Sky Pirates (7 page)

She closed her eyes to steady herself against the wind and dizzying height. All she needed to do was sever these four ropes. That would give them enough time to get
away before the pirates managed to rally their gliders in order to launch another attack.

Carefully she reached inside herself for the globule of power. She drew a little of the energy forth and aimed at the space before her where the ropes spanned. She breathed in and out, in an attempt to steady herself. There would be one chance only to succeed at this.

She raised her arms and flung the white ball of light at the ropes.

There was a flash of light. The air crackled with bright blue flashes of energy, before they went out with a fizzle and a pop.

“No!” Elle gasped. The wind and the thin air up here made combustion difficult, and the amount of power she had managed to grab from the barrier was simply too little. Without something to direct the energy, such as the barrel of a cannon, the blast had simply dissipated in the wind before it had had any effect.

Aether would not help her out here. She was on her own and this was going to have to be done the hard way. Bracing herself against the cold, she hoisted herself up out of the hatch and onto the roof.

She grabbed hold of one of the rigging ropes which held the hull of the
Water Lily
to her balloon. The icy wind took her breath away, and far below the earth stretched out a mass of desert and sea. She gritted her teeth, for this was no time to be cowardly. Step by tiny step she edged her way along the edge of the fuselage toward the tethers. Her movements were slow, hampered by wind and cold, but eventually she made it. With a small sob of relief, she sank to her knees next to the rope. Her hands shaking, she pulled out the blade and started hacking at the rope.

Elle gave a cry of triumph as she watched the strands of the rope wind and untwist of their own accord as the rigging blade hacked into it. The rope twanged and
whizzed as the tension was severed, but the end of the rope closest to her shot up and hit her squarely on the chin.

The blow nearly knocked her out and she fell back hard. She grabbed hold of the rigging just in time to stop herself from flying over the edge. But in her scrabble, she let go of the machete. She watched helplessly as it skidded to the edge of the fuselage and then, slowly, slipped over and disappeared into the nothingness below.

“Eleanor! Come back inside. It’s no use and you’re going to get yourself killed!” Dr. Bell called from the hatch where she had appeared.

Elle stared at the taut tether ropes in despair. Without the rigging machete, there was nothing she could do. She would have to find another way. Carefully she edged her way to the hatch but the fuselage was slippery from condensation and she felt her foothold falter.

“Here, take my hand!” Dr. Bell said as she grabbed hold of Elle and they both dropped down into the ship.

Inside the
Water Lily
the engines were still screaming. Steam was hissing from a blown pressure valve.

“Sorry. I tried,” Elle managed to gasp as she caught her breath. “I was able to get one rope but it recoiled and hit me in the face. I lost the blade.” Her jaw and neck were throbbing as if she had been punched in the face, and it felt like one of her molars had become loose. She reached out to steady herself from the wave of dizziness which had overcome her. She would have a nasty bruise on her face—if she lived long enough.

In answer to her thoughts, the ship creaked and listed slightly to one side as the remaining tether ropes tightened and strained.

Elle strode over to the controls and eased off on the thrusters. The engines slowed down to a slightly lower revolution per minute. The
Water Lily
lurched again as the tether ropes picked up the slack.

“Perhaps we should see if we can negotiate with them. The artifacts for our lives,” Dr. Bell suggested.

Elle shook her head. “They’ll take the artifacts no matter what we do. They are just a bonus. The real prize is the
Water Lily
. These men want the ship and there’s no telling what they’ll do with us once they have it. Pirates are animals. They are the roughest and lowest of men. It might be a fate worse than death,” she said in a low voice. This was her worst nightmare. Suddenly all the arguments she had had with Marsh about her safety when flying came sharply into focus. Elle did not want to admit it, but she was utterly terrified.

“It’s time to abandon ship,” she said with a grave expression.

“What do you mean?” Gertrude looked at her in surprise. “Surely you are not suggesting we jump overboard.”

“Not exactly, but you are going to have to trust me,” Elle said.

The older woman nodded. “Do it,” she said.

Slipping into the barrier up here was going to be exceedingly dangerous, but it was their only option now. Elle was simply going to have to try and hope for the best. She closed her eyes and reached out for the barrier. Then she stopped and frowned.

