by Henry Vogel
We crested a huge dune only to find the other side dropped off like a cliff. The sand schooner flew over the edge and plunged toward the sand a hundred meters below us!
Chapter 31
The sand schooner arching through the air was fun for the second it took for my brain to remind me that we were falling. Neither Boosting nor training would get us out of this alive. Rob and I shared a helpless look. I was just considering if the sail could be a makeshift parachute when the sand schooner hit something soft—an airship’s gas envelope!
“Jump!” we both said as the schooner began to slide down the envelope’s side.
Rob managed to catch a line but my hands found only smooth fabric. I scrabbled to find something to grab—and only found it when Rob swung his leg to me. No longer sliding, I was able to grab a line of my own and we began to climb down to the deck below. My heart didn’t stop hammering until, half a minute later, my feet were firmly planted on the airship’s deck.
The moonlight illuminated a utilitarian, but still stylish, deck.
“This airship seems a bit small,” I said.
Rob said. "I’ve seen the like before. It’s a rich man’s toy, nothing more.”
“Oh, it’s much more than that!” protested a voice. "But it’s a bit of a toy, as well.”
A large man, rounded with rich living and slowed by advancing age, stepped into view. His voice carried the tone of command, but there was an undertone of humor.
“Now, how did two gentlemen such as yourselves board an airborne ship?” he asked. Before either of us could answer, he said, “Come below. I rather expect this will be a long story.”
He walked aft. Rob and I followed. We stepped on lines lying on the deck, quite out of place on the otherwise neatly arrayed airship. My brain raised the alarm too late. A net rose up around us, leaving us dangling from a boom. A smaller man rushed out of hiding and shoved the boom over the airship’s side railing.
The old man spoke, “Oh dear, I have forgotten my manners and caught you in a net. I’ll have my manservant release you immediately. Do enjoy your fall!”
Chapter 32
“Kill us if you must,” I said, “but then you will be responsible for rescuing the princess.”
“A princess! This gets better and better,” said the older man. "Let me guess, she’s been kidnapped and is on her way to the slave markets in Beloren?”
“Sir, were our swords drawn when you confronted us?” I asked.
“No,” admitted the man.
“Did we reach for our swords or offer any threats when you discovered us?”
“Again, no,” the man said.
“That’s not exactly typical raider behavior, is it?” I pressed.
“True,” the man said. "But why did you board my airship? Even better, how did you board my airship?”
“That story is even more improbable than our kidnapped, slave market-bound princess,” I replied.
The man gazed at me for a moment, then said, “Pull them back over the deck, Nist, but don’t release them.”
With the deck beneath us again, the older man looked into my eyes. "Is there really a kidnapped princess?”
I met his gaze, “Yes. We’re pledged to her service.”
“I suppose she’s radiantly beautiful, as well?” he asked.
“I’ve traveled quite extensively,” I said, “and have never met her equal.”
“And you’re in love with her,” he stated.
“How could I not be?” I replied.
The man nodded slowly, “Release them, Nist. I must hear this story!”
“Hear it you shall,” Rob said, “but could we bring up the steam and set course for Beloren? Those who hold Her Highness are several hours ahead of us.”
“Quite right, my good man!” the man said. "Nist, it’s time we found out just how fast the Pauline can go! Full steam! Full power! Full speed!”
A grin creased Nist’s face, “At once, master!”
“Master?” Rob frowned.
“That’s just Nist’s little joke,” the man said. “My late wife, after whom this ship is named, and I bought him when he was quite young. We freed him and then adopted him. Even so, he always called us ’master’ and ’mistress.’ It always drove my wife to distraction.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” he continued, leading us below. “I am Tristan Agrilla.”
Below deck, Rob introduced us and then asked me to tell our story. Tristan’s eyes widened when I told him where I came from, but he didn’t interrupt. The ship had crossed the desert and the sun was rising before I finished.
Tristan turned to Rob, “Do you believe his story?”
“I’ve seen him do amazing things. If anything, the lad has been too modest describing his actions,” Rob said. “Her Highness believes him, which is good enough for me.”
“Master,” Nist called from the deck, “we’re approaching the city of Beloren!”
Returning to the deck, we saw a huge city rising out of fertile plains. Hundreds of airships swarmed about the city.
How could we hope to find Princess Callan amid that teeming mass of people?
Chapter 33
I gave voice to my concern, “How are we going to find the princess in a city that large?”
Tristan said, “Young people are so predictable—quick to anger, quick to love, quick to despair! And slow to think!”
Rob barked a laugh, “So true, my friend! I assume you have a plan for finding Her Highness?”
“I always have a plan!” exclaimed Tristan.
Nist added, “Sometimes, his plans even work.”
“Bah! Ignore him, gentlemen,” growled Tristan. "You told me this Martin Bane is flying a Tartegian naval airship, correct?”
I nodded.
“Finding it will be simplicity itself!” smiled Tristan. "There are only two docks in the city capable of handling such a large ship. One is in the warehouse district and of no interest. The other, my friends, is near the slave markets!”
