“You sound surprisingly confident. Are you sure you can take on two of my mother's ships? They're some of the best and most powerful airships ever constructed.”
“Not to sound biased, but my airship is one the best and fastest ships ever constructed,” Doon countered. “I'll get us through this, Princess, don't you worry.”
Lyneah looked to Tobias for reassurance, but he simply shrugged. “Alright. Very well. I'll move some of our troops onto the airship, and the rest will stay on the ground, in the tower.”
“Unless you want to be on the team that's cowering in the radio tower, meet me on my ship in a minute or two,” Doon requested. “We don't have much time to spare.”
Doon, Tobias, and Lyneah dispersed, completing their tasks before reconvening on the ship. Tobias collected weapons, Lyneah ordered her troops to hide in the tower, while Doon made preparations on his airship. He told Bryce to fetch the precision cannon, then he ordered a group of pirates to tend to the main guns.
“I'm not sure this is a good idea, Captain,” Miles tried to give him advice as they fired up the engines. “I don't doubt that you're good, or that you might even emerge victorious, but I don't know if we should gamble the princess' life.”
“Then what would you have me do, Miles?” Doon asked as he checked the spyglass again. The Black Wings ships were nearly upon them.
“Flee. Ride toward the water. It's an overcast sky... we could lose them in the clouds.”
“I don't want to run away, though,” Doon roughly rejected his companion's idea. “If I didn't think we were capable of winning, I wouldn't be preparing for a fight right now.” As soon as Lyneah, Tobey, Kieran, and at least a quarter of their army had boarded the airship, Doon lifted off. “Bryce!” The captain suddenly hollered the name of his barbarian sidekick.
“Yes, boss?”
“We'll be within range in a minute or two. Make sure the men are ready with the main guns, and stand by with the precision cannon. When I tell you to, be prepared to fire.”
“Aye,” Bryce agreed before rushing off to follow his captain's orders.
Doon didn't realize Tobias was beside him until he heard him ask, “Is there anything I can do?”
“You can keep the princess from panicking.”
Tobias shrugged at Doon's words. “The last time I saw her, Lyneah wasn't even close to panicking. She's strong. I think she wants the people to know that.”
“Well then... you can hover around me if you want, but you have to be quiet.” Doon, who was gripping the wheel in both hands, increased the ship's altitude. He saw one of the Black Wings ships turn their cannons on him, so he quickly pivoted to the right. Their cannons missed, but by a dangerously small margin.
“That was close,” Tobias noted.
“Quiet,” Doon hushed him. “I told you to be quiet, didn't I?”
Doon turned left, and as he drifted past the first of the Black Wings ships, he tried to line up the perfect shot. When he was ready, he yelled, “FIRE!”
There were several explosions all at once. First, Bryce's precision cannon landed a direct hit on the enemy ship. It resulted in a small fire on the enemy's deck, but for the most part, their airship wasn't affected. The main guns fired too, but only one of them landed a hit. Once again, the heavily armored airship was barely fazed by the attack.
“Damn!” Doon's fist pounded the wheel as he cursed. “We need more power than this. We're barely scratching them.” To a few of his men, he shouted, “Prep the main cannons for another round of fire. In the mean time, I'll try to avoid their counterattacks.”
Almost as soon as he spoke, one of the Black Wings airships fired back at them. When Doon realized what was happening, he increased their altitude as quickly as he could, and the enemy's artillery barely grazed them.
“Bossssss!” When he heard Bryce bellowing for him, Doon grumbled. “Boss... Cap'n... I got more bad news! Look!”
Doon raised the spyglass in the direction indicated by Bryce. When he saw two more Black Wings ships heading toward them, his stomach dropped, and the color drained from his face. Not only were they severely outmatched, they were in danger of being caught in a pincer attack. “Damn...” Doon whispered as he sent his airship into the clouds. By hiding for a bit, he hoped to avoid getting caught on both sides. If he could corral the ships together, he had a better chance of surviving. “Damn, damn, damn.”
“What is it?” Tobey asked, disregarding the fact that Doon had repeatedly asked him to remain silent.
