I nodded an acknowledgement, then I turned on my heel and made my way towards Taka’s room.
As I marched through the musty corridors, whizzing past the ornate tapestries of dragons depicted in battles against automatons, I listened out for signs that Gerhaun might have awoken. But still there was no sign of her. When the dragon queen slept, she remained dead to the world.
I soon arrived at Taka’s room. Candiorno stood leaning against the wall by the door, one leg crossed over the other, and a trail of smoke rising from the cigarette sandwiched between his lips. I gave him a curt nod and then rapped on the oaken door.
It took Taka a while to respond.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Taka,” I said. “We need to talk.”
He paused a while. When his words came, they sounded almost stifled by tears. “When are you going to be yourself again, Auntie Pontopa? You’re meant to be the hero here. Someone I can look up to.”
A little warmth rushed to my cheeks, and I looked over at Candiorno, feeling slightly abashed. “That’s exactly what I want to talk about, Taka. Why don’t you open the door?”
Admittedly, I could have just ordered Lieutenant Candiorno to unlock it, since he had the key. But I didn’t want to damage my relationship with Taka even more. So, I waited a moment for the boy to respond. Soon enough, the lock clicked, and the door opened to reveal Taka standing with red-rimmed eyes on the other side.
I reached out and put my hand on Taka’s shoulder, but he recoiled so I retracted it.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
The boy lowered his head. This time, I didn’t chastise him for not answering me, instead waiting patiently for a response.
“I thought I could trust Travast,” Taka said eventually. “He told me that he’d make things better. That through him, I could become great. Why did I listen to him, Auntie? I feel like such an idiot.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Why did you listen to him? I mean, did you know he worked for the king?”
“I’ve known him for a long time. He brought me gifts when I was younger in the palace. But he told me he’d resigned when he learned I wasn’t King Cini’s nephew. He said he couldn’t work for a king who didn’t tell him the truth. He was like a father to me, Auntie… And then he went away… Now he’s working for the king again. He said he’s now a spy and he said he wanted to help us. But I don’t believe him anymore, Auntie. He betrayed me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “He was more of a father to you than Francoiso and Charth?”
Taka shook his head. “Francoiso was hardly ever there and Charth was always so strict, just like Alsie. But I felt like I could rely on Travast. He was always there to talk about boy stuff when things didn’t quite go right. At least at the beginning.”
“And so now he brought you the drug and told you it would make things better. Why do you feel you need to change, Taka?”
“Because after what happened at East Cadigan Island, we can’t just sit and pretend nothing is happening. A war is coming, Auntie Pontopa, and Alsie Fioreletta and King Cini are just waiting until it’s time to attack. Travast told me Fortress Gerhaun would need someone to lead them. Not just Gerhaun, but also a dragonseer. And… I’m sorry Auntie, you just didn’t seem up to the task.”
He lowered his head to look at the bed beneath him. I wanted to feel sad, I really did. But, the cyagora I had just taken now had started to come into effect.
I felt foolish for taking it when I’d landed. As always, once I’d felt any kind of emotion rising within me, I got scared of Finesia and swallowed down the pill. Now, one thing was for certain. My attempts to keep Finesia out had also ended up pushing Taka away. I hadn’t looked after him like I promised Sukina I would.
I took hold of Taka’s dry hand and I turned to look out the window for a moment. Like every other room in Fortress Gerhaun, Taka’s room was lit by a single tall and narrow window, surrounded by a dusty brick wall. Outside, the secicao clouds were edging ever closer. Gerhaun’s influence was getting ever weaker and Taka was right – if we didn’t do something soon, the stuff would close in and swallow us, as if punishing us for our inaction. Without us, secicao would take over the world.
Taka eventually broke the silence. “Auntie… There’s something I want to tell you.”
I turned back to him. He looked at me through wide almond eyes.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’ve not been completely honest.” He let go of my hand, stood up and pulled the bed skirt away from the floor. Underneath, he lifted one of the floorboards and placed it to the side. He then shifted another two floorboards, and then reached into the gap, from which he produced a brass briefcase. He sat back on the bed, placing the briefcase in his lap.
“Taka, what is that?” I asked.
He unclasped the briefcase and opened it. It contained around thirty vials of the drug we’d caught him with, each of them corked by a rubber bung. Like the original vial, these had black specks floating in them, which pushed out to the edge as if attracted to the boy through some magical force.
“I didn’t take any after you took the last one off me. I swear.”
I looked at the collection, astonished. “How the dragonheats did Travast get that in here?”
Taka pointed to the window. “By Hummingbird.”
“But how did it get passed the guards?” I was getting a bit worried about our security.
“I don’t know,” Taka said.
I let out a sigh. “How often were you taking these, Taka?”
“Six times a day. Travast told me I needed to take them that often for it to give me awesome dragonseer abilities. But when you talked to me about addiction, I saw I needed to stop.”
I nodded. That explained why, in our recent encounter with Travast, his ability had weakened after only a brief period of time. I reached out for the briefcase, and Taka removed his hand from it. I closed it shut, and he grimaced as he lost sight of the drug, but he did nothing about it.
