Fall of Sky City (A Steampunk Fantasy Sci-Fi Adventure Novel) (Devices of War)

by Blooding, SM

  Praise for Fall of Sky City

  Wow! What did I just read?? The story was deliciously complex, full of fear, wonder, magic, gadgets, gizmos, one heck of a psycho Queen and wonderful friends. Every character brought something to the story, each with a unique personality that came to life through the book, each with their own fears to overcome. Victoria Limbert

  I love the world Blooding has created. She managed to create it in a way that it combines specs of all my favorite movies, books, etc. It’s a mixture of young adult fantasy, steam punk, dystopia, sci-fi, paranormal and even some tiny bit of romance. The Hands of Tarot is a diverse book that is intense, a little bit violent, and a whole lot of awesome! I look forward to reading the next book of the series! Unputdownable Books

  SM Blooding is a new author to me, but this is definitely not the last book I’ll read by her. Synn El’Asim is a powerful character–the reader sees him grow from a young man who has not yet come into his power to a strong man who is courageous enough to fight for what he believes in–his family and his people. The world building Ms. Blooding does is nothing short of remarkable. A world composed of flying ships, ice worlds, danger, and intrigue. My World of Dreams

  This book is action-packed and intense. You feel like you’re part of the drama. This story is intense. The action is perfectly paced. I had trouble putting the book down. I really felt for Synn from the very beginning. He goes through so much. As soon as he gets his mark, he is plunged into one situation after another. Queen Nix, who is horrifying by the way, pushes Synn to new levels, in more and more diabolical ways. With the help of friends and family, Synn becomes a strong leader. Waiting on Sunday to Drown

  I’m amazed of the world Blooding has created and built. It has Sky, Land, and Water Cities. These cities each has its own technologies, language, and a whole different way of life. These worlds remind me a lot of Avatar the Last Airbender and Star Wars, which I both loved wholeheartedly. Bahrain Newspaper Article Review!

  Description

  In a world governed by the opposing forces of the mystical House of Tarot and the tribal Great Families, Synn is caught in the crossfire. He witnesses the slaughter of innocent people, and the devastating murder of his father. This act awakens his Mark of power, a Mark greater than any the world has seen in a very long time.

  Queen Nix thought she won a great prize when she destroyed Synn’s father, the leader of the strongest Great Families. She had no idea she’d be doubly blessed by capturing his son. However, before Synn can become her treasured weapon, before she can use him to bring the rest of the world to its knees, she must break him and bind his soul to hers.

  She does her job with brutal brilliance. Synn’s mind is broken and his soul is seared to hers in an unbreakable bond.

  That doesn’t stop him from wanting to be free. She may have broken his mind and claimed his soul, but he will find a way to destroy her.

  Experience a world of ships that sail the clouds and cites buried beneath the ocean, and survive the fiery battle brought forth by those who control the forces of nature!

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations, and events within this book are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to business establishments, actual persons, or events is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Blooding Books

  Denver, CO

  Copyright © 2012 SM Blooding

  All rights reserved.

  Per the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form without written permission from the publisher. Please only purchase authorized editions.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Cover Design by Ravven’s Glass

  Interior Design by Once Upon A Time Covers

  Formatted by Anastasia Creatives and Frankie Blooding

  Proofread by Annie McMahon & Veronica Roland

  Published by Blooding Books

  Blooding Books

  Denver, CO

  Visit our website at:

  www.smblooding.com

  ISBN 10: 1484052293

  ISBN 13: 978-1484052297

  Other works by SM Blooding:

  Chronicles of Illona (NA Steampunk Adventure)

  Devices of War Trilogy

  Fall of Sky City

  Knight of Wands

  The Dream Killers

  Season 1

  Pilot Episode: Graveyard of Dreams (Dec 2013)

  The Demon Talker Novels

  Demons Are Jackasses

  With Just Ink:

  Dreamland Stories (Fairytale Romance)

  Nightmare’s Dream (2014)

  DEDICATION

  To Kenna who asked,

  “Why would you choose to be on Earth when you could be anywhere else?”

  You know me so well!

  And to Kallie who said,

  “Really, Mom, you’re not very creative, are you?”

  Oh, sweetie, your apple fell from this tree!

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgment

  Prologue

  1 No Mark, No Measure

  2 Do Not Look Back

  3 Marked

  4 A Reminder for the People

  5 Beaten, Breaking, Broken

  6 What Game Is She Playing?

  7 You Will Always Belong to Me

  8 To Escape Sky City

  9 Good-Bye, Nix

  10 You Are Mine, Primus

  11 Dear Mother of Dirt

  12 No Landing Gear

  13 We’re Lunch

  14 Quicksand and Sinking Fast

  15 What Exactly Had I Given Up

  16 They Found Us

  17 Ino Is Glad to See You

  18 Ino City Under the Sea

  19 Who Will Stand Against Them?

  20 Take Me to My Yvette

  21 A Poison-Filled Tide

  22 Keep Your Doubt, Your Fear

  23 What Had I Done?

  24 We're All Scared

  25 Oh Goody

  26 Don't Be Stupid

  27 I Finally Have Worth

  28 A Hornet to an Airboat

  29 I Am Not Primus

  30 Oh Crap! Oh Crap! Oh CRAP!

  31 DESTROY! DESTROY!DESTROY!

  32 Nicely Played

  33 Trust

  34 Out of Time

  35 This Could Be a BAD Idea

  36 Whirring Motors

  37 The Stars Are Amazing

  38 Fall of Sky City

  39 Not the Ending I Was Expecting

  Sneak Peek - Knight of Wands

  Glossary

  About the Author

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Everyone says that writing is a lonely process. My life is anything but lonely, and my writing is much better because of it! I am truly blessed!