“More ships... two more... coming from over there.” Doon dragged a hand over his face as he gripped the wheel, keeping the airship steady. He wasn't often rattled, and he didn't often admit defeat, but taking on four immense airships was truly beyond his capabilities. As they drifted in the clouds, they suddenly heard an explosion, followed by some screams. “What was that?” Doon roared. If the ship was hit, he would have felt it.
Doldy appeared in the doorway with a report. “They fired on the radio tower. Blew the top right off!”
“God,” Doon whispered. The princess was relying on him to protect everyone, to get the job done, but he was clearly failing. And it wasn't even the princess who consumed his thoughts the most. What about Kitt? Everything he did was for her, to get her out of the predicament he had gotten her into. For Kitt's sake, he couldn't fail.
“Captain...” It was Miles who spoke. “Captain, I think now would be the correct time to flee. There's no shame in it.”
“No, Miles, no,” Doon rejected the idea again. “Do you really think we should leave all those people in the radio tower behind? They'd be slaughtered!”
“Indeed. But we will all be slaughtered if we stay.” Miles' lips dropped into a frown. “For Kitt and the princess, we must live to fight another day.”
Princess Lyneah suddenly arrived at the ship's helm, which was the last thing Doon needed. “Four ships?” she shrieked. “Kieran just told me he spotted four ships? How do you expect to take on all of them, Doon? Huh?”
“I...” Doon's fingers twiddled as he tried to think of a plan—and then it dawned on him. It was something he had never done before, and it was very likely insane, but he had to try. “If we're to have any hope of surviving this, we need to take one of their ships.” Doon handed the ship's wheel to Miles and told him, “I'm leaving you in charge of my airship, Miles. Take good care of her... and support me whenever you can. If this goes to hell, get the princess out of here, and find a way to rescue Kitt. I'm counting on you.” He clapped Miles on the back before he sprinted away.
“But... Captain!” Miles tried to call out to Doon, but he was already heading to the deck, where most of Lyneah's soldiers, as well as his pirates, were gathered.
“Alright, listen up!” Doon addressed the anxious crowd. “I won't lie to you... we're in a bad situation. The enemy has four ships to our one, and our cannons aren't doing enough damage. But I'm not going to give up easily. I've come up with a plan. We'll move in close, swing down, and board their airship. And once we've taken their ship as our own, we'll turn the tide in our favor.”
“Sounds like a suicide mission,” Doldy said. “I like it.”
“Yes. Doldy's right. It could very well be a suicide mission. I can't guarantee the safety of anyone who comes, and yet... I'm going to have to ask for volunteers.” Doon scanned the panicked faces in the crowd. Apart from Doldy, no one looked especially eager to join him. “I need at least a dozen people to join me. Who's in?”
Doldy was the first to raise his hand, followed by Bryce and two other pirates. When Kieran stepped forward, Doon shook his head.
“Not you,” he said to Kieran.
The mercenary's blue eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because I'd be more worried that you were going to shoot me in the back than help me. You're not coming.”
Kieran shrugged and grunted, as if it didn't matter to him either way. “Very well, but I could've been an asset to your team. Your loss, mate.”
“
Can you pilot an airship, Kieran?” Doon asked the mercenary.
“Aye. I can pilot anything.”
“Good. Then you need to stay behind and make sure Miles follows my orders. There's a good chance he won't want to move in close enough to let me board the enemy ship, but I doubt you would care that much.” When Tobias stepped forward to join his group, Doon's eyes widened. “Oh? Even my pupil wants a piece of the action?”
“No!” Lyneah was quick to protest. “No, Tobey, you are not going! There's no way I'm going to let you do this! It's mad!”
“But I want to.” Tobias checked his weapons, making sure they were all secure in their holsters and sheaths. Lyneah tried to grab his arm and pull him backward, but he broke away from her and stood next to Doon. He refused to let her treat him like a baby in front of everyone. “I'm going. I've been training for this. I'll be alright.”
“Right,” Kieran scoffed. “You've been training for four days.”
“I've been training tirelessly for four days,” Tobey corrected him with a smile. “You said I'm a good shot, right?” When he saw Kieran nod, he added, “Then I can do this.”
As he waited for more volunteers to join them, Doon strapped on more belts and more guns. If they were going to succeed, he would need all the firepower he could get. “This is for Kitt,” he whispered a reminder to himself. “This is for Kitt, not me.”
