by Frank Morin
She told herself to shut up.
Glancing at the keystone, she realized she'd been holding it upside down. Cursing herself for getting sloppy, she righted it and twisted it again. This time the directional thrusters ignited and the wagon moaned and slowly scraped sideways across the floor. The struts shuddered, and Jean worried they if they snapped off, she might not be able to get the wagon out.
She hated moving to another lever with those directional thrusters still engaged, but she was out of time. Shifting the keystone to the next lever, she slowly twisted it from neutral. The lift thrusters ignited, and the wagon bounced against the floor.
The ride was rough, and she did not have time to fasten the safety straps, but the lift force helped the struts slide without buckling. She managed to turn off the directional thrusters before they pushed the wagon too far.
Facing the outer doors, she shifted to the push thrusters. She was sweating freely, and she yelped in fear when part of the roof ripped away and a torrent of water poured into the workroom.
Time to go.
Frothing waters tore into work benches. The room reverberated with the sounds of crashing destruction, and the air was so heavy with water, she could barely breathe. The waters formed into grasping hands and reached for the wagon.
The elfonnel had found her.
Jean twisted the keystone, forcing herself to keep in contact and not wrench it away in panic.
She'd never heard anything in her life as sweet as the roar of those rear thrusters activating. The wagon was already only half touching the ground, and it accelerated fast, skidding across the floor.
Water lunged after the wagon like a striking nuall.
Jean placed the keystone against the lift thrust lever and twisted. Even though she was still inside the workroom, she threw wide the release rate, and the thrusters seemed to approve.
The wagon lurched off the floor and Jean yelped and flattened herself onto the pilot bench to avoid getting decapitated by the top of the gigantic door as the wagon soared through. The very top of the huge bomb scraped the top beam. It rocked, despite the restraining straps, and for a heartbeat Jean feared it would tumble free.
Then the wagon cleared the door and shot into the air. Tendrils of water grasped after it, missing by a hair's breadth. Thankfully the bomb remained in place as the wagon shot into the sky.
Jean glanced back just as the entire workroom disintegrated under a wave of water. The elfonnel rose from the wreckage.
The majestic, beautiful elemental stared directly at Jean, its watery arms raised to pull her from the sky.
Jean screamed and twisted the keystone against the levers, trying to activate any remaining power, but both the lift and push thrusters were already fully engaged.
The wagon was accelerating, but so was the elfonnel. She could do nothing but watch in helpless horror as the elfonnel lunged into the sky after her, its watery arms extending with terrifying speed as it grasped toward the fleeing wagon.
"Come on," Jean cried, urging the wagon to greater speed.
She stood and faced the terrifying creature, chin high, terror swallowed up by a rising tide of defiant resolve.
"I saved them all from you, demon!"
A frown marred the perfect contours of those watery features, and it howled, the sound containing all the fury of a tempest unleashed. Its slender arms shot into the sky and grasped the rear half of the wagon.
Even though they looked delicate and fragile, the waters wrapped the rails and tugged, yanking the wagon to a stop. The abrupt change in motion tumbled Jean right off her perch at the front.
She managed to catch one of the levers and grab hold of the pilot bench before the lever snapped free. Screaming in fear, Jean hung for a moment from her fingertips before terror gave her the strength to grab hold with her other hand.
Her legs scraped uselessly against the smooth front of the wagon, then finally found purchase against the next control lever. With a heave, Jean pulled herself back into the pilot bench.
The lift thrusters were still working, but when she raised her head above the back of the pilot bench, she moaned in renewed fear. The elfonnel had ripped away the push thrusters and was drawing the wagon back toward its huge, beautiful face.
Jean looked into the eyes, like boiling whirlpools, fixed upon her, and she knew she was doomed.
Then the front of the elfonnel's face exploded.
A shockwave rippled through the creature, and its arms lost their hold for a precious second. The lift thrusters seem to have built up frustrated energy at being denied movement. The wagon shot into the air, accelerating so fast that Jean collapsed onto the pilot bench.
It took a moment to pull herself upright. The elfonnel stood directly below her, its terrifying face already re-formed and looking toward a second wagon.
Dierk had returned.
The huge transport wagon moved far faster empty, and Dierk had not descended very low to begin with. Good thinking because he was just barely keeping ahead of the elfonnel's snatching arms.
His wagon thundered into the air with Dierk shouting curses at the elemental. Jean heard the name Ingrid several times.
The elemental creature howled with rage. It threw its arms out wide and frothing tidal waves ripped out of its dress, smashing through the already shattered skeleton of the Builder compound.
Then it turned toward Faulenrost.
Jean's heart sank, and she felt a renewed flash of horror as she realized the creature's intention. Dierk had denied it the prize of her wagon, and it would take its frustration out on the entire village.
Unless Jean killed it first.
Her wagon was still rising fast, but the elfonnel was almost directly below her. So she scrambled into the back to the bomb. The plug at the top of the huge ceramic jar was made of granite. That must have been how Dierk had activated it.
She was grateful he had. She wasn’t sure the keystone would work on it. Jean placed her hands on the cool ceramic, kissed the side of the deadly weapon and whispered, "Please. Please, for all the lives that depend upon this, let this work."
