He could see the glimmer steel reacting, even as the hole pulled at it, so too did the idea of the skimmer and with Aiden’s nudging, it began to win. He could feel it straining his mind, but he had no choice. It was either this or all of his friends were going to die. The shimmering golden liquid moved slowly but inexorably towards the idea of the skimmer up near the ceiling.
The feeling of it taking shape became more vibrant, almost alive as he forced his will upon it. Picturing how it would feel, sitting in the rear of the craft and guiding it with… what? A handle of course, like he’d seen on the bridge of the Skywitch. Floating there and feeling comfortable. He grinned at the thought of how it would move, sliding it this way and that in the sky and reminding him of the time he and Ashrak had taken that trip in the clouds.
As the idea of the skimmer crystalized, so too did the glimmer steel. Small patches of it glommed onto the shape of the craft and froze in place, resembling nothing more than spider webs and honey. He didn’t know how long the process took and it drained him immensely, but in the end it was finished.
The strain from holding the hole to the dream realm had worn on him more than when he’d made the dagger. Far more than that, if he was going to admit the truth. As the last of the glimmer steel found purchase, the rest that was not used began to recede back to the hole, faster with each second. He hadn’t remembered noticing that before, but now he did and for some reason felt that he needed to ease it back into its home.
While not as difficult as the creation of the ship itself, the hole it had come from was more and more insistent with each passing moment, causing Aiden to battle it to the end. He could almost feel the sweat trickling coldly down his back, but he kept pulling just enough so that the glimmer steel slipped back in with a whisper, rather than a roar. In the end, the hole closed and he felt a profound relief when it did so, allowing his mind to ease off from the titanic strain.
Almost immediately, there was a sharp pain in his head. For a moment he thought maybe Stitch had returned, taken the dagger from Ashrak and decided to carve something into his skull until the now-familiar dizziness also intruded into his consciousness. He clenched his teeth, fighting the pain but had to admit that in a small increment, it didn’t feel quite as bad as before. It still hurt tremendously, but he was finding he learned a little more each time.
He could feel Ashrak move up next to him, once again patting at him with a cold, wet cloth. “Okay, so, I wasn’t quite expecting a floating boat. I’m glad Gavin is still unconscious because I almost fell on him when the thing appeared right above my head.”
Aiden nodded, the water feeling good on his skin as he cracked one of his eyes open, nodding. “Yeah, I…um changed things a bit at the last second. Probably not the smartest thing in the world, but-” he looked up, seeing the old wood image of the small skimmer floating gently up near the ceiling, “-I couldn’t think of anything about a regular boat.”
Ashrak grinned, “Well, as long as your head doesn’t explode. I really have no idea what could happen, do you? I suspect old Professor Reivus would have had an aneurysm if you told him that, but what do I know?”
Ashrak went quiet for a few moments while he sat back. “Gavin isn’t doing so well. He hasn’t woken up and… well, he’s got a huge lump on his head where that troll hit him. I don’t know much about healing, but I do know that it’s not a good idea for someone to be asleep with a head injury. It might be a good thing you made a flying boat, Aiden.”
Aiden sighed and crawled towards the stricken lord. Aiden still felt weak from his ordeal, but he didn’t like the look of his friend or how much blood had pooled on the deck under him. The bandage that Ashrak had cobbled together from Gavin’s shirt was also clearly being soaked through. “You’re right, Ashrak, it’s not good. We should get him into the skimmer, at least. As soon as Chari comes back, we’re going.”
“No arguments there, Aiden. I think I’m tiring of the service on this ship.” Ashrak turned, moving toward the bars and pushing the door open slightly, looking down the hallway with a frown. “Stitch and his boys left on their errand about an hour ago. They said it had grown quiet enough. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen anyone move as silently as they do. I refuse to feel sorry for whoever gets in their way, though.”
Aiden nodded, watching Ashrak glumly until he felt good enough to stand and grasped the side of the newly minted skimmer. “Come help me with this, we need to get it down and Gavin into it.”
Ashrak complied, reaching up and between the two boys they lowered the ship. It did not move or bounce in the air but stayed still relative to where it was in the cell. An odd thing, Aiden thought, wondering how the boat knew how to stay still within a moving thing. He shook his head, pushing it from his mind as they both slowly worked Gavin around the sides, and then up into the skimmer. Gavin groaned a few times in pain but otherwise didn’t wake up.
When they got the skimmer close to the floor, Aiden was able to see inside the diminutive vessel. It was very basic, with no seats except one near the back that had two armrests similar to the chair where he’d controlled the Skywitch’s weapon from. A small wooden handle floated above the right side, with smooth grips worked into it. For some reason, Aiden ached to get his hands on it, though there was no way to test anything in the tiny cell as of yet.
“Ok, where’s the dagger, Ashrak? I don’t think we’ll cut the opening yet, but we should be ready? Maybe get it going so we only have to do one final cut and then we’re off?”
“Oh... well, about that,” Ashrak said, biting his lip. “I kind of gave it to Stitch since they were going out on the deck with no weapons.”
