Whispers of the Skyborne (Devices of War Book 3)

by S. M. Blooding

  Trap. Mother waited for us. Had to be. Bob wouldn’t have been able to “hack” into their nanites yet. Would he? He’d told me I had to tag along so he could use my—I didn’t even know what. I simply thought I’d have to be closer for him to be able to do what he needed to do.

  Slimy tentacles wrapped around my wrist, lifting me into the air.

  I jerked in surprise.

  Kenta did not seem surprised.

  I couldn’t see Chie or Hitoshi, but I guessed this was part of the plan. They could have warned me.

  Ino City came closer and closer, the docks gaining greater detail.

  Then we were hurtling in the air, held only by our lethara. And, then, that was gone and we flew through the air.

  My knees found purchase first. I rolled to a stop and staggered to my feet.

  Hitoshi did the same.

  Chie groaned behind me.

  Kenta was already on his feet, his sword removed from its sheath. He spun in a slow circle.

  All the buildings were gone. The huts. The shops. The people were also gone. Where? Silence met my ears. Not real silence. Ropes creaked with the gentle movement of the lethara. The platforms popped.

  Chie’s lips were flat. She pulled her long dagger from her belt. “Follow me.”

  Can you hear me?

  Rose shook her head in wonder, Wise Girl rattling around her. This was a very bumpy ride, the air thermals harsh. Not nearly as wild as flying in a hurricane had been. “I can hear you.”

  The wall of storm clouds shot her with fear that she almost choked on. She’d never seen anything so horrifying in her life. A wall. Of clouds. She’d barely survived the hurricane before. She’d watched as the storm had eaten another plane. Something like that? It would decimate her.

  Don’t think about it, Du’a said, her soft voice filling her mind, a sort of ease settling over Rose’s nerves.

  “How do you do that?” She’d never realized the birds could talk. She’d only seen them around Synn’s people.

  Something like a smile slithered over their link, but it was felt rather than seen. In much the same way as you, I would think.

  Few knew about her Mark. She didn’t speak about it to anyone.

  But it was one of the things that made her a good leader. As long as she could control her own emotions, she could control the emotions of those with her.

  Bettie’s voice piped up. “It’s so weird hearing you talk to someone we can’t hear.”

  “Try being the one,” Agnes said loudly, “with the bird in her ear.”

  Laughter settled over the bond with Du’a.

  Rose shook her head. “Are we close?”

  Yes. Do you see just there?

  Rose stared at the black bubbled mountain through the glass at her feet. If all she’d had were the words, she wouldn’t have seen “just there,” but she also had a vision to go with it.

  Amongst the bubbles of what looked like frozen tar was one shaped more like a cube. In her mind’s eye, a red “x” marked it. “I see it.”

  Destroy that, and the Han will no longer be able to rest here.

  Something tickled at her mind through the link, some additional bit of information that was more intuition than real information. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Du’a dipped in front of Rose’s plane. That box is all that protects the people on the other side of that cloud from toxins of your world.

  Rose frowned. “How do you know that?”

  “Same way I know anything,” Sparks quirked. “I’m just that damned pretty.”

  “Sparks,” Jake barked louder than was his normal. “Shut it. What is it, Rose?”

  Du’a waited for the banter to stop. This is where we live, Rose. Trust me. We know things. Now, use your bombs and take out that box.

  Neira landed on the Ino City docks, her dagger in her hand. She could feel the doors of the trap swing shut, but Synn had been the bait. She and her warriors were there to ensure Ino had no warriors left to wage war with.

  She gestured behind her, telling her people to circle around and kill quietly.

  Her people spilled across Ino City like a brown shadow.

  Neira looked up. When she’d been there during the Games, Ino City had looked so impenetrable. Busy, full, loud, colorful.

  Now, it was chillingly silent. The shops were gone. The houses had been removed. Silence except for the soft slap of the tainted ocean waves and the constant roar of the storm wall Neira knew was just on the other side of the melted mountain.

