up.
“So we need to stop,” Loch said to Kail.
“Well, not in ninety-one seconds,” Kail said, glaring at Hessler, “but yeah. Even if we didn’t have your problem with wind-daemons deciding they wanted to kill you, there’s a small chance that a bird will fly into the balloon right when Hessler’s bad thing is happening.”
“Right.” Loch got to her feet and spun the cane sword thoughtfully. “Kail, find us a salvage yard. Desidora, if the crystal is stopped, get us a location. Ululenia?”
Yes, Little One? came a voice in Loch’s head from a spot off in the distance where a white falcon circled lazily.
“Please make sure no birds hit this tub at ninety-one seconds.”
Hessler cleared his throat. “It was an example !”
“She knows, baby,” Tern said reassuringly.
“Got a ping on a salvage yard,” Kail said, squinting at the control console. “About an hour ahead. I think this is an easy repair.”
Loch paced for most of the next hour, with the exception of a bit where her message crystal pinged. Then she listened to her boyfriend mention that the destruction of the Forge of the Ancients was making waves, and someone might want an investigation. Then she paced some more, spinning her new cane and getting the feel for its balance.
“Hey, Captain,” Kail said as she passed by, “you know you can actually give people coins in order to legally purchase a sword?”
Loch grinned. “Why would anyone ever do that when the bad guys keep giving up theirs?”
Kail’s voice went slightly quieter, not completely a whisper, but low enough that it wouldn’t carry. “You know, if even Pyvic is saying that maybe tipping your hand about being alive is dangerous . . .”
Loch turned to the railing and looked down at the slow meandering of the world below. “He said no such thing.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right,” said Kail, “I am incapable of reading inflection and inferring someone’s intent like a normal human adult. Would you like me to use my illusion magic to do something impressive?”
“I can hear you,” Hessler called over.
“We weren’t going to draw a real target without doing something to get their attention,” Loch said.
“I think blowing up the place where they make the Hunters might have done it.”
“We had to be sure .” Loch looked over at Kail. “We don’t know when the ancients are supposed to return. We don’t know how much time we have. We needed a target, and we needed it now.”
“And it sounds like we’ve got one,” Kail said, jerking his head over toward Desidora, who sat near the back of the ship surrounded by a ring of silver skulls and ropes that had for some reason become glittering chains. “But so do they , Captain.” Now he did whisper. “They aren’t Silestin, who didn’t even know who you were until we had our hands in his pockets. They aren’t the elf, who leaves smug little poems and plays thief-against-thief with you. They knew everybody’s names, Captain.”
“So they know how we work,” Loch said. “We change our play, they move just like we want them to.”
“Not what I mean.” Kail looked over from the console and gave Loch a hard look. “What’s the first thing you taught me when I joined the scouting unit?”
“Fight the enemy, not their people.” And then Loch got it. “Ah.”
“Westteich was never a scout, so I’m guessing his team doesn’t follow that one . . . and some of us have family that didn’t try to kill us recently,” Kail said. “Just a thought.”
“Noted.” Loch turned away. “Thanks.”
“S’what you pay me for.”
They landed at the salvage yard not long after. It wasn’t so much a place of business as a place where airships got dragged or dropped, and there was a notable absence of official Republic inspectors and licensing agents.
“I know where they are,” Desidora said as they touched down. The deck slid back to its normal color, and the chains turned back into ropes. A
“So we need to stop,” Loch said to Kail.
“Well, not in ninety-one seconds,” Kail said, glaring at Hessler, “but yeah. Even if we didn’t have your problem with wind-daemons deciding they wanted to kill you, there’s a small chance that a bird will fly into the balloon right when Hessler’s bad thing is happening.”
“Right.” Loch got to her feet and spun the cane sword thoughtfully. “Kail, find us a salvage yard. Desidora, if the crystal is stopped, get us a location. Ululenia?”
Yes, Little One? came a voice in Loch’s head from a spot off in the distance where a white falcon circled lazily.
“Please make sure no birds hit this tub at ninety-one seconds.”
Hessler cleared his throat. “It was an example !”
“She knows, baby,” Tern said reassuringly.
“Got a ping on a salvage yard,” Kail said, squinting at the control console. “About an hour ahead. I think this is an easy repair.”
Loch paced for most of the next hour, with the exception of a bit where her message crystal pinged. Then she listened to her boyfriend mention that the destruction of the Forge of the Ancients was making waves, and someone might want an investigation. Then she paced some more, spinning her new cane and getting the feel for its balance.
“Hey, Captain,” Kail said as she passed by, “you know you can actually give people coins in order to legally purchase a sword?”
Loch grinned. “Why would anyone ever do that when the bad guys keep giving up theirs?”
Kail’s voice went slightly quieter, not completely a whisper, but low enough that it wouldn’t carry. “You know, if even Pyvic is saying that maybe tipping your hand about being alive is dangerous . . .”
Loch turned to the railing and looked down at the slow meandering of the world below. “He said no such thing.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right,” said Kail, “I am incapable of reading inflection and inferring someone’s intent like a normal human adult. Would you like me to use my illusion magic to do something impressive?”
“I can hear you,” Hessler called over.
“We weren’t going to draw a real target without doing something to get their attention,” Loch said.
“I think blowing up the place where they make the Hunters might have done it.”
“We had to be sure .” Loch looked over at Kail. “We don’t know when the ancients are supposed to return. We don’t know how much time we have. We needed a target, and we needed it now.”
“And it sounds like we’ve got one,” Kail said, jerking his head over toward Desidora, who sat near the back of the ship surrounded by a ring of silver skulls and ropes that had for some reason become glittering chains. “But so do they , Captain.” Now he did whisper. “They aren’t Silestin, who didn’t even know who you were until we had our hands in his pockets. They aren’t the elf, who leaves smug little poems and plays thief-against-thief with you. They knew everybody’s names, Captain.”
“So they know how we work,” Loch said. “We change our play, they move just like we want them to.”
“Not what I mean.” Kail looked over from the console and gave Loch a hard look. “What’s the first thing you taught me when I joined the scouting unit?”
“Fight the enemy, not their people.” And then Loch got it. “Ah.”
“Westteich was never a scout, so I’m guessing his team doesn’t follow that one . . . and some of us have family that didn’t try to kill us recently,” Kail said. “Just a thought.”
“Noted.” Loch turned away. “Thanks.”
“S’what you pay me for.”
They landed at the salvage yard not long after. It wasn’t so much a place of business as a place where airships got dragged or dropped, and there was a notable absence of official Republic inspectors and licensing agents.
“I know where they are,” Desidora said as they touched down. The deck slid back to its normal color, and the chains turned back into ropes. A
Similar Books
