Damn it, I hadn't even thought about that. But if Forsolano said she was dead, there would be no bringing her back to life. “She must return to the Southlands,” I said, “so she can rest close to Gerhaun and her father.”
“So you want us to…”
“Can we cremate her? Is it possible?”
“Doctor Forsolano does have the facilities here, yes.” Mamo said. “He sometimes needs to perform ceremonies for lost patients himself. But cremation takes time. You’ll need at least five or six hours.”
I bit my lip. There was no way that Alsie or Cini would know where Doctor Forsolano lived. We’d be safe her for that amount of time and could leave late the next evening, to pass through the Southern Barrier at night.
I nodded. I really didn't want to be thinking about how Forsolano made funeral arrangements right now. “Then we'll take her ashes south. I think that's best… What she would have wanted.”
Although I'd hate to be the one to tell General Sako why we couldn't bring her body home whole.
“I'll make the arrangements,” Mamo said. “Come on, both of you. There's some dinner on the table and we all need to eat. It's been a long day.”
✽✽✽
I'd never thought Sukina Sako with her fame, would have such a modest funeral. But here, in the forest, only Taka was here from her family. And Faso, who I guess was kind of family too. He'd completely changed character and hadn't said a word since Sukina had passed away. Ratter also hadn't emerged once from his flared suit sleeve, almost as if doing so would be disrespectful to her.
Taka had been pretty quiet too, but he'd started to draw closer to me. He held my hand as the pastor from the village read out a beautiful speech on the solidarity of man, and how much Sukina had achieved in her life. He'd asked us plenty of questions about Sukina before, of course, to achieve this.
Sukina lay innocently on a wooden bier, everything save for her face covered in a virgin white shawl. Despite her eyelids and face being completely blanched of colour, she still had a look of power about her. Even in death she seemed regal.
Doctor Forsolano had set up the firewood over an iron pit, though the doctor had assured us she'd later be moved to the furnace where we could retrieve the rest of our ashes. The pit had been filled with charcoal and soon enough, I had the job of throwing a match onto the Sukina to set her aflame. Faso had not wanted to do it and I wouldn't dare have given Taka this burden.
Just before the fire came to life, Papo drew the shawl over Sukina's face. Then, I said my final goodbye, reaching out in the collective unconscious, even though I knew she wasn't there.
I will always be watching; a voice came back in my head. Whether that was her voice, or my imagination? I truly didn't know.
And I, this voice was now Francoiso's. Once in the collective unconscious, always in the collective unconscious. Death shall never do us part.
No, I was imagining it, surely. I pulled Taka close and let him weep against me as I raised a handkerchief to wipe a tear from my eye.
We went inside and talked of our memories of Sukina. Taka wanted to hear as much as he could from us. But still, Faso said nothing. He didn't yet know that the boy was his daughter, and I was trying to find the best moment to tell him. One thing was for sure, I didn’t want Taka around when I did.
Everyone was pretty sleepy, so we took some time for a nap after cake and tea. I let Taka sleep in the same bed as me. He needed someone close right now for comfort. I slept lightly, waking up half thinking I heard Sukina as if she was lying beside me, and also from more rampant inappropriate dreams of my previous lust for Francoiso. It was still there nestled in my subconscious and I wondered if I'd ever recover from the effects the Exalmpora had had on me. I eventually roused at dawn, once the sun starting peeping through the curtains.
Mamo and Papo were already up when I walked downstairs, and Faso was sitting in the living room, his eyes baggy as if he'd not slept a wink. An elaborate urn, painted with blue and gold dragons, stood on the coffee table before him.
I took hold of the urn, checked it was secured tight and then placed it in my backpack. “Are you going to come south with us, Faso?”
He looked up at me but still said nothing.
“Oh, for wellies sake. We need to get you down there, you're not safe here.”
Faso shook his head. “I'm not coming,” he said.
“You bloody well are. If not for me, for Sukina. And Taka he needs you there.”
