Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights (16 page)

“This is a powerful weapon. You have not answered my question. How do you see the demons?”

“Actually, it’s not a weapon. It’s a tool, just like a hammer or a wheel, but the ramifications are significant.”

“No, they are awesome. Answer my question, Sky Lord.”

“My sky ship has a captain. Ask him to speak to you.”

She did so and blinked at the response. “He said his name is Hawke.”

“Order him to bring the ship to you. Uh, you might want to warn your men and maybe the men standing guard on the walls.”

She started to speak, then stopped and blinked. “He said more demons come, three of them.”

“From where?”

“Your man Vitor says he has it under control.” She looked up and waved to Vitor who was racing toward the middle of the caravan at a full gallop. He waved back, then pulled in between two wagons.

Havlock could wait no longer. He took a spare comm unit from an equipment pouch and put it on. Vitor and Lieutenant Fogel were organizing the response to the attack coming at both sides of the caravan.

He went to the Queen and spoke to her. “Our weapons are noisy. Remind your men. Their gorlacs will have to be trained before they’re accustomed to the noise.”

She nodded and pulled her gorlac around, preparing to dash off, then stopped. She spoke at length into her comm unit and received a reply from her captain. She turned to Havlock with wonder in her eyes, but he held a finger up to his mouth. The frequency was busy with orders, and she understood that fighting came first.

Havlock nudged his gorlac up to hers, and Galborae did the same on the other side. “Your Majesty,” Galborae said, “let me first say how sorry I am to hear about King Harbig. I only met him once, but he struck me as a good man and a good king.” He did not wait for her response. “The Sky Lord’s weapons consist of two separate actions, and we have taught the traders to use them. The first is a blue light that finds and wounds the demon. As you probably know, we can see the demons when they are wounded seriously enough. The second step is a weapon that throws fire on the demons. It is a powerful fire, more powerful than a sword or arrow. The best part is that it works from far away as well as from close-up. The sky knights do not use swords.”

She heard his words, but she was engrossed in the clipped chatter in her ear from the marines and traders. Though it was a simple attack, every attack received the respect it deserved. Multiple blasters sounded in the distance, and Sergeant Vitor called Havlock.

“All clear, Sky Lord.”

He scowled at the title coming from his own man, then said, “Very well. The shuttle will be here in a few minutes. Any wounded?”

“No, sir.”

Queen Atiana stared at Havlock, waiting for the next step. He stared a question back at her. She frowned, then understood. She spoke into her own comm unit. “Hawke, are there any more demons?”

Havlock’s mouth dropped open, but Galborae just grinned. “You might be taking lessons from her before we’re done, Sky Lord.”

Hawke responded. “Yes, Your Majesty, but none of them are close.”

“I would meet you, Hawke. Will you come?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What if the demons attack? Who will be watching?”

“Uh, I’m not the only sky ship, Your Majesty.”

The reply visibly startled her, the first time Havlock had seen her lose her composure. She looked to the sky, but the white ship blended well into the bright sky and she did not see it until it was fairly close. Havlock, already beside her, reached a hand out to her shoulder, knowing what the sight of the ship would do to her. His touch startled her, but she soon ignored it. The ship drew all her attention as it descended at the rear of the convoy and advanced slowly toward them just a few feet above the tallest wagon.

Havlock spoke into his comm unit to the queen’s rider who wore an identical unit. “Hold, men of Tricor. I am the Sky Lord. Heed my words. Your queen is in no danger.”

A voice spoke back to him. “Free her or we attack.”

He dropped his hand from her shoulder and moved his gorlac away. “See? She stays of her own free will.”

Atiana, though fully engrossed in the shuttle, had not lost awareness of her surroundings. “I am free, Captain, though I cannot say there is no danger. Hold for now, but do not let your guard down.”

The shuttle hovered silently above them, then floated over the heads of the queen’s guards before settling to the road just in front of the main gates, dwarfing everything in sight.

The front ramp lowered and a marine stepped from the ship to the ground. “It’s me, Hawke,” he called, raising an arm. “You are welcome to come aboard, Your Majesty.”

She turned to Havlock with eyes that had grown enormous. He sensed her working hard to control her fright, so he climbed down from his gorlac and held a hand up to her.

Galborae joined him, saying, “There’s no magic here, Your Majesty. I have been inside the sky ship many times. It is safer inside the ship than out here. Demons cannot hurt the sky ship.”

Hawke, tall, spare, red-headed, and freckled, the antithesis of a standard marine but fully armed and confident, strode from the ship, passing through the queen’s men who moved aside for him. He stopped before Havlock and saluted, saying, “Sky Lord,” then in one fluid motion he turned to Queen Atiana and went to one knee with his head bowed.

He held that position until she spoke to him. “Stand, Captain.”

He stood, his wide-spaced green eyes deep and welcoming and friendly. “The sky ship is my home, Your Majesty, just as these wagons are home to the traders. Be welcome to my home. I know this is all new to you and it might be too soon, but if it pleases you, I invite you and two of your men to come with me into the sky ship.”

“I want to know how you see the demons. Must I come into the sky ship to learn how you see them?”

Hawke looked to Havlock for help, but Havlock remained silent. Hawke was doing well enough on his own.

“I’m afraid so, Your Majesty.” He paused, then said, “If you’ll follow me toward the ship, I want to show you something. We won’t go inside the ship, not until you’re ready.” He led her, Havlock, and Galborae back through the guards to the ramp of the ship and stopped.

He rapped his knuckles on the boarding ramp. “As you can see, this ship is made of metal just as your swords are made of metal. I’m sorry to tell you that the similarities end there. Most of what you will see inside the ship will not make sense to you, but if you’re willing to work with us, I promise you the day will come when it does. The Sky Lord is here to help you defeat the demons, but he’s here to teach you as well.”

