Still, some of the deck passengers wore masks—they all kept their backs to walls for a reason. They probably weren’t in any real danger—nobody could know for certain who was actually ‘Bonded or not if they had a mask on, and plenty of mages putting on airs liked to wear masks these days too. We were also high up in the air, just passing the mountains into Berber if my guess was right. The odds of someone taking a chance for an orb bounty were pretty slim up here, but I didn’t blame the masked people for playing it safe.
Either way, I was glad I didn’t have to deal with the hassle. Nobody suspected me or Benjamin for being ‘Bonded, and the way I was training with my power wasn’t visible to regular eyesight.
A couple hours earlier, I’d remembered how I’d used Vibration through the stone in Dingeramat dungeon to “see” a giant monster in the dark. With night beginning to fall, I’d wondered if I could use Vibration and the air around me now to do the same thing. With my new Air Element power, it had been worth a try.
It had taken me awhile to figure it out, and took almost all my mental power to make it work, but I’d been able to generate a mental view of everything around me.
Even now, after being reminded that I was actually cold and wet, I still smiled. I would never be blind again.
Of course, the range wasn’t very far now, and it took way too much concentration to use my Air Sight under combat conditions, but I knew from experience that my abilities grew better through time and practice.
As the cold and wet really started sinking into my skin, I decided that I didn’t feel like using my new power anymore. Instead, I hunched forward, and almost summoned my armor to help take the edge off of the wind. As tempting as the idea was, I decided not to. It wasn’t worth using up the armor’s time just to feel a little bit better for a few minutes. When the rain started falling harder, the temptation grew even worse.
I thought about passing the time by talking to Benjamin, but when I turned, I caught his eye and he looked away. Creator, this is awkward, I thought.
The minutes seemed to stretch, and I wished the trip would be over. Whenever we finally reached the first stop in Berber and I was sure that Benjamin would be safe, I’d have a lot more options. I wasn’t sure if I’d leave right away or not, but I could if I wanted.
If the time kept moving this slowly, it was going to take forever, though. Lightning flashed, promising that the rain would probably get even worse.
“I am beginning to think we should have gotten a cabin.” Benjamin’s voice was matter of fact, and I nodded in agreement. I appreciated that his tone hadn’t had any accusation in it, but that was just how Benjamin was. He had his faults, but didn’t take out his frustrations on other people. He was more likely to retreat into himself and give everyone the cold shoulder if things got bad. He must be really miserable if he was willing to grouse like this.
A few more endless moments passed, and in an effort to make the time pass faster, I put my hand on Vistvis, using Vibration power to enable communication with the Areva woman inside.
Her voice came almost instantly.
“Huh?” I whispered, almost subvocally. “It’s going to be one of those days, huh?” I had not been expecting her to tear into me so fast. “If you’re going to be rotting nasty I’m not going to talk to you.”
My jaw dropped, and I didn’t waste time asking for clarification. No matter how much I strained my eyes, I couldn’t see out in the budding storm. Warning everyone was not an option, because if monsters were out there waiting to strike, they’d all rush us if they saw that we’d been alarmed. Instead, I inched over to Benjamin and softly said, “We might have trouble soon. Get up and tell all the guards on the deck just like I am telling you now. Act natural.”
Benjamin’s eyes only narrowed in confusion for a second before he rose smoothly to do what I’d asked. He might be wet and miserable, but he’d still been a Tolstey Army officer less than a week ago.
Then I used my new Air Sight ability, carefully focusing my mind. I extended the sense out in front of me, not in a bubble around me like I had before.
At first, nothing happened, but then in the view that the Air Sight created in my mind, I definitely saw something move. I’d only seen part of something, just a wing and an arm, but I immediately recognized the shape.
Bat men.
Now that I’d confirmed the threat, I watched Benjamin continue to warn all the fighters and guards. When I decided the time was right, I hunched over and shivered, which didn’t require much acting, and moved over to the main mast. I’d been informed that airships all carried flares now, a new safety measure added in the last couple years.
