I Will Breathe (Forbidden Book 1) (3 page)

How could a robot put so such emotion into its voice? Liberty rolled her eyes and tried not to notice Boy’s deadpan stare. Even though he was just a machine, she hated to think she might have hurt his feelings. “Stop staring and go do something useful.”

“I can steer. That’s useful.” He stared at her, as if that would be enough to break her will.

“No. You don’t know how to operate an airship.”

He clinked forward a couple of steps. “You could teach me.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Please?” Deadpan stare.

“Damn. I knew it. It told myself back at Tinkers that you were going to be as annoying as hell. I should have left you there, sweeping his storeroom.” She adjusted her goggles again even though there was nothing wrong with them.

“Why do you always say damn? Am I going to Hell? Are you going to hell?” He blinked once, in slow motion.

“I feel like I’m already in Hell, but that’s not why I say it. I curse because it makes me feel better. It’s like shooting tiny little poisons darts out of my mouth. I picture them shooting into whatever pisses me off.”

“Pisses? So you’re urinating while these darts are shooting?” No blink.

“Whatever did I do to deserve you?” Liberty sighed and plopped into the captain’s seat.

“Both of our fathers died.”

Seeing she was losing the battle, she asked, “So what do you want to know about flying Airus?”

“Everything.”

She stood and motioned for him to take her place. “Hold here and here, and please don’t get us killed. Okay?”

“How long before we get to the east coast?” He let go of the wheel.

“Damn it.” She took his hands and repositioned them. “Never, if you don’t do what I tell you to.” Liberty saw him staring at her mouth. “What are you looking at?”

“I’m trying to see the poison darts.”

Liberty smacked her forehead, even though the thought had crossed her mind to smack his instead. “You can’t see the poison darts. They’re imaginary.”

“Oh.”

By late afternoon, the sun slid behind black, billowing rain clouds, and strong gusts of wind kept pushing Airus off course. Even though Boy didn’t want to give up his post at the helm, Liberty took over anyway. Since she wasn’t certain how water tight the robot was, she sent Boy to her cabin, just in case it began raining. Rain she could live with, but a lightning strike was another matter altogether. One strike on the airship could set a fire she might not be able to put out. She shut down the thought that it could also kill her. Every day held some form of danger. That was just a part of life.

When the storm finally did hit, it turned into Liberty’s worse nightmare. Even though it was in the middle of the night, the sky stayed lit with all the lightning strikes. Some were so close the hairs on her arm stood on end with the electricity. She soon regretted sending Boy away. He would have loved all the curse words she came to utter during those long and grueling hours. Fortunately, right before dawn, the sky cleared, the wind died down and Liberty was again able to relax.

Her arms and back ached from struggling with the wheel all night. It hadn’t been easy keeping Airus in the air, so much so she had even considered the possibility of landing. She might have done so if she’d known the area better, but in all the times she had flown from the lake to the east coast, she had never once had reason to land there.

“I feel myself getting slower. Would you wind me up, please?”

Liberty jumped. “Damn. I should never have oiled your joints last night. I didn’t hear you come up behind me.” They stared at each other until she finally said, “There are no poison darts. I made that bit up. Stop trying to see them.” She made a circling motion with a finger. “Turn around and I’ll rewind you.” When she finished, she stretched and yawned. “Do you think you can keep an eye on things while I take a nap? I’m exhausted and need to get out of these wet clothes.”

“I remember, and if something happens I don’t understand, I’ll wake you.”

She positioned his hands on the wheel and patted his head. “Okay. I’m trusting you, so don’t let me down, okay?”

He blinked. “Okay.”

She turned to leave.

“No one is ever going to love me again. Are they?”

Liberty closed her eyes and sighed heavily before turning back to face him. “Why do you say that?”

Instead of looking at her, Boy stared straight ahead. “You said your Father told you never to love anyone. We must do as our Fathers say. I’m glad mine taught me to love, but I wished he had also taught me to breathe. I like watching people breathe. I wonder why didn’t Father create a way for me to do so?”

