The Adventures of Benjamin Skyhammer (21 page)

"Jessup!" Skyhammer exclaimed in delight. "Wonderful to see you." He and Jessup met in the middle of the room and shook hands, grinning at each other.

"No one will believe me when I say that I scared the living daylights out of our two most fearsome Relic hunters because they were looking at a piece of art!" Jessup said. He crossed the room to a side table laid with glasses, decanters, cups, a teapot and bottles. "Would you like a cup of something to calm your nerves? Tea? Wine? Surely even the greatest of Relic hunters occasionally partake in a little whiskey or relaxing cup of tea?"

Higgins was staring open-mouthed at Jessup. In addition to his colourful hat, he wore bright red velvet pants, very tight, a canary yellow blouse tucked into his pants, and black boots. He wore it all with ease, like a tropical flower wore its petals. Even the hat fit in. His sword was slung across his back in a white velvet scabbard.

"Jessup. Let me introduce you to Higgins."

She had crossed the room to shake Jessup's hand before Skyhammer had finished the sentence. "Finally! Skyhammer's told me so much about you." She stepped back a few steps.

Jessup smiled. "Not what you were expecting?"

"Not so much." She came closer, cautiously. "I guess I expected someone a little more, uh, rugged?" She smiled and it lit up her face such that Jessup was gaping now.

Skyhammer hid a smile. The oldest Relic hunter on the planet was rarely surprised but Higgins's smile was pretty fantastic.

Jessup bowed. "Milady, it is a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to my little investment."

"This is yours?" Skyhammer asked.

Jessup served some tea then gestured for them to sit on the couch. He perched on the edge of a chair.

"Yes, well, when I retired from Relic hunting, having had enough of being 'rugged'," he said with a nod to Higgins, "I had enough money to last me three lifetimes but nowhere to call home. And frankly, I didn't want a 'home', but I did want somewhere that I was welcome to stay any time. So I bought and built a few places. One in each capital roughly. It's worked out well. I have my wagon for travelling and making the odd bit of money, for still being a part of society, I suppose, and then I have my inns and houses if I want to take a break from that. And of course, the inns make money as well. I'm pretty happy with the life I've chosen, all told." He leaned back in his chair, playing with a tassel on its arm.

"Do you miss Relic hunting?" Higgins asked.

Skyhammer glanced out the window into the beautiful multi-coloured foliage. Through breaks in the leaves, he could also see birds and Flyers soaring above the treetops.

After a short pause, Jessup said, "Nope. I don't miss it. I was a Relic hunter for a long time and it's good to have a change, to have stability and not be afraid for my life at least once a month."

"That does sound nice," Higgins admitted.

Skyhammer glared at her and she smiled back at him. "Don't worry, I'm not quitting. Yet. Not until we get this latest mystery, er, Relic found."

Jessup looked at them both with interest. "Mystery Relic? Or just mystery?"

Skyhammer shrugged. "Both. The King has asked us to find some information on the Retrograph Sorcerer."

"Ah, yes." Jessup gave Skyhammer a long searching look. "My Retrographs have been changed as well. Within the last couple of hours too."

So Spark wouldn't reply to their message in his Retrograph but she was still changing strangers' Retrographs? Maybe it wasn't Spark after all. He had to know for sure though.

Higgins went to the window and stared out, one hand on her belly.

"We really need to get to HriHriKari as fast as possible. Do you have a wagon leaving soon?" Skyhammer looked intently at his friend.

Jessup spread his arms wide. "For you, we can leave right away and chat on the journey. I'm intrigued by this Retrograph Sorcerer." He shuddered, a look of repulsion crossing his face. "I'd appreciate the chance to pick your brain. And we can chat about the Relic the Byndari found as well." He stood up. "Wait here. I'll go and arrange things and we'll be off."

"The King wants us at the ceremony. We don't have much time," Skyhammer called after him. "I'd be grateful if we could leave as soon as possible."

"Consider it done. I'll be back in a few minutes." Jessup set down his glass and left.

"What did you do to get him to be so good to you?" Higgins asked without turning from the window.

"I helped him capture a Relic and gave him all the credit for it. It was at a low point in his career and he's never forgotten it. He's a good man." Skyhammer helped himself to a glass of wine. "He did that etching you know."

"Really?!"

"That's all his own art up there."

