by Drew Wagar
‘She does,’ Zoella wailed. ‘She’s tried to push into my mind, I manage to stop her but …’
‘She knows we were heading for the Obelisk,’ Coran added.
Kiri thought about that for a moment.
‘Then she’ll be after you,’ Kiri said. ‘But we can use that.’
‘They’ll come for you,’ Coran said looking at Zoella, before he looked over at Fitch. ‘And then you get your shot.’
‘Can you stop them addling our brains before I can put a hole in them?’ Fitch asked.
Kiri nodded. ‘Such a strike can be blocked … our cousin Liana did such a thing to me when I attacked Viresia.’
‘I remember it,’ Zoella said. ‘I was standing next to her.’
‘And Merrin won’t fight in the battle,’ Kiri said.’ She’ll be left at home to guard Daine. It will be Nerina and Rihanna versus …’
‘You and Zoella,’ Meru whispered.
Silence fell about them, punctuated only by the wind whistling through the masts of the Mobilis and the slap of water against the ship’s hull.
‘Well,’ Fitch said, after a moment. ‘It’s a plan. Not sure it’s a great plan, but it’s better than sitting around waiting to have your brain squished. We can work the details out as we go.’
‘I think it’s the right place too,’ Zoella said. ‘Viresia.’
‘What do you mean?’ Mel asked.
‘Kiri and I are princesses of Scallia,’ Zoella answered. ‘We are descended from a royal line of rulers from that city. If our home is anywhere, that’s where it is. Seems right that we should make a stand there.’
Coran nodded. ‘I like it. And I agree, it feels right. How many priestesses do you think there will be stationed there, Kiri?’
Kiri shrugged. ‘Ten perhaps, maybe fifteen. It depends on whether Nerina needs them elsewhere or not.’
‘Still quite a few,’ Fitch said.
‘We’ll be able to overpower them,’ Kiri said.
‘Only if they don’t know we’re coming,’ Mel said. ‘Which means a sneak attack. If the word gets out then the priestesses will arrive in force before we’re prepared.’
‘I can get us in,’ Zoella said. ‘I stayed there for several passes. I know my way in and around the city. There are lots of ways, most of the city isn’t used.’
‘And will the citizens of Viresia welcome us?’ Fitch asked. ‘They’ve already had their share of fire and death, this likely means more of it.’
The conversation paused. The crew looked around at the smoke billowing about them, the dark clouds hanging heavy in the sky around the Obelisk tower.
‘Scallia is a proud kingdom,’ Zoella said. ‘If there is a way for them to defeat the priestesses, they will take it. They had great affection for their kings and would prefer to be ruled by their own. But it will be the lords we have to convince.’
‘And how do we prove that you two are the princesses you claim to be?’ Fitch asked. ‘Neither of you exactly look the part, do you?’
Kiri looked at Zoella, who looked downcast. ‘There isn’t a way to prove it,’ Zoella said. ‘Guerrun is dead … they’re all dead. Anyone who knew the truth is gone. I saw the family tree in the throne room …’
Kiri nodded. ‘I did too … our names weren’t on it. Guerrun made sure he hid our identities so we wouldn’t be found. That proof died with him.’
‘Your powers won’t be in question,’ Coran said. ‘That will have to be proof enough.’
‘This plan is still pretty sketchy,’ Fitch said. ‘I’m hearing a lot of ifs and buts.’
‘There must be some records of Myana in Viresia,’ Meru said. ‘Something, surely?’
Zoella shrugged. ‘Ioric only told me that he lost her when he was young, that his father knew something about it but never told him. But King Marek died before the priestesses attacked.’
‘So there is no guarantee your people are going to believe your claim,’ Fitch said looking at Zoella, before gesturing at Kiri. ‘But I daresay they’ll remember you setting fire to everything.’
Kiri gave Fitch a pointed stare, but didn’t say anything.
‘We could do with someone on the inside,’ Coran said. ‘Someone we could trust … someone who could tell us what’s going on there.’
Zoella sighed. ‘There’s no one left that we could contact,’ she said. ‘And if we tried to find someone the chances are the priestesses would sense us.’
