Quillblade

by Ben Chandler

  But ... steal the Hiryû? We have to tell someone!

  Who?

  Well, we have to do something!

  Why?

  Lenis looked at his sister’s face. She was smiling! Didn’t she see what was going on? These two were obviously some sort of Shinzôn rebels, and the last thing Lenis and Missy needed was to be caught up in a rebellion. Being slaves was bad enough. Who knew what the Warlord would do to them if they turned into thieves as well.

  Back in Pure Land, stealing was punishable by enslavement, and a slave who stole something was usually whipped and then sold off. But here? Lenis had never seen a Shinzôn person without a sword at their hip. Even Lady Chi wore one. He imagined his own head, detached from his body, flying out and over the railing. It was not a comforting image, and he pushed himself further back behind the hold.

  Missy, he thought frantically, we have to find out what’s going on!

  Before his sister could reply, the two Shinzôn nobles started talking again, and Missy went on with her translation.

  ‘I am surprised the Warlord’s own cousin would suggest such a rash act, Lady Chi.’

  There was no doubting Chi’s anger now. Lenis could sense it simmering away behind her calm demeanour. ‘Do not question my loyalty to the Warlord, Captain Shishi. It is his duty to protect the Emperor from the Wasteland Demons. It is my duty to see the things that the Warlord does not. Come, there is something I must show you.’

  Lenis heard the two move out again, this time climbing up to the bridge. Their voices cut off as they entered, and Missy swore out loud. She made to follow them, but Lenis grabbed her arm.

  ‘What are you doing?’ He kept his voice low, though it was unlikely they could be heard from the bridge.

  ‘I want to hear more.’

  Lenis tightened his grip. ‘You said we’d take things easy! Spying on the captain as he plans treason isn’t exactly my idea of “easy”.’

  Missy let her brother pull her back behind the hold. ‘You’re the one who wants to find out what’s going on. What do you think we should do?’

  Good question. Different scenarios played out in Lenis’s mind. They couldn’t run away. There was no way they could hide in Shinzô. Their matching dirty-blond hair and blue-green eyes marked them instantly as foreigners, and they could hardly smuggle out all six of the Bestia with them. Leaving them behind was not an option. Besides, they knew no one in Itsû and almost nothing about Shinzô. They couldn’t escape back to Pure Land either. Even if they managed to sneak on board an airship bound for home, once they got there they’d be branded as runaways. No matter how talented they were, they’d end up doing the worst and most dangerous jobs.

  There was no one they could tell. The only Shinzôn person they knew was Lady Chi, and she was the one who wanted the airship stolen! They couldn’t exactly go looking for the Warlord, either. Even if they could find him, why would he listen to a couple of foreign slaves? Assen Chi was his diplomat, and Captain Shishi was some sort of important noble the Warlord wanted to form an alliance with. If by some chance they were even able to speak with him, he wasn’t going to believe them.

  Missy had been following Lenis’s thoughts, of course, so there was no need to talk things out. They had no choice. They would have to stay with the Hiryû and hope things didn’t go too disastrously wrong. Maybe the captain wouldn’t agree to Assen Chi’s treacherous plan. Missy squeezed Lenis’s hands and he realised he’d been holding onto her all this time. He let his hands drop as Missy stepped forward and hugged him.

  ‘It’ll be all right, little brother,’ she whispered into his ear. ‘Whatever happens, we’ll still be together.’

  Lenis nodded into her shoulder and then pulled away. ‘I guess we’d better go and get some sleep. Looks like we’re going to have an even bigger day tomorrow than we’d thought.’

  The twins crept to the rear hatch and headed below decks as silently as they could, not wanting to draw the attention of the conspirators on the bridge. At the base of the stairs they parted ways, Lenis moving into the engine room and Missy to the crew quarters. On the flight over she’d been forced to sleep in the galley, but once the Puritan crew had left Missy had claimed one of the smaller cabins, hoping the new crew wouldn’t realise. Lenis had decided to keep his bunk in the engine room. It meant he was closer to his Bestia.

