Airwoman

by Zara Quentin

  The sun curved around to the west as Jade and Axel followed the river. They walked in silence, Axel in front and Jade following closely behind, her knife pointed at the middle of his back. Axel had made no attempt to get away from her, but Jade saw from the set of his shoulders that he was tense.

  The banks of the river were overhung with branches and vines and the ground was covered with exposed roots, rocks and loose stones. Shafts of afternoon sunlight broke through the trees, illuminating Axel’s figure and Jade was reminded of the time she’d admired him in Vertin Gorge. He’d looked like a bronze statue then. Now, Jade let her eyes watch the way his cloak fell from the high points of his wings and over his broad shoulders, hiding what lay beneath. Unbidden, she flushed as she remembered how she’d leaned into a kiss, and the humiliation she’d felt when he’d turned away. She patted her free hand to her cheeks to cool them.

  With her next step, a loose stone moved underneath her foot. Jade’s foot flew out from under her, sending her skidding sideways. Instinctively, she spread her wings and hands to break her fall, almost dropping her knife. Jade’s other knee slammed into the ground, hitting a rock, and she stumbled sideways, splashing into the cold water.

  Axel turned as Jade regained her footing. Her cheeks reddened and she tightened her grip on her knife. She lifted her chin and stepped up quickly to point the blade against his chest. Axel raised his hands in the air, taking a step backwards.

  “I was just going to—”

  “Keep walking.”

  Axel sighed, turning around. With a push from behind, Axel started walking slowly along the bank again. Clouds passed over, obscuring the sun. Jade looked up to see the black clouds of the afternoon rainstorm gathering. She pursed her lips, guessing they wouldn’t make it to the beach camp before the drenching rains came. By her estimation, they were still half a day away.

  As she gazed up, Jade saw the silhouette of a Traveller circling in the sky. She froze.

  “Stop,” Jade hissed. They were under the cover of the overhanging branches, but it wasn’t as complete as the cover farther underneath the canopy. Here, there was still a chance they would be seen. She looked back towards the mountains where Kapelton was. Their present position was much farther inland, and closer to Kapelton, than she’d ever seen the Travellers before.

  “Please,” Axel said, breaking into her thoughts. He faced away. “If we could just stop and talk. I can explain.”

  “Explain it to the judge,” Jade said. The silhouette of the Traveller disappeared and Jade heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. She eyed the ominous clouds rolling in from the west.

  “It’ll be too late by then. I need to find the Premyans.”

  Jade pressed the knife at his back, reminding him. “You know very well where they are.”

  “You’ve seen them?” Axel sounded incredulous. “I feel like I’ve been going in circles. Can you take me to them?”

  Jade let out a laugh, but there was no joy in it. “You really think I’m stupid, don’t you?”

  “No!” Axel tried to turn around but Jade pressed the blade against the fabric of his shirt. “Look, if I don’t find the Premyans, more Travellers will die.”

  “And it will be your fault.”

  “I’m trying to save them!”

  “Ha!” Jade retorted. “Do you really think I’m going to believe that?” She felt a surge of anger and her muscles tensed. “Do you really think I’ll believe anything you say? You betrayed my father. You betrayed me. You’re a liar and a thief. You—”

  Axel spun around, pushing the knife aside with one hand. He glared at her, a piercing, angry stare. “How could you accuse me of that? I thought we were friends. I thought we were…well, I thought we knew each other. But if that’s what you think then I don’t know you at all. And you certainly don’t know me.”

  Jade was taken aback. She opened her mouth to justify herself, then shut it firmly again. Every muscle tensed as she faced him, lifting her chin to stare him in the eye. How could he turn this around on her? He was at fault.

  “No, I don’t know you.” Jade spoke like the words were poison, spitting them out at him. “I trusted you. I believed you. All lies. You went to see Papa that day, didn’t you? And you never even mentioned us, did you? It was just an excuse.”

  The question hung in the air, enough for Jade to see Axel duck his head. She didn’t need him to answer to know she was right. Anger disappeared from his eyes, replaced by resignation.

