by Lara Nance
“How far till we’re out of the mountains?” Sam looked down at the chart beside Rett, interrupting his thoughts of the curvy air pirate.
“Not long. Maybe another half hour. How are the fuel and water holding up?”
“It’ll be tight, but we should be able to make it to Terrabba.” Sam made a few measurements with his dividers. “What do you think we’ll find there?”
“I don’t know but I’m betting with what’s happening in the world it won’t be a warm reception.” With the highest peaks behind them, Rett lessened their altitude. They pierced the cloud level and finally had a view of the ground again.
“There.” Sam pointed. Ahead the mountains rolled down to hills and then the desert spread out to infinity on the horizon.
Rett gave a loud whistle. Belle’s group looked up and he pointed. They shouted in excitement. The end of the mountains. Of course it didn’t mean the danger was behind them. But he was glad that particular type of danger was over. Now, on to the next adventure.
He pulled the lever back to bring them closer to the ground as the line of mountains ran out. The ground below them resembled a rippling sea of sand, only a sparse shrub here and there marked the landscape. He squinted when he thought he saw a flash of blue in the distance. Could there possibly be water out here? It must be a mirage. He rubbed his eyes but it was still there.
Belle called to him and his gaze followed where she pointed off to their starboard. Benji and Jasper yelled as well, and soon he saw why. The remains of a downed airship littered the sand. He slowed their progress and swooped closer.
“I know that ship,” Sam murmured. “It’s the Blackwatch.”
###
Belle glanced back at Rett. His lips pressed together in a grim line. She didn’t need him to tell her it was the ship her father had been on. A chill of fear crept into her chest but she pushed the fear away. She wouldn’t believe he was dead until she saw his body with her own eyes.
Rett brought Gambit around, circling the wreck. He watched her she knew, waiting for her reaction. She couldn’t break down. There were too many people depending on her.
Fortunately she didn’t have to ask, Rett brought their ship down to the ground beside the crash site. Without speaking they all hurried down to the gangplank and spilled out on the ground.
Belle stumbled as the sand gripped her boots. Rett came up behind her and put a hand under her elbow.
“Steady now,” he murmured.
“It’s Blackwatch, isn’t it?” she whispered.
He nodded. “The gondola is in pretty good shape. Something brought them down that didn’t destroy it.” He pointed to the hull of the vessel on its side in the sand. The inflatable was in shreds however.
“This is very strange,” Sam said as he walked among the remains of the black canvas whose tattered ends fluttered in the breeze. “What could have done such damage?”
“Look,” Benji called. He had wandered out in front of the airship. Belle and Rett hurried over to him.
“Camel hoof p, p, prints,” Benji said, pointing. “Heading off that way.”
“If they crashed, somebody took them away from here on camels,” Sam said. “Hard to believe they had someone waiting here for them though.”
“We should search the gondola.” Jasper glanced at Arabella. “Then we’ll know for sure Sir John is not dead.”
No one disagreed. They found a hatch they could climb through and entered the tilted world inside the gondola. Belle moved through the ship in a daze, repeating over and over in her head, he’s not here, please, he’s not here.
They searched the ship and found a variety of items the occupants had left in their hurry to continue their journey. Belle wondered if that meant they knew they were being followed.
Rett told them to pick up anything they might need and they headed back to Gambit. Jasper pilfered happily through the galley. Benji had a blast gathering all sorts of odd items into a big canvas bag causing Belle to envision some sort of mad invention in their future. She only hoped it didn’t explode.
As they crawled from the hatch and over the side of the downed vessel, the sun sank in the sky, turning it a grayish purple with a splash of orange along the line of mountains behind them.
“Will we spend the night here?” Belle asked Rett.
“No. I may have seen an oasis a few miles away. If we can make it there we’ll have fresh water and a secure place to tie down the ship.”
Akin to a dream out of nowhere, the oasis appeared like a green jewel in the golden setting of the sand. Belle was delighted at the tiny spring that bubbled to the surface in a nest of boulders at its center. Green grass and cattails surrounded the rocks and half a dozen date palms waved their green fronds in the evening breeze. Jasper enlisted Benji’s aid in devising a way to shoot some of the ripe dates out of the trees.
Belle thought this tiny spot looked like paradise after all they had been through. She walked down to the spring and removed her corset and coat. After unbuttoning the top few buttons of her white blouse she sat on a rock and scooped water in one hand and splashed it on her face and neck. The warm dryness here was welcome compared to the frigid temperatures they had endured among the mountain peaks.
Armani joined her and followed her example enjoying the cool fresh water offered by the spring. Armani laughed for the first time since her rescue and Belle laughed with her. She looked over the rocks at Jasper working his food preparation magic. He set up a group of chairs and table, which he proceeded to load down with food.
Belle took in a deep breath and thanked God for her companions. This trip would be a nightmare without them. She caught Benji casting surreptitious glances at Armani as she splashed in the pool and rolled her eyes. What was she going to do about those two?