  Bartolo Cruz’s boots crunched loudly as he landed.

  “Hold the docks,” Neira commanded, then turned to Ga’a’dool.

  She had leapt from her long boats almost soundlessly. The white painted dots along the other woman’s dark skin almost seemed to reflect the failing blue light of the sun.

  Neira hadn’t expected Ino City to be abandoned, but she couldn’t think it would be. This had to be a trap. She couldn’t assume they’d been able to ride in without anyone seeing them. “Take the control room. Destroy all their equipment. If we allow them to live, they will do so blindly.

  Ga’a’dool smiled a sick smile, her brown eyes icy cool. She clicked and grunted to her warriors behind her and they took off, spears and bows in hand as silently as spirit animals.

  Neira returned her gaze to the might of Ino City.

  The might that once was Ino City.

  No longer.

  The Layal was getting better at these landings. Haji was pleased. His land units might be more durable now, but they had lost some of their versatility by gaining weight.

  Haji leapt out of the galley, his eight mechanical legs scrambling to regain ground as he controlled them with his toes and feet.

  Rashidi ran ahead of the heavier units, his shield men following close behind.

  Gun fire. Directly ahead.

  The only thing Haji could see were black, molten boulders.

  The Layal answered those shots from above.

  Haji rushed forward, his guns in hand. He aimed at the orange blasts.

  Men in leather armor flew through the air, their bare legs flailing.

  The Layal had hit her mark. She rose into the sky, gaining altitude, continuing to fire.

  Haji scampered around the boulders, firing into the remaining three men cowering there. He scanned the face of the mountain with his mechanical eyes.

  Rashidi scrambled up the mountain, lobbing a red blob to his left.

  The mountain exploded. Men sailed through the air.

  Haji and his men continued forward. He would eradicate the Han, making it impossible for the man to inflict his horror on anyone else.

  Haji would reclaim his lands. His people would rebuild their homes.

  The Han would die this day.

  Nix rolled onto the docks behind Neira’s forces. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing there. She only knew that the lethara that now belonged to—oh, what was that Ino girl’s name? She couldn’t remember and it didn’t matter. The lethara had grabbed her and thrown her across the ocean to land on Ino City.

  Another grand entrance.

  She brushed at the slime coating her clothes, raising her arms away with a grimace. What was she doing there?

  Something tugged on her legs. They moved toward the ocean as if with a will of their own.

  She raised her chin, but couldn’t stop the movement of her feet. Her breath raced in her chest as her feet picked up the pace. Her Mark rose from her shoulders, waving fire over her head.

  The Mark controlled her, took control of her. She didn’t know where she was going or why. She didn’t appreciate not being the one issuing the orders.

  Her hands grabbed a rope and her feet helped her climb it, power she’d never experienced racing through her arms.

  It was time to figure out why this programmer thought she was important, and she needed to discover a way to break his power hold over her.

  Her body was hers.

  Hers.
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  No one else’s.

  I COULDN’T BELIEVE WE’D ACTUALLY won. Though, the final battle had only been won because we’d destroyed the Great Families previously.

  And yet, we were stronger than we ever imagined. Or maybe I was the only one who couldn’t imagine it.

  Ino City had been destroyed. Most of the citizens had fled on the way to the melted mountains. They trickled in, joining us at Lake Chatan in any way they could; sea vessel, lethara, a few even got a ride from a Hand envoy.

  The Han’s forces had been decimated. I didn’t know where he got the men for his army, but from what Rose had said, there was nothing left of him.

  Tokarz was still in my custody. I didn’t know what to do with him. Jail him? Kill him? Strip him of all his power and set him free?

  Shankara had been decimated. We had their lethara in our southern bay. He hadn’t made it any further. It didn’t appear as though we could save him, though Keeley hadn’t given up on him. He would never house a city again. That was clear.

