Whispers of the Skyborne (Devices of War Book 3)

by S. M. Blooding

  Thunder crashed. It subsided, then boomed, rattling my chest until I felt the need to cough. It sputtered, ripped and tore the air. Lightning pierced the chimney, touching my lava.

  My body tightened and arched as if something else possessed it.

  An explosion of sound knocked small rocks from the walls.

  The power of the lightning released me. My lava retreated back to my shoulders.

  The rocks cascaded around us.

  The rain from earlier ceased.

  I lay on the floor in a crumpled heap, my entire body aching. Fire laced a path from my shoulder blade to my right foot. My right shoulder refused to move. My right ear heard nothing. My left ear barely accepted sound either.

  “He is breathing,” Haji said, his voice painful and soft at the same time. “But the lightning made contact with him. He needs to be seen by a healer.”

  I rolled onto my back, thunder cracking the air with a painful beat. I couldn’t hear the wind anymore. It blended with the buzzing in my ear. I closed my eyes as the rain, a softer rain, a warmer rain, fell through the window in a mist. After a battle like that, I was taken out by a bolt of lightning.

  Ironic.

  Chie stared at the carnage around her. They’d gone to retrieve Oki’s lethara, but had been trapped on Enhnapi. They’d been on board the city when it arrived at Peacock Rock.

  They’d spent the time it took to travel back to Kiwidinok talking. Oki told her of the processes, what a leader needed to pay attention to. She passed on as much information as she could.

  Chie had only been partially listening. It had seemed impossible. Who in this world would give her a leadership position? They’d changed into the clothes of the El’Asim. The pants fit tight, but protected her legs in a way that was unfamiliar and comforting at the same time. The flowing blue skirt went only to her knees, leaving her with a sense of being naked. The loose blouse, the tight vest? Foreign.

  But Oki had been happy.

  Happy.

  Then, Enhnapi was attacked. Attacked under the water. Chie knew who had done it. The only people who possibly could. The LeBlancs. But why?

  She didn’t have an answer.

  Blood stained Oki’s pink blouse, had billowed along her violet vest. Her chest had stilled long ago, or maybe only a short while ago. Chie didn’t know.

  The shelling had stopped as quickly as it had started. The lethara no longer wailed. That was good.

  People looked to her. They asked her questions. What were they to do?

  Hitoshi looked to her, his brown almond-shaped eyes waiting for direction.

  They looked to her, but all she could do was stare at her best friend, the person who had been born to lead, who had been trained to lead, who had no problems standing in front of people and providing that direction.

  Her friend whose life had bled from her before the poison could fully destroy her organs, ending her life slowly and painfully.

  Pain wracked Chie’s chest. What was she supposed to do?

  You know what to do, Oki’s voice said inside her mind.

  Chie raised her head and searched the people pressed in a tight circle around her, the splinters of dried flax dangling over people’s heads, the flailing lethara limb that had been severed.

  You know what to do, Oki’s disembodied voice said once again. You trained beside me. All the instruction I received, you did as well.

  Chie blinked her gaze down to Oki’s bloodied face. I am weak.

  You are the only one who thinks it.

  Chie shook her head. Everyone thinks it because I am.

  No. A strange chill cupped both of Chie’s cheeks. Everyone sees what you allow them to see. You have always hidden behind the mask that was provided to you. My mother expected you to be nothing, demanded you be nothing.

  That was all true. And why? Because she was nothing.

  You are amazing.

  No. She wasn’t. She was terrified.

  So was I.

  Chie touched Oki’s cold chin with her trembling fingertips. Oki? Afraid?

  Every day. Every day someone asked something of me. Every day someone needed direction from me. Every day I had to be in the front.

  It hadn’t shown.

  No. I hid behind my face as you hid behind your societal caste.

  Something bloomed in Chie. Frustration at the limitation that had been cast upon her due to her birth. Anger at being invisible.

  Then stop being invisible. I have faith in you.

  You should have given the leadership to someone else. Kenta.

  My husband is many things, but a ruler of a city as grand as yours will be? No. Our people need the hand of a woman to guide them.

