by Henry Vogel
At the same time, I risked popping up from concealment to see what was ahead. It was a good thing I did! The side of a mountain was no more than two hundred feet ahead of us!
Chapter 40
I spun the wheel, changing our course away from the looming mountain, and worked the ailerons to level off. As a result of Nist’s piloting, we had been at long range for the crossbows. And if Nist were piloting the ship right now, we’d be farther ahead than we were and probably pulling away from the other airship as well. But I was piloting and I just wasn’t as skilled as Nist. In avoiding the mountain and leveling off, I overworked the ailerons and the Pauline nosed up twenty degrees. Too much hard won speed bled off before I could level off again. I looked over my shoulder to find the Kestrel looming large and closing.
Another volley of crossbow quarrels clattered all around me. Raoul certainly had his men firing without pause. Maybe we’d get lucky and they’d run out of quarrels before they hit anyone else. It wasn’t likely, but hoping for that seemed the most useful thing I could think of to do.
Light spilled onto the deck as the cabin door opened then vanished as the door shut again. Light footsteps pattered across the deck. Even before she threw herself behind the makeshift barrier, I knew Callan had joined me on deck!
“What are you doing out here, Callan? You should stay below where it’s safe!”
“Safe from what? If we don’t find a way to get the Kestrel off our tail, Raoul and Windslow are going to catch all of us,” Callan said. “Better I take a risk to help you than stay below and wait for us to get captured—or killed!”
I couldn’t find fault with her argument, but that doesn’t mean I had to like it.
“Well, darling,” Callan asked, “what’s the plan?”
“I’m trying to think of one, dear,” I responded. “And in case you’re wondering, my masculine pride won’t be bruised in the least if you have any suggestions to offer!”
“Until the boiler pressure builds, we can’t outrun them,” Callan mused, “so maybe you should give up on speed and rely on maneuverability.”
It was worth a try! I spun the wheel hard to starboard and our airship turned quickly to its new heading, off at right angles from the old course. We lost speed and the Kestrel drew closer, but now we were on a completely different heading than they were! We heard a volley of quarrels pass behind us as the crossbowmen lost their aim.
Within seconds of our course change, the Kestrel’s helmsman was bringing the big ship around to our course. Worse, I had picked a course which allowed the bigger ship’s crew to bring the starboard ballista to bear on the Pauline! With a deep thrum of springing wood and rope, a massive bolt was hurled across nearly two hundred feet. With a horrific crash, the bolt smashed into our airship’s rudder! The tension went out of the wheel as the cables running to the rudder were snapped.
The Pauline still flew, but I no longer had control over the airship!
Chapter 41
“I wish I hadn’t made the suggestion to try to out maneuver them,” Callan said in a small voice.
“It wasn’t the suggestion, Callan, it was the course I chose,” I said. “But let’s worry about recriminations after we figure out what to do next!”
I looked about the moonlit deck for something—anything—I could use to defend us from the rapidly closing Kestrel. Nothing I saw sparked an idea.
Spark! That was it!
“Callan,” I said, “can you light a lantern with a flint and tinder?”
“Of course. That was one of the skills Rob made sure I learned!” Callan replied. “But won’t a lit lantern make it easier for the crossbowmen to hit us?”
The latest volley struck all around us. As soon as the last quarrel had hit, I dashed from behind our makeshift cover, grabbed the Pauline’s stern lantern, and then snagged a mooring line as I dove back behind cover. Three quarrels struck where I’d been just a second ago.
“They don’t seem to be having any trouble hitting us in the dark,” I said. “So please light this!”
“Are you sure?” Callan asked.
“Trust me!”
Striking the flint, Callan said, “Always!”
Holding the mooring line, I jumped off the airship’s port side and swung around toward the bow. The Pauline blocked me from the sight of Raoul’s men as I swung forward, though I think I’d have been a tough target to hit even without the cover. Landing at the bow, I snatched the lantern hanging there and was swinging back to the stern before Raoul’s men even knew where I was.
