“If we land that storm will roll over us in less than an hour,” I observed.
“True.”
“Alright, we’ll call that plan B. Cerise, turn us south again. Tavrin, have one of your weather experts keep watch with the tail gunner, and keep us informed. I bet the storm isn’t moving that much faster than the Intrepid, especially if your people can call up some air elementals to help move the ship.”
“That much we can do.”
“Good. Then we’ll try and outrun this storm, or at least gain as much distance as we can before we have to set down.”
The sun gradually sank below the horizon as we fled south. I made a trip back to the tail gunner’s position to peer out at the clouds, and by the time the light had faded I was sure they were still gaining despite the best efforts of the elves.
Was there anything else we could do, to get just a little more speed out of this airship? Nothing came to mind. Or at least, nothing I wanted to try with a hold full of passengers.
I turned around, and studied them as I thought.
The hold was as crowded as any of the flights out of Varo, but the elves and their retainers were a lot better at making the best of the cramped conditions. They’d started by laying down mattresses atop the cargo, and in the first hour of the flight they’d hung sheets from the ceiling to subdivide the space into two rows of little compartments. A small glowing crystal was stuck to the back wall of each space, lighting them with a warm orange glow barely brighter than candlelight.
Most compartments were occupied by an elf and two or three humans, who seemed to be remarkably cozy with each other. Apparently most of the humans were personal retainers of a particular elf, and it was pretty clear that sex was part of that relationship. That didn’t sit well with my own sensibilities, but I saw enough smiles and affectionate embraces to make it hard to convince myself they were being coerced.
As Irithil had said, they were more subtle than that. How hard would it be for an immortal elf, with magic and beauty backed by centuries of experience, to seduce and beguile a teenager who’d already been indoctrinated from birth? Not hard at all, really. Teenage guys are suckers for hot women, and the girls were practically living a romance novel. Half of them were probably in love with their elves, and if there were any who resented their situation I certainly didn’t see any sign of it.
Here and there I found compartments that were an exception to the general rule. Female elves with a child as well as their servants. Pairs of human women, each with a group of children to watch. Several larger compartments in the middle of the hold, full of human men all uncomfortably piled in together.
I happened upon Sefwin sharing a compartment with the pair of elves I’d seen with her earlier. That was odd enough that I paused to look for a moment, and she noticed me.
“Is there something I can do for you, my lord?” She asked, with just a touch of nervousness in her voice.
“No, not in particular. I was just observing the arrangements, and making the obvious deductions about Nethwillin’s customs. Are you considered too young to have human retainers, or is that something to do with being the heir?”
“Oh, it’s an age thing. We’ve seen other clans become lazy and inept after leaning too heavily on servants, so our rule is that a clan member can’t adopt retainers until they’re a hundred years old. We’re supposed to master every skill we’d expect our servants to have before then, but learning and doing at the same time is a lot of work. So smart… um, teenagers would be the best translation, I think? Smart teenagers team up, to help each other out and spread the work. These are my partners, Amiya and Lashkin.”
Amiya was a pretty girl an inch shorter and a little bit younger than Sefwin, with hair that was such a dark red it was almost black. Lashkin seemed younger as well, though he was on his way to being one of the burlier elves I’d seen. They both wore their hair loose, instead of braided.
“Partners?” I asked.
“We take turns playing at master and servant with one another, my lord,” Lashkin explained.
“We study and practice together,” Amiya added, her voice soft and a bit hesitant.
Sefwin put her arms around both their waists, and hugged them. “Teen partnerships usually last until we start reaching adulthood, so we’ve got another sixty years together. Are you in need of a culture guide, my lord? I’d be happy to handle that for you.”
“I’m sure I’ll have questions now and then,” I agreed. “What’s up with the hairstyles? Braids for adults?”
