by SM Blooding
I didn’t answer. I thought it was pretty self-evident, and I needed all the concentration I could spare.
Flash.
A black mass morphed into jagged cliffs.
Darkness took over again, the landmass hiding in rain and shadow.
Flash.
The jagged rocks were closer. A lot closer than I’d anticipated. We were being pushed too far. I corrected, swinging us back around. The spot I’d seen before hid in blackness, almost as though it had been swallowed up by a void.
Flash.
The cliffs were further away.
There. I could barely make out the small meadow.
It disappeared. I peered through the darkness, seeing only the reflection of the gauge lights beaming back at me from the rain slicked windows.
Flash-BOOM!
The entire aircraft shook.
Aiyanna yelped.
Carilyn glanced at me, her knuckles white in the orange light.
I couldn’t afford to take my attention off landing.
Gently. Gently.
It still felt odd to have an aircraft of any type touching earth. Why in the world would anyone want that?
As we got closer to the ground, the propellers pushed against the earth to slow our descent. They blew the vegetation, the trees, the vines.
The vegetation under the dome was thick and hid the earth, which wasn’t nearly as level as I’d originally thought, but then again, I was an airman. I didn’t know much about dirt.
Carilyn watched the gauges, shouting orders, but for the most part, she let me control the navigation stick. When we were settled, Carilyn twisted back and stared at Aiyanna. I couldn’t see the priestess’ face, but Carilyn raised her eyebrows, nodded, and turned back to her gauges. “We should shut her down, wait out the storm.”
I nodded and let her do that.
It got eerily quiet as the engines puttered to a stop. The only thing I could hear was the patter of the rain, which wasn’t falling as hard as it had seemed while in the air, and the murmuring wind.
I swiveled in my chair so I could see both of them and took off my headphones. “Would you like to explain why you followed me?”
“Saved your ass more like,” Carilyn said, tossing her headphones on the dash. They slid and fell to the floor.
“I would have found another way.”
“Right. You’d have somehow figured out how to rig that fried up piece of ossa.”
No, but I would have thought of something. Probably. Maybe. “I can’t help but think you have ulterior motives.”
Carilyn watched me, her gray eyes unmoving in the shadows that had gathered since she’d cut power to the dashboard. Lightning filled the small space in occasional flashes.
I tipped my head. “Be honest with me, or we fuel this bird and I leave you stranded on Kiwidinok.”
“Is that where we were going?”
No. “Yes.” My voice sounded confident. Fantastic.
“How were you going to get in contact with your Family there?”
“Who said I was?”
Carilyn leaned forward enough so I could see more of her face. A light shone from somewhere, but it was faint. “How else were you going to get the Families to sign your treaty?”
“You honestly think the queens are going to honor anything the Families draw up?”
“You heard Queen Nix. She said she was going to fight for your treaty as long as you were fair to the Hands.”
“That’s not what she said.”
The intelligence officer sat back. “I don’t understand you. Wasn’t this what you wanted?”
“Yes.” Oh dear Sky, yes. “But I don’t trust that those four women will honor their word. Dyna sent you here.”
Carilyn raised her chin and turned the shadows of her eyes to Aiyanna.
“I warned you,” the priestess said quietly. “He is not as dim as you both thought.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I think.”
The intelligence officer shook her head and leaned back, resting her elbow on the dashboard. “Okay. Yes. Dyna sent me to help you, find out how to contact the Family, figure out where and how they’re hiding.”
“And you were going to feed that back to Dyna how?”
“The same way I always do.”
I stared at the dials behind her, trying to figure out if there were any particular dials she was protecting.
Then I remembered. Aiyanna had radioed the control dome. I turned toward the priestess, but could see nothing.
“Yes,” Carilyn said. “I go out on missions in the Wanderer all the time, and that is how I stay in touch.”
I raised my head.
“But know this, El’Asim,” she said, her voice dark and filled with threat. “You may destroy that radio, but it’s not the only form of communication I have with the queens. I can get word to them anytime.”
“All the more reason I don’t want you with me.”
“I told you,” Aiyanna said, her scarves jingling in what I assumed was a shake of her head.
“And why are you here again?” I asked, turning toward the priestess. “What does this business about a tower mean?”
The cockpit filled with the sound of the roaring wind that rocked us, and the sheets of rain that poured down on us.
“The Tower means that great change is upon us,” Aiyanna said.
“Great. The queens are going to succeed in gaining more power?”
Bells jingled again. “The Tower lies on your path, not theirs. You will be the one to decide where the change falls, whether it is in war or peace, and who should win either way.”
My ears pulled back. I didn’t believe that for one fleeting moment. How could one person have that much influence and what could cards really say about the future anyway? I’d never understood how the Hands could put so much stock in Tarot. It didn’t make sense.
“I am here to act as your guide, whatever you choose, however you need me. If you decide I am unneeded, then I will honor that choice as well.”
“And what about your allegiances? How are you tied to Dyna?”
“I am a priestess, not a pawn of the queens.”
“I do not wish to be guided by Tarot, or the Hands, or the queens.”
