Steel and Stone: A Novel in the Alastair Stone Chronicles

by R. L. King

  “But can we trust Jeritha?” Kira sat at one end of the table, her fists clenched. “The Travelers don’t like us any more than they like the Talented.”

  “That’s not true,” Errin said. “I’ve talked to Trevor about it. They don’t hate us—they hate technology. They’re afraid we’ll all stumble around and start another war, and this time it will wipe them all out along with us.”

  “What’s the difference?” Kira demanded. “Either way, she wants us to put ourselves completely at her mercy.” She shuddered. “If anything went wrong—if she betrayed us—we’d never make it out of there alive.”

  Stone was pacing. “Let’s think a moment,” he said. “Are there any other ways we can do this? You said it would be difficult to get there if we took a teleporter to another city. How difficult?”

  “Nearly impossible,” Kira said. “We have agents in the other cities, but nobody who could get us the kind of documentation we’d need to get into Sholandre or one of the other floating cities. That kind of identification is magic-based—it’s not something that can be forged by non-mages, or even most mages. And without it, we can’t get near the teleporters.”

  When Stone started to say something, she held up her hand. “That’s the easy part. Even if we did manage to get to one of the other floating cities, travel between them is heavily regulated. Even most of the mages can’t get permission to do it—and even those who do are almost all restricted to bounded public areas.” She sighed. “The mage houses aren’t at war anymore, but that doesn’t mean they trust each other. They’re always sending agents into other cities to gather intelligence—mostly to make sure nobody is violating the treaties preventing the creation of any more war spells or weapons.”

  “So it’s a cold war,” Stone said. When both Kira and Errin looked at him questioningly, he waved it off. “Never mind. The point is, it sounds like that angle is more trouble than we have time for. But even if we can make it to Drendell, how will we get to Temolan if we don’t have this special magical authorization you mentioned?”

  “Olystriar can help us with that. That’s why it’s so important that we don’t compromise his cover—Temolan is the only city where we have a Council member on our side. He can do a lot of good from his position, but if he’s caught—” Kira shuddered again.

  “He can get us the credentials we need to get to Temolan,” Errin said. “After that, I assume we’ll mostly be on our own,” she added with a glance toward Kira.

  “He can tell us where they’re holding Trevor,” she said. “He might be able to help us get in, but he said not to count on it.” Her fists clenched again. “He said he was willing to blow his cover if it means getting Trevor out of there, but naturally he’d rather not.”

  “We may have to bring him in if he’s in too much danger.” Errin got up and stared out the window. “Losing such a high-level contact would be a blow, but I don’t want his death on my conscience.”

  “So it sounds like we either trust Jeritha or we’re out of luck,” Stone said.

  “Unfortunately it seems so,” Kira said.

  “Well, then—let’s get on with it. Is there any point in waiting? If Jeritha’s healed up—”

  “There’s one other problem,” Errin said.

  “What?”

  “The airship. I told you—it’s small. We built it mostly as an experiment, to work out some of the problems we’d need to solve before building the larger one. We’ve used it a couple times as a transport to fly injured people back from the distant farms and ranches.”

  “How small?” Stone asked. “How many does it carry?”

  “Three. And even that will be tight.”

  He let his breath out. “And there are four of us. Five, coming back.”

  “If we get Trevor out of there, he can get back on his own if necessary,” Kira said. “But that still leaves four. Jeritha has to come so she can navigate. So which of you two are coming with us?”

  “Hang on,” Stone protested. “Why do you assume it’s you who’s going?”

  “I’m the logical choice,” Kira said. “They’ll need magic.”

  “I’ve got magic. And plenty of it now.”

  Errin raised her hands. “Hold on, you two. This isn’t productive.”

  “We’ll both go, then.” Kira said stubbornly. “I know the way the Talented work better than either of you, but having two mages—”

  “—will mean nothing if the ship develops a mechanical problem halfway across the Wastes,” Errin pointed out. “Remember, we’ve never tested it on a trip this long before. You’ll need me if something goes wrong. Also,” she added before Kira could cut her off, “I’ve been working with Trevor on several anti-magic devices of our own. We might need them to get past some of Temolan’s magical defenses.”

