by Ben Chandler
Lenis kept his eyes locked with his twin’s, but he nodded again. ‘I’ve made some modifications to the engines. I think I can almost double our current top speed.’
‘Very well, please do so. We must reach the city of Fronge as soon as possible.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Lenis was still looking at Missy. He nudged his chin towards the Quillblade. It was lying in her lap but was still in its sword form.
Missy lowered her gaze and took her hand from the hilt. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the Quillblade turned back into a golden feather. ‘Please hurry, little brother.’
Lenis turned to go. ‘Just make sure everyone holds onto something.’
He ran down to the engine room, satisfied his sister would not attempt to summon Raikō again. He understood her desire to do so, to turn the Thunder Bird on Karasu and his men, but unleashing a Demon Lord on Fronge wouldn’t help the people there, even if the Clemens twins were able to harness his power as they had done in their battle with the Demon King. They could end up causing more damage than they prevented.
Fortunately, the Hiryū had other weapons at its disposal. Most of the crewmembers were warriors, and the airship had its cannon, but none of them would do any good if they didn’t reach Fronge soon. The alterations Lenis had made to the engines were designed to increase its speed exponentially. Ever since he had discovered he could successfully channel the energy of two Bestia through the machinery almost simultaneously, an idea had been maturing at the back of his mind. The months spent in Nochi had given him the opportunity to put that idea into practice.
As he moved into the engine room, Lenis scooped up Ignis. The flame Bestia licked Lenis’s chin as he carried him over to the remodelled engine block. Originally there had only been one hatch and one engine block. Now there were two. Aeris was already in the left compartment, channelling pressurised air through the airship and its wing balloons. The pressurised air system was a relatively new design that had many advantages over the old combustion engines, as they required less power from the Bestia running them and could maintain flight for far longer periods. For raw power, though, the combustion system was far superior, but so much of its energy was needed to maintain air density in the wing balloons that it was simply too inefficient to be practical.
Lenis had worked out a way to combine the two systems. By carefully controlling the flow of energies through the engines, he could use pressurised air to maintain their altitude and combustion to propel them forwards. At least, that was the theory. There were risks involved. It wouldn’t take long for Ignis’s power to heat the machines to a point where Aeris’s energy would combust. Mixing pressurised air with extreme heat could easily blow the engines apart, along with the rest of the airship, but for a short period Lenis could increase the engines’ output, essentially doubling the Hiryū’s speed without seriously endangering his Bestia.
Lenis pulled open the right hatch and placed a squirming Ignis inside. The Bestia immediately started preparing itself for the process of channelling its power into the machines. Lenis worked quickly, making several minuscule adjustments to the dozens of new levers he’d had to install to maintain precise control of the twin channels of Bestia power. If he were off by even a fraction, the whole thing would literally blow up in his face, and the survivors of Fronge would be fed to the fires of their town.
Taking a deep breath, Lenis closed the hatch and took a hold of the second ignition lever. He grabbed the speech tube with his other hand and shouted into it, ‘Hold on!’
He pulled the lever. For two heartbeats, nothing happened. Lenis was just about to recheck the engines’ settings when they roared into overdrive. Heat flared up from the machinery, but Lenis had anticipated that and had reinforced the insulation of the whole engine block during the overhaul. He was just about to congratulate himself when the Hiryū surged forwards, throwing him against the back wall of the engine room.
Missy was pushed back into her chair as the airship leapt forwards. She heard Shin swear from her post at the tiller. The Hiryū veered wildly out of control as the helmswoman lost her grip. For a moment Missy was convinced they were going to crash into the mountainside, but then Shin got the tiller under control and they swept smoothly by it, their port wing balloon sending up a great spray of snow as it brushed the shoulder of the mountain.
