Once again, Sophia watched the crew of the Soiled Dove scavenge their prey. Her hope was strangled by every hoot of glee coming from the disabled vessel. The crewmen moved their booty across to the deck of the Soiled Dove. She was surprised that they also herded the survivors over the rail of their defeated ship.
The ship’s captain and some of his officers were forced to their knees with their hands bound behind them. Two men were set to guarding them with long rifles while the scavenging continued. Their maroon coats were marked with soot, and wet patches betrayed injuries, but they never lowered their chins.
At last, Aetos re-boarded the Soiled Dove and stopped in front of his prisoners. He looked them over before raising his hand and signaling to someone. The crew had settled around them, many climbing the rigging to have a better view of whatever was about to transpire. There was an air of expectancy that set Sophia’s nerves on edge. A sense of foreboding tormented her as Aetos inspected the Illuminist crew as though they were livestock being sorted for the slaughterhouse.
“Your captain and Navigator are dead. Which leaves the lot of you with an opportunity to entertain my offer. Who’s the youngest?” he demanded at last, still looking at the men waiting on their knees. He paused in front of one man who still had youthful cheeks. “You?”
“I’m old enough.”
Aetos clicked his tongue. “That’s not what I asked you.” The captain moved to another man who lacked creases around his eyes. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“This one,” Aetos ordered.
The man stiffened, lifting his chin as Mr. Graves came forward and two burly crewmen lifted the man to his feet. The deck master held up something and as it unfolded, Sophia recognized another parachute. The man’s bonds were cut and his arms threaded through the harness of the parachute. Surprise widened his eyes as it was buckled into place across his chest, thick leather straps securing the parachute to his body.
“To the rail,” Aetos ordered loudly.
The crew snickered, some of them laughing as the young man was tugged backward until he was perched on the rail. They made him sit on it like it was a park bench instead of the only thing between him and a fall to the ground below. One of the guards aimed the muzzle of his rifle at the man’s chest to keep him separated from his colleagues.
Aetos looked up at Sophia, ordering her down to the deck with a quick flick of his fingers. There was no point in refusing; the eager looks of the crew made it clear they’d enjoy fetching her.
“Stay right beside me,” Bion ordered softly.
Sophia nodded, but she was torn between wanting to let his presence comfort her and needing to worry about the fact that Bion was more expendable than she was in the eyes of Captain Aetos. She pushed her glasses into place and descended to the deck.
“Behold!” Aetos spread his hands wide. “Your Illuminist brethren, on their knees, where they belong.” He walked down the line of men, shaking his head. “Having a Navigator makes all the difference, and now, we’ll have an array, thanks to this prize.”
Her temper ignited as the Illuminist men shifted their attention to her. The disgust was plain in their eyes. “I will not help you, so your nefarious actions will gain you little.”
Aetos paused, his lips lifting into a smile that chilled her. “Is that a fact, Miss Stevenson?”
“I assure you it is.” Bion was shooting her a furious glare, but she refused to rein in her temper. “I am not like the rest of these cowards who serve you.”
There was a grumble from the crew, but Aetos held up his hand for silence. “That’s something that I really cannot allow to go unaddressed.” He waved to Mr. Graves again and a crewman brought a small table forward. He placed a tin box on the table and a pitcher of water. Aetos tapped the top of the box twice before turning in a wide circle to address his crew.
“No one shirks their duties here, lads! And you know I don’t bend the rules for anyone.”
There was an answering cheer from the assembled men, many of them laughing, then settling into silence once more. Aetos pegged her with a hard look.
“The normal penalty for disobeying my order is being tossed over the rail.”
Bion stiffened, his hand grasping her wrist and pulling her behind him. Aetos didn’t miss the motion and the pleased expression that lit his face was horrifying. Sophia gasped and fought against Bion’s grip.
“Fine. If I’m the one yer displeased with, then so be it.” Her Irish temper came through, but at the moment, she preferred her brogue to sounding frightened.
