The Tinkerer's Daughter (24 page)

Time seemed to stop as we stood there shoulder to shoulder, with our backs pressed up against the cold stone. He was breathing heavily and he held a short sword tightly in his right hand. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and I cringed at his touch.

I looked away from him, and was again awed by the natural splendor of that place. That brilliant starry sky spanned the horizon in front of us, and it seemed such an ironic contrast, not only to what the place was, but to what I had just witnessed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sheldon watching me.

All I could think to say was, “Beautiful night, huh?”

Sheldon looked at me like I was stark raving mad. Then he followed my gaze across the desert. He shrugged and nodded weakly. “Yes.”

I heard the heavy
thud, thud
of Keng’Sun’s boots coming up the tunnel. Then, a half-second later, he burst through the door. He didn’t even pause as he went plunging headlong down the stairs. He was halfway down before he realized what the frantic screams of his subservients were telling him. By that time, Sheldon’s guards were piling out of the doorway, providing a buffer between us and the warlord. As they squared off for battle, Sheldon decided to take advantage of the opportunity. The next thing I knew, his sword was at my throat.

“Where is it?” he hissed.

“What?”

“The airplane. That flying contraption of yours. Where is it?”

My eyes rolled to the south, and he followed my gaze. “All right, then. Let’s go. He grabbed me by the back of the neck and shoved me off the side of the pyramid. My feet went out from underneath me, and suddenly I was on my back, sliding down that smooth stone wall. I flung my arms out wildly, trying to stabilize myself as I plummeted towards the ground.

Sheldon was right behind me. I realized that if I didn’t get out of his way, he’d crush me at the bottom. I could think of only one thing to do. A split-second before hitting the ground, I pushed my weight up onto my feet, and launched myself out of the way. I somersaulted forward through the air and came down on my feet about ten feet away from the base of the pyramid. Behind me, Sheldon slammed into the ground so hard it knocked his breath out.

I can credit my Tal’mar ancestry for the grace that allowed me to come out of that on my feet. I didn’t waste a second. I spun around and started running, not towards my plane but towards the far side of the village. Sheldon and his guards had arrived on horseback. I now reached out to those horses with my mind and sent them a command: “HOME!” I filled their minds with images of lush green pastures and blue, flowing streams. This was all the permission they needed. The horses had been trained to stand immobile when saddled and riderless, but they now ignored that training, and headed for home at full speed. I was right behind them as they broke into a gallop across the desert. That was when I heard Sheldon scream behind me.

“NO! What are you doing?”

I glanced back at Sheldon and saw several Kanters bearing down on him. I didn’t wait to see how it turned out. I ran.

My heart was exploding in my chest by the time I got to the plane. I breathlessly greeted Cinder and leapt into the pilot’s seat. All around me I could hear screams in the night, the sound of both humans and Kanters spilling their blood on the thirsty desert.

The fight wasn’t over yet, but I wasn’t going to stay for the rest of it. I had a pretty good idea of how it was going to end, and I had no desire to share the fate that awaited Prince Sheldon. I hit the throttle and took to the sky.

I thought long and hard about what I’d tell the general when I got back. After all, he’d sent me to find evidence of Sheldon’s betrayal. I had done that, but not in any tangible form. I had nothing concrete to offer. No letters, no plans, just what I had witnessed with my own eyes.

I couldn’t imagine the general going to King Ryshan with no more than the word of a half-breed. But I was also relatively certain that Sheldon wasn’t going to be returning. I hoped that would be enough.

I got back to the keep in the middle of the night. Tinker was busy training his engineers when I parked in front of the hangar. They had constructed a work area along the western side of the building, close to the existing smithy. They now had a large smelting furnace. The heat radiated off and hit me in a wave as I walked around the building.

Tinker was dressed in a long leather apron and wearing his heavy gloves and welding goggles. One of his trainees was assisting him in removing a jar of melted iron from the oven. Tinker shot me a smile when he saw me, and I waved. I watched from a safe distance as they twisted the long rods, turning the jar over into the molds. When it was done, Tinker threw off his gloves and ran over to greet me.

