by RJ Metcalf
Jade pushed away from the wall she’d settled against and nodded toward Krista. “I’ll let your boyfriend know you’ll be fine.”
“No. I’m not fine,” Krista muttered. Her eyes gleamed. “Tell him that I’m in horrible agony and only his cinnamon spice cookies will soothe my pain.”
Jade snorted. “As long as you’ll share whatever he makes.”
“You know it.”
Ben’s head and stomach settled. Listening to their banter lightened the oppressive feeling in his chest. But he couldn’t help his jittering nerves after witnessing the strange magic that Jaxton had performed on Krista’s arm. I gotta get out of here. He cautiously slid off the medical bed and gestured at Jade. “I’ll go with you.”
Maybe I’ll remember something. Anything.
Ben stepped out of the medical room and into an enclosed hallway that stretched to his right, where a frigid breeze flowed from a tiny open window. He shivered. To his left, just beyond the dim hallway and Jade, an open deck and blue sky beckoned. His leg ached, but not as much as he’d expected. Still, he walked cautiously behind Jade. Overdoing it and falling while she was watching was not going to happen. He wouldn’t let it happen.
He touched the wood slats of the wall and rubbed his fingers together, brow furrowed. Why can’t I remember anything? Should everything feel as foreign as it does?
Though weak, the sunshine blinded him as Jade led him out from under the covered hall. Ben shielded his eyes and waited for them to adjust. Once they did, he took in the stairs on his side of the deck, the metal hand rail that ran along the edges, the other set of stairs on the other side—were those trees that brushed the far side of the deck from below?
Then he saw the beast.
It looked like what might happen if a lizard and a bat mated. A terrifyingly huge scaled lizard and equally large bat. Large, leathery wings met in a body covered by tiny, chitinous plates. Oversized metallic talons larger than Ben’s open hand adorned small paws. The claws shone in the sunlight. He dimly registered Jade’s voice as he gaped at the corpse. The sensation of drowning in the unknown crashed over him.
A bald man in pin-striped pants and a short-collared shirt with a matching pin-striped vest knelt by the scaled thing and set a wooden chest by his knee. He held a clear vial to the creature’s neck and slowly filled it with black blood.
Ben swallowed and tore his gaze away, searching for Jade. She stood by the outdoor staircase, her back to him.
“Jade, what is he—” Ben’s words died in his throat when he noticed a dark-haired man behind her.
Ben’s neck tingled as the stranger glared at him. The man said something too low for Ben to hear and pressed a hand against Jade’s shoulder, pushing her aside—all without breaking eye contact with Ben. The stranger held a black-and-silver sword, its edge gleaming against the layers of black he wore.
Like an inky stain in water, the swordsman flowed forward, leading with his blade.
Ben instinctively rocked his weight to the left to dodge, hand raising as if he could block a sword strike. Searing pain raced up his leg from the strained stitches, and he stumbled to his knees.
Something whooshed over Ben’s head. He twisted in time to see the stranger stab the empty air where Ben had been moments prior. The sword struck something unseen. Blood dripped down the blade, over the hilt, and onto the man’s gloved hand. Tendons strained in the man’s neck as he struggled to maintain his grip against the nothingness.
He twitched toward Ben. “Get back!”
The warrior kicked at the air, and a huge, scaled creature blurred into view. Massive jaws, powerful tail, covered in scales. Ben couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Goosebumps broke out over his arms.
Could that be a dragon?
It snapped at the man, missing his face by inches. The man snarled and yanked a dagger from his belt, and drove it into the beast’s glittering eye. The dragon reared back with a roar, and the swordsman pulled his sword from its shoulder. He sliced across its scaled throat. It dropped.
Ben scrambled on hands and heels back toward the comparative safety of the hallway where Jade waited. Magic rocks, and now invisible dragons?
Jade knelt, her gaze on the warrior even as she spoke to Ben. “That was close. Are you hurt?”
