Whispers of the Skyborne (Devices of War Book 3)

by S. M. Blooding

  Fahd snorted.

  Jabr roared with laughter.

  “Too bad,” Mesi said, “that you can’t join us, Briac. Storm like this, no way we can launch you.”

  “However,” Haji interjected, “the El’Asim has stated we are deploying the plows, so Briac, you will be joining us. Are you ready?”

  “Ready? Are you bloody nuts? We were born for the likes o’ this.”

  Haji rolled his eyes. He’d grown up with Mesi, Fahd, and Jabr. They hadn’t necessarily been friends, but they had advanced together. Briac, though, and come to them from another tribe. Haji didn’t know the other man very well, but if he was half as good as he boasted, well, they’d be in for as much trouble as Briac could extoll.

  Mesi lowered her voice as if that was going to make what she said more private on the open communications unit. “Does the El’Asim know what he’s doing, sir?”

  How many times had Haji asked that same question?

  “He is impulsive, doesn’t think things through, and never has a plan.” Mesi stilled the arms of her skitter unit, a lightning pistol in one hand. “He’s going to get us killed.”

  Haji sighed. Synn hadn’t done a great deal to build the confidence in people as of late. Well, ever, really.

  “He’s your best friend.” Mesi bowed her head. “Sir. Not mine.”

  Haji walked his unit forward, working his arms to verify all was working properly. “Understand one thing.” He glanced out the bay doors, but saw nothing new. The island had disappeared yet again and only the retreating storm clouds and rolling ocean waves filled his view. He turned back to his people. “The El’Asim is my best friend.”

  Briac walked is plow forward in three half-steps that made the galley floor tremble.

  “But he, and he alone, had the courage to bring all of us together. And look at us. We were tribes with no home, people with no tribes. We are the orphans of our world, people that would have been otherwise forgotten.”

  Mesi jutted her jaw to the side, her lips closed.

  “He might not be the smartest person.” There was no harm in admitting that out loud. “But he is smarter than even he realizes. He surrounds himself with those who are smart when he is not, who think when he does not, who plan when he cannot.”

  Wynne fluttered from the ceiling to the floor, her group following her lead.

  “We are not safe. We are at war, a war that is finally being fought by two sides instead of inflicted upon one. We are finally fighting back. We are only doing this thanks to the courage of that one man. So call him whatever you like.” Haji turned back to the bay doors, checking his holsters for sticking. “That stupid man is giving you a chance to get your lives back.”

  The chatter on the communications line didn’t pick back up.

  Wa-sna-win spoke into his right ear. “Umira Nuru, prepare to launch.”

  Enhnapi: Neira

  “SKAH,” NEIRA SAID, FLINGING her rain cloak over her shoulders and tying it down with her belt. “Is the El’Asim in the air?”

  A boy ran past, his arms full of arrows as he wormed his way through the press of warriors filling the docks.

  Skah bowed her head, her blonde hair bound in tight braids. “Yes, akicit.”

  Neira blew out a breath, her eyes narrowing at the strange placement of that word. Peacekeeper. Going to war. It didn’t sit right. “Will he be able to deploy the Umira Nuru?”

  “He says he will.” Skah stepped out of the way as a man pushed politely past her. She raised an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll soon see if Synn has become a man.”

  They were about to see if Neira had become a woman, as well. She’d defended Kiwidinok for many years, but had never launched an assault like this. She’d never really had the opportunity. She could thank Synn for that. Releasing a long breath, she studied the letharan curtain that was still firmly in place. Darkness was the only thing she could see on the other side of it. “I think he will surprise you, cola.”

  “You hope.”

  Neira tapped the heavy black device hanging from her ear. “Command, this is Neira.”

  She was met with nothing for a moment, then Tokalu’s sweet voice met her ear. “Leader Neira? Is that you? I can barely hear you.”

  Skah laughed and raised the mottled-silver bar attached to Neira’s earpiece up to her mouth. “Speak into that.”