Missy heard a scream and looked down on the deck. Everyone had secured themselves at Lenis’s warning, even Andrea up in her crow’s nest, but Shujinko either hadn’t heard or hadn’t taken her brother seriously. The cabin boy was sprawled out on the deck, crying for help as the force of their flight dragged him aft. She saw he was in no immediate danger. As long as Shin held them steady, the worst that could happen to him would be falling down the stairs leading below decks. Shujinko obviously didn’t realise that, though. He kept screaming and scrabbling for a handhold. Missy had to remind herself that this was the first time the Hiryū’s new cabin boy had ever flown on an airship.
She was considering getting up and giving him a hand when they suddenly plunged into the smoke coming from Fronge.
‘I can’t see anything,’ Shin croaked from the tiller.
The smoke quickly filled the bridge. Missy started coughing along with everyone else, but she was the only one who could guide them now. She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and detached her spirit-self from her body. Its wracking cough soon faded into the background as she rushed on through the smoke, once more into the smouldering town of Fronge.
They had come farther and faster than she had thought possible. Whatever Lenis had done to the engines had more than doubled their speed. Missy made her way quickly to the square. The number of townsfolk had diminished greatly, she noticed with a pang of guilt. However fast they were going, it wasn’t fast enough. She brought herself back to her body. The old records keeper, Kami Tenjin, was kneeling next to her, shaking her shoulder.
‘What is it?’ Missy asked through a hoarse throat.
Tenjin was visibly relieved. ‘I thought you had lost consciousness.’
He pulled her down to the floor, where the smoke wasn’t quite so thick. She tried to get her breath back. Missy couldn’t see anything beyond a couple of feet, much less out of the crystal dome. The smoke was too thick.
‘We’re almost through,’ Arthur called from the direction of the bridge’s entryway.
‘Mister Clemens,’ Missy heard the captain call from somewhere on the hazy bridge, ‘please reduce our speed.’
A moment later the engines groaned and the Hiryū slowed. Missy and Tenjin were thrown forwards, their momentum sending them crashing into the back of Arthur’s legs. All three fell down the stairs to the deck, landing in a pile on top of Shujinko as Tenjin cried out.
‘Lord Tenjin!’ Arthur called.
Missy righted herself. Tenjin remained sprawled on the deck, clutching his leg. Missy crawled over to him and touched his shoulder. ‘Are you all right, Lord Tenjin?’
He looked up at her, soot turning the creases in his face into dark lines. ‘I believe I have hurt my ankle, Miss Clemens.’
‘Come on,’ she said, pulling one of his arms around her neck, ‘I’ll help you to the doctor.’
Shujinko took the old man’s other arm. ‘I will take him.’
The cabin boy looked pale but composed. His thoughts were awhirl. Missy didn’t have the patience to sort through them. She left Tenjin in his care and ran over to the railing. It was easier to see out here on the deck now that they had passed through the smoke. The sky behind them was black with it still, but they were now upwind of it. Missy took a moment to orient herself.
‘We’ve overshot the town,’ she said to Arthur and then followed him back to the bridge. ‘We have to come about. The square is near this end of Fronge.’
Arthur nodded. The bridge was still filled with smoke. The first officer relayed the order and the Hiryū came about. A moment later they began to descend. Missy’s throat felt raw, and tears were pushing against her resolve to hold them bac
k. How many people had died while they raced to Fronge? Was there even anyone left to save? And what would have happened if they hadn’t been passing at this exact moment?
The Hiryū landed with a familiar thud that shook the entire vessel. Missy followed the others out to the deck. Looking over the fore railing she could just make out the top of the wall surrounding Fronge and the black smoke rising from behind it.
‘Missy!’ Lenis had come up on deck. He had two of his Bestia with him – Aqua, who had an affinity for water, and Atrum, the Bestia of darkness.
‘Lenis!’
Missy grabbed her brother’s hand just as the captain started giving orders. ‘Our first concern must be the safety of the people of Fronge.’ As Missy looked around at her fellow crewmembers, she saw each of them nod, their faces grim in their determination. All of them had gathered to hear the captain’s orders. With the exception of Tenjin, they would all be going into Fronge. ‘Princess Anastasis, would you mind opening the gate?’