  Jade heard another rumble of thunder in the distance. She narrowed her eyes. “You strung me along to get closer to my father.” As Jade spoke, she pointed her knife at him again. “Now, move.”

  * * *

  The muscle in Axel’s jaw twitched as he turned. Jade noticed the rigid set of his back. She clenched her teeth. She couldn’t wait to get him to the authorities on Taraqa. Then she could go back to her life and forget about him.

  There was another rumble of thunder and the air was thick with the rain that threatened to heave down at any moment. Jade hated the oppression of this clammy weather. Her feet and shoulder were hurting again. She suddenly longed to be at home with her mother and brothers. Wryly, Jade remembered how much she’d dreamed of doing exactly this—Travelling off-world and having adventures. Now that she was here, it wasn’t exactly what she’d expected. She could do with some home comforts right now.

  She was walking behind Axel when something buzzed past his face and across her line of vision. Axel turned around, while Jade, distracted, swatted at the bug with her free hand. It persisted, circling her. Jade wondered if it was the dragonfly and looked away from Axel to focus on it. With her focus momentarily elsewhere, her knife hand drifted from Axel’s back.

  In that moment, Axel made a break for it. He dashed to her left, plunging through the water. The river they had been following diverged farther upstream and now it was shallower, narrower and the current had slowed. In only a few strides, Axel waded out onto the bank on the other side.

  Jade fixed her eyes on Axel—she wasn’t letting him get away, not this time. She let the dragonfly follow her, tucking the knife into her belt, and gasped as she waded into the cold water after him.

  In front of her, Axel slipped, falling backwards into the shallow creek. He flailed, only for a moment, but it was the moment she needed. Waist high in the water, Jade had him in her sights. He was only two steps away.

  Axel looked up at her, water running off his bronze wings like a fountain. Jade’s heart stammered as their eyes met and Jade again recalled that afternoon in Vertin Gorge—the sparkle of his warm eyes as he’d smiled at her. Jade faltered.

  Axel leapt to his feet and dashed out of the water on the other side. With two more long strides he disappeared under the cover of the trees. Jade cursed loudly, clutched her knife, and splashed her way through the water.

  Being shorter than him, the creek was deeper for her and her wings caught in the current, creating a drag. She could hear his crunching footfalls nearby. Jade pushed forwards, battling the water that held her back. She waded towards the bank. He was close by. She hadn’t failed yet.

  The dragonfly buzzed around her head again, but Jade flung a hand out to shoo it away as she stepped onto the muddy bank, water dripping from her. She started towards the trees where she’d last seen Axel.

  The dragonfly buzzed about her, knocking against her hip, annoying, then came to rest on the dock hooked to her belt. It felt heavier and Jade saw it had something hanging from its body.

  Then, the item dangling from the dragonfly started to beep. Annoyingly persistent, the sound demanded Jade’s attention.

  She detached the dragonfly from the dock, then saw that the item was hanging unevenly, as though it had been attached in haste. She pulled it from the undercarriage of the dragonfly to look at it more closely. Cylindrical in shape, it was the same size as the dragonfly again. Jade saw a red number glowing on the side. The number flashed in time with the beeping sound.

  J
ade blinked. The numbers were counting down.

  9… 8… 7…

  Mesmerised by the flashing numbers, Jade forgot for a moment that she was pursuing Axel. She held the cylinder in front of her eyes, absent-mindedly tucking her knife into her belt.

  6… 5… 4…

  20

  A rumble of thunder sent a shiver down Jade’s spine and the sky opened, dumping a cascade of water on her head. Jade held her arm over her head, unsuccessfully trying to protect herself from the rain. She ducked under the shelter of a tree, the same tree Axel had disappeared behind. It provided little shelter, but a little was better than nothing. Jade wiped away the water dripping from her eyelashes and pressed the dragonfly’s green button to hear a replay of Zorman’s message, but there was nothing. Had it failed to record? Jade squinted as she pressed the button again, then held it up to her ear.

