Skyborn

by Eric Asher

  * * *

  It was the following day before they were ready to test the redesign. The gaskets had failed time and again until Jacob had the thought to reinforce the rubber with iron plates. With the extra structural support, they no longer ballooned into failure. He felt embarrassed for not realizing it sooner because it was almost the exact same technique Charles had used in the air cannons.

  Jacob probed the sand with a long magnetic lever he’d assembled. It was the best idea he could come up with to avoid having to dig up the trap every time they needed to reload. He worried that when they were buried deeper, probing the sand would offer too much resistance, but it was still better than nothing.

  The magnets were strong, which was both a problem and helpful. A bad angle left you stuck to the side of the trap. He’d solved that by anchoring the bellows with a non-magnetic alloy. With that done … the magnet mounted in the sand almost pulled the lever out of his hand, snapping it home with a thud.

  Jacob pushed the lever forward, and the barrels rose through the latticework, iris valves keeping them clear of sand. Those had been Frederick’s idea, and they worked perfectly. Jacob shifted the lever like it was a steering column on the Skysworn, and the valves opened, revealing a dozen barrels ready for bolts.

  Another adjustment changed the angle of the battery until it was nearly at forty-five degrees. Jacob returned the lever to its original position, and the assembly returned to the sand. It would be little effort to cover it at that point.

  “And how are you going to get the lever off the magnets now?” Frederick asked.

  Jacob grinned and clicked the button on the end of the handle. It jerked when the plating slid around the end, shielding the magnet buried in the lever. He extracted it easily at that point, showing the shielded tip to Frederick.

  “Charles would be proud.”

  Jacob started at that voice. He turned to find Archibald, though he hadn’t heard the Speaker enter.

  “Frederick tells me you’re testing again today.”

  Jacob nodded, half annoyed that Frederick was pandering to Archibald, but also glad the Speaker could see what they’d accomplished. “We’re almost ready to deliver the supplies to Midstream. The city smiths have made the adjustments to the bolts we asked for, and George will have thousands prepared.”

  Their final prototype, wrapped in rubber bellows and a latticework of half-inch-thick bronze, was two feet by one foot across. It took nearly an hour to bury it in the sandbox, but they had it done just before Archibald arrived to see their progress.

  Jacob tossed his original webwork test bundle onto the sand, and nothing happened.

  “Excellent,” Frederick said.

  “How so?” Archibald asked. “Nothing happened.”

  Jacob nodded. “He’s right, we don’t want it too sensitive, or a small bug or young Fire Lizard could set it off.” Jacob picked up a long sheet of lead with Frederick’s help. “On three. One. Two. Three.”

  They tossed it a fraction of an inch into the air and then skittered away from the sandbox. The lead weighed just over one hundred pounds, and it sent out a shower of sand as it landed. But the weight did far more than that. A series of muffled booms sprayed sand all across the room as the lead plate flipped once and landed back in the sand, six steel bolts stuck into it.

  Jacob looked up at the ceiling and winced. “Sorry about that.”

  “About what?” Archibald asked, following his gaze. “Oh.”

  Above them, in the stone, were two more steel bolts, sunken halfway down their six-inch shafts. Jacob had little doubt those would remain in the ceiling until Bollwerk crumbled and the city returned to the dust from which it was built.

  “I’ll ready the supply ships,” Archibald said. “How many have been completed?”

  “In a couple hours, once we get the levers finished, we’ll have a dozen,” Jacob said. “But they’ll need ten times that to defend Midstream.”

  “Frederick, stay here and assist the city smiths and any tinkers who wish to volunteer. Build as many as you can. If Jacob thinks they need a hundred of these traps, I want two hundred built.” Archibald didn’t wait for Frederick’s response before he turned to Jacob. “Take one of the schooners to Midstream. George knows how to pilot them. Train the tinkers of Midstream on maintaining the traps, loading the traps, everything they need to know.”

  “I’ll teach them to build them. That will help them fix any damage that happens.”

