Tinker's War (The Tinkerer's Daughter Book 2) (28 page)

“I’m having a hard time with this,” she muttered. “Did they really just move a mountain?”

We all stared at her. “Well it wasn’t a whole mountain,” Wil said helpfully. “Just the top, really.”

“Why would they do that?” she said. “I don’t understand it.”

“I do,” Robie said. “It would have been impossible to land their ships in the mountains. They would have had to spend days or weeks clearing a landing zone, and months making roads between that and the mine. Instead, they just created a massive landing zone big enough for twenty ships at once, and opened up a gigantic mine all at the same time. It’s ingenious really.”

“But what about the peak?” Jenna said. “Where are they taking that huge rock?”

“Somewhere to mine it,” I said. “Somewhere close to a city, where they’ll be able to smelt and forge the steel right away.”

“They’re going back to Anora!” Robie said.

“They’ll have a surprise in store for them if they do,” Wil said, testing one of his knives against his thumb.

“Somebody will be in for a surprise,” I said darkly. “Anora’s defenses will not be ready yet.” I pulled my flight goggles down over my eyes. “We have to warn them,” I said. “We can get back there faster than those airships.”

“What about Tinker?” Robie said. “Are we going back for him?”

I glanced north, towards the broken mountain. “I doubt they left him behind,” I said sadly. “They’ll be taking him with them, to teach them how to smelt the ore. We can’t do anything for Tinker now. He will have to use his wits to stay alive a bit longer.”

Wil glanced back toward the excavation area and spat on the ground. “Wait ‘till the trolls come around,” he grumbled. “That’ll give ‘em something to worry about.”

The trolls were an old legend, something that only a handful of people claimed to have seen in recent history. They weren’t monsters, but rather a sort of wild race of humans with green skin. Legends said they were insanely violent, but those were just legends. I had a hard time believing the trolls were real at all, especially since I was probably the most well-traveled person alive and had yet to see one.

Robie leapt into the pilot’s seat and Jenna crawled in behind him. Wil sheathed his dagger and settled down behind me. I gunned the throttle, trying hard to believe that Tinker was still safe. I pulled back the flight controls and headed for Anora.

I kept to the south, circling around the sky-city in an attempt to get past it without drawing the Vangars’ attention. They were moving very slowly, and that made the task easier than I could have hoped. The sky-city was just coming out of the mountains as I turned north and made a beeline for Anora. I was entirely focused on finding the wind currents that would speed our travel. If it hadn’t been for Wil tapping me on the shoulder, I wouldn’t even have noticed that the Vangars had changed direction again.

After he got my attention and pointed, I craned my neck around to see what was the matter. I had expected to see the sky-city heading northwest, directly to Anora. When I saw the ships moving due west, I realized that the Vangars had a more nefarious plan. They were taking the mountaintop to Avenston, the capital city. I immediately landed to discuss this with my companions.

“Why would they do that?” Robie said after I had explained the situation.

“Because Avenston is on the coast,” I mused. “And they came from across the sea. It’s the best port on the west coast, and it’s a defensible city.”

“Unlike Anora, it has walls,” Jenna said. “No wonder they didn’t seem that concerned with Anora. They didn’t care if we took it back.”

“They might care,” I said, “but it wasn’t strategic to them. The Vangars can now ship their ore back across the sea, or continue to bring more of their kind here.”

“We’ll have to take Avenston back from them,” said Wil.

“Not likely,” I said. “If the Vangars don’t know how to smelt the ore correctly yet, they will within days. And since they took that massive chunk of mountain with them, they can start working on it immediately.”

“What if Tinker doesn’t tell them?” Robie said.

“He’ll have to,” Wil said grimly. “If he doesn’t they’ll kill him.”

Robie shot me a worried look as he realized that our rescue mission had failed hopelessly. “If Tinker went with them to Avenston, there’s no way we can rescue him now,” I said. “His only hope to stay alive is to give the Vangars what they want.”

“Will he do that?” said Jenna.

“I hope he does,” I said. “The secret isn’t worth his life. The Vangars will figure it out soon enough anyway.”

“Then what do we do?” said Robie.