  In her other hand, she looked at the numbers flashing on the cylinder, her brow furrowed. Was this some kind of coded message? Did Zorman expect her to understand? Jade had no idea what it could mean.

  3…

  A crashing sound behind her brought her back to the present. Jade spun around, clipping the dragonfly back onto the dock, then groping for the knife tucked into her belt. She drew her weapon just as Axel burst out from the trees.

  2…

  Axel’s mouth moved as he sprinted towards her, but the pounding rain dampened the sound. Axel’s eyes were wide, but there was no trace of anger now. No, he was afraid. Terrified. His mouth opened and closed. He yelled at her and made throwing motions with his hand.

  “It’s a bomb. Get rid of it!” Axel screamed, his words finally finding her over the pounding rain. Axel was several body lengths away but was running—fast—and reaching out to her.

  1…

  As the number flashed, Axel’s words sunk in and Jade suddenly couldn’t breathe. She blinked, and looked at Axel, whose eyes, now terrified, locked with hers and didn’t look away. He reached out to her, but he seemed so far away. Time halted, but not long enough to reach him. Slowly—too slowly—Jade raised her arm, her muscles tensing as she threw the cylinder as far as she could.

  The device left her hand and she stood, frozen to the spot, gaping as it sailed in an arc through the air.

  She blinked again.

  It exploded.

  In an instant, the cylinder disappeared and a bright light flooded her vision, burning into her eyes. In the next instant, a strong force lifted her off her feet and sent her flying backwards.

  Suddenly it was Jade sailing in an arc through the air.

  Axel screamed.

  A sharp pain stabbed into the back of her head.

  She hadn’t been fast enough.

  21

  Jade breathed in—mint and cedarwood. Its familiarity comforted her and she relaxed into it. Strong arms folded around her, holding her close. Her face was pressed against a soft fabric, warm. She rocked, back and forth, lulled by movement. Like a lullaby she couldn’t hear.

  She couldn’t hear anything.

  No, that wasn’t right. There was a ringing sound, somewhere in the distance. She tried to block it out but now that she’d noticed, it remained on the fringe of her thoughts, distracting her. She tried to open her eyes—wanted to—but couldn’t. She couldn’t see anything.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, Jade wondered if she should be worried about this. But she couldn’t hold onto the thought long enough to care.

  She was wet, Jade noticed, but not cold. Water splashed onto her and Jade nestled her face into the warmth of the soft fabric, sheltering her from the raindrops.

  That small movement sent a pain searing through her head, sudden and unexpected. It ached and throbbed. Like the ringing sound, once she’d felt it, she couldn’t push it away. Jade groaned.

  The strong arms drew her closer, clutching at her. The rocking motion picked up pace, never faltering.

  Jade tried to open her eyes again, but it was too much. Too hard.

  Everything was too hard.

  Exhaustion settled over her like a heavy blanket. Jade couldn’t bring herself to shrug it off.

  She took another breath of the comforting scent and nodded back into unconsciousness.

  * * *

  “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

  By the time Jade understood she was hearing actual, distinct words, they were on repeat, uttered by a familiar voice in time to the rocking movement. She was still wet, but the rain had stopped, though the air was moist.

  Jade jolted awake and blinked. Bright sunlight stabbed her eyes. She shied away from the intense light and the pain that came with it. She squeezed her eyes shut again and nuzzled her face into the warm fabric. But she couldn’t keep them shut for long. She wanted to see where she was. As soon as the initial pain and bright spots in her vision faded, she squinted against the long shards of late afternoon sunlight.

  They were moving through the trees, the forest crunching with every step. The rocking movement was less soothing now—faster—but the strong arms were firm and sure. She breathed in his mint and cedarwood scent.

  “Hang in there, Jade. Stay with me.”

  The rhythm of the words matched the beat of his strides.

  “Axel?” Jade blinked as she recognised his voice. With another breath, she remembered his scent too.

  Axel was carrying her. It was Axel’s strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and under her knees. It was Axel’s body that shielded her from the rain. In the back of her mind, Jade thought there was something wrong with this, but it slipped away from her before she could grasp it.

