“Pontopa, we have to surrender!” Faso shouted and he pointed out towards a second swarm of secicao-powered Hummingbird automatons that emerged from the ship’s funnel. “We can’t win!”
But there was no turning back now. I had a much better idea.
I turned Velos towards the shrapnel-flak. “We’re going in!”
“What?” Faso exclaimed. “You’re crazy!”
I sneered back at Faso. “So, jump ship,” I said. And I gestured towards the churning, uninviting sea below.
“Death lies that way, Miss Wells!” the voice came from the airship. “You’re committing suicide.”
And indeed, as if they saw our approach, the shrapnel-flak cannons on the carriers let out another barrage. Though Taka’s song was keeping Velos steady enough, the dragon’s physical strength was weakening. But we could make this. I had to have faith.
So, I closed my eyes as we approached the black cloud. I could feel the static from it now, pulling at the hairs on my arms. Maybe, if we were incredibly lucky, we could fly through without getting cut to pieces.
But that wasn’t my plan. “Faso, Taka, get ready to hold your breath.” I shouted.
“What?” Faso said.
“Just do it!” I pushed on Velos’ steering fin as hard as I could. He knew immediately what I wanted him to do.
He plunged into a stall, just barely missing the cloud of shrapnel-flak. I felt the static even stronger and so I pushed Velos down even harder, sang a song to tell him to forget about the pain in his wings. “Be brave, Velos,” I said.
Something scratched at the top of my head. Shrapnel-flak, we hadn’t evaded all of it. But we got away from that cloud largely unscathed. Instead, the water’s surface lurched towards us. Velos’ wing tips scraped the hull of the ship, and I worried this would slow him down.
“Now!” I shouted and then I took in a deep breath. Velos’ head broke the surface tension of the water, so he probably would have felt the bulk of the sting. But still it felt like a huge slap to my face and the chest as my body followed his underneath the water. Great giant bubbles rose up to my side from Velos’ breath, followed by the smaller ones from my own. I exhaled slowly, but steadily, not knowing how deep we would go. I could see the boat’s hull in front of us now, which went so deep I couldn’t make out the bottom of it.
As we plunged, the water turned greener and I felt increasing pressure on my ears. I turned around, half scared that those Hummingbirds would have followed us into the water. But I doubted they were also waterproof.
Velos’ slowed down and the water began to push up at us. Damn it, we wouldn’t make it. We’d pop up out of the surface and that carrier would already be waiting for us with life buoys to take us hostage. If we hadn’t already drowned.
“Come on, Velos,” I thought, hoping he would at least hear my emotions. I couldn’t really sing down here but sang a dragonsong in my mind to spur Velos on. I felt a push of strength then. One last kick from Velos’ feet to push us downwards and we made it under the hull.
Now, I had to hold my breath for long enough and hope that Faso and Taka could do the same. I kept that thread on Velos’ mind now that I’d found it, pushed him onwards with his feet. Surprisingly, he began to accelerate.
Then light came from the surface and I pulled up on Velos’ steering fin to drive him upwards. He was weak, but he still had a little bit of oomph left in him. He kicked his legs as if he’d been swimming for life, pushed his forelegs in front of him and pulled the water away from him. Velos’ buoyancy lifted him fast.
Behind me, Taka began to sputter bubbles and his eyes went wide. Faso looked at me as if to say hurry up. Then my air supply started to go, and I thought that was it – we were going to drown.
But just as that thought came, Velos broke the surface and the three of us gasped desperately for air. The Greys had already brought down another swarm of Hummingbirds and now they regrouped and flew towards us. I could see Sandao’s fleet, which was already in retreat. On the other hand, Cini’s ships still had to turn and the airships wouldn’t dare to pursue a fleet of boats alone, since they’d get shot out of the sky.
I got us a safe distance from Cini’s fleet, and then I looked back to see his boats sinking away from us. Velos had gained new energy from somewhere and I knew he could make it to Sandao’s fleet.