  “This is not going to work,” Neira said, exasperated.

  “Ah, there you are, Leader Neira.” Tokalu’s voice brightened from the command center of Enhnapi. “I can hear you now.”

  “Please inform Joshua Bahrain the next time he designs one of these things, to make it less of a hassle.”

  Laughter bubbled into Neira’s ear. “I will do as you ask, akicit. Do you have orders?”

  Straightening her shoulders, Neira nodded. “I need information. I hear the El’Asim has taken the air.”

  “He has, Leader Neira, and he is making his approach to deploy the Umira Nuru now.”

  The men and women on the Enhnapi docks fussed with straps and weapons, but with no real intent. Their scratched and patched leather armor was in place. Their leggings and braces were on, their weapons at the ready. They hadn’t become antsy yet. The enemy wasn’t in sight. But as soon as they were, Neira knew it would be difficult to hold them back.

  “How is the storm?”

  Tokalu paused. “It is passing. We should be seeing the last of it very soon.”

  “Excellent. Has it passed enough for us to breach the beach?”

  “Yes, Leader Neira. I believe it has. The waves will still be a bit forceful. I don’t understand the report, but I will say the El’Asim breached with no damage to his ship.”

  That spoke for itself. “Then make it happen. Get to the beach and raise the curtain.”

  The time for proving oneself was over. What awaited all of them was no test. This was life.

  Or death.

  Kiey stumbled at the entrance to the Rose Cavern. She should have gone directly to Garrett as Fitz had recommended, but the Han was coming through. She couldn’t. She stared in stupefied wonder at the twisting bit of metal that had punctured the cavern’s side. Dirt and rocks filtered from above as the ground shook. No one had stayed behind. Not a soul had frozen in fright or been stupid enough to stay and die.

  Good.

  Kiey coughed on the dirt clogging the air and retrieved two small red globs from her belt pouch. She placed one at the entrance as far above her head as she could reach. The red mess stuck to her fingers, threatening to retreat from the wall back into her hand. She worked her fingers free, careful not to think too long about what she touched. The excrement of a monkey mixed with the saliva of a local lizard. How anyone had thought to combine the two was beyond her comprehension, but it worked.

  She moved to the other side of the tunnel, stepped onto a large boulder and repeated the process.

  Finished, she scrambled behind the curve in the tunnel and waited.

  The drill stopped.

  Kiey’s ears rang with the sudden silence. Gradually, her hearing returned. Dust and rocks fell. The ground shifted. Men’s muffled voices carried from outside.

  It didn’t take long before the drill was removed, slowly, steadily.

  Kiey swallowed hard, her heart racing. She took out the water pistol from her sheath, primed it and plastered herself against the wall, listening.

  Men’s voices grew louder.

  Peering around the curve, she saw several men filter through the circular opening, tripping over roots and bits of vegetation that had been dragged through. The sunlight that came with them was a welcome sight.

  She closed her eyes, ducking back behind the boulder, and waited for the men in their leather skirts and metal breast plates to fill the room. She wanted many of them inside the cavern.

  A rock rolled past her foot.

  Opening her eyes, she nodded once, then rose on tiptoes and aimed first at the lower glob, then the higher one.

  The red globs spa
t and sparked for a brief moment.

  A man shouted an alarm, going for his gun.

  She didn’t give him a target. She’d hit hers.

  Turning, she ran. One running step. Two. She needed four, at least.

  Another cry went up through the men behind her.

  Just around the next bend. Three.

  A bullet buzzed her ear, clipping her hair with the breeze of its passing.

  Four. Nearly there. She needed to get to the next bend. The next corner.

  The ground rumbled.

  Men shouted.

  The walls shook.

  Five! She skirted around the bend and tucked herself as close to the wall as she could, cupping her hands over her mouth to save as much clean air as she could should the rock slide hit her as well.

  The explosion blocked out all other sounds. Her body was flung across the small space of the tunnel. She hit the opposing wall and fell to the sandy floor, bits of rocks digging into her from below and above.