  Veronica Roland puts me to shame! Overachiever? Um, yes. She would come over and we’d write, she’d sing, her lyrics would make it into my narrative in odd and interesting ways (that were then edited out later with a “What was I…oh! That was Veronica!”) and she kept me feeling energized enough to write this book while editing three others.

  Krista (aka SistaPITA) is a really odd nut. She inspires by breathing! No joke! She never had any doubts that I could make this book happen, but, oh man! The ridicule. Lots of it. There’s a reason why she’s my PITA! She has been quite instrumental in the second edition. She’s
taken on the challenge of being my marketing assistant, and the ideas she’s come up with have kinda floored me. Her enthusiasm surprised me. I’m used to my bratty little sister being a pain in my butt, ridiculing me because it’s fun, and being there for comedy relief (usually at my expense). I never thought I’d see her rise the way she has in support of my dream. It’s been amazing.

  Dre is someone who deserves a medal and possibly hazard pay! She’s survived so much: my tantrums, my glares, my bad moods. She’s the one who gets ideas bounced off of. She the one to tell me why they don’t work. Now, granted, there were a few ideas that got the Raised Eyebrow of Doubt that actually worked, but she still gave me her open and honest opinion, knowing she might incur my wrath.

  I have to thank Jill and Alli for being my BETA readers. I wasn’t too hard on you, but I really have to thank you both!

  The second edition wouldn’t have happened without Krista, Veronica and Annie’s help. Honestly, after so many years of writing, it amazes me what I’ve forgotten grammatically. Also, I can tell I read a lot of European novels as there were a few things that were grammatically correct, but not here in the States. LOL! Sometimes, there is such a thing as being too well read. Thank goodness for editors who can read AND be smart about it.

  Kenna and Kallie, who get a lot of dedications and will continue to do so, keep me young. Kenna is a teenager now, so she knows everything. She’s just not great at sharing her knowledge. She’d much rather keep it to herself. Kallie is just as blunt as I am and says what needs to be said, whether I like it or not. They are my life, my inspiration, and my reason for breathing. I love them so much and there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about them…a lot! I may not always think they’re the most fantastic kids the planet’s ever seen, but my love never dims. It just gets stronger.

  Finally, I need to acknowledge my parents. There’s a lot of bad blood between us, a lot of anger, a lot of hurt. It helps that we’re finally building a new bridge, not trying to re-build the one we both blew to smithereens. That has helped more than you will ever know. Just remember, there will continue to be bad days. You’ll sometimes be cranky or be in a bad mood. I will do the same. It’s called being human. It’s not the end of the world. At least now, we’re having good days as well. Here’s to hoping there are more good days on our horizon.

  PROLOGUE

  Our history books and stories all begin the same. The Ears of the Priests, the highest religious sect known, ruled our world with an iron fist. It was a bitter time for everyone.

  Many of the families, tribes and other religious sects attempted to overtake the Ears, ruling in their stead. Some of these dynasties lasted mere hours, others days. Two lasted for nearly an entire turn, five long years under the forgiving reign of someone else.

  As the Ears of the Priest regained power time and time again, they became more tyrannical, more demanding.

  When the Arrows took over power, almost completely decimating the Priests, the world breathed easy. Finally, someone had succeeded in rousting the tyrannical giants once and for all.

  Over the course of that fateful winter, one of the longest in recorded history spanning the course of four full years, it was decided the Arrows were no better than the Priests. To this day, no one speaks of the atrocities that occurred during that painful winter, but those that survived still shiver in fear.

  Seven of the larger, more powerful tribes gathered in secret and united. At that same time, another religious sect grew in strength, feeding on the fears and unfulfilled faith of the surviving peoples. The Seven Great Families and the Hands of Tarot rose and destroyed the Arrows. No Arrow, old or young, was allowed to live.

  Afterward, the Hands and the Families agreed that total rule was not what the world of Illona required. All we needed were leaders to guide, not hang judgment. The Hands drifted away on their fishing boats, protecting the souls of the tribes, and the Seven Great Families retired to the ocean, the land, and the sky, protecting those that needed it.

  For many turns, this was enough. The Great Families came together in a single location, Pleron City, to share wealth and knowledge, to grow their technologies. The Librarium was developed and grew during this great time of discovery.

  One day, the Hands took control of Pleron City, stealing all of the knowledge buried within the caves. It was winter, a time when even those residing on land had to relocate due to the encroaching ice shelves. With all the Great Families’ advancements, the Hands discarded their fishing vessels and igloos, and took to the sky in a great monstrosity they called Sky City, the floating fortress.