Aetos clicked his tongue the way he might do with an errant child. “Your eyes are too valuable to waste without at least one attempt to train you.”
“I’m an Irish woman. We don’t take to training well.” She had no idea where the urge to argue with him came from, but she let it burn through her because it was better than letting fear suffocate her.
“Be silent, Sophia,” Bion growled. “You’ll have to go through me to get to her.”
Aetos laughed. Hard and long. He threw his head back and ended up slapping his thighs before he was finished. The crew happily joined their captain. The noise was deafening and nerve-racking, like someone drawing their fingernails across a blackboard. She suddenly understood exactly how early Christians must have felt as they entered the Roman Colosseum to meet the lions.
“Captain Bion Donkova of the Illuminist Order—that is your full title, is it not?” Aetos spoke in a loud voice, making sure the Illuminist crew heard him. They shifted their attention to Bion, disgust simmering in their eyes.
“You can bet it is,” Bion snarled. He stepped in front of her, blocking her view of Aetos.
The captain of the Soiled Dove beckoned him forward, pointing to the tin box. “You told me your terms, Captain, open the box. Your payment is inside.”
Bion stepped forward and opened the lid. Inside, the tiny points of the Root Ball shone brightly. Sophia gasped and Aetos nodded.
“A Root Ball. Yours to use if you will declare your loyalty to the Helikeian Order and this crew.”
“And just how would you have me satisfy your request?”
Sophia moved closer to Bion, a bolt of fear shooting straight through her heart as she recognized the ruthless gleam glittering in Aetos’s eyes.
“You’ll toss these Illuminists overboard while their comrade watches.” Aetos delivered his terms in an icy tone. “One witness left alive to make sure you never try to return to the Illuminists.” He nodded at the man perched on the rail with the parachute.
“That’s depraved,” Sophia snapped.
“Leaving one man alive?” Aetos inquired. “I know it is, but in this case, our young man over here is in luck. I need to know that Captain Donkova is making a solid break with the Illuminists. But don’t you worry, my pretty. I haven’t forgotten you. Once your lover is my man, I believe he will be more receptive to training you, since he’ll have nowhere else to go and he’ll be a member of this crew, his obedience bound to me.”
Sophia raised a hand to cover her mouth. Helplessness closed around her. She didn’t fear Bion hurting her, but the idea of knowing he’d suffer for her disobedience horrified her. Aetos was grinning like a boy in a bakery with a shilling to spend.
“I have your payment, man. Now earn it by showing your devotion to me,” Aetos commanded.
Bion looked down at the Root Ball, the morning sun illuminating it and casting a thousand rainbows.
“That’s right. There it is. Something you’re likely to wait another decade or two for from the Illuminist Order you’ve devoted so much of your life to. You wouldn’t be the first man they took the best years of his life from without paying up. You’ve killed before; this won’t take long. Just toss them over the rail like you did Grainger.”
The kneeling Illuminist captain didn’t move, but two of his officers swallowed audibly, their complexions paling. The man sitting on the rail with the parachute secured to his back was ruby fac
ed. Shame shown in his eyes as well as hatred.
“Every one of my crew earns his place here in the same way. You’ll kill your brethren, with a witness left alive to prove you want to make your place with us. To make sure there is no going back.”
The crew snickered again and the sound made something snap inside Sophia. The same urge that had seen her arguing with Aetos rose above everything else. She wasn’t going to be Aetos’s victim and she wasn’t going to let Bion be one either.
She quickly stepped forward, grabbed the pitcher and tossed the water onto the Root Ball. It exploded into a vapor that hit Bion straight in the face. He let out a howl and rocked back on his heels. One well-aimed kick sent the table flying toward the captain of the Soiled Dove. The crew recoiled from the vapor, giving them a clear path to the man perched on the rail. Sophia pushed Bion into the younger man and followed with every bit of strength she could muster.
“Grab on to the harness, Bion! We’re going over the railing!”
