Revenge of the Mad Scientist (Book One: Airship Adventure Chronicles)

by Lara Nance

  “You’d better go check on the kid. He’s a little too interested in the artillery.” Rett pointed to Benji who was now pulling apart one of the guns. Sam’s eyebrows went up and he hurried down to assess the damage.

  Benji pointed to several parts of the cannon when Sam reached him. They talked for a minute and Sam stood scratching his chin. Then he hurried back to the engine room and came back with his tool chest and some spare parts.

  “Kid needs a little help,” Sam said, ducking his head from meeting Rett’s stare.

  Rett frowned. But he trusted Sam, so hopefully they were just making some minor improvements.

  Belle and Armani leaned over the rail pointing out sights to each other. Ahead, through the grey/blue mist, rose the impressive outline of the jagged peaks of the Durbon Mountains. The sight of them always filled him with awe. They were half covered with snow given their heights. Here was the home of the fabled Gandiss snow tiger whose massive teeth had traditionally been used for the handle of daggers. Although rumored to be extinct, the people of Gandiss clung to the belief that they still existed, hidden in these impenetrable peaks. He shivered as the wind carried the coldness of the mountains toward them at their new altitude.

  He set the wheel mechanism and walked over to the back rail and pulled on his heavy leather and fur-lined jacket. His thick gloves were next and then his leather helmet and goggles. Immediately warmth spread through him. Whatever lay ahead he had to be ready. He spread his feet into a stable stance, flexed his fingers and released the autopilot. Here we go.

  ###

  Rett scanned the peaks of the Durbon Mountains below him. He pushed the altitude lever forward a degree and Gambit lifted gently like a feather on a wave. He looked down at the deck where Sam handed Benji parts and tools as he worked on the cannon.

  Armani followed Benji with adoring eyes until Belle pulled her away. Rett wondered if Belle had figured out the girl had elevated Benji into some kind of hero after her fiancé had ended up being a complete asshole. He hoped Armani could find a way to discover her own identity before this trip was over.

  Gambit abruptly rose over an air current sending them staggering about the deck. Rett called a warning and Belle and Armani held onto the rail. The ship bucked over a few more gusts and then dropped a hundred feet in a second. Benji spread his arms and fell down over his tools and parts to keep them from rolling across the deck.

  “Sam, we need to go higher,” Rett called. His first mate ran to the engine room to release more helium. The breeze intensified and they rose over it. Bursts of frigid air lanced the breeze. “Everybody hang on.”

  As the ship ascended, it punched through a thick layer of clouds. Rett leveled the ship out and stared around at the breathtaking view of the pointed peaks poking above the mist just ahead. There was no turning back now.

  Sam stuck his head out of the hatch. “Seems a bit smoother up here.”

  “Aye. We’ll stay at this altitude until we reach the higher peaks, then we’ll have to go up a bit.”

  Sam nodded and came up to the deck. “Okay. I’ll keep an eye on the engines. We’re in colder temperatures, but pressure is increasing with the higher altitude. It will take some fine adjustments as we go.”

  “What’s that boy doing to my cannon?” Rett asked as Benji began work again as the ship’s movement settled down.

  “The kid’s a genius. He came up with a way to add a steam accelerant chamber to the gun using parts he’d seen on the ship,” Sam said excitedly. “We’ll have a long range cannon that will no doubt come in handy.”

  “You’re kidding.” Rett eyed the young man with new respect.

  “No. I’d better go help him. It would be nice to have it ready if we meet any pirates.” Sam hurried back to Benji and his cannon.

  Belle came up the steps to the pilot station. “Is that what you were talking about with the dangerous wind currents?”

  “That was a gentle warning,” Rett said. He was glad she seemed to be willing to forget that dunking in the pond. He knew he shouldn’t have done it, but she really infuriated him beyond reason sometimes. Things were easier between them now and it was a relief.

  “Oh.” Belle bit her bottom lip and scanned the horizon, auburn curls flipped about her face in the breeze. “Those mountains are magnificent. Are we actually going over them?”

  “Some. We’ll try to weave around the tallest. The air gets thin the higher we go. We have to be careful about that.”