  That wasn’t enough. The Hands took the forgiving faith of those who worshiped them, and destroyed all who did not, all who refused to relent or to obey. With the memory of the Priests so near, there were many who rejected the Hands of Tarot.

  One queen rose above the rest, Nix, Queen of Wands. She ordered the destruction of the Seven Great Families. She succeeded in destroying the Shankaras, the Fursts, the Bahrains and the Leblancs, killing all elders and kidnapping all surviving children to be inducted into the fold of the Hands of Tarot.

  The only Families that remain are the El’Asim, Ino and Umira. With so few to stand against the Hands, there is no front, no war.

  We run. We hide.

  We prepare.

  CHAPTER 1

  NO MARK, NO MEASURE

  Morning broke brightly as Kala, the great orange sun, rose high into our sky.

  I clambered down from the crow’s nest and hopped onto the deck with catlike agility. Everyone worked strategically to secure the ship and bring her out of the thin clouds.

  The Yusrra Samma was one of the sleekest, fastest airships the world had ever seen. She was our home, but she was also a handful. People shouted all around me, issuing and taking orders. The rigging crackled under the hands of her crew. The sails popped with the changing winds, and her sides heaved with the drop in altitude.

  “Synn!”

  I caught the rigging tossed to me and tied off the sail. My breath let loose a cloud in the freezing air through the grill of my face shield. All, including me, the captain’s son, had to do their part.

  I watched the sail fill, the red flatworms attached to it fluttering like banners. The hydrogen-filled air jelly’s harness constricted, dropping us even lower. The air jelly whipped his electric tentacles around, clearly unhappy with being this close to the ground, and snatched one of the fluttering flatworms. The worm’s body changed from red to brilliant blue before disappearing beneath the hood of the jelly.

  The El’Asim fleet dotted the horizon with over fifty ships in every direction. It was a beautiful sight to see.

  However, the giant beast that dominated the scene was the monstrous jellyfish we approached. We call them letharan, and my mother’s people built a city within its tentacles.

  Letharan are capable of living above the ocean, but when winter hit and the oceans froze, this jellyfish had become trapped, his tentacles buried in ice at least a kilometre thick. The citizens had been displaced and were living on the mountainous wasteland of frozen waves far, far below.

  There was still a very substantial portion of the beast’s body above the frozen waves, including his massive medusa, or hood. I’ve been around letharan my entire life, but Ino City still gave me a feeling of awe.

  Each floor of the city was tied somehow to the thicker trunks of the jellyfish, stacked one on top of the other. Ino City sprawled in the protective arms of the largest creature on our planet.

  I could never live in one of those. To be unable to see my sky through the towering creature. To be trapped to the ice every winter? I shivered at the thought, glancing up at the rigging and checking it for ice buildup. I chased a gold ring ice eater further up the line. It inched along the rope at a steady pace, the ice disappearing while it left a gold trail of glowing slime behind.

  I preferred the freedom of the sky any day.

  The ice cracked and popped as spring tiptoed into e
xistence. The lethara was still waking from his frozen slumber, his jellyfish body barely moving with the warming breeze. His flesh took on a golden glow. Soon pinks and blues would join the gold, but that was still weeks away yet.

  His shorter tentacles worked to bring small platforms from the ice to the cityscapes. As we drew closer, I could see people latched onto him, applying the warming creams with great care, love and respect.

  Others milled around the city entangled almost magically within his tentacles. They chipped away the ice on the buildings and warmed the floors and streets with sand.

  I, however, was looking for someone specific. I pulled the face shield down to hang around my neck so she could hear my shout. “Oki!” I waved wildly, the air nearly freezing my nose as I pulled my goggles to the top of my fur covered head for her to see my face. “Oki!”

  A girl swathed in a seal leather jacket twisted in her rigging, scanning the ship. Her features were hidden beneath a leather and brass face guard, similar to our shields, but less advanced. She pulled it away and shouted. “Synn!” She said something else, but the wind caught her words and took them from me.

  I pantomimed our landing.

  She nodded, her eyes hidden behind deeply shaded goggles. She turned to the person on the other side of the trunk and clambered out of the rigging.

  I couldn’t remove the grin from my face if I tried. I hadn’t seen my youngest sister in an entire turn, six years, and I missed her.

  The Ino and El’Asim Families might be married, but that didn’t mean we were close. The only times my mother and father saw one another were at times of celebration and the breaking of the ice.

  I hurried to my room. Stripping off my long coat and face shield, I changed into a fresh set of clothes and quickly tied my dark hair off at the base of my neck. Stepping in front of the mirror, I sighed.

  I’d gained another few inches since the last time Mother had seen me. I was more of a man, and less of a boy. The red pants didn’t balloon around me anymore. My tall, black leather boots rose to the knee. A thick belt held my knife and static array pistol. I opted to remove my hat, but kept the goggles. They were shaded. With the coming season, the suns ruled the sky, constantly shining blindingly off the ice and snow.