Aiden frowned, shaking his head. “What? Ashrak quit joking. Where’s the dagger?”
Ashrak frowned back, “I told you, I gave it to Stitch. He said it would help and he’d bring it back when he got Chari.”
“What’s to stop them from just taking the dagger and leaving? We’d be stuck in here.”
“He said he’d bring it back and honestly, it would give them a better chance to get Chari back, Aiden. I know it doesn’t look like it, but I couldn’t stand it if they hurt her.”
Aiden narrowed his eyes but finally nodded. “Okay… Okay, I might have done the same thing. Let’s hope he keeps his word Ashrak, because otherwise,” He patted the skimmer, letting his hands glide along its weatherworn timbers despite the fact he’d just created it. “All of this is for nothing.”
With the skimmer pushed to the floor, there was nowhere else to sit but in the ship itself. Aiden was surprised to find that the seat back towards the stern was quite comfortable despite its resemblance to old wood. He wondered about that, pushing the wood down with his fingers and watching it spring back in a very un-wood like manner.
He recalled it felt almost exactly like the seats on the Skywitch, and pondered. It really was all about what he was thinking, he decided, as long as he had a good idea of what it was he wanted. That might be the trick, he had to understand what it was he wanted. If he didn’t, like when he’d tried to make the boat, it would resist him or just not come at all.
He turned his eyes back onto Gavin who was still unmoving, the only hint he was still alive was the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Still, he looked pale and unwell, and Aiden shared Ashrak’s fear for his friend. Ashrak himself was lost in thought, probably thinking about what would happen to them all if Stitch didn’t return with the dagger. Aiden was worried too, more than a little.
It wasn’t much longer after that when the two boys heard a soft noise from the hallway. They turned toward it, their eyes wide and waiting until they saw the happy sight of Stitch and his two men move into view beyond the bars. One of the men was carrying Chari, who had a large bandage on her face and nose.
“She’s all right, kid, just a bit banged up and still unconscious from the hit she took. She’s not in any immediate danger though.” Stitch said, pushing passed the two boys and leaning over the skimmer’s rails. He didn�
��t say anything, but his eyes roamed over the odd wooden craft before he leaned down, opening up Gavin’s eyes and giving him a quick examination before grunting.
“Your other friend, however, is not doing well at all.” Stitch said, looking up with a frown. “I don’t think he’s going to make it.”
“Can you do anything to help?” Aiden said with worry evident in his voice. “Didn’t Pienteen say you were a doctor or something?”
Stitch heaved a soft sigh before he stood back up, walking over to Aiden. “I could, if I and he were in a hospital right now, but we’re not. We’re in the middle of the ocean and who knows how far from anything that may help him. I’m sorry, kid. There’s nothing I can do.” He nodded his head back towards the cell and the small craft. “It might take you days to row to someplace that could help him, and that’s if you go the right direction.”
Aiden nodded, concern for his friend suddenly rising like an ugly, clawing creature. Hope that his ship would do as he wished rose like a storm. “I… okay. Thank you for bringing Chari back to us.” He watched Stitch’s two men put Chari gently in the bottom of the skimmer. Both of them were clearly confused, questioning looks apparent on their faces but they followed Stitch’s lead and didn’t ask about it.
Stitch nodded to Aiden and then held the black, light-sucking dagger out to him. Before he rested it in Aiden’s hand, he shook his head. “Sure wish I could have something like this. It came in handy, and it made sure that Pienteen won’t be captaining this ship any longer. Good blade. Take care of yourself. You probably won’t be seeing me again.”
Aiden watched Stitch turn and then disappear silently back down the hallway. He tried not to think about what Stitch had said about cutting Pienteen’s captaincy short and leaned towards Ashrak instead, holding the dagger out to him.
“You were right, he brought it back. Thank the gods. Now, go ahead and cut us free, Ashrak. You said you were good at putting holes in things and we have to get Gavin back to Terek as fast as we can.”
Ashrak nodded, taking the dagger and moving to the wall of the cell that faced the hull. Aiden settled himself in the seat of the small skimmer, flexing his hands gently while he watched the tall noble cut along the corners of the wall, ceiling, and lastly the floor. Suddenly, there was a strange feeling of openness and air that Aiden hadn’t even known he’d missed as the wall fell away, making a splash that was lost in the roll of the sea and revealing a yawning darkness.
Ashrak quickly jumped into the skimmer while Aiden placed his hand on the control rod, feeling its strange familiarity as he gently nudged it to the side, hoping the skimmer wouldn’t do something odd and send them all screaming into the ocean.
“I sure hope this works,” Aiden said, making Ashrak give him a nervous look.
At first, it hardly moved for which Aiden was thankful, but as Aiden gave it a bit more sideways motion it slipped out of the old pirate ship and floated serenely in the blackness of the night as if the small skimmer been doing it for years. Aiden felt awe, looking around himself as the wind hit him in the face and the cloying smell of the feted cell was left behind. They had made it to freedom, against all odds. Despite the worry for his friends, Aiden felt a sense of giddiness as they drifted gently away from the old pirate ship.
