“What about the hangar?” Robie said. “What about the other planes?”
“They destroyed everything,” Becca said. “Everything.”
“Who gave you orders to come here?” said Tinker.
Becca looked on the verge of tears. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Go on,” I urged. “Tell us everything.”
She took a deep breath. “We couldn’t fight them. Our gunships never got off the ground. The rest of our weapons were useless against their dragon ships. Three of us managed to escape, and we flew our planes to the north. We landed near Old Vic’s field outside the city and tried to make our way back to the palace on foot, but halfway there we ran into a group of soldiers who had escaped.”
“Escaped?” said Robie. “You mean they abandoned their posts?”
“You might think that,” she said, “but believe me when I say they didn’t have any choice. The airships that attacked the palace were only the first of dozens. They swarmed over the capitol, decimating the King’s guard, and several ships landed in the square. Others blocked off the escape and they began executing anyone who resisted them, right in the streets. A few citizens fled into the countryside, but most were trapped inside the city. The soldiers we came across were protecting a small group of escapees. They were moving slowly and they were worried that the enemy would catch them. They told us everything that had happened, and warned us that the ships were coming our way.”
“The invaders didn’t stop at the capital, then?” Tinker said.
Becca shook her head. “I was told they were pressing into the countryside as fast as they could move. The three of us decided to split up and try to rally a response. Kahr flew south. I headed north for Riverfork and Anora. Bryn made for Tal’mar. One of the dragon ships caught up to us as we were leaving, and they shot Bryn down during takeoff. They destroyed his plane in midair. He didn’t stand a chance.”
She rose to her feet. “Now I have to get to Anora to warn them, and then to Tal’mar. There is no one else to do it.”
I instantly jumped to my feet. “You’re wrong, Becca. My delivery plane is at the airfield just outside the city. It’s not as fast as yours, but I can make it to Tal’mar by nightfall if I travel in a straight line.”
“I won’t hear of it,” said Mayor Rutherford, speaking up for the first time. He was large, both in stature and girth as most official men seem to be, and he wore jeweled rings on his fingers and clothes of the finest materials. I doubted his hands had ever known a blister.
I eyed him narrowly. “What did you say?”
“I won’t hear of it! We need you here, to help protect the city.”
“My plane won’t help you protect anything,” I said impatiently. “It’s unarmed and it’s full of mail.”
“Nonetheless, we may need it, in case we need to make a sudden escape.”
I stared at him. “Sudden escape? I can’t take more than one or two passengers… just who are you thinking will escape?”
He straightened his shoulders. “The continuity of government is of the upmost importance at times like this.”
“It’s you that you’re worried about,” Robie said with disgust. “The fight hasn’t even started and you’re already planning to tuck tail and run.”
I shook my head, baffled. Humans never fail to amaze me when it comes to their self-serving nature. The Tal’mar can be arrogant for certain, but even the wealthiest Tal’mar noble would never suggest his life was more important than that of his subjects, much less do it so transparently. I searched for a response but found only anger. I wanted to punch the worthless fool right in the mouth.
“I’m leaving,” I said, turning away.
“Oh no you don’t,” the mayor said. “Sheriff, arrest this girl!”
I paused, glaring at the two of them. I felt Robie go tense beside me and sensed his left hand sliding up to loosen his sword in its sheath. Tinker clenched his fists at his sides, a look of anger burning in his eyes.
The sheriff’s gaze swept over us as he measured the situation. I thought we might be in for a fight, but then he smiled grimly and said, “I don’t think so, Mr. Mayor. The people of this town elected me to look after their well-being. The way I see it, the best thing for them is to get help coming. The only way for that to happen is for Breeze to get in that plane and fly to Tal’mar as fast as the wind can carry her.”
They mayor’s face turned red. “I won’t forget this,” he said threateningly.
“I won’t either,” the sheriff replied, staring back at him. “Voting time’s coming up, and a lot of people won’t take kindly when they hear about this.”
The mayor grunted and stomped out of the gazebo without a backwards glance. I reached for my jacket and turned to Tinker, suddenly remembering that he had flown in with me. It was more than an hour’s flight back to his valley. I didn’t have time to fly him back home.
“Go on,” he said, his eyes full of understanding “I would only slow you down.”
“You shouldn’t stay here,” I said. “It might be dangerous.”
He smiled, giving me that fatherly look he always saved for moments when I was being foolish. “Where would I go?” he said. “Home? To huddle alone in my cottage up in the mountains, while good people fight and die?”
I stared into his face. “Tinker, you can’t stay here. The invaders could be here in hours!”
“And why not? You think I’m so old I can’t pull a trigger?”
I felt tears stinging my eyes. I searched for words to argue, but none came. Tinker wanted to stay and fight alongside the townsfolk. How could I stop him? He couldn’t abandon them anymore than I could. But at his age… I couldn’t bring myself to think of what might happen.
“At least pull back to Anora,” I said somberly, the words catching in my throat. “There you can put up a real defense.”
“We will discuss it,” he said. “It’s not my decision to make, unfortunately.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding with anxiety. I hated leaving Tinker, but I knew he wouldn’t have it any other way. I could argue with him until I was blue in the face, but ultimately I’d just be wasting time. I threw my arms around him and then turned away before he could see my tears.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” I said over my shoulder.
