Dragon Airways (8 page)

At that moment, though, that very innovation was coming right at them. The pilot was willing to give his or her life to take down the dragon, but Dashiq was no easy target.

"I hope they like pickled eggs!" Tuck said, cradling an almost empty jar. Though he was upside down when the jet passed, Tuck made a perfect throw and landed an egg on the jet engine's intake. The jet lost its resonance and for a moment sounded as if it might stall, but then it cleared up and once again found its rhythm.

Three times more jets harried them, doing their best to slow the dragon down. A formation of planes came from behind, and Dashiq did everything possible to maintain speed and still avoid the jets. They had come to expect the jets not to have weapons, but the next carried rapid-fire air cannons delivering a steady torrent of scatter shot. The sickening sound of the shot hitting Dashiq's wing was followed by a slow downward spiral.

Thinking to take advantage of the wounded dragon, the jet circled back for another pass. Again weapons fired but the dragon was more nimble than the pilot had been expecting. With a single rake of her claw, Dashiq crushed the engine's intake. Soundlessly the jet dropped from the sky. The others turned back toward the airstrips, from which a massive flight of diesel props approached.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The best use of power is to gain more power.

—Deacon Rex, Al'Zjhon

* * *

"Buckle up, Buttercup. It's about to get bumpy," Tuck said.

Scatter shot struck the carriage. Riette hadn't been hit. She checked on Emmet, who appeared to be fine. It was too close. The firing from behind was not continuous; planes had to jockey to get into position, and Dashiq took advantage. The first hollow mountain approached fast, a huge flight deck cleared and ready for them. The dragon lined up for the landing and made a perfect target. Most of the planes veered off but two persisted. Scatter shot rained down on them. Riette was struck in the arm, and Tuck cried out. At least it hadn't been stone shot. While the scatter shot affected a wider area, it penetrated with far less force. Nonetheless, stinging welts grew on Riette's arm.

Another round of scatter shot struck Dashiq in the right side of her head, where copper met flesh. The dragon had been lined up perfectly with the landing strip, but now she dropped sharply. Another flight deck appeared below the first. This one was fully occupied, and people ran in every direction. Some tried to save the aircraft moored there, while others leaped out of Dashiq's path. An instant before her face would have struck the stone, her head flew back and her wings flapped. She did crash into a mid-sized four-engine prop plane but did only minor damage. Afterward, no one knew what to do, looking at Dashiq as if she were a ghost.

Most kept their distance. The captain nodded to the man who was about as welcoming as a cold blade.

"So what's all this, then, DeGuiere?" the hard-edged soldier asked.

DeGuiere? Riette silently asked.

"We brought you something the Zjhon want badly," Tuck said, already sounding defensive. Riette didn't like the way this was going, but there was little she could do about anything at that moment. She and Emmet were just along for the ride and did their best to remain invisible.

"Do you need a child to speak for you now?" This brought laughter from a group of men watching from nearby and making no effort to conceal their appraisals.

Tuck opened his mouth. The captain, as Riette continued to think of him, silenced Tuck with a hand on the shoulder. Looking incensed, the young man pleaded with his eyes to be allowed his say. The captain pointed back to Dashiq. With obvious reluctance and a steady glare at the gathered men, Tuck made his way back to the dragon. This brought a roar of laughter that made Tuck blush furiously. Riette wanted to smack them on his behalf. Emmet, at least, was silent. Ever since arriving, the boy had been engrossed in their surroundings.

Everyone's attention turned back to the captain. "I can speak for myself," he said in a voice like tumbling granite. His words were not slurred; they were malformed, slow and drawn out, the right side of his face drooping. "What the boy said is true. The Zjhon wanted this." He held up the sky stone.

Laughter again filled the flight deck. Riette joined Tuck in staring the rude men down. Emmet examined the chamber walls, thinking only the gods knew what. The man talking with the captain turned around to face the rude men. Now some snickered.

"Scowl all you want, Gerrig. He ain't welcome here after what he did. I'd be within my rights to kill him here and now."

"You'll have to go through me," Gerrig replied, turning his back on the men, who made a show of being afraid. "What is this . . . rock?"