“We did it,” I turned around to Taka to give him a high five.
But he was fast asleep in his chair. That scream must have really taken it out of him.
“I’ll take that high five,” Faso said.
So, I reached over behind Taka and high-fived Faso. “Thank you, Faso,” I said.
“For what?”
“For the armour? Looks like it wasn’t a bad idea after all. Although, make sure you get my permission next time.”
Faso smiled and then he looked behind him towards the horizon, behind which lay the scene of the battle that had almost killed us. In the very distance, I could ever so faintly make out the fading shrapnel-flak clouds.
32
General Sako stood waiting for us in the courtyard at Fortress Gerhaun when we arrived, yellow secicao smoke rising up from his pipe. He spotted us coming in and then waved us down towards the courtyard. When we landed, I noticed how sunken and baggy his eyes looked, as if he’d not had any sleep for a few nights.
Velos lowered his head to the ground so Faso and I could help Taka off Velos. The boy was barely awake. But Wiggea and another dragonelite had a stretcher ready. “Take him to the infirmary,” I said.
“Is that the king’s nephew?” Wiggea said.
“That’s my granddaughter,” General Sako said. “Didn’t you listen to the brief?”
“Umm…” I tugged at my collar. “You should probably know he’s your grandson now, General Sako.”
He looked at me lifelessly. “Granddaughter.”
“Grandson. Look, it’s a long story, I’ll explain but first I need to see Gerhaun.”
“Wait!” General Sako said. “Dragonseer Wells, I’d rather hear it from you.” he looked at Faso. “Is it true?”
I had wanted to wait a little before delivering the news. But it seemed that someone had told him already.
“How did you know?” I asked.
“A man. He came into the ramparts. Demanded to speak to me and only me. He had this long face and these bright blue eyes—”
“Francoiso?” My heart fluttered in hope.
“He called himself Charth,” General Sako said. “The man, he could… He could turn into a dragon. And he told me my daughter had been murdered by that King’s consort…” The short stocky man took hold of me by the shoulders. A sickly smell of secicao smoke washed over me. “Please tell me it isn’t true, Dragonseer.”
My heart sank. I hadn’t quite come to admit it myself. “It’s true,” I said. “We have her ashes. There’s no way we could have got her body across the Southern Barrier, so we had to cremate her. I’m sorry, General Sako.”
General Sako twitched his moustache. “That’s what she had always wanted,” he said. “Cremation.” And he turned on his heels and left the courtyard, his posture sunken low.
Faso turned to me. “I’m sorry, Pontopa,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to help? I can use secicao to help heal Velos, if you’d let me.”
I looked at Faso. “You should probably go and check on your son.”
“Yes, I should probably tell Taka I’m his father,” Faso said.
“Just know that Sukina wanted to tell you,” I said. “And remember, he’s a dragonseer, so Gerhaun will want to talk to him too.”
“Dragonseers are female.”
“It’s complicated.”
Faso shook his head. “It certainly is,” he said. “Well I better go and check up on him. I mean her… I mean him… Wait, which one should I use?”
“He sees himself as a boy now, as I said.”
“Yes, well. I’ll make a fine inventor out of him.” He gave a little bow and left.
/>
Gerhaun was sleeping in her chambers. But this time I didn’t think twice about waking her. This was the type of news that shouldn’t have to wait. We spoke in the collective unconscious.
“I’m sorry,” Gerhaun said before I even had a chance to explain.
“You heard too?” I said. “Charth visited here?”
“I felt her death,” Gerhaun said. She lowered her great head. “It’s a great loss to all of us. But she will always live on in the collective unconscious. You must believe that.”
“This woman, Alsie. She seems to have an agenda of her own.”
“The murderer, yes. I’ve heard her name spoken before by other dragon queens. In myth, they called her the Banshee.”
“Because of her scream? Taka’s picked up that ability too.”
“Oh, she must have taught him something. Though, if legends are true, Taka’s scream is not a patch on Mistress Alsie’s. That, it would seem, is one of the most dangerous weapons known to man and dragon alike.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Tell me more.”
