here? Get out and get back to your duty!”
With a swift salute, the captain turned and left.
“And call for my man! I’m hungry!” Filbert shouted after him.
#
“What are we going to do now, sir?” Borkis asked when they were out of earshot of the General’s tent.
“I’m going to get some food,” Nevins said, turning his nose up to the air and sniffing. He brightened and pointed the direction. “It’s cooking over there.”
“And then?”
“A horse seems in order,” Nevins allowed.
“A horse, sir?” Borkis squeaked. “But —”
“Mountains of gold, Tortin, mountains of gold,” Nevins said, walking briskly toward the smell of stewing beef. “Always keep that in your mind and you’ll not go wrong when tasked with a decision.”
“Mountains of —”
Nevins shot a hand behind him, palm up. “Best not mention that too loudly.”
#
Twin Soul Series Omnibus 2: Books 6-10 Page 23