"It fell from the sky in a ball of light and struck the land a mighty blow," the captain said, his speech coming to him a little faster the more he spoke. "The Zjhon were there with a naval fleet and more than fifty aircraft . . . waiting for this. We got there first and stole it out from under them."

"Where did this happen?" Gerrig asked, suspicious.

"The shallows." This statement brought scoffing and accusations from the assembled group, which was now growing larger.

"Zjhon aircraft can't reach the shallows," Gerrig said.

"They can now," the captain said.

"That would mean the Midlands would also be within their range . . . and our flanks . . . our entire supply chain."

There was no more laughter.

"Come with me," Gerrig said.

"Yes, sir, Commander Gerrig, sir," the captain said, but then he glanced back at Dashiq.

Tuck had already begun attending to the dragon's wounds, which appeared to be minor but numerous. Riette had seen him give the dragon their entire saltbark leaf supply, and she hoped it would be enough to keep her alive. Being left to these people's mercy was not something she wanted to consider.

The captain waved for them to join him. Dragon grooms had shown up to assist in Dashiq's care, and Tuck had returned to staring down the soldiers, who continued to laugh at him.

Gerrig saw it as well. "Come on, then. Dashiq will be well cared for."

Visibly hesitant to leave the dragon behind, Tuck took a moment to talk with the much older grooms about Dashiq's care. These people nodded silently and listened, but the gathered soldiers now laughed at the dragon grooms.

"You will show some respect, Duggan," Gerrig said to the man leading the group.

"Send them back up to their own level, and they'll get plenty of respect. Down here, we respect loyalty and steel."

Massive workbenches holding partially assembled engines gave Riette an idea of what he was talking about. Taking Emmet's hand, she practically dragged him to where the captain waited. He said nothing.

"A doddering old fool riding a crippled dragon with a crew of simpletons!" Duggan said, barking a laugh.

Emmet heard the man and shrank against Riette in fear.

Tuck also heard. As they passed before the group, enduring their leering grins, Tuck turned and took three steps, which put him right in front of Duggan. The man was easily three times his size, yet Tuck stared at him as if he were the one looking down. "Ignorant fools should not speak of matters that do not concern them."

"Be careful, now," an ugly man said from behind Duggan. "You might hurt his feelings."

"I've wrestled dragons," Tuck said before Gerrig could reach him. "I ain't afraid of you." This brought the most raucous round of laughter yet. Men goaded Duggan for allowing a child to scold him. "You see that kid over there you frightened?"

Everyone listening looked at Emmet. Riette quailed under the scrutiny and squeezed her brother's hand more tightly. Emmet looked back with a complete lack of fear; in fact, he smiled.

Tuck wasted no more time. Using his strength and body weight to his advantage, he placed a well-executed kick on the side of Duggan's knee. There was a sharp crack followed by a shrill cry. The man swiped at Tuck as he fell, but the boy deftly stepped out of his reach. "That's for him," he said, pointing to Emmet.

"The gods sometimes mete out their judgment with swiftness," Gerrig said. "These people are in my custody. Any assault on them will be considered an affront to my family. Have I made myself clear?"

The gathered men mumbled and dispersed. Duggan got to his feet but walked with a pronounced limp.

"You are not to touch another person without my leave," Gerrig said to Tuck.

"Yes, sir."

"But I thank you for doing what you did," Gerrig said. "I appreciate the laugh. But I'm afraid there won't be much more of that."

Silence hung over the upper deck, which remained empty. Gerrig said nothing as they crossed the barren expanse, persistent wind rattling dragon harness all that broke the stillness. The captain walked with his cane, and Gerrig had to visibly slow himself to not outpace the group. He said no more until they reached a series of halls leading into a part of the Heights occupied by only humans.

"I wish you luck, my old friend," he said to the captain. "There won't be much I can do for you from here."

"You've already done enough."

Riette still had not gotten used to the sound of his voice. It was deeper and raspier than she had imagined. Since only half of his face cooperated with his speech, she guessed he had suffered a stroke. It would explain why he had spoken so freely when first meeting Tuck but had then stopped. Riette had known folks who never recovered from such ailments.

Guards watched in silent curiosity, but no one stopped them until they reached a set of ornate doors with handles shaped like battle axes. Riette could not hear exactly what was said to the guards, but Gerrig appeared confident. One slipped inside, preventing them from seeing anything or hearing what took place within. When he returned, he whispered to Gerrig before both doors were pulled open.