  She nodded, and then turned to him with a solemn expression. “Do you think there’s really a chance we can find my father? I’m so afraid I’m putting all of you in danger for nothing. He could already be dead.”

  Surprise hit him. It wasn’t like Belle to be tentative.

  He shook his head. “No. Unless he had an accident, he’s not dead.”

  “You seem very certain.” Her gaze narrowed.

  “Look. He’s a huge bargaining chip. They’re not going to let that go. In fact, I believe they will take every precaution that he not be hurt.”

  Her expression eased. “But finding him…”

  “It will be hard, but remember, Blackwatch can’t hide. There has to be someone who will be willing to give us its location for enough money.”

  She nodded slowly and then gave him a sideways glance, both cautious and approving.

  “You’re right,” she said after a moment. “If we can at least find where Blackwatch landed we have a starting place to track him.”

  A rumbling came from the distance and he cursed under his breath. Great. All they needed now was a storm. He increased their altitude a bit more as the mountains grew taller. Ahead, a massive peak caught his attention and he planned to steer around it instead of going over it. The rumbling grew louder as they swung around the peak. Belle gasped.

  “Bloody Hell,” he swore.

  ###

  Belle couldn’t believe her eyes. As they rounded the peak, they entered a sort of air valley among a circle of towering mountains. In its midst, two airships fired at each other through puffs of clouds with their deck cannons, and both flew pirate flags. It was the cannon shots they heard, not thunder.

  The two ships circled each other creating a swirl of white mist and clouds in their wake. Gambit arrived on the scene above them, unnoticed for the moment. Belle pulled out her distance viewer and held it to her eyes. She adjusted a couple wheels and flipped down a pair of lenses.

  “One is from Catika,” she said, noticing the small flag that flew beneath the black pirate pennant and the dark brown skins of the crew. She trained her viewer on the pilot station. To her surprise, the captain was a woman, her black skin shining and long black braids flipping around her as she shouted orders to her crew. She held a bronze shooter in one hand and gripped the wheel with the other.

  “Damn,” Rett said, his face grim. “Where’s the other from?”

  Belle turned her gaze to the other ship. The hull was painted black with white eye shapes around it. The crew was a motley bunch in tattered clothes and scraggly hair, their skin a yellowish brown tint.

  “Carabarras,” she said as she sighted the flag on the rear of the ship.

  “We’ll never get out of this. Once they spot us they’ll both turn on us. We don’t stand a chance.” Rett called to Sam, “I need you in the engine room, mate.”

  “Then we need to take out one now. Maybe the other will appreciate our help,” Belle said.

  “Pirates don’t really think that way,” Rett said as he spun the wheel to retreat.

  “Well, maybe women pirates do,” She hurried down to the deck. “Benji, is that cannon ready to fire?”

  “Belle, wait, that’s not going to work,” Rett called to her.

  “No. But the other c, c, cannons are.” He looked up from his work.

  “Can you shoot them?”

  A grin spread over his face. “Of course.”

  “Then aim one for the inflatable of that ship on the right.” She pointed to the Carabarras p
irate vessel.

  “Belle!” Rett yelled. “Do. Not. Fire. The cannon!”

  Benji jumped up and ran to the rail and whistled when he saw the duel taking place. “Air Pirates!”

  “Don’t look so happy. They may kill us,” Belle warned.

  “But I’ve never seen air pirates b, b, before,” Benji’s eyes were alight with interest as he ran to the cannon at the front of their ship.

  “Belle,” Rett roared.

  “Rett d, d, doesn’t want us to shoot it.” Benji glanced back at Rett uncertainly as he loaded it.

  “Ignore him. I chartered this ship and I say we need to shoot the pirates.” She pointed to the gun. “Carry on.”

  “Ok, k, kay.” He adjusted the sights and then cranked the wheels to aim the gun. “Here we g, g, go.”

  Belle held her hands over her ears, but the blast deafened her anyway. She and Benji clung to the rail. The projectile soared through the air and ripped a hole perfectly through the middle of the Carabarras pirate ship’s inflatable.

