“Are you sure it’s safe?” I said, eyeing the flames suspiciously.
“The vial won’t break, but don’t bother trying to put the flame out. It will burn for years like that.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Years?”
“Truly. You wouldn’t believe what we can accomplish with this fuel.”
“I’m starting to get an idea,” I said, closing the firebox.
Minutes later, the boiler was hot and the rapidly climbing needle on the pressure gauge told me it was time for a test drive. I mounted the boneshaker and dropped it into gear. With a twist of the throttle, I was off.
The boneshaker’s new steam engine did not disappoint. It accelerated just as quickly as the old gyro engine, but with much less noise. Instead of the shrill, whining buzz of a combustion engine, the steam engine gave off a low chug-chugging sound that reminded me of a heartbeat. As I built up speed and wound the engine tighter, it whirred like a sewing machine, the sound accentuated by the deep pulsing drive of a locomotive. I found the sound quite pleasing.
I kept an eye on the pressure gauge as I drove, and I noted that even at full throttle, I never lost pressure. The boneshaker was at least as fast as before, and seemed to have a good deal more torque when I accelerated. It accelerated more smoothly, it was quieter, and to refuel, all I needed was water. I returned to the steamsmith’s shop with a broad smile plastered across my face. I hit the brakes and skidded sideways, sliding right up to Crow.
“Want a ride?” I said, beaming.
He gave me a sly smile. “I’ll race you!”
I laughed thinking it was a joke, but then he took off running down the street, toward the city gates. I rolled my eyes and gunned the throttle, expecting to easily overtake him. To my surprise, once Crow had built up speed, he leapt into the air and spread his cloak out with his arms, fanning it out like a giant wing. As it caught the air, I noticed rib-like shapes under the fabric. I also noticed that in key places, the cloak was attached to his body by thin metallic straps. They connected at his arms and shoulders as well as his waist and thighs.
I was completely confounded as the cloak caught the wind and Crow began rising into the air. Then I noticed trails of misty vapor shooting out from the ribs behind him, and realized that he was using some sort of advanced flight technology. The cloak didn’t just look like a wing, it was a wing. And it was designed in such a way that he could control his flight by moving his arms and twisting his torso left and right. In this manner, Crow flew up into the heavens, made a spiral far overhead, and then plummeted back down to race alongside me.
I’d been idling along, staring at him, hardly aware of the fact that I was moving. When he appeared next to me with that grin on his face, the race was on. I twisted the throttle and leaned forward, cutting the wind like a knife. The boneshaker surged forward, the front end rising a few inches off the ground as I accelerated.
Off to my right, Crow threw his arms back, forming a tight “V” shape with his body, and took off like a bolt of lightning. He hurtled past me so fast I only felt a gust of wind and saw a dark green mass disappearing in the distance. I reached down to adjust the pressure valve, giving the engine even more thrust. The road beneath my wheels became a smooth red blur. The wind hammered at my face. And Crow vanished into the horizon like I was standing still.
Three miles outside the city, I found him sitting on the ground beside the road. He smiled and rose to his feet as I pulled up next to him. “How does that thing work?” was all I could think to say.
He mumbled something about compressed gas and superheated steam but it was mostly nonsense to me. I just sat there staring. “Do you want to try it?” he said at last. “It’s quite easy to learn.”
“No,” I said.
“Are you sure? I can teach you.”
“No. I’ll keep my feet on the ground.”
“All right. Perhaps another time.”
Reality settled over us then, and we both realized that our fun was over. “I should say goodbye to Analyn,” I said. “If we leave now, we can reach Avenston by nightfall.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I wish we had more time, sister.”
“When this is over,” I promised. “Then we can talk, and you can tell me all about Sanctuary and our mother.”
“I’ll do better than that,” he said with a smile. “I’ll show you.” He spread his arms, somehow activating the jets in his cloak. He began to rise slowly in the air. “I will watch for you tonight!”
I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “Until then, little brother.”