Sam created a small fire using a metal pan filled with coal from the ship and dried palm fronds. It sizzled and glowed, sending tiny sparks into the air. She sank into a chair and stared at the bright orange coals, mesmerized. Jasper handed her a glass of burgundy, rich and red, the aroma musty and sweet. She closed her eyes as she sipped, allowing her limbs to relax. As far as she knew, her father was still alive and tomorrow they would be on his trail again. She sent up a silent prayer of thanks that they had made it through the dangerous mountains.
“My Lady.” Jasper held out a tray to her. She smiled at him and took one of the biscuits filled with ham and cheese.
The others gathered around the fire and talk of their past adventures spread over Belle like a comfortable blanket. Her eyelids drooped and she sighed in contentment not felt since the loss of her watch. She had to be relieved to have made it this far, but their journey was long from over. Tomorrow they had to pick up the trail of the camels and find out where they had taken her father.
As night descended over the desert, a chill crept into the air. Ever observant, Jasper brought her and Armani’s cloaks and draped them around their shoulders. Sam put another bucket of coal on the fire and she caught Rett’s gaze fixed on her. She arched an eyebrow at his regard, but he only smiled. She wondered what he was thinking. He had been surprisingly quiet since the air pirate encounter.
“Watch this, Belle,” Armani called. Benji showed her how to use the handheld cranked sling shot that they had devised to shoot the dates down. She fired it into the fronds of one of the trees and a clump of the fruit fell to the ground. The girl laughed and jumped up and down as Benji grabbed the bunch and raised it in the air.
“Good shot,” Rett said. He rose from his chair and inspected the contraption Benji had conjured up out of scraps to produce such an accurate shot. Belle couldn’t help smiling at his surprised look of approval.
“Dessert,” Jasper called. He had prepared the luscious ripe dates stuffed with mascarpone cheese he found a can of on the crashed ship. The confection was covered with a rum sauce. Rett delighted her by brewing thick Pandistani coffee over the coals in a brass carafe adding pods of cardamom for flavor. She savored the strong, deliciou
s flavor.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Belle asked once they were all gathered around the fire with their small cups of coffee cupped in their hands to absorb the warmth.
“We’ll follow the camel tracks as long as we can.” Rett tossed another dried palm frond on the fire where it snapped and sparkled.
“What do you mean by as long as we can?” Belle frowned.
“Who knows what the weather will be like tomorrow. If the wind picks up, the shifting sand will obscure the imprints.”
“I could make a long r, r, range scope,” Benji said. “Then it would be easier to see the g, g, ground.”
“You can?” Rett asked.
“Yes, there were some parts on the Blackwatch that I can use: A b, b, brass tube, mirrors, lenses, levers and gears. It should b, b, be easy.” He grinned.
“Easy for you,” Belle said. “But it sounds like a good idea. You never know when you’ll need a long range viewer.”
He jumped up, eyes bright in excitement. “Great, I’ll g, g, go work on it now.” He hurried off into the ship.
Sam stood and cleared his throat. “I think I’ll go as well. The kid might need some help.”
Rett snorted. “You just want to see how he does it.”
Sam shrugged and gave them a sheepish grin before he went after Benji. Then Armani rose and fiddled with her hair a moment, twisting it around one finger. Finally she said, “I might be able to help, too,” and hurried off as well.
“What are you going to do about those two?” Rett asked her. Jasper began gathering up their cups and dishes to carry back onboard, and sniffed in disapproval.
Belle gave a short laugh. “So you noticed it, too.”
“It’s hard to miss.” He rolled his eyes.
“It’s just calf love…hopefully.”
Rett shifted in his seat. “He’s a good kid.”
Belle smiled. “Yes. Given his childhood it’s actually amazing how well he’s turned out.”
“Jasper told me about the orphanage.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Really? Well, there’s no describing my horror when I realized his parents had just dumped him there to get rid of him. They couldn’t believe all his fiddling and the withdrawn nature resulted from anything other than insanity.”
“He’s lucky you found him.”
She chuckled. “It hasn’t been easy, mind you. He’s very nearly blown up my house several times and he broke his leg three years ago when he built what he thought would be flying wings and jumped off the roof. But he’s also invented some useful items that are really remarkable. I’m hoping we may be able to manufacture and sell something eventually. It would be good for him to have his own business. He won’t want to stay with me forever.”
“He seems very fond of you. You may be wrong.”
She laughed again. “Oh, no. Men want their own lives when they’re grown.” Then her face flamed thinking of Rett and how he wanted to have his own life at her expense.
He coughed and looked away. Fortunately, Jasper returned with a tray holding two snifters of brandy.
Belle took a glass and rolled it between her palms to warm it. “In any event, I’ll help him all I can and I’m sure he’ll make a success of his life as long as he doesn’t kill himself with one of his inventions.”
Rett tossed back the brandy. He grimaced as he swallowed. His eyes held a strange expression. “Belle, I want to ask you something.”
Her heart flipped over in her chest, but she maintained her composure. Talking with him like this reminded her of the time when they were engaged, and before that when they were friends. He had always been easy to talk to and they had carried on conversations for hours at a time. She’d missed that so much when he left, feeling she had lost her best friend.
“You know I’ll make every possible effort to find your father. But what will you do if we aren’t able to. Are you prepared for that?”
