Darkwhispers

by Vashti Hardy

  Florian put a hand to hers. “Take him with you.”

  “But…”

  “I don’t think you have a choice, Maudie.”

  CHAPTER 31

  UP, UP AND…

  Maudie and Florian returned to their water-wing and continued onwards in the direction of the beach. Florian instinctively wove their way along the rivulets and gullies. After a while, two rivulets joined and they caught sight of Arthur, Welby and Cassea, who had taken the central route. Their water-wings stopped side-by-side.

  “They’re on their way to the Aurora,” said Arthur. “Parthena managed to fly ahead and keep us updated. It’s not far from here. Wait … is that a water-bear around your neck, Maud?”

  “Yes, the sapient one I told you about.”

  “It really is just like the one I saw on Nova! Incredible! How is it… Never mind, you can tell me later. Harriet and the others are trying to catch Eudora before they can take flight, but from Parthena’s indication it seems we’re closer, and it doesn’t look good.”

  Maudie grunted in frustration, her blood coursing like a hot river. She’d never felt so cross, so furious, so helpless – except in South Polaris. “Not again,” she hissed.

  The soft chug of engines sounded as the Aurora rose in the sky in the south.

  “What can we do?” Arthur looked to each of them.

  Then an idea hit Maudie like a bolt to her chest. “The sky-ak! I left it on the beach … but the fin snapped in the storm.”

  “What’s a sky-ak?” asked Cassea, confused.

  “It’s a small sky-ship. It’s got a water engine, and skims the surface, but has a balloon, too, for height, so it actually flies … well, for about a minute at a time.”

  “Can we mend it?”

  “What if we use the water-wing to fix it? It would fly across the sea then.”

  “But they’ve already taken off!” said Arthur hurriedly. “We don’t have time; they’ll be gone!”

  Maudie shook her head. “Well, we don’t have any other plans, and at least it’s something.”

  They continued along the rivulet for a short while, until the treeline broke and white sand came into view.

  “The Aurora hasn’t got as far as I thought,” said Arthur, pointing to the sky.

  “It’s the jet stream above,” said Cassea. “It flows into Erythea from the west. If you are flying west it is against you, so you’ll be twice as slow. When it hits the mountains, it drops and creates a low, fast flow in the opposite direction. It’s great if you’re in a boat trying to sail west, but not if you are higher up in an air-ship.”

  “Why don’t they just fly lower?” asked Arthur.

  “Because they don’t know that. They probably assume the winds shifted as they rose,” said Welby.

  Maudie jumped out of the water-wing and ran over to the tree where she’d left the sky-ak. She inspected the damage on the hull again. “I don’t know if we can do this in time,” she muttered. Florian came up beside her, and she looked at him. “What if you pull us in with the water-wing? You get us as far as you can, as fast as you can, then release us and we go up until we’re above the Aurora.”

  Florian thought for a moment. “It’s possible. But we would be far faster if you also had a sail like my water-wing.”

  “Then let’s see what we’ve got to make one!” said Maudie.

  Maudie, Florian and Cassea set about rigging up a makeshift sail from the fabric that covered the storage area on the sky-ak.

  “What happens when we reach the Aurora?” asked Arthur. “There’s more of them than us. And the sky-ak only fits what, two, three at a push?”

  “Have you so readily forgotten my martial arts expertise?” Welby said with a wink.

  Arthur smiled. “But shouldn’t we have, you know, a plan?” Arthur couldn’t believe that Welby wasn’t giving them a hundred reasons why not to do this.

  “There is the odd occasion when plans must be thrown into the depths, and this is one of them, Arthur Brightstorm.” Welby smiled at him and turned to the others, who were busy with the sail. “Florian will tow initially; I will go with you both in the sky-ak, and Cassea will tell the others when they get here.”

  They nodded in agreement.

  Maudie finished tying off a rope.

  “The sail will help us gain speed to get the lift we need,” said Welby. “I’ll go in the back and control it; I had plenty of practise on the way here. Cassea, when Harriet gets here, send her as close as you can in one of the water-wings, just in case.” He clapped his hands together. “Right. What are we waiting for?”

