Chapter 31

 

 

The others landed behind him as he dismounted. “What on Esper are you thinking, Will?” asked Jack as he nervously eyed the onrushing mob. “I thought we were just looking, and now we’re about to be attacked.”

“Form a line,” said William, ignoring Jack. “Dragons in front, humans behind. Adonis, will your scales protect you from arrows?”

“I am uncertain,” said Adonis. “Our scales are tough, but I have not been shot with arrows before.”

“Let’s try to stop it from happening now,” said William. “Start breathing fire now so they get the message not to get too close.”

“What then?” asked Jack, who quickly scrambled off his drone. “Invite them to tea?”

William peered between two drones as the rebels approached in a flawless attacking line. “One thing at a time,” he said. “We can leave if things get too dangerous, but I want to find out if Vincent is here—or Bird, for that matter.”

The drones spewed a wall of flame that stopped the attackers short. A handful of attackers with bows began firing as their line slowly retreated before the advancing dragons. William and the others crouched behind the drones, arrows flying harmlessly over them. Maya winced every time an arrow bounced off the dragons’ scales with a metallic clink, while Melissa giggled with a mixture of fear and excitement. Rachel and Charlie maintained stoic expressions, while Jack shot furious glances at William every few feet. Clyde remained beside William, uncertain what to do.

They inched forward along the beach. The attackers took cover behind trees when they reached the end of the beach, retreating slowly, tree by tree, as the dragons followed them into the woods.

“Look!” yelled Rachel. “They’re loading the ships.”

William followed her gaze. Sure enough, men were running up gangplanks into the ships, carrying bundles as they went. “Kings boots!” he said. “They must have spotted us as we flew by; that one is already leaving.” One of the ships slipped away, sailing out of the inlet while they watched helplessly.

“They probably keep one ready to go,” said Charlie. “Everything important will be on that ship.”

“Nothing we can do about that, but we can’t let them all get away,” said William. “We have to capture one or two for questioning.”

Jack ducked as another arrow flew over them. “How? The dragons can’t get any closer because of the trees, and we can’t because of the arrows. All you’ve done is create a standoff, and we’re still standing here like ducks in a pond.”

“I heard all about you and those ducks,” said Rachel with a grin. “We aren’t getting hit any more than they did.”

Jack whirled toward William with an angry look. “I can’t believe you told her about the ducks! I thought we were friends.”

“I never said a thing to Rachel about the ducks,” said William, his gaze intent on the remaining ship. “The only person I told was Melissa. I can’t keep secrets from my wife, Jack.”

“And I told Rachel, of course,” said Melissa. “It was too funny not to.”

“Can we please stop talking about the ducks?” asked Maya. She was following Charlie, hiding behind his bulk in addition to that of the drone in front of them. “Will, you said I wouldn’t have to do any fighting. What’s your plan?”

“Well, they can’t stay here forever,” said William. “Charlie, any ideas?”

“Let them run out of arrows,” said Charlie. “Then charge.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” said William with a sigh. “I wish I knew how many people they have. Ships too, for that matter.”

“Be right back,” said Rachel as she darted away into the woods to the right.

“What on Esper—where’s she going?” asked Melissa.

“Scouting mission,” said Jack. “You had to open your mouth, Will, didn’t you?”

“She’ll be fine,” said William. “Let’s do what we can for her and keep these guys distracted.” He picked up a rock and hurled it toward the archers, hitting a tree above one of their heads. The others followed William’s example, and soon a hail of stones fell around the attackers, momentarily reducing the arrow fire.

Rachel returned a few minutes later. “Three ships, two of which are already sailing. That one there is the only one left. I couldn’t count all the people, but there’s at least forty. Those archers are the only ones still on land.”

At some unseen signal, half of the archers broke rank and ran toward the waiting ship and up the gangplank. They positioned themselves behind the gunwales, providing cover for their comrades, who then retreated in the same manner. The ship began to move the instant the last archer boarded.

William hurled a final stone in anger as the ship sailed through the mouth of the inlet. “King’s boots,” he said in disgust. “What I would have given to have a ship of our own to trap them here.”

Melissa jumped up and down, giggling with excitement. “That was so much fun! When can we do something like that again?”