  Chie studied Oki’s face, wishing it alive.

  They need your ferocious love, Chie. They need your temerity, your resilience. They need your foresight.

  Chie swallowed.

  The strange chill slipped away from her cheeks. It’s time for me to leave, now, but understand this. I made the right choice.

  Chie frowned, but didn’t argue.

  Lead our people, Chie. Don’t let Mother win. Trust my brother, but guide him as well. He needs your guidance as I did.

  Chie gripped Oki’s frozen hand. Don’t go. Not yet.

  Oki’s voice chuckled. I couldn’t stay forever even if I wanted. You will do well, my truest friend. Let your people see you as I do.

  Chie straightened as the chill disappeared from the air, replaced by a humid warmth, and Oki’s voice, her presence, left her.

  Oki had counted on her. She wouldn’t let her down.

  Aiyanna went from one cot to the next, checking on their patients. Surprisingly, there hadn’t been many. A couple dozen, but no casualties.

  The storm raged outside their lopsided ship. Thunder crashed. The walls and floors vibrated. The wind pushed at them. But the ship remained intact.

  Keeley met her gaze two cots away and smiled.

  A cold hand touched her arm.

  Aiyanna turned and looked down to the small girl. “Yes?”

  “You are wanted at command,” she said, her voice confident.

  “Thank you.” Aiyanna turned back to Keeley. “I’m needed at command.”

  Keeley waved her away, her red hair glinting in the low light. “We’re fine.”

  Aiyanna removed the apron from around her waist and headed for the stairs that led to the command room. Once she’d closed the door behind her and sealed it shut, she searched for Jamilah with a frown.

  She finished speaking to one of the technicians, straightened and walked toward Aiyanna.

  Her scarred expression was severe. Her hands clasped behind her back.

  That couldn’t be a good sign. “What is it, Commander?”

  Jamilah closed her eyes and pointed her face to the side, her lips straight. Opening her eyes, she said, “Jamilah. You may always call me Jamilah.”

  “But you are my commander.”

  “No.” Her soft smile was pierced by the fierceness of her scar. “You are not my crew. You are Synn’s.”

  Aiyanna frowned and dropped her gaze. Always the outsider. Raising her eyes with a deep breath, she fastened on a smile. “Why was I called?”

  Jamilah straitened her shoulders. “Synn was struck by lightning.”

  Her heart hammering, Aiyanna reached out a hand involuntarily. “Is he all right?”

  “We believe so, but he has lost consciousness. By all accounts, he should be fine.”

  “But he was struck by lightning.”

  “He is Synn.” Jamilah said bluntly. “Many things that should not be possible are with him.”

  Thunder cracked and seemed to chuckle as it rippled through the air outside the dome.

  “There is more.” Jamilah opened her mouth, then closed it again, lowering her head.

  “What?” Worry ate at Aiyanna. They’d entered a massive battle, the biggest she’d ever seen. Anything was possible.

  “Hehewuti, your high priestess, ha
s been killed.”

  The air left Aiyanna’s lungs.

  The heat fled from the air.

  Sound stopped as though it had been sucked into a great vacuum of space.

  Jamilah let her hands fall to her sides. “Enhnapi was attacked by the LeBlancs. Somet—”

  Aiyanna held up a hand to stop her. “I thought the Han had fled.”

  “He had. Ino had fled, as well as Shankara. But someone attacked Shankara. It had to have been LeBlanc. But after that, Enhnapi, and another letharan city were attacked in a bay to the east. I’m sorry.”

  Aiyanna shook her head. This couldn’t be possible. The high priestess had survived uncountable turns, at least a hundred years. No one knew how old she was exactly.

  Dead. Aiyanna forced herself to breathe.

  She would have to inform Sky City.

  But she couldn’t shake herself from the chill of shock as the thought that the woman she’d looked up to her entire life was gone. She couldn’t imagine the changes that would overtake the Hands of Tarot without her guidance. What would they do?

  Only Tarot knew.