  They were still curled up in their hutch, as though nothing world-shattering had just happened above decks. Aeris had left Lenis’s bunk and joined them, burrowing amongst the others to share their warmth. Lenis sensed contentment rising off them in calming waves. He wrapped the feeling around himself like a familiar blanket, allowing their gentle, sleepy happiness to dull the edges of his own panic. Things were definitely different here. He was different here. If Lenis had just overheard a Puritan captain plotting the theft of an airship, he would have felt the same thrill Missy was feeling, the same surge of adrenaline that came with pulling a new stunt. But they weren’t in Pure Land anymore. There was no Slavers Council here to mete out the usual, predictable punishments. Anything could happen, and in Lenis’s experience, anything normally turned out to be bad.

  Perhaps it was more than just the unfamiliar surroundings that were affecting Lenis so much. He reluctantly pulled his awareness away from the Bestia and sent it out of the airship, off to the west. The Wastelands that bordered Shinzô throbbed with an indistinct yet palpable menace. Lenis had heard many tales of the Wastelands from airship crews he’d flown with, those who had been across the contaminated seas, but he had never seen them for himself, never been this close. Pure Land was free from the Wasteland taint, but the rest of the world was infected by it. Itsû was built right next to it. In fact, until Puritan airships had opened up sky trade with Shinzô a few decades ago, the entire country had been sealed off by the Wastelands that ran along the country’s western border and the Demon-ravaged seas along its coast. For three hundred years Shinzô had been isolated, standing alone against the Demon threat.

  Lenis shivered and brought his awareness back into the engine room. He forced his heartbeat to slow before he reached out to the Bestia again, not wanting to disturb their sleep with his tumultuous emotions. On impulse, he bent down and picked Aeris up out of the sleeping pile. She was an avian Bestia, able to control air pressure and currents, and was the main source of power for the Hiryû’s engines. She had also been with Lenis the longest, ever since he’d found her on the shores of Blue Lake behind the first slave encampment he and his sister had been sent to. If it weren’t for her, the slavers never would have found out that Lenis and Missy were gifted, never would have assigned them to airship work. They would have been stuck in the factories until they grew too big for the cramped work or were crushed by the tonnes of machinery they had to work within.

  Aeris looked like a large cat with tan-coloured fur, though her ears were too large for her head and her hindquarters were like a hare’s. She blinked lazily at Lenis as he carried her over to his bed and snuggled into his blankets with her. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to sleep, but curled up on his bunk they fell asleep together.

  Missy Clemens woke refreshed despite the fact she had only been able to manage a light, nervous doze. Today they were going to steal the Hiryû right from the Warlord’s own airdock! A pang went through her as she thought of how Lenis had acted the night before. Not at all like him. He’d been getting quieter and more subdued every day since they left Pure Land, almost as though he were leaving something of his true self behind.

  Missy shook her head and savoured the last moments of her anticipation before leaping out of her bunk – no small feat given the cramped confines of her cabin – changing into her uniform, and smoothing her sandy-blonde hair into the tight tail favoured by the Shinzôn working class. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, she figured, to try and emulate the behaviour of her owners. She would never fit in, of course. Her ha
ir was too light, her eyes too large and blue-green.

  Suddenly, the captain’s voice reverberated down through the airship’s speech tube. ‘All hands on deck.’ He spoke in the common tongue, so Missy figured the rest of the crew had boarded sometime during the early hours of the morning.

  Missy grinned as another thrill ran through her. This was it! She felt like a co-conspirator in the theft of the airship, even though she’d had no say in the matter. She ran down the hallway to the stairs leading up to the deck and poked her head through the entrance to Lenis’s engine room. He was still lying in his bunk, curled around Aeris’s sleeping form.

  ‘Time to get up, little brother!’

  Lenis moved his head and dragged himself into a sitting position, trying not to disturb the Bestia beside him. He moved slowly, and another pang went through Missy. This wasn’t like him at all.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Didn’t get much sleep.’ He stifled a yawn.

  ‘Well, you’d better get moving. The captain’s called all hands.’ Missy pointed above her head.