After I’d reached the triggers for the flares, I acted as cold and miserable as I could, looking down at the deck, hunched into my shoulders. I couldn’t tell how many bat men were out there, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Once Benjamin had made his rounds, and I judged waiting any longer would be more dangerous than it was worth, I triggered the flares and yelled, “On your feet! Prepare for attack!”
Bright lights arced into the sky, trailing smoke, and I silently thanked the apothecaries who had made the rainproof flares. In the wavering light, I saw the first bat man with my naked eye. All my memories from fighting on an airship over three years ago crashed through my mind. I restored Eneus to normal size and dropped into floating time.
A bat man dove for a fighter on the deck, and I raised my fist with Pewpew. Its momentum carried it right through the deadly violet beam, neatly cutting the monster in half. Two wet, disgusting halves hit the deck, creating a bloody mess. My eyes hardened.
Things were going to be different this time around, much different. I shouted my war cry, “Hazard!” as I sprung forward to fight. It was no longer appropriate to hide my abilities. If anyone was dumb enough to stick a knife in my back now, they deserved to be skinned by the rotting bat men.
The rain almost immediately drenched me after I rose past the protection of the ship’s screen. Deep in floating time, I ignored the bone-deep chill of the storm, shooting up to skewer a bat man on Eneus. There was a moment of confusion on the airship and among the bat men, and I took advantage of it.
I knew to hit bat men as hard and fast as I could. With a burst of speed I would have never managed three years ago, I zipped between two of them and dealt death. One enemy fell to the ground below, falling like a stone with only one wing. Eneus spun in my hands and I delivered a Vibration-powered stab to the other creature’s head.
My mind buzzed as I surveyed the battlefield. Backlash from using Pewpew finally hit, and I grit my teeth, enduring it. Now that I was third-rank ‘Bonded, battle felt different. It was only a mild surprise to discover that I was faster than an airship now.
It seemed the bat men had been learning to be more effective in raids over the years. I saw one grab an Areva guard and pull her over the side of the deck, then the creature spread its wings, slowing and gliding as the guard fell to her death. More bat men were clinging to the vessel, chopping away at the heavy wooden side with axes. I could hear the screams of passengers from within. The attacks must have already opened gaps.
I’d heard that bat men attacks had gotten worse over the years, but I hadn’t expected anything like this. This was far more coordinated than they had been when I’d first encountered them.
My hand with Pewpew came up but I thought better of it. It was better to save the destructive ring for when I really needed it. Instead, I held out a palm and used my favorite new ability I’d created.
The Air Drill attack spun out from my hand, creating a top-shaped vortex of air that I’d charged at the tip with Vibration energy. The magic bolt howled forward like a conical bullet, screaming like a hurricane. When it
struck, I smiled grimly even through floating time. It had performed exactly as I’d imagined, the tip penetrating, then the winds tearing apart the bat man from the inside while it passed.
On the deck, Benjamin had also abandoned subtlety, turning his arm into a tentacle that snaked up to the sky. The moment it touched a bat man, the creature’s skin burned like it’d been soaked in acid. It bellowed as it faltered, half of one wing melting. Benjamin’s abilities weren’t well suited for this type of battle, but he seemed to be holding his own.
I zipped under the airship, concentrating for a few seconds to charge an Air Drill attack, then darted up to a bat man on the side of the craft, delivering the attack at point-blank range. The bat man’s thin armor had zero effect on my attacks.
After I’d turned, flown, and skewered another creature, I noticed one of them approaching from behind, sword extended. A dozen ways to avoid and counterattack ran through my head, but I just took the simplest action, throwing Eneus straight at the bat man’s face. The monster desperately swerved to avoid the missile, barely succeeding. I was already behind my opponent when it tried to locate me again. With a grunt, I grabbed it by the back of the hairy neck. Vibration gave me a vib-blade on the end of one finger, and it was simple to sever the bat man’s wing. I kicked the creature downward, using it as a springboard. The monster snarled as it began to fall, helplessly slashing at me, eyes full of hate.