  Once Maudie had promised that she’d come back for Valiant, the water-bear slowly let go and reluctantly stood on the beach, watching them intently. The remaining four carried the sky-ak and the water-wing to the shallows of the waves to tie them together. Arthur kept looking out over the water at the Aurora, which was making progress but was still slow. When the sky-ak was hitched to the back of Florian’s water-wing, Maudie climbed in at the front with Arthur in the middle and Welby at the back.

  “Arthur, you’ll need to time the balloon just right, so that we hit the correct elevation at the perfect time. There’s no way to calculate this exactly, so we’ll have to guess. But guess well,” said Maudie. She noticed sweat beading on his face from the unbridled sun and from the nerves of what they were about to do.

  Arthur glanced over his shoulder at Welby. “Aren’t you worried about the guessing part?”

  Welby put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder and said, “We made it back from South Polaris, didn’t we?”

  “Florian, we’re ready!” Maudie called.

  The water-wing sped off into the waves and there was a sharp wrench on the line, then with a lurch the sky-ak was being pulled into the sea.

  Fine spray from the waves spattered them. At first the Aurora looked too far away to catch, but after a short while they were moving at such speed it was clear that they were catching up. Ahead, the water-wing rose from the sea like a great whale.

  “There’s one other thing I’ve just realized,” Maudie called. “We need to reach them before they get to the darkwhispers. Remember, the fire-bird helps Erytheans. We won’t be protected.”

  “We’re gaining on them,” Arthur called.

  “They probably won’t even see us coming,” called Welby.

  He looked younger with his grey hair waving in the wind and once more he’d lost the stiffness that Lontown seemed to bring him.

  Maudie muttered under her breath, furiously trying to calculate the trajectory and the optimal time for the balloon and release. Florian kept glancing back at them to check.

  They were getting closer and closer.

  “Shall I do it yet?”

  “Wait.”

  “It looks close!”

  “Arty, I’ll say when.”

  They carried onwards. The waves were calm, and they were moving so fast that Parthena was having difficulty keeping up. Maudie put her hand briefly to the pink stone. Then after a moment she said, “Arty, release the balloon valve!”

  The balloon swelled and they rose high into the air with the momentum. The wings and balloon, along with the stream of warm wind, took them up until they were level with the Aurora, then high above. Fortunately, those on the deck of the Aurora were looking forward and hadn’t noticed them yet.

  Something furry brushed Maudie’s leg. She glanced down to see Valiant tucked under her seat. “What are you doing…? Hey, who let Valiant sneak on the—”

  “They’ve seen us!” Arthur called as he saw Miptera take flight. She flew straight for them. Parthena flew for her, talons outstretched, but Miptera swerved and Parthena shot past, disappearing below. The balloon thwacked as Miptera hit it, and her mandibles sank into the fabric. Valiant climbed the ropes, leapt up and grabbed Miptera from the balloon, then landed on the bow of the sky-ak and flung her back into the sky.

  Welby stood up. “Take the sail, steer us in, Arthur. I’ll jump out on to the deck.
”

  “Are you out of your mind, Welby? What if you fall?!”

  “Do it!”

  But the balloon was deflating, and the sky-ak was faltering.

  “I can’t keep her up!” Maudie grunted.

  “Get as close as you can!” Welby was bent-kneed, ready to spring.

  “I can’t hold control, but we might make the deck!” she yelled. “Brace yourself!”

  On the Aurora, most of the crew had dashed to the side. Smethwyck rolled out of the way as the vessel hurtled down towards the sky-ship’s deck, and with a huge bang and yawning scrapes, the sky-ak crash-landed and came to a stop just beside Eudora Vane at the wheel. Arthur and Maudie tumbled out and, with the swiftest of glances to each other, they gave Eudora Vane an almighty shove so that she was thrust across the deck.

  Welby lunged, and in a poetic series of moves had Smethwyck lying on the ground groaning.

  Maudie grabbed the sky-ak’s sail post, yanked it out and brandished it, ready for anyone who dared try and come near. Valiant was at her side growling and baring his small white teeth, while Parthena was diving in circles, threatening with ear-piercing squawks and bared talons.