I locked the suitcase, then stood up with it. “I’ll need to take these to the workshop. Whatever Travast was giving you, we need to understand it. Perhaps we can get to the bottom of what he was actually intending here. There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense.”
I made towards the door and took hold of the handle. The cyagora affected my sense of hot and cold, and so I couldn’t quite feel the metal there. But my skin tingled a little to the touch.
“Auntie,” Taka said before I opened the door.
I turned back to him. “What is it, Taka?”
“I just wanted to ask… What are those pills I’ve seen you taking, Auntie? You seem to want to hide them from everyone. Are you addicted too?”
I cursed under my breath. All this time… “How long have you known?”
“I don’t know, Auntie. For a while, I guess.”
I stared out into space. “It’s just, I need those pills. They help me keep control of my mind.”
“Isn’t that what addiction is? When you think you need something, but really you don’t? That’s why I stopped, Auntie Pontopa. Because all of a sudden, you made me realise I didn’t need that stuff. Not really.”
“My case is different, Taka… You don’t understand.”
“Then tell me…”
Dragonheats. If he knew, did anyone else? I walked up to him, put my hands square on his shoulders, and looked him straight in the eye.
“Taka, this is important. Have you told anyone about the pills I take?”
“No. Why would I?”
I sighed and then I placed the briefcase on the floor beside the door and went back to sit next to Taka on the bed.
“Taka, I told you how we must not listen to Finesia, right? Do you know what happened to me before the battle of East Cadigan Island? Just before we took down Colas’ ship and escaped the volcano…”
“You became a dragonwoman. I felt it.” And all this time, I’d hoped he hadn’t realised.
“A
nd I changed,” I continued, “because I heard Finesia inside my head. You know that’s why we lost Charth? Because he listened too long to Finesia. The drug I take is a medication called cyagora that Doctor Forsolano gave me. And the only reason I take it, though it makes me feel unwell to do so, is to keep Finesia’s voice away.”
“Can’t you just push her away, Auntie? Or ignore her? That’s what you and Gerhaun have been training me to do, right? Not to let Finesia in.”
That caused a very faint feeling of alarm to rise in my chest. Again, it would have been much stronger, were it not for the cyagora. “Taka, do you still hear Finesia in your head?”
“Sometimes… But I’m trying hard not to listen.”
“And did the voice get stronger when you took the drug?”
“She’s always been there, Auntie. I don’t know what you mean by stronger. The voice has always been kind of strong.”
“Taka this is important, now. Have you ever done what Finesia asked you to? Have you ever listened and obeyed what she wanted you to do?”
“No,” Taka looked surprised. “Why would I?”
“It’s just… Keep it that way, Taka. She is the enemy and we must never let her in.”
“You keep saying, Auntie, and I won’t.”
“Good,” I said. In all honesty, it was my worst fear that Taka would also lose himself to Finesia. “Keep it that way…”
I picked the briefcase up off the floor and made towards the door.
“I still think you should come off the drug, Auntie,” Taka said from behind.
I looked over my shoulder at him. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath. I felt a bit of a hypocrite, really. I’d gone there to warn Taka off addiction, while I was probably addicted too.
But then what was I addicted to exactly? Was it the drug? Or was it the peace of mind that it stopped Finesia running rampant inside my head? In a way, Taka was right. But then, I couldn’t come off the drug, surely. There was just too much at stake.
My next errand was to deliver the case of drugs to Faso. I guessed I’d find him in the courtyard, painting over any scratches made to his dragon automaton in the battle against Travast. But hopefully, seeing the contents of the briefcase would finally convince Faso to start spending more time with Taka.
I covered my ears to ward off the grating sound of a mechanical circular saw against metal as I approached. Sparks flew up in every direction from the dragon automaton, and a man in a white shirt, blue dungarees, and a face shield knelt over this, the saw in his hand. I scrunched up my eyes and nose to protect them both from the heat and the sour metallic scent.
“Excuse me,” I shouted over the racket.
The man shut off the saw and looked up at me. He lifted his visor, and I saw him to be one of Faso’s lab scientists, Casra Opponto. He was a middle-aged man with a thick grey handlebar moustache and a bald pate on his head.
“Dragonseer Wells,” the man replied. He tugged on one of the straps of his dungarees. “Fancy seeing you here. We – I thought you’d be resting after the battle.”
“We?” I asked.
“Yes. Faso said that you might want quite a bit of sleep.”
“And where is Faso now?”
The man looked at the case hanging by my hips. “I…”
“Casra, please. This is important.” I didn’t mean to be so haughty. But I was pretty tired, admittedly.
“I’m sorry,” Casra said. “He went to the stables. He said he had some important modifications to make to Velos’ armour.”
“Did he now?” I put my hands on my hips. “And do you know what modifications he’s making exactly?”
“I suggest you see for yourself. But please, if I could request that you not tell Mr Gordoni I gave you the information? It’s already been a long day.”