Then she unfastened the restraining straps and threw her weight against the huge bomb. It rocked, but did not roll, and she had to work it back and forth five more times until she managed enough force to roll it over.
With a scrape and a rumble, the huge bomb fell free.
Jean spat at the elfonnel. "Open wide and take your medicine!"
Although her wagon was still rising rapidly, Jean realized too late that she was still far too close.
The bomb crashed onto the monster's head.
It detonated!
The enormous, fiery explosion tore through the elfonnel, shredding the creature and spraying water in spectacular geysers. The waters of the creature's torso evaporated into shrieking clouds of steam.
Fire and steam boiled into the sky toward Jean. She felt a surge of satisfaction knowing she had done everything she could. Even if one bomb wasn't enough to kill the monster, at least she had given the people of Faulenrost a chance.
She threw herself to the bed of the wagon, just as the shockwave struck, smashing the wagon up against her.
She felt blinding pain.
Then nothing.
Chapter Forty-Two
"A single wave pushes the water it must in turn follow, but the mighty sea is in constant commotion.”
~Anton
Hamish tried to relax his grip on the front rail of the Storm, and bit back the urge to suggest again that Verena fly faster. She had threatened to throw him over the railing if he didn't stop.
He shouldn't have squeezed the control levers so hard that he'd cracked one. Verena had insisted on piloting after that.
Now he wished for even that much to do. Worry boiled through him and he silently willed the speeding craft to go even faster.
Even eating didn't offer any comfort. He'd lost his appetite, and if they arrived to find Jean hurt, he wondered if he'd ever be able to eat ag
ain.
They had torn across the southern reaches of Granadure, but still too slow. With all their combined mighty powers, it still might not be enough.
Jean was so helpless, so dependent upon them for protection. He'd sent her away for safety, but might have instead sealed her fate.
"Faulenrost is just past that next mountain," Verena said, pointing at the peak just a few miles ahead.
"Good. This block is nearly spent, and I cannae take another yet," Martys groaned.
He and Connor had kept extra thrusters firing for the entire trip. They'd gained at least an extra half falcon in speed and probably shaved off half an hour from the trip. They needed a more exact way to measure speed too.
Even though they were flying faster than he could alone in his battle suit, the long seconds it took to soar over the final hills seemed to take forever. Hamish held his breath as he caught his first clear view of the long valley beyond. His long-vision goggles were already in place, and he activated the little quartzite stones in the lenses to magnify his view.
The Builder compound was gone.
Floodwaters covered most of the valley and churned all around the shattered skeleton of the buildings. His eyes were drawn to the giant figure of an elegant woman in a watery gown, her long, slender arms reaching into the sky, as if to celebrate the terrible destruction that she caused.
Then she exploded.
Her torso shredded, and the last remnants of the Builder compound vaporized.
Hamish opened his mouth to shout in triumph, but Verena wailed with anguish first. She had released the controls and rocked back in her seat, hands raised to her mouth, her visor pushed back, her expression horrified.
"Our home!" she cried, tears already flowing.
A distant rumbling thunder rolled across the valley, as if to punctuate her words. A second later, the shock wave struck in a blast of turbulent air.
The Storm pitched and bobbed, and thankfully Verena grabbed the controls. Hamish was a good flyer, but Verena was better. She quickly quieted the craft, smoothing out the ride, despite the wildly bucking air, which smelled charred and very humid.
"Turn this thing off," Connor shouted, struggling to stand with the spare thruster still blasting against his chest.
With a burst of thrusters, Hamish vaulted out of his seat to the bed of the Storm and touched the stone to shutter its power. The rushing air faded away, but Martys didn't wait for help. He simply twisted his stone and released it, letting it soar away.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I think Dierk just bombed the elfonnel."
Hamish felt immensely relieved, even though his home was gone. He'd only lived there a few months, but it was as much his home as Alasdair.
Where was Jean? Had she escaped that devastation? Had the others, or was that giant fireball still growing over the middle of the valley serving as their funeral pyre?
"Look! Windriders," Connor said, pointing.
One huge troop transport was peeling away from the explosion and climbing rapidly. Dierk was piloting it, his hand raised in victory. The other wagon was ascending directly above the explosion and had been momentarily obscured from view when the fireball had engulfed it. It continued to rise quickly, and as Hamish focused on it, he realized with a start that no one was controlling it.
Dierk was pivoting his huge wagon around to give chase, but Hamish could see he'd never catch it. The second wagon was rising under full lift thrusters and had a huge head start.
"Do you have a speakstone paired to Dierk?" he asked Verena as he returned to his seat at the front. She had slowed the Storm and sat staring at the devastation in wide-eyed horror.
"I think so," she said in a wooden, distracted tone, then shook herself angrily. When she spoke into her helmet, calling to Dierk, her voice was rough and filled with sorrow.
Dierk immediately banked the windrider around toward them and began gesturing toward the still-ascending one. He was shouting something, and Hamish leaned closer to Verena to listen. Dierk's voice was a bit distorted, but Hamish heard enough.
"Jean's in that windrider. She dropped the bomb!"
