The Geomancer (37 page)

He looked up at her, his face perspiring despite the cool temperature. “You like it?”

Adele looked wonderingly at Anhalt. “Did you teach him this?”

The general shook his head. “I taught him nothing. He said he wanted to help improve the ship. He's been spending all his time doing it. I'm just looking at it in amazement.”

She said to Hiro, “It's beautiful.”

The ship's old carpenter approached them. His kindly face puffed with pride. He actually placed a hand on the young vampire's shoulder. “He's a fine apprentice. A bit artistic for my taste, but you cannot deny he makes
Edinburgh
fit for royalty, Your Majesty.”

Adele nodded. “It's about time she looked like the queen she is.” She bowed to the young vampire. “You do us honor, Hiro. Thank you.”

The boy's blue eyes shone and he bent back to his task. Adele thought he looked a bit tired, and she was about to tell him to take a break when Shirazi's stern voice came aft as he instructed a vampire on the use of a planer. “For spit's sake, use both hands like I showed you!”

The vampire who crouched near the major lifted her head, making no effort to hide her scowl, but still she grasped the tool with both hands as the soldier demonstrated again with irritation. Shirazi came to his feet and saluted.

“Your Majesty, the ship is nearly ready to sail.”

“Excellent, Major,” she said. “Where is Greyfriar?”

Shirazi craned his head upward. “In the tops. Shall I send for him?”

“Not at all.” Her hand reached for the shrouds stretching up to the masts high above.

Major Shirazi immediately called for a crewman to swing over a bosun's chair. Adele waved the contraption aside, refusing to be hoisted like some dainty maiden. She wore pants under her kaftan and the same thick boots as most of the men. The crew in the rigging hardly batted an eye as the empress pulled herself up onto the ratlines alongside them. Adele found bright prayer flags tied to the shrouds and fluttering in the wind. They brought a warmth to her chest to see them on her beloved ship.

In the dizzying heights of the port foremast, she found Yidak assisting Greyfriar in fitting a replacement yardarm. Yidak's face was a mask of concentration, listening to instructions, bearing the heavy weight so the topmen could fix stays and cables. Soon the rigging looked as good as new, at least to Adele's eyes.

It was only then that Yidak noticed her and beamed a wide grin. Greyfriar's posture showed he was not so pleased to see her in the tops, but he didn't bother chastising her.

Adele brushed her tousled hair from her face. “How many more left to refit?”

“We have one more mast to swap.”

Hariri clambered along the rigging to land lightly on the newly placed spar, testing its strength with a few daredevil jumps. The spar bounced but held. “Solid work.”

Yidak clasped his hands together in humility. “Your men taught us well. The work is hard but very satisfying.”

“Perhaps you were meant to be a sailor.”

“Who is to say a man must be only one thing in life.” Yidak glanced for a moment at Greyfriar.

Greyfriar let out an amused sigh at the old man and immediately took a line to swing to the stump of the mainmast. “We have work to do.”

Yidak winked at Adele, but then looked at something behind her. She turned to find, with a shock, a vampire floating beside her.

He bowed his head to Yidak. “Something is wrong with Hiro.”

The good humor faded from all of them. Adele quickly descended, but then she felt Greyfriar wrap his arm about her waist. She immediately let go of the rigging and then they were airborne. She heard Hariri shouting to his men, but they were swiftly out of earshot as Greyfriar seized a rope in midair and pretended to slide down to the deck, while he really dropped under his own power. Yidak flew close on their heels.

They alighted on the deck. Hiro lay unconscious, with a group of vampires around him. Some of the crew gathered on the fringes. Takeda was kneeling in the center of the crowd, cradling the unconscious boy in his arms.

“He just collapsed,” exclaimed the carpenter to Adele.

She pushed her way to the boy and dropped to her knees beside Hiro. His breath came too fast and short. His face had gone pale and clammy. The bruise from his old head wound stood stark purple and yellow against his white flesh.

Takeda looked at her with terrible pain in his eyes. “What is it?”

“I'm not sure. That head injury looks bad. They're insidious things. You could be fine one moment and not the next.”

Greyfriar sank down and put his ear against the boy's chest. He winced with alarm. “His heart is failing. He's dying.”

“He needs blood,” Takeda said. “He hasn't fed since before the battle. There were so many wounded, he refused.”

Yidak's face was drawn tight. “The pilgrims are gone. They had been tasked too hard. I sent them away.”

Adele pushed up her sleeve, revealing rows of slowly healing bite marks. Greyfriar's hand snapped out and stopped her. “No. You've lost too much already. Hiro will need more than you can give.”

“I can give just enough to keep him alive.”

General Anhalt stepped into the circle. “No, Your Majesty. I will do it.” He already had his arm bared and a knife poised. With a swift cut, he opened a small wound. Kneeling close to the crumpled form, he placed the dripping arm over the boy's mouth that was gently eased open by Takeda. “Rub his throat gently. It will force him to swallow.”

Hiro's throat convulsed and the blood dripped in. After long minutes of this, the boy's eyes fluttered and he weakly seized Anhalt's arm, pulling it closer, wrapping his mouth around the gash. The general flinched but didn't pull away. A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up with assurance that he was all right. It wasn't someone trying to stop him; it was Captain Hariri baring his own arm.

“My turn. I have more blood than I need, my friend.”

To Adele's astonishment, a few men stood behind Hariri: the ship's carpenter and one or two of the crew. It wasn't many, but the fact that any were willing to volunteer was unbelievable. She heard Greyfriar's sharp intake of breath beside her. His hand gripped hers tightly. She felt a swell of amazement and pride. She would have never thought this possible outside of Gareth's enclave in Edinburgh. One by one the humans offered their blood to Hiro, even while most of their shipmates looked on in distaste.