The Ostian princess remained unmoved by what was happening in the town. Missy knew she didn’t care about the people dying behind the walls because she couldn’t. She had given too much of herself to Disma, the Lilim she was bonded to. Disma was sitting on Anastasis’s shoulder, whispering into her ear, flapping her wings and twitching her tail.
Without warning the princess leapt over the railing, apparently spurred into action by whatever Disma had been saying to her. Anastasis held her giant hammer above her head and swung it down as she landed in front of the walls. Her weapon hit the wooden portion of the metal-bound gates and a dull boom echoed along the length of the wall, sending the Hiryū’s deck shaking.
Missy held her breath and squeezed Lenis’s hand tighter. Every moment they delayed, another person was consigned to the flames. She looked up into her brother’s face. He was pale; no doubt his empathic abilities were being overwhelmed by the terror and grief of the townspeople behind the wall. Aqua was pressed up against his leg, and Atrum was nestled in the crook of his arm. The blind, black-furred Bestia had wrapped his tail around her brother’s neck, but Lenis gave no sign that he even noticed. Missy shook his hand and he shivered, coming back to himself.
‘The princess got their attention,’ he said to her and smiled, a bare lifting of the corners of his mouth. ‘They’ve stopped.’
Missy didn’t need to ask what they had stopped doing. She knew all too well.
Anastasis lifted her hammer and brought it down again, fracturing the wood within the metal bindings of the gate. Still, it held. She struck again and again, showing no signs of restraint or tiring. Missy could see the muscles in the princess’s neck and arms straining every time she lifted her mallet, but her face remained immobile, as though it cost her no effort at all. Each time her hammer connected with the gate, the wood and bindings gave a little more. Missy had seen the devastation Anastasis could inflict with her mallet before, back in the prison of Asheim. Then she had used her barrel-sized hammer to smash through the doors of the crewmembers’ cells in a single blow, and later she had helped fight off Lord Butin’s Demon, Nue. The gates of Fronge were proving resilient, but finally, with a sharp snap that tore through the crackling of the fires and the rushing of the wind, the gates split open.
Lenis held Missy back as the others poured through the gate. He was looking at her oddly, and it took her a moment to realise he was trying to tell her something.
Wait, she sent the thought into his mind. What was that?
Let the others handle Karasu, he replied.
But –
We need to get the stones.
What?
Her brother went on, perfectly calm, You and I are going to find Karasu’s airship. It must be somewhere in the square. We’ve got to sneak on board and find the stones of ebb and flow. This might be the only chance we get.
Missy felt her knees suddenly weaken. Her hand moved involuntarily towards the Quillblade inside her robe. If she could only touch it, the shintai would absorb her fear and allow her to think clearly. Lenis squeezed her other hand hard. She let her free hand drop.
Don’t, Lenis’s thought cracked through her mind. We have to be quiet if we’re going to sneak on board their airship.
Missy didn’t know what to do. She felt paralysed. She’d been so desperate to get to Fronge so she could help the townspeople, but Lenis’s plan made sense. He hadn’t lost sight of their true mission. They had thought it would take months to track down Karasu, and now here he was. He had the stones they needed to unlock Suiteki’s power so she would be a match for Ishullanu the Demon King. They had to take this chance, but where would that leave the people of Fronge? Missy firmed her resolve and put her trust in her crewmates. They could take care of Karasu. It seemed impossible that they had just stumbled upon him like this. What were the chances it would happen again? She and Lenis had to try and steal the stones of ebb and flow from him.
How are we going to sneak on board? she asked.
In answer, Lenis dropped her hand and reached up to stroke Atrum’s fur. The colour returned to his cheeks. A genuine smile appeared on his face. It was a familiar look, and it told Missy that her little brother was planning some crazy stunt. She found herself mirroring his grin.