“What is it?” Gertrude whispered.

“There is nothing here,” Elle said. She closed her eyes again and concentrated harder. Before her, in the place where the barrier usually opened up for her, there was nothing but air. She focused more of her attention on opening the space, but it was in vain.

“Elle, what are you doing?” Gertrude said again, this time with more urgency.

“It’s gone,” Elle said.

“What is gone?”

“The barrier. Our means of escape. It was here a few
moments ago, but now I can’t seem to open it.” She stared at Gertrude in disbelief. “Gertrude, you saw me disappear.”

“Maybe they’ve done something to stop you from escaping,” Gertrude said.

“Or perhaps my powers have failed me,” Elle said, feeling a sudden urge to panic. “I had them just a few moments ago. Why are they not working?”

Gertrude laid a hand on Elle’s shoulder. “This is the problem with aether. It’s so very unpredictable.”

“Gertrude, we are trapped. I’m so sorry. I thought I could whisk us out of this mess. What are we going to do?”

Gertrude looked in Elle’s eyes. “If we are truly trapped, then I say we stand and fight. I’ll not go down without protest. That’s for sure.” Dr. Bell’s face grew stern.

The
Water Lily
groaned again as the ropes tightened more.

Elle looked about in frustration. There had to be a way …“I am going to try something,” she said over her shoulder.

She took hold of the controls and pushed them in the other direction. The engines slowed down dramatically and almost stalled midair. Immediately the ropes slackened. Elle pushed the purge valve to dump helium. With the reduced gas levels, the
Water Lily
started sinking rapidly.

“Yes!” Elle said as she watched one of the grappling hooks slip loose and fly past the windglass. Now all she had to do was to create enough clearance to miss the bilge hooks attached to the hull of the pirate ship above them. With a little luck they could slip past at a lower altitude. Once clear, the other hooks would slip free. It would be a fast plummet to the ground before she’d be able to refill the balloon, but she was sure the larger
vessel would not be able to turn around fast enough to catch them.

With grim resolve, she grabbed hold of the thruster controls in order to swivel them about. The sky went dark as the large hull of the pirate ship blocked out the sun. The
Water Lily
dipped in a desperate bid for freedom.

Suddenly there was a loud clanging noise. The ship shuddered and listed sharply to the port side. The sudden jolt caused a universal pressure release, and with a hiss of steam the engines went out.

Elle grabbed her periscope and swung it round. The pirate ship was directly above them. Above her, the
Water Lily
’s balloon billowed limply below it. Her rigging cables creaked as the hull swung in the bottom drag caused by the hull of the bigger ship.

The
Water Lily
was securely caught in the row of grappling hooks attached to the bottom of the hull of the pirate ship. And judging by the flapping of the balloon canvas, she appeared to have bled out all of her gas.

“That’s not terribly good, is it?” Dr. Bell said.

“No, it’s not,” Elle replied. Her duck-and-cover maneuver had been too little, too late, and they were now stuck, with no means of escape. Elle felt a wave of panicky fear rise up into her throat. They were in very big trouble indeed.

The sharp rattle of her communications console startled Elle out of her fear-induced stupor.

Elle grabbed the speaking tube. “What?” she said rather rudely.

“This is the captain of the pirate ship
Inanna
. You are completely immobilized. Any further resistance will only result in your death.”

“How dare you attack my ship, you vile bastard? Have you no honor? I will never surrender to you!” she shouted.

The captain just laughed at her fury. “Prepare to be boarded. Any resistance will be met with violence. You have been warned.” The console lights went out as the communication was terminated.

There was a series of loud thumps overhead as the pirates dropped down onto the roof of the
Water Lily
.

“I’m so sorry,” Elle said to Dr. Bell.

Dr. Bell just closed the shotgun and aimed for the hatch. “Oh, I think we could still give them a run for their money. I for one am not prepared to give up my artifacts so easily. Not after all I’ve been through to find them.”

“Right on.” Elle pulled her revolver out and cocked it. “We fight until we cannot fight any longer, but please be careful, Gertrude.”