A few more volunteers stepped forward, boosting their ranks to twelve. Lyneah ran forward and threw her arms around Tobias. “Please don't do this,” she begged him. “I won't stop you, but I really don't want you to participate. It would break my heart if something happened to you, Tobey. If you were dead, none of this would matter to me! I would be tempted to just... give up!”
“Don't say that. And I'm not dead yet. I'll be okay, I promise.” Tobey pulled away from Lyneah's hug, which he didn't often do. He didn't want to be teased for cuddling her while he was surrounded by pirates.
“You can't promise that!” she whimpered. When tears filled her eyes, Lyneah hoped they would fall. She usually hated to cry in front of other people, but if her tears could convince Tobey to stay, she didn't mind them.
“I'll look after him,” Doon told her. “I can't let my one and only student die an inglorious death, can I?” They heard the sound of incoming cannon fire, which Miles managed to avoid. “And now we should probably stop chatting and get down to business, yes?”
When Tobias followed Doon, Kieran suddenly stepped in his path and gave him the surprise of his life. He hugged him. “Don't you die... boy,” Kieran said, clapping Tobias' back. “You better come back from this. I've got a lot more advice to give on how to get the princess into your bed.”
“Uh...um...” Tobias mumbled and blushed. “Al-alright.” He hurried away before he could find out if Lyneah heard what Kieran said.
As their ship descended on one of the Black Wings vessels, Doon stood on the bow, tying ropes to the rail. They were meant to rappel to the deck of the enemy ship, but Tobey's hands trembled at the thought of it. He wanted to be more confident, or at least feign confidence, but deep down, he was still the same person who struggled to hop into the hovercraft without falling on his face.
“Don't throw up on me just yet, Tobey,” Doon said as he reached over and tightened Tobias' rope. “When this is over, you can vomit all you want.”
“I'm not throwing up!” Tobias lied. Even as he said it, he could feel the chunks rising up his throat.
“When we get down there, stay behind me,” Doon instructed him. “I don't think Kitt would forgive me if I let her best friend die today.”
Doon's ship descended quickly, giving them the element of surprise. When they were within range, Doon coiled the end of the rope around his fist and leapt to the deck below them. As soon as he was on his feet, he tossed the rope aside and drew two of his guns. Seconds after landing, he dispatched two of Loreina's men, both with head shots. He held out his arms in an L-shape, firing at both sides of the deck as he waited for the rest of his men to join him.
Doldy landed behind him and leapt to his boss' side. Then Bryce fell onto the deck with a tremendous thud and took his place at Doon's right side. Tobias, who somehow managed to land on his feet, stood behind the three pirates, using them for cover—at least for the moment. The rest of Doon's men dropped from the sky, one after another. Sadly, one of them was shot before he landed, and he fell to the deck with a scream.
Loreina's soldiers came at them in waves, emerging from both sides of the deck. Doon's men were vastly outnumbered, so they had to fire nonstop. Captain Doon rained a barrage of bullets on the incoming soldiers, and as soon as one of his guns was depleted of bullets, he tossed it aside and drew another.
Tobias popped out of cover and carefully fired at an enemy who was aiming at Doon. When the shot hit the man squarely in the head, Tobias gasped. “Oh god,” he whispered. “I've... killed someone.”
“Shake it off,” said Doon, who heard Tobias' remark in the middle of the storm of bullets. “I need you to kill a lot more someones before the day is done.”
Bryce ran out of bullets in his twin pistols, so he holstered them and pulled out his third weapon: an oversized rifle that could probably take down elephants. When he fired the immense rifle, an enemy soldier's abdomen erupted in a burst of crimson viscera. It took time to reload the gun, which left Bryce temporarily exposed. Though Doon tried to cover him, there was only so much he could do. Bryce was shot in the shoulder.
“Bryce!” Doon yelled, not realizing the bullet didn't hit anything vital.
“I'm alright, Boss! I can keep goin'... dontchu worry about me!” Bryce fired his rifle again, this time blowing up an officer's head.
“We have to make our way to the helm!” Doon shouted at his men. “Stay close to me as we make our way forward!”
