“Before starting your attack run, I'll go over the side in my gliding suit. Once on the ground, I'll get to the palace and find my friend. When you’ve completed the attack run, head back to Windford, the best way you see fit. Don't worry about me. I'll get home, or I'll be dead."
"Yes, Shi-Tora. We will not fail you."
I looked up and saw the crew had joined us. They heard most, if not all, of what was said. They all bowed.
Changing to my tiger colors, I continued. “Brothers, if this is our last trip together, it has been my honor to be your captain." I bowed.
* * *
It took three days to reach the Northern Kingdom’s palace. Arriving just before sunset, few skyships were seen. Our junk appeared nothing more than an ugly foreign trading vessel, nothing special or out of the ordinary. As we approached, it started to get dark. The crew had everything laid out and ready. The plan had been discussed a few times, and everyone knew his part. To avoid being seen, the ship could not pass too close to the palace.
Hiko-shi took the ship farther out and to a higher altitude to increase my glide slope. This offered more concealment as I flew solo under the cover of darkness in a black glide suit. I needed every advantage to pull this off. Nothing stands out as much as a six-foot cat wearing a suit with bat-like wings.
After I jumped, they would descend and start the attack. I took off my clothes, turned my fur black, and put on the glide suit. None of my weapons went with me. If any were needed, there would be plenty available from the dead I planned on leaving.
"Shi-Tora, it is time," Hiko-Shi called from the bridge.
I nodded and jumped over the side, spreading my arms and legs like a flying squirrel. This was my first jump from this height. No matter, I was committed now, and Alyse's life depended on my success. The descent felt too rapid. Pulling up, it slowed, but I started losing altitude. Making out a pasture coming up, I aimed for it. Suddenly, the ground was rushing toward me. Landing was going to be rough. Thump! Followed by tumbling a few times. Finally, it stopped. Pretty sure, I lost one of those mythical nine lives, but nothing was broken.
A quick eye-balling of the area revealed no one had seen or heard me. Off came the glide suit, followed by a hasty run to the closest trees. In the treetops, I jumped from one to the next to get to the palace complex.
The guard patrolling the inner wall took a left turn and disappeared around a corner. Now was the time. I launched myself from a tree over the wall and hit the ground, running. Seeing a stable wall, quickly, I was on it, then jumped from roof-to-roof, working my way toward the castle.
Boom! The first bombs hit the skyship building yards. Alarms began sounding, followed by troops pouring out of barracks, scattering in all directions, uncertain what to do. The Tiger’s Claw was doing a top job of creating a diversion. Gotta’ love men who enjoy their work!
There was no time to enjoy the show. I dropped down to a balcony. Peeking through the glass door, seeing no one, slowly, I opened the door. Whoever had been there was gone, no doubt, watching the fireworks that happening on the other side of the palace.
Along with the bombs, I could hear the heavy long gun firing, then secondary explosions. Hiko-shi and crew were tearing the place apart. I wished them well and God's speed.
Exiting the bedroom, I saw two guards at the end of the hall, looking out the window, watching the fires instead of the hall. My padded feet made no noise as I walked right up to behind them. I drove my claws into the backs of their necks. Hope they enjoyed the show. It was the last one they ever saw.
From the nearest door—probably the one they were supposed to be guarding—I could smell Alyse's scent. Barely opening the door, a glass object shattered off the door frame, showering me with shards.
I spoke in clannish. "It would not do to kill your rescuer.”
I heard feet running toward the door. As I pushed it open, Alyse launched herself into my arms, hugging and kissing me. She let go and backed away as I closed the door.
"What took you so long?" she asked in clannish. I smiled until I saw her bruised face, busted lip, and torn clothes. She saw the change in my face and stepped close to me.
"Who beat you?" I asked softly, though I was screaming on the inside.
"The king's son, Al junior."
"Did he…?"
"No," she interrupted me, "he just beat me." She placed her hand on my chest.
