The Unwilling Aviator (Book 4)

by Heidi Willard

  Ruth crawled out the broken glass and onto the roof with Pat and Fred close behind. They all breathed the cool, late morning air and were grateful when a fresh breeze blew past them. Ruth opened her wings and tested the wind. "The wind is weak. I can carry you both, but I do not know for how far."

  "We would be grateful for a block," Pat replied.

  "I will see what I can do, now take my hands and walk with me," Ruth commanded.

  Fred and Pat took her hands, and Ruth walked them to the edge of the roof. Below them was the round seating area, and the aviators still sat in the circle waiting for their trials. Guards burst from the entrance hall and glanced up at the roof. They pointed and shouted at the three above there. Topper himself scurried from the Senex and glared up at the three rogues.

  "Get down from there, criminals!" he demanded.

  "You heard him, Ruth," Pat told her friend.

  Ruth nodded and took one step off the roof. She dragged Fred and Pat with her and spread her wings as far as she could manage. The winds of String blew beneath her wings and they sailed over the shouting administrator and guards. Ruth flew them over the rooftops of the nearby buildings and southeastward toward their inn. The companions were out of reach, but not out of visibility. The guards hurried along the streets following their flight path.

  Pat glanced up at Ruth. "Can we go higher?" she yelled to her friend.

  Ruth grit her teeth and shook her head. "I cannot keep us from descending," she replied. Beads of sweat dripped down her brow and Fred felt her claws twitch.

  The strain on Ruth didn't go unnoticed by Pat. "How far can you take us?" she asked Ruth.

  "Not. . .much. . .farther," Ruth answered.

  Pat glanced down and saw the guards were two blocks behind them. As the gargoyle flies was much faster than as the guards sprinted. Pat glanced ahead of them and noticed a small building with a flat, battered roof. She glanced up and pointed at the building. "Take us down atop that shed. We may be able to hide in there," she suggested.

  Ruth dove down to the roof. Pat released herself from Ruth's grasp and landed on her feet onto the metal beams. Fred fell beside her, but his feet slipped and he fell onto his rear. Ruth tried to land in front of Fred, but the landing strip was too short. Her foot snagged the roof and she tumbled over the side. One of her hands caught the side and she clung onto the edge swinging in midair. Pat and Fred rushed forward, and they hauled their exhausted friend onto the roof. Ruth sat beside Pat and opposite Fred, and caught her breath.

  Pat glanced at Ruth with admiration. "That was some excellent flying," she complimented her.

  Ruth smiled and nodded. "I will have to thank my father for the lessons at Tramadore," she replied.

  Now free of his captors, Fred leaned back and punched the roof. "Just a few more seconds and Martley would have told me something," he groaned.

  Pat whipped her head to Fred, and her expression wasn't as friendly. "What about Martley?"

  "She was there, that old woman," Fred told her. "She was telling me something about a guy in white and then you dropped in."

  Pat raised an eyebrow. "You're sure it was her?"

  "Positive," was his firm reply.

  Pat furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. "Then she survived the fall of Galaron, but what would she want with you?" she quietly mused. Their discussion was interrupted by the far-off sound of the guards. "We need to get off this roof before they see us," she ordered them.

  Fred glanced past the girls to the east and his eyes widened. "What time is it?" he asked them.

  Pat frowned. "What does that-" She froze, and turned toward the east. The dark sky was growling lighter. They'd spent the whole night wandering the city and dealing with the city leaders. "Oh no." Both Fred and she whipped their heads over to Ruth.

  Ruth held up one hand and her eyes widened when the fingers turned to stone. She reached for her medallion, but her other hand froze an inch from the jewelery. Her face twisted into fear and concern for her friends before the light of the sun completely washed over her. She was encased in stone.

  That's when they heard a loud crack. The pair of humans glanced beneath Ruth and noticed the wood buckle under the weight of a stone gargoyle. They cried out when the wood roof caved in and sent them toppling into the shed. The companions landed atop a mess of pots, old straw, cobwebs, and, in Fred's case, the business-end of a pitchfork. He yelped and jumped off the fork points. Pat sputtered and freed herself from the straw to reveal she now wore a sunbonnet. Ruth landed upright with a thud near the center of the floor and faced the closed doors.