“I understand that. Tarot is not . . . ” The priestess’ voice trailed off. “It is not political. Tarot is simply a conduit of communication between the spirits and teachers and us. Nothing more.”
“Then how did the Hands come to be so tainted?”
Silence was my only answer.
Carilyn raised her hand. “So where—”
Someone pounded on the glass at our feet. Looking down, I saw three men, each with a pistol aimed at us, brandishing torches of blue glowing light that didn’t flicker. They shouted something, but we couldn’t hear them.
I had to find a way to ditch Carilyn.
In the light of the torches beneath us, I saw her narrow her eyes, her chin raised as she stared at me with new recognition.
I’d known since I met her that I needed to wary of her. Now, she recognized that she needed to be wary of me.
That was a good thing.
CHAPTER 8
PEACOCK ROCK
“We are not going out there.”
I recognized two of the three men. “I wasn’t inviting you to. Wait out the storm. Fly out in the morning.” I rose from the chair, giving the men below a wave I didn’t know if they could see.
Aiyanna put her hand on my arm as I walked by. “Synn—”
“Look, priestess, I have no agenda with your gods or spirits or whatever. I don’t want to work for the queens, and I certainly don’t have a higher purpose. I just want what’s best for the people.”
I couldn’t see her eyes, but I felt her gaze. “I know.” She stood. “That’s why I’m going with you.”
I put my hand on her arm. “No. You’re not. You’re not dressed to go out in this.”
“Tarot says I need to stay with you.”
I opened the door. Rain beat against me. I turned back to her and yelled over the rain. “If it’s really meant to be, you’ll find me again. But for now, you need to stay in here.”
Something was shoved at me. “You’ll want this,” Carilyn shouted.
The long coat and hat of a knight. I headed down the rungs of the ladder. “No. I don’t.” I did, however, take the rolled parchment that had been tucked into the pocket and stuck it in my belt underneath my shirt and vest. I called just enough power from my Mark to keep it dry.
The ground was soggy and I was drenched. A gun was pressed into my back. “Do you have any weapons?” one of the men shouted.
I shook my hair out of my face and looked up, opening my mouth to capture the rain. It felt good to be out in it. It was warm. We still had a while before winter. Dear Sky, how I missed this. “I have my Mark. I don’t think I need anything else. Do you?”
“What about them?”
I shook my hair out of my eyes. “They’re staying in the plane. Trust me. They’re Hands. They’re not coming with us.”
“Like we could trust you!”
I didn’t know these men, but I knew where we were and who led them. They’d figure out they could trust me soon enough. I pounded the side of the plane twice. “Don’t follow me, Carilyn! You will never make it in this storm. Leave as soon as the storm breaks.”
“I have the coordinates,” she shouted down at me. “We’ll just come back with more people.”
“You’re trying to broker peace, remember? And you have coordinates to an island. I’m not concerned.”
One of the men pushed me forward. “I’m glad you’re not concerned.”
It was a bluff. I was certain Carilyn knew it, but the truth of the matter was, the Hands would never find the city buried within the island. That was a truth, and if the Hands really were interested in brokering peace, they’d leave this island and me alone. This would be their first sign of good will.
The door to the plane slammed shut.
I followed the men up the side of the looming mountain. The vegetation was thick, hampering our movements. We reached a canopy of trees, which shielded us from the brutal rain.
A hole appeared in the base of the mountain. Within ten steps, we turned a corner and the effects of the storm dissipated. The walls glowed with the same steady stream of green light as the torches.
I was guided down several tunnels, which seemed like more of a maze. I was lost. There was no way I was getting out of there on my own. Which meant that even if Carilyn decided to follow me, she definitely couldn’t find us. Good. The lower we went into the bowels of the mountain, the warmer it got.
We finally stopped in a cavern. A single desk and two tables filled the space along with a handful of people.
A man walked in from another tunnel on the opposite side. He looked like he hadn’t shaved for a day or two, his beard coming in dark, specked with white. There was gray in his hair. He stopped. “You look like dung, Synn.”
He looked healthy, happy, and younger, if that was even possible. “Garrett, it’s good to see you.”
“I heard you’re a Hand now.”
Oh, great. But I’d known what my reception would be as soon as I heard about Nix’s broadcast. She’d known, too.
He stepped up to the long, stone desk. “Are you the Knight of Wands?”
“No.”
“I have a message sent out by Queen Nix herself telling me you are.”
I barely believed it myself. “It’s a bit difficult to explain.”
“The truth usually helps.”
“I am not her knight.”
“Would you endanger my city, Synn?”
“After helping you save it?” I shook my head.
He let out a short breath. “We owe you our lives, Synn.”
I’d also been the reason their original city had been destroyed in the first place. His people had died because of me. His lethara had been murdered. No. He didn’t owe me anything.
“If you hadn’t taken us in, if you hadn’t looked for a place for us to live, we’d still be living as unwanted refugees in Ino City.”
Was that how the survivors of Sky City were now living? As refugees? Had I accomplished anything good?