With that, Crow whooshed out of sight into the clouds. I stared after him with that one word ringing through my ears: brother. All those years I had believed my mother was dead. Now that I knew the truth, I had a renewed sense of purpose. Before, I had been eager to spill Vangar blood. That was when I had only one friend left in the world and a heart full of vengeance. Now, I had something more. Now I didn’t just have something to die for, I had something to live for.
My farewell to Analyn was brief. I still wasn’t sure what to think of the crazy old woman, but I had decided that I cared about her. She had meant something to my mother and to Tinker, and that meant she was important to me. I didn’t need to know any more than that. I didn’t care about the fact that she was our queen, or at least that she might have been if things had been different. I also didn’t care about the fact that she had an annoying way of thinking she was smarter than me. She may even have been right. Probably not, but maybe.
I left my mother’s journals with Analyn. I wanted to be sure they’d never fall into Vangar hands, and I knew they’d be safe with her. I knew Analyn would care for them dearly. I thanked her for everything and then sped out of Anora, a trail of dust and steam rising in the air behind me, the late afternoon sun beating down as I roared down the old road towards Avenston.
I tried to focus on the details of the plan, but I had so many things rolling around in my head that I found it hard to concentrate. My mother was alive. I had a brother! And throughout all of those years, my mother had never forgotten me. She had been waiting, planning, biding her time until she could make her move. Breeze had risked everything to make this moment happen, and I wasn’t about to let her down.
Chapter 6
It was already dark when I saw the black clouds stretching across the sky and the lights of Avenston twinkling in the gloom. I soon tasted the familiar acrid smoke on my lips and felt it burning my nostrils, and I smiled because I was going home. The stars and the moon vanished behind the thick black veil and I gunned the throttle, making a beeline for the city gates.
I expected a sentinel to be waiting at the gate and I was not disappointed. The Vangars aren’t concerned about people entering the city, but they patrol the gates and the city walls to make sure no one escapes. That’s why the sentinel was facing the other way when I roared past him and disappeared down Main Street. By the time he had put on enough speed to catch me, I was long gone.
I left the boneshaker in a special place, in the shadows under a small footbridge not far from Dockside. It was a quiet little corner of the city, a place shrouded in thick ivy and the dense foliage of lilac bushes. I had spent much time there as a child, hiding in the shadows, waiting for an angry Vangar merchant or a sentinel to give up the chase so that I could go spend my handful of stolen coins. It was the safest place I could think of to leave the boneshaker.
Before leaving, I pulled my revolver out and laid it across the seat. Now that I was back in the city, I was going to have to follow my instincts to survive. Carrying a weapon like my revolver would just attract unwanted attention.
I heard a whooshing sound up the street and I peered through the bushes to see Crow landing in the shadows at the corner. I glanced at my revolver and then reluctantly left. Once again, I got that uneasy feeling in my gut, but I pushed the thought out of my head and jogged over to meet him.
“This way,” I whispered, leading him into the nearest alley.<
br />
He followed after me, silent as a shadow. We made our way through the north end of Dockside, up to the rocky coastline south of the city wall. There, at the edge of the old neighborhood, I spotted the shanty I was looking for. It was an unremarkable place made of discarded lumber and salvaged tin siding like most everything in Dockside. I saw a chimney poking out through the roof and smoke curling up into the sky. The boardwalk out front was quiet and I heard the waves crashing on the beach in the darkness somewhere below. I glanced up and down the street and then moved closer for a better look.
Crow and I slipped through the shadows between buildings until we were right next to the shanty. Cautiously, I peered in through the window. I saw a lantern burning and an elderly couple playing cards at a small table. I watched them for a few moments, smiling inwardly. The innocuous looking gray-haired old couple were two of the most dangerous revolutionaries in the kingdom. Like Tinker, they remembered the old world. They craved a return of our freedoms, and equally for the destruction of our Vangar overlords. Like Kale and I, they would stop at nothing to make that happen. They were willing to give their lives to the cause.