Dr. Bell just gave her a reassuring smile. “Never you
mind about me. I can take care of myself. You should rather pay attention to staying alive yourself, hmm?”

“Right. United we stand, divided we fall.” She gripped her pistol. “Bring it on, you rotters.”

Slowly the hatch above them creaked open. A pair of heavy rubber-soled, steel-tipped boots appeared at the top of the ladder. Attached to the boots was a pair of legs, clad in brown canvas trousers, soon followed by a broad leather belt and the bottom of a shirt and waistcoat.

Then there was the eardrum-ripping boom that only a shotgun could make, as Dr. Bell dispatched the pirate before he could even draw his weapon. The cabin filled with gun smoke as he dropped to the floor with a dull thump, his face covered by the leather aviator mask.

Then the fight broke out in earnest as the rest of the pirates boarded the
Water Lily
.

Elle took out the next two men who came through the hatch. They too dropped to the floor on top of their departed compatriot.

Then the shooting started in earnest as more pirates than Elle and Gertrude could take aim at dropped through the hatch. Chaos ensued as the pirates boarded the
Water Lily
.

Elle ducked behind the flight console as bullets pinged all around her, at that moment feeling deeply grateful for the solid-oak paneling of the
Water Lily
. The noise and smell of gunfire left her deaf and almost blind but she had to keep fighting. With fingers that were slippery with fear sweat, she reloaded the Colt and took aim.

The pirates who stole through the hatch looked a raggedy lot, and judging by the way they moved, they were quite used to fighting in close quarters. They easily avoided her shots, which grew more urgent and less accurate as the cabin filled with invaders.

“Gertrude, take cover!” she yelled, but it was too late.
She watched in horror as one of the pirates raised his pistol to take proper aim at her shotgun-wielding friend.

Elle saw the man’s face draw into a satisfied grin as he pulled the trigger. “Gertrude! No!” Elle shouted as the shot hit the older woman squarely in the stomach. Elle raised her Colt and shot the pirate in the face. His head exploded like a melon, with bright red gore splattering against the wood paneling behind him.

Dr. Bell gasped and let go of the shotgun as she slumped against the woodwork.

“Stop!” Elle shouted. “Please stop shooting. We surrender!” She stepped out from behind her hiding place and held out her revolver to signal surrender.

One of the pirates grabbed Elle by the collar. He pressed the muzzle of his pistol against her temple.

“Enough with the shooting, little girl,” he sneered through tobacco-yellowed teeth. “Drop the gun.”

Elle felt the cold of true terror as her Colt was wrenched from her grip.

Someone grabbed her arms and dragged her hands up over her head. She flinched as they tied her wrists together. The rough rope bit into the delicate scarred skin of her wrists. The pirate pushed her to the floor and she landed heavily on her knees next to where Dr. Bell lay.

“Gertrude,” Elle gasped.

The older woman lay back with her hand on her belly. She looked pale. Deep red blood seeped through her fingers and onto the wood of the deck. “Oh dear, I seem to have gotten myself in a spot of bother,” she muttered.

“Hold on,” Elle whispered as she dragged herself onto her knees. “We need to keep pressure on the wound. She pressed down with her bound hands, but dark red blood kept seeping through her fingers. “They must have a doctor on board who can help. Pirates always have medics on their crew.” She did her best to stop her voice from trembling.

“Oh, I don’t think we’ll have time for that, my dear,” said Dr. Bell. “I think the bullet has gone right through me, quite possibly severing my spine. You see, I can’t feel or move my legs at the minute.”

“There has got to be something we can do,” Elle said. “I am not letting you die. Not like this.”

“Stay alive,” Dr. Bell whispered. “Do what you must, but stay alive,” she added before she closed her eyes.

“No, please,” Elle said. She felt a sudden, unbidden tear trickle down her cheek.

The pirates had evidently found what they were looking for: Loud whoops of excitement along with the violent crunch of crowbars on wooden crates rose up from the freight hold.

The big pirate with the beard and the yellow teeth came striding into the cockpit with his huge fist clamped round a jeweled goblet. “Nubian gold,” he sneered. “The Cap’n is going to be pleased.”