“Very well,” I said. “You better be getting back to your all essential work then.” I spun around on my heels and stormed off towards the stables, fearing the worst.
“Isn’t it marvellous, Cipao?” I heard Faso’s voice first, just as I reached the open double doors of Velos’ stables. “I’ve surpassed myself this time, more than I ever have before.”
Faso stood framed by the doorway standing next to my father, their heads turned to each other. Faso had one hand on his hip, the other on his shoulder, stroking the ferret automaton resting there. My father, while running his fingers through his salt-and-pepper beard, nodded his head in agreement.
In front of them, Velos rested his head on a perch. I looked at him, expecting to see his brilliant yellow eyes and the complex contours of his scales. But Faso had covered his ears and forehead with a monstrous lump of brass, with a convoluted mass of cables making it look like a mechanical brain.
A curved glass panelled plate covered his eyes, tinted black so I couldn’t see through it. His snout was covered by what looked like a dog muzzle, a cage split into two parts at the top and bottom of his mouth. It opened out on a hinge, so fortunately he could still open his mouth.
Now, I both wouldn’t be able to read his emotions in the collective unconscious because of the cyagora, nor see them on his face because of another of Faso’s stupid inventions. Velos had his head lowered to the floor, while Asinal Winda and another of Faso’s scientists sat on tiny metal stools tightening some rivets on the helmet.
I carefully placed the briefcase down on the floor by the doorway, before I went right up to Faso and pointed a finger at his chest.
“Faso, what the dragonheats are you doing?” I said. “You said you’d pass it through me before you made any modifications to Velos’ armour.” I wanted to at least appear angry, but the words came out rather subdued.
Faso turned to me and raised his eyebrows. “Ah, Pontopa. I thought you’d be asleep after the battle. Don’t you think it’s better to get some rest? I know it’s been a long day for you.”
“And let you start doing things behind my back again? Faso, you promised… You should be spending some time with your son after everything that happened, don’t you think? Doing your fatherly duties.”
Faso lowered his head, as if in shame. He and Taka seemed to share a lot of little gestures, despite them being apart from each other for most of their lives. “I planned to do so later. But we need to make this modification now.”
“And why,” I asked, “didn’t you tell me about it? I’m not even sure what this modification is right now. And Papo, why are you here supporting him?”
My father put out his hands in front of him. “It’s just a helmet, Pontopa. I don’t think it can do any harm.”
“A helmet? Every time that stupid inventor has put something on Velos it’s always been at a cost.” We can’t take the armour off without hurting him, and the cannon will prevent him from landing.
“Which is exactly why I designed this to be removable whenever you wish,” Faso said. “If you just listen to me a moment, I think you’ll agree it’s a good idea.”
I really didn’t have the strength inside me to become too emotional, and I think Faso had latched on to this. But if he thought he would get a free pass because of my current state, he had another thing coming. So, I put my hands on my hips and gave him my hardest stare. From its perch, Ratter responded by opening its mouth and out emanated a drawn-out hiss.
“Go on,” I said. “I’m listening.”
“Well,” Faso tugged on the jacket collar of his pinstriped suit. “What we have here is a remarkable device that augments Velos’ abilities even more than the armour. While the armour’s primary role is to provide protection and augment Velos, this helmet enhances his hearing and vision. I’ve designed it to read his brainwaves, and I’ve provided an interface that Velos already seems adept at using.
“The glass plate at the front of the armour is made from flexible alloyed glass, which adjusts automatically allowing Velos to zoom in on targets he wants to focus on or zoom out to see the world in fisheye vision. It also provides
infrared technology, so Velos can see even better in the dark now, much like you do when you augment using secicao, except he can also see heat-signatures through walls. And the sound sensors on his ears work in much the same way, allowing Velos to focus in on sounds and track them for miles, much like a mosquito tracks a stream of carbon dioxide.”
Faso took a step back, placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the helmet on Velos, who had now sat up and raised his head high above us.
“See what I mean, Pontopa,” Papo said, who was also looking up as if in awe. “Faso really is quite a genius, don’t you think?”
I huffed. “Why the dragonheats would Velos need all this?” I asked.
Velos, as if he understood, let out a roar, sending the two scientists in front of him scattering. I sighed with relief, content at least because Velos could still use his voice. Once he’d got my attention, the dragon rose his head to the sky as if looking rather proud. Really, he was looking less like a dragon and more like one of the king’s automatons.
“That’s where the most useful part of this invention comes in,” Faso said. He opened a wooden chest that stood by the far wall and reached inside to produce two human helmets in each of his hands. Faso had worn one of these when he’d arrived on his dragon automaton during the battle against Travast. He selected one and put it on his head.
“This,” he said, “allows me to see through my dragon automaton’s senses. It’s as if I’m watching through its own eyes and hearing through its own ears. Why don’t you try it for yourself? This helmet works with Velos.”
He held out the second helmet, and he took a step forward clumsily. I clicked my fingers in front of his face silently, and he didn’t react. The disadvantage of wearing the helmet is I’d have no way of knowing what was coming at me in the actual world.
Dragonseers and Airships Page 64