She looked to Havlock, then turned and faced him squarely, really looking at him for the first time. “You are warriors. You are scholars as well?”

“We are, Your Majesty. All of us. Part of learning is to know when there has been enough learning for one day. I think there has been more than enough for this day. My men and I are prepared to return to the sky ship as soon as the caravan is safely within your walls. We can talk more tomorrow and the next day. There’s no need for you to enter the ship.”

She stepped closer to him, looking hard into his eyes. “We can fight the demons if we can find them. I must know how you do it.”

She turned back toward her men and started walking. Havlock thought she was done for the day, but she surprised him. She stopped as if she’d remembered something, then lifted her hand to her ear and spoke into her comm unit.

“Captain Termae, I’m going into the sky ship. Tell me . . . what worries you more: me going into that ship alone, or you coming with me?”

They all heard the gruff reply. “Your Majesty, everything you do worries me.” They heard a sigh, then, “Coming.”

Atiana turned to Havlock with a twinkle in her eyes. “He hates it when I do that. His life was much simpler when Father was alive.”

A tight grin found its way to Havlock’s face. “I believe I know exactly how he feels, Your Majesty.”

Termae joined them and introductions were completed, then Atiana turned to Hawke and reached a hand out. “I’m ready, Captain.”

Hawke lifted an arm and she took it. He led her onto the lip of the ramp, then up a few steps where she paused to look around with wide eyes. When he took another step, she followed. She turned worried eyes to Captain Termae who was not at all so inclined, but knowing the choice she had given him, his lips firmed and he followed.

Galborae stepped up beside Turmae. “I took my first step long ago, but I have not forgotten how difficult it was.”

Termae gritted his teeth and continued a few more steps. After that, it got easier. Sergeant Hawke gathered the delegation together and led them up a spiral stairway to the bridge.

The first thing the newcomers saw was the screen running from one side of the room to the other. They looked down on the setting from a height equivalent to the third floor of a building.

Atiana’s brow furrowed. “I do not remember seeing an opening.”

“You did not, Your Majesty,” Hawke replied. “That is just one of many things you do not yet understand about this sky ship, but one day soon you will.” He pointed out the other pilot who was sitting in a seat with a helmet on. “He controls the ship with his mind. It’s a little bit like the way you meld with your animals. He knows we are here, but he is concentrating on controlling this great sky ship.”

“It’s alive?” she asked, her lips curling in horror.

“No, Your Majesty. The sky ship is just metal like your swords. I told you that you would discover strangeness here, but I promise you it will not remain strange forever. Can we leave it at that for today?”

She nodded. “Show me how you see the demons.”

“They are no more demons than we are magic,” he said. “We call them gleasons. They’re just evil creatures that live and bleed and die just like we do. For me to show you how we see them, we have to fly. It might be best if you sat down.”

“I am accustomed to flight on my sauron,” she said. “Captain Termae is not.” She looked to him, then removed her translator/comm unit and went to his side. She spoke softly, privately. “Can you do this thing, my friend?”

“You know how I am with heights.” She nodded solemnly and his mouth formed into a thin, hard line. “Get on with it.”

She replaced her translator, and Hawke spoke to both of them. “Only your eyes will tell you you’re in the air. Unlike a gorlac or a sauron, there is no sensation of motion inside this sky ship. I promise you that the ship cannot fall from the sky and that you cannot fall out of it.”

Galborae led Termae to a seat, then stepped up to the window and turned to face him, giving him and the Queen something to focus on if the outside view became too frightening. Havlock stepped to Atiana’s side but she ignored him, her sole focus Hawke and the view outside.

Hawke leaned down and spoke softly into the pilot’s ear, then stood back. Slowly, so very slowly, the view outside shifted as the ship lifted. The whole length of the caravan came into view when they were as high as the highest battlement surrounding the castle. The ship stopped for a time, then resumed its climb. Before long they were truly looking down on the city and its surrounds. The Queen had seen this view from astride her sauron, but her captain sat transfixed, his knuckles showing white where he held to the edge of his seat.

“Where are the gleasons?” she asked Hawke.

He stared back at her, then looked to Havlock. “A little help, Sky Lord?”

Havlock shook his head. “You’re on a roll, Captain. Please continue.” He added to the queen, “Your Majesty, your men are probably worried about you. Would you like to tell them you’re okay?”

She thought for a moment, then looked to Captain Termae with a stricken look. He pulled the comm unit and translator from his ear and held it out to her. She lifted doleful eyes to Havlock. “They do not have one of these.”

“No problem, Your Majesty. We’ll get them another.” He spoke to Lieutenant Fogel, then looked back to her. “Would it be appropriate to get the caravan started into the city?”

She went back to Captain Termae and stood beside him. The two of them talked privately, then she waited for one of her guards to call her. When he did, she issued orders allowing the caravan and the sky knights into the city. When she was done, she turned to Hawke with a look that demanded he get on with it.

Hawke came to her side, amazed at this woman who seemed able to absorb any amount of new knowledge. He would have liked Captain Termae to join them, but he knew the man could not leave his seat.

“I told you there were many things here you would not understand, but in time you will. What you are about to see is just one of them. You are accustomed to seeing the world through your eyes, and your eyes do not see any gleasons, correct?”

“Not until they’re wounded.”

“The ship has other ways of seeing.” He directed her attention to another screen. Bright white blobs littered the screen, and smaller, dimmer smudges showed here and there. “Your Majesty, there are times we might not see well, like in a dark room or when it’s foggy and the air is still. At times like that we use other senses to paint a picture of our surroundings in our minds. We listen. We smell. We use our bodies to feel. We might even taste the air.”