She nodded. “It’s an accounting of obligations, my lord. The braid symbolizes the bonds of adulthood that all clan members share. The tokens show lovers, retainers and kin, living or dead. The clan head bears only the burden of leadership, hence the tail with a single binding. The heir shares that burden, but also owes obedience to the head.”
“So you can basically read a person’s history from the tokens in their braid. That’s interesting. Sounds like a lot of work to re-do a braid, though.”
“There’s a trick to it,” she said. “Enchantments on the tokens and ties, and a spell that makes everything weave itself together properly.”
The airship jolted suddenly. Just a spot of turbulence, but of course none of the passengers knew that. There were gasps and muttering all around, and several humans who’d been standing up at the time fell. None of the elves had any trouble with it, though.
“Is that normal, my lord?” Sefwin asked.
“Yeah, it just means we ran into a crosswind or something. Don’t worry, the Intrepid is actually a pretty tough ship. It would take a lot more than that to damage her.”
It did remind me that I had a job to do, though. I took my leave, and returned to the bridge.
For a couple of hours I actually thought we were going to make it out of the far North before the storm caught up with us. The elves were pushing their elementals as hard as they could, and sometimes it actually seemed like we were keeping up with the storm. At other times the clouds gained on us, a shadow creeping slowly across the sky to blot out the stars.
Then Irithil suddenly leaned forward to peer out the windshield, and cursed under his breath.
“There’s another storm moving in from the west ahead of us,” he pointed out.
Cerise squinted into the darkness. “Fuck. You’re right, those are storm clouds. Think we can make it around them?”
Tavrin shook his head. “It’s moving as fast as we are. We’d get caught over Lake Bothnia with nowhere to land.”
“I really need to get myself some night vision,” I grumbled. “Alright, so we’re boxed in. Anyone see a good place to set down? We need a good-size stretch of flat ground, ideally in a defensible position.”
Cerise and the two elves all studied the ground below. It was all just a shadow to me, so I’d have to rely on them for this.
“It’s forest as far as the eye can see,” Irithil said. “Loki chose this site well.”
“We could set down on one of the lakes if we have to,” Cerise pointed out. “Then Daniel could get out and clear some trees to give us a place to park. But that’s a last resort. What about that hilltop? It looks a little rocky, but there aren’t any trees and it would be hard for monsters to get at. I can’t see frost giants climbing that slope in a storm.”
“Are you certain it’s flat enough?” Irithil asked.
“Ummm…. I think so? I don’t know, I can’t really tell from here.”
“Take us down,” I decided. “We’ll hover over the hill and hit the lights. That should give us a good enough look to see if we can land on it. If it’s close I can just jump out, and do some quick stone shaping to get rid of anything that’s in the way.”
Putting lights on the bottom of the airship while it was in flight had been a bit of a challenge, but as usual the fact that I was using magic items instead of technology had made it a lot easier. I’d just put light spells on the ends of some short rods of aluminum, and then stuck them through the botto
m of the hull and fused them in place. They were as bright as the big lights I’d used in the dryad habitats back home, so when Cerise brought us down over the hilltop and turned them on they lit it up pretty well.
The hilltop was mostly bare stone, scoured clean of snow by the wind. Small rocks were strewn about, and there was a large clump of boulders at one end with deep snow piled between them.
“Looks good,” Cerise said.
“Most of the slopes are too steep to climb easily, but enemies could still come up from the east,” Tavrin observed.
I considered.
“We can make it work. Cerise, set us down with the ship’s bow facing west. I’ll throw up some quick defenses before the storm hits.”
Landing turned out to be easier said than done. The wind was starting to pick up as the two storms converged on our position, and the lift cells had a huge sail area. We were buffeted about for some minutes before Cerise finally managed to swing around and come in with Intrepid’s bow facing into the wind. She left the skimmer field off, and slapped the lift bar all the way down the instant we touched ground.
