I Will Breathe (Forbidden Book 1) (6 page)

“Liberty!”

She patted Boy’s head once more before heading out to see what Mender wanted. With the way her day was going, they were probably being attacked again. Once out on deck, Liberty stopped dead in her tracks. “You’re naked.”

Mender pointed upwards. “My eyes are up here.”

Even after his reprimand, Liberty couldn’t stop staring. “But you’re naked. Where’re your clothes.”

“Damn it. That’s not what I came to show you.”

Fortunately, hearing the obscenity made Liberty look up. “You cursed. You never curse.”

He grinned. “I can see why you do it, though. It gets results. Now at least you’re not ogling my bits and pieces.”

Of course saying that only made her look down again.

“Damn it to hell, Liberty. Stop eyeing my parts and look at the kid,” but when she did, Mender huffed. “Not at his bits and pieces but at his face and hair. For pity’s sake, woman, have you never seen a naked man before?”

A hot flush started at Liberty’s neck and crept upwards. “Of course not, and why would I want to anyway?”

He grinned. “I don’t know. You haven’t stopped staring since we got here, so you tell me.”

She closed her eyes. “Well go put some clothes on. Why are you on my ship, stark naked, in the first place anyway?”

“Just open your eyes and look at the kid’s face and hair and you’ll know why.”

It took a moment to regain her composure, but she finally opened her eyes, forcing herself to look only where directed. She blinked several times as she tried to understand what she was seeing. “His hair is the same red as mine.”

Mender pushed back wet hair off the boy’s forehead. “His eyes are the green shade of green as yours.”

She forgot about the men not wearing any clothes and walked over to get a closer look. The kid backed away as she neared, but Mender grabbed his arm and held him in place.

Mender said, “The two of you have the same high forehead, the same jawline and straight nose. How is it possible for the two of you to look so much alike?”

She didn’t understand it either, but it really was unbelievable how much the kid resembled her. Was it possible they were related? Liberty thought over the few facts she knew about where she had come from. “Father never said where he’d found me. He thought I was about two years old when he did, lost and crying for my mother. He tried looking for her but finally decided she was either dead or had abandoned me – not such an unusual occurrence since food could be so scarce in some areas.”

“She said she had left you there by the lake to save your life,” the kid said.

Liberty took a step back, surprised by the unexpected statement. “How would you know that?”

“Mother told me I had a sister but that she couldn’t keep her. If the mountain men had ever found a girl, she would have been used crudely, death a great release from the things they would have done to her. Mother said she had seen the balloon man at the lake many times over the years and so waited for him to stop by again. She hoped he would take you away to safety.” The kid reached out and touched her hair. “She said my sister’s name was Liberty and my hair was the same color as hers.”

Several thoughts came and went as Liberty tried to absorb the idea that she might indeed be this kid’s sister. It was hard to decide whether or not this was good news. To know she wasn’t alone filled her with hope, but discovering she might be a daughter of one of the crazed mountain men was troublesome to say the least. Was she doomed to succumb to their madness, to end up killing and eating people?

Realizing she had been silent much too long, she finally asked, “What’s your name?”

The boy met her eyes and studied her for a long time before finally answering, “Justice.”

She nodded. “Well, Justice, it looks as if you need some clothes. You seem to be about the same size as my father. I’ll go get you some of his.” She glanced back at Mender as she walked off. “You should put on some clothes too. This news is hard enough to take in without a bunch of naked men standing around my airship.”

Mender laughed and called out after her, “If I remember correctly, the first time we met you were only in your undies.”

She snorted. “Serves you right for coming aboard uninvited.”

He chuckled. “Did I say I didn’t enjoy the view?”

Chapter Ten

“I have to go back.” Liberty waited for what she felt certain would be an argument but was surprised when none came.

“Okay.” By now Mender was dressed so it was easier to meet his steady stare.

“I can’t explain it. It’s just a feeling, but I can’t go to the Forbidden Lands until I know whether or not Shatter is safe.” Liberty paced and chewed on her thumbnail. She had no idea why she was worrying about a man who in all probability was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. After all, he had been doing so for many years without anyone’s help.

