Skyborn

by Eric Asher

  “Sure. Maybe you can get more information out of them than our interrogators have been able to.”

  Mary scoffed. “Asking questions nicely is not an interrogation.”

  “What would you have us do? Take the path of the pirates and torture them to death? You’ll only extract lies from a prisoner who knows they’re going to die.”

  There was an odd tension between Mary and Eva, and Alice wasn’t sure what had changed. She’d seen her parents like that on occasion, back when her dad was still alive. It was normally when he’d bring up an old argument that would have been better left buried.

  “No,” Eva said. “Anyway … meet me at the central docks in Belldorn.”

  * * *

  The journey from the crash site to Belldorn was a bit shorter than the trip from Ancora to Bollwerk had been, once they managed to pry Smith away from the armory. He might have been done with his task, but he hadn’t been quick to leave new gadgets behind. Alice was ready to get off the ship by the time the Dragonwing Mountains came into view. The brilliant jewel-like wings of the creatures for which the mountains were named made a nice distraction.

  Dragonwings flitted by at nauseating speeds, sometimes landing on the edges of the Skysworn and preening before launching back into the air. Compared to the speed of those creatures, the Skysworn was practically sitting still.

  Alice leaned forward, trying to follow a bulky shadow as it zipped by. “Did you see that?”

  “See what?” Mary asked.

  “I could have sworn someone was riding a Dragonwing back there.”

  Mary grimaced and opened the horn to the engine room. “Smith. Alice thinks she saw a Dragonrider. Get ready to jump.”

  Smith’s lengthy burst of expletives came back over the speaker. “Countdown in ten.”

  “Get buckled in,” Mary said to Alice.

  Alice fumbled with the belt on her jump seat. “You mean that was someone riding a Dragonwing?”

  “Yes, and they don’t much like us. Dragonriders of the Shadowed Woods.”

  “Why?”

  Mary glanced back at Alice and grinned. “We might have stolen something from them a long time ago. I’d say I’m not proud of it, but it was a lot of fun.”

  “Fun!” Smith barked. “Thrusters primed.”

  Two Dragonriders flitted by the sides of the ship, and Alice could make out long lances poised to strike.

  “Mary?” Alice said.

  “I see them.” Mary slammed the throttle forward the instant the thrusters had fully extended. Dragonwings might have been fast, but the sudden sharp acceleration of the Skysworn left them reeling in the chaotic air currents.

  “What about Eva?” Alice asked.

  “They won’t attack a Belldorn ship unless it’s in their airspace over the Shadowed Woods. Now, let’s get to the docks.”

  * * *

  The rest of the flight was uneventful, other than the exceptional view of Belldorn gleaming against the Crystal Sea as they cleared the Dragonwing Mountains. The city stretched into the foothills and followed the natural lines of the blue rivers and sandy streams.

  The docks themselves towered above the city, not unlike the dark gray and rust of the monstrous Bollwerk docks. But Belldorn kept their docks polished and serviced to a level Alice could scarcely believe. It wasn’t the first time she wondered who had been conned into polishing the metalwork so high in the air.

  Mary had the Skysworn docked in no time with the help of the men and women who worked all across the structure. They served as both helpers and guards.

  “To keep pirates out?” Alice asked as they traveled down the lift.

  Mary blinked at her and Smith snorted a laugh.

  “Come on.” Mary led the way into a low, round building that looked as if it was built from roughly hewn stone.

  As they approached it, Alice realized it wasn’t low at all. It was at least ten stories tall, but it was dwarfed by the surrounding towers and buildings that tried to scrape the clouds.

  Mary held the door open for Smith and Alice. While the outside had a stonelike appearance, the inside of the tower was as sparse and modern as it could be. Exposed framework, as clean and refined as the docks themselves, punched through the ceiling some ten feet above their heads. Every surface looked like polished metal except for a few blocky desks piled with papers.

  Alice caught sight of a burst of red hair and pale skin seated at one of those desks when Eva stepped to the side and turned to face them.