  Neira was holding court, for lack of a better term, on the main level of Enhnapi. People from tribes I had never seen before were here. She seemed to know most of them. They spoke fluent Xi’ous, so I assumed they were a part of Kiwidinok.

  There were others, though. The remaining tribes from the League of Cities had returned. Of course, they’d waited until we’d defeated the Great Families. What would we do, though? Turn them out?

  I struggled to hear much of anything over the noise of the massive crowd. Seeing a familiar red head—something I hadn’t seen in months—I moved through the press of people toward Keeley.

  She saw me coming, but instead of fleeing, she stood her ground, continuing to talk to those beside her. She smiled at me, her green eyes flaring with a light I hadn’t seen in her…well, ever. “El’Asim.”

  I flinched a little, but I had to remember my place. I was now a leader in this massive community. I couldn’t be the boy I once was. I smiled and tipped my head. “Healer Bahrain.”

  Her smile deepened and she dipped her head.

  Doctor Carson raised his eyebrows, gesturing at me with his cup. “We were just discussin’ the school we’re intendin’ to build.”

  “Oh.” I watched Keeley with a new light. She’d grown in the time away from me. I might have scared her half out of her wits, but she’d run away to become someone much more. “That is a fantastic idea. Can I assume that you two will be leading the medical team for the League?”

  “Lady Neira kind of implied we would,” Doctor Carson said, with a laughing snort. “I don’ think she’d allow us to do anythin’ different.”

  “Good.” My smile dimmed a little. I missed my friend, though she and I had never been nearly as close as Haji and myself. She’d seen me through a pretty horrible time in my life. “Good.”

  Keeley’s smile dimmed a little, too. She looked away, straightening her shoulders and gestured to the side, her eyebrows high.

  I nodded and followed as she moved away.

  A few steps away from her group, she stopped and turned to me, her fingers folded around her bone cup. “I feel I should apologize.”

  “No.” Shame filled me. I’d been so stupid and so angry and so hurt as I grieved, I’d failed to realize other people lived around me…as people. “I am the one who frightened you. I am the one who—” I struggled to find the right word. “—threw the tantrum.”

  A chuckle escaped out of her in surprise. “Ye—well, yes.” Another chuckle. “Yes.”

  “Keeley.” I reached out my hand.

  She flinched.

  Doctor Carson looked up at us from over the heads of those around him.

  I pulled my hand back and bowed my head. Taking in a deep breath, I plastered on a wide smile. “I hope we can still be friends. I am truly sorry for how I acted. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I know.” She applied a forced smile of her own. “I know. And a true friend wouldn’t have run.”

  I bit my lips. I didn’t have an answer to that. Maybe that was the real answer. We’d had our moment, but in the center of our hearts, we didn’t have the connection to one another that I did with Haji. Maybe we weren’t real friends. “Good luck with your school.”

  She took a step back. “Good look with the League.”

  I wandered through the crowd, wondering how long I had to stay. My heart hurt a little and I was ready to go back to my ship.

  Neira had given me a look that said she’d slay me slowly if I abandoned her when this had all started. I felt as though the only answer was to stay to the end.

  Haji grabbed my arm, a wild grin on his face.

  I felt myself smiling back at him before I’d even heard the good news.

  “She is giving us Koko Nadi.”

  “Us. Wow.” I hadn’t even noticed when my best friend had become the kind of leader who included all of his people when I knew for a fact Neira had given him the Koko Nadi Islands. We’d discussed it in great length. She needed someone who could protect the islands from attack. Garrett had tried, but he’d been a leader of civilians. Haji was the Umira Nuru, a man who’d made a name for himself.

  His face took on a happy glow as he gripped my shoulder. “I know you had a hand in this, and I thank you from the bottom of my soul.” He patted his chest. “We have a home again.”

  “It’s not your home.” I knew that’s where he, ultimately, wanted to go.

  He shrugged. “Who knows? One day, maybe we will get that back as well. After all, the Han is gone now.”

