by Blooding, SM
The vibration settled into my bones, like a gentle humming. Healthy. This is what “good” felt like. That was an important thing to remember if we were going to survive. Sometimes, it was the slight rattle instead of mild vibration, a change in pitch, a slight modification in rhythm that would tell me when something was wrong.
This ship terrified me.
Ryo returned after what seemed like hours. It could have been. There was no real way of tracking time down here. His expression was grim as he buttoned his silk turquoise vest. “I found a few who are willing to help you man the vessel. They have no ties to Sky City and nothing left for the queens to hold over them.”
I pushed off the wall and nodded with relief. “And the others?”
“They need to be removed quickly. They are the queens’ knights, all loyal.” He grimaced. “And oblivious to pain, which leads me to believe I know why they are so loyal. They have been broken.”
My vision flared as my heart clenched. I knew what that felt like. “I don’t like the idea of killing them in cold blood.”
My brother nodded. “I can take them to Ino City. Mother is quite adept at breaking people in her own right.”
These men didn’t need more breaking, but at the same time, they were a liability. I couldn’t let them go freely. They’d find a way to get word back to the Queens. I nodded. “That sounds best.”
His expression said he knew what I hadn’t said. “I’ll radio ahead. What can we use for transportation?”
“Take Glory Sunrise. We can’t take her where we’re going.”
He nodded and headed for the stair.
I glanced at Haji.
He sagged against the wall, dark circles growing black around his eyes.
“How quickly can you leave?” I asked Ryo, following him up the stairs and down the corridor that led to the sky, less noise and the promise of fresh air.
He turned to glance at me over his shoulder as he opened the door to the outside and stepped through. “You worried about Haji?”
I nodded.
He stepped to the side so I could pass through.
I took in a deep gulping breath as soon as the endless sky was above my head.
“I can leave immediately.”
I clapped him on the back. “Then please do so. Release the survivors who wish to stay as soon as you’re sure they’re safe. Ensure that one of our people are with them at all times. Just because they claim they’re willing, doesn’t mean I believe it.”
He disappeared back through the door. “I would respect you less if you did.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. He respected me? I wasn’t expecting that.
It took a while to get the prisoners transferred, the crews reallocated and for a sort of natural activity to fall around the station. We had mostly technicians and mechanics from the Hands’ crew. The only people allowed to fly the planes were the Knights.
But they weren’t the only ones who knew how.
Mechanics knew more about how to fly than most of the pilots did, which Joshua was quick to point out. We had a lot to learn and the mechanics were eager to both teach and fly.
The biplanes had wings that didn’t flap and needed propellers. There were models with two sets of wings and some with one set. The flyers were the ones with the flapping wings, but there was a new bird that we hadn’t seen yet.
They called it the dragonfly. There were two sets of flapping wings, one behind the other. These were wicked fast and had incredible maneuverability. They almost made me want to convert. My airships looked down right bulky in comparison.
Keeley deeply enjoyed being in the cockpit of a flyer. She even picked one and gave it a name. She spent every second she could in the air. That surprised me a bit.
Yvette loved the dragonfly.
She also enjoyed seeing if she could kick my butt in the sky.
Like now.
The two of us were in the sky doing maneuvers, proving our skills in the driver’s seat. Technically, I was supposed to be trying to shoot her down with the weapons strapped to the sides of the lithe plane. However, I was having a rather difficult time doing that with her behind me.
I shifted to the right, twisting around to spot her.
She stayed on my tail, not letting me out of her sights.
I throttled up, pointing the nose of my dragonfly into the sky, aimed directly into Kel’mar’s big, red heart.
She didn’t pause for a second.
The air was too thin for the dragonfly to maintain altitude. It was also getting hard to breathe, but here, I had the advantage. I’d spent my entire life in the high altitudes. Yvette had only lived in Sky City.
She dropped first.
Finally! I pointed my nose to the swelling ocean far, far below me, the refueling station a bare dot on the horizon. My head pounded with a dull ache. I knew I’d pushed the limit.
But it was worth it because I had her in my sights. I was planning to keep her there.
Then, all of a sudden, my dragonfly stalled.
Stalled?
I stared wide-eyed at the dashboard of gauges in front of me. Sputter, putter, sputter…stop.
Air whistled past my ears. Ice crystals formed on the outside of my goggles, popping and disappearing almost as fast they appeared.
Without power, I had no wings. With no wings, I couldn’t even coast.
I passed Yvette like she was standing still.
Oh dirt!
I frantically pushed the start button, pulling on the emergency red handle that manually fluttered the wings. Manually working the wings helped a little. I pointed the nose to the refueling station and pumped the wings. Before long, I was sweating like a fish.
The refueling station was about a hectometre in front of me. I tried the motor one more time.
Sputter.
Oh, hurray! I was at least getting that. I tried it again and it roared to life.
I radioed for clearance and landed, taxiing off the runway, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. That had been scary. I’d never been so terrified in the air in all my life. I climbed out of the cockpit with legs like jelly.