‘And we lose our surprise,’ Coran muttered. ‘Still, I don’t see much choice. Gaining a foothold in Viresia still seems our best option. Let’s work back from there. First we need to get out of here in one piece. Mel, how’s the Mobilis?’
Mel leant forward. ‘She’s still battered, but we’ll keep patching her up as best we can. I’d rather not take her through the storm again, but it doesn’t look like we have much choice.’
Coran nodded. ‘No, not really.’
‘Viresia is inland though,’ Meru said. ‘The Mobilis won’t help with that.’
‘No, we’re going to need the flying machines again,’ Coran said.
‘I don’t think the big one here will work any time soon,’ Meru said. ‘But there are four smaller ones according to the status report we got from the Obelisk.’
‘Flying through that storm again?’ Kiri asked, with a shiver. ‘Really?’
Now it was Meru’s turn to shrug.
‘I don’t think that’s advisable,’ Coran said. ‘But I’ve got an idea. What if we lash one of the flying machines to the Mobilis? Once we’re out the other side of the storm, we can fly it inland. Daf and Creg will mind the ship anyway, so that leaves five of us to head to Viresia.’
Meru and Fitch looked towards the rear of the ship, gauging space and judging angles.
‘Might work,’ Meru said, as Fitch nodded. ‘Assuming we can tie it down properly.’
‘What about Amar?’ Mel asked.
‘Once we’re clear of the storm we should be able to reach them on the radio,’ Coran said. ‘We can get them to send as many people as they can spare to Viresia, along with the flying machines there – those that are fixed anyway.’
‘Then where?’ Fitch asked.
‘Meru go grab the map,’ Coran instructed.
Meru ran off and returned moments later. Coran took the old parchment and gestured for the crew to move back and clear a space on the deck. Then he unrolled it for all to see.
‘Travelling shadeward once we leave the storm, the first port on the coast is Airea,’ Coran said. ‘We passed it on the way here.’
‘That’s where Rihanna is,’ Kiri said. ‘But I don’t think we should go close. We … the priestesses … took it. It belongs to them now.’
‘Got to go past it to get anywhere,’ Mel observed. ‘Or we can sail out of sight of land the whole way.’
‘Might be worth a recce,’ Fitch said. ‘That’s where the fleet that attacked Amar came from. Would be worth knowing what position they’re in.’
‘As long as it’s only a recce,’ Mel said, looking at Coran. ‘We’re only one ship, remember?’
‘No heroics,’ Coran replied. ‘I promise.’
Coran could still see Kiri looked uncomfortable.
‘Kiri?’
‘There will be priestesses stationed in Airea,’ she said. ‘Lots of them I would have thought, guarding the fleet there. If they sense Zoella and me they’ll come for us, especially if Nerina is searching for Zoella.’
‘And we lose our element of surprise,’ Mel said, nodding.
‘But we do need to know whether Amar is in danger of imminent attack,’ Coran said. ‘We can’t pull all of our resources out and send them to Viresia if they’re going to be needed at home.’
Mel and Kiri looked at each other uneasily.
‘We won’t get close,’ Coran added. ‘Just close enough to see what’s going on there.’
Coran looked at Mel and Kiri, both nodded reluctantly.
‘After that, the Mobilis will have to sail
shadeward and sunright around the coast,’ Meru said, jabbing a finger at the map. ‘Might as well drop in on Amar, it’s hardly much of a diversion. Then we have a choice between Dynesia or Serenia as a port.’
‘Serenia is where I grew up,’ Zoella said. ‘It’s a fishing town. I don’t know what they’ll make of us and there’s not much there. No one who can help us, anyway.’
‘Dynesia is abandoned,’ Mel added. ‘But it’s also where Caesar is. We could arrange for the flying machines to be returned to his hangar and be repaired before flying on to Viresia?’
Meru nodded. ‘Yeah, that will work. Then we can all fly from Dynesia to Viresia. The Mobilis will be safe and sound in Caesar’s cavern for when … we’re done.’
‘Seems like we have a plan then,’ Coran said. Everyone nodded.