"Do you have traveling clothes?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Get changed. We'll leave when I get back." I turned and left the room, closing the door behind me.
Once in the hall, I became a hunter, and let my senses take over. As I eased down the hall, there was a slight scraping sound, and the wall opened. As a man stepped out of the doorway, I grabbed him by the throat, crushing it. Pushing him back through the door, it closed behind us. I dropped his lifeless body and listened for others. No one was with him.
Studying the door he had come through, it had latches on both sides. Once I was satisfied they worked, I left, closing the door behind me and returning to Alyse. Knocking softly, she opened it.
"Ready?" I asked. She nodded and followed me back down the hall to the secret door. Closing the door behind us, I whispered, "Hold my hand. We move slow and quiet. If there’s trouble, I'll drop your hand. You sit down against the wall.” I felt her nod.
Hand-in-hand, we moved down the passageway. Openings at the top of the passageway let in fresh air and some light. We could hear people talking as we moved along. There were fewer explosions now, but the amount of light coming through showed fires were still burning. It seemed to be a standard feature of royal residences to have secret passages with spyholes. This place was no different. We looked in a few, but the rooms were mostly empty, as everyone was still outside watching the fires.
The passage sloped downward, and the air became cooler. Hearing shouting, Alyse squeezed my hand. I stopped, and she put her mouth near my ear. "That's the king shouting."
As we moved forward, there was a pinhole of light, coming from a door. Alyse peered through the spy hole. The occupants could be clearly heard.
"You said they would not attack once we had the hostage!" the King yelled.
"I'm sorry, Sire. I misjudged them."
"Misjudged them? You are the royal spymaster! You don't get to misjudge an enemy! Now half the city is in flames; my powder depot is a smoking hole in the ground; my skyship yards are burning; and every skyship that was in the capital is now a burning pile of wreckage!"
I moved Alyse out of the way and looked through the peep hole. The king,
and someone I assumed was Al junior, were alone in the room with the spymaster.
Lifting the latch and throwing open the door, I stepped through, grabbed the king’s head and twisted. There was a loud crack, and his dead body dropped to the floor. Junior started to react, trying to draw his dagger. I grabbed his hand, holding it tight, keeping the dagger sheathed. My other hand grabbed his throat. "You're the dung stain who likes to beat women, aren't you?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the spymaster moving toward the door. I kicked the desk hard, sending it sliding across the room, pinning him to the wall.
"Don't leave yet. The party's just starting," I growled. The prince made choking sounds while beating on my arm, trying to break free.
Alyse stepped into the room, looking down at the dead king's body. "That takes care of one problem."
The prince's face was bright red, and his eyes started to bulge. "I can pay you," he gasped out.
"You aren't that rich. There’s not enough money to pay for what you did to her," I said, through gritted teeth.
"But I'm a prince," he choked.
“Well, Prince, you'll never beat another woman as long as you live," I said, crushing his throat. He dropped to the floor and chocked to death on his own blood. Alyse looked at me and nodded.
She looked at the spymaster and said, "Convince me, you shouldn't be next."
I gro
wled at him, showing teeth.
"Ooh! My friend here thinks you'd be better as a live snack." Alyse clapped her hands in a gleeful, childlike way. To her credit, she was a talented actress.
He held his hands out. "Wait! I can pay you."
"That offer didn't work out so well for the last guy," she said with a very noticeable look at the prince’s dead body.
"I have banknotes! The king's banknotes, diamonds, gems, jewelry, gold, information. Whatever you want. I can get it."
Alyse pouted. "Now you're just saying things you think I want to hear. Lunch time!"
I grabbed his shirt, ripping half of it off.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" he said, moving away from me as far as he could.
"You have something to add?"
"I'm not lying! In the king’s office, in his safe is where he keeps banknotes rather than lots of gold. Though there is some gold there too. There are also gems and other valuables. I know where the key is."