  Archibald nodded and turned to leave. At the door, he glanced back. “Good work. Both of you.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Furi sat on the edge of her bed, paging through the notebook Alice had given her. The notes the Ancoran had taken were more thorough than Furi expected. Several passages had been copied verbatim, but the more she read, the more conflicted she felt.

  Half the history she’d learned about her city, about the entire empire she’d lived all her life in, was lies and when it wasn’t an outright lie, it was embellished to be almost unrecognizable.

  Furi and her friends had often talked about what the monarchy was keeping from them. They theorized about how the ruling class kept everyone else under control. But she’d never thought she’d get those answers with the help of an Ancoran.

  Because whether she wanted to admit it or not, Furi knew hatred of the eastern lands had been bred into her. Belldorn and Ancora and Bollwerk were the enemy. But that was the monarchy’s gift to them. A target. A finger pointed toward the outsiders, and a declaration that a nebulous enemy was responsible for the entirety of their hardships.

  Furi ground her teeth. She felt like such a fool for buying into it. She’d been disenfranchised, to be sure, but never had she thought there could be such a thorough deception living in the minds of an entire population.

  She took a deep breath and closed the notebook, leaving her room so she could get another snack from one of the exquisite cooks Belldorn staffed at their so-called prison. Furi made her way out to the common room, catching hints of an argument and a quiet sob.

  Some of her allies inside the prison still thought they were going to be executed at any moment, no matter what Furi told them. She thought it more likely Ballern would kill them before they could return home and then raise them up as martyrs. The faith she’d had left in her city, however small, was crumbling to dust.

  “Hello, Furi.”

  She glanced up at the man behind the counter. She was still surprised so many of the guards and staff had taken the time to learn everyone’s names. “Hi, Jake. Could I get one of those grilled sandwiches again?”

  “Of course.” He adjusted a tall white hat on his head. “Did you like the butter we used last time? I’ve been experimenting with herbs.”

  “Yes!” Furi could still remember the sharp, earthy taste on her tongue, a mixture of yeast and salt that was not quite like anything she’d had before. She watched the cook from behind an iron trestle, enjoying the sizzle and smoke of the griddle. Belldorn may have been kind to their prisoners, but they were also cautious.

  Furi thanked Jake as she turned away, not waiting to sink her teeth into that savory crunch with its creamy center. It struck her, in that moment, that it was easier to get food in a prison in Belldorn than it was to feed yourself as a Skyborn in Ballern.

  She shook the darker thoughts off. She’d help raise the Skyborn. If they knew what she knew, they’d make a choice: fight, or flee to a better place. There were no other options.

  Furi sat down on a sofa next to Beck. He was glaring at the checkered gameboard in front of him while one of the guards grinned from across the table.

  “Getting your butt kicked?” Furi asked.

  “Stop it, you.” Beck’s scowl lit up a moment later, and he slid one of the pyramid-shaped pieces one space to the left and one space forward.

  The guard pursed his lips, studying the board. “Not a bad move, but I’m afraid you can’t get out of this trap.” He pushed a clear square piece two spaces closer
to Beck.

  Beck moved another pyramid in behind the guard’s square, and as soon as the guard realized what was happening, he cursed at great length.

  “I call crown,” Beck said, a deep satisfaction in his voice Furi hadn’t heard in a very long time.

  The guard muttered and dropped two gold coins onto the board. “Not that you need coin in prison, but a bet is a bet.” The irritation on his face slipped as he held a hand out to Beck. “Good game, kid.”

  Beck took the offered hand and gave it one firm pump, as was custom in Ballern. With that, the guard trailed back to the front, where the other guards were gathered. Furi recognized most of them, but one had a hat pulled low over his eyes.

  Furi finished her sandwich, watching the guard approach. He turned from the rest of the room so only Furi and Beck could see him.

  “Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”

  Furi frowned. There was something familiar about that voice. She’d heard it before …

  “I won that game square,” Beck said, pocketing his winnings.