I rushed down the stairs and out across the meadow, slipping through the confused townsfolk that had gathered around the gazebo to listen in on our conversation. I pushed them out of the way as I abandoned the park and raced up the cobbled streets of Riverfork, my soft leather boots making barely more than a whisper of noise. I was halfway across town before I slowed down. It was only then that I realized Robie was right behind me. I heard his footsteps and glanced over my shoulder, surprised to see him just a few steps back. I was shocked that I hadn’t heard him running behind me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I said, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
“I’m going with you.”
“Don’t be a fool. They need you here.”
“Really? This town has fifty soldiers and a few hundred good fighting men. Do you think one more will save them? If you think that, then you’re the one who’s foolish. Besides Miss Tinkerman, do you think you could stop me?”
That stung a little, having my own words thrown back in my face. Even more so as I examined the question and realized I wasn’t sure if I could stop him. With magic, maybe. I have a gift for reaching inside people’s bodies and making things happen… but I wouldn’t dare hurt someone like that, especially not a friend. Physically speaking, Robie could have broken me in half. He had grown quite strong over the years. He was considerably taller than I was, and quite muscular.
I spun on my heels and hurried on, not giving him the satisfaction of a reply. When I got to the landing strip, I immediately began hauling the mail out of the plane, hoping to reduce the weight of the aircraft and make it fly faster. Robie helped. We tossed the boxes and packages inside the hanger door
where they would be protected from the elements. Minutes later, we were taxiing down the landing strip.
I checked the gauge on my dash and noted that the spring engine in my plane was freshly wound. Every airbase has soldiers trained to hook the engines up to steam machines as soon as they land. With that much energy stored, I could easily fly to Tal’mar and back, maybe even twice. Getting there wasn’t the problem, though. It was the time involved. I needed to give the Tal’mar time to rally a defense, maybe even send a force south to help the humans at Anora and Riverfork.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the plane fly any faster than its design allowed. With a comfortable cabin for passengers and a small storage hold for delivering packages, the weight of the vehicle made it too slow and cumbersome for speed or aerobatics. All I could do was fly directly to the northwest and hope the wind wouldn’t fight me.
I heard Robie gasp as we climbed into the sky and circled north. He pointed out his window and I leaned over to see what the matter was. Through the hazy glass, I saw several dozen large black shapes moving north and west through the sky. I stared, disbelieving, studying every detail. The ships were broad on the main deck, curving gracefully from bow to stern like a riverboat, except for the frighteningly realistic dragon heads carved into their prows. Massive black balloons tethered to the ships’ hulls provide buoyancy, allowing the dragon ships to glide gracefully and almost effortlessly across the sky. Two massive propellers jetted out each side of the aft end providing direction and control so that the ships would function with equal aptitude in the sky or at sea. Their tattered sails billowed out behind them, blending with the thick black smoke that poured out of the engines, leaving a long trail in their wake.
Even from that great distance, I could see that their mass was astounding. In our wildest dreams, we had never considered building a ship so large. I couldn’t even fathom the amount of materials consumed in the construction of one of those ships, much less an entire fleet. My heart skipped a beat. All I could think of was Tinker. Riverfork was nearly invisible behind us now.
“You won’t make it,” Robie said.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s not enough time to go back for Tinker. If we do, we’ll never get back off the ground.”
I eyed the great ships nervously, even as they shrank in the distance. “We’re faster than they are,” I said hopefully.
“Not that fast.”
I bit my lip, considering the possibilities. “He wouldn’t come anyway,” I said. “Stubborn old man.”
“Brave,” Robie said.
I didn’t reply. I knew if I spoke anymore of Tinker, I’d break down in tears. He was the closest thing I’d ever had to a father. My real father had died when I was very young, leaving me only with the memory of the day he left. It was Tinker who had been there for me; who had raised and taught me. Without him, I’d have been nothing more than a half-breed, an abomination.
It was Tinker who had taught me to read and write, to understand the dynamics of engineering and physics, and even to master my own unique magical talents. It was Tinker’s insatiable curiosity that had formed me into the woman I was. And now I had abandoned him to a fate that was almost certainly death.
Robie and I spoke little as we flew, each of us intently watching the skies for signs of danger and trying not to think about what was happening behind us. How many towns had fallen already? How many citizens killed, captured, or worse? We couldn’t even guess. At that point, we didn’t even know what the invaders wanted.
As we flew, luck was with us. The wind wasn’t bad but it picked up in the evening and slowed our progress as night fell. The red skies around us appeared an ominous omen, but we didn’t need an omen to know that blood was being spilled. We had been through war before. We knew what it felt like. Regrettably, we knew just what to expect.
It was well after sunset when we crossed the Crimson Straits toward the Isle of Tal’mar and saw the lights of Silverspire twinkling in the mist in the distance. Dark clouds pressed down from above and thick, churning fog filled our vision. Normally, flying at night in such bad weather would have been forbidden. Tonight, it may have saved our lives.