  “I’m not staying behind,” Kira said. She glared at Stone. “I’m sorry, Alastair—no offense intended, but this isn’t even your world. Trevor’s my teacher. He saved my life. I’m not going to trust—”

  “You’re right,” Stone cut her off, glaring right back. “This isn’t my world. And I can’t get back to my world until we get Harrison back. You can’t send me home, can you? If you can, I’ll leave you lot to it and be on my way. But you can’t, can you?”

  Kira didn’t answer.

  “Can you?”

  “No,” she snapped. “I can’t.”

  “Kira…” Errin began, carefully.

  “What is it?”

  “There’s something else you’re not thinking about.”

  “And what’s that?”

  Errin spoke in a firm but diplomatic tone. “With Trevor gone, you’re the only one who’s attuned to the teleporters out of here. If you leave too and something goes wrong, no one here will be able to leave.”

  “We’ll recalibrate them,” Kira insisted.

  “We can do that…but it takes time. We need to get going. And…” she added, even more carefully, “you’re not going to want to hear this, but I’ve seen Alastair in action. He’s stronger magically than you are, and he’s got more experience. I know you want to go—I get that—but we’ve only got one shot at this. We need to take our best chance at success.”

  Kira flung herself out of her chair and stalked to the window.

  Stone checked her aura. She wasn’t even trying to hide her agitation. He remained silent, sensing anything he said at that moment would touch off a growing powderkeg.

  “Kira…” Errin ventured.

  The young mage pounded the window once with her fist, whirled, and let out a loud sigh. “You’re right. I know you are. But I don’t have to like it. Staying here—sitting around waiting for news while somebody else gets things done—that’s not who I am.”

  “I don’t think that’s who any of us are,” Stone said softly. “Believe me, I wish we could all go. But—”

  “Yeah. Okay.” She returned to the table and threw herself back in the chair. “You’d better get ready to go. I’ll get in touch with Olystriar and let him know you’re coming. When should he expect you?”

  Errin stood. “I need to do a quick check of the ship. Assuming we can fly at full speed and don’t run into any problems, it will take around three hours to get to Drendell. We can’t land there, though—we’ll have to set down outside town and hike in.”

  “What if something finds the ship?” Stone asked.

  “They won’t. Nobody ever goes outside the towns, and even if they do, it’s got built-in magical protections to keep the curious away.”

  “Let’s get on with it, then.”

  “Meet me at the workroom in half an hour.” She departed at a jog.

  Alone now with the still-agitated Kira, Stone felt suddenly uncomfortable. “I’d—better get going too,” he said, heading for the door.

  “Alastair.”

  He stopped and turned back. Kira stood behind the table, regarding him with a serious, contemplative look. “Yes?”

  “Get him out. Bring him home.”


  “We’ll do our best. You know that.”

  “I do. But—be careful, too. If they’ve advanced enough that they’ve got something that can take Trevor down, you need to watch out for yourselves. I don’t know what they’re up to, but I don’t like it.”

  He held her gaze for a few more seconds, then nodded. “We’ll be back soon.”

  38

  When Stone showed up with Anzo at the downstairs workroom-hangar, he found Errin already there. “Everything look all right?” he called.

  She was pacing around the sleek, small craft with a clipboard in one hand and some kind of meter in the other. As Stone drew up to her, she stuck the meter in one of her pockets and wrote something on the clipboard. “Looks fine. Trevor and I keep this thing in top condition, even when it’s not in use. I just hope it has the range to get where it needs to go—and that Jeritha really can navigate us there.”

  Stone studied the ship. It was about the size of a small plane, with stubby wings and an aerodynamic body painted shiny black. “How does it fly?” he asked. “Those wings don’t look big enough to keep it aloft.”

