“Have you seen the medicus?” Ceti asked.
“The medicus claims the wound is sealed and the stitches holding, but I could pull them out by walking around and then bleed to death. I won’t hold my city from a bed.” Tabor looked up at the Viking. “You don’t have to be here, my friend. You should protect your own.”
“You are my own.”
Mykle was a full head taller than Tabor and one of the few men who could put him physically in eclipse. Despite what most thought, Ceti knew from private dealing with the two men that they were partners, not superior and inferior. Mykle was no lapdog.
“Not your fight,” Tabor said. His face was paler than last night and dark circles ringed his eyes.
Ceti suspected it was taking all his strength to stand.
“Warriors fight together. And die together, if Odin so wills.” Mykle looked around and, satisfied no one but Ceti stood nearby, leaned over to kiss Tabor.
Ceti turned away from the pair, wanting to intrude as little as possible. Tabor and Mykle had been lovers since the Battle for Seneca. How Tabor had explained this to his late wife, Gaius’s mother, Ceti never knew. But Daria had accepted the Viking as one of the family. So did Gaius.
Tabor sighed deeply after the long kiss and let Mykle support him. It made Ceti wish for Sky.
They all looked out as the first of the missiles from the onegers plunged into the docks.
Tabor raised an eyebrow as more burning cannonballs struck the docks. He pursed his lips for a moment, then smiled.
“You’re creating a smokescreen,” he said.
Ceti nodded.
“Good! But tell them to leave the dock nearest this trap undamaged.”
“Won’t that be too obvious?” Ceti asked.
“Throw a few harmless cannonballs at it. It will look like a mistake that favors them. Let’s make our invitation clear.”
“Yes, sir!” Ceti saluted. As he started to leave, Tabor offered his hand.
Ceti grasped it at the elbow.
“Be careful, engineer,” Tabor said. “And don’t lose hope.”
“Never,” he answered.
Ceti walked down the steps and past the infantry soldiers, intending to get a report from Godwin. Tabor’s presence, he realized, had cheered him as much as the other soldiers.
Movement at the side of the street caught his eye. This area had been evacuated yesterday. There should be no unauthorized people here.
Ceti drew his sword.
Sky stepped out from the shadows.
“A fine greeting, Ceti,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ceti rushed up to Sky and nearly crushed her with the strength of his hug. She did not want to ever let him go. It might be the last time she could be in his arms.
“Later, love,” she whispered in his ear. She fervently hoped there would be a later.
He seemed to regain control of his senses and released her. He frowned as he recognized Dinah was standing to the side. She’d been hidden by the shadows until now.
“How did in the name of Vulcan did you get here?” he asked. “I saw the smoke across the river. What happened to your village?”
“Licinius knew a hidden way under Manhatos,” Sky said. “He got us to Dinah and she brought me here.” For now, she ignored his other question. It hurt her heart to think about it.
The route through the aqueducts had not been easy or without problems, such as the rush of water that had almost drowned them before they reached the relative safety of Dinah’s checkpoint. Sky wished she could have thanked her cousin better, but Licinius had turned around and gone back to join the tribal warriors who were massing in force just north of Manhatos’s walls.
“Urgent or not, you shouldn’t be here, Sky,” Ceti said, his voice hoarse. “If you came back for me, that was not—”
She framed his face in her hands. He looked so tired, so dirty, so lost. Hold together, Ceti. I need someone to be a rock for me else I will crumble.
“I came because my clan needs your help.”
“All I have is yours,” he said hoarsely. “But promise you’ll get out of here soon, get to safety—”
“I do not plan to stay in Manhatos,” she said. “I will explain, but I need to get to your workshop. Now.” She took his hand and noticed the bandage for the first time. “What have you done to yourself?”
“It’s a scratch,” he said. “Follow me.”
They kept a brisk pace through the streets as she explained what had happened since in the last two days. It seemed strange beyond measure that the sun had only risen twice since their parting.
The world had changed.
She had changed.
Her voice was calm until she reached the part about her father. Her throat closed up, her mouth dried out, and the words left her.
Ceti stopped walking and clasped her hand. “Sky?”
“She can’t finish. It’s too close for her yet,” Dinah said. “If you’ll permit me, Sky?”
She nodded and kept hold of Ceti’s hand. If she told this tale herself, she might collapse and never get up.
Her village in ruins. Her father beyond all help. Her mother perhaps dead as well.
So Sky let Dinah tell the tale. While Dinah talked, Sky looked around Manhatos. In contrast to her earlier tour, the streets were empty. There were few voices to be heard. No vendors had their goods out for sale. The stench of burned wood permeated the place.
The smell was so close that of her destroyed village that she almost gagged.
“I’m so sorry, Sky,” Ceti said as they halted at the bottom of his steps.
She let go of his hand. “There is no time for sorry,” she said, finding her voice. “I have to get my mother back.”
“You need my aquila to fly to the legate’s flagship and rescue her.”
Of course, he would understand. “Yes,” she said.
“I’ll get her for you.” He bounded up the steps, two at a time, before she could correct him.