  "Great place to land," Fred commented to Pat.

  Pat's eyes widened and she scrambled up to slap her hand over his mouth. Her eyes whipped over to the walls and shadows appeared beside the building. Fred froze when he heard the sound of metal clang against the side of the building.

  "If they're not in the sky then they have to be somewhere around here," a gruff voice spoke up.

  The shadows flitted over to the front door, and a chain rattled. "They didn't get in through here. This thing's been shut for years," another voice replied.

  "But we should look inside. Topper told us to check everywhere," the first voice argued.

  The second man scoffed. "We'd be wasting our time, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him." The guards passed by and the pair inside the shed exhaled. They were safe for a time.

  CHAPTER 14

  Pat dropped her hand from Fred's mouth and grabbed some of the straw. She tossed it over Ruth. "Hurry. Help me hide Ruth beneath the hay. Then we can slip out the back," she whispered to Fred.

  "But we can't just leave her," Fred argued.

  She frowned at him. "Unless you have more strength than you've shown then we must," she countered.

  "I don't have strength, but I have skill," Fred replied. He stood, pulled out his staff and pointed it at Ruth.

  Pat placed herself between Ruth and Fred, and stretched out her arms. "What are you going to do to her?" she questioned.

  "I'm going to levitate her so we can take her back to the inn," Fred told her.

  "Do you honestly believe we will make it that far without being noticed?" she pointed out.

  "We can make it farther than your-"

  "I don't know. It's just a bunch of junk to me," someone outside spoke up.

  "That is exactly what these tourists will buy," another man replied. The pair inside whipped their heads over to the doors and heard footsteps connected to the voices. Shadows stopped in front of the double doors and a heavy chain was lifted.

  "All right, but you'll just be disappointed," the first man answered.

  "Hide!" Pat whispered.

  They dove into the straw just as the doors swung open. The pair peeked out from their itchy hiding spot and watched two men enter the shed. One was quite old and wore plain clothes. His had a slow gait and stepped aside to let the other man get a complete view of the shed.

  The other man was middle-aged and wore expensive clothes. A large diamond ring flashed on his finger and his smile was almost as blinding. The man's sharp eyes roamed over the contents of the shed. "I'll be the twinner of-what's that?" He strode over to Ruth and peered at the stone gargoyle. "This is wonderful! Magnificent!" he exclaimed as he strode around her stone form. "Where did you find such an item?"

  The old man shrugged. "It's not mine," he replied.

  The rich man's eyes flashed with a cunning light. "It isn't?" he mused.

  The old man frowned. "But that doesn't mean you're getting it for free, Dewey Cheatum! I expect a good price for anything you take from this shed, and that means that statue!"

  Cheatum laughed. "Calm down, my good Mr. Howe. I can assure you of a good deal for this magnificent piece of stonework." The rich man pulled a bag from the inside of his robes and jingled it in his hands. It made the sound of hard gold coins. "What say you to this much without telling anyone that I got this statue from you?"

  "Uh, sure," Howe agreed as the bag was
exchanged. "But why the secret? Don't want a customer to find out?"

  Cheatum chortled. "Customer nothing. This is going in my private collection, and I plan on connecting its find to the change in that ugly Swearing Stone. People will pay me to see it."

  The old man rubbed his chin and looked over his companion with narrow, hard eyes. "Sounds like you'll make a lot of money."

  Cheatum turned to Howe and frowned. "I've given you more than enough. Any more and a twinner may have to be called and your possession of this statue will be questioned."

  Howe sullenly frowned. "Fine, take it! Swindle an old man!"

  "That's what I intend to. Let me call my cart and our business will be finished," Cheatum replied. The two men left and closed the door behind themselves.

  The companions sputtered from the straw. "Are you going to let me levitate her or not?" Fred asked Pat. She turned to him and whacked him on the back of the head. He cringed and rubbed the bruised spot. "What was that for?" he growled.

