“And you’re not?”
“A mage that makes fire magic?” Reedis asked, his eyes dancing. He shook his head. “No, the goddess of water is not my patron.”
“Nor is Ophidian, I imagine.”
“Indeed,” Reedis agreed. He made a face. “Ophidian’s a fickle god, I wouldn’t want to trust my life to such.”
“So who do you serve that your magic provides hot and cold?” Ford asked.
Reedis placed a finger alongside his nose to show that Ford was being too nosy to ask.
“No offense,” Ford said quickly. He needed this man.
“None taken,” Reedis said. “But the less you know of magic, the better.”
“Hmm,” Ford considered that. “Actually, I think I should like to know enough that I wouldn’t have to rely on you.”
Reedis’ eyes widened at that admission and Ford continued quickly, “Not that I don’t appreciate your efforts and company but just in case something rendered you incapacitated and I needed to power the ship by myself.”
“Captain,” Reedis began in a gentle tone, “you not only have to know my magic but also how that fireman Newman manages his flames.”
“Are you saying he’s a mage, too?”
“No,” Reedis said sourly. “Of course not. But he’s worked with them — and me, even — in the past to get his infernal engine to behave the way it does.” Reedis paused, nabbed another slice of bacon and chewed on it thoughtfully before continuing, “No, just as you were dependent upon sailmakers and shipwrights when you were captain of a seaship, you are dependent upon Newman for the steam engine and me for your lifting balloons.” He gave Ford a genial nod. “If I might be so bold, I’d recommend that you stick to doing what you know rather than trying to master such arcane arts.”
“I see,” Ford said. After a moment, he said, “But when on the sea I had the chance to throw myself on its mercies if the ship or the sails failed me. I don’t have the same choice up in the air.”
Reedis nodded and gave the captain an attentive look.
“If the dragon had flamed our balloons, there would have been nothing you could do to save us,” Ford guessed. Reedis winced at the notion then, reluctantly, nodded. “I was wondering, however, if there might be a way to build a special spell that could be used quickly. A spell that would inflate a spare balloon or two so that men could escape on them earthwards to safety, just as we do with a life jacket.”
“A life sphere?” Reedis joked, cocking his head at the notion. A moment later, he nodded. “You know, I do believe it could be done!”
“I was thinking of it last night, thinking of how we could have saved poor Havenam,” Ford admitted.
“How was his widow?” Reedis asked somberly.
“She was furious,” Ford said. “She threw things at me, cursed me.”
“She did?” Reedis was surprised.
Ford nodded. “You see,” he said, “I’d convinced Havenam to join my crew by convincing her that it would be safer up in the air than on the sea.”
“Oh,” the other said sympathetically.
“And now the crew’s deserted,” Ford continued, encouraged by the understanding of the other. “They said that if the prince could welsh on a bet, he’d welsh on their wages, too.”
“Quite probably,” Reedis agreed.
“Does that not worry you, too?”
“The prince and his mother were the only ones who considered the advantages of an airship,” Reedis said. “It was through their patronage that I am where I find myself this day.”
“Riding out to view the corpse of a woman in hopes that she’s the wyvern?” Ford asked in bitter humor.
Reedis snorted in amusement. “Well, not quite that, perhaps, but certainly the first of my breed.”
“Your breed?”
“I’ll make a fortune when it comes time to take apprentices,” Reedis said with a smug look.
Ford leaned back in his chair, startled by the novel concept. “I suppose you will, at that.”
“But,” Reedis said, raising a hand in caution, “before I can do that, I must first prove the efficacy of our airship against flying creatures.”
“Like this wyvern?”
“Indeed,” Reedis agreed, laying his fork on his plate and pushing back from the table. “So, Captain, shall we go see this body?”
Ford rose with him, a smile on his face.
“Mr. Reedis,” he said, extending his hand, “I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”
“Indeed,” Reedis said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. “I had thought we were probably in the same boat.” Ford snorted in amusement. Reedis’ smile broadened. “As it were.”
#
Mage Reedis needed no instruction in horsemanship even if he had a bad seat and tended to saw on his mount’s reins. He and Ford made good time. Captain Ford had obtained a shovel, assuring the mage that he knew where they could get a wagon if the need presented itself.
They rode in companionable silence, sweating with the sun beating down upon them.
“If you get too hot, let me know,” Reedis said as he adjusted his hat against the sun’s glare.
“Why? Do you have a spare hat?” Ford asked, regretting that he hadn’t brought his with him.
Reedis smiled. “Better, I’m a mage of hot and cold.” He waved his hands and suddenly Ford found himself cooled by a small but steady cold breeze.
“I can’t see how you couldn’t make your fortune with just that magic,” Ford said as the sweat evaporated from his head.
“It’s moment magic,” Reedis said. Seeing the other’s confusion he explained, “I can only make it in the moment, I can’t prepare the spell ahead of time.”
“Whoever could do that would be rich, then,” Ford said.
“It was partly as a result of this simple magic that I convinced the queen to fund our airship,” Reedis said.
“A hot day and you provided the wind?” Ford guessed.
“Indeed,” Reedis agreed with a smile. “That and the wind covered the sounds of a rather indecorous liaison the queen was having.”