The stern lantern was burning brightly when I ducked behind the crates again.
“Nice work, my dear!” I said, swapping lanterns. “Light this one while I’m gone.”
“Gone where?” Callan asked.
Perhaps I should have answered her, but I was in too much of a hurry. The latest volley of quarrels struck the ship and I charged out from behind the makeshift wall and toward the stern. By now, the pursuing airship loomed no more than eighty feet behind us.
At the rail, I flung the lantern at the Kestrel. It arched into the night as I ran back for the second lantern. Shouts erupted behind me as I dove back behind the crates. Once again, Callan had the lantern burning brightly. I took the second lantern and ran back to the stern. The first lantern had hit on the bow of the Kestrel. The dry wood of the airship’s hull had caught fire quickly. The flames were spreading fast as the crew tried to figure out how to fight a fire they couldn’t reach. Windslow, Raoul, and a man I assumed was Stubb were at the bow, directing the efforts to quell the blaze.
I aimed for the knot of crewmen on deck, hoping to hamper their efforts to put out the fire. The second lantern struck Windslow full on the chest and shattered! Burning oil splashed all over Windslow and he was engulfed in flames. Screaming in agony and fear, Windslow flailed at all around him. Rope, wood, and crewmen’s clothing caught fire and panic flashed through the crew.
Raoul cast one baleful look toward the Pauline before doing the only thing he possibly could do about Windslow. Lifting a foot, Raoul kicked Windslow in the back. The fiery form toppled over the Kestrel’s railing and dropped, flaming and flailing, a thousand feet to the valley below.
Ardhan Windslow would never again threaten the royal family of Mordan!
Chapter 42
Working the ailerons allowed me to steer the Pauline somewhat. Keeping her speed low, I moved us a couple of hundred yards away from the dying Kestrel.
Screams floated across the distance from the flaming airship, along with the twang of taut lines as they weakened and snapped. The airship began dropping as the crew raced to land the ship before they burned to death or lost too many support lines, allowing the hull to break free from the gas envelope and plummet to the ground.
Now that we were free from pursuit and out of range of the other airship’s weapons, I released the controls and ran to the cabin. Callan was right behind me. Tristan was tending to the soldier with a leg wound, aided by Queen Elaina. Nist was resting on his stomach, eyes shut and breathing evenly. Martin leaned against the wall, the crossbow quarrel still stuck in his shoulder, drinking brandy and chatting with King Edwar. A blanket covered the body of the guard who had been hit in the chest.
Spotting us, Martin called out, “Tristan says Nist will survive. Further, though my wound is dire indeed, the good doctor sent me to sit in the corner without even giving me a bottle of brandy!”
“And yet you have somehow managed to get your hands on a bottle,” I noted.
“His Majesty was kind enough to fetch one for me,” Martin said. “You’ll be pleased to know I’ve been helping him and Her Majesty sort through their memories and to circumvent the effects of the drugs. They seem to recall thinking rather highly of you, David.”
“Well I should hope so!” Callan said, taking my arm. “It’s a little late for second thoughts!”
“I assume your presence down here means we are safe from pursuit?” King Edwar asked.
I nodded and
then Callan launched into an explanation of what had happened to the Kestrel.
With no threats looming, I was suddenly exhausted. I laid down and Callan cradled my head in her lap. In seconds, I was asleep.
Daylight was streaming in the portholes when I awoke. Shouts rang all around us and I started to jump up to investigate. Smiling, Callan bent over and kissed me so soundly I knew we must be safe.
“A pair of Martin’s ships found us just before dawn,” she said. “They’ve almost finished repairing the rudder. We’ll be underway and heading home shortly.”
“Oh, well, if there’s no need for a gallant hero, I’ll just stay here with you,” I said. “Assuming you aren’t getting tired of cradling my head.”
“I never will.” Callan bent over and kissed me again.