Lenis pulled his sister behind him and edged up to the shattered remains of Fronge’s gates, doing his best to ignore the townspeople’s fear. An undercurrent of tension thrummed through him. He could imagine the crew of the Hiryū facing Karasu’s warriors in the square, each eyeing the other, seeking an advantage. He just hoped the others could distract the Shinzōn mercenary long enough for him and his sister to reach Karasu’s airship, sneak aboard, and steal the stones of ebb and flow. This could well be their last chance to get them.
He risked a peek around the splintered wood of the gates. As he had imagined, the crew were facing off against Karasu’s warriors. The two groups were almost evenly matched, but behind them about fifty townspeople huddled together, surrounded by even more of Karasu’s men. The flames of the town had died down, the glowing embers of a deeper heat barely masked by the blackened timbers and stone of Fronge. Lenis could feel it, even from all the way across the square. If the captors left their charges, Karasu would have the advantage, but then the townspeople would be free. They had no weapons, but perhaps given the opportunity they would help the Hiryū’s crew fight off their tormentors.
Lenis poked his sister in the ribs. Missy, I want you to hang onto my hand, he thought, and she nodded. No matter what happens. Atrum is going to cloak us, just like he did the Hiryū back in Itsū when we escaped the Warlord’s forces. It should work, but we have to maintain physical contact … I think. He felt her uncertainty and was grateful she trusted him enough not to raise any objections. But I also need you to listen to what is going on with the others. Lenis felt his own excitement building as he outlined his plan. Somehow communicating it to his sister made it seem like more of an adventure, a stunt like the ones they used to pull back when they were slaves in Pure Land, and less of a reckless and desperate plan upon which so much depended. If Karasu tries to return to his airship, we need to know about it.
Missy nodded again and squeezed his hand. He could sense her nervousness and also her desire to draw the Quillblade. For a moment he considered suggesting she do just that. He needed her clear-headed, but he pushed the notion out of his head before it formed into a thought she would notice. Instead, he wrapped her in a portion of his own exhilaration and anticipation, and saw her square her shoulders in response.
He took a deep breath and bent his head down to speak softly into Atrum’s ear. It came out just above a whisper, though there was no way any of those gathered in the square could have heard him, ‘Now, Atrum.’
The Bestia’s tail tightened around Lenis’s shoulders and his blind eyes closed. Nothing happened. At least, not that Lenis could see. He could feel Atrum’s power at work, though, and knew he was doing whatever he did to make them invisible. Lenis looked at Missy, who dropped his
hand for a moment, gasped, and then groped around as though she couldn’t see it.
He grabbed her hand instead. Looks like it worked.
I couldn’t see you at all! Not even your shadow!
But you can see me when we’re touching?
Missy nodded.
Lenis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Let’s hope that means we’re invisible to everyone who isn’t touching us.
He took another breath and held it before stepping into the gap in the gates. No one seemed to notice them. He pulled his sister after him and hurried across the square, angling away from the others. Still nothing. It worked! Atrum had made them invisible.
He turned his attention to other matters. What’s going on, Missy?
Sorry. There was a pause. Captain Shishi is talking with Karasu.
Missy stumbled and Lenis instinctively tightened his grip on her fingers. Are you all right?
Missy nodded. It’s hard to listen in and walk at the same time. I’ll be all right. Can you see Karasu’s airship?
This way. Just take one step at a time.
Now that they were behind the walls, Lenis could see Karasu’s airship to the north of the square, well away from the crouching villagers and the fires that had all but destroyed Fronge. There were two guards standing by the ropes leading up to the airship’s deck, but their attention was fixed firmly on what was happening in the southern end of the square, their hands wrapped around their swords’ hilts. Lenis glanced towards the gathering. His crewmates were arrayed against Karasu’s men, but he couldn’t hear anything that was being said above the wind and the noises coming from the dying town.
Lenis shook Missy’s hand. What are they saying?
Karasu is talking …
As Missy communicated the conversation in the square, Lenis led them towards the mercenary’s airship, slowly, so his sister wouldn’t trip again. She staggered along behind him as though she were half asleep.
‘How is it you have come to be here, Captain Shishi?’ Karasu asked.