Facing the huge piece of art on the wall again, she reached up and touched a corner of the cold metal then dropped her hand. "He did that?"

"Yes, I did." Jessup bounded back into the room. "Took me a damn long time and I will probably never get the energy up to do it again but the view that I got it from has an amazing story to go along with it! I'll tell you on the journey. Come on, my friends!" Jessup beckoned to them. They grabbed their packs and followed him out of the inn to the wagon parking platform.

His wagon and pony were as colourful as his clothes.

* * *

Jessup's bright eyes darted every which way, greeting acquaintances with a wave of his arm, all the while words tumbling out, stories, tales of his Relic hunting days and tales of his life now as a wagoneer visiting the capital cities. He was always saving the world, saving the girl, saving the Relic from the baddies - just in time!

After two hours, Skyhammer's head was spinning. Three more hours to go, he groaned. Maybe he could convince Higgins to sit up here with the wagoneer. At least Jessup hadn't asked him any questions about the Retrograph Sorcerer. He wasn't ready to talk about it to him. What was Spark doing? He'd checked his Retrographs every fifteen minutes. No changes. Was she aware they were on their way to track her down? Had she seen him almost kiss Higgins? He avoided thinking about that whole situation. It both excited and scared him silly.

"I'm not feeling very well," Higgins said, about an hour later. He had convinced her to sit up at the front with them but she had been pretty quiet.

"Lay down in the back," Jessup suggested. "There's a mattress and blanket." He stopped the wagon so she could climb over the back of the seat and into the wagon bed. There were a few shouts of anger from the wagons behind. Most wagons didn't stop, as there was nowhere to turn around and no reason to stop. A halt could back up traffic for ages since there were no passing lanes.

Skyhammer helped her over the seat, made sure she was comfortable, then nodded to Jessup to continue. Jessup continued chattering away and Skyhammer listened with half an ear. Higgins never got sick. Maybe she had eaten something. But they ate the same things so Skyhammer should have been sick as well. And Jessup had been eating the same things too and he was fine. Maybe it was a female thing. That was probably it.

"-Spark?" Jessup said, turning to Skyhammer.

"What?" Skyhammer started in surprise. "What did you say?"

Jessup gave him a sidelong glance. "Spark? When you first started hunting, you were talking about her all the time, about finding her and gaining magic powers. You didn't find magic but did you ever find her?"

"No," Skyhammer muttered, looking at the line of wagons ahead. "I never did. I changed my mind. If she wants to hide away, then why should I chase after her? She wasn't interested."

"I see. Anyway, as I was saying, I was surrounded by a ring of wolves the size of houses . . ."

Skyhammer tuned out again. Jessup didn't used to talk this much. And why had he brought up Spark? Did he suspect something? Skyhammer tried to remember if Jessup knew any Byndari. Maybe he should listen to the stories more and figure out what the guy had been doing recently. He might have some information about the Byndari.

"So." Skyhammer interrupted the monologue. "What do you think about the Byndari finding the wall?"

Jessup's eyes lit up. "Now that is huge news! Everyone is excited about being able to use magic anywhere on the planet. Some folks are worried about the other species getting planet-wide magic too though. People are a little nervous. And the Nasuchu, I mean really, how did the Byndari convince the Nasuchu not to eat them, in the first place and second, to agree to do the ceremony at all? Some people think the Nasuchu are just pretending to agree and that they won't go through with it."

Skyhammer shook his head. "I don't think they can eat Byndari because Byndari have no skin or flesh. Also, they too want planet-wide magic. They wouldn't jeopardize that I think."

"Skyh-," Higgins called in a weak voice.

He turned and scrambled over the seat into the wagon bed, then knelt beside her. "What is it? How can I help?" He pulled the cover down. Large red spots covered her neck and her skin was cloud white.

"I'm getting worse, Skyhammer. I need help. Help me." Her eyes were shut tight and she was breathing deep measured breaths.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked.

"I'm cold and itchy. My head hurts. I don't know." Her head dropped back. She was unconscious!

He shook her, called her name. Nothing roused her. He clambered back over the seat and spoke to Jessup. "She needs a doctor. Fast. I have no idea what's wrong or how she got sick. We eat the same things, for god's sake. It couldn't be food." He knew he was rambling but couldn't stop. "We've been with you the whole time. We have to get her out of here and back to the human province as soon as possible. Turn around." He made as if to snatch the reins from Jessup's hands.