  "Don't you see this is the best chance we have to escape? The streets are swarming with guards, but they won't look twice at a cart with a bunch of junk in it," she pointed out.

  At that moment they heard the rumble of a cart and they returned to their hiding spots. In a moment the doors opened to reveal a large covered cart with knickknacks of all kinds sticking out of the open ends. It was pulled by a strong, burly horse, and an even burlier man man jumped from the box. Cheatum stepped into the doorway and waved his hand at the statue. "There she is, but be careful. A chip and it comes out of your pay," he told the burly gentleman.

  His uglier half snarled and pushed past Cheatum. The man grabbed Ruth by her legs and easily lifted her. He strode to the rear of the cart and pushed her into the mess. Then both men climbed atop the box, and Cheatum made a flourishing wave with his arm. "Now to home!" Cheatum ordered him. The tough man rolled his eyes, snapped the reins, and the cart rolled down the street.

  Pat and Fred pushed aside the straw and watched the cart disappear from sight of the doorway. She grabbed Fred, hauled him to his feet, and tugged him to the entrance. "We need to get aboard that cart," she replied.

  Pat raced forward and half-dragged Fred along with her. She climbed into the cart and Fred scrambled inside behind her just as they broke out into one of the busy streets. They hid behind the side board and covered themselves in old tarps and sheets of metal. Fred winced and pulled out a miniature statue of a dwarf whose poky hat had stabbed his side.

  He held it up to Pat. "What do you think they do with these things?"

  "Quiet!" she hissed.

  The cart passed a small group of guards who scanned the area for the fugitives. The fugitives ducked and waited for half a street before they peeked over the rear again. The street was a busy mess of tourists and locals, all out buying, talking, selling, and walking. Their cart bounced down the roads to the northwestern point of the city. The plain mud-baked buildings that were squished together were crowded out by large houses with high walls around green yards. There were even a few buildings with two floors, and at the windows sat flower boxes that sprinkled petals onto the clean streets.

  The cart stopped at the gate to one of these magnificent homes. It was surrounded by a high wall of baked mud and covered with whitewash. Pat took advantage of the pause to drag Fred and herself out of the cart and to the wall. The gate was opened by a servant and the cart rolled inside. Pat pulled Fred along the wall to the left side of the perimeter where sat a small alley. She released him and nodded at the top of the wall. "Let me climb onto your shoulders so I can get a look inside."

  "Why couldn't we just go inside with the cart?" he argued.

  "Because we might have been caught, now help me up," she ordered.

  "How about I levitate you?" he suggested.

  "How about no?" she countered.

  "Fine, I'll do it to myself," he replied. Fred grasped his sticks and changed them to his staff. He focused on floating into the sky with his feet hovering over the enclosure walls. His efforts were turned upside down when his feet sprang from the ground and flipped him so his head brushed against the ground. Pat leaned down and tilted her head to show off the smirk on her lips. "Don't say a thing," he ordered her.

  "I was merely going to suggest you tell your master to give you more practice," she replied.

  "Yeah, right," he growled. He felt dizzy as the blood rushed to his head.

  "Can you right yourself?" she asked him.

  "I think sooo-!" Fred's effort to flip himself over made his feet fly into the air and him with them. He grasped the top edge of the wall and changed his staff back into sticks. His legs slipped over the edge, but his feet scraped the side and he scrambled onto the top. He rubbed his aching head and glanced over the edge of the wall into the enclosure.

  The yard was a menagerie of green plants and trees which were punctuated by pedestals on which sat statues. The yard between the wall and the house was occupied by a half dozen gardeners and cleaning servants going to and fro. The house stood twenty yards off, and in the center was a square garden. It would be impossible to skirt all those pairs of eyes.

  Inside the house Fred saw people moving about, and in the center of the square house was a courtyard. He caught a glimpse of Ruth as she was placed on a tall pedestal in the center of the courtyard. Cheatum stepped up beside Ruth and stroked her hair with his hand. Fred shuddered.

  "Can you see anything?" Pat whispered.

  "Too much," he muttered.

  "What?"

  "They put Ruth in some kind of courtyard," he replied.