“The boy? Why?”
I took a deep breath. There never really would be a good moment to tell him. “Faso,” I said. “There’s something you should know. Taka… He’s yours.”
Faso raised his head. “My son?”
“Yes. I’ll leave you to decide when to tell him.”
“But Sukina… We could never… Wait, I thought Sukina had a daughter.”
“Cini and Alsie changed his sex,” I said. “Through a drug called Exalmpora. Look, it’s complicated.”
“That doesn’t sound very scientific,” Faso said with a frown.
“Yes, well the drug was discovered by a man named Captain Colas. I believe you knew him, and I believe also he was a scientist.”
“That man… I might have known he was involved in all this.”
Faso continued to stare at the space on the coffee table a while and I stood with my hands on my hips, waiting for him to move. Eventually, he lifted himself like a wraith rising from a grave. “I'll come,” he said.
“Good. Now come on, let's get some breakfast.”
The good doctor had served out some bacon, eggs, sausages and toast on the table. We ate, Taka and Faso still remaining pretty silent. After that, we passed time until the sun set, eating a good hearty lunch and early dinner to fuel us for the journey ahead.
My parents then escorted Taka, Faso and I into the clearing while Doctor Forsolano went into the village to get some supplies. I gave Mamo and Papo a hug, big tears in my eyes after everything that had happened and having to leave them here.
“I'll send someone back to get you,” I said. “I promise. You won't be safe in Tow.”
“Take all the time you need dear,” Papo said. “And don't worry, we can look after ourselves.”
I nodded to him and then Faso, Taka and I climbed on top of Velos. We took off and flew towards the Southlands, a strong wind whipping at my hair.
PART VIII
Pontopa
“To be a dragonseer is both the most challenging and the most natural of things.”
Pontopa Wells
CHAPTER 30
It seemed safest to travel at night. Cini would have sent word around the country by telegram to look out for a dragon flying in the sky, so troops everywhere would be looking out for us. I was also a little apprehensive that Alsie would find us. I doubted, to be honest, that Charth had made it after engaging Alsie in combat. And I also doubted that anyone else or anything other than Charth could defend us from her, not even Velos with his armour. And, if Cini got Taka back, then everything Sukina had died for would be rendered moot.
So, the aim was to hit the Southern Barrier a couple of hours before dawn, so we’d be through before first light. We augmented using Sukina’s blend, so I saw everything in speckled green. We flew as low as we could to the forest canopy to make us less visible from a distance. It wasn't long before we saw something rustling down there. It looked like a rabbit, although it moved with a little less fluency than a wild animal. But I was really too far up to see.
“You've got to be kidding me,” Faso said from the back, peering down with his telescope. Something had clearly reactivated his energy, and I had a feeling it had something to do with his technology.
“What is it?” I called back.
“They stole Ratter!”
“I thought you had Ratter with you?”
“Not my Ratter. A copy… And now the thing is tracking us.”
I snorted, trying to imagine Velos being a match for a mechanical ferret, armour
and all. “I don't think we're in much danger up here.”
“Well we're out of range. But if that automaton's nearby, then someone, somewhere knows exactly where we are.”
“Dragonheats,” I said. “Can you do something to stop it?”
“If I could, it's already too late.”
“Dragonheats,” I muttered again. “Taka, hold on tight.”
I pulled up on Velos' steering fin to get him away from that thing. Plus, extra height would help us see ahead. If they knew our location it was only fair that we knew theirs too.
“Is there anything I can do Auntie Pontopa?” Taka said.
“Just stay put for now. We'll work something out.”
Fortunately, we'd pretty much reached Sandstone Bluff, and we would soon fly over Sanjiornio, the same island we'd passed through on the way in. No one had sighted us there so my best assumption was it would be still deserted.
As we left the cliff face behind, I turned around to see that ferret at the top of the precipice, although from here it was only a dot on the horizon. I caught sight of a green glint reflecting off it from the waning sun.
