I stuck my hand out to shake Hunter’s. “Great shot, my friend. You saved our lives.”
“It was a tricky, but I couldn’t let him shoot you in the back.”
“I can’t believe you hit him from that distance,” I said. He nodded. “It was one of the longest I’ve ever made, easily a thousand yards.
“Wow,” I said.
Genevieve looked around and turned to Mr. Singh. “Where is my father?”
“He led the Sikhs during the attack.”
Genevieve ran to one of the gun ports. She looked out, scanning the ground, until she pointed. “There he is.”
I joined her and saw the baron leading a small group of warriors as they attacked the last open door of the Vimana. They fought their way inside, cutting down soldiers as they went.
The Sparrowhawk shook as a shell exploded outside. We all jumped as shrapnel hit the wooden hull of the gun deck. A reminder that the battle wasn’t over yet. Genevieve said, “Come we must get to the bridge.”
We ran up the stairs to the bridge and found Captain Baldarich on his feet, gripping the railing in front of him as he barked orders at the pilot and into one of the copper tubes. “Three degrees starboard and up five degrees,” he said pointing at the windows, then he leaned over to the messaging tube. “Gears! Give me everything you’ve got and then give more.” He spun around and big smile crossed his face. “You’re back! And you brought Genevieve! Glad to have you aboard! You’re just in time to help me get that sky witch!”
Gear’s voice echoed up through the tube, “More power coming your way!”
“Get us alongside them, Heinz, Now!” Baldarich slammed his fist against the railing. “That’s a big blimp, but she moves like an airskiff. What kind of engines do they have?”
Genevieve pointed at the Vimana as it rose into the air and headed east at a much slower pace. “Captain we need to follow that... flying city.”
“A Vimana,” I said. “Looks like they took the design right out of the Mahabharata.”
Mr. Singh turned to me, with surprise on his face. “It does.” I looked at him puzzled. He was a Sikh, not a Hindu. He smiled and said, “I’ve seen paintings.”
The captain smoothed out his moustache and sideburns with his fingers, “That thing is too big and too heavily armed. We’d never get close enough. Plus, she moves like a walrus on land. Better to take Zerelda down first.”
Genevieve rushed to the window. She pressed her hand against the glass as the Vimana soared away. I put my hand on her shoulder and she took a deep breath. “I’ll see him again.”
I nodded. “You know you will.” I squeezed her shoulder. “I agree with the captain, with all those guns I don’t think the Sparrowhawk can take it on, but we haven’t given up.”
She turned toward me, “Then let’s bring Zerelda down.”
On the other side of the Sparrowhawk, the Queen Z’s Revenge flew through a mountain pass. I noticed black wisps trailed from the fins and main body. The gondola beneath the dirigible morphed into a more organic and wicked shape. The smooth lines of the shaped wood contorted and looked like a gnarled tree. Gun ports popped open on the sides and aft section of the airship. Demon-headed cannon emerged from the ports and belched fire and lead our direction.
“Rise! Three degree up angle and bank starboard!” Captain Baldarich ducked as the cannon balls whizzed past. “How do her guns have a greater range than mine?”
“Zerelda’s Horsemen’s Heart.” I turned to Genevieve and she nodded. “You can tell by the way it’s morphing, just like the Iron Horsemen and the Milli-train.”
Baldarich spun around, “Zerelda put one of those infernal hearts in her airship!”
“See the black wisps trailing from the fins. The Iron Horsemen do the same thing.”
“Well that’s not fighting fair!” Baldarich slammed his fist against the railing. “but I should expect nothing less from the treacherous sky-witch.”
“Captain,” Hunter pointed out the window at the Queen Z’s Revenge. “A large hatch opened on the underside of the aft section.”
I stared out at the Queen Z’s Revenge but we were rising above the airship and I couldn’t see the airship’s belly.
The captain said, “Heinz drop us down while they’re reloading.”
The Sparrowhawk tipped its nose down and soon we saw the bottom of the Queen Z’s Revenge. A small aircraft lowered out the large hatch by a crane. The aircraft had a wooden frame around the balloon with four wingsails and a propeller on the back. The aircraft detached, dropped for a moment, but then the propeller whirled to life and they banked toward us. Two jagged iron spikes on the front and a crossbow mounted in front of the pilot made it clear what this mini-airship was designed to do.