  Lenis started to his feet, jolting Aeris awake. She mewed in protest as Lenis scooped her up and placed her back in the hutch, where the other Bestia were beginning to stir. He scooped out feed for them and checked their water as Missy waited in the doorway, arms crossed in agitation. She was eager to be off but knew Lenis wouldn’t do anything without taking care of his Bestia first.

  Finally he was satisfied, and the two made their way up the stairs in front of the engine room’s door. Missy spotted Arthur Knyght as soon as she emerged on deck. The First Officer was easy to identify, standing on top of one of the sets of steps leading to the crystal dome of the bridge. He was from Kyst and still wore the dress uniform of a Kystian noble: white trousers, polished black boots, and a navy short coat with two rows of golden buttons down the front. He’d been wearing the same thing when she’d seen him yesterday afternoon as he made a tour of the airship. Missy wasn’t sure if his stern expression was also regulation or simply personal preference. His face was broad, his forehead high, and he looked at the gathering crew from under thick, brown eyebrows. Missy wondered how such a dour man would handle the captain’s decision to steal the Hiryû.

  As the twins fell into line behind the other crewmembers facing Arthur, another jolt ran through Missy, but this time it didn’t feel good. What if the captain hadn’t agreed to Assen Chi’s plan after all? What if all of Missy’s dreams of freedom were just that – dreams? Disappointment spread through her, and Lenis reached out to grab her hand. Of course, he had felt what she felt. He might have been acting weird lately, but he was still her brother, and he still knew how much she wanted this. To be a slave owned by a renegade airship thief was more freedom than either of them could hope for.

  Though she could only see their backs, Missy tried to match the people in front of her with the names she had heard Assen Chi and the captain discussing the night before. The short man in the threadbare robe had to be Long Liu, the Tien Tese doctor. Captain Shishi had called him a half-crazed outcast, and he certainly looked it with his patched clothing and dirty, wild hair. Missy realised suddenly that she recognised the man standing next to him. Kenji Jackson had been part of the Puritan crew that had flown the Hiryû over here. He was the navigator and was of mixed Shinzôn-Puritan heritage. Apparently he was going to stay on.

  The temperature seemed to drop several degrees all at once, and Missy shivered. Someone had come up to stand next to her without her noticing. She didn’t want to turn and stare, so she tried to take in as much of the man as she could out of the corner of her eye. He was of average height, with straight black hair pulled back severely from his brow and tied in a tail. He was dressed in black Shinzôn robes and, after a quick scan of the rest of the crew, Missy realised that this must be Yûrei no Gôshi Yami, the infamous cursed swordsman the captain had mentioned. Another shiver crept up her spine as she averted her eyes. Why was he standing next to her?

  ‘Good, we are all here.’ Captain Shishi’s soft voice cut through her thoughts. His accent was heavy, but he spoke the common tongue with a surety that showed a good education. He stood now at the other entrance to the bridge with a Shinzôn woman behind him. Her stance was erect but her face was etched with deep wrinkles. ‘We are going to steal the Hiryû.’

  Missy saw the ripple of surprise that ran through the rest of the crew at the captain’s words.

  Arthur, standing on the other set of steps, was the first to speak. ‘What is this, Captain Shishi? If it is some jest it is in poor taste.’

  ‘I am quite serious, Lord Knyght.’ The captain turned towards the first officer. ‘I have spent more than half of my life as a shugyosha, what you would call a wandering swordsman. I have tested my strength against many foes, both human and Demon, and during this time I have come across a truth. We are, each of us, destined to discover the way, the true Way that holds the essence of each of us within it.’

  Most of the crew showed no reaction to the captain’s words this time. Were they as confused by them as Missy was?

  An Ellian accent suddenly rang out. ‘What is this nonsense?’

  Missy turned to look at the woman in the tan-coloured trousers and loose-fitting, wide-cuffed shirt. That would be Andrea Florona, she thought, the airship’s lookout. The woman’s wavy, auburn hair fell well past her shoulders, but what drew Missy’s attention were the daggers at her belt and the automated crossbow strapped to her back.