“The Banshee is a minion of Finesia, who can bring down battalions with her voice. Now legends say that if the Banshee is allowed to revive the Tree Immortal then she’ll become the most powerful creature on this world, second to Finesia herself.”
“Through secicao?” I asked. It made sense so much sense now.
“That’s right. Once secicao has covered the entire planet then the Tree Immortal can grow again. Then the Banshee will drink of its sap, to regrow Finesia and claim immortality. Together, Finesia, her right hand, and a new race of immortals shall rule. That is the prophecy.”
“Aren’t prophecies meant to come true?”
“Not if find a way to stop it. But we need to do research. We need to find out exactly what Alsie is planning, and what she wants with the king.”
“And I thought King Cini was the villain,” I said.
“We’ve known for a long time that King Cini is just a puppet. But now we know who’s pulling the strings.”
“I heard Sukina’s voice in the battle,” I said. “At least, I think I did.”
“No, you didn’t. Once dragonseers die, they lose their voices. But still their presence augments the collective unconscious in so many other ways.”
I fell silent for a moment.
“You’ll stay with us, won’t you, Dragonseer?” Gerhaun said eventually.
“Of course,” I said. “Someone needs to carry on what Sukina was fighting for.”
“That’s good.”
“I just need one thing,” I said. “To find a way to get my parents down here. They’re in a safe place for now, but if Cini ever finds them then, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“Don’t worry,” Gerhaun said. “We will find a way to save them, and I see you’re becoming a fine woman, Dragonseer Wells.”
“Thank you,” I said. And I bowed and took my leave.
We burned Sukina’s ashes for a second time, though this time they stayed within her urn. Her spirit wouldn’t be sealed, legend stated, until she’d been engulfed with the flame of a dragon queen.
So, we gathered in the courtyard, the wind surprisingly warm for the Southlands, bringing the faint eggy smell of secicao on it. Despite the losses at the Battle of Sanjiornio, as it had come to be called, we still had over seven hundred Greys fit enough to attend the funeral and thousands of dragonelite, Sako’s soldiers, and Admiral Sandao’s marines. I’d never in my life seen Fortress Gerhaun’s courtyard so full.
But then a good portion of it was taken up by Gerhaun Forsi herself, who sat right in the centre, a massive fire pit in front of her ready to be lit. As if by magic, some sunshine managed to find its way through the secicao clouds and bathe Gerhaun’s golden skin in a warm glow.
Behind Gerhaun, the courtyard had been arranged in two long and wide aisles, radiating away from Gerhaun, giving me a good view of the urn at the front, where I sat next to Taka. Faso was on the other side of him and General Sako sat on the other side of me, although he kept looking over at his grandson with discerning eyes as if checking he was behaving himself. Or perhaps trying to work out how his granddaughter could be a grandson. I’d still not had a chance to explain that to him.
The ceremony began and General Sako went forward to deliver a eulogy. He spoke of how beautiful his daughter had been both inside and outside, what a free spirit she was and how headstrong she’d been. She’d been the best daughter a father could ask for. General Sako also mentioned how Sukina’s mother, also a dragonseer, had died young, executed during the dragonheats.
After that, he couldn’t carry on speaking. I never thought I’d seen someone as strong as General Sako break down crying. I don’t blame him, of course, I don’t think I could have even delivered the beginning of such a speech in his position.
Faso then asked permission to General Sako for him to deliver his speech. I was expecting the old general to refuse, but this time he simply nodded his approval, and buried his face into his handkerchief. Faso then talked about his good days with Sukina. How he wished he’d treated her better. How he’d never seen a fault in her, even though he knew he had plenty in him. He didn’t talk about the breakup or about any hard feelings he’d had towards her during their period of separation. Rather he spoke of Sukina as someone he’d looked up to. Someone he’d often wanted to be.
“When times called for courage,” Faso said. “Sukina always showed you how to be courageous. And that’s what I loved about her.”