“He’s going to attack,” I said.
Captain Baldarich flipped open all four copper tubes in front of him. He leaned down and yelled, “Battlestations! Prepare to defend against multiple targets!”
“Zerelda’s airship is carrying attack craft!” Genevieve pointed. “A second one is lowering out of her hold.”
Hunter nodded. “She’s right, captain. There’s another one.”
“Those are Hornets, but I’ve never seen them launched from a zep.” Baldarich pushed his coat back and scanned the sky as he paced back and forth. “That’s a neat trick. Heinz, ten degrees up, and ten degrees to port. Hunter get on the deck gun, use your rifle, I don’t care how you do it, but take out those aircraft.” He stopped in front of me. “Alexander, go with him and reload.”
“Aye, aye captain,” I saluted and darted after Hunter who was already running off the bridge.
The Sparrowhawk went into a steep bank, both to the side and tilting up. I had to grab the railing running down the hall to keep from sliding around. I finally reached the conning tower ladder, but didn’t see Hunter. I held on as the cannons two decks below roared. Knowing the captain said to use the top deck gun, I decided to get it ready. Behind the ladder the long barreled deck gun sat within the airship. I pulled the lever down opening the hatch in the ceiling. Next to the lever was the crank to winch the deck gun into place. I turned the handle and the platform with the gun mounted on it, started to lift up the tracks.
“Good work, Mr. Knight,” Hunter said as he came up the stairs from the deck below. He cradled his three long rifles, Hansel and Gretel, the two Kentucky long rifles, and his elephant gun. “Get that deck gun in place and then load the hopper with shells. Once I’m on top I’ll pass down the rifles to be reloaded.”
I saluted but kept cranking the handle. Once the deck gun locked in place, I grabbed shells from a box and loaded them into a hopper on the wall. The shells fed into a conveyer that lifted them to the top deck. I then ran to the ladder to take his rifles if he handed them down.
My nerves rippled and my foot began tapping the last rung of the ladder. I couldn’t see the battle, but knew that cannon balls could rip through the hull at any moment. The deck gun fired, sending thick black smoke into the compartment I stood. The wind from the open hatches above whisked it away, and the empty casing fell to the deck in front of me.
I didn’t hear Hunter celebrate, not that I ever did. He was more the quiet, subdued type. The cannons two decks below continued to fire, shaking the Sparrowhawk’s metal framing. I looked up as the barrel of Hunter’s rifle passed over the hatch. A puff of smoke shot out the end, and Hunter passed the rifle to me. One of the long rifles. I grabbed it by the stock and pulled it down. I sat beside Hunter’s bag, which he’d left inside the Sparrowhawk. An old muzzle loader, I had to pour the powder, fit the cloth wadding, and then ram the miniball down the barrel.
I heard Hunter yell, “Alexander get up here!”
I slung his Kentucky long rifle across my back and scurried up the ladder. As I reached the top, I paused and pulled my goggles over my eyes. I climbed onto the roof, stepping out of the conning tower. Hunter rotated the two wheels on the deck gun to elevate and turn the gun.
He saw me and pointed at the deck gun
, “Take over the deck gun! Either hit those Hornets or force them to turn.”
“Will do!” I ran to the platform and saw the Hornet almost in the large ring sight.
Hunter grabbed his elephant gun and turned the other direction. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the other Hornet. The cannons below fired and shook the Sparrowhawk. They threw off my aim and Hunter waited to fire.
Hunter’s gun spit fire and smoke, but I couldn’t check his shot. I kept turning the wheels until the crosshairs lined up on the Hornet.
“Permission to fire?” I asked. I wasn’t certain if I supposed to or not, but Mr. Singh would make me swab the deck if I fired a cannon without an order.
“You don’t need me. Just get that buzzard out of the sky!”
“Will do!” I stepped on the pedal to fire the gun. Smoke and fire shot out the barrel, as it slid back and expelled the shell. The round passed only a foot from the wingsails. “I missed.” However, the only reason I missed was because the Hornet turned away.