Joshua clapped me on the back, sending me stumbling into my dragonfly. “Leave it to you to be the first ta die in one of these.”
My head hurt and my ears felt like they were about to explode.
Keeley came up to me, her eyes unfocused. “I think you went up in elevation too fast. Your system is all out of sorts.”
My stomach twisted, threatening to dump its contents. “Tell me about it.”
Joshua crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a look that said he was going to tell me, “I told you so, but do you ever listen to me?”
I really hated that look. “I should be immune.”
He snorted, walking toward Yvette’s dragonfly as she parked it. “How?”
I followed. Keeley’s hand grasped my arm as she healed me.
“You do realize tha’ Sky City travels at an elevation above where you and your fleet normally do? Right? You’re no’ the ruler of the sky, Synn.”
This week had proven that point to me. We had to improve our ships. They needed to fly faster with better maneuverability. Something had to be done. But put wings on an airship? That just seemed wrong. Or the loud propellers with the motors that burned energy? I shook my head. We had to think of something.
Yvette joined them, chugging me in the arm. “I thought you were dead for sure, garçon.”
I grimaced at her.
Haji came up to us and cut us both off. “I have news. We have the new pass codes to land on Sky City, and its location has been found.”
Joshua’s look confirmed. “Everyone’s doin’ well on the planes. It’s time ta attack.”
I nodded. “Is everything else ready?”
He sighed grimly, continuing to the control tower. “Yes.”
This was what I’d been waiting for. “Great.”
Joshua turned to me before entering the glass dome
. “I have a few calculations to re-run, an’ I want ta finalize the plan on debilitating the city without killin’ everyone. I’d recommend you tidy up anything you still need ta do.”
What he meant was that I needed to make my final arrangements just in case I didn’t make it back.
I stopped. Keeley’s hand remained on my arm where she was healing me. I felt a great deal better.
I’d already given Isra instructions in the event I failed to make it back alive. Ryo had other directives. He was needed in the attack but not in Sky City. He was going to help steal the Librarium.
I had one more day to watch the sky.
A flight of five flyers landed and taxied to a refueling post. We were maintaining the appearance of being under the Hands’ rule. All of us wore the uniforms of the House of Swords, pale blue and silver. Everything appeared normal.
Sang set in the sky, night dawning darkly, Kel’mar dimming to a dull red.
If I had one last night to live, I wanted to spend it watching the stars I loved so much.
Keeley removed her hand. “I think you’re okay. Just remember the air is thin and it’s cold.”
I’d do whatever it took to stay out of Nix’s hands, even if it meant taking my dragonfly as high as it could go. I didn’t care. I just hoped we could bring her down along with Sky City, make her realize there were limits to her power and the methods she chose to use.
“Do you want to watch the stars with me?” I asked.
Her eyes met mine, a slight hint of sadness shining through the green. She nodded and together we climbed the stairs to the uppermost part of the refueling station.
Sang’s blue light disappeared from the sky. Stars blinked into place and a cloud of rainbow colors danced across the sky.
“What is that?” Keeley asked.
I smiled. “That’s the asteroid belt that divides our solar system from the one right next to us. Do you see that green dot?” It looked like a distant moon. “That’s actually a planet of the neighboring system. It’s speculated to have life.”
She continued to ask questions as Kel’mar sank and darkened, allowing a greater view of the stars and planets and larger asteroids.
As Kala began her ascent, the sky flared in green and purple light.
Keeley gasped. “What’s that?”
I watched, enjoying every moment of it. “The dancing lights,” I said softly.
She relaxed and watched as they flowed, growing closer and closer. First green, then purple, then pink as you only saw in the sky, blue, yellow and back to green, swaying, swirling, shifting, moving.
“You do realize that tomorrow is a trap, don’t you?”
I was quiet for a long, terrified moment. “I know.”
“And you also know that Nix will stop at nothing to get you back.”
I nodded. I only hoped that I could hold on to my resolve. I didn’t want to go back to her. I didn’t want to think about the consequences of being back in her clutches.
Keeley didn’t say anything else. We sat in quiet for a long moment before she put her hand on top of mine and murmured, her face pointed to the sky, “The stars are amazing.”
Yes. They were. I only hoped I’d live long enough to see them again.
As a free man.
CHAPTER 38
FALL OF SKY CITY
Fear thrummed through me. Here was the moment I’d been waiting for. I was going to take down Sky City and remind the queens that they needed to respect the other peoples of this planet. They needed to know they weren’t the only ones with power.
But I couldn’t get the nagging voice out of my head.
Nix had let me capture the refueling station for one reason.
She wanted me in Sky City.
I had to be honest with myself. My progress so far was a combination of skills but mostly good luck. With people following me, though, I knew I was going to need to be smarter.
I was going to have to kick butt.
So what was the goal? What did I hope to accomplish?