The younger man was already tumbling over the rail, his arms flailing and grabbing Bion out of sheer instinct.
“Christ in heaven, Sophia!” Bion cursed. He reached for her, keeping one of his arms locked around the man buckled into the parachute. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She didn’t hear what he said. They were falling, their bodies cutting through the clouds as the Soiled Dove grew smaller and smaller above. The officer twisted and turned as they fell closer and closer to the ground.
Bion’s eyes were closed, but he searched the harness until he found the pull cord.
“Hold tight!” he yelled. When the parachute opened, it was like a huge sail and filled with air instantly, their rapid descent coming to a jarring halt. They were jerked upward and bounced like a toy for several moments before beginning to descend again. This time they glided down gently.
Sophia’s cheeks were chilled by the rushing air and her nose turned cold. The wind was numbing her fingers, but she ordered herself to maintain her grip. The ground was coming closer. The parachute was slowing their decent. But the trees still grew large in what seemed like moments. They twirled around in a crazy circle as her heart threatened to explode.
They hit the ground with more force than she’d expected. They bounced and the force broke her grip. She tumbled like an autumn leaf in a windstorm until coming to rest in a heap. Pain assaulted her, flooding her brain as she stared up into the afternoon sky. Her vision was blurry, her mind trying to give in to the urge to simply pass out to avoid the pain, but she dragged in a deep breath and then another to clear her thoughts. There was dirt in her mouth and blood on her lip. One leg burned with agony, and she rolled over to relieve it.
“Sophia!” Bion yelled.
“I’m here!”
He was blind. She vividly recalled the moments after she’d been hit by Root Ball vapor. “I’m coming, Bion.”
Her legs were trembling, making it difficult to get to her feet.
“You’re a bloody crazy woman,” the young officer yelled at her. “You made me leave my captain behind.”
“Shut your mouth,” Bion snarled. He was already on his feet and fighting to open his eyes. A mere crack was all he managed and tears streamed down his cheeks from the pain the sunlight inflicted. “There was nothing you could do to help them.”
“I would have found a way—” The young officer suddenly stiffened and fell over. Something hit the dirt, raising a cloud of dust as Sophia heard a popping noise. Looking up, she stared into the muzzles of two rifles. Mr. Graves and another man were winding their way to the earth with parachutes aiding them.
“Bion, run!” She ran toward him, catching his arm and pulling him out of the line of fire. He looked up and cussed.
“How many? Christ! I can’t make anything out.”
“Two,” she panted, suddenly hating the corset tied so securely around her straining lungs. “There are trees… ahead.”
Bion didn’t need any more encouraging. More popping sounds followed them and he pulled her along with his longer stride. They made it to the edge of a forest and had to slow down or run into a tree. She had to tug Bion around the trees. It proved almost impossible because he was still trying to guide her to safety.
“Damn it, Sophia. I can’t see.”
“I know. You’ll have to follow me.” She pulled him around a tree and further into the forest.
“It’s my duty to protect you,” he argued.
She yanked on his arm again to avoid another collision. “Well, now it’s my duty,” she panted. “Isn’t that”—she paused for breath—“the Illuminist way? Gender doesn’t set us apart?”
“If we live through this, I’m going to enjoy debating what I think our two genders should be doing.” His tone was thick with promise, and it sent a tingle of anticipation along her limbs. The timing was terrible—really couldn’t have been worse. She had to fight the urge to giggle. At least he couldn’t see her expression. The sound of rushing water became louder and louder.
“Where’s the river?” Bion demanded.
Sophia skidded to a stop, pulling on his arm to keep him from going over the edge of the embankment. “It’s about ten feet below us.” The water was rushing and frothy with white bubbles. It was cutting right through the soil of the forest, trees clinging to the edge.
“It’s straight down,” she said, uncertain of what to do. A quick look behind her indicated that Mr. Graves was not planning on returning to the Soiled Dove without them. She could hear his footsteps crunching the leaves and sticks on the forest floor.