  Welby turned the wheel hard and the Aurora banked east, but then everyone on the deck froze. Eerie wisps of water vapour were all around them. A hushed murmur flowed on the wind. Claws gripped the wooden rail of the ship’s prow, talons rippled, cloudy white eyes scanned the deck.

  A darkwhisper.

  CHAPTER 32

  MEMORY

  Most of Eudora’s crew dived below deck, but Eudora was back on her feet, lurching towards Welby, who was trying to keep control of the sky-ship.

  The Aurora was almost above the first darkwhisper island. Down below, Florian’s water-wing was a short distance behind, circling warily.

  The darkwhisper’s gaze flitted between those left on deck.

  Maudie blinked quickly as the darkwhisper fixed her with its smoky eyes.

  Her father was passing her a package wrapped in brown paper, tied with a red ribbon. She was about three years old. She took it as though he’d passed her the most precious treasure in the Wide, and to her it was, because when she carefully pulled the ribbon off and opened it, inside was her mother’s tool belt.

  Maudie absently put her hand to her waist, and she felt a small paw tugging at her hand, trying to pull her away – Valiant. It was enough to snap her back into reality. She shook her head in an attempt to regain a grip on herself.

  In the distance, Arthur could see two more water-wings heading out to sea, but they were mere specks. He cried out as something grabbed him around the throat and ice ran through his veins, then almost relief as he realized it wasn’t a darkwhisper, but Smethwyck. Suddenly, the cold tip of a blade was at his neck. But then Arthur wasn’t there at all.

  He was on his first flight on the Violetta, taking off from the docks of Lontown, the wind in his hair, Dad at the wheel. It was just a short trip to the Northern marshlands, but bubbles of excitement fizzed in his stomach like wordleweed pop. Maudie sat on the deck not far away banging something, then screwing nails into the deck, and…

  The tip of the knife pressed further into his skin; it was as though Smethwyck was losing concentration – was he reliving a memory too? Arthur drew his arm back and elbowed him in the ribs. The knife clattered to the deck and Arthur slipped from Smethwyck’s grip.

  The darkwhisper jumped down. It had chosen.

  Smethwyck dropped to the ground, and Arthur and Maudie dashed for the back of the sky-ship to get away. But Eudora saw her chance, and as Welby leapt to the side as the darkwhisper crawled menacingly towards Smethwyck, she grabbed the wheel and ran it through her hands in a furious turn.

  There was a moment of nothing, then the Aurora tilted suddenly so that the portside lurched in the direction of the sea. They all skidded across the deck, and a barrel rolled and smashed over the side, sending jewels over the edge in a glittering shower of pink rain. Eudora just managed to keep hold of the wheel and rapidly turned it the other way as fast as she could, and the tilting stopped just before it became heart-stoppingly difficult for them to stop sliding further. But the tilt revealed a view they’d not been prepared for; they were swinging towards one of the dangerously high crags. Numerous darkwhispers clung to the rock, watching and waiting. As the sky-ship began to right itself, it was clear that Eudora was quite unused to the subtle steering that the Aurora required, and as soon as the sky-ship had righted, it suddenly tilted in the opposite direction. They were all seized with abject horror as the back end swung towards the crag and clipped it with an ear-cracking splintering of wood. The Aurora was propelled out of control.

  Maudie was thrown into the balustrade along the edge, with Valiant clinging to her, but just before the sky-ship tilted again, she managed to grab a safety rope and clip in.

  Arthur wasn’t so lucky. He flailed for a rope and just as his fingertips brushed one, the ship swung, and he rolled across the deck.

  There was an enormous bang followed by a heart-juddering scrape as the Aurora slammed into the crag again, then began tilting towards the ground. They were barely a hundred metres from the rocky base.

  Welby yelled with the force of thunder at Arthur to hold on.

  As the sky-ship swayed, it began to roll into a deadly spin.

  The creature still had Smethwyck pinned, having pierced the deck with its claws, and was clinging on. Eudora gripped the wheel, and Welby and Arthur hurtled across the deck together.