  ‘In life there are infinite possibilities, Miss Florona. Innumerable pathways along which we may travel. Most have their courses chosen for them. What I am offering you – all of you – is a chance to find your own Way. I cannot promise that Way will be easy, but it will be yours. You are, of course, free to disembark now.’ The captain pointed amidships where the gangplank leading down to the airdock was hidden by one of the holds. ‘Though I suggest you do so immediately. Once I give the order to launch I will assume that those of you still on board wish to accompany us.’

  ‘I cannot allow this.’ Arthur’s hand went to the hilt of his sword. If he had been caught off guard by the captain’s announcement, he had quickly regained his composure. ‘I was commissioned by the Warlord himself. This airship is not yours to take. It will mean civil war, and there will be repercussions beyond Shinzô’s borders.’

  The crewmembers came suddenly to life, as if the suggestion of violence had prompted them into action. The Shinzôn crewmembers arrayed themselves in front of the captain. Andrea and Kenji stood with the first officer. None of them had drawn any weapons, but even without Lenis’s empathic abilities Missy could feel the tension in the air. The twins hung back, as did the cursed swordsman Gôshi Yami.

  ‘I should expect no less from the legendary Arthur Knyght!’ The captain gave a bark of laughter. ‘Lord Shôgo’s time as Warlord grows short, Lord Knyght. The other great clans of Shinzô are allying against him. Given the circumstances surrounding your exile from Kyst, it seems strange that you would allow him to use the Hiryû to cling to power that is not rightfully his.’

  Missy looked from the captain to the first officer, wondering how the captain’s words fitted in with the discussion she and her brother had overheard last night. Then, the captain had seemed almost to support the Warlord. He was a rebel, sure, but the theft had seemed about something else, something beyond politics. If only she’d followed the two conspirators up to the bridge to continue eavesdropping!

  Arthur’s face was as uncompromising as ever, and his back was rigid, but the corners of his eyes had turned down slightly. Missy risked a peek into his mind. Something the captain had said registered with him, causing a number of images to flit through his mind all at once. Missy managed to catch a glimpse of two distinct memories: Arthur piloting an airship at the head of a Kystian armada, and a group of men seated around a circular table inside a hall. The images were gone before she could work out what the
y meant.

  ‘You will use the airship against him, then?’ the Kystian asked.

  The captain shook his head. ‘Not at all. I am not interested in Shinzôn politics. Events of far greater consequence are occurring throughout the world, events that affect us all. I believe you will find them as troubling as I do.’

  The two men were silent for a moment, but somehow they were still communicating. Not telepathically – Missy would have known if they were telepathic – but something seemed to pass between them. Something Missy could almost, but not quite, decipher. What was really going on here? She tried reading the captain’s thoughts, but they were hazy. The only thing Missy could see clearly in his mind was a squat stone building. What could that mean?

  Arthur relaxed his stance. ‘I will hear you out, Captain. Though I trust you will allow those who do not –’

  The wrinkled woman standing behind the captain interrupted. ‘The Warlord is on his way up the airdock, Captain. If we’re going to do this, it has to be now.’

  The captain turned to her. ‘Thank you, Miss Shin.’

  Missy recognised the name. Miss Shin ... Gekkô no Niji Shin, the helmswoman.

  The captain went on. ‘Please take the helm. Mister Jackson, if you are coming with us, we need a course to the southern tip of Heiligland.’

  Heiligland! Why would the captain want to go there?

  ‘As long as I’m still getting paid I may as well come along,’ Kenji Jackson drawled. He crossed the deck to stand with the captain.

  ‘Very well,’ Captain Shishi said. ‘The rest of you may move to your posts or return to Itsû airdock. It appears we are to become thieves for a while!’

  ‘I think he actually means to go through with it.’ Andrea shook her head and looked at the others. ‘Well, I’m not likely to get a better offer. It’s hard enough for a foreigner to get a commission in this country, so I guess I’m in.’ Andrea moved across the deck and started climbing up into the crow’s nest.