There were so many different subjects she hadn’t had to think about until Boy came into her life. Had it only been two days ago? It felt like years. She patted the top of his head. “Look. I’m good at breathing and you’re good at loving. If you will love enough for us both, I will breathe enough for us.” She ran her hand down the side of his face and cupped it there.

He finally looked up at her. “I will love.”

“And I will breathe.”

Chapter Five

A feeling that something wasn’t quite right woke Liberty from a deep sleep. “Shit. I should have known better.” She grabbed her clothes but didn’t bother putting them on before running out on deck. Fully expecting to find Boy still in the captain’s chair, she was surprised to see a stranger there instead.

His arms were crossed, and the moment he saw her approaching, he smiled, as if greeting an old friend. Shock rooted her in place until she remembered she was carrying her clothes and not wearing them. She hastily slipped them on and buttoned up her blouse as she went over to find out what the hell was going on.

“Who in the blazes are you, and what are you doing on my ship?” Liberty got right in his face and poked a finger in his chest, her assault full of the kind of bluster and bravado she was nowhere near feeling. Too late, she remembered she’d left her pocket gun at the foot of her bed, along with her damp clothes. It didn’t matter. There was no way she would to let this arrogant interloper know she was scared witless. Never before had a stranger been allowed aboard Airus, not until now – and on
her
watch. Her father was probably rolling over in his grave at this very moment.

He eyed her hair and asked, “You look like you’ve been in a wind storm. When was the last time you combed your hair?”

Liberty reached up and tucked a long curl behind her ear, suddenly uncomfortably aware how she must look to this stranger. “My comb broke.”

He pulled a long, wooden one out of his jacket pocket. “I’d be happy to comb them out for you.”

She took a step back. “Yeah, and cut my throat while my back is turned. You must take me for a fool.”

“Bloodthirsty little thing, aren’t you? I don’t even have a knife on me.” He stood and moved closer. “You’re welcome to pat me down and check for yourself.”

She sniffed at the thought. “I would rather have my throat cut.”

The dangerously-handsome, dark-eyed man sat back in the captain’s chair. He lifted an apple to his mouth and took a huge bite, as if Liberty was just a pesky insect. She grabbed it out of his hand. “Is this my apple? How dare you raid my food locker, and how dare you set foot on my vessel without my permission. Who the hell are you anyway?”

He grinned and dipped his head, as if finally acknowledging her presence. “Mender, and I want that back.”

Liberty looked at the half eaten apple. Even though her stomach was tight with fright, she took a large bite out of it, just to show the arrogant bastard she had no intention of giving in to any of his demands. “Get out of my chair.” She swallowed and prayed she didn’t choke to death because her throat was so dry and tense. Luckily, the apple slid down without incident, and surprisingly the man stood and backed away from the captain’s chair. A smirk marred his disturbingly attractive features.

To make matters worse, his voice was a wonderful mix of unhurried pace and deep tones. “For such a beautiful woman, you have the mouth of a gutter rat.” In his pleasant voice, the insult actually came out sounding like a compliment.

Liberty had to work up another head of steam because his voice had somehow spun a strange spell over her. It made her forget he was the interloper and not she. She puffed up and leveled a stern glare at him, to let him know just how much she cared about what he thought about her looks or choice of words. “I’m not the one who is trespassing so I don’t give a gutter rat’s ass what you think. What have you done with my robot, and how did you get aboard my ship?”

Mender crossed his arms before nodding towards the galley. “Your robot is giving mine a guided tour as we speak.” When she spluttered out a protest, he flicked his wrist and rolled his eyes. “Calm down, woman. The last time I saw them, they were happily chatting away like long lost brothers. Maybe you should have left your vessel with a better protector.”

“You’re a pirate and an apple thief. Get off my ship.” It wasn’t easy being stern whilst holding a half-eaten apple, but it was too precious to throw away.

“So that was what I was eating? I’ve never seen or tasted anything like it before.” The damn man actually grinned again.

“Why are you here? No, better yet, how did you get here?” Liberty eyed the altimeter, just to be certain Airus was still in the sky. She remained groggy and confused from her sleep. Maybe this was just a nightmare. “We’re at seven thousand feet. I know you didn’t sprout wings and fly up here.”