“I’ll be fine.” Ben clenched his jaw as he stood and tested his weight on his leg. I am so not fine. It didn’t feel like he’d popped the stitches, but his leg throbbed with every breath. He’d have to really take it easy now. His heart thumped at the near miss, and he nodded to the creature where the black swordsman stood. “What was that?”
The man wiped his sword on a dark cloth and slid the blade home in its scabbard. He rubbed the back of his hand against his jaw, leaving a crimson streak. “That was a stalker, and you’re lucky to be alive.” He looked past Ben and dipped his head, wearing a small frown. “If you’re out on the deck, please be alert for any more attacks, Jade. I think that was the last one, but there’s no guarantee.” He looked back toward the med-room. “How’s Krista?”
“She’ll be fine. But I’m supposed to tell Briar that she’s dying and that she needs cookies.”
The man smirked briefly. “If she’s thinking of cookies, she’ll survive.” He crossed his arms and appraised Ben without saying anything.
“Doctor Taylor sent us out to see if it was over.” Jade clapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “He offered to come with me.”
Ben nodded, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t quite hostility that radiated from the swordsman, but it distinctly wasn’t friendliness.
“Zak, meet…” Jade paused and looked at Ben, her brows drawn together. “I never got your name.”
“Ben.”
She flashed him a quick smile and turned back to Zak. “Meet Ben.”
Zak nodded a greeting. He dropped his arms and looped his thumbs in his belt, subtly showcasing the dagger on one hip and sword on the other. “Not from around here, are you?”
A crewmember dressed in a bright, headache-inducing ensemble of clashing greens, oranges, and pinks joined them and nodded to the stalker bleeding over the deck. “Hey, Zak, help me drain it before it makes more of a mess.”
Zak nodded and shot Ben a look as he turned away. “Yeah, of course.”
Jade pressed her lips together and sighed through her nose, then offered Ben a grin that didn’t touch her eyes. “Let’s find my father.”
Once again, Ben found himself being escorted by the petite woman. He stepped cautiously over the crimson and black blood swirled on the deck, unwilling to be the one responsible for leaving sticky footprints.
Jade led him to the staircase, and he gritted his teeth as he followed her up. Each step sent sharp pain shooting up his leg, but he wasn’t going to complain about her quick pace. He’d lived through worse. He couldn’t remember what exactly, but his body told him this wasn’t as bad as he’d experienced before.
The top of the stairs revealed another open deck at the bow of what he realized was a large airship. A blast of wind cut through his clothing as if it were gauze. He could now see over the metal railing that lined the deck. There wasn’t a lick of water in sight. Instead, thick green trees reached toward the sky, their tops brushing the edge of the upper deck. Not even those looked familiar.
Jade gestured to a brunet man that strode toward them with goggles hanging loose around his neck and a sword at his hip. “My father, Captain Slate Stohner.”
Captain Stohner nodded to Ben as the bald man in pin-stripes, whom Ben had seen earlier, clattered up the steps behind them.
Jade lifted a hand toward him. “And the first mate, Victor,” she added.
Ben shifted to face them both squarely and licked his dry lips. “Ben.”
Captain Stohner cocked his head at Ben and crossed his arms over his blood-splattered, sleeveless burgundy jacket. “You’re lucky to be alive, you know that?”
Ben nodded. “So I’ve heard. The doctor says I have memory loss.” He rubbed his th
umb against his index finger, and walked to the edge of the deck rail to point down to where Zak was helping the crew member haul the stalker to an embedded lower staircase. “Jaxton said I was found by a dragon nest. Was I—was I with something like that when you found me?”
Victor peered over the rail and bobbed his head. “With a stalker? No, if you’d been unconscious by a stalker, you would have been dead. We found you by the lake, close to a nest of plodders.” A frown creased Victor’s brow. “Not exactly the smartest of places to sleep. And in winter, no less.”
Ben frowned and shook his head as he rubbed the worn metal railing with his thumb. “I don’t remember being there. Or why I was there.”
“Quite a ways from any cities, too.” Victor wiped a black speck on his pants and gestured to Ben. “While we’re at it, where are you from?”