  BY THE TIME THE STORM finally passed, I had recovered. My communication unit was fried, and I zapped Haji’s when he’d tried to give me his.

  I might have survived being struck by lightning, but my body wasn’t fully functional. Not quite yet, anyway. My muscles still shivered and quivered beyond my control. I’d finally made it past the point where I wanted to throw up. That was a blessing.

  Clambering down the mountain was not nearly as easy as climbing it had been. The soils were slick. The grass and other vegetation was wet. We gained a lot of bruises just walking. Who would have guessed that climbing down a mountain would have been more dangerous than entering a battle with a formidable foe?

  Back in the air, we regained altitude, reached out to all of our ships, and decided to gather at the Basilah at the southern tip of Kiwidinok. Hours away, but there were things we could do.

  Like sleep.

  Normally, I would have said we would honor our dead, but Haji declined, saying he needed the earth to honor his dead by, and Rose wasn’t with us. I had lost none of my crew, though technically, I didn’t have a crew of my own.

  My crew were my commanders and captains. Rose, Haji, Jamilah, Rajih, Qamar, Najat, Mudar, Ryo. I counted Oki and Neira in that, too, though. Oki might not be in my Fleet, but she was my sister, and while my mother might not honor the bond of blood, I did. And Neira, well, technically, I answered to her, so she had better be my crew.

  When I woke, Jamilah was dropping in altitude. Outside the control dome’s glass, the massive, dark storm that had blown down trees and decimated this area was several kilometres to the south and west. The roll of distant thunder still permeated the air. A light rain fell around us, tapping the glass gently, as if asking forgiveness for the brutal impact of the previous storm.

  The Basilah had landing legs. The ship looked like an odd type of bug, resting on its eight spindly legs, its wings tucked away.

  Why hadn’t I thought of that?

  Because there were parts of me still driven by tradition. Our air ships didn’t touch water and we never touched land.

  Well, we not only touched water now, we could swim through it. So, I needed to get over that part of myself and get some legs installed on the Layal.

  I could have slept several more hours. If we had several more hours. I had a nervous, anxious energy I couldn’t curb. The few hours of sleep I did manage to get did make me feel better. My body had healed enough that I no longer had any jitters and I didn’t feel the need to throw up.

  But I couldn’t call my Mark.

  I’d had my Mark for the span of about six months. I’d lived without my Mark for far longer than that. I should be relieved. I should feel better. If the lightning had canceled the nanites somehow, then I was free from the Skyborne, from their control.

  I couldn’t communicate with Du’a, either, and could hear nothing from my lethara. I felt naked without the power of my lava-lightning, though the Marks were still visible on my skin. It had retreated from my neck and lower arms, but had remained everywhere else.

  I hadn’t realized until that moment just how much my life had changed in the past several months; how much I’d grown to depend on my Mark.

  The air flowing through the Layal was chilly.

  Chilly. I hadn’t been cold since I’d gained my Mark.

  I put on my heavy waterproof jacket of wolf’s hide. At least, I knew I could wear this and not destroy it. There were several articles of clothing I stopped wearing for fear of burning them.

  I hopped out of the galley door when we’d gotten close enough to land and not break our legs. I didn’t even have to roll to deflect the impact. Lash was getting much better at piloting the Layal near land.

  Haji and his crew followed in a much slower pace, carrying their dead.

  There was nothing I could do for him. They were his people. I barely knew them. Didn’t even know most of their names. He had to do this on his own. I had to be okay with that.

  I had other things to do anyway. Ryo had Tokarz.

  Aiyanna joined me, pulling up a wide hood of her leather jacket.

  I acknowledged her with a nod. Having her next to me, having her in the same room, made me feel as though I walked on solid planking on a calm wind. I was about to face the man who took ownership of destroying my tribe, of destroying the ships they lived in while several kilometres above the ocean.

  If I’d been in a similar situation three months ago, I doubted the Basilah would have survived my rage.

  No. I couldn’t say that. I’d had the opportunity to destroy him a week ago, and I’d declined. Maybe I wasn’t as angry as I thought I was. Maybe I was as enraged as I should be.