My heart skipped with fear as I re-reviewed our attack plans, checking for holes, trying to assess where we might screw up. I really just hoped to survive, to help my friends stay alive, and if we freed people who lived afraid in servitude, all the better.
Was that enough?
It was going to have to be because the time was now. If I didn’t have what it took to survive, then I’d die. End of story.
It could be worse.
I could survive. I swallowed. In servitude.
The alarm sounded and I shook myself. We were in position.
I headed toward the flight deck where everyone was gathered. Nervous energy strummed through the pilots, all of them from the El’Asim Family, except for my friends. Those that had stayed to teach us to fly wanted to join us, but I’d turned them down. We needed people to man the refueling station. My pilots fidgeted with their flight caps and goggles, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Remember that they’ll be ready for us,” I said, trying to exude confidence. I didn’t think I succeeded. “There will be face scanners everywhere. Avoid them at all costs. Remember where your objectives are. You all have two escape plans should one fail.”
Yvette stood up straighter, raising her chin.
Keeley cinched her belt.
One man rubbed at his chin.
“Last chance,” I said quietly. “If you want out, it’s now or never.”
They looked terrified, but they all remained quiet.
I probably looked just as scared. I know I sure felt it. I nodded and headed toward my dragonfly.
We took off in groups of three, with vectors that would bring us into Sky City from different directions so they wouldn’t suspect we were all from the same station. Additionally, everyone was landing on the strip that was closest to their target.
Haji and I had the homing devices for Ryo. All we had to do was set them on each of the four corners of the Librarium and then assist Keeley and Joshua in detonating the gas.
Easy.
Haji looked a little green behind the ears. He didn’t like piloting, and all the birds we were taking were one-seaters. We took a wide sweep and headed in from the west. The landing strip we’d taken off from. How apropos.
A huge storm boiled below us, the air bumpy and hard to ride through. We received clearance to land and were given taxiing instructions. All was normal. Good.
Joshua was going to be the last to land, and when he did, he would use the radio and the Family’s signal to jam communications, hopefully buying us some time. We had about fifteen minutes before that happened, and Haji and I needed to be in position before then.
We taxied to the far end of the airway, drawing closer to the heart of the city where the Librarium stood. We got out, leaving our flight caps and goggles on. There was a very good chance that a face scanner could surprise us.
I heard everything, my senses on high alert.
A motor car puttered away from a larger cargo plane, not quite as big as Joshua’s but still pretty large.
A group of people in blue and silver talked, heading to one of the hangars.
A high pitched whining zipped not too far from us, scanning a baggage handler. Its red light headed toward us.
I tapped Haji’s arm and flicked my hand at the scanner.
He glanced at me and calm swept over me.
I took in a deep breath, steadying my nerves. “Thanks, Haj.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said in Handish as the scanner approached. “Just try to make sure we don’t end up dead.”
Red light passed over my face as I continued to walk as though it were nothing. It chirped and moved to Haji. Another chirp and it whined away, off to the next group of people.
It couldn’t be that easy, could it?
It looked like it was about to rain. That could help us and give Yvette something to use her Mark on.
We walked between two hangars, side stepping several crates and bins for trash. A
s soon as we cleared the other side, we were in the city. People looked at us funny and gave us a wide berth. We were wearing the blue and silver of the House of Swords. They were like the police in the city, and the most trusted enforcers.
It didn’t help that our flight caps and goggles remained on. We looked out of place, but I was afraid to take the goggles off. Too many people knew what I looked like.
A wanted poster on a lamp post displayed my picture dead center.
Great. And if they didn’t know me before from my stay, they certainly did now. There was no way I was showing my face until our cover was blown.
I kept my steps long and authoritative, brushing through the crowd with ease. Ladies wearing multi-layered skirts in the colors of the houses, their feet clip-clapping against the metal sidewalk, their hair piled high on their heads, topped with feathers and tiny hats, parted before us. Men in fancy suits, their long coats flaring in the stormy wind, took a step back, watching us pass.
Was it just me, or did everyone know who we were even with our disguises?
Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. Either way, we had a mission and it was imperative that we did as much as we could before we were caught.
Two uniformed men wearing blue and silver and hats of a cop stopped at the corner by the deli just outside the Librarium and watched the crowd.
I walked toward them with purpose, breezing past them as though I belonged there.
They didn’t twitch, just continued their conversation, watching the crowd.
Maybe I was just being paranoid, then. If the local authorities weren’t going to stop us, then maybe it was my imagination that people were staring.
The Librarium was in sight.
I motioned for Haji to take the nearest side. He had two devices, one for each corner of the massive stone building. I lengthened my strides and took the far side, pulling one of the devices from my pocket. It was a silver disc with a large gray button that dominated its surface. I slapped it onto the corner of the building and pressed the button, not breaking stride.
Birds sang in the trees around me.
The air dropped in temperature, growing heavier. The skies were about to open up and dump on us.
Almost there. Almost.
I wanted to run but kept my steps even.