The airship rocked back, the bow actually coming off the ground a few inches before it settled back. For a moment I was afraid we’d be blown over, or even carried back off the hilltop. Fortunately the lift cells shrank quickly, and the wind lost purchase. We settled firmly to the ground, and Cerise heaved a sigh of relief.
“Okay, that was way too close,” she said. “We need a better way to do that before we go flying again in this kind of weather.”
“I’d rather not fly in this kind of weather at all,” I said. “I think trying the skimmer field in this wind would be a bad idea. Let’s see if we can make things work where we are now. Elin, can you toss my cloak down?”
Elin peeked down from the loft. “Are we on the ground now? Thank goodness. Here you go, Daniel.”
I pulled the cloak on over my coat, and wrapped it around myself before opening the bridge hatch. A blast of arctic air roared in through the opening, along with a light swirl of snow.
“Leave the lights on until I get back,” I told Cerise.
“Sure thing, Daniel. But I’m coming with you. I’m getting stir crazy cooped up in here.”
“Suit yourself.”
It was even colder than I’d expected. The double layer of protection was enough to keep most of me warm enough, but my face felt like it was freezing. If it weren’t for my healing amulet I’d have frostbite in no time.
I glanced up. Half the sky was completely dark, the stars obscured by clouds. The wind was picking up as well, growing quickly into a gale. Well, that made sense. We’d been doing about fifty, and the storm had still been gaining on us.
“What are we doing out here, anyway?” Cerise asked.
I turned my attention to the terrain. We’d missed being blown off the hill by about twenty feet, and one of the Intrepid’s landing legs was resting on a pile of rocks instead of solid ground. But she was facing the right direction. I could work with this.
“I need to make sure the ship is stable,” I told her. “I think she’s too heavy to be pushed off the hill by the wind, but I’m not taking any chances.”
I crawled under the ship, and shaped the stone under each landing strut into a form-fitting hollow space several inches deep. There, that should keep us in place without preventing us from making a quick liftoff if we needed to.
Then I walked around behind the ship, and started throwing up some hasty stonework. A stone post to each side of the ship’s rear doors, connected by an overhead arch high enough not to obstruct their movement. Extend the posts into walls, with the arch growing into a roof overhead, and I had a little shelter. Good thing, since snow was already starting to fall.
“Is this to give the elves more space, or is it some kind of fort?” Cerise asked.
“Both. I’m going to put in some arrow slits, and make the stone self-warming. Can you circle back around through the bridge and get the rear doors open?”
“Sure thing.”
I extended the walls another twenty feet or so while I waited, and then closed off the end of the space I’d made. That gave me a room almost as big as the ship’s hold, and the walls were a couple of feet thick. By the time I heard the boom of the ramp falling behind me I had the first observation slit done as well.
I did a few more of them so we’d have two in each wall, and turned to find Tavrin and Cerise standing at the foot of the ramp.
“Can you set watches to keep an eye on the area?” I asked.
“Of course. Visibility will be poor, but giants aren’t known for their stealth. I think our chances of being surprised are minimal. What about frost wraiths?”
“I’m going to seal up the gaps between the stonework and the ship’s hull, and then put a warmth enchantment on the shelter. It’s not a perfect defense, but we can add spirit wards if we end up being here for more than a few hours.”
“Very well. I think it would be unwise for anyone to sleep out here, but the extra room will give our retainers a chance to stretch their legs periodically. I take it you intend to wait out the storm, and then resume our trip? What if the enemy uses it to pin us in place until his forces can catch up with us?”
“We’re almost two hundred miles from Yinthalos,” I said. “That’s a long march on foot. If the storm doesn’t break by morning we’ll put our heads together and come up with a plan. If nothing else, the Intrepid can travel overland a lot faster than an army can march. We’d just need to put up that weather ward you mentioned, and figure out a way to navigate.”
He frowned. “Alright. I do wish we had a more certain plan, though. I prefer to keep several layers of defense between the children and any danger.”