“We should have returned to the Five Hamlets to refuel,” Faso said.
“What? Are you crazy? Do you know how many guards will be posted there?”
“We could have found a way,” Faso said.
I shook my head. “I don't think we could.”
The floodlights of Sanjiornio soon came into view. As before, we followed them around in much the same fashion as before and got high enough that the shrapnel-flak scanners couldn’t sense us. We timed it well and ended up getting well away from the Southern Barrier just as the sun started to appear on the horizon.
The place was stirringly silent. I could only hear the rush of the wind and the swishing of the sea below, which was bathed in the rising sun by amber light. I scanned the terrain, trying to find at least a hint of danger, because it had to be close. I half imagined that Alsie would shoot out in front of us in dragon form and take us down out there and then.
And in that moment of respite, I found myself instinctively reach out in the collective unconscious, despite there not being a strong source of it, to ask Sukina if she had any advice. But I only got emptiness in reply. I couldn't feel what she was feeling anymore. I couldn't lean on her emotionally for support. I now had to face whatever lay ahead alone.
It wasn't long after that it started. First came the hum of propellers, then I spotted airships approaching from the east and west. Closing in on our location like lobster pincers. We could turn around now and let them chase us back inland, or we could carry on and confront whatever ambush Cini’s forces had prepare. It seemed wise to stay low. So, I pushed Velos down slowly, just in time to see boats on the water. As we flew further south, I sighted more of them. And my heart sunk.
An entire armada lay there in wait. King Cini's admirals had gone all out. Steamships and frigates and cruisers and even Hummingbird carriers.
“Dragonheats! Pontopa, we're not going to fight them, are we?” Faso said.
I gritted my teeth and plunged Velos into a dive so we could approach at speed. “What other choice do we have?”
In the distance, the Hummingbirds rose up from the carriers in a golden cloud, which roiled towards us, like an approaching swarm of bees. Another cloud also rose from the frigates, this time black, leaving a dulling boom in its wake. Shrapnel-flak, creating an impenetrable wall above the line of boats. If we passed through, we'd be torn apart by shards of floating metal. And this time, Velos didn’t have enough secicao in his armour, let alone strength in his wings, to take us over the cloud.
But I had a more immediate problem to worry about. The Hummingbirds were now approaching, and we could hear the buzzing of their fast beating wings.
“Damn it, Pontopa, retreat!” Faso shouted.
I looked back at the airships now closing in on our location. They'd formed into a single line now. On board each, redguards had their rifles raised and pointed right at us. But Faso was right. We had a better chance against the airships than the Hummingbirds.
I took my flask from my hip and took a swig of secicao oil. Alertness washed over me, and somehow, I also felt sick. It was as if I could feel Exalmpora in the alcohol. And, all of a sudden, I wanted it. I wanted to become a dragonwoman. That previous lust for Francoiso washed over me. Then, I remembered he was dead.
No, I couldn't think about that right now. I passed the flask back to Taka. “Take some.”
“More medicine?” Taka said.
“It's not medicine, it's secicao. It will keep you safe, I promise.”
“I trust you,” Taka said, and he took a swig from his flask. Faso also had his golden flask tipped to his mouth. He wiped his lips and then he bent down towards the spigot at Velos' side.
Meanwhile, I turned Velos sharply towards the airships. On the way around, he let out a sharp spray of orange flame, with a faint tint of green in it, which doused the approaching swarm of Hummingbirds. Several of them sputtered and then spiralled to the ground. But it wasn't enough to stop them surrounding us. I expected to get shot down there and then. But the things just barrelled in front of us and then formed a protective wall. A few knocked against Velos' body and he let out a huge bellowing roar.
“They don't want to shoot us?” I said.
“They probably want to try taking us alive,” Faso said, “so they can later photograph our execution for the magazines.”
I felt a surge of anger rise up in me. Wasn't killing Sukina enough?