Mender pointed toward the stern of the airship. “Actually, it was much easier than that. I simply pulled alongside and climbed aboard. I even requested permission, which your robot gave without any hesitation. He actually seemed to be quite happy to see me.” He looked longingly at the apple. “Can you give that back?”

She hid it behind her back. “I could but I won’t. It’s my apple. My ship. My shit.” She was pleased by how stern she sounded, but then blew it all by adding, “I only have a few apples left and it will be a couple of months before I can replace them. I’ll give you a jar of applesauce if you leave.” That didn’t come out sounding stern at all. Damn. It was a good thing pirates didn’t board her ship every day. “Why are you really here? I know it’s not for my apple.” She took another bite, just to show Mender he wasn’t getting it back.

He shrugged. “I saw your airship and couldn’t believe my eyes. I’ve never seen any others besides my own, not in all my travels. I thought I had the only one. Would you be willing to show me where you acquired your apples? If you do, I’ll show you where I was able to procure my wheat and corn.”

She wrinkled her nose in thought. “Boy showed me photos of wheat and corn but I didn’t know they still existed. What do you do with them?”

He grinned and clapped a hand on her shoulder. “You’re in for a special treat. I’ll be right back.” Mender jogged toward his own ship and jumped across as if the gap between were nothing.

Liberty shuddered to think what would have been his fate had he lost his footing and fallen. Of course, she had no idea in the least why the thought of his death bothered her, not since they had only just met and he was probably going back to get a weapon so he could kill her. Maybe he had an entire ship of men hiding there, waiting to board her airship. She was getting all set to go fetch her pistol when he reappeared and jumped back aboard, carrying a bundle.

Mender wasn’t even breathing hard, but he was grinning when he reached her side. He offered her the small wrapped package. “I’ll trade you this for the rest of your apple.”

Without thinking, Liberty did as he asked, but then laughed at the look on his face when he saw how little was left. She might have apologized if she had been the least bit contrite, but as far as she was concerned, a deal was a deal. After opening the package, she asked what it was.

“Cornbread and wheat bread. Robbie made them yesterday.” He popped the rest of the apple in his mouth and closed his eyes. He smiled as soon as he swallowed it down. “I’ve never tasted anything so wonderful in my entire life.”

Liberty broke off a bite-sized piece of the round yellow bread and let it rest on her tongue for a moment before chewing. It tasted so good she broke off a bigger piece and munched on that before trying the brown one. Without thinking, she smiled. “Do you know what would be good with this?” She didn’t wait for an answer but jumped up and motioned for Mender to follow. As she led him toward the galley, she said, “I bet honey would taste great on both of these.”

Mender fell in beside her. “Honey. I’ve never heard of honey.”

“There seems to be a lot of things you haven’t heard of. I thought you said you sailed an airship.”

He laughed. “I knew about wheat and corn and you didn’t. How come you’ve flown everywhere in your airship and never heard of them?”

“Smartass.” Damn. He had a point. “Who’s Robbie? You said Robbie made the bread yesterday. Are there more people on your airship?”

“Just me and Robbie. Robbie’s my robot. I made him out of whatever I could find. He’s not as good looking as yours, but he comes in handy when I need a second pair of hands. Are you going to let me try this mysterious substance you call honey?”

“Yep. It’s either that or shoot you. I haven’t quite figured out which one to do yet.”

They found their robots in the galley, every drawer and cabinet door pulled open. Liberty turned to Mender. “I’m not cleaning this shit up.”

“I guess I should have kept a better eye on them.” He slipped into the chair behind the table.

“Damn straight you should have.” She smacked Boy on the back of the head before grabbing the jar of honey out of the cabinet. “How could you let this pirate come aboard? I’m never leaving the Airus in your control again.”

Boy had the grace to look as shamefaced as a robot could. “He asked nicely.”

“He asked nicely. It’s good to know you have standards.” She pointed at the cabinets. “Clean this mess up. We’ll talk about your punishment after we throw these two overboard.”

The only sounds that came from Boy were a few rapid clicks, as if some of his gears had been stripped. He finally said, “This is my friend, Robbie.”