  They let lose a cheer and she looked back at Rett who pounded his steering wheel in rage, and yelled for Sam. Well, he didn’t have another plan, so they would just have to make do with hers. Sam rushed up from the engine room and stared at them in disbelief.

  She put her viewer up to her eyes. The Catika ship slowly rose to their level and the captain viewed them with a puzzled expression. Then the ship inched closer and drew along side. Belle breathed a sigh of relief, they were coming close to thank them.

  “Prepare to board,” the captain yelled and her crew gave a cheer and brought out crossbows that shot grappling hooks across the air to their deck.

  “Any more bright ideas?” Rett called down to her.

  It was too late to retaliate and furthermore, the pirates completely outnumbered them. Belle’s heart sank. She’d counted on the Catika captain letting them go out of gratitude. Seems Rett was right. Pirates don’t think that way.

  Rett rushed down from the pilot station, but shooters were immediately pointed in his direction and he skidded to a stop. Belle knew he was furious at her, but she didn’t see where they had much choice. It was a gamble, but she had lost.

  When the two ships were tied together at the rails, the captain swung her legs over the side and stepped onto the deck of the Gambit with ten of her crew behind her brandishing swords and shooters. She was an imposing figure, nearly as tall as Belle wearing tight black leather, a flight jacket and thigh high boots. Her attire bristled with weapons: a brown leather belt hung low on her hips and the bronze shooter was slung in its holster on one side and a sword on the other, a dagger was strapped to one thigh and some sort of contraption on her wrist looked like it would shoot projectiles. The woman's sharp gaze scanned the deck and settled on Rett.

  She sauntered up to him, smooth as a black cat, and looked him up and down as she slowly circled, flipping a long white silk scarf over one shoulder. “You must be the captain of this lovely vessel.”

  “That’s right,” Rett said in a terse tone, his jaw twitching.

  “My, my, I have a mind to keep you for myself, sweetling,” she purred. “You’re absolutely luscious.” She ran fingers over his broad chest and then turned her attention to Belle.

  “Well, now. What have we here?” Her deep musical voice carried the sing song accent of the Catika people. “A pretty, young, rich woman. I see a large ransom in our future.” Her crew rumbled and hooted in approval.

  Belle winced as Benji’s grip on her arm tightened and she hoped he wouldn’t do anything rash. She took a step forward and saw the other woman appraise her with her dark brown eyes.

  “Captain, perhaps you missed the action where we just saved you from that other pirate?” Belle asked.

  The captain laughed, throwing back her head. Her crew howled with her. Then she walked forward until she was only a few feet in front of Arabella. “You’re a cheeky one, I’ll give you that. So you thought I’d be so happy to be saved I’d let a rich prize slip through my fingers?”

  “Something like that,” Belle said. She glanced over at Rett. One of the pirate crew had a shooter pointed directly at him. His eyes blazed in anger.

  “Sorry, love. But times are hard. It’s kill or be killed in this part of the world. But I will do you a favor since you helped me. I’ll just take this ship’s cargo and ransom you off instead of killing you.” She grinned, her white teeth a bright contrast to her dark skin. “I’ll keep the cute captain for my bed until he bores me.”

  Benji stepped in front of Belle, fists balled at his sides. “You won’t t, t, touch Lady Arabella. I’ll k, k, kill anyone who tries.”

  Jasper came to her other side, his chin raised high. “That goes for me, as well. No one touches Lady Arabella Trunkett while there is breath left in my body.”

  “And me,” Armani stepped up as well. “She saved my life and I will die for her.”

  The captain stepped back, frowning. Her gaze ran over Belle. “You’re Lady Arabella Trunkett?”

  “I am.” She pushed Benji aside to face the other woman. If they were going to take her prisoner, she would fight with every ounce of energy she had. She was tired of people kidnapping her.

  “The Lady Arabella who built an orphanage in Jenta for the poor children?”

  Belle’s head spun. She and her father set up that orphanage six years ago. One of the first of her many charities after starting her thread business. Jenta was the capital of Catika, a huge city where areas of overwhelming poverty left no haven for their orphans.

  “Yes, my father and I built that orphanage. Sir John Trunkett. He’s been kidnapped by terrorists from Carabarras and we’re trying to find him to rescue him.”

