Sam closed the lid of the engine. “Are you finished?” Bryn asked.
Sam nodded. “It’s ready to take off.” She turned her wrist to consult a watch contained in the leather gauntlet she wore. “Eight minutes left. I am good.”
“Yes, darling, you are. Quinn and his assistant are in that insane machine. See it?”
Sam stared across the open field. Bryn grabbed her arm and pointed. “There.”
Sam gasped and Bryn held her breath. “Oh, don’t let them crash,” Bryn begged. Sam could only stare with evident admiration at a craft flying on the power of steam.
The aircraft had four brass wheels. It hit the ground once, bounced high and circled. Bryn and Sam took off running for what must be his intended landing site. Out of the corner of her eye, Bryn saw him. Draak Priest walked down the path to the loading ramp carrying two valises. He looked smug, like he owned the place. She grabbed Sam’s sleeve. “He’s here.”
“Who?”
“Look,” she pointed and Sam moaned. “We have to stop him.”
“No, he has the stone. We have to get it.”
“Duck!” screamed Sam. As she shoved Bryn to the grass, the aircraft carrying Quinn and Tomlinson buzzed inches above their heads, hit a small hill and buried its nose in the dirt. They leaped to their feet and ran for the flying machine.
Tomlinson was first out waving his arms frantically at them. “Run! It’s going to explode.”
Bryn slid to a stop as Tomlinson dragged Quinn free and stumbled toward them. Flames shot out of the back of the plane followed by a deafening roar. Tomlinson and Quinn were catapulted into Bryn and Sam knocking them down and landing hard right behind them.
Sam struggled to her feet pulling Bryn with her. “Priest,” Bryn moaned. “He’s boarding.”
Quinn pulled himself to his knees and then to his feet. He was bent over breathing hard. “I can’t believe it exploded.”
Tomlinson took his arm. “I told you the fuel was volatile, but hey, we’re safe.”
“So you say,” Quinn groaned.
Bryn grabbed his other arm. “Come on, we have to run. Priest just boarded the zeppelin. He’s going to escape with the stone.”
The four of them ran toward the zeppelin as Fingle drove right up to the gondola and Fenix leaped out of the curricle.
“Priest is on the airship,” Bryn yelled. “We have to stop him.”
There were now six of them headed for the filled gondola of the High Flyer. Bryn grabbed Fenix. “He’s twice as powerful with the stone. We have to work together.”
Fenix held up her wand. “Fingle had it.”
Two conductors were pulling the ramp in as they ran for the gondola. Priest was already inside. Quinn tackled one of the conductors and Sam tackled the other as Bryn leaped through the open door of the gondola, followed by Fenix and Fingle.
A passage led to a hallway on the left lined with closed doors. On the right was an open car with seats and huge viewing windows. At the end of the car on the right was another closed door. The floor shuddered and the right half of the zeppelin began to rise. After another shudder the other end rose. They were airborne!
Bryn turned to look behind and saw Quinn hanging from the open door. She had no time to worry about him or where Sam and Tomlinson might be. She had to find Priest. “Fingle, search the viewing car. I’ll take the rooms. Fenix come with me.”
Bryn turned right and began tearing open doors. Luckily, most of the passengers were in the viewing car watching them ascend. She opened four doors before she found him. He was in room six, bent over an open valise. “Priest, give me the stone.”
He whirled around and faced her. “You! I’d rather swallow it.”
Fenix lifted her wand and pointed it at him. A fire ball leaped out of it. Priest threw up his arm to ward it off as Bryn held both hands in front of her and sent a wave of freezing water over his feet. The water froze when it hit his black boots pinning him in the room. “You can’t fight both of us.”
Fenix sent balls of fire at him one after the other. He grabbed the stone hanging around his neck and began chanting. Power pulsed as black light glowed in a demonic halo around his body. His eyes were red in his starkly white face and Bryn was sure his body was swelling. Did he plan to turn into a dragon inside this gondola? That would be insane. He’d erected some kind of shield around himself. Fenix’s fireballs began to bounce off. One landed on the bunk and ignited the bedclothes.
“Stop!” Bryn yelled to her. “We’re all dead if the zeppelin’s gas bag explodes.”
Priest lifted his right hand and a black wand snapped out of his sleeve. Black fire shot out of the end and hit Fenix in the chest. She flew backwards and into the corridor as Bryn fought to counteract this new tactic. She could feel pressure building inside her head and had to fight to maintain focus. Priest was trying to take over her body.
She turned around, struggling to control her movements and make her body obey her. But it wouldn’t, and the evil power inside her head made her lift her hands and point them at Fenix lying on the brilliant blue carpet. “No,” she moaned as she fought against Priest’s insidious power. His mind felt filthy in hers. It made her want to vomit. She read his intention to force her to kill Fenix and screamed. “Run, Fenix.”
Her sister rose to her knees and pointed her wand at Priest. It shook as she began chanting and Bryn’s hands rose, palms facing Fenix. Bryn stared at her sister, allowing all the love she felt fill her with warmth. She wanted to close her eyes but couldn’t. The warmth of her love fought with the ice of her power. Priest wanted her to freeze Fenix. Fingers of black power inched their disgusting touch into her brain. She writhed with agony fighting it to the last.
Suddenly Priest was hit by a huge wall of red-gold fire. He released Bryn who whirled around and blasted him with ice. He screamed. His clothes were in flames and the flames encased in solid ice. Fenix collapsed at Bryn’s feet. She’d used all her strength to save Bryn. Bryn lifted her up and handed her limp body to Fingle. “Save her.”
Then she turned to finish off Priest. His body was a sickening blackened mess. His skin cracked and blood and yellow ooze ran from the cracks. Bryn was sure she had finally killed him when suddenly the ice surrounding him exploded. The wall of the gondola blew outwards as Priest morphed into an enormous black dragon, its scales burning with greasy flames, its eyes red fire. Bryn watched in horror as the chain holding the Coeur de Flamme broke and the stone dropped towards the earth. Priest screeched and swooped out of the air ship dropping below the stone on widespread wings. His huge jaws opened and he swallowed the Coeur de Flamme.
Quinn rushed into the room. “We’re going down!”
The zeppelin tilted and headed toward the ground with the wind whistling through the destroyed wall of the gondola. An explosion rocked the back of the zeppelin. It seemed to come from the engine. “Sam’s fuel blew,” she screamed to Quinn as the air ship plummeted.
“Miss Bryn,” Fingle screamed. “Fenix!”
Bryn grabbed the handrail running the length of the tilted corridor and pulled herself to where Fingle crouched over her sister. “Oh no,” she moaned.
Fenix lifted one hand toward Bryn and smiled. “I love you.”
“No,” Bryn cried. “Don’t go.”
Fenix’s smile faded as she began to twist and reshape as she morphed into a golden phoenix. The beautiful bird rose to the roof of the gondola where it burst into flames. The flames burnt blue-white hot for several seconds. Bryn had seen it many times before. She threw up an arm to ward of the intense heat. Fingle did the same. When the flames died, there on top of the pile of ashes lay a baby girl.
Quinn grabbed her elbow. “We’re dropping like a stone but we’re over the lake. Get your sister. We have to jump.”
Bryn scooped Fenix into her arms. Fingle, Sam and Quinn led her to the hole in the wall of Priest’s room. The flaming airship was only a few feet from crashing into Lake Pontchartrain. The shrieks and screams coming from the passengers were terrible. Quinn shoved Bryn hard. She leaped, clutching Fenix, as Quinn, Sam and Fingle followed her into the warm water.