Voyages of the Flying Dragon

by Ben Chandler

  Kenji coughed and hastily took a swig from his teacup, causing that corner of the map to roll up.

  ‘What about our escort?’ Lenis pointed out of the bridge’s crystal dome at the Geschichte trailing along in their wake.

  Kenji laughed. ‘Oh, something tells me Captain Klinge is fully aware of this particular settlement.’

  More puzzled than ever, Lenis opened his mouth to ask what the navigator meant, but realised how close they were getting to the Heiliglander airdock. ‘I’d better go and get Lucis.’

  ‘You do that,’ Kenji told him, smoothing the corner of his map back down.

  The airship bumped into something and woke Missy up. Her head was spinning a little, but the pain was all gone. She reached up to rub at her eyes and caught sight of her hand. There was a nasty gash through her right palm. It was scabbed over, but the skin around it was tight when she flexed it. The Quillblade. It had somehow turned into a lightning bolt in her hand and –

  The Quillblade! Where was it? She patted herself down but didn’t find it. She was wearing only the thin dress Heidi had given her. She panicked. What had she done with it? Lenis had pulled it out of her hand and thrown it … where? Not over the side! She swung her legs over the edge of the bunk. Her limbs moved slowly, but there was no real pain. Just a slight soreness deep under her skin.

  ‘Extraordinary.’

  Missy glanced over at the doctor. He was sitting on the edge of his own bunk, looking at her.

  ‘Have you seen the Quillblade?’ Missy asked. She had to find it! The last time she had lost it, Lenis had taken it from her. Did he have it now?

  Long Liu ignored her. ‘How do you feel?’

  ‘Fine, I guess.’ Missy wasn’t interested in the doctor’s questions. How could she have lost the shintai?

  ‘Hmm …’ The doctor stood up and came over to poke her in the leg.

  ‘Hey!’

  ‘No pain? Any tenderness?’

  ‘A bit. Look, I’m sorry, but have you seen the Quillblade?’

  Long Liu poked her in the shoulder, and then in the forearm near her damaged hand. ‘The boy has it. And you really feel all right?’

  ‘Yes! Can I go now?’

  ‘I suppose so,’ the doctor said. ‘What an extraordinary thing.’

  Missy groaned. What was the crazy old man going on about now? ‘What is it?’

  ‘The water the captain brought back from Neti’s temple, where they found the Bestia. Do you remember?’

  ‘Of course.’ Missy’s spirit-self had followed along behind her brother and the small party that had ventured into the Wastelands on the southern coast of Heiligland. The Bestia had run off and the crew found them in an old temple. Missy hadn’t gone inside with them, but Lenis had told her about how there was a pool of water that had healed them all, and about Silili the Totem. She hadn’t given it much thought after that. Both she and her brother had decided it had been the Totem who had healed Lenis and the Bestia, not the water. ‘Are you saying the water cured me?’

  ‘It would appear so,’ the doctor told her. ‘Extraordinary.’

  ‘Why do you keep saying that? It healed Lenis and the Bestia, right?’

  ‘But it is just water,’ Long Liu said. ‘I have tested the sample Captain Shishi brought back. I’ve tried it on burns and cuts and bruises. Nothing. It’s just water.’

  ‘But it healed me?’

  ‘Just so. Quite extraordinary.’

  ‘Look, I really need to find the Quillblade. Can I go?’

  ‘Of course. Extraordinary. Extra. Ordinary. Extra. Extra. Extra. Ord. Inary. Or. Dinary. Ordi. Nary.’

  Missy remained silent as she opened the doctor’s door to leave. Sometimes he was so coherent he seemed almost normal, but his madness was always lurking just beneath the surface. For the first time Missy wondered what had made him like that. She had heard that Long Liu had trekked across the Wastelands dividing Tien Ti and Shinzō all by himself. Perhaps what had happened to him during that time had affected his mind.

  Missy pushed all thoughts of the doctor’s past aside and stepped out into the galley. She had to make sure the shintai was safe. Long Liu had said ‘the boy’ had it. That meant Lenis or Shujinko. Or Kanu. It was easy to forget Kanu was there. He was usually around but didn’t do much to draw attention to himself.

  ‘You are well?’