  The Najmah lowered to the ground and settled on six rather bulky legs. Once settled, the dock doors opened, and Rose and her pilots poured out. They didn’t carry any bodies.

  With the pilots, there never were any bodies.

  Rose stopped, metres of flattened grass and leaves between us, and simply stared at me. She was far enough away that I couldn’t read her face. I could only read her stance. She stood strong and tall, her shoulders squared.

  She would be all right.

  That was enough.

  The Karida and Jihan remained high in the sky. But the Maizah joined us on the ground. She parked on her four legs and a tripod pedestal holding up the back, dozens of antennae high in the air.

  I blinked at the now full meadow. Was I the only one who refused to allow my ship to touch the ground? “Remind me to talk to Jamilah about installing landing gear.”

  Aiyanna’s lips rose a little, the corners of her eyes drawing down. “She’s already working on plans. She didn’t appreciate being on her side through a hurricane.”

  I bet not.

  Aiyanna placed a gentle hand on my arm.

  I faced her, forcing my expression to remain light and non-threatening. I was working through my anger.

  No. At that moment, it almost felt as though I was trying to work up to it.

  Why would he claim ownership? I knew he hadn’t done it. My mother had. I doubted he’d even had access to my ships, so his ability to slaughter my people would have been physically impossible.

  Glory. He’d probably gained a lot of standing with the other tribes by claiming he’d been the one to destroy the great and powerful El’Asim Fleet.

  Was that enough to kill him?

  I’d have to see how Ryo was holding up first.

  Aiyanna cupped my cheek, her big, brown eyes soft. A few rain drops made it past her hood and landed on her eyelashes. She blinked and flinched automatically. The sun behind me set the raindrops to glitter.

  “You’re beautiful,” I clamped my mouth shut, closing my eyes. I couldn’t believe I’d just said that, even though I meant it. The effects of the lightning strike still must have been affecting my brain. I opened my eyes, but kept my mouth shut.
r />   Her smile brightened. “How are you?”

  “I am well.” Except my brain wasn’t working quite as effectively as it could have been.

  “You are about to face Tokarz.”

  I lifted my head and looked toward the Basilah. The dock doors opened in the rear and Ryo stepped out, dark, scarred, and impressive. A team of six men in black trailed behind him, carrying Tokarz between them.

  “Are you in a good frame of mind?”

  I nodded and turned my attentions back to Aiyanna. “Are you? Jamilah told me about Hehewuti.”

  Aiyanna’s smile disappeared. “Yes,” she said softly. “I am fine.”

  What was it like to be her? In that moment, I wanted to know that, wanted to ask that. She’d never spoken much about the high priestess, so I didn’t think they had been that close. Would things change for her? Would she leave? “Will you be high priestess next?”

  She chuckled in surprise. “No. If Hehewuti had a successor, she’d been training said person a long time and in secret.”

  “In secret? Why?”

  “The queens.”

  “Ah.” There was a lot of politics in the Hands of Tarot that I just didn’t understand. And I didn’t think I wanted to.

  Ryo stood in the shadow of the Basilah, quietly waiting, his hands clasped in front of him.

  “Will you bury her?”

  Aiyanna shook her head.

  I frowned down at her.

  “She is of the Vash tribe. Neira will burn her body with the rest of her dead. It is their way.”

  “But she’s the high priestess of the Hands of Tarot.”

  “Not all tribes broke ties to those the Hands took in, Synn.” Aiyanna brushed past me, irritated. “Some were still accepted and loved by their tribes.”

  I hadn’t meant to chafe her nerves, not when she so often soothed mine. She had to be hurting. She had to have been closer to Hehewuti than I’d thought. …training her in secret. Perhaps, Hehewuti had been training Aiyanna in secret. Maybe they’d grown close, like a mother and a daughter.

  I grabbed her shoulder and tugged her gently to me, wrapping my arms around her and cupping her head to my chest.

  She resisted for a moment, then sagged into me, wrapping her arms around my waist as the gentle rains fell, the drops tap-tap-tapping on our hoods and shoulders.