I held out a hand as I rose into the sky, grabbing hold of Eneus’ leash and pulling the spear into my hand. The bat men must have been expecting the airship to be an easy target for this sort of coordinated attack, but were obviously getting more than they’d bargained for. I plummeted down, killing a bat man with an Air Drill attack on the way.
Benjamin spun as I alighted with a soft bump. He snarled, “I have had it with these motherfucking bat men on this motherfucking airship!”
I patted him on the shoulder, scanning the sky as I did so. At least with the rain, we didn’t need to worry about fire...hopefully. “You seem to be doing just fine. There’s that fire mage over there too who is helping a lot,” I said, nodding with my chin. Suddenly, an arrow slammed down into the deck a few feet away, and I narrowed my eyes. “That’s new.”
“They’ve been shooting at us the whole time, most arrows just don’t stay on the deck. They killed two people on the starboard bow with arrows!” Benjamin spun wildly, turning one hand into a reptilian head. He shot smoking green venom into the sky and over the side of the airship, but didn’t seem to hit anything.
“I see.”
“That’s the problem with your floating time, Nora. Just…” Benjamin shook his head. “What do you need? I know you’re not here to chat.” We both swiveled our heads as a barbed spear barely missed an Adom defender nearby.
I nodded. “Nobody is guarding the door to the cabins. Keep an eye on it, please.”
“Got it. Now go do what you do.”
I didn’t bother to respond, just kicked off the deck and over the side of the ship, then dropped into a short dive. The wind screamed past, making my hair blow as I looped under the deck. When I came up the other side, I found another bat man hacking on the side of the airship, and I slowed myself before landing on its back with my feet.
The monster was startled, and began to turn but was far too slow. Eneus slammed through its heart. The spear’s shaft was getting slick with blood. Without my enhanced strength I might have had trouble keeping a firm grip, especially as I pulled it from the creature’s body with a wet squelch.
Before I took off into the night again, I saw a pair of blue eyes from a ragged gap in the side of the airship. A child stood in a hallway beyond, holding a doll and staring at me. Her shadowed eyes were wide with shock, and in that moment I saw more of myself than I liked.
The moment took my attention, making me remember some of my childhood in a flash. My throat constricted, and I felt hot flashes race through my body. Floating time helped me stave off the worst of my reactions, but I’d been shaken.
The distraction almost killed me.
I almost hadn’t noticed another bat man coming out of the night with a lance. With an oath, I flung myself to one side and kicked off of the side of the airship and the creature’s attack missed, slamming into where I’d just been. From inside the ship, I heard a faint cry, and realized that the little girl had probably just been injured.
Fire filled my veins as I swung up an arm, cutting the bat man in half with Pewpew. I couldn’t let myself be distracted. The girl being injured had been my fault.
She’d definitely just been injured. I didn’t go back to look through the crack in the hull to make sure. She’d only been injured, definitely. Maybe even just scared.
I rose into the sky again, focused on killing bat men as fast as I could, ignoring the aftershocks of using Pewpew. This rematch with the bat men was definitely different than the first time I’d fought them. Back then, I’d only survived through a lot of luck and a little creativity, but now I was beating the bat men on their own turf. Part of me took pleasure in my skill and new abilities, but the little girl below had reminded me of the realities of the situation. The slower I killed these monsters, the more likely it would be that innocent people would get hurt.
To one side, I spotted a number of the creatures flying together. They seemed to have ganged up to kill me. I smiled a bit, wiping water from my eyes and began a cat-and-mouse game, dodging spears and arrows alike, killing my attackers one by one. I was so much faster than they were, I still didn’t feel the need to activate my armor.
I yanked Eneus out of another enemy’s ribs and let myself feel a tiny wave of relief. Not many monsters seemed to be left. At the very least, there weren’t any more attacking the side of the ship. I was actually feeling optimistic about the battle. Then my gut felt like I’d been headbutted by a yukka when I saw Benjamin get knocked over the railing of the airship.