"Commander Gerrig," a stern voice said from within.

On trembling knees, Riette entered the war room. Dominating the chamber was a table with a scale model of the known world built into it. Wooden seas bordered land masses and provided flat surfaces, few of which were free of papers, figurines, and what looked like toy ships and aircraft. Amazing detail was visible in the masterfully crafted representation of their world. Places Riette had never known existed were shown. She could barely take her eyes away from it. When she did, familiar fear returned.

The man standing on the far side of the table dominated the room with his presence and made the soldiers below look nonthreatening. Other people in military garb continued as if no one had entered the room, but the big man glared with eyes afire. "I allowed you to leave this place once," he said. "You're a fool to return. What do you want, Barabas DeGuiere?"

The disdain in his voice was clear, and even Riette recognized the absence of any military title; she also made note of his first name: Barabas. It was an uncommon name, save in the mythologies. To be named after such a great figure must be difficult; so much to live up to.

The captain showed no sign of taking offense. "I serve as I've always served, General Katch, sir."

To his credit, this man did not laugh at the captain's infirmities. "Do you mock me?"

"No, sir. I'm not the man I once was." It was clear the general had no love for Barabas, but his eyes softened a fraction. Riette could not imagine what it must have felt like to make such an admission. "I came because the news won't wait. The Zjhon have outflanked you."

Several people in the room scoffed at the notion, but General Katch stared and waited.

"They've sailed an armada equipped with their own air support and the ability to launch aircraft at sea." His words came a little faster the more he spoke, but it was embarrassing for him when he had to wipe away the moisture at one side of his mouth.

"You've seen this yourself?" the general asked.

No one else in the room spoke. Barabas now had their full attention. "Aye. In the shallows."

General Katch scribbled a note and, with a whispered command, handed it to a young woman standing nearby. She dashed away.

Tuck stepped forward, his eyes downcast. "May I speak, sir? It is difficult for him." The captain's head lowered a bit at these words, but he did not argue. General Katch gave the boy a curt nod. "The Zjhon converged on the shallows because they knew something was going to happen. They were waiting for that." He pointed to the sky stone. "We just happened to be close by when it struck, and we beat them to it."

"What are its properties?" asked an older man with wild, curly hair.

"We don't know," Tuck admitted. "But we know the Zjhon wanted it badly."

A low murmur ran through those assembled, and the man approached with a sense of reverence. Barabas did not hesitate to turn over the sky stone, something of which Riette questioned the wisdom. A little leverage could not have hurt their chances of leaving this place alive. She was beginning to doubt his sanity for bringing them there in the first place. He'd nearly gotten them killed to take them someplace they were demonstrably unwelcome.

General Katch let out a deep sigh. "If I find out your words are false, your lives are forfeit." Riette wanted to smack the general but did her best to remain silent and invisible. "If they are true, which I suspect they are, then you've done us a great service, even if it is already too late."

Barabas looked up, deep concern in his eyes. "How bad is it?"

"Every day, they get stronger and we get weaker. Every time the Drakon deploy, fewer return, and we are still playing catch-up with regards to aircraft development and construction," General Katch replied. "That can only go on for so long before we're overrun. Based on your words, that will be soon. If we send our air strength to the west, then the Heights will surely fall. If we lose the Midlands, then we lose our supply chain. Either way, we lose."

"Then don't do neither of those things," Tuck said, and all eyes turned on him. To his credit, he did not flinch under scrutiny. "Send everything you got in a single strike."

This proposal was met with an angry backlash from almost all those gathered since it would doom both the Heights and the Midlands. Tuck had expressed what they already knew but did not want to admit. The Zjhon had already won.

General Katch held up his hand, and the room fell silent. "Tell me, boy. Why?"

"If they've sailed two fleets, how much strength could they have held in reserve?" The general nodded and allowed Tuck to go on. "They're counting on catching you by surprise." The captain put his hand on Tuck's shoulder, a clear sign of his support. Tuck spoke with bolstered confidence. "If you launch your offensive so the eastern fleet can see, they'll surely pursue you, knowing their homeland defenses are weak."