  “They don’t need to—they just add a bit of stability when it’s in the air. The engine’s a smaller version of that one,” she added, nodding toward the larger, unfinished airship. “Almost all of the propulsion and lift comes from magic.”

  “So it’s not just like a rocket engine?”

  She tilted her head. “If you mean is it powered by simple engine propulsion, no. The magic provides the power, but there’s also a levitation spell woven into its structure. Once we reach cruising height, the engine pushes us forward.”

  “That’s…fascinating. We don’t have anything like that where I’m from.”

  “Trevor says the magic there isn’t strong enough to power something like this.”

  “Probably true,” Stone agreed, but the temptation to remain here and study this new branch of magical application still gripped him hard. Perhaps someday…

  But not now. Now, he needed to focus. He tried not to think about what Harrison must be enduring at the hands of the Talented; if he truly was difficult—or even impossible—to kill, the insane alchemists might be the least of his concerns. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “I need to finish going over this checklist. If you can load those into the cargo area, that will help.” She pointed toward a small stack of boxes and bags piled near the ship.

  “On it. Where’s Jeritha?”

  “She’s coming. Illona just called and said she’s bringing her down.”

  “Have you got a plan for when we get there?”

  “We’ll talk about it on the way. We’ve got a long flight, and it’s going to be close quarters.”

  Stone had barely finished loading the gear when Illona arrived with Jeritha behind her. The Traveler woman looked better now: her solid-black eyes had a shine that hadn’t been there before, and she walked slowly but without limping. She was clad in a simple white shirt and loose sand-colored pants; a dark gray hooded cloak with the hood thrown back revealed her silvery-green hair and pale-gray complexion. It must be natural, Stone decided, wondering if it had been a result of the war magic everyone was so terrified of.

  “You’re sure you can do this?” Errin asked her. “No shame in admitting it if you can’t—I’d rather come up with another solution than crash-land in the middle of the Wastes—or worse.”

  “I’m sure,” she said, with quiet dignity. “As I said—what you call the Wastes are my home. I can warn you of danger with enough time to avoid it.” She offered a faint smile. “Do not worry. You have saved my life, and as I said, I will repay my debt to you. My people are grateful for what you have done, so they have agreed to aid me in this.”

  “Aid you?” Stone asked. “How can they do that?”

  “I cannot say,” she said. “But I assure you, we will not be alone.” She glanced toward the airship, and a brief look of mixed fear and revulsion crossed her delicate features. “Is it time?”

  “Just about.” Errin ticked off the last box on her checklist and put the clipboard aside. “Kira called—she’s been in contact with Olystriar’s people. Once we land we’ll need to get to the location they’ve provided, and they’ll have more information for us then. He says he’s still trying to find out exactly where they’re holding Trevor.”

  “You trust them, then?” Stone asked.

  “I do—but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to take precautions.” Errin opened ship’s small door, revealing three seats: two in front and a third centered behind them. “Jeritha, you’ll sit up front with me so you can get a clear view. Let’s go.”

  Stone climbed in to the rear seat after the two women had settled themselves. As Errin had indicated previously, the cockpit area was cramped; no way could they have fit a fourth person in, at least without someone sitting in someone else’s lap. As it was, Stone had to draw his long legs up in an uncomfortable tuck. It would be a long trip. “How far is it from here to Drendell?”

  “It will take us a bit more than three hours, if everything goes well. We’ve clocked this craft at significantly faster than we’ll be going today, but never for that far. Also, it’s better to be careful and give Jeritha plenty of time to spot any problems up ahead.”

  “Do we have a route set?” Stone asked. “Some kind of flight plan?”

  “No—we’re going to play it by ear. Remember, no one’s ever flown into the Wastes before. The Travelers don’t use technology, and the Talented, even if they had something like this, are terrified of the wild magic out there.”

  She flipped a few switches and made some adjustments on the console in front of her. “Everybody strap in. We’re ready to go.”

  Stone belted himself into his seat, leaning forward to watch the takeoff.