I waited a few minutes to make sure that the sentinels weren’t staking out the area. I had no way of knowing how many rebels had escaped after our meeting, or how much information the sentinels might have gleaned from the ones they caught. It was quite possible that I was walking right into a trap.
When at last I was satisfied that we were alone, I led Crow to the door and quietly knocked. I heard shuffling inside. A moment later, Hatch Woodcarver answered the door. His wife Shel hovered just behind him. He blinked against the darkness and then smiled as his old eyes adjusted and he recognized me.
“River!” he said, throwing his arms around me. “You survived! We were sure the sentinels-” He broke off as he noticed Crow hovering in the shadows behind me. He pulled away, giving me a wary look. “Is he-?”
“Yes, he’s with us,” I said. I glanced up and down the street. “Can we come in?”
“Of course! We were so worried about you, the way you disappeared. The rest of us escaped, but you… you shouldn’t have tried to take on those sentinels like that.”
Hatch ushered us inside. As we gathered in the middle of the room, I glanced at my surroundings. I had never been in the Woodcarver’s home before. I noticed that they had built a makeshift kitchen at the south end, facing the docks, and that they had a small library of books on the opposite wall near the fireplace. I was impressed. Few people in Dockside have the pride or ingenuity to turn their shanties into real homes. Hatch and Shel had done well. It couldn’t compare to the two-story home Tinker had built out of scraps, but few things could. It wouldn’t have been fair to expect so much from anyone but Tinker. I saw them staring at my brother and smiled.
“This is Crow,” I said matter-of-factly. “He’s my brother.”
Their jaws both dropped open. “I’m… I don’t understand,” Hatch said.
I watched them for a moment, grinning as they tried to put it together. They knew that my father had died while my mother was still pregnant with me, and that she had died soon after my birth. It hardly seemed possible, unless…
“Robie?” Hatch said cautiously. “Did he have a…” his voice trailed off as he realized how delicate the situation might be.
“No, of course not,” I said, laughing. “My father was perfectly faithful to my mother.”
“Of course he was!” Shel said, smacking her husband on the shoulder. “I’ve never seen a more dedicated man. Robie would have crawled across broken glass for your mother.”
“But…” Hatch said, his voice trailing off as he stared at Crow. “I just don’t understand.”
I took pity on him and explained everything. I started with the story of my journey into the plains on that first night with the sentinels chasing me, and the accident that narrowly saved my life. Then I told them about Analyn and Crow and of course, my mother. They were quite shocked to learn that Breeze was still alive.
The Woodcarvers had all the same questions I’d had when I first met Crow. I tried to explain the situation to them, with Crow helping here and there. He told them about Sanctuary with the same cryptic descriptions he’d given me, and did his best to explain our mother’s situation.
“This is all wonderful,” Shel said, staring at Crow, “but I don’t understand why the two of you came back here. Especially you, River. You made your escape! Why would you return? Surely you know what they’ll do if they catch you.”
I gave Crow a sideways glance. I wasn’t sure how much I should tell them. For their own safety, it might be best to keep them in the dark about our plan. “I need to find Kale,” I said cautiously. “The night of the attack, I saw him with the Vangars.”
“They took him to the slave mines,” Hatch said angrily. He drove his fist into the palm of his hand. “Probably beat him within an inch of his life first.”
I considered that. “At least we know he’s alive,” I said. “They wouldn’t have taken him to the mines to kill him.”
“Not right away,” Shel said. “Everyone knows the mines are a death sentence. It’s just a slow death.”
“Hold on now,” Hatch said. “You’re going to stage a rescue, aren’t you? You’ll be walking into all kinds of trouble if you go to the mines.”
I sighed. I was trying not to give them any details, but they were guessing half of it. “I’ve got to get Kale,” I said. “I won’t leave him there.”
“I should have known. What can we do to help?”
I glanced at Crow. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I said. “Crow and I have a plan, but-”
“Well let us help you then!” Shel said. “What can we do? Do you need a distraction? I think I still have a bomb in the kitchen cabinet.”