  She lay there, unaware of the passage of time. Dust choked her lungs. Her ears rang. All light had been cut off. She coughed a sigh of relief.

  She didn’t lie to herself. The Han wasn’t stopped. But maybe she’d taken enough of his men to make him pause.

  Pushing the rocks on top of her away, she picked herself painfully to her feet. Her fingers discovered a new wall of rocks and boulders. No light peeked through. Good. The tunnel was good and sealed.

  With her hand on her aching rib, Kiey limped down the tunnel, hobbling toward the light, praying to whatever gods might be out there that this fight be over and soon.

  Haji ran lithely up the side of the mountain, scaling the rocky rain-slicked terrain with relative ease in his skitter rig. He could hear soldiers just over the next rise. At the top, he ducked behind a large, lime-covered rock, the rain pouring over him. Little rain made it through his suit, thankfully. He hadn’t designed it to be weatherproof, but he was thankful he’d managed it anyway.

  A large group of men in the Han uniform stood around, waiting. They leaned on trees, or knelt in their leather skirts, unable to bend fully due to their silver armor breastplates. Most of them had some hair down from their topknots, which clung to their faces and necks in sopping hangs of black.

  Mesi stopped near Haji. Only her face was visible from within her unit, the copper-embroidered protection plate having been shut on her body cavity. She raised her chin, her lips moving.

  Her words met his left ear though the communication spike. “What are they waiting for?”

  Haji shook his head. He gestured for her to follow, and skirted around the lip of the valley’s bowl. It was hard to hear anything from outside his unit, which was a downfall, but with two communication links, he would have a hard time discerning anything anyway.

  The rest of his unit slipped into the foliage. With as big as each rig was, amazingly, they were able to hide fairly well.

  Haji walked several metres around, trying to find a hiding spot close enough to the men for him to listen in. He paused behind a big bush, listening.

  He frowned, feeling a vibration in his legs.

  Rocks jumped as if being electrocuted.

  Leaves quivered.

  He glanced at Mesi.

  She shook her head, but led the way further around the small valley. She stopped suddenly and ducked behind a large, fallen tree covered in green and blue moss.

  Haji joined her, hiding behind the log. Listening intently, he popped his head up when he thought it might be safe and froze. He saw the reason the Han’s men waited. A very large machine burrowed into the side of the mountain.

  A chilling sweep of anger rushed from Haji’s head down to his toes. He crouched back into hiding. “Mesi, take half of your men around to the west side. I want the other half with me. We strike as one.”

  “The objective?”

  Haji rose just enough to see the machine and stared at it in cold wonder. “To stop that thing. They cannot breach the city.”

  Mesi nodded once and barked orders into her communications unit.

  Haji ignored her words. The Han’s men were so off guard as to be painful. Was this truly the force that had destroyed his Family, taken his lands?

  Perhaps, they did not think they were vulnerable in this location. The people of Peacock Rock had remained inside the caverns, taking their home-based advantage. Haji was sure they knew the terrain outside their caves better than those who encroached upon them, but not nearly as well as they knew the inside of their beloved mountain.

  Haji crouched on his eight mechanical legs and waited.

  “We are here.”

  Good. He studied the men one last time, taking note of anything else that might help them. They wore standard Family weapons. No Hand pistols with their metal bullets. Good. The Hands of Tarot had relied heavily on the same pleron the Han used to protect his forces. The bullets would do little to no damage, but the Family weapons? The lightning guns? Those would.

  With a fierce smile, he raised one of his four arms, the other three reaching for guns and blades. “Attack.”

  Before they’d made it three steps, the world erupted around them.

  Rose sat in the cockpit of her plane and flexed her fingers on the control stick. She wished not for the first time that Bennen, her predecessor and mentor, was there. He and his flight might join her in the battle, but he was attached to the City of Enhnapi and was under the direct leadership of Neira.