  It certainly wasn’t like anything he’d ever experienced before. Errin turned the little craft so it pointed toward a large open area, then pulled back on a lever. The ship rose a few feet from the floor and began floating slowly forward. As it did so, she pressed a button and pulled another lever; something rumbled to life in the back and settled into a mellow, purring thrum.

  “So far so good…” Errin murmured.

  They picked up a bit of speed as they went, appearing to head straight for a solid black wall. Stone was familiar enough with the Nexus’s illusionary protections that he didn’t flinch as they approached it. Oddly, neither did Jeritha. He wondered if her superior skills with magical sight worked on illusions too.

  As soon as they passed through the illusionary wall, Errin pulled back her lever again and the ship rose once more. Stone peered out through the front window, watching the land recede beneath them until all he could see was a network of green patchwork below. He thought about asking how large New Argana was, but decided not to in case Errin didn’t want to reveal such information with Jeritha present. Instead, he continued watching as they picked up speed again.

  “We’ll be crossing the ward soon,” Errin said.

  “Yes, I can see it up ahead,” Jeritha said. Her expression was hard to read; she seemed tense and not altogether happy to be where she was, but her aura was—at least as far as Stone could tell—calm. “Please slow down as much as possible once you’ve passed through, so I can take a look.”

  “Looks like you’ve got a ward around the ship, too,” Stone said, still watching with magical sight.

  “We do, but it’s not much of one,” Errin said. “Remember, this ship was only meant to fly inside New Argana. It won’t hold off much of anything, so we’re counting on Jeritha.”

  Stone continued to watch, maintaining a tense grip on the arms of his seat, until the little craft passed through the shimmering ward that concealed and protected New Argana from the outside world. The sensation as they crossed it was like nothing he’d ever felt before. Usually, when a magically active person was attuned to a ward, they either felt nothing at all or else a faint buzzing sensation. If the person wasn’t attuned, a
number of things could happen, depending on how powerful and nasty the caster was: they could be prevented from crossing over at all, they could be immobilized or rendered unconscious, or, in the worst cases, they could be instantly killed or even vaporized.

  In this case, though, Stone got a feeling of immense power—not a buzzing, exactly, but more like a subsonic hum, such as one might experience when standing in a room full of heavy-duty electronics. The feeling lasted longer than he’d expected, too, persisting for nearly ten seconds. This ward was definitely a big deal.

  He glanced at Jeritha. She had her eyes closed and appeared uncomfortable, but not in any kind of pain. When they made it through, she relaxed, opened her eyes, and let her breath out.

  “How did Jeritha get out if she’s not attuned?” Stone asked. “And what will those wards do to anyone who isn’t?”

  “We don’t prevent people from getting out,” Errin told him. “It’s getting in that’s the difficult part. It would be hard to even get near them, since we’ve got significant illusions preventing anyone from finding us. But if they manage it, the wards are deadly.”

  “I see.” So Harrison didn’t play around here anymore than he did on Earth.

  He glanced forward, tensing in shock. As soon as they’d passed through the ward, the entire view through the front window had shifted. Instead of lush green farms, ranchland, and rolling hills, a craggy, rock-strewn landscape lay spread out before them. Stone spotted green patches, but most of what he could see looked barren, scrubby, and inhospitable. “Bloody hell.” He indicated the view. “All that was caused by magic?”

  “It isn’t all like that,” Jeritha said. “There are more livable areas—some of them are quite beautiful, in fact. But they’re dangerous to get to unless you know how.” She held up a hand. “Please—let me concentrate. I can do this, but we’ll all need to work together.”

  Stone leaned forward in his seat again, noticing Errin’s tight grip on the craft’s steering yoke.

  What followed for the next three hours was a tense, white-knuckled journey across terrain Stone could only describe as a magical hellscape. The little craft flew smoothly and silently, its arcane-powered engine easily handling the task of keeping them aloft, but all three of them were forced to remain constantly on guard to shifting conditions.