Nist piloted the Pauline deftly through the airship traffic toward a dock on the far side of the city. Even before we docked, Rob spotted Bane’s ship at the dock. We had found his ship, but there was no activity on its deck. It was obvious Bane was no longer aboard.
I leaned against the airship’s railing and hung my head. Tristan clapped me on the back. "Fear not, my boy. We’ll find your princess! The raiders will have had to escort her to the slave market and beauty such as you describe never passes unnoticed!”
After docking, we left Nist with the airship and climbed down to the street. Tristan spoke with various acquaintances before setting off toward a central market.
“Your princess was brought this way no more than two hours ago,” Tristan told us. “It appears you did not exaggerate her beauty, David. Her passage brought business to a standstill. Finding her won’t be a problem, though getting her away from the sellers will be another matter.”
That’s when I spied Bane ahead of us! "Maybe not,” I said. “I’ll bet Bane would give her to us in exchange for his own life!”
I began pushing my way through the crowd toward him, planning how best to take him. I was only a couple of meters away from him when one of his men rushed up.
“The prince and princess!” he gasped. "They’ve escaped!”
“Imagine that,” said Bane, taking the news quite calmly.
“You don’t understand, captain. During the escape, the prince led the princess into the old sewers beneath the city!” said the crewman.
Bane’s face drained of color, “That idiot! I warned-. Gather as many of the crew as you can and meet me at the Market Street square. Hurry! There’s a chance they’re still alive!”
Chapter 34
Grabbing Bane’s shoulder, I spun him around, “There’s a chance they’ll still be alive? What does that mean?”
Bane’s eyes went wide, “Rice? How did you get here?”
“There’s no time for that,” Rob exclaimed joining me
. “ Answer the man’s question!”
Bane said, “The old sewers beneath the city are home to the most violent dregs of Beloren. The city guard only go down there in the most dire of emergencies. Then they go with at least a full squad, preferably three. The tunnel rats don’t like outsiders and have nasty ways of dealing with those they catch. That’s where the Spare Prince has dragged your princess!”
Bane continued, “I’ve already summoned my men. We’re going after them!”
I didn’t ask why, though I wondered. “We’re coming with you.”
“Suit yourself,” Bane shrugged. "Just remember who’s in command.”
Tristan said, “That sounds quite exciting and dangerous, but an old man like me would just slow you down. What aid can I give from above ground?”
Bane was busy issuing orders to another crewman and paying no attention to us. I said quietly, “Can you gather armed men you trust? We may need to take the prince and princess from Bane when we return.”
If we return.
“You can count on me, my boy!” Tristan said, turning away.
“We’ll wait for my men at the sewer entrance,” Bane said. "Come on.”
Bane set a fast pace through the market, but many people greeted Bane by name as he passed. I realized that he was a well-regarded businessman in Beloren. Rob and I would have to be careful if we were forced into a confrontation with him.
Moments later, we stood in a narrow alley, staring down into a dark hole. I wondered how long we would have to wait—how long we could afford to wait—for Bane’s men. When the answer came, I didn’t like it. Guttural voices roared up from below.
“That’s not good,” Bane said.
“That tears it,” I said.
Without another word, I descended into the darkness.
Chapter 35
I slid down the ladder and dropped to the tunnel floor. There were widely spaced torches giving off just enough light to see by. Not waiting for Rob, I ran off toward the roaring voices. There wasn’t a person to be seen in the tunnels, not even guards, until I was close to the source of the roaring.
The cheering crowd was deafening, but another sound rose above it—a sound that made my blood run cold. It was the cry of a tammar, the huge, fanged beast I had faced in the desert. A human screamed in terror, then in pain, and then was silenced. The cheering grew, crested, then returned to a steady roar.
I came to a branch in the tunnel and stopped to listen. The tunnels echoed with the sounds, but I thought the source of the sound came from the right. Glancing back as I sprinted into the right branch, I saw Rob was close behind me. The tunnel bent to the right and, ahead, opened out into a larger, far better lit room.
The entrance to the room was guarded by an ill-dressed man holding a sword. The guard wasn’t paying attention to the tunnel. He was craning his neck, looking into the room. The noise from the crowd covered any sounds I was making. Lowering my shoulder, I charged.
The guard must have sensed something because he turned at the last moment. His eyes widened and then I crashed into him. The guard flew backward, his face contorting in terror and his arms flailing. Then he fell into a large opening in the floor and dropped, screaming, to the floor several meters below. He landed next to the tammar.
The tammar wore a leather harness with a rope fastened to it. The other end of the rope was tied to an iron ring driven into the floor. Screaming people thronged a couple of meters beyond the limit of the rope. More iron rings were driven into the ceiling of this upper room. Ropes were tied to several of the rings. Two of the ropes hung down into the tammar pit and had mangled corpses tied to them.
In the pit, the guard attempted to scuttle away from the tammar. I heard the guard scream as I turned my attention to the upper room. A large man stood across the opening from me, shock written on his face. Princess Callan and Prince Raoul stood next to him, each tied like the corpses below. I couldn’t risk leaping across the opening. If I landed wrong or the man blocked me, I could fall into the pit. I started running around the opening to the princess and prince. The large man grinned, grabbed the princess, and shoved her into the opening. Terror filled her lovely face as she plunged toward certain death!