Ben looked down at the shades of khaki, green, and brown that mingled together on his matching pants and stiff shirt, then at the elegantly casual outfits the other men wore. “I don’t know.” He caught the skeptical glance Victor and Slate exchanged and forced himself to not clench his fists. Pain radiated up his leg with each breath, and he wanted to finish this soon—without them deciding he wasn’t worth their trouble. “I honestly don’t remember. I’m sorry.”
Captain Stohner squinted at Ben for a long moment, looked askance at Jade, and nodded slowly. “It’ll be all right, son. Give it some time.”
Victor raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. He directed his attention to the captain, ignoring Ben. “Now we have two stalkers to drag to the coolers, and we haven’t even left to search yet. What’s your plan?”
The captain grimaced. “The sooner we’re out of here, the better. I want our standard setup for teams, and as fast as possible. For this, I want you on one team, and I’ll lead the other.” He gestured to the expanse of thick trees beyond the airship. “We’ve already covered the southeast. This time, we’ll start where we left off in the south and work our way clockwise.”
Ben shifted, and his leg protested. He stumbled and caught his grip on the rail, closing his eyes and focusing on breathing through the pain.
A firm hand rested on his shoulder, and he straightened as best he could.
Concern shone in Captain Stohner’s eyes. “You’ve been through quite a bit. We have a mission to complete here, then we’ll be on our way. You’re welcome to hitch a ride to Doldra with us, if you’d like.”
From the inflection the captain used on the word “Doldra,” Ben could only assume that was home, or some equally special place. It didn’t sound familiar, and he had to resist the urge to shrug. He’d agree to anything at this point, just for the opportunity to get off his leg. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
A smile split Captain Stohner’s face. He nodded to Jade. “She can take you down to the crew quarters. Have Briar settle you in.” He looked at his daughter and spoke reluctantly. “I think we’ll need to bring you on this mission. Tell the crew we’re moving out in twenty.”
Chapter Two
Jade
Jade gripped the steering wheel as she scanned for the easiest entry into the forest for the buggy. She was only on this mission because Krista had been injured, and while Jade hurt for her friend, this was a rare opportunity that she was determined to not mess up. Maybe today she could prove how she could handle herself—that she didn’t need to be protected all the time. Maybe she didn’t have to leave.
A patch of lighter green caught her eye, and she twisted the hand crank while angling toward the path. White clouds of steam billowed, and she flexed her feet in anticipation. Would they locate the fabled lair of the Piovant sage today? Maybe she could help her father realize his goal of finding something that could stabilize the keystone that powered the barrier. Then they wouldn’t have to live in fear of it suddenly failing. And being enslaved or slaughtered by the Elph in the north.
Being able to redeem the lost time of this morning, the injuries of the crew, everything that went wrong, would be an added bonus.
“Are you ready for this?” Victor’s voice was pitched so low that she almost couldn’t hear him over the wind as they drove. The bench seat shifted under Jade as he turned to face her. “Are you nervous?”
She looked over her shoulder at Zak and Kerlee to make sure they weren’t listening in. “Not really. Maybe. I want this to go well. And…I just—” She blew out her breath as she dialed back the steam for the buggy. It started to slow, and she drummed her fingers against the wheel once she didn’t need to grip it so tightly. “I want to really be part of a team. Not always held back because I’m the captain’s daughter.”
And if this didn’t work out, there was always her backup plan with Krista and Briar.
Victor stroked his goatee and nodded with a meaningful glance to the back seat. “Makes sense. For what it’s worth, I believe you’ll be fine.” He smirked. “You’ve inherited your parents’ tenacity. You won’t be in their shadows forever.”
“Thank you.” Jade shot him a smile. “I appreciate that.”
Jade drove in silence for several ticks before calling out, “We’re here!” and letting the buggy roll to a stop at the trail she had seen. She cranked the steam valve to shut off power and hopped out, circling around to the front of the creaking machine. A swipe on the latch popped open the hood, and the heat from the furnace warmed her chilled face. There had to be a snowstorm coming. The temperature had been dropping ever since that morning. The forest would provide some shelter under the evergreen trees, but it would be a race against the weather for how much they’d get done today.