  “Come with me. I have all the paperwork in order.”

  They weren’t escorted by guards or forced to declare anything beyond Eva’s words. It either meant her rank as captain had a lot of weight, or the prisons in Belldorn truly were more relaxed than Ancora’s.

  A gated lift easily fit the four of them, and Eva threw the lever for the ninth floor.

  The gate opened, and Alice marveled at the common room that waited on the other side. Soft furniture clustered by simple tables. Only a handful of uniformed soldiers were posted around the room, and some of them were engaged in tabletop games with the so-called prisoners. A counter served fresh food and drinks to those who asked.

  The prisoners themselves had lighter skin than most Ancorans, but it was a range of complexions, much like any city Alice had visited. Visions of the downed destroyer flickered through her mind, and nausea swept over her as she remembered she’d killed friends of the people in that room.

  Eva guided them over to a hallway. Plush carpet greeted their steps as they made their way past small rooms that Alice realized must have been prison cells. But there were no locks she could see from the outside, and each had only a high barred window in the door that allowed for a good deal of privacy. And beyond, the windows gave a beautiful view of the city.

  It was nicer than many of the homes Alice had lived in during her time in the Lowlands. And that was a jarring thought.

  Eva knocked on the last door in the hall before opening it.

  “Eva?” a voice asked.

  “I have some people for you to meet, if you’re open to it.”

  Alice heard shuffling, and then the door opened wider. A girl not much older than her, with black hair and small eyes, met Alice’s gaze with steel.

  “Alice, I’d like you to meet Furi.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “You raise suspicions carrying saddlebags into the city,” Drakkar said, moving to block another cluster of young men Samuel thought looked a bit unscrupulous.

  Samuel glanced down at his leather tunic and the bronze plating of his generic greaves. “I should have kept my uniform on. That would have kept them away.”

  Drakkar gave him a look of disbelief. “That would have made you stand out worse than the saddlebags.”

  “I like the padding,” Samuel said, lowering his voice. “If I’d put the coin in a backpack, it would have broken my neck.”

  “I offered to help you carry it, Spider Knight.”

  Samuel grunted.

  “The fact I dragged you out of the Stone Dogs’ lair does not mean you cannot accept my assistance.”

  Samuel hesitated at that. Was that why he didn’t want to burden Drakkar? Maybe it was, and the fact the Cave Guardian realized that before he had himself rather annoyed Samuel.

  Drakkar led the way up the steps to the temple. “Do not unburden yourself to any of the lower Guardians. While I trust them not to steal our lives, I do not trust a great many people with what you carry. The temptation is great.”

  Samuel nodded and followed Drakkar through the cots and temporary walls to the rear lift. This time, they rode it all the way to the roof, and Samuel froze when he stepped outside and looked out across the dim orange glow that was Cave’s perpetual lighting.

  “It really is a beautiful city.”

  Drakkar leaned closer to the railing that surrounded the roof. “A good place to call home, though it is odd to see it so busy. Cave has nowhere left to expand inside the mountains. It would be an odd thi
ng to see the city sprawl into the open.”

  “At least more than the cavern by the fisherfolk?”

  Drakkar laughed at that. “Yes. Indeed.”

  They climbed the tight stairs that led to the home mounted atop the temple. There was no door here, only a shadowed walkway through a rounded corridor.

  At the end of the hall, cross-legged on a cushion that immediately reminded Samuel how tired he was, sat a woman with intricate tattoos across either side of her shaved head.

  “Nameless,” Drakkar said, taking a knee on the stair below her.

  The woman slowly opened amber eyes and the hint of a smile crossed her lips. “Drakkar. It is not common for those who abandon the order to return. You need not call me Nameless here. Alana is suitable.”

  Alana turned that piercing gaze on Samuel, and he thought he might freeze to the spot.

  “Umm, hi?”

  “Drakkar? Why have you brought a stable hand to the highest room of the temple?”

  Drakkar let out a low, slow laugh. “He is not a stable hand. He is my friend.”