She shifted her eyes away. Leave it to Rett to ask the difficult questions. Ever since they left Urbannia she had not allowed herself to even consider not finding her father. It was impossible to imagine life without him. Furthermore, what would the empire do without his expertise in foreign affairs?
After another sip of brandy she met his gaze. “I don’t know.”
He watched her, silent. She stood up and paced to the edge of the light circle cast by the charcoal fire. She could barely make out the shadow of the rocks surrounding the little stream. Over her head palm fronds rubbed together in the light evening breeze. Rett’s footsteps behind her sent a shiver across her skin.
“Belle?” His voice was soft, gentle. It made her heart ache as she was thrown back in time. He sounded like that when he’d asked her to marry him. She didn’t want to think about the past—about him leaving.
“I don’t know, because we will find him.” She turned around, their faces only a foot away from each other. She swallowed and balled her hands into fists. “There is no other option. Tomorrow we’ll follow the tracks and then we’ll find where they have taken him. Once we know that, there is nothing on this earth that will stop me until I have him safe.”
Her voice rose as she talked and it shook with conviction. “Do you understand?”
His gaze dipped into hers. “I understand.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to bed.” She started toward the ship, then stopped and looked over her shoulder. “And Rett, if you run out on me this time and my father is hurt…I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands.”
She swung around before he could see the tears brimming in her eyes and marched up the gangplank into the ship without looking back. There, she said it. The thing that had been eating at her insides ever since she hired this charter—her fear that he would leave when the going got hard. But this time he wouldn’t leave just her, he would leave her father as well and that was unpardonable.
Chapter 16
Belle rubbed her eyelids, swung her legs over the side of the berth, and stretched her arms over her head, yawning.
Without her pocket watch she didn’t know what time it was. She quickly dressed, donning tan jodhpurs and brown leather boots. She pulled on a short-sleeved white blouse and strapped a leather cincher around her waist with a holster that hung down on her hip for her multi-shooter. She tucked the stickpin in the side pocket of her leather money satchel for safe keeping.
In the salon of the gondola, Jasper had set up tea and coffee with sandwiches of eggs, bacon and canned biscuits. The others straggled in shortly after she arrived. It seemed they had all enjoyed a much needed rest.
Rett met her gaze and nodded. She gave him a half smile in return.
Benji had completed his distance viewer and showed Rett and Sam how it worked. Armani sat close by gazing at Benji like he was some sort of ancient conquering hero. Belle inspected the brass tube encrusted with wheels, levers and lenses that moved up and down.
“It’s amazing,” Sam said. “Last night we could only see a short distance. But this morning we looked at the mountains and could see individual rocks on the peaks.”
Rett slapped Benji on the back. “Good job. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Benji blushed and glanced at Armani who applauded. Good lord.
“How soon can we leave?” Belle asked as she stuffed the last of her sandwich into her mouth. She couldn’t take any more of the moon eyes those two were throwing at each other.
“Sam already filled up the water tank so we’re ready to go,” Rett said. “With this distance viewer we can see the ground in detail. It will make following the camel tracks much easier.”
“That sounds great,” Belle said, and a surge of hope rushed through her.
Suddenly, outside yells and whoops erupted along with the sound of hoof beats pounding the sand. Thuds echoed on the hull of the ship and they all ran up the stairs to the deck so they could see what was going on.
Anger boiled up in Belle. There were men on horses and camels running in cir
cles around Gambit, rifles and swords waving in the air. They all wore shiny metal helmets from which their long black hair escaped and trailed down their backs. Most had mustaches with long strands hanging down the sides of their mouths. A row of the men with deadly looking brass cranked crossbows lined up along the side of Gambit with arrows pointed at their inflatable. A man on a prancing grey horse confronted them, a rifle raised above his head. Silver coins jangled from his horse’s bridle.
“Invaders, come out or we will destroy your ship,” he yelled. He wore a gray and black tunic with loose trousers tucked into knee high boots. A pointed metal helmet sat on his head draped with a white scarf. His yellow tinged skin revealed creases from exposure to the sun and his narrow eyes tilted up at the corners.
“Bloody hell,” Benji swore and for once Belle did not correct him.
“Bedouins,” Sam said. “We’d better do as they say. The inflatable can’t be replaced. Maybe we can bribe them.”
“Bloody hell,” Rett echoed Benji. “How did they find us?”
With no other option available, they filed out over the gangplank and stood in the sand before the leader of the Bedouin group. Belle wanted to launch herself at the man on the gray horse. Another delay in their trip. This was disastrous. They needed to be on the trail before it disappeared.
“This is our oasis,” the leader said. “You have defiled it. The only way to reclaim our honor is through death.” He brandished a sword over his head. His men whooped and yelled, wheeling their mounts about and around the small group of Gambit’s crew.
“Sir,” Belle said stepping forward and holding out her hands to them. “I beg you. There are powers at play here that may destroy all of us. Please listen to me.”
The man on the gray horse fixed his flashing black eyes on her, frowning. “Woman, beg all you like. In the law of the desert you have offended us by using our oasis without our permission. You must die.”