  I chuckled as he departed, wrapping his arm around Rashidi’s shoulder in celebration. They continued on to the rest of their group to share the news.

  A commotion rose at the elevator platform. As the people moved to the side, I made out the ice blue and silver skirt through the press of people.

  Hands of Tarot. Queen of Wands. Dyna.

  Crap.

  I walked through the crowd to where Neira sat on a high stool.

  She saw me and glared, pointing her finger to the floor beside her.

  Skah wiggled her blonde brows at me, her back straight, her bow slung across her back.

  I stood where Neira commanded.

  “I will slay you,” she whispered.

  “You’re the leader,” I whispered back.

  “Of your damned League.” She straightened and nodded to Chie.

  A wall of people lined a wide semi-circle before Neira. Chie stepped out from it, looking odd in her new clothes. Shades of purple; pants, boots, skirt, blouse, vest, and scarves. Her straight, black hair hung loose down her back. She raised her round chin and smiled.

  “Chie Yasu Noriko,” Neira said loud enough to be heard above those nearest us, but not so loud as to be heard into the crowd. “You have requested a post on the outskirts of the known regions. Is this correct?”

  Chie dipped her head. “I have.”

  “Yvette L’eau-esprit,” Neira called.

  Yvette slipped from the crowd, her pale blue robes loose and flowing around her knees. Her legs and feet remained bare. “Lady Neira Vashkelran.”

  “Due to your unique abilities, I would ask you to share the patrol of the known regions with the Yasu Noriko.”

  Yvette smiled gracefully. I’d never seen a graceful smile before. “We would love to, Lady Neira.”

  Neira nodded and dismissed them, leaning over to me to whisper out of the side of her mouth, “I wish they would stop calling me lady.”

  “If you want them to call you something else, you should tell them,” I whispered back.

  She glared at me.

  The queens of Tarot stepped into the semi-circle, Dyna in the lead. Her ice-blue and silver skirt was full, the silver corset tight. On her piled blonde hair rested a clock-work crown. She dipped her head and rose. “Neira, Leader of the League of Cities.”

  Neira sighed. “Queen Dyna.”

  “I have come to reclaim our charge.”

  We had discussed it. With the threat o
f the Great Family out of the way, we didn’t believe we needed to keep Nix so close. If the Skyborne threatened again, we might bring her back. Might. It was time to allow the Hands of Tarot to take Nix back.

  A guard led Nix into the open space from behind us.

  Nix’s head was bowed, her hands clasped in front of her. Even the normal haughty set of her shoulders was gone. She looked broken.

  If there was one thing I knew about her, it was that she wouldn’t stay broken for long.

  Dyna glanced at me and smiled slightly, then returned her attention to Neira. “Thank you.”

  Neira nodded.

  Dyna took Nix’s arm and led her back the way she’d come.

  The rest of the afternoon dragged on with more tribal leaders stepping forward, leaving gifts that were then secreted away some place.

  As both suns set, Neira stood. “We’re done.” She turned and walked towards the back where a lone hut stood. She gestured for me to follow, Skah at her side.

  I ducked into the hut.

  She offered a pillow thrown on the floor around the cool fire pit. She dropped her fur half-cloak on the floor and sank onto one herself.

  I frowned as I sat, not sure what I was doing there.

  “You can’t disappear again,” Neira said quietly.

  “And neither can you.”

  “Unlike you, I was never really gone from the world.” She tipped her head and looked at me through her eyelashes, taking the cup Skah offered.

  I hadn’t realized before, but what she said was true. She had a much larger part to play in this world than I did, even when the El’Asim tribe had been at its peak.

  Skah offered me a bone cup as well.

  I took it, thanking her with a tip of my head. “What would you have me do?”

  Neira sighed, undoing the laces of her boot. “With Oki dead, I will need a second and it is time you took leadership of this League. It was your idea in the first place.”

  I supposed it was, but I still didn’t have a clue what “leadership” really even meant.

  “And I’m making you leader of the Menagerie.”