‘Let’s recap this then,’ Fitch said. ‘We land a flying machine on the Mobilis and hope we don’t get killed attempting that. We sail through the storm and hope we don’t get drowned. We then sneak past Airea hoping we don’t get spotted, attacked and killed by the priestesses. Then we fly into Viresia, take out all the priestesses there without raising the alarm, convince everyone there that another war is exactly what they want, dangle our princesses here in front of the priestesses and hope they take the bait … and then kill the most powerful priestesses in all the land … all without getting killed ourselves. That about the shape of it?’
‘Did you mention not getting killed enough times in there?’ Mel said, with a grin.
‘I figured you’d follow my drift,’ Fitch replied.
‘But you’re right,’ Coran said. ‘The alternative is to go back to Amar and just wait to be invaded again.’
‘And they will invade,’ Kiri said. ‘There’s no doubt about it. Nerina has no choice but to follow Elena’s diktat. Either we stop them or …’
‘They end us,’ Zoella added.
‘And Amar is destroyed,’ Meru said. ‘We’re the only ones who know what our ancestors had in mind for this planet. It’s up to us to honour their memories.’
The crew of the Mobilis sat in silence for long moments, looking at each other.
‘So, there’s plenty of work to do,’ Coran said. ‘Meru, you go get a flying machine and bring it here. Fitch, get all the rifles ready. Mel, you, me, Daf and Creg are patching up the Mobilis.’
‘What about us?’ Kiri asked.
‘You two practice your mental magic,’ Coran said. ‘Attack each other, defend against it, make sure you’re as ready as you can be for whatever the priestesses might throw at you.’
Kiri and Zoella nodded.
‘Any questions?’ Coran asked. There was a quick shaking of heads. ‘Right then, jump to it. Once the Mobilis is ready and the flying machine is in place, we’re casting off.’
He looked around at his crew.
‘It’s time to head shadeward.’
* * *
Meru had been quick in retrieving a flying machine. As far as Coran could tell it was identical to the other small ones he had seen; two seats at the front, with space for between four and six in the rear, depending on how much gear you wanted to drag along with you. Meru had landed it beside the quay and was helping Daf and Creg measure its dimensions so they could figure out how to strap it down on to the rear decks of the Mobilis.
The ship was still listing, canted to one side. To Coran’s eye it also seemed to be a little down by the head. He jumped down through the deck hatch behind the bridge and walked forward, noticing the cracked portholes and water stains on the ceiling and floor.
‘Been through a lot,’ he said, tapping the nearest bulkhead. ‘We’ll get you fixed up after all this is over old girl.’
He could hear a conversation from somewhere up ahead. It wasn’t from the cabins, but further down into the ship. He walked up to another hatch that led down into the hold where Fitch and Meru had taken shelter from the flare. He could make out Fitch and Mel discussing something.
He swung down on to the ladder and stepped down. It was dark, hot and humid inside the hold. As he reached the bottom he stepped into warm water.
‘What …?’
‘Oh you noticed that too,’ Fitch said, sloshing up behind him, holding up a lantern. ‘Got our own swimming pool.’
‘Where’s all this water come from?’ Coran demanded.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Fitch said. ‘Maybe from the sea outside?’
‘Fitch …’
‘There’s a leak,’ Mel’s voice said, from somewhere further into the hull.
‘Then switch the pumps on,’ Coran said.
‘Yeah,’ Fitch said, rolling his eyes. ‘Great idea. Mel, why didn’t we think of that?’
‘The pumps are on,’ Mel retorted, kicking through the water and walking up beside Fitch. ‘Barely keeping ahead of it all.’
‘What’s happened?’ Coran demanded.
‘Damage from the storm and from the battle back at Amar,’ Mel said. ‘Keel is twisted from the ramming, so the exterior plates aren’t sitting right. Mostly likely lost a bunch of rivets. We were on top of the leaks before the storm, but she took a pounding then. Now she’s …’
‘Find the leaks and patch them,’ Coran said.
‘They’re along the keel,’ Mel said. ‘We can’t get to them, not without a dry dock. The storm made the damage from the battle worse.’
‘Let’s have the short version,’ Coran said. ‘What are we saying here?’
Mel wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘If we go through the storm there’s a good chance we’ll get a leak that’s more than the pumps can cope with.’
‘How much of a chance?’