He winced and disappeared through the corridor behind him.
Since there were no guards trying to lay their hands on me, I followed. It was time to dry off. I found the center of my power and pushed outward. Not enough for my Mark to lift from my body, but just enough to heat my clothes, drying them, particularly my feet. Squishy shoes were never nice.
I checked the rolled parchment under my belt. It was a little damp, but appeared to be in one piece. I let out a long sigh amazed once again at how I managed to find myself in these situations.
Several long, windy corridors later, we entered a cavern open from above. Rain fell in a thundering waterfall. People lounged along the wide shelf, eating and talking. Everyone appeared well-fed and wore clothes that were in good condition.
“Things are going well for you then.” I grinned, relief running through me.
“Oh yes.” Garrett turned as he walked to the other side where food was laid out on rock shelves. “Much better than we’d hoped. All we need to do to prepare for winter is to gather enough food to sustain us, though, to be honest, the caves provide more than enough. I doubt we’ll have to gather much.”
“That’s great news.”
He stopped at the food table and picked up a few things.
I didn’t know what I was looking at. Were they fruits? Vegetables? Obviously, they were safe. I didn’t doubt that. A green, oblong fruit with red fuzz about the size of my thumb lay on the table. I didn’t even know how to break into it.
Garrett threw his head back and laughed. “Everything here is safe. Here. Try this.” He tossed me something with curly spikes.
I caught it and stared. “How do I eat this?”
Chuckling, he split one open with his thumbs, and popped whatever was inside into his mouth.
With a shrug, I did the same. It was blood red inside and whatever it was looked like a soft fruit. It was sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted and covered my tongue with a slight film that dissolved slowly. Warmth shot through me. “What is this?”
Garrett chuckled and turned back to the table. “We call it a prickleberry.”
My eyes widened as I nodded. “That is a very apt name.”
“Yes.”
We munched in silence, listening to the waterfall and murmurs of the gathered people.
“You want out of those clothes?” Garrett asked.
“Yes, I do.” I loathed everything about this uniform. I wanted to burn it.
He gestured to someone behind me, took two more prickleberries, and headed along the wall of the cavern.
I followed suit, grabbing a few strips of dried meat. The spray of the waterfall pressed against my cheeks.
“So, tell me how you’re not a knight.” Garrett came to a circle of boulders and sank down to the floor.
I sat across from him, leaning against a boulder. The ground was sandy and comfortable. “I’m not quite sure to be honest.”
“When dealing with women in general, things are often confusing. When dealing with the queens, they always are.”
I chuckled and ripped off a piece of the dried meat.
“We all heard of your sacrifice after you saved Sky City.”
I hadn’t intended it to be a sacrifice. Replaying that moment in my mind, I felt like a complete idiot. All I’d wanted to do was to save one of my best friends from being captured by the Hands. Instead, I’d ended up offering myself. And for what? Just how gullible was I? “Do you have word on how the Families are doing?”
He nodded, but waved off my question. “What happened? You were there for weeks.”
I sighed and leaned my head back, staring at the ceiling high overhead. It glowed green and blue and purple. “Dyna drugged me so I couldn’t use my Mark, and t
hen one day, she let me out. I talked to Nix. We had an argument and they agreed to let me go.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“Then they tried to trick me into telling them how to get into contact with the Families, which I refused to do. Then I told them all to eat dirt and flew off.”
“Not alone. I hear I have Hands on my island.”
I sucked air through my teeth. “It was the only way out of the city. I didn’t want to bring them here. What do you call this place?”
“Peacock Rock, and I do appreciate the sentiment, but what do I do with them? They’re on my island. They could stumble onto a tunnel at any time.”
“Make sure they get lost if they leave the plane?”
Garrett rolled his eyes.
I didn’t know what else to tell him. “What about the Families? How are the Ino? Shankara? How is my fleet? Asim City?”
“Is it true that you have the power to negotiate a treaty?”
I scratched the back of my neck. “I don’t know, Garrett. Those women are so . . . ” I pulled my lips in and shook my head searching for the right words. “I don’t know. They’re manipulative and conniving, slimy. I have no idea what happened up there. I thought I was handling the situation, but I’m pretty sure all I did was fall further into their trap.”
Garrett’s gaze was distant as he studied the sand between us. “They are tricky that way.”
I nodded. “Not that the Families are any better.”
Open surprise filled his expression. “I’m oddly glad to hear you say that.”
I let out a frustrated breath. “I know no one is perfect. I wish I knew the best solution.”
“What if we were all allowed to go back to a city-by-city rule?”
“Did we ever truly have that?” When I’d been a part of the El’Asim Family, just a son of the fleet, things had made a lot more sense. We were in control of our lives. No one else had any say in anything we did.
I now knew my father had had a lot less control than I’d perceived. The El’Asim and Ino Families were bonded through the marriage of my parents, but what that really meant was . . .
I didn’t know. That the El’Asim had to be careful of any actions that would adversely affect Ino? My mother was a very strong woman. Her will was felt on the fleet.