Jack gave her a wary look. “You’re worse than Will. Look, we need to do what we should have done to begin with: follow them and keep an eye on where they go. Report their position to the authorities. Landing here was a stupid idea.”

“Stupid or not, they know we’ve found them,” said Rachel. “Now they have no choice but to make a break for it. They’re headed for the nearest choke point now—I guarantee it.”

“Don’t worry,” said William. “We’re not done yet. I have an idea, one I’ve been saving in case it came to this.”

Jack rolled his eyes at him. “I was afraid you’d say that. Does it involve landing on the ships in the middle of a hail of arrows? If so, count me out.”

“Don’t be dumb,” said William. “That would be suicide. Look, they have a numbers advantage, and they can hide behind the ship’s hull. But we’re faster, which means we can follow them, and possibly delay them.”

“Delay them how?” asked Maya. “We can’t get close enough to them to do anything without getting shot at. And I can’t treat an arrow wound from the back of a dragon.”

William turned to her with a look of urgency. “You won’t be here anyway, Maya. I need you and Charlie to fly to the choke points and warn the people there. The chains should still be up, but they should prepare to be attacked. And if there’s a fight, I want the most reliable warrior I know and the world’s best doctor there to help them.”

Maya and Charlie ran to their drones without a word. William noted the look of pride on Charlie’s face as he shared a smile with Maya. William followed their flight for a moment before turning to Melissa and taking her hands.

“I’ve ignored your skills for far too long,” he said. “But I’m counting on them now.”

Melissa squeezed his hand. “Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”

“Fly to the port and talk to the harbormaster again. Let her know what we’ve seen, and convince her to send more boats, more men. And if she happens to see Major Bentsen—”

“I’ll talk to him myself,” she said. “We’ll steal the boats if we have to.”

He leaned forward and kissed her. “Stay safe,” he said.

William turned to the others as soon as her drone lifted off.

“You’ve saved the most dangerous work for us, haven’t you?” asked Jack before William could speak. “I should warn you: whatever plan you have in mind for us, you aren’t kissing me.”

“There’s three of us,” said William, ignoring the barb. “One for each ship—plus Clyde and the extra drone. We don’t know if the ships will split up or stay together, so each of us needs to stick with one boat. If Bentsen arrives with his contingent, we’ll act as beacons for them, guiding them to the ships. My other hope is that the constant reminder of dragons might give them second thoughts about attacking the choke points. Maya was right—we can’t get close to them without being attacked, and we can’t risk having a dragon drop into the sea. But if we land the dragons at the choke point, we can stop the rebels from taking the chain down.”

Jack and Rachel shared a glance before they turned back to William. “I’ve got bad news,” said Jack. “There’s no room for a dragon at either choke point.”

William’s jaw dropped. “But that was my backup plan!”

“Sorry,” said Rachel. “I thought you knew. The two towers on either side are surrounded by water. They can only be entered by boat or by swimming. There’s not even enough room on top of the towers for a dragon to land.”

William’s heart sank as the last ship fell in behind its cohorts. “Anything else I should know?” he asked with a sigh.

Rachel shrugged and said, “The higher we are, the less effective their arrows will be.”

“Good thing I’m more afraid of getting shot than I am of heights,” said Jack with a grimace. “Let’s get going.”

William raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you were against this whole thing?”

“I’m not,” denied Jack. “I just wanted to keep you out of trouble. As long as you don’t attack them single-handed, I’m not worried.”

William scowled at him as he prepared to mount. “We’re running out of other options. Adonis, this may be your last rest for a while. Are you and your brothers ready for a long flight?”

“We are not yet too weary to fly,” said the dragon. “Though it would be wise to remain near land if possible. It is death for a dragon to fall into deep water.”

Despite the head start, they caught up to the ships in mere minutes. William took Rachel’s advice, leading them to a height well beyond arrow’s reach, which gave them an excellent view of both the ships and the surrounding area.

He squinted into the distance as they wheeled around, trying to catch sight of the choke point that Maya and Charlie were racing to, but he wasn’t even certain which direction to look. The long, thin sand barrier was clearly visible in the distance, but where the towers stood he couldn’t tell.