She and Dinah followed in Ceti’s wake. He didn’t understand, not yet. Ceti was needed here, not risking his life in her fight.
This time, she would fly. It was what she was meant to do.
Once at the top, Sky rushed through his workshop to the aquila and joined Ceti. He was inspecting it.
“My repair of the wing cloth will hold?” she asked.
“Yes.” He grabbed his harness from the wall. “Dinah, can you take word to Tabor what I’ve done? If this works, then maybe it will disrupt the fleet, especially if they’re landing troops. Confusion can only help us and—”
Sky snatched the harness from his hands. “You are not going, Ceti. I am.”
She had harness strapped around her before he could snap out of his shock. He seized her shoulders.
“You’ll die out there,” he said.
“Likely.” But what horror did death hold after the destruction of her village and the end of her father? “But my people are in trouble. It’s my task to save them, not yours.”
“It’s my aquila.” His fingers tightened their grip. His eyes were wild, his mouth set. “You have to live, Sky. The hope that you live through this is what’s keeping me standing.”
“You have more strength than you know, my love.” She stared, memorizing every inch of him so she could remember to her last breath. His formal uniform was stained with blood, he had not shaved, but intelligence still shone in his eyes.
And fear.
“Duty keeps you going,” she said. “And duty is what calls me to do this.” She sighed. “We are the same. I have to do this.”
He let her go and took the hammer from his belt. “I’ll destroy the aquila before I let you go.”
She should be angry. She should feel...something. But the same coldness that had enveloped her since her father died in her arms kept hold of her now.
“You won’t,” she said. “You’re going to gather together your explosive birds, show me how to light them, strap me into the
aquila, and launch it.” She took a deep breath. “I did not want to put you through this choice. I would have come here alone and had Dinah launch it, but you are the only one who knows how to aim it in the right direction.”
“I’m also the only one who knows how to steer it,” he said.
“It’s my task,” she said. “The gods will guide my aim.” Or push her to her death. It mattered not. It was what had to be done.
He braced himself with one hand on his workbench. “Sky, I can’t send you to your death. I won’t.”
“You are not sending me to my death. You’re sending me to my fate.” She smiled. “I will rain down fire from the sky. It’s what I was born for.”
“You will die,” Ceti sputtered.
“We have a plan, Ceti,” Dinah said. “The Lenape warriors are coming to reinforce us. They’ve gone north of Manhatos and are cutting across the island to the east. They will attack as soon as the enemy lands. Sky’s flight may not be as fatal as you think. The flagship won’t be expecting an assault from above, especially while they’re occupied with the landing. In the chaos, she may reach the hostages.”
“And escape with them...how?” Ceti scowled.
“The Roman ships have boats on them, do they not?” Sky asked. “And my people can swim, as Ghost Wolf did. Better they die trying to escape than live as Roman slaves.”
“And the longboats are out there,” Dinah said.
Sky strode past Ceti. Enough with this. Any more conversation and her coldness might melt and the fear would set it. Then she would not be able to act at all.
“Sky.” Ceti put a hand on her shoulder. “Will you...will you at least wait until the ships start disembarking troops? That will be the moment of most confusion and the best time to attack.”
She closed her eyes against his fear. Don’t. Don’t give me your sadness, Ceti.
“I will wait,” she said.
“Dinah,” Ceti said. “Tabor needs to know all this. He’s at the ruined gate.”
“That is where I planned to go once I was sure Sky was delivered to you.” Dinah nodded to both of them. “Sky.” She cleared her throat. “One day I will tell you the full tale, but know that my husband believes his goddess sent a message to him that I was his savior. It did not seem likely; we were on opposite sides in a war. But so it was and so we are.”
“You are saying this may go well?” Sky asked. She could not even think that of the future. She had just enough courage to do this thing. To consider the outcome would be to lose all nerve.
“I’m saying if you are convinced you die today, then you will die. Hold out hope and trust your gods to see your fate completed.”
Sky hugged Dinah lightly. “Thank you, I will.”
When Sky turned back to Ceti, he was looking over the harbor with the far viewer.
“What do you see?”
“Nothing as yet. Our smokescreen was effective.” He sighed and turned to her. “Sky. I can’t...I...”
She brushed his cheek with her fingertips. “You have to, my love.”
He shook his head. “I spent years on this aquila. Most mocked me and said it would never work. It was my life’s dream to see it fly.”
“I’m sorry to take your life’s work.”
“You don’t understand.” He put his hand on her cheek, pushing hair out of her eyes. “Now that it does fly, I wish I had never built it. Then you would never have to do this.”
He bent his neck to kiss her. Their lips meant and Sky’s coldness melted away. It was all heat and fire and the roar of life.
Ceti pulled her close and she returned the kiss, wishing she could melt against him, disappear from this place and appear somewhere else, where the world was safe. She broke the kiss to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. He kissed the tears away. She hugged him tight.
She took a deep shuddering breath. “Look again, Ceti. Time to aim my flight.”