  The captain’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her head to one side. “My sister is in that orphanage.”

  Belle blinked. “Well, I, ah, I hope she is doing alright.”

  “She would be dead if she had not gone there. My step-father was a drunk, murdering bastard that killed our mother and would have killed my sister as well if she had not gone to your orphanage.”

  Belle smiled. “I’m very glad she’s safe.”

  The captain made a motion with one hand and her crew lowered their weapons, staring at each other in confusion. She held out a hand to Arabella, a bird of prey was tattooed on the back of it. “I’m Rifka Scarzy, Captain of The Hawk.”

  “Very pleased to meet you, Captain.” Belle shook her hand wondering if this meant they were not going to be taken prisoner.

  “Please, call me Rifka.” She smiled then and the harsh angles of her face softened and Belle thought she was quite pretty with her thick lashes and full lips. She couldn’t be more than thirty, but a harsh life had taken its toll. “I find myself in an interesting position. A pirate has no place for mercy in their heart. But my sister is all I have left of family. She is being taught to sew in that orphanage and hopes to open a shop as a tailor when she is old enough to leave. They tell her you will give her money to set up the shop and get started. Is that true?”

  “Yes,” Belle said. “We try to teach all the children a trade and give them a helping hand to get started when they are adults. That way they become productive members of society.”

  Rifka laughed. “You are an amazing woman, Arabella Trunkett. Not many people in this world try to help others to such a degree.”

  “I’ve been very fortunate so I feel it is my duty to help others less fortunate,” Belle said. “I’d help you, too if you wanted to return to Catika and start a legitimate business.”

  Rifka threw back her head and laughed again. “Oh, no, my dear. It’s too late for me. I’ve a thirst for adventure and pirating is in my blood. But I’m glad for my little sister to have the chance at a normal life.” She looked around at the ship then. “You say you are going after your father?”

  “Yes.” Belle explained what had occurred in Urbannia and her subsequent adventures. Rifka’s expressive face showed her amazement at this tale.

  “
Well, I thought your crew was a bit sparse for your mission, but I might be mistaken. Seems they make up for numbers with resourcefulness.” She waved her men away and they climbed back over the rail to The Hawk. She stepped closer to Belle, her eyes gentle. “Just this one time, I am going to go against my pirate nature and let you go. I hope you find your father.”

  “Thank you, Rifka,” Belle said. She reached out and took the other woman’s hands in hers. “It’s never too late to start over. If you want to give it a try, look me up.”

  Rifka chuckled and gave Belle a wink. Then she vaulted over the rails and yelled to her crew to release Gambit. The ships floated apart and then peeled away from each other.

  Belle ran to the rail and raised a hand in farewell. Rifka waved back from behind the wheel.

  “That was very, very lucky, My Lady” Jasper said. “I never thought to encounter such ruffians in the middle of the air. I certainly hope we don’t meet any more pirates.”

  “Another lesson that being charitable is a good thing.” Armani put an arm through Belle’s and smiled up at her.

  “I want to shoot the c, c, cannon again,” Benji shouted.

  Chapter 15

  Rett still couldn’t believe it. He thought they were done for when that pirate boarded them. If he'd lost Gambit, his life would be over. And then Belle charms them out of the situation without even trying. He wanted to kill her for ordering Benji to fire that shot but then he couldn’t argue with the results. Her instincts had been true. Damn it.

  She remained at the rail bundled up in her thick fur-lined cloak, gazing out over the mountains. Armani stood on one side of her and Benji on the other taking turns pointing out amazing sights among the upper peaks. Furry mountain goats, lumbering bears appeared on the slopes and majestic eagles soared beside them like an escort. Jasper set up a tray on the deck table—the magician of tea. Belle managed to draw incredibly loyal people to her.

  “It’s too calm.” Sam looked up at the sky.

  “I know what you mean. It makes me nervous,” Rett replied. It had been five hours since they were released by Captain Scarzy. Now that had been one dangerous woman—armed to the teeth with guns and blades. And yet, he’d rather have Belle beside him in a fight he realized. That astonished him. Of course, Rifka was extremely attractive in that black leather outfit…but no, he wasn’t going to think about that.