Three hours passed in helpless frustration. The ships slowed as the wind died, and dozens of oars began rowing the ships as the sails sagged. The dragons couldn’t fly that slowly, and had to soar in giant circles around the three ships in order to remain aloft. William began to worry about the drones tiring, but Adonis never complained once. It wasn’t until the first pangs of thirst hit that he began to worry about himself and his friends.

He signaled to the others to fly close. When they were near enough, he slowed Adonis to reduce the wind noise and yelled as loud as he could. “We need to rest soon. Rachel—scout ahead and look for islands big enough to land on.” It took additional gestures, but he eventually got his message across, and Rachel left to start her search.

William and Jack continued their mid-air vigil, gliding in giant arcs around the ships until Rachel returned. William signaled again to fly close, but Rachel’s single shake of her head told him all he needed to know—they would have nowhere to land. He began to imagine the worst. He tried to recall the maps he’d studied at Vincent’s manor and Ransom’s cabin, wishing he’d paid more attention to the whole bay instead of just the potential hiding spots.

The towers of the nearest choke point were visible now, and William tried to estimate the distance they had yet to go. As he stared, he caught sight of Maya and Charlie returning at full speed. They slowed and wheeled around, but before they could shout to him, he noted their anxiety. Their news would not be good.

Maya flew directly below him, eliminating the dragons’ great wingspans as a barrier. Why hadn’t he thought of that earlier? She shouted upward, and William strained to hear her. After several tries, he shook his head, and Maya peeled away to let Charlie take her place.

“There’s no blockade!” yelled Charlie in his booming voice.

“Are you kidding?” said William in disbelief. “What about the chain?”

Charlie shook his head. “It’s down. It looks like the rebels took over.”

William couldn’t believe it. Once again, the rebels had been one step ahead, sending a force to remove the one obstacle blocking their freedom. After all he and his friends had done—the searching, the flying, Oz’s death—the rebels would simply sail away to freedom, unchallenged, taking both gold and duke with them. He shook his head in anger, his fists searching in vain for something to pummel.

The vigil seemed pointless now, but with nothing left to do they continued anyway, unable to do more than watch the ships pull closer to freedom with every oar stroke. Where had he gone wrong? How could he have allowed this catastrophe to happen? Instead of chasing the rebels, they should have stationed guards around the duke, protecting him as well as the tax money he’d collected for the king. Looking back, it was obvious now. The rebels had already attacked one city—how could he have overlooked the possibility they’d do so again, especially with most of the Guard absent?

A sharp whistle caught his attention. He looked up to see Jack pointing behind them. He followed Jack’s gaze and his heart leapt with hope—a small flotilla of rowboats was headed their way. Soaring above the boats, William could barely distinguish the shape of a dragon and its rider. Melissa had done her job.

A glance in the other direction shattered his hopes. The rebel ships had drawn closer to the choke point, and had picked up speed in anticipation of gaining their freedom. He looked back and forth to compare the distances, and his heart sank again. The rowboats were faster but had too much distance to make up. All the guards on Esper would be of no use if they couldn’t reach the choke point in time to block the rebels.

They were too late.

He glared at the ships below him, vowing silently to exact revenge. He would enlist Rachel’s help, travel to Ibyca if necessary, and hunt every one of them down and deliver them to justice. Even as he vowed it, he realized how ridiculous it was—such an effort would take years, and he couldn’t even identify most of them. But it was the only comfort he had, stranded in the sky, powerless to stop the greatest crime in Esper’s history.

Without warning, the wind changed. It was subtle, but he noticed it when Adonis banked, a gentle breeze blowing from the southwest, against the ships. The wake from the ships changed, too, indicating a slight decrease in speed as the oarsmen struggled against the wind. A little more wind and the rowboats might have a chance of catching up, even passing the ships, with their much smaller profile.

If only they could find another way to slow the ships. What he wouldn’t give for a stiffer breeze, or a powerful current to spring out of nowhere.

A chill passed through him, raising the hair on the back of his neck. Unbidden, a desperate idea occurred to him, and it slowly dawned on him that nature didn’t have to intervene.

They could do it themselves.