“Ah!” Ford said. He gestured to the left at the fork in the road and they moved down it. A moment later he pulled up and pointed to the field of wyvern’s flowers. The field was full of the blue, pungent flowers.
“I see,” Reedis said, scanning the field and finding the scar of a fallen beast. “They say that wyverns seek these flowers when they’re about to die.”
“Really?” Ford said in surprise. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“So you’ve learned something this day,” Reedis said with a smile. “Let us go to this gravesite and see what else we can learn.”
“Indeed,” Ford said, taking the mage’s favorite word for his own.
Chapter Eight: A Grave Revisited
Reedis pled the fragility of his bones when it came time to exhume the grave for the second time in as many days, leaving Captain Ford to strain with the shovel, cooled by Reedis’ occasional magics.
When the body was revealed, Reedis peered down and examined it with a hand to his face.
“She was no beauty, that I’ll say,” the mage said as he took in the woman’s face.
“I think she looked better yesterday,” Ford said, finding his hand rising to protect his nose as well. The decay was beginning to take stronger hold. “I think this night in the dirt has altered her features.” He glanced up from the dirt to the mage. “Can you tell if she was the wyvern?”
“No, she wasn’t,” Reedis said. “She’d only be half of the wyvern at best.”
“So why is she a woman and not a beast?”
“I think that this was the human half of the beast,” Reedis said with a frown. He raised his hands and moved them in a widening circle, muttering a spell under his breath.
A moment later the spell burst over the corpse and the two jumped back as they saw a larger, shadowy creature in the grave. It had white and gold scales. It was the wyvern they’d shot from the skies. “Yes,” Reedis said in a fainter voice, “this is the human half of our twin-souled wyvern.”
The image faded and Ford rocked back on his heels. He glanced at the woman once more and then leaped out of the grave.
“So where is the other half?” Ford said when he was at the same level as the mage.
Mage Reedis shook his head. “I can’t possibly say.”
#
“Sire, it’s true, I saw it myself,” Reedis said to the prince as Captain Ford recounted their adventure in the fields two hours past.
“So you are saying that I killed only half of the wyvern!” the prince roared. “Captain Ford, can you imagine me asking my father for half of a triumph?”
“Sire,” Ford began slowly, “Mage Reedis is of the opinion that perhaps the other half of the wyvern is still alive and looking for a human host.”
“A host?” the prince repeated, the fire of anger dimming in his eyes. He turned to Reedis. “And if so, what then?”
“They’d form a new wyvern, sire,” the mage said in a small voice.
“I can not allow that to happen!” the prince said. He turned to Ford. “You cannot allow that to happen, captain.”
Ford groped for something to say in reply.
“At the moment, sire,” Reedis spoke up hesitantly. The prince turned a stony gaze to him and Reedis swallowed nervously before continuing, “At the moment, I — and Captain Ford — are willing to swear that the wyvern was hit —”
“By me,” the prince interjected.
“Sire?” Reedis asked.
“The wyvern was hit by me,” the prince said. “It was my excellent gunnery that hit the beast while the other shots flew wide.”
“Um, yes,” Reedis said. “Although honesty compels me to admit that my attention was directed in keeping our airship flying, sire.”
“If I wanted honesty, mage, I would ask for it,” the prince told him with a gleam in his eyes. He chuckled, apparently amused at his own words. A moment later, more seriously, he said, “What I need, Captain, is for you, the mage here and all your crew to stand in the presence of my royal father and declare the truth to him and his court.”
“Ah, sire,” Ford began slowly. The prince’s gaze hardened angrily. “I’m afraid that the crew are not available —”
“What?” the prince howled.
“I let them take leave, sire,” Ford temporized, “and I’m afraid they’re in no condition to swear before the King.” Condition, location — all much the same, isn’t it? Ford thought to himself.
The prince glared at the two men then nodded. “Very well, I’ll explain that they are busy getting ready for our next conquest.”
Reedis glanced nervously toward Ford.
“Next conquest, sire?” Ford asked.
“Well, we certainly can’t tell my father that we’re going after the same wyvern, can we?” the prince said. He clenched a fist and raised it between them. “If I am to swear that the beast is dead, I’d best make certain, shouldn’t I?” He lowered his fist and in a more moderate tone, almost to himself, continued, “And that way I’ll be able to claim two of the beasts.”
“I see,” Reedis said in the awkward silence that descended after that pronouncement. “You know, sire, there’s a chance that the wyvern half of this twin-soul has found another human here in our fair kingdom.”
“Perhaps even in this town,” Ford said in quick agreement.
“Then why have we not seen it?” the prince demanded.
“The form left in the grave was that of a woman,” Reedis said. “So I must imagine that the wyvern half is looking for — maybe even now has found — a suitable partner.” The prince gave him a confused a look. “A woman.”
“A woman?” the prince repeated. Reedis nodded. The prince frowned. He drew a deep breath. “Very well, prepare yourselves for the royal presence and then, after, you shall go hunting this beast.”