I took a deep breath. “Once the Vangars understand how to smelt Blackrock steel, they’ll still have to put it to use. It will take time to adapt to the new technology. In the meanwhile, we’ll have to make sure Anora has prepared defenses.”

Suddenly, nausea washed over me. I leaned over the edge of the gyroplane and vomited onto the ground. I looked up to see my companions staring at me with worried looks. “Are you ill?” Wil said behind me.

I sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know,” I said. The world seemed to swirl around me, and I leaned back against the seat, fighting vertigo.

“I’ll fly you back to Anora,” Robie said. “I can come back for these two…”

“No, just give me a moment,” I said.

I closed my eyes, resting against the seat and waited for the dizziness to subside. After a few moments, my head began to clear. “All right,” I said. “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Robie said in a worried voice. “If that happens when you’re flying-”

“I’ll manage,” I said, cutting him off. “Let’s just get back to Anora. I can rest there.”

He nodded, watching me with a concerned look. I hit the throttle, ignoring Wil’s nervous comment of “Oh, boy,” from behind me. I felt him tense up as we lifted off the ground and I smiled slightly.

Less than an hour later, we were back in Anora. The sheriff met us at the landing strip and immediately started asking for help with a dozen different problems. Robie cut him off sharply, telling him that I was ill and needed bed rest.

“Analyn will be here soon,” he promised as he led me to a nearby steamwagon. “She’ll see to all these decisions.” He turned to face Wil and Jenna. “You two, explain our situation to the sheriff so that he understands.”

They nodded in unison. Robie lifted me onto the bench seat, climbed up next to me, and released the brake, leaving the sheriff standing there with a helpless look on his face. Robie whooshed me through the north end of town and up to the mansion. He carried me inside, and up to one of the luxurious bedrooms upstairs. I was feeling much better by then, but he insisted that I remain in bed. He pulled the shades tight, turned down the lantern, and promised to be back shortly with food and a doctor.

I rolled my eyes at his motherliness, but I followed his orders. I must have felt worse than I thought, because I immediately noticed how comfortable and cool the sheets were, and how soft the mattress was, and the next thing I knew I was asleep.

I woke up some time later with a doctor leaning over me and Robie hovering next to the bed. The doctor was an elderly man with salt and pepper hair and a goatee, and he wore the standard red-trimmed vest of all those in his profession. He touched his left hand to my forehead, his right hand testing the pulse on the inside of my elbow. He smiled down at me as my eyes fluttered open. I glanced to the side and saw Robie, and behind him, Analyn.

“Your pulse is strong, but you do have a mild fever,” the doctor said, pulling away. “I’m curious, how long have you been having these symptoms?”

“Symptoms?” I said, pushing myself up. I leaned back against the headboard.

“Yes, nausea, vomiting… perhaps other things?”

I thought back, remembering several instances of dizziness and nausea. “I don’t know, for a few days I suppose.”

“I see. Well, this may just be a common flu. We’ve all been under a great deal of stress lately, you especially. I won’t recommend anything more than herb tea for the time being, and plenty of rest. Summon me if your symptoms worsen.”

I thanked him, and the doctor left. Robie stepped up next to the bed and took my hand in his. “I was worried about you,” he said.

“Not much to worry about, I expect,” Analyn said joining him. “You have been pushing yourself awfully hard, Breeze.”

“You say that like I had a choice,” I muttered. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing in this bed right now. There’s too much to be done.”

“So there is, and yet it’s all getting done without you,” Analyn said wisely. She suddenly sounded very much like the schoolteacher I knew as a child. “The engineers have figured out how to replicate the dragon ships’ cannons and they’re building several as we speak. The mechanics have repaired the axle on one of the dragon ships and they’ve almost finished the repairs on the damaged engine. By tomorrow, I expect we’ll have three fully functional dragon ships and half a dozen ground-mounted cannons.”

I blinked, surprised by all that had been done. “How long have I been asleep?” I said.

“You slept through the night. It’s mid-morning now.”

I pressed my lips together, considering everything. “What about the Tal’mar?” I said. “Will they stay and help us fight?”

Analyn shot Robie a worried look. I noticed it. “Well, there is still some discussion in that matter,” she said. “I think they will stay for now, but not for long. In some ways, we’d be better off if the Vangars just attacked sooner rather than later.”