“Let’s go then before it gets dark.” Mender pulled Justice out of the Captain’s chair. He took Liberty’s hat and goggles away from him and handed them to her. “When we get there, I don’t want to land the airships. We’ll go no nearer the ground than twenty feet and then tether our ships together. You can lower me using Airus’s anchor. As soon I’m down, I want you to raise it again so no one can climb aboard while I’m gone.”

She shook her head. “I should be the one to go. You’ve never met Shatter. He wouldn’t accept your help even if you offered.”

Mender tucked a finger under her chin and made her look him in the eyes. “We won’t go back then. It’s too dangerous.”

She squared her shoulders and prepared for a fight, but as she opened her mouth to argue, Justice stepped between them. “I’ll go. Shatter trusts me. He’s always been able to reason with the mountain men in the past. He doesn’t know yet that they’ve all gone completely insane, though.”

Liberty touched his arm. “What about our mother?”

Justice shook his head and avoided all eye contact. “We thought we had the perfect hiding place, so I went off to find something to eat. When I returned, our few possessions were scattered or destroyed and she was missing. I searched for three days until I found her hair and bones. Before I could leave the area some men spotted me. I ran and hid. When I saw your airships land, I took a chance and climbed aboard, hoping you wouldn’t kill me.”

He scratched his forehead. “You look like her, you know.” Sadness briefly settled over his face before he jutted out his jaw and visibly swallowed. “I like Shatter. He’s tried to help Mother and me in the past, as best he could. It’s time I did something for him.”

It was all too much to take in so Liberty focused on helping Shatter. She would think of her mother’s loss later.

The sun had almost completely set when they reached Shatter’s and the airships were in position. Liberty lowered Airus’s anchor and watched Justice climb down to the ground. His expression held a fierce determination but he was also trying hard to conceal his fear.

Mender placed a hand on her shoulder. “He would never have survived this long if he didn’t know how to take care of himself.”

Liberty kept a lookout on the port side and Mender from his perch astarboard. She had just made up her mind to lower herself to the ground to find out where he had got to when Justice came running out of the trading post. Liberty lowered the anchor and waited for him to climb aboard, but looked over the edge of the airship when she heard retching. Watching him throw up and sob made her realize more than ever how young he was.

“They’re coming!”

Liberty looked over to where Mender pointed and spotted a group of men running from the forest and down the hill toward them. She bent over and screamed to Justice, “Grab hold! I’m pulling you up!” She didn’t wait for him to answer but pushed the button to winch the anchor up. She yelled over to Mender, “Go get your ship ready!” then rushed over and increased the speed of the friction rotators. The moment she saw Justice climbing back onboard, she pulled the pressure chain.

“Hold on. This might get a little bumpy. We have down drafts coming in from over the mountain. It’s going to be a fight getting Airus back in the air.” She tried to keep her attention on the gauges and not become distracted by the terrifying sounds of screaming coming from below. They sounded much too close for comfort, and when the first spear crossed the bow, there was no longer any doubt she needed to be quicker about getting them up higher.

She pointed at Justice. “Go to my cabin.” He hesitated, as if about to refuse, so she channeled her father’s most intimidating glare and was surprised when it worked. It turned out to be a good call on her part because just seconds later a spear whizzed past where he had been standing.

Mender ran over to the rope tethering their ships. He appeared to be relieved when he saw she was unharmed. “We’ll go up faster if we aren’t tied together. I’ll meet you at six thousand feet.” He grinned before separating them. “Let the bastards get us up there.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. He really needed to stop hanging around her. His language was getting to be atrocious.

Several more spears shot over the stern before Airus finally climbed out of reach. At six thousand feet, Liberty locked the controls in place and went in to check on Justice. She found him sitting on her bed, staring at Boy. She sat next to him and patted his leg. “Are you okay?”

He wiped at the tears running down his cheeks but was unable to stop them.

“Did you see Shatter?”