The boy awakened and he gazed up with wide eyes. “What happened?” he muttered, suddenly embarrassed to have everyone crowding around him. He realized he held a human's bloody arm. He released it as if it was forbidden.

Takeda held the boy tighter. “It's all right, Hiro. You collapsed. You need to feed.”

“My head hurts,” Hiro whispered.

Another airman crouched down and bared his arm. “Might as well drink, lad. You still look like a ghost. Hope you don't mind a touch of rum with it.”

Hiro hesitatingly took the man's arm and placed his mouth over the cut as the warm blood flowed. His strength was returning, and the vibrant blue eyes of hunger faded. His sated gaze went to Takeda with eyes drooping drowsily. “I feel better now.”

Greyfriar again put his ear to the boy's heart and came away with a relieved nod.

Yidak gently laid a hand on Hiro's head. “You need to rest.” He regarded the humans around him, his expression almost confounded by their generosity. “I don't know what to say. Thank you.”

Many of the men of the
Edinburgh
took off their caps, shifting a bit, uncomfortable under the direct gaze of the fierce vampire. “Was nothing,” intoned the carpenter, stepping up to place a hand on the boy's chest and laying the small worn chisel there.

Adele only had one more undeveloped piece of film, and she used it here.

The
Edinburgh
stood in the thin morning light, ready to sail. Her crew scampered about her rigging making last-minute checks. Her hold was filled with fresh water and enough dried meat to serve for the jump to Delhi. Adele stood on the quarterdeck with Greyfriar and Yidak on either side of her. Anhalt and Takeda were together in the waist, chatting about strategy or weapons, Adele wasn't quite sure, but watching the two soldiers talk so easily made her smile.

Bright red and yellow robes milled among the dull colors of the crew. Many of the vampires had wanted to see what it was like to be under sail on a ship even for a short while, so Adele had encouraged them to come on board. Hariri ordered the lines to be cast off. The deck shifted beneath their feet as the sails luffed. The binnacle was a hive of activity. Canisters flew and clunked inside the tubes on their way to and from the tops and the chemical deck. Hiro darted from one rail to the next, watching the ground fall away and craning his neck to see the men crawling above.

For a moment, Adele was transported back to the time when she and Simon flew on the
Ptolemy
. Simon's excitement had been uncontainable. She had been so worried about formality back then, worried about people's opinions and her uncertain future. She had barely taken the time to enjoy the moment. Despite the peril, she wished she had brought Simon with her now so he could have experienced this incredible adventure. He and Hiro would have gotten along famously.

The ship shuddered as the wind shifted abruptly, trying to drag them back to the side of the mountain. Greyfriar held Adele steady as she staggered slightly. Then the
Edinburgh
was free of the monastery ramparts and her prow pointed for the open air. She continued her rise into the saffron light, making the sails glow with an inner heat, the sunrise reflecting off the dirigible's metal casing.

Yidak's smile was a delight to behold. He was much like a child himself in many ways. Or maybe he was just able to embrace the remembrances of youth, when one's spirit was open and willing to accept new experiences and chance changes. Life seemed a series of amazing events for him.

The old vampire turned and embraced Adele, his robes draping around her. “You have brought new life to our home and our hearts. Things will never be the same again.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Why wouldn't it be? No one can hide forever.”

Adele held him tight. “And I'm so sorry that your . . . memories were destroyed.”

“Destroyed? No matter, I recorded a cylinder on how to build it. Oh wait. Well, I probably remember.” He threw back his head and laughed. “I'm going to miss you. Who would have thought I could say that about a human?”

Adele dug into her pocket and pulled out a small stack of photographs. She shuffled through them and exclaimed with delight. “Here!” She showed Yidak the picture of his memory machine that she had taken.

The old vampire held the photograph with both hands, staring at it with wonder. “Yes, that's it exactly.” He leaned over to see the other photos and slid them around with his claw. He tapped one. “May I have that?”

Adele saw it was the picture of her and Gareth that Anhalt had taken. It was still the only photo she had of the two of them. Even so, she nodded graciously and gave it to the old vampire.

“I knew that
you
would have a miracle in your pocket.” Yidak beamed at the photograph, looking at it and then at the real people. Back and forth several times. He clutched the pictures joyfully. Then his hand reached out to Greyfriar. “Walk with me.”

The two stepped to the rail beside a pile of tackle that had yet to be stowed. Yidak peered over the side. “Look down there.”

Greyfriar leaned on the intricately carved wood. Several hundred feet beneath the airship was a lake shining in the sun. He shuddered. It was the same body of water that had nearly drowned him. When he turned back, he saw Yidak holding a heavy wooden block. The old vampire tossed the object over the rail.

“Hey!” Hariri shouted from the binnacle. “What in the hell are you doing?”

Yidak put on an apologetic face. “Oh. That was garbage, yes?”

“No!” The captain threw up his hands, cursing in Arabic.

Yidak turned back to Greyfriar with a conspiratorial chuckle. “This is more important than whatever that thing is used for. Look. Look down again.”

Greyfriar saw that the block had struck the middle of the lake. It raised chills along his spine.

“What do you see?” Yidak asked.

“Ripples on the water where you threw Captain Hariri's block.”

The old vampire shoved Greyfriar playfully. “Yes! Exactly. Now do you understand?”

“I understand gravity. More or less. Is that what you mean?”

“No. Do you remember when I threw the stone into the ice, that first day you were here?”

Greyfriar thought back. He had almost forgotten the forlorn spectacle he had presented then. The brooding vampire prince lost in his own shadows. “Yes. And so?”

“This is the same.”

“No, it isn't. I didn't see ripples then.”