“Don’t give up, keep the pressure on.”
The Hornet came around for another attack run. Hunter ran up beside me and raised his rifle. The other aircraft appeared from under the Sparrowhawk. I quickly loaded another shell into the deck gun. The one Hunter had been chasing drifted into my sights as I closed the breach. I hit the pedal and fired. The shell tore through the balloon and ignited the hydrogen within. The Hornet exploded in a fireball that plunged out of the sky.
Hunter turned his attention to the other hornet and fired. He punctured a hole in the wingsail and the craft veered off once again. The Gatling gun below rained shells up at the aircraft and the pilot turned back toward the Queen Z’s Revenge. Hunter raised his rifle and I pumped my fist.
Hunter quickly pointed at the deck gun, “Get this gun stowed below. This isn’t over yet.”
CHAPTER 34
THE CHASE
I cranked the deck gun down into place and pulled the lever to seal the hatch above. Hunter and I went to the bridge to see what was happening. As we stepped through the hatch, the captain barked at Heinz and Ignatius. “Get us moving. Zerelda got behind us while we were fighting those little Hornets.”
“Which way?” Heinz asked.
“Keep running southwest. If we turn those guns of hers will shred us to pieces.” The captain stepped back to the map table with Genevieve. “We have to find a place to fight her.” Baldarich pulled a scroll from the cubby holes beside the table and unrolled the map of southern India. I helped him secure the corners with brass talons. He leaned over the table and began running his finger over the parchment.
“What are you looking for?” Genevieve asked.
“We need favorable winds.” Baldarich kept checking the terrain. “Darkness or a storm would help.”
Ignatius said from the wall of dials, “I can’t push anymore speed out of the engines, and Mr. Singh says their still gaining.”
“We need to lighten the load. Have Mr. Singh bring me a list of heavy cargo to dump.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Ignatius tipped his Stetson and ran off the bridge.
“And tell Gears, no, we cannot dump Gustav!”
“Why don’t we turn and fight?” I asked.
“I’d love nothing else, but they have at least twice the cannon power we do, and she’s still lobbing lead further than I can. She’d shred us before we were in range.”
“I’m ready to fight whenever we can,” I said patting my Thumper.
“Me too, Alexander.”
Genevieve pointed at the map. “We’ll be passing over the low country of southern India soon. The winds will pick up the closer we get to the coast.”
“I’m counting on it; but they’ll come up off the ocean and turn back out over the water.”
I watched as they followed the markings over the Bay of Bengal. The Indian Ocean wasn’t too much further away. It looked like we were making a run for the coast, but I understood he was trying to outrun them until dark.
Ignatius came back and handed the captain a list. “I’d suggest the crates, and Mr. Singh thinks, and I agree, we can put parachutes on them and maybe hit the Queen Z’s Revenge.”
“An excellent idea,” the captain nodded with a devious smile. “Get them ready. Alexander, go with him.” He turned to Genevieve, “You might want to get below. In case Zerelda takes aim on the bridge.”
“Yes, sir,” we said in unison.
Ignatius and I ran down to the gun deck. There were several crates secured with ropes in the center of the room. I cut the lines as Mr. Singh and Ignatius pulled them over by a large hatch in the floor. Mr. Singh tied silken sheets from fabric bolts in the cargo to each of the crates. Within a few minutes we were ready.
Mr. Singh stood under the copper tube here on the gun deck and yelled, “Captain. We are ready.”
A voice echoed back through the tube. “On my order, Mr. Singh.”
Mr. Singh turned to me and said, “Open one of the aft hatches and tell me if these crates get close to the Queen Z’s Revenge.”
I ran to the back of the gun deck and flipped open a hatch. The large black airship lay behind us, and a chill ran up my spine as I stared at the wisps trailing off its edges. The Sparrowhawk pitched upward and I had to hold on to keep from slipping. We rose above the Queen Z’s Revenge and then I heard the captain’s voice echo through the tube. “Release the crates!”
Ignatius and Mr. Singh shoved the crates out the hatch. The wooden boxes fell until the chutes billowed above them. Then they drifted toward the War Zeppelin.