Luckily, Benjamin managed to fend off the bat man that had rammed him, wrapping his morphed tentacle arm around the monster. The monster screamed as it burned from head to toe, then Benjamin flung it away from him, The bat man flailed around, but had been blinded and crippled. Benjamin met my eyes and mouthed something right before I lost sight of him, nothing but rainy darkness where he’d just been.
“Rotting rot!” I screamed. I dropped like a stone, diving for the place I’d just seen my friend. A brief flash of guilt brushed against my floating time, but I pushed it away. The attack seemed mostly over. The remaining defenders on deck seemed to have it in hand. A leonine Mo’hali fighter dropped a bat man with a crossbow right before I dropped below the deck of the airship. I silently wished the ship and its passengers the best, but I had to help my friend.
Benjamin had a few forms and morphs that would let him glide, but none that would allow him to fly. He’d probably survive this fall, but if I wasn’t somehow able to find him in the storm, he was going to be all alone in the Berber forest.
I refused to have traveled with my ex-suitor and old team mate for all this time, keeping him safe, just to let him die alone in the monster-infested wilderness.
No rotting way.
Tension
The camp fire crackled, hissing as stray drops of water fell from the trees above. Benjamin breathed heavily, his sleep obviously troubled. He’d been injured on the way down. I’d actually caught sight of him gliding down with strange wings extended from his back before he’d hit the tree canopy like a sack of fish. Then I’d followed the sound of breaking limbs until I’d found him.
He’d been conscious, and he’d forced himself to move despite his injuries, following me to a defensible position before I’d built a fire and he’d fallen asleep. He was a powerful orb-Bonded man, and was probably not in serious immediate danger. He had a fairly powerful healing ability, and would probably be completely healed in a day, but right now he was vulnerable.
I’d made the right choice to follow him.
The persistent drumming of rain on the tre
es fell silent and I sighed in relief that it’d stopped. Building a fire had been a risk, but some monsters didn’t like fire, and ‘Bonded or not, Benjamin and I had needed the heat.
I’d been covered in blood earlier, but now most of it had washed away. I’d still need to thoroughly clean my clothes later, but at least they were tolerable for the time being, especially out in the middle of nowhere.
Benjamin sputtered again in his sleep and I tugged the corner of the thin blanket I’d put on him. All we had on us was what had been in our belt pouches and such. This situation was exactly why I rarely put anything important in my pack.
I stared at Benjamin for a long time while he slept. My emotions felt like a hard, tangled knot. I turned to look in the flame and started speaking. “You know, I know you’re still confused why I ended things, but I had to.”
Sometimes I wasn’t very good at putting my feelings into words. Knowing they were there, even understanding them, was different than actually wrapping them up in a neat little package that could be described with words. As the night grew deep and quiet after the storm, and I sat alone in the Berber wildlands, I had nothing to do but guard Benjamin and think.
The firelight played over the man’s face, and I shook my head. He really was quite handsome, and orb-Bonded, and kind, and intelligent. I knew he still cared about me, and would be more than happy to start things again if I but said the word. But...that was not what I wanted.
Another hour passed, and I began to speak again, the words falling out of my mouth. “You know, even though you didn’t believe me when we broke up, everything I said was true. I know everyone says it’s not you, it’s me, but it really was me. You are not a bad guy. I respect you, and I care about you, but what you wanted from me was more than I could give.
“We both know that if I were your first wife, other women would have been intimidated, or I would have found most potential sister-wives lacking. That’s a problem, because I don’t want to be a first wife in the first place. All that responsibility? No, that’s a rot slop on a failure mountain. I don’t even know if I want children. Then you said it didn’t matter to you, that I was enough for you...Did you go soft in the head? I never gave you everything you needed. You even admitted it once when you were drunk. I will never be the domestic type.”
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