Lucky for Ben that they found him when they did. Dragons aside, if he’d been unsheltered during this weather, the hypothermia alone could’ve been the death of him.
“Hey, Jade, I got your bag!”
Jade started, slamming the furnace shut. Warmth that wasn’t from the fire made her cold cheeks tingle. Lost in thought, and she hadn’t even done anything useful yet. Brilliant.
She trotted over to the trio and accepted her bag from Kerlee, not meeting his eyes. Last thing she needed was for him to misread her embarrassment.
Kerlee’s attention wasn’t focused on her, thankfully. He buttoned up his eye-hurting orange jacket and flashed a grin. “I won’t lie, it’s nice to have you on the team for today, Victor.”
Victor strapped his sword to his belt. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’d hazard a guess that we’ll all pay for the captain’s decision later. Geist is not one to be content with being left behind, even if it’s because the captain wanted a senior officer for this.”
“If we actually find the sage’s sanctuary, then he’ll be even worse, because he wasn’t part of the discovery team,” Zak reminded in a mild tone. He pulled a black hat over his dark hair. “Geist will likely gripe for the next two days, minimum.”
“You’re saying you want the captain’s team to find it before us?” Kerlee gasped in mock outrage and leveled a loaf of bread from his pack as a sword. “Have you no honor? On guard, you traitorous fiend! We want the bragging rights, Zak, bragging rights!”
Jade laughed at Kerlee’s antics as she slipped her bag over her shoulders. She picked up her sword, momentarily caressing the gleaming blue sheath before securing it on her hip. The corner of a brown leather pouch hovered at the edge of her vision, and she looked up to see Victor holding it out to her.
He shook it slightly. “Take it. You can carry our flares.” He pivoted and tossed a matching bag to Zak. “You know the drill, gentlemen. Find anything of interest, use one of the flares to let us know.”
Kerlee groaned. “Here’s to hoping Doctor Jaxton’s next batch of stink bombs of color smell better than these. I hope you guys find it. I don’t want to be close to one of those flares ever again.”
Zak’s brow wrinkled as he looked at the matching bag in Jade’s hands. “Why does—”
Victor snorted at Kerlee and handed Zak a map. “Jade and I will cover zones one and two, you guys cover zones three and fo
ur.” Victor folded his map and tucked it into his double-breasted jacket. “Theoretically, this area has fewer dragons, and the cold will keep some in hibernation. That being said, we all know that several are warm-blooded, and they’ll be hungry this season. Be alert.”
Jade nodded seriously. They were half an hour from the Sapphire, and they’d be on foot in the forest. They all had basic medical training, but only Zak could be considered a true field medic. If she or Victor got injured while on their own…
“So you two are a team for this?” Zak asked. He pushed his hand through his hair and glanced at Kerlee. “Any reason we’re completely changing the combination?”
Victor raised an eyebrow and gestured a hand between himself and Jade. “I’m not going to hold her back during this mission, and,” he waved to Zak and Kerlee, “you two make a good team too.”
Jade held her breath as Zak’s face smoothed of all expression. She hated how good he’d become at hiding his feelings in the last six months. His gaze rested on her, and she forced herself to not react to the concern she could see in his dark eyes. She smiled and shrugged. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
“Do you not trust in my ability to protect the captain’s daughter?” Victor held his arms open to invite inspection. Sheathed blades lined his vest, his bag of various tools and supplies crossed over his thin but muscular chest, and his long-bladed sword rested at his hip. He dropped his arms and smirked. “If you can’t trust the first mate, then you’ve got problems, son.”
Zak rubbed the back of his neck and nodded slowly. “I trust your judgment, sir.”
“Good.” Victor pulled out his pocket watch, looked at it, then snapped it shut and tucked it away. “In four hours, I want us all back here.” He lifted his gaze to the sky. “We’ll be seeing snow by this evening, and we don’t want to be out when that happens. Let’s cover as much ground as possible.”