Doon shuffled across the deck, taking on wave after wave of Loreina's soldiers, repeatedly exchanging his spent guns for fresh ones. He had to be a faster shot than his enemies were—and he always was. Tobey felt more confident after awhile, so he stayed at Bryce's side, rather than behind him. After he dropped two more men, his hands stopped shaking. A bullet whizzed by Tobias' cheek, hitting the man behind him. That was the moment he realized the importance of firing quickly and accurately.
Doon lost two more of his men shortly after that. Three of his volunteers didn't take his advice—they didn't stay behind him. They wandered to the other side of the deck, firing recklessly at an incoming horde. When two of the three of them were downed, Doon focused his attention on their side of the deck. With the help of Tobias and Doldy, he quickly cleaned it up.
The helm was within his sights, and the number of enemy soldiers had thinned. However, they were far from safe. Doon got overeager and tried to charge forward, which resulted in Doldy getting shot in the chest.
“Doldy!” Bryce cried out when he saw his friend drop to his knees. “Cap'n... Doldy's dying!”
“Shit!” Doon hissed, taking aim at two enemy soldiers as he rushed back to his men. “Shit shit shit! Dammit, Doldy!”
When he saw the expanding red stain on the front of Doldy's shirt, Doon knew he was as good as gone. He claimed Doldy's gun, a rapid-fire revolver, and tossed it to Tobias. “There. Use that.”
“What about Doldy, Boss?” asked a pouting Bryce.
“Leave him for now. We have to keep going!”
By the time they reached the helm, Doon was down to seven men—which wasn't so terrible, considering the number lost by the enemy side. There were two enemy officers at the airship's wheel: one piloting the ship, and another one guarding him. Doon easily dispensed with both and ran to the wheel. Seizing it in both hands, he made a hard right, pulling the wheel with all his might. When they were drifting alongside another Black Wing's ship, he grinned. “Now we need to get to the main cannon. More than likely, they don't know we've taken this ship. The bastards won't know what hit them.”
Doon seized Tobey's collar and pulled him toward the
wheel, encouraging him to hold it. “Gun in one hand, wheel in the other,” the captain instructed him. “If anyone comes at you while you're piloting the ship... shoot them. That should be easy enough.”
“Wait, wh-wh-what?” Tobey sputtered as he gripped the wheel. “I don't know how to pilot an airship!”
“That's alright. Just hold it steady while Bryce and I get to the main cannon. I'll leave someone with you.”
“Wh-what happened to protecting your student?” a panicked Tobias shrieked.
“Student's doing a damn fine job protecting himself!” Doon said, affectionately slapping Tobey's shoulder. “Good luck.”
Before Tobey could protest again, Doon and Bryce were gone. The captain charged below deck. He wasn't sure where the main gun was, but he had a fairly good idea, having observed the ship's layout. As he bounded down the stairs, an enemy soldier came at him, sword drawn. Doon didn't want to waste a bullet, so he freed his sword and blocked the incoming blow. Behind the enemy soldier, there was another man taking aim, so Doon quickly lifted his gun and fired, all while dodging strikes from the swinging swordsman. When the gunman dropped, Doon focused his attention on the soldier wielding the sword. Doon unleashed a few unpredictable thrusts, felling him in seconds.
“Bryce!” Doon shouted as he leapt over the dead man's body. “Get me a cannonball now.”
The cannonballs for the main gun were huge, which meant Bryce was the perfect man for the job. He scooped one into his arms and waddled over to Doon, who carefully loaded the cannon. Tobias must have been doing a good job keeping the airship steady, because the Black Wings vessel was within his sights. When the main cannon was prepped and prepared to fire, Doon stepped back and covered his ears. There was a loud boom, followed by an immense explosion on the enemy ship. Some well-timed support from Miles' ship sealed their fate. When he saw the Black Wings airship spiraling down to earth, Doon let out a victorious yelp.
Of course, it wasn't over yet. There were still two enemy airships remaining—but now that Doon had two ships under his command, the odds were a lot more even. “They know what side we're on now,” Doon muttered to himself as he rushed back to Tobias. “We won't be able to surprise them again.”
Sky Pirate (Belles & Bullets Book 3) Page 15