Ardhan Windslow was dead and there was a lot of work waiting for us back at the palace. But my family and friends were safe. I put everything else out of my mind and went back to kissing the most beautiful woman on eight planets. As always, time went away and all was right in my world!
Part 2
Scout's Oath
Prelude
David is Seven
“It took me ten minutes to fight my way through all of the Warlord’s minions. I hacked left and right with my sword and a minion dropped with every swing.”
“That’s the sword the king gave you the first time you saved the princess?” I asked.
“Of course! It was my most treasured possession, my boon companion, ever sharp and ever ready! It was in my hand for every fight and at my side for every kiss!”
“Yuck!” Billy said. He was only five and hadn’t learned that kissing girls was something a hero sometimes had to suffer through if he was going to have adventures.
“My boy, there might come a day when you won’t mind smooching a pretty girl or two!” Old Mr. Hart rocked back in his chair, laughing. He looked off over our heads, something he always did when he was trying to remember something. “Now, where was I?”
“Hacking and slashing your way through minions to get to the Warlord!” I said.
“Right you are, David.” Mr. Hart rocked forward and then leaned even closer. “I fought on, but it seemed like the Warlord had a never ending supply of minions! For every one I cut down, two more popped up in his place. But I gained a step with every minion I killed until, at last, I finally broke free of all those underlings. Leaving them for the king’s men to handle, I looked for the Warlord. Good ol’ Roy was just a few seconds behind me and his sword was stained just as red as mine was.
‘Where is the Warlord, my Captain?’
‘Looks like he’s scarpered off, Roy.’
“What’s ‘scarpered’ mean?” Billy asked.
I hoped Billy learned all this important stuff soon. The rest of us were getting tired of him interrupting the story with stupid questions. But Mr. Hart never missed a beat.
“Good ol’ Roy gave me a puzzled look.
‘Is that another of your colorful Terran words, my Captain?’
“I laughed as we ran down a corridor we had just discovered, hidden behind the Warlord’s throne.
‘Indeed it is, old friend! It means the Warlord has run away.’
“Good ol’ Roy boomed his famous laugh.
‘And so you have enriched our language yet again! Truly, is there nothing you cannot do, my Captain?’
“Then we ran out the back door of the Warlord’s palace and spied the evil overlord not thirty meters ahead of us!”
“Did he have Princess Audrey with him?” I asked. “Was she fighting him?”
“You got it, David! The Warlord had one huge hand wrapped around her slender wrist and was dragging her toward a boat waiting on the river. She was fighting him like a heckcat!”
“You said ‘hellcat’ last time,” I reminded Mr. Hart.
“Last time your mother wasn’t outside tending to her garden and close enough to hear everything I said,” Mr. Hart said in a low voice. “Language like that is best kept for when it’s only us men, don’t you think?”
We all nodded. You couldn’t expect girls, even if they were also moms, to understand guy talk!
“So, the beautiful Princess Audrey fought against the Warlord with every fiber of her lovely being, but the evil man was too strong for her! He dragged her closer and closer to the boat. More of his minions were on the boat, preparing to cast off. I knew if he got onto that boat, he would vanish into the jungle and the princess would be lost to me forever!”
“What did you do?” three of us asked in unison.
Mr. Hart smiled and leaned even closer. “What do you boys think I did?”
“I know!” Billy said. “You shot him with your Onesie!”
The rest of us rolled our eyes. Billy really needed to start paying attention to important details.
“I already used up the gun’s single charge shooting the Shaman,” Mr. Hart reminded him.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Anybody else got a guess?”
All us older kids knew the answer, but it was Art’s turn to say it. “You Boosted!”
Mr. Hart beamed at Art. “That’s right, lad. I Boosted! I got a jolt as adrenaline poured into my blood stream. The pain from all the scrapes and stabs I’d gotten fighting the Warlord’s minions disappeared and my fatigue was washed away!”
“What’s that mean?” Billy whispered to Art.