Alyse knelt and searched the king's body, "You mean these keys?" she said, dangling them.
"No. One of those opens a strongbox where the safe key is stored. I know where the box is."
"If I chew his arm off, he'll tell us where the box is," I said, growling.
"Yes, but the last time you did that, all the screaming gave me a headache," she answered. "If you are lying, he can eat you upstairs as easily as here."
"I'm not lying."
"How do we get to the king's office?" I asked.
"Back through the secret passages."
I dragged the bodies of the king and prince into the passageway. Taking the king's signet ring, I gave it to Alyse. The spymaster was patted down for concealed weapons. He had a knife strapped to his right calf, which I confiscated.
“Let’s go. Any tricks and you’re dead.”
I kept my hand on his shoulder in case he tried something. Back into the secret passage, we went. It was a short walk to the king’s office.
"Open it," I told him.
Inside the office, Alyse tossed the keys to him. He moved to the bookcase and opened a small concealed door. Unlocking a box, he took out a safe key. I took it and passed it to Alyse, who unlocked the safe.
Inside was all the spymaster described. I pushed him into the desk chair.
"Sit. Don't move," I ordered as though he was a trained dog.
Switching to clannish, "If we’re taking all this, we’ll need a bag or backpack. Check the king's rooms and see what you can find."
Alyse nodded and went into the next room. Gone several minutes, she returned, dragging a trunk. I chuckled, "Tell me, spymaster, do women ever pack light?"
"Not in my experience," he answered.
"Okay," I said in clannish. "I can carry that, but we won’t be running anywhere."
"We'll not be running. We are walking out the front door," she answered in clannish.
My eyebrows rose. "Okaaay.” Mentally, I had to take a beat to process her “plan”. She wanted to waltz out the front door with a six-foot cat, carrying a trunk loaded with stolen loot, a spymaster afraid of being eaten, and critical structures and skyships firebombed to smithereens. What could possibly go wrong?
I watched the spymaster as Alyse loaded the trunk. I don't know how many banknotes there were or what they were worth, but there were several stacks of them. There were bags of gems, gold, and jewels; she took them all.
"You'll want those files too," he said, being ever so helpful. "They contain state secrets, design plans for our newest weapons, steam engines, and skyships." Alyse took those as well. When she was finished, she closed the truck and sat down on it, crossing her arms.
She looked at the spymaster. "I assume you'd rather live through this and retire somewhere quiet."
“If at all possible.”
"Good. We are going to walk out the front door of the palace, enter a carriage, and go to the train station where we will board the royal train and depart. We'll let you off when we are clear of the city. If at any point we fail, no matter who else dies, rest assured, you will be the first."
He frowned, thinking. "Or we could go out through the lower passage to the canal. Once there, we could take a boat, then go to the train station. After that, you go your way; I'll go mine."
She considered the option; Making the decision for her, I punched the spymaster in the temple, knocking him out.
"The front door is too risky; everyone will be on edge after tonight's attack. The canal is a better option; besides, I don't trust him.”
“Neither do I. You need traveling clothes. Check the king’s bedchamber. His wardrobe is there.”
Alyse was right. In the king's bed chamber, I rummaged through his clothes, until I found very nice travel clothes and boots befitting his station. She found a cloak and a travel bag somewhere while I unlocked the office door. Leaving it locked would have caused suspicion when the king didn’t answer and could not be found. Busting down the door, guards would have immediately searched the secret passageways, finding a trail of bodies, courtesy of yours truly.
Picking up the trunk, we headed for the lower passages. It was slow going, and we had to backtrack a few times, but heading down, there was a large iron door. Looking through the spyhole, no one could be seen. Setting the trunk down, I opened the door carefully and stepped out into a grotto. At the end of it, was the canal. Returning to the passageway, I whispered, “It’s clear. Follow me.”
I hefted the trunk onto my shoulders; grateful, it wasn’t heavier.