  The Aurora began tipping almost vertically. Welby and Arthur exchanged looks of utter terror. They were about to tumble over the edge to certain death on the rocks below. Arthur’s brain reeled.

  And at that moment, one of the safety ropes swung past on the other side of Welby.

  Swift as a blink, Welby grabbed the harness.

  Good – at least Welby is safe, Arthur thought.

  Then with a super-human twist and reach, Welby managed to clip the safety rope to Arthur’s belt.

  “Hold on to me!” Arthur screamed as he bashed into the railings. He reached out his hand. Welby found it, and for a moment they grasped each other, but then the sky-ship tipped too far, and, like trying to hold on to water, his hand slipped from Arthur’s.

  An anguished yell filled the air and Arthur wasn’t even aware it had come from himself as he watched, utterly helpless, as Welby fell overboard.

  The sky-ship’s hull was now grating down the side of the rock face, juddering until it came to a violent stop at the bottom.

  Ringing silence fell, but only for a moment. The leathery wings of the darkwhispers circled in a spiral above, coming closer with every breath.

  Maudie unclipped her safety rope and looked frantically about. Valiant, who was still clinging to her, gave a soft whimper as though to ask if she was all right. She stroked his head and tried to take in the scene. Eudora had her hands clasped through the wheel, a pale, closed-eyed Smethwyck was still pinned by the darkwhisper, which wrenched its claws from the deck. Then she saw Arthur, who was on his knees, wrestling to unclip the safety harness, tears glistening on his cheeks.

  Yelps and moans sounded from below deck as the rest of Eudora’s crew began climbing their way out.

  Maudie scrambled across to Arthur and threw her arms around him. “Where’s Welby?”

  Arthur couldn’t speak. He was taking in gulps of air as though parched of water.

  She stood up and called for Welby, looking around the area of rock where they’d come to a standstill.

  A darkwhisper landed on the deck, then another. She bent down and yanked Arthur to his feet.

  Then she saw Welby on the rocks close by. She thrust a hand over her mouth to stop herself yelping, then saw his chest rising. “Arthur, he’s alive!”

  With a glance over her shoulder to check there were no darkwhispers close, she clambered over the side and urged Arthur to follow.

  Arthur looked back to see at least five darkwhispers on the deck, one with its
eyes set on Eudora. The sight kicked his legs into action, and he climbed over and ran with Maudie to Welby.

  Eyes fluttering, and skin pale as snow, a heavy wheeze escaped from his mouth.

  “Welby!” Arthur said urgently.

  But Welby merely groaned.

  “It’ll be all right; Harriet will be here soon,” Maudie said in the most confident voice she could muster, but as she glanced out to sea, it was clear that the water-wings still had some distance to go, and without sails they wouldn’t be as fast as Florian’s. The fire-bird, with its red-orange wings beating wide as a house and sweeping scarlet tail flowing across the sky, was flying close to Florian, protecting him from a nearby darkwhisper, although he was doing his best to get to them.

  A sense of crippling dread had come over Arthur as he knelt beside Welby. “You saved me,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

  And with that, Welby’s eyes opened a little, and he gave a strained smile. Then he closed his eyes for the last time.

  One of the darkwhispers was watching from a crag above, unseen by the twins in their moment of desolation. With a swift soar it landed next to the old man.

  Arthur fell back and let out a cry. “Get back, leave him alone!” he roared.

  But the darkwhisper fixed Arthur with its cloudy eyes.

  He was back, knocking on four Archangel Street. Welby opened the door. It was the moment Arthur and Maudie had first met Welby, when they’d arrived to be interviewed for the expedition to South Polaris. Welby stared at him with judging eyebrows and spoke in his well-to-do Uptown accent, and Arthur could once again feel all the emotions of the moment: desperation, nerves, burning hope.

  Maudie turned to see the darkwhisper staring at Arthur, but looming over Welby, its feelers around Welby’s head, tiny electric sparks rippling the length of them. She called out and looked for anything she might use as a weapon and Valiant passed her a large stone, so she hurled it at the darkwhisper.

  It hit it on the body and bounced off as though it was made of rubber.

  Arthur was sitting back, a strange, dazed look in his eyes.