“Well, I’m open to suggestions. For what it’s worth, though, Hecate doesn’t think Loki will send anything after us. Anyone powerful enough to beat us would be important enough for Asgard to target, if they get spotted.”
“I see. Yes, until the Fenris wolf is freed I suppose Loki will be forced to move carefully.”
The elves were busy while I was setting up the warmth enchantment, and by the time I was done they had a curtain with a spirit ward on it hung across the entrance to the hold. They’d hung more of those dim light crystals on the walls as well, and there were already lookouts keeping watch at the vision slits. These guys were really starting to impress me.
I called the ship’s crew together and assigned men to stand watches on the bridge, just in case. Was there anything else I needed to do? Maybe take a look at that night vision problem, or come up with another layer of defenses for the encampment?
“Daniel?”
I blinked, and looked down to find Elin gazing at me in concern. “Huh?”
“You’re asleep on your feet, Daniel. Have you rested at all since we left for Yinthalos?”
“I’ve had a lot to do,” I replied.
She gave an exasperated sigh. “I swear, Daniel, sometimes I think you need a minder. Come to bed. Please.”
“But I-”
She silenced me with a kiss.
“Whatever it is, it can wait. Come to bed with me, my love.”
Why was I resisting this? I couldn’t remember.
“Alright, sweetie. Bed it is.”
The loft was a warm, cozy space, lit only by the dim glow of a single candle. By the time I had my boots off my eyelids were sagging, and I realized she’d been right. Elin helped me get my coat and breastplate off, and I collapsed onto a bedroll.
Elin took a few moments to change into a nightgown, despite the awkwardness of the confined space. Next time I built an airship I’d have to find room for a cabin with a ceiling more than four feet up. Then again, watching her graceful contortions was rather interesting.
She blushed a little when she felt my gaze on her.
“Do you like what you see?” She asked shyly.
“You’re beautiful,” I mumbled.
Her lips curved into a warm smile. “Thank
s to you. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, Daniel.”
She blew out the candle, and slipped under the blankets beside me.
I was far too tired to do anything. But it felt so good to drift off to sleep with Elin nestled in my arms. I was a lucky guy.
Sometime later I half woke to a rustle of blankets, and bare breasts pressed against my back. Cerise settled herself against me with a contented sigh, and instantly fell asleep.
I drifted off again with a smile on my face. Doubly lucky.
Hours later, a tremendous crash jolted me awake. The floor bucked beneath me, and my head bounced off unyielding metal.
“The fuck?” Cerise grumbled somewhere nearby.
I tried to sit up, and my head swam. Fuck. Concussion? My amulet was already fixing it.
“Ow,” I groaned.
The ship rocked again, although not as violently. Faint shouts and clanging sounds drifted up from the direction of the hold.
“We’re under attack,” Elin said unnecessarily.
Faerie fire blossomed in her hand, lighting up the loft. Daria and Embla were here too, already scrambling for their weapons. Thankfully they’d slept in their clothes, unlike my girls and me.
“We’ll secure the bridge and find out what’s happening while you dress,” Daria volunteered.
“Fuck it, I’ll go with you,” Cerise said. Shadows rose around her, clothing her nakedness.
“Be careful,” Elin cautioned. “Daniel, are you… oh. That’s going to need healing.”
I sat up again, moving more carefully this time. “Yeah. Concussion. Just need a minute.”
Cerise nodded. “We’ll buy you some time, big guy. Come on, girls, let’s see what was stupid enough to mess with us.”
Cerise opened the hatch, and jumped down into the bridge with both wolfen girls on her heels. Damn it, it sounded like there was a pitched battle going on down there. There was cold air blowing up through the hatch, too. What the hell?
“Here,” Elin said urgently, holding out my coat.
I struggled into the enchanted armor, and fumbled for my weapons. Grinder. My earth talisman. My revolver. No time to worry about the breastplate, or get my boots on. At least my head was clearing.
Extermination (Daniel Black Book 3) Page 19