#
“Well, that’s over,” Ford said as he and Reedis found themselves back outside of the palace, waiting with the crowds at the triumph balcony, watching the prince waving and smiling broadly and waving the glowing blue amulet of Ametza that hung from his neck to the crowd below. Every second wave or so, he’d raise a large red velvet bag that was overflowing with gold and gems — his added reward.
“It would have been nice if he’d given us more than a thank you,” Reedis said, gesturing to the royal purse in view above them.
“What, Sir Reedis, do you not revel in your royal appointment?” Ford said mockingly.
“I do not see you doing the same, Sir Ford,” Reedis replied with a touch of frost in his voice.
Ford sighed and shrugged. “The honor doesn’t put food on the table or crew on my ship.”
“Didn’t the prince give you full rein to raid the royal goal?” Reedis reminded him.
Ford snorted. “Indeed, and how well will you, Sir Reedis, sleep at night with my crew of cutthroats and thieves guarding your rest?”
Reedis replied with a sour look and started to speak but before he could someone in the crowd shouted: “Fire!!”
And the crowd scattered in fear and confusion. Ford kept a hold of Reedis despite the buffeting and dragged the mage back to the tavern where they sought rest and refuge.
“You!” the tavern-keeper shouted when he caught sight of the mage. “What did you do?”
“Me?” Reedis cried in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“My food! It’s all ashes!” the tavern-keeper said. “That cooler of yours turned into a fireball not twenty minutes ago!”
“I had nothing to do with that, I can assure you!” Reedis cried in surprise. “I was with the King, receiving a knighthood.”
“Well you can take your knighthood elsewhere, sir knave, your company is not welcome here,” a woman’s voice — the tavern keeper’s wife — shrieked. “Be gone before I find a mage of curses and spite you!”
Ford pulled Reedis out of the tavern and they stood on the cobbled street, wondering what to do next.
Finally Ford said, “There’s food on the Spite, not great fare, but something.”
“And your cook?”
Ford gave him a sour smile. “Perhaps Knox can cook for us.”
Reedis shrugged and gestured to Ford. “Lead on, Sir Ford, and we shall have our repast on your royal airship.”
“Indeed, Sir Reedis,” Ford said, “My ship shall be proud to have the royal ballooneer grace its timbers with his presence.”
The two laughed, locked arms and strolled back toward the ship and the gantry.
Knox was still there but eager to leave them as, “I’ve got to get home to the missus. There was a disturbance and a fire and she’s right worried.”
“Go!” Ford said, waving his last crewman off. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
Knox seemed reluctant to leave but knuckled his forehead in a salute and trotted quickly off the ship and down the street.
“Do you think you’ll see him in the morning?” Reedis wondered.
“Aye,” Ford said. “But whether he’ll stay when he learns about our new crew…” his voice trailed off. He shook himself and jerked his head toward the hatchway. “I’ve a bottle in my quarters, and Knox swore he kept the galley fire going.”
“If he didn’t,” Reedis said, “I know someone who can magic a fire to life.”
#
The galley fire was dead in the morning and Reedis could do nothing to revive because they were out of wood to burn.
They drank brackish water and regretted that they’d finished not just one but two bottles of wine between them. They were just motivated enough to sear
ch for some place that might feed them when a royal messenger clambered — loudly! — up the gantry and shouted for them.
“Sir Reedis! Sir Ford! His Royal Highness requires your presence!” the page bellowed in proper form.
“Ahhh!” Reedis said, raising his hands to his ears. “Can he not do it more quietly?”
“I’ll bet you wish you were a mage of sound, right about now,” Ford added grimly. He waved to the page and asked in a quiet voice, “And does his royal highness have transport for us?”
“I have two horses with me,” the page said.
“Wonderful!” Reedis groaned. “Hooves on cobblestones! What a charming sound so early in the morning!”
“It is not early, sir,” the page replied stiffly. He glanced upwards to the sky. “The sun is nearing noon, if you’d see.”
“Ahh, I’d prefer not, if it’s all well enough with you,” Reedis replied. Ford jerked his head toward the gantry, regretted the motion, and gestured with one hand for the page to lead them away.
#
“She’s here!” the prince bellowed, stomping down the hallway toward them as soon as they alighted their horses. “The shaman at the temple said that she’d seen her!”
“What?” Reedis asked in puzzlement while wincing in pain from the prince’s voice. “Who?”
“The girl?” Ford, whose seaman’s life gave him a better tolerance for wine on an empty stomach, guessed.
“Yes, indeed!” the prince said. “She wouldn’t give us the name, saying some rubbish about oaths to Ametza —” the prince caught himself and glanced nervously toward the port and the sea beyond, hoping not to gain an inundation in response for his inopportune words — “but she saw the girl. She was about to be married, can you imagine?.”
“Imagine her husband on their wedding night,” Reedis muttered to Ford. The comment caused the other to splutter in amusement.
“What?” the prince said. “Do you doubt me?”
“No, sire,” Ford said quickly. “I was just wondering — where is your amulet?”
The prince’s face clouded in pure loathing. “Stolen! It and my jewels were stolen!” He frowned in memory. “We couldn’t catch the thief, he got away when some idiot shouted ‘fire!’ at the ceremony.”
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