He picked up the far viewer from his table and looked again. “The wind has picked up. The smoke is clearing,” he said. “The ships are moving closer. We should start firing at them soon. Be careful of our cannon shot, if you can.”
“I will.” She walked to the front of the aquila. Her repairs to the wing cloth made the eagle’s wing look broken. She hoped that was not a bad omen. “Hook me in, Ceti.”
He nodded and did so with fumbling fingers. “I’ll get the little birds for you.” He kissed her again. She drank him in.
He sped into the workshop and returned with a satchel. He opened it to show her the birds and a metal tool at the top. He took the tool out. “This is a lighter,” he said. He turned the tiny wheel at the top, sparks flew, and a flame appeared. “Light the wick attached to the birds, then let the birds go. Don’t hold onto them or they may go off in your hand.”
She nodded.
“Test it. I want to make sure you know how it works.”
She moved the wheel with her thumb. A small flame appeared. She smiled. “Romans. So clever.”
He took the lighter from her, put it back in the satchel and loped it around her neck and shoulder. “You’ll need to hold the bar with both hands at first to steer. When you’ve caught the wind, you can use a hand to launch the birds.”
She nodded.
“The wind makes it hard to see,” he said. “I didn’t have a chance to make eye protectors, so keep your head low.”
She clasped his hand. He gripped back so tight it hurt her fingers.
“And...and when you come down, make sure to reach back right away and release the harness,” he said. “If you hit the water, you want to get away from it, fast.” He led her hand back and make sure her fingers traced the release. “Will you remember how to do that?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Gods.” He pulled her close again, kissing her desperately, with so much need.
“This makes no sense,” he said. “I didn’t know you just a week ago.”
She smiled. “We’ve been working toward this all our lives, Ceti.”
“I love you,” he said.
“You’re mine,” she said. “The tale of the Roman and his aquila will live on among all the stories of my people.”
He finally smiled. He took a deep breath and raised the far viewer again. “I’m going to make sure the aim is right. Relax. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
She closed her eyes and prayed while he moved the circle under her feet to best aim the aquila. As she finished her plea to the Corn Goddess, the heaviness lifted from her heart.
Surely this is what warriors called the peace of battle. Preparations were done. Failure or success, it was time to see which it would be.
“Hold tight, She Who Was Born Under Fire in the Sky,” Ceti said.
She curled her fingers around the handle. “Ready, Licinius Ceti of Seneca.”
“All gods go with you,” he said.
She heard a sharp snap of rope and a mighty heave thrust her and the aquila into the sky.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
There was a tremendous jolt as the aquila launched itself at the sky.
All she could do was hold onto the frame and hope the force of the flight didn’t rip her from the aquila.
She climbed so fast that all was a blur. The wind whipped the hair around her eyes. She glimpsed bits of the blue sky.
Ceti was right about the eye protection.
Then she seemed to halt and hang motionlessly in the sky. She dared open her eyes and straighten her body.
By the gods of the sun and wind...
She was so high that the ships below seemed to be but child’s toys, like the model aquila she and Ceti had built. She could see the whole of Manhatos below. Even Tabor’s villa seemed no larger than her fist from this distance.
She started falling.
She grabbed the frame tight again. Her stomach felt as if it had flipped over inside her body. The cold air froze the sweat on her body, chilling her.
Remember, steer.
&nbs
p; She looked down again, willing the fear away. Yes, she was falling, but it was controlled and not nearly as fast as her ascent had been. The wings had caught the air.
She was truly flying.
If she was to die, at least she had this first.
The imperial fleet to her left grew larger. She leaned to her left and, to her delight, the aquila changed direction.
She grinned as the descent slowed and her stomach settled. Her smile faded as she remembered what she had to do. She had no idea how long she would be aloft.
A variable, Ceti would say.
With the wind pressing on her, she let go of the frame with one hand, finger by finger, and then dared reach into the satchel to grab one of the exploding birds.
The aquila’s wings flapped from left to right in response to her motion. She curled the bird close to her chest as her fear spiked again.
The aquila settled and began flying straight again.
Keep going.
She switched the bird to her other hand, holding onto both it and the frame. She darted her hand into the bag again, fishing for the flame tool. The aquila tilted. She swore and shifted her body weight. It righted once more.
Her fingers curled around the lighter.
I need another hand. And she’d thought her only problem would be landing on board the flagship. It was apparently one of many. She began to truly understand Ceti’s need to test everything.
She lit the string trailing from the bottom of the exploding bird and let it go without even trying to aim it. It fell fast, beak first, sputtered and burst into fire.
Hit something!
It righted and speed toward one of the ships below. Sky realized with a groan that it was the one next to the flagship, not her intended target.
The bird struck a sail in a shower of sparks. Sky braced, waiting for a cry of alarm but a cannonball flew into the decking of the ship almost simultaneously. The men on deck, still looking tiny from her height, ran for cover.
Their sail caught on fire.
Sky blinked her eyes and grabbed another bird from the satchel. She needed to hit the flagship and pave the way for her landing.
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