“We have to jump,” Bion decided. He was squinting down at the river and shaking his head as he tried to force his eyes to show him a clear picture. She knew from experience that all he’d see was a blur. But he reached out and clasped her in a solid embrace.
“One. Two. Three!”
Bion launched them off the bank and into the air. They sailed toward the water and hit with teeth-jarring force. The rushing water encased them, the harsh current tumbling them without mercy. Bion released her, and they fought to swim to the surface and draw breath. The water filled her ears, leaving her struggling in a world of rushing sounds.
“Sophia!”
She finally heard Bion and tried to make her way toward him. “I’m here.” She swallowed a mouthful of water as she shouted but caught a glimpse of him. It seemed as though time slowed down, but her legs were turning numb, so she knew they had been in the water for some time.
“Sophia!”
She fought the current, her arms burning as she made her way to Bion.
“Close your eyes, Bion.” She gripped his hand, her fingers stiff from the cold.
But Bion’s strength wasn’t spent. He hauled her toward the riverbank by her wrist and they both struggled out of the water.
“Shelter,” he barked at her. “We need someplace to hide.”
They’d come ashore at a bend in the river. It was a large curved area of smooth rocks. She searched the rocks and turned to Bion.
“It looks as if there is a cave in the bank.”
“It will have to do.” His teeth began to chatter and she realized he was indeed at the end of his reserves. She remembered how she had collapsed after her encounter with the Root Ball.
“Come on, Bion. I’ll take care of you.”
“I hate this—” His legs were trembling. She guided him toward a nook where the water had eaten away the bank of the river. There was an indention beneath the forest floor. It was dark, but she dropped down onto her knees and crawled right into it. Bion followed, letting out a groan when the sunlight was left behind.
“Bloody hell. This transformation…”
His legs buckled at last and he rolled over. The cave itself was about five feet deep. She prayed that it wouldn’t collapse on them. She reached down and tore a strip from the bottom of her soaked skirt. With a tender touch, she wound it around his eyes to block out the light.
“I’ll take care of e
verything,” she promised.
He flinched, fighting to remain conscious. “You shouldn’t have to. Leave me… go find help.”
She smoothed the wet hair back from his face with a soft touch. “It seems we are set to disagree once more, Bion Donkova. I will not desert you.”
Bion grabbed her hand. “Listen to me. Wait until dark and go. That’s an order.”
His grip failed. He twisted, struggling to remain awake, but slipped away into unconsciousness. For a moment, she felt a twinge of fear but she shook it off. She was an Illuminist Navigator, able to stand on her own two feet and provide for herself. Duty was something she chose to shoulder, her gender no longer a factor.
Oh yes, she would see to what needed doing. Bion was not the only one who might be counted upon when action was needed.
***
Aetos peered over the rail.
“Should we land?” one of his men asked.
Aetos shook his head. “We’d be sitting ducks in this area. There’re too many Illuminist ships.”
He looked up and stared at the crystal array sitting on the deck. Disappointment bit into him and the satisfaction gleaming in the eyes of the Illuminist prisoners ignited his temper.
“Toss them over.”
“All of them?”
“You heard me, man.”
There was a scuffle as the condemned men fought for their lives. Aetos watched it without a shred of compassion for the life and death struggle. Three of his own men went over the rail before the last Illuminist was off his ship.
“Plot a course for the airship port. We need Trackers.”
Aetos didn’t wait for his men to answer his orders. He walked toward his cabin and the chart books there. It took him several hours to decide where to begin his search. At least luck was on his side, because they were over the borders of Russia. It was a no-man’s-land as Europe moved closer to war with the crumbling Ottoman Empire. There were few Illuminist Solitary Chambers in the area. He cursed as he considered how much gold it was going to cost him to hire Trackers. There were men who dealt in information and had a wide network of spies in the area, but they were also men who knew how to sell information to the highest bidder.
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