Jean was alive!
Hamish leaped out the Storm and activated every thruster, shooting after the pilot-less wagon. The Storm might be faster, but Verena seemed to be struggling to cope with the loss of her beloved home. Hamish couldn't bear to wait even the few seconds it would take to shoo her out of the pilot seat and fire up the thrusters.
Turbulent air rushed past, and he embraced it as he tore through it toward Jean like a living lightning bolt. He forgot about everything else, including the elfonnel as he raced to catch the rising windrider.
As he closed on it, his sense of dread increased. It looked battered, with sections of railing missing and all the push thrusters ripped right out.
What had Jean suffered from that elfonnel before he arrived? How had she managed to activate the bomb? Why was she alone in the windrider?
Hamish slowed as he ascended above it. He spotted Jean lying motionless in the back, her limbs sprawled, her hair lying in a wild tumble around her head.
There was blood on her face.
The sight of it enraged and terrified Hamish and he shouted her name as he swooped down toward her. He landed in the long bed of the wagon already running, cut power to his thrusters, and slid on his armored knees to Jean.
He ripped off his helmet and leaned over her, fingers trembling with fear as he touched her unmoving face. She was still warm, so maybe she'd be all right.
Hamish gently brushed her hair back and found the source of the blood. An ugly gash on her forehead was still bleeding, but he couldn't see any other visible injuries.
He pulled a cloth from the medical kit he carried clipped to one of his straps and pressed it gently to the wound. Jean stirred and groaned.
Hamish kissed her cheek. "Oh, Jean. You're all right."
She groaned again and blinked her eyes open. It took her a couple seconds to focus on him, then her face lit up with joy and she hugged him to her.
"Oh, Hamish, I was so afraid!"
"I'm here. We're here."
She kissed him and laughed, but then groaned and touched her injured forehead. "Ow."
Hamish eased her to a sitting position and handed her the cloth. "What happened?"
"Elfonnel!" Jean cried, fear returning to her gaze, and she looked toward the back of the wagon.
"What happened?"
Her expression turned grim. "That thing was destroying everything. Dierk couldn't land. I had to."
So Dierk hadn't been cracked when he said Jean dropped the bomb. "How?"
"I used the keystone," she said proudly.
"Wow." He kissed her again, eager to hear the entire story, but the wagon was still ascending under full power. "I'll bring the wagon back down while you tell me."
Jean followed him to the pilot bench, and he watched her carefully. He'd suffered enough head wounds to know sometimes they made a person groggy or dizzy for a while. He helped her to the seat, then touched the control levers, flicking his Builder senses through the wagon's thrusters.
It was a miracle the wagon still flew.
All the push thrusters were gone. Most of the directional thrusters were missing too, like little holes in his mind where flickers of eager wind should be.
The remaining lift thrusters had lost connection with the control lever. If they hadn't already been activated and driving into the underside of the wagon, Jean would have crashed into the explosion instead of rising above it.
He cut power to the thrusters he could reach, and the wagon slowed. "I'll be right back." It took only a moment to slip under the wagon and touch each of the remaining thrusters and reduce their release rate until the wagon started to descend.
"The landing might be rough, but we're going down at least," Hamish told Jean when he returned.
She touched the catch-fall harness she wore. "I had planned to maybe jump, but never got the chance."
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"Good thing. You wouldn't want to land in that mess. Come on, I'll take you down to the others while this thing descends."
Jean wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a lingering kiss that made his knees weak. "I am so glad you're here."
"Me too."
She was safe! His joy felt like a diorite dart had ignited in his chest.
The two lifted off the crippled wagon, and Hamish turned toward where Dierk now hovered beside the Storm, a quarter mile above the flooded eastern edge of the valley.
With Jean safe in his arms, Hamish studied the destruction of the valley while he flew. The spot where the Builder compound had stood was flooded with churning, debris-filled waters. The crazy, packed cluster of buildings were all gone. He flew back to the Storm and deposited Jean gently in the seat next to Verena.
Verena, who had been sobbing into Connor's shoulder, released him and gave Jean a fierce hug. "Oh, Jean. I'm so glad you're safe."
While Martys hovered close, Connor hugged Jean and asked, "You flew the wagon?"
"Sort of."
Dierk stood on the front bench of his nearby wagon, grinning wider than Hamish had ever seen. "Jean! That was amazing!"
"How did you do it?" Hamish was hovering just above the port side railing, close to Jean.
Dierk said, "She saved two loads of people in another wagon, and she saved the bomb. Dropped it on that monster when it wouldn't let me land."
Jean flushed under the attention. "You did so much more, Dierk."
He shook his head. "It's no big deal for me to fly a wagon. And even though you had so much trouble on the first load, you risked your life going back."
Hamish took her hand and gazed deep into her bright, blue eyes. "You're my hero."
"Well then, maybe you can finish off that monster before it goes after Faulenrost and kills everyone we worked so hard to save."
Only then did Hamish notice that the elemental had reformed.
Well, sort of.
Where before it had been the picture of elegant beauty, the elemental now look deformed, more like a crippled blob. It shambled through the valley, stumbling from one side to the other like a hunched-over drunkard.