He threw his arms around me. He smelled like iron and sulfur and old sweaty leather, and suddenly I felt like I was right back at home. “Making gears?” I said as he pulled away.

“You remember! This is the same process we used when I trained you.”

“I remember,” I said with a grin. “How’s it going?”

Tinker walked over to one of the tables under the canopy, and gestured at several rows of gears. “That’s the last batch, the one we just poured. We’ll be able to start assembling the boxes in a few hours.”

“Excellent. What about the springs?”

“We’re progressing slower on that front. I’ve got five smiths, but teaching them a correct temper is like teaching a pig to fly.”

“Well you never know what might happen,” I said. Tinker laughed.

“I was worried about you, Breeze. Did you find what you were looking for?”

“More or less. I think the situation has been taken care of.” I think he guessed from my tone that it wasn’t something we could talk about. Not at the moment, anyway. “When will the springs be ready?”

“Tomorrow.”

“I need them tonight Tinker. We still have to do final assembly on those planes, and the general is expecting them in the air tomorrow. They
have
to be in the air tomorrow.”

He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. “In that case, they’ll be ready tonight.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Tinker. I’m going to need you in Tal’mar for the assembly.”

“I’ll get packed.” I spun around and started walking towards my plane on the runway.

“Where are you going now?” Tinker shouted.

“To get some pilots!”

I flew south over the mountains until midmorning, and then landed near the base of the mountain below the refugee camp. It was a bit of a hike up the hill to the camp, but I was too excited to notice. I practically ran halfway up the mountain. Robie saw me coming. He had a group of five children, including himself, lined up and waiting for me.

They saluted me as I approached and I had to hide my smile. I had almost forgotten Robie’s attitude. It had been funny at first, but now it occurred to me that this might actually be useful. With humans and Tal’mar living and working together for the first time in thousands of years, there were bound to be some rough spots. A militaristic sort of discipline might be just what we’d need to hold our group together.

“Welcome back, Sir!” he said. I didn’t bother to point out that I was in fact a ma’am. I knew what he meant.

“Are these our recruits?” I said.

“Yessir!”

I walked along the line, and paused at the end. The last recruit was a ten-year-old girl. I bent over to look her in the face. “You want to be a pilot?” I said.

“Yessir!” she said, imitating Robie the best she could. I smiled.

“What’s your name?”

“Angela.”

“I see. Well Angela, I admire your guts. The problem is, you’re a bit short for our planes. Too short to be a pilot. If I come back next summer, do you think you can grow between now and then?”

“I will, I promise!”

“Good. Run along, then. Tell your parents you need some good hard work and a good dinner so you can grow up to be a pilot.”

“Yessir!”

She turned and ran back to the camp. The rest of the pilots were grinning broadly as I brought my attention back to them. “Are you all packed?”

“We weren’t expecting you so soon,” Robie said apologetically.

“That’s fine. I only have room for two at a time. Decide who’s first and meet me at the bottom of the mountain. That’ll give the rest of you time to pack.”

“Kalen, Jesha, MOVE OUT!” Robie shouted. They took off at a full run.

“You don’t want to be first?” I said, surprised.

“I do want to be first,” Robie said. “But I can’t make sure they’ve all packed right unless I’m here.”

Before leaving, I found Daran and Analyn in their tent. Daran was still bedridden, but more out of caution than necessity. I understood, considering the man had suffered a broken neck. Analyn invited me in and we exchanged a hug.

You’ve grown!” Daran said.

I hadn’t even thought about it, but I suddenly realized I was slightly taller than Analyn. I had put on several inches of height since the night he was injured a week ago. Perhaps when I had to heal my own injury, I had somehow stimulated my growth… I shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal of it.

“Tal’mar children grow up fast,” I said.

“Very fast,” he agreed. “I never knew that. I wonder what else we don’t know?”

“You’ll find out soon,” I said.

“Is it finally over, then?” Analyn said. “Is the war over?”

“The Tal’mar and humans are allies now, if that’s what you mean. Kanters are pressing the Borderlands now. I’m doing my best to get these planes in the air because General Corsan is leading his men into battle tomorrow, and they’re going to need air support.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility,” she said. There wasn’t any way to respond to that. It was true, of course. It was so true that I didn’t even want to think about it. Even if the alliance of Tal’mar and humans was successful, it would not be without cost. The sooner I had those planes in the air, the fewer lives would be lost.