  Alana’s brows drew down. “Why does he carry saddlebags?”

  “Can I talk?” Samuel asked, his voice between a hiss and a whisper.

  Drakkar rubbed his face, briefly hiding a broad smile.

  Alana gave him a dismissive gesture. “Of course, stable hand. You may speak.”

  “Drakkar thought this would be a good idea too. So if you don’t think this is a good idea, I just want you to know you can blame him.”

  Alana turned to Drakkar. “Who is this man?”

  “This is Samuel. He is a Spider Knight from Ancora.”

  Alana focused on Samuel, holding her hand up to stop Drakkar when he started to explain further.

  Samuel took the pause in conversation as an opportunity to explain his presence. “I’d like to hire some of Cave’s masons and artisans to help rebuild the city wall around Ancora.”

  Alana leaned back slightly. “It is my understanding that the walls of Ancora still stand.”

  “In the Highlands,” Samuel said with a nod. “But it’s the Lowlands I’m worried about. Their wall is gone, along with most of their homes. The Highlands will protect them for a time, but there are refugees flowing in from Dauschen.”

  “Hmm, and as the city becomes more crowded…” Alana pondered.

  “Exactly. Things will escalate, and not in a good way. I’m sure you’ve seen some of that with the generosity you’ve shown to those who fled here.”

  Alana smiled. “We were long a city of pirates and thieves, young Spider Knight. The small inconveniences from harboring your people matter little. It is far more important to myself, and those who live in Cave, to assist all people who have suffered as we once did.”

  They were kind words. And it kindled a small hope in Samuel that Alana would be eager to help them. A hope she crushed immediately.

  “But you must understand, while we have masons and artisans who may be able to assist you, they’re helping to provide for the Ancorans who have fled here. I welcome them, and am willing to shelter and feed them, but the cost becomes significant.”

  Samuel exchanged a look with Drakkar and barely kept the smile from his face.

  “I think I can help with that. My uncle gave his life to help defeat the Butcher. He was a wealthy man who lived in the Highlands.”

  “I am sorry for your loss.”

  “There are few in my city without loss.” Samuel opened one flap of the saddlebag and tossed it toward Alana. The rattle and chime of a thousand golden coins silenced the room. “We are happy to pay.”

  Alana reached down and picked up one of the small coins that had spilled from the saddlebag. “This is a king’s ransom.”

  “If Drakkar’s estimates are correct, it should fund the city for at least a month.”

  “A month?” Alana said. She glanced between Samuel and Drakkar. “This is enough to replenish the food stores for three months at a minimum.”

  “And perhaps enough to restore the wages of your masons,” Drakkar said.

  Alana shook her head. “Our negotiations are not done yet.”

  That’s good, Samuel thought. She was considering this a negotiation now. He had a chance. “We need ten masons for a month. I think that will be enough.”

  Alana scoffed at that. “I have heard of the unbridled optimism that dwells in Ancora. But a month to build a wall around an entire city? Of stone?”

  “We have a very good tinker. He studied under Charles von Atlier.”

  Alana closed her hand around a single coin and leaned forward. “You will pay my masons as though they were your own. You have given us a generous gift here, but they will not be able to benefit from that while they are in your city.”

  “They will be fed and given shelter,” Drakkar said.

  Samuel dismissed Drakkar’s words with a wave. “No, it’s fine. The city will pay them. And if they fail to, I will pay them.”

  “Then we have an accord,” Alana said. “They will need an escort to the city. Only a handful of them have been to Ancora. And I suspect much has changed since those times.”

  Samuel gave a quick nod. “Half the city is gone. If they weren’t there during the Fall, things have greatly changed.”

  Alana turned to Drakkar. “Is this tinker truly an heir to the legacy of Atlier?”

  “I like to think he is far better than Atlier.”

  Alana studied the coin in her hand and looked back to Drakkar. “I worry we may need another Atlier before the war is over. Perhaps his apprentice will not betray us.”