Once inside, I sat the trunk down and peered around a corner. There was a small cargo pole boat a few paces away. I motioned for Alyse to stay and walked toward the boat. A lad, leaning against the gunwale stern, was asleep. Picking up a pebble, I tossed it at him and spoke, lowly. “I need a ride,” showing him a silver coin.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stood. "At your service, sir."
“Give me a moment. There’s another passenger.”
Not dallying, I returned to Alyse. "We have a ride," I said, picking up the trunk. “Step lightly. Sound will echo in here.”
The boat had a small, covered hold for cargo. "You can go below and be out of sight, sir."
As Alyse went below, I slid the trunk in behind her. Exercising caution, I sat on it, so I could see the pole man, and still be out of sight.
"You've done this before,” I commented.
He smiled. "A time or two. This is a good place to pick up fares. We keep our mouths shut about it. How far do you need to go?"
I thought a moment. "How about selling me your boat."
He glanced at me, looking at the king’s purloined clothes and boots. "I could do that, but me and my boat are known along the canal and river. Seeing the boat without me would cause a stir. You’re better off paying me to ferry you."
"Wise," I said. "What's your name?"
"Name’s Samuel, but they call me, Sammy.”
"Well, Sammy, pole on." All was still quiet as we moved along the canal. After an hour, Sammy spoke up. "So, her father doesn’t approve of you."
It took me a second to understand what he meant. Alyse snickered behind me. The lad had handed me a good cover story.
“He does not, and he beats her. Though I'll admit, she needs it on occasion." Alyse smacked me on the back.
"We finally had enough and decided to make it on our own, but she wouldn't leave without her things."
He nodded. "I thought so when I saw the trunk. My Sally is the same way. I asked her to marry me, but she said not until I had a nice place to put her things. I either need a proper pole boat or a house. But she's a worker, my Sally is. She sews. Works for her mother, who has her own dress shop. And I've been saving too, mind ya. I've got my account at the bank, and the amount is coming along nicely."
"She would live on a boat with you?"
"She would if it was a proper one and big enough, but it takes a lot of money to buy one of those. I may have to move up a step at a time, from boat-to-boat, you understand. I've
got my eye on a used 30-footer. She needs some work, but I could make three times the money with her."
“Does she have enough room for you and Sally?" I asked.
"Oh, there’s the rub, ya see. I might could make a deal with the money I have as a down payment and pay the rest as I have a load." He shook his head. "But there's not enough room for Sally to be comfortable with her things."
"Have you thought about buying another boat this size and hiring a man to pole for you? You could haul twice the cargo and the cost would be much less than the larger boat. Then your money would build faster.”
He frowned but kept poling. I could tell he was thinking.
After several minutes, the frown became a smile. "And I know just the boat I could get too! Old Donald would sell me his. He wants to quit the canal. It needs a bit of work as well, but would do. Yes, indeed, it would do." He poled on in silence, still smiling.
Chapter 25
"If was taking my betrothed and leaving, and if her father had money, I wouldn't go to the train station. He'd be watching there. And after last night's attack, I definitely would not go to the skyship moorings that would cost a fortune, and every copper in the city is there, protecting the rest of the ships. No, I'd keep to the canal and then the river."
"How far could the river take us?"
"I could get you all the way to Bigsby. That’s near 100 miles. Baring trouble, we'd be there by tomorrow morning, I'm thinking."
"At what fare?" I asked.
"Not wanting to take advantage, but we both have our needs."
I nodded. "Two gold?"
Alyse stuck her hand out toward him, holding two golds and two silvers. "We'll buy a two-days supply of food for the trip. My greedy, skinflint father can pay our fare."
Sammy took the offered coins. "Thank you, Lady."
We stopped long enough to buy food and were off again. Once we got into the river proper, the current picked up, and all Sammy had to do was steer. By mid-morning, we arrived in Bigsby.
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