“On target,” I yelled.
Mr. Singh held up his thumb and they pushed two more crates into the sky.
The demon-headed cannon of the Queen Z’s Revenge belched smoke and fire, they hit the first create which exploded in a torrent of grain. The second crate exploded and a cloud of spices sprayed the front of the large war zeppelin. They pushed two more crates until it looked like we had paratroops making an assault.
The Queen Z’s Revenge smashed through the last of the crates and I hoped I’d see a tear or any damage but it looked like a bug being smashed upon a carriage window. I closed the hatch, and turned to Mr. Singh, “No damage.”
He nodded. “Worth a try, but we are much lighter, sadly poorer.” He looked at Ignatius. “Those spices would have fetched a good price.”
“We’ll just have to take something of Zerelda’s.” Ignatius tipped his hat and walked up the steps, his spurs clinking as he walked.
I walked into my room, the front storage room, and found Genevieve and Lianhua sitting in hammocks on her side of the curtain. Genevieve came up and hugged me, and I wrapped my arms around her. The smell of exotic spices in her hair made me take a deep breath, and I clutched her a little tighter.
“What’s going on up there?” I could hear the concern in her voice.
“We’re trying to find the right spot to turn and fight Zerelda.”
“We.” She smiled. “Being a crewmember of the Sparrowhawk suits you.”
“Eton didn’t suit me.” I smiled. “Besides, joining the crew was the only way anyone was going to let me track you down.” I loosened my stance trying to be manly. “When Sinclair and my father returned to England with the Duke, I refused to go. And here I am. With you.”
“Wait,” She cocked her head. “The Duke and Richard returned to England?”
I nodded. “They wanted to get back, but your father, the crew, and I we chased the Milli-train all the way up to Acre. We just missed you, though.”
“No you didn’t, we knew where you were the whole time.” Pain entered her eyes. “Hendrix was tipped off every time.”
“Lord Marbury!” we said in unison.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone off with my mother.”
“No. It doesn’t matter if you were forced or went willingly.” I touched her cheek. “You needed to give your mother a chance to explain, a chance to change.” I pushed her hair out of her face. “You had to get to know he
r.”
“It didn’t matter, though, in the end she still chose the Golden Circle over me.”
“It’s not the end yet.”
“Your optimism is appreciated. My world’s been shattered, and you’re the only thing, along with Rodin that still makes sense.”
I smiled, but shook my head. “I’m so unsure of everything. For some reason the only Templar Knight who trusts me is your father. And... I’m running out of arguments against Hendrix. He’s right I am connected to the Hearts. My family—”
She squeezed me tight and pulled me against her. “You’re the most honorable man I’ve ever known.”
“Thanks. You’re too kind.” I pulled back and seeing Lianhua watching us with a large smile, I suddenly felt out of place, and stepped back. “We’re gaining ground on Zerelda’s airship, but we’ll probably fight them this evening.”
Genevieve motioned toward Lianhua, “We’ve been getting to know each other.”
Lianhua nodded. “We seem to have much in common.”
I sat down with the two of them, and Lianhua and I told Genevieve about our trip through the mountains, and Genevieve told us about life in the Hidden Palace and traveling on the Milli-train. Her tale sounded like a lonely one. She might have lived in lavish splendor, but she did not have the freedom she’d known with her father.
Mr. Singh came by with food awhile later. “Here, eat this. I doubt we’ll be having dinner tonight.”
“So, the captain is going on the offensive at night fall?” I asked taking a piece of bread and some sliced sausage.
Mr. Singh nodded. “I fear it will not be easy.”
“Maybe we can help,” Genevieve said.
“We’ll all be on the guns later.”
“I’ve been thinking... what if we board them?” Genevieve said. “Take the fight to them. Do we still have the Kite Sailer we used over France?”
Mr. Singh shook his head. “Yes, but it’s in no shape to fly.”
“Wait!” I said, “Genevieve’s a genius. I just watched the crates drift over to the airship. If we used the kitesail or something similar, we could drift over to the Queen Z’s Revenge. Just like the cargo, only we’ll use the cover of night.”
Iron Lotus Page 18