  Taking in a shaking breath, Rose closed her eyes and willed herself to relax. She knew she would lose people today. They were going into battle. The storm still raged outside.

  It was better to die in battle than to die for no reason at all, she reminded herself. Today, they hoped to help a people being attacked by a horrid man who would inflict unspeakable horrors on a people who hadn’t earned them.

  But she didn’t know these people, and she didn’t know their enemy. So, dredging up a good give-a-damn was rather difficult.

  “Hey, hey, Rose!” Jake Rothman waved at her from his plane, which looked just barely big enough for him and his engine. “Why the long face?”

  Rose straightened her flight hat, and reapplied her headphones directly over her ears. “Just finishing my pre-flight tests. You should get back to yours.”

  He grinned and flapped his plane’s wings at her. “All working right as rain.”

  She frowned at him. “Why are you jinxing yourself like that? There is nothing right flying in the rain?”

  “Are you daft?” He threw his head back laughed. “I love it out there any way I can get it.”

  She smiled and ducked her head. When she wasn’t killing people with her engine designs, she agreed with him. The air was the best place to be. If her plane was large enough for her to move around in, she’d never come out of the air.

  Jake sobered. “We all knew what we were signing up for, Rose. Don’t forget that. Okay?”

  She paused, but nodded, sinking deeper into her seat. For all that Jake could be a jackdaw on a good day, he was surprisingly observant on an irregular basis. “Just get ready. Okay?”

  “Captain Rose,” Wa-sna-win called over her headset.

  “Rose here.” She cleared her throat and started her engines with the flip of a switch.

  “Bay doors are open. You are ready for launch on your mark.”

  The bay doors gave a grunt that was more felt than heard. Wind swept over Rose’s plane, tugging gently on the wings.

  Gently while still in the protection of the hanger bay, perhaps.

  “How’s the storm?” Rose asked.

  “Passing,” Wa-sna-win answered succinctly. “You should be okay out there, Captain.”

  “Thanks.” Rose knew the communications officer didn’t know much about flying. She wasn’t offering real advice. She was just doing her best to calm Rose’s nerves. She liked Wa-sna-win for that reason, respected her for it. Rose flipped the communication link from override to her unit’s channel. “Ladies an
d gents,” she called, her tone chipper. “Let’s fly.”

  The air rumbled with the power of their engines, though the full impact was muffled by the body of her plane. She was glad for it. The sound of all these engines running in the bay at one time was deafening. She lifted the Wise Girl off the landing platform, watching as the other twelve planes of her unit followed suit. Then, she tipped her nose down and took to the air.

  The bare whisper of sunlight streamed under the fleeing storm. Rain beat and dribbled down the glass of the cockpit. Rose gripped her joystick and the wind struggled to grip her. She searched the ground for a target. A land eater. Whatever that looked like. “Bullet guns at the ready!”

  The bullet guns might not work for the Umira Nuru. His guns were smaller. Hers were a lot bigger and the bullets a lot more powerful.

  “We’re locked and loaded, Rose,” Jake said, all humor stripped from his voice.

  “I have a target, Captain!”

  Rose couldn’t see where Ethel was. “Give me a location.”

  “Here on the east side of the mountain.” Excitement laced Ethel’s words. “You can’t miss this thing.”

  Rose banked to the right, heading east.

  The rest of the Sky Gypsies followed her lead.

  On the other side of a hill she hadn’t even noticed, a silver beast plowed through the vegetation. Similar to Haji’s plows. Kind of. In a way. Instead of legs, these things had some kind of belt system for movement. They were larger, big enough to fit probably five men comfortably. On the top were two cannons. The sides were riddled with large guns.

  The top cannon swiveled around, pointed toward the sky.

  “First three, prepare your bombs!” Rose commanded. She dropped the nose of Wise Girl and aimed through the red sight that appeared in front of her upon releasing the bomb for firing. “On my mark!”

  Three voices repeated, “Ready!”

  “Sight.” Even though she had the thing dead to rights in her scope, she wasn’t close enough.