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“I have to go back.” Liberty waited for what she felt certain would be an argument but was surprised when none came.
“Okay.” By now Mender was dressed so it was easier to meet his steady stare.
“I can’t explain it. It’s just a feeling, but I can’t go to the Forbidden Lands until I know whether or not Shatter is safe.” Liberty paced and chewed on her thumbnail. She had no idea why she was worrying about a man who in all probability was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. After all, he had been doing so for many years without anyone’s help.
“Let’s go then before it gets dark.” Mender pulled Justice out of the Captain’s chair. He took Liberty’s hat and goggles away from him and handed them to her. “When we get there, I don’t want to land the airships. We’ll go no nearer the ground than twenty feet and then tether our ships together. You can lower me using Airus’s anchor. As soon I’m down, I want you to raise it again so no one can climb aboard while I’m gone.”
She shook her head. “I should be the one to go. You’ve never met Shatter. He wouldn’t accept your help even if you offered.”
Mender tucked a finger under her chin and made her look him in the eyes. “We won’t go back then. It’s too dangerous.”
She squared her shoulders and prepared for a fight, but as she opened her mouth to argue, Justice stepped between them. “I’ll go. Shatter trusts me. He’s always been able to reason with the mountain men in the past. He doesn’t know yet that they’ve all gone completely insane, though.”
Liberty touched his arm. “What about our mother?”
Justice shook his head and avoided all eye contact. “We thought we had the perfect hiding place, so I went off to find something to eat. When I returned, our few possessions were scattered or destroyed and she was missing. I searched for three days until I found her hair and bones. Before I could leave the area some men spotted me. I ran and hid. When I saw your airships land, I took a chance and climbed aboard, hoping you wouldn’t kill me.”
He scratched his forehead. “You look like her, you know.” Sadness briefly settled over his face before he jutted out his jaw and visibly swallowed. “I like Shatter. He’s tried to help Mother and me in the past, as best he could. It’s time I did something for him.”
It was all too much to take in so Liberty focused on helping Shatter. She would think of her mother’s loss later.
The sun had almost completely set when they reached Shatter’s and the airships were in position. Liberty lowered Airus’s anchor and watched Justice climb down to the ground. His expression held a fierce determination but he was also trying hard to conceal his fear.
Mender placed a hand on her shoulder. “He would never have survived this long if he didn’t know how to take care of himself.”
Liberty kept a lookout on the port side and Mender from his perch astarboard. She had just made up her mind to lower herself to the ground to find out where he had got to when Justice came running out of the trading post. Liberty lowered the anchor and waited for him to climb aboard, but looked over the edge of the airship when she heard retching. Watching him throw up and sob made her realize more than ever how young he was.
“They’re coming!”
Liberty looked over to where Mender pointed and spotted a group of men running from the forest and down the hill toward them. She bent over and screamed to Justice, “Grab hold! I’m pulling you up!” She didn’t wait for him to answer but pushed the button to winch the anchor up. She yelled over to Mender, “Go get your ship ready!” then rushed over and increased the speed of the friction rotators. The moment she saw Justice climbing back onboard, she pulled the pressure chain.
“Hold on. This might get a little bumpy. We have down drafts coming in from over the mountain. It’s going to be a fight getting Airus back in the air.” She tried to keep her attention on the gauges and not become distracted by the terrifying sounds of screaming coming from below. They sounded much too close for comfort, and when the first spear crossed the bow, there was no longer any doubt she needed to be quicker about getting them up higher.
She pointed at Justice. “Go to my cabin.” He hesitated, as if about to refuse, so she channeled her father’s most intimidating glare and was surprised when it worked. It turned out to be a good call on her part because just seconds later a spear whizzed past where he had been standing.
Mender ran over to the rope tethering their ships. He appeared to be relieved when he saw she was unharmed. “We’ll go up faster if we aren’t tied together. I’ll meet you at six thousand feet.” He grinned before separating them. “Let the bastards get us up there.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. He really needed to stop hanging around her. His language was getting to be atrocious.
Several more spears shot over the stern before Airus finally climbed out of reach. At six thousand feet, Liberty locked the controls in place and went in to check on Justice. She found him sitting on her bed, staring at Boy. She sat next to him and patted his leg. “Are you okay?”
He wiped at the tears running down his cheeks but was unable to stop them.
“Did you see Shatter?”
Justice shuddered and stared at his feet. “They had already gotten to him. There was nothing I could do.”
Her heart went out to him so she wrapped an arm around his waist. “You’re exhausted.” She patted her bed and stood. “Use my bed and get some sleep.”
He pointed at Boy. “I don’t know if I can with him sitting over there, staring at me.”
Liberty walked over and patted Boy’s head. “You’re in good company. He’ll watch over you and keep you safe.” She headed for the door. “Get some rest and I’ll tell you about him later.”