  The guard’s face broke into a grin. “Keep quiet.” He raised the brim of his hat, revealing a narrow nose and deep-set eyes that made Furi’s heart stop for a moment.

  “Rin!” she hissed. “You’re supposed to be dead!”

  He held a finger up to his lips to silence their questions.

  Furi shook her head in annoyance. Rin, alive, and here of all places. What in all hells was happening? “Come on.” She grabbed Beck’s sleeve and pulled him up before reaching out and briefly squeezing Rin’s wrist.

  It was him. Solid and real and in Belldorn with them. She led the pair back to her room, past a dozen empty doorways. She glanced back down the hall, and when she was sure no one was paying them any mind, slipped into her room.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Furi asked. But before Rin could answer, she crushed him in a hug. He was shorter than she remembered, which meant it had been so long that she’d grown. Years now.

  “It’s good to see you,” Beck said, clapping Rin on the shoulder. “How did you get in here?”

  “No guard I’ve ever met is immune to a little coin,” Rin said. “I heard Belldorn had captured Ballern soldiers. I came to see if I could save them. You’d be amazed what you can get into with one of these passes.” He flipped the badge hanging at his chest. “But you’re all living in luxury here. What’s happening?”

  “What’s happening?” Furi asked. “I think you’ve been dead for almost three years and all you can say is ‘what’s happening?’ How about how are you alive? What are you doing in Belldorn? I thought you came here to fight in the war.”

  Rin sighed and sat down on the bed, looking down at his hands. “I did. But … Furi, I don’t want to tell you what happened.”

  “Is it worse than getting shot down by a Porcupine and then rescued by the same people who shot you down? Worse than finding out the real villain in your life is the queen who was supposed to protect her people? The monarchy that stole our education and left us to rot on the docks?”

  Rin blinked.

  “What are you talking about?” Beck asked.

  Furi launched into her story, not giving either of them a chance to interrupt or question. She told them about the library, the old Ballern books, and the story of what had really ground the Skyborn to the edge of survival.

  Rin took his hat off when she was done. He glanced between them and cursed. “I was on one of the raids. We thought we were going to destroy a hidden factory.” He shook his head. “That’s what they told us. A factory where the worst of Belldorn’s weapons were made. We destroyed it from above and then went in on foot to kill any survivors.”

  Rin’s face twisted. “There were kids in there. No older than you were when I left. Captain tried to say it was because Belldorn was enslaving their children in factories. But it wasn’t a factory at all. It was a school. I found the books. The teacher was still alive. Her last words were ‘The children aren’t your enemies’ before she died. The captain congratulated us on a job well done. Me and Tatsu were there. You remember Tatsu?”

  Furi nodded. How could she forget him? Even though he was older, he’d spent weeks with them in Kura’s classroom. Always patient and kind, helping anyone who needed it on the Bones. Furi wondered how different he was now.

  “We left the same day. Never got back on the airship. Just walked off into the woods, and that’s where we’ve been for almost five years now.”

  “You could have come home,” Furi said, thinking of the years that had passed without her friend.

  “As much as I thought I deserved to die for what I’d done, I wasn’t anxious to accelerate the process.”

  “You’ve just been in the woods alone?” Beck asked.

  “No. We live with the Dragonriders of the Shadowed Woods.”

  Furi frowned. “The … what?”

  “Outsiders who ride Dragonwings. They’ve defected from Belldorn. Or perhaps they were never part of Belldorn. I’m not sure, to be honest. It doesn’t matter. They took us in, fed us. Let us earn our keep.”

  “Can they fight?” Furi asked.

  “Like devils.”

  She exchanged a glance with Beck. “I’m going back to Ballern. To pass the truth to the Skyborn. They’re in danger from the Children of the Dark Fire.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Rin stood immediately.

  “You two have fun,” Beck said. “I’ll stay here and crown some more guards and live in luxury.”

  “You’re still in prison,” Rin said.

  Beck blew out a breath. “Beats living on the docks.”