  ‘Argh!’ Missy clutched a hand to her chest as Kanu came up from behind her. He must have been crouched down beside the doctor’s door; Missy hadn’t even seen him. ‘Kanu, yes, I’m all right.’

  ‘Good.’

  Missy tried to steady the fluttering of her heart. ‘Were you waiting for me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Missy nodded. The boy definitely had a way of blending into the background. ‘Um, have you seen the Quillblade?’

  She might just have offered him a treat. Kanu’s eyes went wide and his lips curled up into what would have looked like a grimace on someone else’s face. He kept bobbing his head as he reached inside his robe. One of Lenis’s old ones, Missy noted.

  Just as he began to pull his arm out, though, Missy shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Wait.’

  Suddenly Missy didn’t want to touch the Quillblade again, not since its power had torn through her. There was no way to know how much damage would have been done, had been done and healed by Silili’s water. The shintai’s powers were too potent for her. That much was now obvious. Tenjin had his big book of spells that somehow drew on Raikō’s power, but Missy had never quite got around to asking him to teach her how he did it. Now she wondered why she hadn’t.

  Something had always come up, she supposed. First there was Fronge, then the whole thing with Lenis and Kanu, and then Heidi and her whole Magni scheme. Was that it, or on some level did Missy not want to learn? Her brother had warned her about the Quillblade. The first time she had used it, Raikō had stolen her soul. Then there was the square back in Fronge, where she’d used her powers to control everyone, even if only for a moment. And then there was Erdasche. She’d been out of control, she knew that now, and the Quillblade had lashed out at her because of it. Why risk that again? Who knew what would happen the next time she tried to wield the Quillblade?

  But what choice did she have? They had so few weapons to use in the coming war with Ishullanu. Even if Suiteki gained her full powers she would still be just one Totem. Their hopes rested on her succeeding where other Totem had failed. They couldn’t afford to discard what could prove valuable in the coming conflict. It might be the only thing standing between them and the Demons. But what use was the shintai if Missy couldn’t even handle it properly? What if it killed her next time? What if she killed someone else?

  No. She wouldn’t use the Quillblade again. Not yet. Not until she learned how to do so safely. She needed to speak with Tenjin. It was time to start her training. The next time she picked up the Quillblade, she would know how to use it.

  ‘Kanu, can you do something for me?’ Missy asked. ‘Can you, will you hold onto the Quillblade and keep it safe?’

  The smile shrank on Kanu’s face until his lips were pressed into a thin line. He cradled both arms across his chest as though to shield the shintai within his robe. Then he bowed low to her in the Shinzōn fashion.

  ‘I will do so, Mashu,’ he said, still doubled over.

  ‘Thanks. Um … thank you.’

  Kanu straightened. ‘Thank you, Mashu.’

  He looked so solemn, so earnest, that Missy just couldn’t stand looking at him. She had only meant it as a request, as a favour of sorts, and Kanu had turned it into a decree from Mashu and thanked her for it.

  Missy turned her face away from the Titan child. ‘Look, I need to talk to Shujinko for a moment. Alone.’

  Kanu nodded, only it appeared more like another bow out of the corner of Missy’s eye, and backed away from her. Missy bit her lip and walked out of the galley. She didn’t really need to speak to Shujinko now that she knew Kanu had the Quillblade,
but his was the first name that came to her. She wanted to be away from Kanu for a while.

  Just as she was wondering if maybe she would like to speak to Shujinko after all, she knocked heads with him while ducking under the mast-shaft. They both recoiled and swore, the cabin boy in Shinzōn and Missy in Heiliglander, of all languages.

  ‘My apologies,’ Shujinko said in the common tongue, stepping clear to allow Missy to pass under first. He always spoke so formally, as if he’d learned the common tongue from a textbook rather than a fluent teacher, but sometimes he rounded off his words like a native, which made Missy think he was only trying to sound formal. ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘Oh, I’m fine,’ Missy said, a little more flippantly than she’d intended. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I am also fine,’ he replied. ‘Shinzōn men have hard heads.’

  Missy giggled. She actually giggled and then covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself. Shujinko looked offended. The corners of his mouth twitched down, and his eyes narrowed fractionally.