Justice shuddered and stared at his feet. “They had already gotten to him. There was nothing I could do.”

Her heart went out to him so she wrapped an arm around his waist. “You’re exhausted.” She patted her bed and stood. “Use my bed and get some sleep.”

He pointed at Boy. “I don’t know if I can with him sitting over there, staring at me.”

Liberty walked over and patted Boy’s head. “You’re in good company. He’ll watch over you and keep you safe.” She headed for the door. “Get some rest and I’ll tell you about him later.”

Chapter Eleven

No one said anything, but all three stood and stared below at what was left of the city. Most of the buildings were little more than rubble, and the ones that had survived the war and time’s decay were overgrown by plant life. Even though Liberty had seen this desolation many times, she still found it a sobering sight. It boggled her mind to think there used to be so many people living in one place.

The most people she had ever seen in one gathering was less than thirty, and that was a rare sight. Distrust kept most from allowing others into their lives. Most only let her in because they needed the things she brought with her from the Forbidden Lands.

“What’s that over there?”

Liberty turned to look where Justice was pointing. “Father called them automobiles. I have no idea what they were used for, though, or why so many are in one place. Not much left of them now, just a few bits and pieces.” She perused the mountains of rubble, ranging off as far as the eye could see. “I wish Boy was here. He could tell us what everything is.”

Mender took his eyes away from the city long enough to look at her. “Where to first?”

“I know a good place to anchor the airships. Father discovered a factory that made jars. There’s enough left in it to last us a lifetime. What do you think the people you trade with will need the most?”

He scratched an eyebrow. “Anything with which they can make more thrashers and tools for tilling.” He chuckled. “Truthfully, I think they make use of anything I’m able to salvage.” For the first time in days, he grinned. “What are we waiting for? I want to see everything.”

His excitement was contagious but Liberty didn’t want anyone getting hurt. “Follow me, but on the ground we stick together. No one goes off by themselves.”

Mender peered over the edge again. “Have you ever seen any people here?”

She shook her head. “No, but that doesn’t mean someone hasn’t discovered this place since the last time I was here. We can’t afford to lose our airships and get stuck here.”

Justice leaned even farther over the side, trying to get a better view, so Liberty grabbed ahold of his waistband and pulled him back until his feet were again on deck. “Why don’t you wait until we’re closer than five hundred feet?”

He grinned. “Good idea.”

Liberty couldn’t help but be charmed by the kid’s infectious grin. She had grown quite fond of her new found brother over the ten days it had taken them to reach the Forbidden Lands. However, she couldn’t but notice that he still jumped at every loud sound and had trouble sleeping for more than twenty minutes at time. She couldn’t imagine growing up afraid every second of every day, so both she and Mender had given him space and time to adjust to his new surroundings, and to them. The funny thing was, he had taken up her habit of sitting and talking to Boy, as if the robot could really hear him. She often found Justice in her cabin, polishing Boy’s metallic eyes and cleaning his glass head.

She turned to Mender. “You should go over and help Robbie. We’re not far from my usual landing spot.”

After the airships were on the ground and anchored, Liberty ran to her cabin to grab her father’s pocket pistol. For good luck she rubbed Boy’s head and then went out to meet up with Mender and Justice, to discuss their plans for the rest of the afternoon.

Mender was lowering the Airus’s ladder by the time she got back on deck. While she waited for him to finish, Liberty glanced up at an ominous black sky as she fingered her father’s pocket watch.

“Why do you keep that broken-down thing? It doesn’t even work.”

Liberty realized Mender had noticed her nervous reaction to the possibility of bad weather. She pulled the watch out and flipped it open. “It belonged to my father. It makes me feel he’s still with me. Besides, I don’t throw things away just because they don’t work the way I want them to. Sometimes just their presence is all I need.” Her thoughts turned to Boy. What if he never worked again? She would never part with him - no matter what.

Liberty closed the watch and slipped it back into her pocket. “What does it matter if the watch works or not? Time is all relative anyway. We’re born and then we die. Who needs to mark what’s in between with hours and seconds?”