Though I couldn’t see it beneath the fog, I knew the lay of the land from memory. I angled around the southern end of Silverspire and headed for the landing strip outside the city. I was busy peering down into the fog, trying to gauge my landing when a sudden gust of wind blew the fog out of our vision and a dragon ship appeared just a few yards ahead of us.
“Watch out!” Robie cried out, bracing himself in his seat.
I pulled back on the flight controls and twisted to the left. The old mail plane responded slowly, the airframe groaning under the stress as we changed course. The fuselage shuddered.
“We’re not going to make it,” Robie said through clenched teeth. “We’re too close!”
I twisted the controls, pressing them forward with all my strength, forcing the plane into a dive. With a hair’s breadth, we slid past the dragon ship’s hull. For a moment, I thought we had made it. Then I heard the sickening crunch as the tail of the plane swiped the hull of the dragon ship and something broke off. The controls went wild in my hands, and we went plummeting towards the ground in a nosedive.
Chapter 3
I felt a sharp stinging sensation on my hand as one of the cables snapped, and the flight controls jerked out of my grip. The plane went into a slow-rolling dive. I saw nothing but gray in every direction, and I panicked as a feeling of vertigo washed over me. For a moment, I lost all sense of direction. Thankfully, Robie had the sense to reach for the controls. He leaned past the flailing wire and pulled back on the flight sticks, fighting to bring them back into place.
“Help me!” he shouted.
I glanced at him, my eyes wild with fear.
“Help, we have to pull up!”
I blinked, trying to clear the vertigo from my head. Somehow, I found the sense to reach out and take the controls. With Robie’s help, I managed to pull them slowly back to level. Unfortunately, the plane was still spiraling towards the ground. We weren’t getting any lift.
“We’ve stalled!” I shouted. “We have to push it into a dive.”
Robie looked at me like I was crazy. “Dive?” he said. “I can’t even tell which way’s down!”
The compass was spinning wildly and the twisting sensation in my gut almost overwhelmed me, but I could still sense the downward movement of the aircraft. I was reasonably sure that we were still right side up. I braced myself in the seat and pressed the controls forward. Gradually, the nose of the plane tilted downward. With zero visibility, I had no way of knowing what our altitude was. We could crash into the ground at any moment.
Fortunately, the wings caught air and the spinning slowed. We were diving straight towards the ground, but suddenly I felt the lift of the wind against the fuselage and knew I had the controls back. I gently pulled on the controls and glanced at the compass, trying to get a sense of our position.
“Faster.” Robie said. “Pull up!”
“I can’t, the airframe won’t take it.”
Robie pressed his feet up against the front of the cockpit. “Hang on!” he shouted.
Treetops filled my vision. I barely had time to brace myself before the impact. At first, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. The treetops bent and broke under the weight of my sturdy old plane. The crash didn’t feel terribly different than a rough landing in a field. Then we lost altitude and plowed full-speed into the trees. Thick branches hammered into the fuselage and the plane shuddered under the sudden resistance. The impact tore both wings off, and the plane twisted sickeningly. The bent and broken fuselage plunged into the canopy.
The crash threw both of us into the dash. I bounced back and hit the floor, and Robie landed on top of me. I cried out as I felt my leg caught in the seat frame and for a moment, I thought it would snap. The pressure became almost unbearable.
Then, suddenly, the movement stoppe
d. Everything went quiet save for the branches creaking around us. I felt Robie’s weight lift off of me. As he moved, darkness closed in. My vision went black and I lost consciousness.
I woke lying flat on my back. Cold, misty air washed over me, and my eyelids fluttered open. I looked up to see Robie kneeling over me. Blood streaked his face. I started to push myself upright, but spots swam in my vision and dizziness washed over me. Robie pressed me back down.
“Quiet,” he said in a whisper. “I don’t think they know where we are.”
I stared at him, blinking away the mist in my eyes. I had almost forgotten where we were. I wondered how far we’d flown after hitting that dragon ship. My gaze went to the trees, and I saw the carcass of the old plane wedged among the branches high overhead. I frowned, confused.
“How did we get down? Did we fall?”
“I carried you,” Robie said. “Believe me, it wasn’t easy.”
I looked at him and saw the blood staining his face and shirt. “You’re hurt,” I said quietly. I reached up to touch him, but found no sign of a wound on his head.
Robie held up his left hand, displaying a blood-soaked bandage. He pulled the bandage off revealing that his pinky finger was gone. Gone.
“The control cable cut it off,” he explained. “Stupid thing was like razor wire, whipping all around during the crash.”
I gasped. “Robie, are you okay?”
“I didn’t need that finger anyway,” he said cavalierly. “Hardly ever used it.”
My lips parted, but I was at a loss for words. Leave it to humans to joke at a time like this, I thought. “Let me see it.”
He pulled his hand away. “Forget it, the bleeding has already stopped. Save your energy, you’re going to need it.”
I frowned. “Robie, if you find the finger I might be able to help it heal back together.”
He pointed at what was left of the plane’s cabin high in the branches. “Do you really think I’m going to risk my neck and climb up there to search for a bloody stump of a finger that I never even used anyway?”
Tinker's War (The Tinkerer's Daughter Book 2) Page 2