“I’ve got to go,” I said sadly. “There’s too much to be done still.” Analyn embraced me.

“Don’t take it all on those young shoulders,” she said. “You didn’t start this war.” I looked in her eyes when she pulled back, and I wanted desperately to tell her what had happened to Prince Sheldon, but the time wasn’t right. Instead, I just smiled and said “Goodbye.”

As I wandered down to my plane I thought about the way Robie had been acting, and I had to wonder if he was being ambitious or if he fell into that leadership role naturally. I thought back to the time I’d spent with him in school. He’d always been the largest boy, and in my opinion had been kind of a bully. The girls seemed to adore him, but I was convinced that it was as much about his nobility as anything else. Now I wasn’t so sure. He actually did seem to have a certain charisma. I shook my head. It must have been a human thing.

Kalen and Jesha arrived a few minutes later, and I helped them stow their bags. Jesha wasn’t thrilled about having to share a seat with Kalen, but she forgot all about it as soon as I hit the throttle.

With all the extra weight it took almost twice the usual distance to get in the air, and my overall speed was considerably slower. It was immediately clear that this version of our plane was going to have to be temporary. I could already feel stresses building in the airframe. The thought of retiring the plane saddened me, but I was also anxious to see what the Tal’mar had waiting. Of course, somewhere in the back of my mind was the deep fear that the Tal’mar planes would be completely useless. I knew that their woodworking was beyond excellent, but building an aircraft was a whole different thing.

It was just after noon when we got back to the airfield. We went straight to the hangar. We were all starved, so we fixed plates of cold meat and bread from the food Kalen and Jesha had packed. Tinker wandered in while we were eating. He cast a glance at the two of them.

“Only two?” he mused.

“The first two,” I said. “I expect seven or eight by tomorrow. Tinker, meet Jesha and Kalen.” Tinker shook their hands. I stuffed the last chunk of bread into my mouth and rose from the table. “I’ve got to get back in the air,” I said. “Tinker, maybe you can show them what you’ve been working on?”

“With pleasure. Be careful, Breeze.” I smiled and tossed my leather jacket over my shoulder. As I taxied to the landing strip I saw Jesha and Kalen helping Tinker assemble gear boxes. I waved at him. He was grinning from ear to ear. His work had never gotten so much attention before. Now it seemed everyone was interested in tinkering.

The rest of the evening was a flurry. I made my return flight with Robie and an older boy named Danil. That took about four hours altogether. Then I set out for Tal’mar with Robie and a collection of gearboxes.

It was well after dark when we reached Silverspire, but the Tal’mar had a lit runway waiting for me. The queen had ordered lamps installed along the main road that led right into the city gates, so that even in the worst weather, pilots could always find their way home. The reception I received was considerably different than it had been the first time.

As soon as I’d landed, two soldiers came running up to me. I recognized one of them from my previous visit. “We’ve been waiting for you, Breeze!” he said cheerfully. “Your planes are almost done.”

I felt a light catch in my throat as he used my name. I didn’t even know the man, but he greeted me like we were old friends. “Excellent,” I said. I hopped down and opened up the tail stow. “I have a batch of gear boxes…”

“Allow us,” he gestured for me to move aside, and started piling the boxes up in his partner’s arms. Then, once they were both loaded, he gestured with a nod to follow. “Your planes are just around the corner. I’m sure you’ll want a look at them.”

Robie and I followed him through the gate. We took a sharp right turn, and there they were. The planes were located in a park at the edge of the city, scattered amongst the scenery like garden statues. And beautiful they were. I gasped as I saw them.

I forgot everything else, and approached with a certain disbelieving awe. At a distance, they look very similar to my old plane, but as I got closer, I realized they were much more. The Tal’mar design was sleeker, much more refined. The wingspan was slightly larger, and yet the construction looked lighter. The pilot’s seat was more spacious, and there was room for the flight controls and gauges to be mounted directly in front of the pilot.