“I need to get up,” I said. “I can find out what the Vangars are up to.”

“Settle down,” Robie said in a commanding tone. “You’re not the only pilot around here, you know.”

“I won’t let you go!” I said. “It’s dangerous.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “You won’t
let me go?
” he said. “I think I like the sound of that. Unfortunately, you’re not the queen. I’ve been commanded to go gather intelligence, and that’s what I
intend to do
. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes. Don’t worry, I’ll be back by nightfall.”

I stared at Analyn helplessly. “You’re going to let him go alone?” I said.

“I’m sorry Breeze, but Robie is the only pilot we have right now. I won’t have you flying in your condition. Don’t worry, he’s only getting close enough to have a look. And he’ll be flying a gyro, so they won’t even know it’s him.” I smiled weakly, trying to veil my fear. If there was a better way to set me worrying, I couldn’t imagine it.

They lingered for a few more minutes, making small talk about the weather turning cold and the troubles of trying to get the city running again, and then they finally left. As soon as Analyn closed the door, I was out of bed and pacing. I did that for nearly an hour and then I couldn’t take it any more. I got dressed, slipped down the hall, and stealthily made my way down the back stairs.

I didn’t run into Analyn or the sheriff. I presumed they were busy meeting with other leaders and trying to pull the city together. I did come across a few citizens who seemed to be wandering through the mansion, just because they could. One of them stopped me to shake my hand. “You’re Breeze,” he said. “I’ve heard so many stories about you.”

I smiled uncomfortably because I had no idea who the man was.

“Just having a look around,” he added. “The mayor never let anybody in here before.”

“Enjoy yourself then,” I said. I excused myself and hurried on. I left through the servants’ entrance in the kitchen and then slipped around the building, passing through the gates entirely unnoticed. I headed straight for the airfield north of town.

It was a short walk and ten minutes later, I was there. Robie had already left on his reconnaissance mission. I found a group of mechanics and engineers hard at work. I was reluctant to disturb them at first, knowing that they’d probably already explained everything they had learned a dozen different times, but I desperately wanted to understand it all. After watching them for a few minutes, one of them noticed me.

“Commander!” he said. “It’s good to see you’re feeling better. I’m Cabol Marsh.”

He was an average man, in every respect of the word. Middle-aged with brown hair and a medium build. Not ugly, but not particularly attractive, either. He was dressed in greasy old canvas pants and a tattered shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“Thank you,” I said. “How is the work?”

He smiled broadly. “Let me show you.”

Cabol started with the gyros. I already had a full understanding of the machines, but I did have a few questions. One in particular surprised him: “What kind of weapons can we mount on these?” I said.

He started at me for a moment. “Weapons? You mean like rifles?”

I glanced down at the gyro we were standing next to and started walking around it. “We moved the seat forward yesterday and made room for a passenger. The engine was underpowered, but we managed. If these gyros can carry a passenger, then they should easily be able to carry some weaponry. Rifles, perhaps, or something even more powerful.”

“I’ll see what we can come up with. Come with me,” he said. “I have to show you something else.”

Cabol took me over to one of the dragon ships and we entered a doorway in the hull by way of a gangplank. He led the way up a stairwell, and we passed through a series of cargo holds and stairways, finally making our way to the main deck. Cabol led me straight to the cannons.

“They’re massive,” I said. “Several times larger than any I’ve ever seen.” The one we stood next to was the size of a farm horse and it was mounted on wheels. Chains attached to the side of the ship kept it from rolling across the deck backwards.

“That’s not the half of it,” he said. He pointed to a stack of brass shells with lead projectiles embedded at the end. Oddly, they were cylindrical-shaped and slightly pointed at the front.

“That’s the ammunition?” I said, perplexed. “How does it work?”

“It’s not as complicated as you think,” he said. “The brass casing holds the projectile and a black powder charge. It’s like the barrel of a rifle, in one compact unit. When loaded into the cannon, the rear of the casing is exposed.” He lifted a hammer off the ground and grinned. “The gunman aims the cannon, and his assistant hammers the back of the casing until the powder charge explodes.”