“It means he didn’t hurt any more and he wasn’t tired,” Art whispered back.
“With renewed strength, I bounded toward the Warlord.”
‘Unhand the princess and fight me, Warlord!’
“At the sound of my voice, Audrey’s eyes met mine.”
‘I knew you would come for me, my love!’
“Her spirit was unbowed and, knowing I had come for her, Audrey struggled even harder to break free of the Warlord’s iron grip.
“The Warlord realized he couldn’t get to the boat before I caught up to him. With a sneer, he shoved the princess away from him and drew the huge sword he wore over his shoulder! The song of steel sliding free from its scabbard was music to my ears. At long last, after countless adventures, the Warlord and I were going to go toe–to–toe, blade–to–blade, man–to–man. It was our destiny and we knew only one of us could survive the battle!”
The five of us who were sitting on Mr. Hart’s front porch gasped and scooted closer. We’d been listening to Mr. Hart’s adventures all summer and this was the moment we’d all been waiting for!
“The Warlord was swinging his mighty sword even before I reached him. He knew his stuff, I’ll give him that. The Warlord had timed the attack perfectly. I was charging right into the path of the blade! I heard Audrey cry out in fear as I brought my sword up to block the powerful blow. Steel met steel with a resounding clang. A lesser blade might have broken, leaving the man wielding it to be cut in two. A man whose heart was not fueled by the love of a beautiful woman might have crumpled under the awesome force of that blow. But my blade was great and my love was greater! The Warlord’s blade was blocked.
“I rolled away, slashing at the Warlord’s chest as I came back to my feet. My sword bit flesh–”
We all cheered.
“But the Warlord wasn’t just strong, he was quick. He jumped back at the last second and my blade did nothing more than scratch his chest.”
“Aw, no!” we moaned.
“But I was the first man to ever draw blood against the Warlord! He stared at the scratch as if I had cut his belly wide open. When he looked back at me, I saw fear in his eyes!
‘No man cuts me!’
‘There’s a first time for everything, Warlord. And I aim to cut you again and again until you’ve been whittled down to nothing!’
‘Perhaps I have underestimated you, Hart. It is a mistake I will not make again.’
‘There won’t be a second time!’
“Through all the talk, our blades had clashed again and again.
“Then the Warlord d
id the unexpected, the unthinkable! When we spun apart after a flurry of blows, he drew his dagger and hurled it right at the unprotected heart of Princess Audrey!”
“No! He can’t kill the princess!” I cried. “Not after all you went through to save her!”
“He was the Warlord, David. What he could not possess, he destroyed! He knew the princess was mine, heart and soul, just as I was hers. He might have her, but he could never have her love. And at that moment and in that fight, he knew he could not defeat me. So he threw the dagger, hard and true, to kill the woman who meant everything to me!”
“Did– Did he kill her?” I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I was afraid he had. I heard the knife bite flesh. I heard Audrey cry out. Fearing the worst, I turned toward her. The sight that met my eyes was seared into my brain, never to be forgotten. I can see it now as clearly as I did on that day so many years ago! A body lay crumpled on the ground, the dagger protruding from the body’s chest. Blood welling up around the blade, turning everything around it crimson.”
A far away look came into Mr. Hart’s eye, as if he really was seeing it all over again.
“Oh no!” I breathed.
‘Do something, my love!’
“Tears streaming from her eyes, Princess Audrey cradled the limp form of good ol’ Roy in her arms.
‘He leapt in front of me and took the blade meant for me! Hurry, my love, you must save him!’
“I looked around to see where the Warlord had gotten to. He was jumping into the boat as his men cast off.
‘We will meet again, Hart! And when we do, you will die!’
“The Warlord got away?” Art asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Mr. Hart said.
“But what happened to good ol’ Roy?” I asked. “Did he die?”
“That’s a story for another day, boys,” Mr. Hart said, leaning back and starting to rock in his chair.