  ‘I wasn’t … I mean, I didn’t …’ Missy floundered as the blood rushed to her cheeks. ‘I thought you were joking,’ she blurted.

  Shujinko seemed to consider this for a moment. ‘I was not.’

  ‘Oh, sorry.’ Missy found herself staring at his chin to avoid looking into his eyes. ‘So … um … you’re from Nochi?’

  Shujinko nodded once. ‘Excuse me. I must report to Mister Hiroshi.’

  ‘Oh, of course,’ Missy mumbled.

  The cabin boy ducked under the mast-shaft. Missy hurried above decks, suddenly wanting to feel a nice cold breeze on her face.

  ‘How did you hear about Haven?’ Ursula asked. She was sitting, with her feet up on the table, in the Heiliglander airdock officials’ office. The Heiliglanders had reluctantly vacated it to give them all somewhere to meet. After Lenis and Lucis had guided the Hiryū into a berth, Arthur and Kenji had taken him along to discuss their next port of call with Captain Klinge.

  Two men had entered with Ursula and now stood behind her. One was tall and thin with a long, pointed nose. He was dressed in a grey Kystian dress suit, complete with bow tie. He wore a crimson waistcoat beneath his coat, and his boots were so shiny Lenis could see his reflection in them. The other man was short and broad. He had a big bushy moustache and curly black hair. His brows were thick and his nose was wide. He was wearing black leather trousers, a tan-coloured shirt and the largest boots Lenis had ever seen.

  ‘I get around,’ Kenji drawled. Not to be outdone, the Hiryū’s navigator also had his feet on the table, and he was leaning back so that he was looking at the ceiling rather than at the captain of the Geschichte.

  ‘It doesn’t matter how we heard of it,’ Arthur interjected. He was sitting next to the navigator with his elbows on the table and his hands clasped together. ‘Haven will provide us with a safe berth for our airships while we visit Kolga’s temple, yes?’

  Ursula turned from Kenji to Arthur. ‘I wouldn’t call it safe, exactly. What has he told you about the place?’

  ‘All I need to know.’

  ‘Really?’ Ursula tried to catch Kenji’s eye, but the navigator was steadfastly ignoring her. ‘You told him everything he needs to know?’

  Kenji abruptly kicked his feet off the table, planted them firmly on the ground, and rose to his feet. ‘Doesn’t matter. That’s where we’re going. Just thought you should know.’

  Ursula regarded Kenji coldly before addressing Arthur again. ‘Haven is a place for fools and madmen. There is no authority there. None that you would understand. The strong take what they want from the weak. The smart take from the stupid. Your airship. Your boy.’ She nodded her chin in Lenis’s direction. ‘Whatever they want. Honest people don’t end up in Haven.’

  If Arthur was surprised or concerned by her words, he betrayed no hint of it, even to Lenis’s senses. ‘We have Magni with us. What is there to fear?’

  ‘Gustav,’ Ursula said over her shoulder to the squat man. ‘Show them.’

  The man grinned wickedly and pulled up one of his trouser legs. Where his own leg should have been there was only a thick wooden club running down into his boot. ‘Lost it in Haven, mates. Lost a good shoe with it, too.’ The man’s grin widened, and Lenis saw he was missing a few teeth. The ones he had left were crooked and yellow. ‘Ain’t no place for noble folk such as your good selves. Goddess or no goddess. The folk in Haven ain’t the pious type.’

  ‘Put it away, von Zauberei,’ the tall man said. ‘I think they understand well enough without your crudeness.’

  The short man laughed and let his trouser leg drop back down. Lenis swallowed. He’d seen people being maimed before in the slave pens, but he never got used to it.

  ‘Von Zauberei?’ Arthur asked with genuine curiosity. ‘You’re a noble?’

  ‘At yer service, guvnor,’ Gustav said and tugged a forelock of his hair.

  ‘You seem surprised, Lord Knyght,’ the tall man interjected. ‘I would have thought that you of all people would be able to sympathise with poor Gustav here. After all, the higher a person rises, the farther they have to fall.’

  Arthur’s shoulders tensed. He unclasped his hands and laid them flat on the table. Very deliberately he pushed himself up and faced the tall man squarely. ‘I don’t believe I know you.’