  Furi wanted to argue with him, but part of her agreed. There was a charm to the docks, to making your own way, but every day was a struggle. A fight. And sometimes it was nice not to have to fight to live.

  “Then Furi and I will go.”

  “No,” Furi said, squeezing Rin’s arm. She was surprised to find muscle where he’d once been a lanky kid. She supposed they’d both grown up. “You need to stay here. See if the Dragonriders will fight with you. Will fight with us.”

  “Furi, they’re not going to attack Belldorn. They don’t hate them that much.”

  Furi’s expression fractured. “I know, but Ballern is going to attack Belldorn. I should have told Alice. Oh, gods, I should have told Alice. They’re going to be here in a week, Rin.”

  Rin grimaced and looked to the door. “I’ll do what I can. Get to Ballern and spread the word. You know who you need to talk to.”

  Furi knew exactly who Rin meant, but the idea of pinning her hopes on Kura left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  “I know you aren’t always on the best of terms, but if we’re lucky, enough Skyborn will listen to you. It could reduce their numbers in the fleet.”

  “I’ll tell who I can here,” Beck said. “I’m not telling the guards in case they want to skewer us, but the others … they’ve seen Belldorn’s hospitality up front now. Maybe they’ll believe us.”

  “I’ll return in seven days with whoever will help,” Rin said. He wrapped Furi up in a hug. “It really is good to see you, Furi.”

  She squeezed him back, slowly accepting the idea that she needed to talk to Kura. “You too.”

  With that, they broke apart. And Furi knew what she had to do.

  * * *

  Alice came for her the next day, just like they’d discussed. They’d make for the Skysworn, and then Ballern. Furi had notebooks carefully organized in her backpack, along with Alice’s notes she’d given her. The more time she spent in Belldorn, the more she talked to people who lived such a vastly different life from her own, the more she realized Ballern was not well.

  They were halfway through the city on their way to the docks before Furi took a deep breath and said what she should have said before.

  “Alice, I have something to tell you.”

  “Did you find more in your research?”

  Furi shook her head, looking down at the smo
oth stones of the sidewalk. “Ballern is going to attack Belldorn.”

  “That’s hardly news,” Alice said. “It’s to be expected at this point.”

  “No, I’m not being clear. They’re going to attack Belldorn in force. If the attack on Bollwerk failed, which I think we can agree it did, the plan was to send half the fleet to Belldorn.”

  “I’m not surprised. Things are escalating across the continent. It feels like everything is hurtling toward a deadline we can never meet. Securing Ancora and Dauschen. Rebuilding Midstream. Turning away Fel’s attacks. It’s all too much.”

  “It will be in the next week. Two at most.” Furi grabbed Alice’s arm. “This will be the end of the war with Belldorn, one way or another. They’ll send every destroyer they have, and it won’t matter if Belldorn has Porcupines at that point. The city will fall.”

  “Well, that certainly sounds ominous.”

  Furi didn’t understand why Alice wasn’t screaming at her at that point. Maybe it just hadn’t set in yet. Of course, there was more to tell. “Rin is alive.”

  “Your friend from Ballern?”

  Furi nodded. “He’s been living with the Dragonriders. Apparently, there is a group of Skyborn with them who defected from Ballern and Belldorn, both. He’s going back to recruit anyone who will fight.”

  “I doubt Lady Katherine will say no to any help people will offer.”

  Furi rubbed her hands together. “We have to get to the docks in Ballern. There’s a woman there, Kura. She’s almost like a mother to all the Skyborn kids. She was a friend when I was growing up, but she despises those of us who volunteer for fleet.”

  “I thought you said most of the Skyborn joins the military?”

  “Not because they want to, Alice.” Furi wondered what Ancora had been like. If they weren’t forced into service there, what did they do? Did they actually get to choose their careers? But she didn’t think it was quite so simple. Alice’s stories of the Lowlands echoed her own time on the docks too closely for that.

  “Thank you for telling me about the attack,” Alice said. “You may have saved a lot of lives.”