  Her words churned Samuel’s stomach. The war should have ended with the death of the Butcher. He was their enemy. He handed down the death sentence on Jacob’s head. Samuel remembered the curious kid who grew up a few streets away. It gutted him to watch what Jacob had had to endure.

  But he didn’t speak up against Alana. One thing he’d learned was to protect the longer strategies that would benefit the most people. And getting the walls rebuilt was his biggest priority.

  “May all wars end,” Drakkar whispered.

  “And may the dead find their rest.” Alana closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she stood, her back rigid and her words absolute. “Take Samuel to the lost city. He needs to know what has come before. It is the only way to know what is to come.”

  Drakkar placed a fist over his chest and bowed.

  “We don’t have time for side trips,” Samuel hissed. “We need to get the masons to Ancora.”

  Drakkar smiled. “I am of the opinion that Jacob and Alice’s families could do a better job guiding than us.”

  Samuel started to protest and then paused. He’d never met anyone from Cave who couldn’t defend themselves. If they took Walkers or crawlers through the mountain roads, they’d likely be safer than Samuel alone could manage.

  Drakkar turned to leave, obviously taking this as a dismissal from Alana. Samuel hesitated, nodded to her, and followed Drakkar back outside the temple.

  Samuel rubbed at his shoulders, glad to be rid of the saddlebags. “They can stay at Bat’s; I mean at my house. Without me and the kids, there should be enough room.”

  Drakkar closed the door to the lift when they reached it. “It will not be long before they take issue at being called kids.”

  “I’ll still call them kids when I’m fifty years old, so they’d better get used to it.”

  * * *

  Samuel wasn’t surprised when Jacob’s parents practically jumped at the opportunity to escort the masons from Cave to Ancora. They’d always been kind and willing to help people. And while their home might have been destroyed, there were still friends to think of who had stayed behind in Ancora.

  “So where is this place you’re taking me?” Samuel asked as Drakkar handed a small leather pouch filled with coins to a vendor.

  Drakkar took a sack of dried meat and added it to a pack that was already bulging. He gestured for Samuel to follow and didn’t respond
until they were alone. “There are more relics from the Deadlands War hidden throughout the world than you know. Charles once worked with Cave, though perhaps manipulated would be a better word for it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The old tinker was not always the benevolent person you knew. He was ruthless in war. And crossed more than one line to see a plan to fruition. One of his workshops is in the ruins of an old city beneath the Sea of Salt. Alana likely wants you to know the history so you will not betray us as Charles once did.”

  “Betrayed how?”

  Drakkar frowned. “A broken word. And a sister city left to perish.”

  “I can’t believe Charles would abandon an entire city.”

  “Before I knew him, I believed he was the epitome of all we despised about Ancora. The focus on oneself, the isolation from community that breeds in the Highlands. Never had I seen such a stark divide, a literal wall, between those who lived and those who ruled.”

  “There’s some good there too,” Samuel said. “Like Baddawick. Like Bat was.”

  “But they are the few who stand against the shadows who rule.”

  Samuel blinked at Drakkar’s words. “Why did you come with us? If you thought Charles was such a menace?”

  “To kill him if his path proved too great a threat.”

  Samuel cursed under his breath. “What the hell, Drakkar?”

  “You have earned my honesty, as you have earned my trust. Your deeds have led Alana to open a dark chapter of our history to you. And I must warn you. Once you learn the truth of what happened beyond the Deadlands Spires, you will not look so kindly on some of those you call allies.”

  Samuel stopped when he realized where they were. A small ship bobbed at the edge of the southernmost stone pier.

  Drakkar glanced back when the Spider Knight’s footsteps fell silent. “I do hope your stomach can survive the seas.”

  “We really need to get Cave an airship dock.”

  Drakkar laughed and led the way onto the loading ramp.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Jacob scribbled through another line of measurements for the new glider design. The more he dug into it, the more he understood why Charles had to make the backpack so bulky. He could use different materials for the brackets themselves, but that wouldn’t cut down on the bulk of the wing.