From behind us, came another boom. A cannonball whizzed past us. Somehow, I knew they didn't want to knock us out of the sky. Just scare us into landing. The chance of hitting a fast flying target like Velos with cannonball fire was pretty slim, anyway, even when automatons were doing the shooting.
Meanwhile, the Hummingbirds charged forward once again. Velos' armour began to glow a faint green and the Gatling cannons whirred into life. They weren't as strong as before, but still had enough punch in them to knock a Hummingbird out of the way before it hit me in the face.
“I thought you said the armour's reserves were depleted?” I shouted back to Faso.
“The armour has a smaller emergency tank,” he replied.
“Good call!”
We were approaching the airships now. On one of the ones nearer to us, a blue-suited officer came on deck. He raised a megaphone to the sky. “Pontopa Wells, you are surrounded and outnumbered. I order you to land on the carrier if you value your life.”
“You'd kill us anyway,” I shouted back, even though I doubted they could hear me over the gunfire.
I took Velos down beneath the airships and then I circled around, and we tried skimming the surface of the water. We'd be a much harder target down here and Velos could create splashes with his feet that might confuse a few Hummingbirds.
“This is your last warning, Pontopa Wells. We will order the Hummingbirds to fire if you don't surrender in T minus five seconds.”
The Gatling guns continued to knock Hummingbirds out of the sky. But they had begun to slow a little, running out of energy and there was no way that they could destroy the approaching swarm behind us.
“Four…”
A carrier had separated itself from the main fleet and was gaining speed in our direction. All I had to do was wave my surrender and then land Velos the shining silver platform ahead.
“Three…”
No, we'd stay close to the water. Velos sweeping up spray with his claws. In front of us, another swarm of Hummingbirds rose up from a carrier. Dragonheats, there seemed to be no end to them. The Gatling guns on Velos' flank sputtered to a stop.
“Two…”
As if out of nowhere, Sukina's voice sounded in my head. It had no comprehensible words behind it, but I could hear the harmony of a dragonsong. Then came a tingling sensation in my temples. Dragons, grey ones nearby. A good three hundred of them, perhaps.
Instinctively, I reached out and start
ed a song to pull them in.
“One…”
The Greys latched on to my call. I could hear them approaching. The Gatling guns dropped slack on Velos' side and the warmth from the armour started to fade. Some Hummingbirds pushed ahead of Velos from behind, but Velos hit them out of the sky with his flame. The other swarm swooped down at us, and the massive hull of the landing carrier came into view.
“Okay, time's up Miss Wells.”
Static came from the megaphone and the propellers from the airships roared into life. A shot came from the rifles, and I ducked out of the way of a bullet, seen through my augmented eyes. The second cloud of Hummingbirds closed in on us.
I swerved Velos to hug the side of the carrier and then we swept around the back of it. As we turned, I glimpsed Greys in the distance. They swept down on one of the carriers, knocking out a third swarm of Hummingbirds that had just emerged. Shrapnel-flak cannons roared around us and my heart lurched in my chest as I felt a dragon get shot out of the sky.
I swerved again to hug the other side of the airship. This would confuse the Hummingbirds. Some of them would barrel into the ship, others would have to climb over it, but it would take time for them to adjust their course. I let out another song to try and get the Greys to fly towards me.
But then as I looked over my shoulder, I could see the wall of shrapnel-flak and guns on the side of the ships would make it impossible for them to get through, without getting shot out of the sky. I sang another song to tell them to keep their distance. I looked over my shoulder again and noticed that Cini's boats had started to turn away from me.
Another round of rifle fire. Velos roared and I screamed out and clutched at my arm as pain shot through it. It wasn't me that had been shot. I looked down to see a hole in Velos' wing. “Come on Velos,” I said. “You can make it.”
“They've got us,” Faso shouted. “Pontopa, we need to surrender.”
Dragonseer (Secicao Blight Book 1) Page 27