This caused General Sako to break down in tears again. I looked over at him, kind of guilty that he’d never had a chance to see the body. But then, he’d say that this was what Sukina had always wanted. She never seemed the kind of person to want to take up unnecessary space.
Gerhaun then breathed fire onto the bier. It bathed the whole place in such warmth that I found myself sweating underneath my funeral dress. We waited a minute for the flames to pass. Gerhaun’s fire was so powerful though that it burnt out the firewood pretty quickly.
Then Wiggea, who had apparently been Sukina’s most trusted dragonelite, rushed forward. He carefully pushed the urn onto a tray with a gloved hand, which he carried with him.
Three dragonelite followed behind him, then General Sako, Faso, Taka, and me, followed by the rest of the congregation. The dragons had to wait upstairs, of course, there was no way they’d fit into the crypts.
I hadn’t realised these chambers existed. Corridors and corridors filled with marble statues of each dragonseer who had served Gerhaun and other dragon queens in the past.
We followed the corridors until we found one lit up by a hundred torches towering up to a high ceiling. A wooden statue of Sukina had already been built in the centre, her hands cupped ready. In one year’s time, Gerhaun would burn this statue with dragonfire and it would be replaced by a marble one. Wiggea stepped forwards, kissed Sukina’s statue on one palm and then placed the urn in her hands.
“Pontopa, this is your time,” Gerhaun’s voice came in my head. “To sing the dragonsong.”
Yes, Gerhaun had mentioned this. I stepped forward and sang the dirge for the dead. It lifted me out of myself and for three long minutes, I didn’t let my voice waiver, despite the tears in my eyes. I felt the song lift out of me and float through all of Fortress Gerhaun, where it touched the souls of men and dragons and did its part to push away the secicao clouds.
After that, we left Sukina to rest in peace.
The rest of the day involved the wake and a huge feast, the food rivalling the kind we had eaten in Cini’s palace. Though the dishes weren’t as elaborate – no white stag for us here – the chicken and beef and pork had been cooked in such a way that it reminded me of Mamo’s cooking back home.
Gerhaun and the dragons took this time to rest, while I met some of the troops at the palace. I talked to Wiggea a lot, though I couldn’t really stop feeling guilty. In a way, it was as if I was still married to Francoiso.
Eventually, I excused m
yself and went out to check on Velos. Miraculously, the hole in his wing looked much better, sealed by what seemed some kind of green spongy substance. If this was the secicao healing that Faso had mentioned then the inventor had done a damn good job.
Velos woke when I approached. He pushed his head up to me and crooned. He was no longer in pain physically – I could feel that. But he also felt a bit lost now that we didn’t have Sukina. Clearly, Velos had also bonded to her.
I went to grab some secicao from the storehouse and tossed it into Velos’ trough in his stable, which had only just been allotted to him. I stayed with Velos a while before he went to sleep, then I hit the sack myself.
When I finally emerged to the land of the living, I grabbed a quick breakfast from the dining hall and then I went to see what everyone was up to. I passed Sukina’s bedroom on the way, the door ajar, from which I could see light from a torch burning inside. I opened to see Faso standing there, Ratter on his shoulder watching as Faso painted this stunning oil portrait of Sukina. He had depicted her in three-quarters profile and her gaze was cast a little off to the left. The painting made her look kind of innocent and Faso had painted a golden halo around her.
Taka was on the bed watching Faso intently. Faso turned to me as I entered the room.
“Hello,” he said.
“Faso… I never knew you were so artistic.”
“I wanted to get this out of my memory, before it’s lost to the world.”
“I can understand that. Mind if I watch a while?”
“Sure,” he said. And he returned with an admirable focus to his work. I sat down next to Taka and took his hand.
As I watched the details emerge in Sukina’s face, I thought about how much she’d changed me as a person. Yes, I’d loved her novels, and she’d never be able to write another one, damnit.
Dragonseers and Airships Page 29