He experimented with the controls quietly, taking his time to make sure he knew how the ship would respond to each movement of his hand. He’d just managed to get it facing away from the ship, heading upwards at an angle when he heard a cry rise up from the vessel behind them. It sounded like a man being killed, similar to what they’d heard at the beginning of the mutiny. They couldn’t see much, but they could hear the crew of the ship beginning to wake, calling back and forth to each other as they realized things were not as in control as they’d once thought.
Shortly thereafter, they heard a loud splash, as if something heavy and wooden hitting the water, accompanied by several smaller splashes. Stitch’s voice rose in the darkness. “Jump for it, lads!” Aiden and Ashrak listened to the sound of swimming and wet men climbing into the ship’s skiff. They also heard the unmistakable sound of a crossbow’s twanging in the night, accompanied by a distinct grunt from the darkness near the smaller boat.
“Dammit,” Aiden said, gritting his teeth. “They’ll never make it.”
Ashrak shook his head, his white hair almost glowing in the darkness. “You’re right. Even drunken pirates can turn a ship and run them down. Aiden, can you get this thing down near the ship’s hull? Near the water line? I have an idea.”
Aiden nodded and began trying to work their small skimmer back down towards the pirate ship even as more crossbows sounded in the night. They didn’t hear any more cries of pain, but it was probably only a matter of time.
As they settled near the hull on the opposite side of the ship, Aiden watched Ashrak lean way over the gunwale near the bow. He heard grunting and splashing before Ashrak pulled himself back up, dripping with ocean water. “Okay, take us further down the hull but go slow.”
Aiden nodded and watched Ashrak push himself back over before moving the small skiff as he’d been directed. As they passed, Aiden could see large, dark holes carved deep into the ship’s side both above and below the water line and the sound of rushing water began to grow.
It wasn’t long before the ship began to noticeably list, tilting and groaning. The cries of anger from the top deck began to shift to dismay as the pirates discovered their hold quickly filling with water. Finally, Ashrak pulled himself back into the boat and nodded wetly at Aiden. “Done, and I don’t know much about ships, but I bet they have a hard time plugging those holes. Let’s get Gavin and Chari out of here.”
Aiden nodded, pushing the guidance handle forward and angling the skimmer up so it rose further above the waves. They circled around and even in the darkness they could see the crew scrambling to try to save the doomed vessel. They could also see the faint shadow of Stitch’s small craft as they rowed away, trying to put as much distance between them and the pirate ship as they could.
Aiden decided to move towards them to see if they were okay, angling the skimmer down and over the small skiff. One of the men had a crossbow bolt sticking out of his shoulder, and was in pain but otherwise unhurt. Stitch and the other man were rowing as best they could until the skimmer suddenly loomed over them out of the darkness.
Stitch jerked, dropping the oar and pulling a dagger from his belt. The other man cried out and raised his paddle defensively.
“Wait! It’s us,” cried Aiden, stopping Stitch from throwing the dagger even as he stumbled backward into the injured man.
“By the gods! What the…” Stitch yelled, staring up at the skimmer incredulously. “Is… is that you, Aiden?”
Aiden looked over the side of the skimmer, watching as Stitch and his men got re-settled. “Yes, it’s me. We put big holes in the pirate ship. They won’t be coming after you.” Aiden guided the skimmer lower so he could see more easily into the skiff. “You should be free to get away.”
“Well, we owe you twice over then, Aiden. Some fool pirate was sleeping in the boat and yelled before we could get away. We couldn’t kill him quickly enough, and he roused the rest of the drunken rats.” He turned, listening out over the water as the pirates cries of dismay became increasingly dire, nodding. “If you put holes in the sides of her with that dagger of yours, then I doubt they’ll live to tell anyone.”
He turned back, letting his eyes roam over the small skimmer. “You are full of surprises…Okay, if you have a skimmer, and I’m not going to ask where you got it from just like I don’t want to know how it showed up in your tiny cell, then head to the north, and then west along the coast.” He pointed in the direction indicated. Aiden had no clue how the man could tell where they were, but he nodded anyway, slowly pointing the prow of their skimmer in that direction as Stitch continued to talk.
“That should take you right to Terek. You may have a chance to save your friend but hurry. I’ve seen plenty
of battlefield wounds, and that one won’t leave your friend alive long. Go right to the duke’s castle. They’ll have the best chance of saving him if they have one of those old beds. I’ve heard he has one, so pray I’m right.”
Aiden nodded, staring Stitch in the eye for a long moment. He couldn’t forget being chased and terrified for weeks, but he felt a budding respect for the old mercenary beginning to grow.
“Ashrak,” Aiden said, “give him the dagger.”
Ashrak turned from where he’d been listening, grinning at the now desperate cries of the pirates and looked at Aiden in surprise. “What? What do you mean give him the dagger?”
Aiden just shrugged, shaking his head. “We can’t keep it, anyway. No one would believe you made it, and we’d just have to drop it in the water. Give it to Stitch. I think he’ll put it to better use. Maybe it will even help him get his duchy back.”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 28