"Calm down," Jessup said. "We'll get her emergency medical attention right away. We're stuck in the wagon train until we get to the turnaround point and head back. I know an excellent doctor in Hightown."

"What if only magic can save her? We have to get her back to Quasianti!"

"How are we going to do that? Think, man!" Jessup gave him a stern look. "We'd have to get to the Deadlands, then through the Deadlands, then back to Four Hills. It'll take a few days at least. We can keep her here and have my doctor on call at all times. She's a talented professional. Don't worry."

Skyhammer fretted. "She never gets sick! She hates doctors. How could this happen?" He thought about the past few days. Could it be the spear wound from the Nasuchu? But they didn't use poisoned tips, as far as he knew.

Jessup handed the reins to Skyhammer. "I'm going to pass the word on that we have someone in need of medical attention."

Skyhammer watched in surprise as Jessup ran over to the wagon track heading back to Hightown. He hopped on the nearest wagon and spoke with the driver and passengers. He shook the driver's hand and then ran back to Skyhammer. Skyhammer watched the woman driver point to one of the passengers, her son he supposed, who jumped out and ran ahead a few wagons. He saw how the word would get passed in a short time back to the capital. He'd just have to trust that all the wagoneers would be willing to pass the word.

"They're good people," Jessup said as he hopped back up beside Skyhammer. "We'll get Higgins better, don't worry."

"Is this really the fastest way to do it? It's still going to take a few hours to get back to Hightown. And we're supposed to be back in Four Hills soon. And the wagon's still headed towards HriHriKari!" His thoughts seemed like feathers in the wind.

Jessup put his hands on Skyhammer's shoulders. "The Flyers will send out the emergency services team. They have a contraption like a flying bed that two of them can carry with their feet. They'll send that, we'll all go back and everything will be fine."

Skyhammer scrambled into the wagon bed again. He sat cross-legged beside Higgins, holding her limp hand in his. "You'll be fine Higgins," he whispered, stroking her hand. "You'll be fine."

* * *

The Flyer emergency services team landed in Jessup's wagon bed, jolting Skyhammer awake.

He reached down and brushed Higgins' slack face with his fingers, then stood up. Cold, so cold and pale. More spots had appeared so from the chin down her skin flamed red. She hadn't awakened in the hour that Skyhammer sat by her, whispering to her, telling jokes and stories, and murmuring about their mission.

The tiny Flyer's wings were folding neatly onto her back. The top of her head reached the middle of his thigh but her purple crest made her appear another foot taller.

"Please help her," he pleaded. He had never felt so helpless and scared, even in the Royal Circle. Again, he cursed his lack of magic. Not that it would've worked here anyway. But maybe he could've protected her somehow...

"We will help her," trilled the Flyer. Her musical voice soothed him. Three other Flyers, all female, walked in pace with the wagon.

The Flyer female stepped to the other side of Skyhammer and squatted down.

"My name is Skyhammer. This is Higgins." He wanted the Flyer to know how important Higgins was to him but no words would come.

She didn't answer. One hand cupped Higgins' forehead and a second rested on her neck. "She is very sick. I am Adela. I will take her to Hightown. She must go now. I am the doctor's assistant. I fear she may not make it. She is too cold. Unresponsive. We must leave now." Adela stood up.

Skyhammer inhaled sharply. "What can I do to help?"

Two Flyers flew down to hover over the wagon bed. A human woman jumped out of a hammock hung between the Flyers. "I'm the doctor. Max." She spoke with Adela, swaying a little with the wagon's movement.

Jessup waved from the front. Skyhammer looked from Max to Adela to Jessup.

"We have to get her back to my examination room right away," Max said. "She's in shock. If we don't treat her soon, she could die."

Chapter 21

Countdown to ceremony: 6 days

Die? Higgins? Skyhammer's mind filled with worry. All those times she had protected him and now he could do nothing for her. "What's wrong with her?" Skyhammer moved back as the doctor and her Flyer assistant lifted Higgins into a flying bed. Constructed from a hammock with a board down the middle, the four corners of the material was gripped by the prehensile toes of four Flyers standing in the wagon bed. The Flyers would have to be very skilled indeed to keep their patient flat and stay coordinated. "It may have been from the wound of her belly. We were attacked by Nasuchu while crossing the Deadlands." The more background information the doctor had, the better she could help Higgins.