I smiled. “No, no bombs. Nothing like that. I really shouldn’t tell you any more.”
They stepped a little closer, their eyes sparkling dangerously. I noticed Shel’s hand slide into Hatch’s, and he squeezed it. “We can do this, River,” he said. “Whatever it us, let us help you.”
“Don’t keep us in the dark,” Shel said, pleading. I stared at them, biting my lower lip.
“Have pity on a couple of old-timers,” Hatch said. “Give us a little hope. Tell us your plan.”
I looked at Crow. He shrugged. “All right then,” I said. “But you must keep this quiet. Don’t change your routine. Keep on behaving as if tomorrow were just another day.”
Their eyes lit up and a devious smile broke out on Shel’s face. “This isn’t our first revolution, child,” she said wickedly.
“You can count on us,” Hatch added.
“Crow and I will see to Kale. In the meanwhile, if you truly want to help, we need the two of you to spread the word -very quietly and very carefully- that some of us will be escaping the city.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Hatch said.
“Leave the details to us. For now, we just need numbers. We need a large group that can travel quickly.”
“Mostly youngsters then,” said Hatch. “All right, we can do that. When will you be back?”
“A day or two at most,” I said. “I have to get inside the mines and find Kale. Somehow, we’ll have to break him out.”
“How will you get inside?” said Shel.
“I can only think of one way in,” I said. “The same way everyone gets in.”
Their mouths fell open. “You can’t be serious,” Shel said. “You’re not thinking of getting caught on purpose! Have you lost your mind?”
Hatch agreed with her emphatically. “Don’t do this, River. The Vangars will kill you.”
“I’m in agreement with your friends,” Crow said. “It’s too great a risk. There must be some other way. If the Vangars decide to make an example of you, we may not be able to save you.”
“I don’t think they will,” I said. “I’m even more sure of it now, because I know they kept Kale alive. And if they r
eally want to make an example of me, they won’t want me dead right away. They’ll want to make sure others see what happened to me.”
“But what if you’re wrong?” Shel said. “What if they kill you? What if that’s their example?”
I smiled reassuringly. “I’ve slipped through the sentinels’ hands many times before. Don’t forget who I am.”
They couldn’t argue with that. I wasn’t sure getting caught was a great plan, but I knew it was the only sure way to get into the mines, and by far the quickest way there. If Crow and I tried to find the mines and sneak in, we would almost certainly be caught by the Vangars. This way, I knew exactly where I was going. Once I was inside, I’d simply find Kale and help him escape. It seemed like a simple enough plan.
Before we left, the Woodcarvers assured us that they would be very discreet in sharing our plan. They promised to have a group ready to leave in two days. I thanked them for their help and then we said our farewells.
Crow and I parted ways after we left the shanty. He gave me a hug and warned me to be extra careful. “I haven’t come all this way to see my big sister get killed,” he said.
“Don’t worry. Just stay out of sight. Follow me to the mines and look for my signal. Once I find Kale, we’ll be out so fast the Vangars won’t know what hit them.”
“Be careful, sister.”
I smiled. Crow whooshed into the heavens and vanished in the clouds over the city. I watched him disappear and then took a moment to steel my nerves. I wasn’t as confident about our plan as I had led Crow and the Woodcarvers to believe. There were so many things that could go wrong. But in the end, it was worth it. It was better to risk everything and be dead than to risk nothing and be a slave.
I passed through the alleys and side streets of Avenston, quickly making my way to the patrol station at the south end of the city. It was a tall brick building on the corner with the word “justice” in the Vangar language scrawled across the masonry above the front doors, accompanied by the Vangars’ seal, a war hammer crossing over an axe. This was the place the Vangars pretended to have court, where they brought innocent people to trial, accused them, and found them guilty. Always guilty. There was no jury, no impartial panel of judges. Any Vangar could accuse any slave of a crime, and the slave’s death was all but guaranteed. It was just one more way in which the Vangars kept the populace under their control.
Blood and Steam (The Tinkerer's Daughter) Page 7