  Pat frowned. "By Phaeton. . ." she mumbled. Her eyes snapped up to Fred. "Get down before you're seen. We must return to the inn."

  "And leave her here?"

  She sighed. "Ned will have a much easier time rescuing her than we will," she pointed out.

  Fred frowned, but slid off the wall and landed beside her. "What if we waited until nightfall?" he suggested.

  She rapped him upside the head. "Have you forgotten about your required practice flight today? You need a squire or you'll be disqualified."

  Fred rubbed his head and scowled at her. "You don't have to remind me so hard. Besides, how are we going to get through the city without being seen?" he reminded her. Pat opened her mouth, paused, then shut it. He grinned. "See? We need to stay here until tonight."

  Pat furrowed her brow and her eyes fell on his staff. "Are you able to make us invisible?" she wondered. Then her eyes widened and she shook her head. "What evil god placed that in my mind? We may never be seen again," she added.

  "I can try," Fred defended himself. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of meat.

  Pat caught a whiff and wrinkled her nose. "How long have you been holding that?" she asked him.

  "Since Tramadore. Fluffy's been catching food on the way so I haven't needed to feed him much," Fred told her. He tossed the meat to the ground, changed his sticks to staff, and held the stone point toward the meat. His eyes focused on the meat while his mind focused on the meat disappearing. The end of the staff glowed and in a blink of a moment the meat vanished.

  Fred beamed with pride until Pat leaned down and patted the dirt. "Um, Fred?" she wondered.

  "Yeah?" he replied.

  "Where did you send it?"

  Fred blinked. "Do what?"

  "You transported the meat to somewhere else. It's not here," she told him.

  "I did?" Fred knelt down beside her and patted the dirt. The meat wasn't there. He raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Never done that before."

  Pat frowned. "Yes, you did. In the Valley of the King. You transported all of us from the battlefield into the valley."

  Fred scrunched his face. "I did?" He leaned on his staff and frowned. "I guess I never thought about what happened there. I thought I got knocked out and Ned saved us."

  Pat scrutinized his confused face. "What do you remember?"

  He shrugged. "Nothing after Ruth dropping me and me making tha
t earthquake," he told her. A smile slowly slipped onto his lips. "So I saved the day more than I thought?"

  "Yes, and I wish you'd do the same right now by transporting us where the meat has gone, if we could only figure out where that is," she replied.

  A loud, high-pitched scream from over the wall caught their attention. The pair stood and listened to many feet pound their way to the source of the noise. "What is it? What's wrong?" they heard Cheatum yell.

  "It's a rotten piece of meat, sir," someone replied. "It wasn't here a moment ago, and you can bet it's an evil sign. Someone's tossed it here to attract an evil monster, and you can be assured it'll come today. It's all because you've carried a trapped one into the house."

  Cheatum scoffed. "I don't care what superstitions you have, just pick it up and get it out of here. The thing stinks."

  Fred cringed, but Pat furrowed her brow and glanced at Fred. "On second thought, that may not be a good idea. Let's walk back to the inn."

  "I second that," Fred replied.

  CHAPTER 15

  The pair hurried through the streets, ducking in and out of side streets and alleys. Two long hours later they reached the muddy square. Fred paused to scratch Fluffy's head, and followed Pat into the inn. Upstairs they found the unconscious Crash in the chair, but the room was otherwise deserted. They whipped their heads to and fro, but neither Ned, Canto, nor Percy were anywhere to be found.

  Pat stepped a few feet into the room and noticed a slip of paper tucked into Crash's ropes. She strode over, snatched it up, and browsed the contents.

  Fred came up behind her and looked over the indecipherable scribbles. "What's it say?" he asked her.

  "Dear Fred, Ruth and Pat. Gone off to ensure your spots in the required practice flights. Don't dawdle too long. - Ned. P.S. Canto and Percy haven't returned. If you happen to find them, advise them to take a view of the stone in case we should need to take it. P.P.S. Please feed our guest another drop of the 'medicine' before you leave." Pat growled and crumpled the note between her hands. "Phaeton give me patience not to murder him," she mumbled.