‘I don’t know,’ Mel said, exasperated. ‘But if we had a choice I’d say we don’t go. She’s been bashed about hard, she’s old. She doesn’t deserve this treatment.’
‘Mel, we don’t have a choice … we can’t stay here.’
‘I know,’ Mel replied. ‘But …’
‘But what?’
‘Coran,’ Mel said. ‘The water is already uncomfortably close to the batteries. If one of those plates comes completely loose in those seas …’
There was an uncomfortable silence.
‘Maybe we can caulk the worst of the holes with tar,’ Fitch said.
‘We’re going to have to do something,’ Mel said, heaving a deep sigh.
‘How long will it take? Coran demanded.
Mel glared at him and raised her hands in the air without saying anything.
‘Do what you can,’ Coran said, climbing on to the ladder. ‘Once that flying machine is aboard, we’re leaving.’
Coran stomped on to the deck of the Mobilis. To the aft, Daf, Creg and Meru were working on securing several lengths of rope to the cleats on each side of the deck.
‘How are you doing?’ he yelled.
Meru gave him a thumps up, but didn’t answer. It seemed they were making progress.
Coran looked over to the quay.
Zoella and Kiri were standing about fifty hands apart, facing each other with arms outstretched. Both had their eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating hard. He watched them for a few moments wondering what trick they were practising. Whatever it was they seemed well matched. He was about to head down towards Meru when he heard a gasp.
Kiri had fallen to her knees, holding her hand against her forehead. Zoella was running towards her.
‘Kiri?’ she cried.
Kiri had slumped to the ground. Coran jumped across to the quayside and sprinted up behind Zoella.
‘You alright?’ he called. ‘What happened?’
‘It can’t be …’ Kiri said, blinking as Zoella pulled her upright. ‘She told me they’d killed her …’
‘Kiri?’ Zoella said. ‘You’re not making sense. Did I push too hard?’
Meru ran up and joined them, having seen the commotion from the Mobilis.
‘What happened?’
Kiri looked up at all of them. She shook her head.
&nb
sp; ‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t that, not your fault. My mind wandered, I was thinking of Scallia … and then … I just heard someone, someone I thought was dead.’
‘Dead?’ Coran said. ‘Who?’
‘A girl I rescued in Drayden,’ Kiri said. ‘I was supposed to tear her, take her powers, but I smuggled her out and got her to the border with Scallia. Nerina and Rihanna told me they’d found and killed her … but she’s alive!’
‘Who is she?’ Zoella demanded.
‘She is called Gemma,’ Kiri said. ‘One of the tribute girls taken from Scallia in the last tithe.’
‘Where is she?’ Meru asked.
Kiri looked up.
‘She escaped,’ Kiri said. ‘She’s in Viresia!’
‘Slow down,’ Coran said. ‘Tribute girls?’
‘One of the girls that was sent from Scallia to Drayden,’ Zoella said. ‘The tithe was due every five rounds. Prince Torin of Viresia took the last one just before I arrived there. I remember Ioric talking about it.’
‘There were twenty,’ Kiri said. ‘They were brought into the temple. Every one of them was torn except her. I got Gemma to pretend I’d torn her. I found her later and flew her to the border with Scallia. I couldn’t go any further as I had to get back, I’d have been missed. Nerina and Rihanna told me that they’d found her and killed her, but she must have escaped somehow.’
‘And she’s in Viresia?’ Coran asked. ‘Right now?’
Kiri nodded.
‘We could ask her what’s happening there!’ Meru said.
‘Wait a moment,’ Coran said. ‘Can we trust her?’
‘She’s a high born girl of Scallia,’ Zoella said. ‘She would have lived in the city her whole life.’
‘Just seems mighty convenient, that’s all,’ Coran said.
‘Or exactly what we need,’ Meru countered. ‘We could ask her how many priestesses there are, what they’re doing. What the lords are thinking … co-ordinate things …’
‘She can’t lie to me through the link,’ Kiri said. ‘That’s not how it works. Any deception has a taint to it, I’ll know.’
Zoella nodded in agreement.
‘Ask her then,’ Coran said.
Kiri took a deep breath and closed her eyes. They all saw her frown in concentration.