  She tilted her head back to stare up at him, to make sure she was right, but this small movement brought on a sudden burst of pain. Jade groaned.

  “Jade? Jade!” Axel’s voice was hoarse, insistent. “Hang in there, all right?”

  He wrapped his arms around her gently but securely, as though she was something precious. Something loved. He tightened his grip, cradling her closer to him, if that was even possible.

  Jade heard Axel’s heart beating, echoing his words. Stay with me, stay with me.

  Despite the throbbing ache in the back of her head, the corner of her mouth turned up slightly. Her eyes started to slide shut again and she didn’t have the energy to fight it.

  She was with Axel. Everything was going to be all right.

  “Hang in there. Jade!” Distantly, Axel shouted at her but she slipped off into the darkness. The insistence in Axel’s voice turned into fear and, as Jade drifted farther away, she heard his yell like a whisper. “Help! Help me!”

  22

  There was a faint breeze, a fresh whisper over her skin, and the damp smell of rain. A hand smoothed her hair—soothing and gentle. It was a while before Jade understood that she had woken up at all. She made a half-hearted attempt at opening her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy and fluttered open only a moment—to see blurred flames and a cooking pot—before sliding closed again.

  There was pain in her head and shoulder that tugged on the edge of her mind, but she couldn’t muster the energy to move. She lay still. Her body yearned for sleep and Jade was only too happy to comply.

  Jade did not go back to sleep though, not truly, but lay in a dazed half-sleep. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings but could not make herself react to them in any way. She heard the rustle of leaves and call of birds in the distance. There was the crackle of fire in the corner and the sound of someone softly padding around the floor. Jade breathed mint and cedarwood, though it was almost overpowered by something bitter. All of these things seemed vaguely familiar, though her thoughts were slippery and elusive, escaping her grasp before she understood them.

  Through the fog of her mind, Jade struggled with thoughts that refused to be held but wouldn’t be forgotten. She’d been here before, then left. Left to do something important. Find someone. The thoughts gnawed at her, refusing to be lost in the fog. Jade remembered trees. A creek. Rain.

  She remembe
red being carried. Jade sank willingly into that memory. Being carried. Cradled. Precious.

  Something sticky was applied to her shoulder. It eased her pain.

  “What is that? What are you doing to her?” The questions were rough and demanding, the voice familiar.

  Axel.

  Realisation penetrated the fog, bringing back memories in random order and evoking shadows of emotions she’d felt: anger, desire, humiliation, love. He’d carried her, held her close. She’d enjoyed it. She’d found him, then he’d left her. He’d yelled at her, she’d not wanted to see or hear from him. She couldn’t make sense of it all. She felt exhausted and wanted to push it aside, but the voices drew her.

  “This,” Jade felt a slight touch at her forehead, “sore but heals. This,” now Jade felt a slight pressure at her shoulder, “no heal.”

  This new voice was familiar too. The memories came to her more easily, as though the fog was lifting. Jade searched the woman’s name—Namaje.

  “Maybe Travellers can heal.” Jade heard Namaje continue. “But me. Just help pain.”

  “What is that you’re putting on it?” Axel’s voice held less of an edge now, but Jade heard the worry in it.

  “Paste. Just small. Too much, how say?” Namaje paused and Jade heard frustration in Axel’s sigh. “Poison,” Namaje finished.

  “Poison?” Axel’s voice was sharp. Then there was a pause. “Is that what’s been killing Travellers?”

  “Yes. No.” Namaje replied. “Paste for pain. On dart, Mortisberry juice. Makes still. Then…” Jade’s eyes fluttered open to see Namaje draw a finger across her throat.

  “A paralytic then,” Axel murmured. “When is she going to wake up?” Axel took her hand in his, curling his fingers around hers. His hand was warm and Jade gave his fingers a squeeze. It was as much as she had the energy for.

  Axel jumped, leaning close to her and searching her face. She blinked her eyes open and he looked deeply into them, giving her the faintest of smiles. Jade kept her eyes open, fixed on him, though it was an effort.