Chapter 36
Without hesitation, I jumped after the plunging princess!
The tammar crouched over the body of the guard, ready to pounce again. The creature had not eaten any of its kills. These tunnel rats had obviously trained it to kill for pleasure—theirs and its. The tammar had locked its gaze on Callan, but its eyes shifted to me when I landed. Rising from its latest kill, the tammar looked between Callan and me. It decided I was the more dangerous prey and turned toward Callan! I shouted and waved, trying to draw the tammar’s attention away from the princess..
Boosted, I knew I could kill the tammar. But after my extended battle with the trogs at the trading post, I didn’t know what another Boost would do to me. With Callan’s life on the line, I couldn’t take that kind of risk. Normal human strength and reflexes would have to be sufficient.
Rob dropped to the floor behind the tammar as it slowly stalked toward us. At least I wouldn’t be fighting alone. The crowd had gone silent at the change in the program, so I had no trouble hearing Rob’s command.
“Keep it away from Her Highness!” he called, hacking at the rope tying the tammar to the iron ring.
Tied, the tammar was only a threat to those in the pit. Loose, it could be the distraction we needed to escape! As Rob finished cutting the rope, the tammar crouched, ready to pounce on Callan. I roared a challenge and charged, but the creature ignored me. Rob grabbed the end of the rope and hauled on it with all his might. The tammar was pulled up onto its hind legs, unable to pounce. I reached the tammar and attacked. My sword sliced across its chest. The tammar roared in pain and spun away, searching for easier prey. It bounded at Rob, who still held the rope in his hands!
The tammar’s claws slashed and Rob fell! The tammar kept going, leaping into the crowd of tunnel rats. Screams erupted as the crowd scrambled to get away from the wrath of the tammar! I cut the princess’s bonds and we rushed to Rob. The cries of the crowd and the tammar faded to nothing when I reached Rob. The wounds were mortal and Rob knew it.
“Do something!” cried Callan, tears streaming.
“There’s nothing to be done, Highness,” Rob gasped. "You know it’s true.”
She turned to me, “There must be something you can do!”
I shook my head, “I’m sorry, Highness.”
“You’re the last of the princess’s guard, lad. Take my sword,” Rob said. "Use it always in her defense!”
I nodded, taking his sword. Rob pulled Callan close and spoke softly into her ear. Louder, he said, “I love you like a daughter...”
Then the light faded from his eyes.
Chapter 37
I tore my gaze from Rob’s body, looking around the pit as Princess Callan wept. Echoing through the tunnels, I could hear the cry of the tammar and the screams of the tunnel rats scrambling to escape the beast. Listening to the panicked screams, I felt the tammar was dealing a kind of savage justice to the tunnel rats. Not one of them remained around the pit. It was time to make our escape.
I said, “Highness, come on! We’ve got to get out of here.”
Cradling Rob’s head and still sobbing, the princess shook her head.
“Highness... Callan, he gave his life for you,” I said. "If we don’t go now, his sacrifice will have been for nothing!”
“I won’t leave him in these awful tunnels, to have his body abused by the wretches who live down here!” she said.
I sensed motion behind me and leaped to my feet, Rob’s sword ready. Prince Raoul, his hands still tied, had managed to find a way to slide down the rope.
“Could I trouble you for a little help?” he said, holding out his hands.
I cut his bonds, saying, “I need you to carry Rob’s body. I’m going to have to carry Her Highness and she won’t leave without h
im.”
A look of irritation flashed across Raoul’s face. Perhaps he didn’t like commoners giving him orders or perhaps he would have preferred to carry the princess, but he lifted Rob’s body over his shoulder and I gathered Callan in my arms.
“We need to hurry,” he said. "I’m pretty sure I saw one of Bane’s men approaching the room as I was sliding down.”
I nodded and set off in a direction I thought would lead to a way up. We ran, dodging panicked tunnel rats along the way. The tammar’s cries receded as we ran, giving me one less thing to worry about. I made several wrong turns and we dodged three groups of tunnel rats—all armed and grim-faced—before finding a tunnel which sloped up. Forty meters further, it intersected with the wide tunnel Rob and I had run through bare minutes and an entire lifetime ago.
A few minutes later, we reached the ladder up to the alley. It took some encouragement, but I got Callan to climb the ladder. I took Rob’s body from Raoul, sending him up next. I followed as quickly as my burden would allow. Seconds later, I was blinking in the comparatively bright light of the alley.
“It sounds as if you made quite an impression down there,” said a familiar voice. “And you managed to fetch my property along the way. Well done!”
Bane and his crew blocked our way to the street.
Chapter 38
With the exit to the street blocked by Bane’s men, our only hope was to head deeper into the alley.
“Run!” I said.
I heaved Rob’s body at the crowd of men then ran off after Callan and Raoul. Her Highness might not approve, but Rob would have understood and approved. Even in death, his body was helping to guard the princess. The few seconds the raiders spent disentangling themselves from Rob could be the difference between capture and escape.