  ‘Charles Mild, at your service.’ The tall man bowed stiffly from the waist. ‘A fellow Kystian adrift on the currents of fate.’

  Arthur scrutinised the man up and down as if committing every detail of him to memory. Lenis had seen that look on the first officer’s face before. If it had ever been directed at him he would have cowered before it. Charles Mild faced it head on, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

  ‘It’s not my place to question the Lightning-Wielder,’ Ursula interjected, ‘but I can’t understand why she wants us to change course, much less why she would want to go to Haven.’

  ‘Who can understand the whims of a goddess?’ Kenji drawled.

  ‘You should show more respect for the divine,’ Captain Klinge snapped. ‘I’d feel more comfortable if Magni was aboard the Geschichte instead of riding with a bunch of heathens.’

  ‘You have our destination,’ Arthur said suddenly. He glanced at Ursula. ‘Magni has made her decision. It is not open for debate. You may follow if you wish.’

  Arthur turned and strode out of the room. Kenji followed, and Lenis was quick to fall in behind. The trio remained silent as they returned to the Hiryū. It wasn’t until they were back on board and standing before the captain that Arthur spoke.

  ‘She’s suspicious.’

  The captain sighed. ‘It is to be expected, Lord Knyght. What need would Magni have to make such a detour? I fear our charade will not last much longer, even now that Miss Clemens is awake.’

  ‘Missy’s awake?’ Lenis asked.

  ‘She appears to have made a full recovery, Mister Clemens.’

  Lenis nodded, relieved. ‘What do you think Captain Klinge will do?’

  The captain glanced over the railing in time to see Ursula, Gustav and Charles leave the airdock official’s office. ‘We cannot know. We must continue as we are for now.’

  ‘Do you think Missy should speak to her as Magni?’ Lenis’s heart sank, even as he said the words. She had barely survived her last encounter with the Quillblade.

  ‘I do not believe that will be necessary,’ the captain said. ‘Or wise. Miss Baumstochter was able to see through the deception easily enough. Given time, anyone would. It is better if your sister remains out of sight for the remainder of this voyage. Miss Clemens is with Lord Tenjin on the bridge, if you wish to check on her.’

  ‘Oh, thanks.’ Lenis was strangely reluctant to see his sister. He was glad she had recovered, but where once he would have rushed to her side, now something held him back. His own hands were still sore, though it was hard to say exactly what was wrong with them. They weren’t burnt, or cut, or bruised, but the palms were red from w
here he had grabbed the Quillblade and the skin on them was still raw.

  As the others went about their business, Lenis moved below decks. He would see his sister later, after she had spoken with Tenjin. He wasn’t avoiding her. He just didn’t want to interrupt whatever it was she was doing with the records keeper. He knew that was a lame excuse even as he thought it up.

  Missy saw her brother speak with the captain. She knew Captain Shishi would be telling him that she was all right. She knew that Lenis would come and see her, and she would apologise for being so stupid, and show him what Tenjin was teaching her. He would see that she wasn’t going to even touch the Quillblade until she knew what she was doing with it. He would understand and everything would be all right again, like it was before they met Kanu.

  Only Lenis didn’t come up to the bridge to see her. He didn’t even look in her direction as he went below decks. Missy frowned. He was being so childish! He could only avoid her for so long. They were on an airship! There weren’t all that many places to hide.

  ‘Is something the matter?’ Tenjin asked gently, and Missy turned to look into his wrinkled face.

  ‘No, Lord Tenjin, I’m sorry. What were you saying?’

  The records keeper was pointing at something in one of his books. ‘The Quillblade is still linked to Raikō, even though the Lord of Storms has turned into a Demon Lord. His power is still intact. It is still there for you to access, as you have seen, but you must prepare yourself for it.’

  Missy nodded and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. Thoughts of her brother kept distracting her. What was his problem? He hadn’t been acting like himself for quite some time. If he’d just stop being so silly about everything, they could sort out whatever was bothering him and move on. It wasn’t like she was entirely to blame for everything that had happened. She had her own stuff to deal with when it came to the Quillblade, but she was doing something about that! He was just moping around like a … like a boy!

  ‘… electrocute yourself.’