The Tinkerer's Daughter (16 page)

“I left Riverfork at dawn,” I said.

“Then you can be there by nightfall. Deliver your message and come back here as fast as you can. I will not move the troops until I have the treaty. Even then, it won’t be easy.”

“The Kanters will have a full day to march,” I argued. “Do you know how many people could die?”

“It’s not all my decision, girl. I have to convince Prince Sheldon that this must be done. After what’s happened in the last few years, that will be no easy task. One day is the best I can offer.”

I accepted that without further argument, instead determining to make the flight even faster, if such a thing were possible. The general threw open a desk drawer and produced the treaty. He signed it, and gave it an official seal. When it was finished, he handed it over. “Keep that safe, and don’t let anyone see it,” he warned. “There are those among us who no longer desire a peaceful accord.”

I nodded, and tucked the letter into my jacket. Then he escorted me out of the castle and back to my plane. As we exited, I saw some sort of commotion at the bottom of the hill. Several soldiers were standing around the plane, and one of them was arguing with a man on horseback. As we got closer, I saw that his cloak was the deep purple of royalty.

“Is that Prince Sheldon?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Really? So he’s going to be king some day?”

“No, thank God. His older brother will. Sergeant! What’s going on here?”

The two men dropped their argument, and turned to face us. The prince’s eyebrows shot up as he saw me. “Tal’mar!” he hissed. “Arrest this woman!”

“Belay that,” said the general. “This woman is a messenger, an ambassador. She’s was just leaving.”

“Not with this machine!” said the prince. “I’m commandeering it.”

“That’s insane. What could you possibly need with this machine?”

“Watch your tongue, General Corsan. Don’t forget your place. I plan to use this machine to spy on the Tal’mar. Once we know the locations of their bases, we can finally end this war.”

“Your highness, with all due respect…” Corsan’s words were cold and calculated. He didn’t use the title with respect, but rather with a vague threat. “Your regrettable decision in this matter belies an unacceptable inefficiency in the chain of communications. I’ll see to this matter as soon as I debrief you personally, on certain events which have recently unfolded.”

“Nonsense! Nothing could be as important as this. With this machine, we will win the war!” There were a few cheers from the guards standing around him.

I was starting to understand the general’s distaste for the prince. The man was more stubborn than I could have imagined. His mind seemed to be completely distracted with the thought of his coming victory over the Tal’mar, so much so that he was unwilling to listen to information that would later paint him as an ignorant fool.

“You highness, I really think it would be best if you came up to the keep. I have some very important information to relay. Sergeant, get this plane back on the road!”

“Halt!” The prince shouted. “Guards, commandeer this vehicle.”

I held my breath as the prince’s guards came forward, their hands on their sword hilts. The sergeant shot the general a look. General Corsan nodded, and the sergeant shouted, “Men, at arms!”

General Corsan waved me back, and I happily complied. I paused on the far side of the road and turned to watch. Cinder whined at my feet as the air filled with the sound of sword blades being drawn from their sheaths. Cold, silvery steel glinted in the sunlight.

I glanced at the prince and saw him -still on horseback-calculating the situation. He was surrounded by at least three hundred men, and had less than a dozen guards. He wasn’t beaten yet, though.

“Treason!” he shouted. “Sergeant, arrest this man for treason!”

It didn’t take half a second to determine where the sergeant’s loyalties lay. He turned his back on the prince. “Men, you heard the general! Get this machine back on the road!”

A handful of soldiers sheathed their swords and started pulling my plane back up to the wagon trail. The prince’s hand strayed towards the hilt of his sword, but then he thought better of it. He heeled his horse up next to the general and stooped down.

“The king will hear of this!” he hissed. Then he sat back upright and shouted it out so that everyone could hear. “THE KING WILL HEAR OF THIS TREASON!” He heeled his horse and went tearing up the hillside towards the castle, with his guards running along behind.

I glanced nervously at the general, and he gave me a reassuring smile. “He’s hard to get to know.”

I laughed a little. “I guess so.”

“Don’t worry about the prince. He’ll get drunk tonight, by tomorrow he won’t remember a thing. By the time you’re back he’ll be right as rain.”

I raised my eyebrows, hardly believing it was true. Even if it was, General Corsan had still taken a considerable risk. “Thank you,” I said. I climbed into the seat and Cinder jumped onto my lap.

“No thanks are necessary. I want this war over as badly as you.” He paused for a moment, as if trying to decide what he should say next. I gave him a quizzical look. “Before you go, I’d like to ask one thing. It will take you a bit out of your way, but it will buy us time. It may even save lives.”

I couldn’t imagine what he was talking about, but I certainly couldn’t refuse his request. “All right. What do you want me to do?”

He gestured to one of the soldiers, and the man stepped forward carrying a small crate. He set it on the plane next to me and I peered inside. It was full of balls… Tinker’s explosive charges. These were the larger ones, about the size of a man’s fist.

“These are cannon charges. Do you know what these do?” he said. I nodded, my eyes wide. After my traumatic childhood experience, I was nervous just being near those things. “Good. This is what I want you to do: Fly back towards Riverfork and find the Kanters. Look for supply wagons and war machines. If you see any, drop a few of these on them. That should slow them down.”

I nodded solemnly. “What if I don’t see anything like that?”

“Then drop ‘em on the Kanters.” I accepted the box, setting it on my lap. Cinder curled up at my feet with a distasteful grunt. She wasn’t at all happy about the invasion of her space.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Get your men ready to move.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “They’ll be ready.”

“Thanks again for all that you’ve done.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Just get back here safely.”

“I will.”

“Good, because we’re not done with you yet.”

I left with that cryptic remark ringing in my ears.

I must have been at three thousand feet before I felt like I could breathe again. The air was cold, as it always is at that altitude, but it was welcome after that suffocating tension. I wedged the box down on the floor between my legs and let Cinder jump onto my lap. She licked my neck and my chin, and then nuzzled into my collar and fell asleep.

I had worries. I had put myself to the hazard by promising the general something that I had no way to accomplish. If I failed, I could not only end up imprisoned or dead, but thousands of innocent lives would be lost. And I was afraid that even if I was successful at recruiting the cooperation of the Tal’mar, something could still go wrong.

The prince, for instance. He seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. The general didn’t seem to have much control over him, and the prince appeared eager to cause trouble. And then there were the Kanters. They were the wild card. I could only guess as to what their ultimate objective might be. Were they trying to eradicate humans entirely? If they succeeded, would they then pursue the same goal with the Tal’mar?

But even with all these worries hanging over me, there was one thing that was even more prominent in my thoughts: my father. The general’s praise still rang in my ears, and brought a smile to my face. I was jealous because I could never know my father the way the general had, but I was giddy over the things I was learning about him. My father had been all things to all men, it seemed. He was a man’s man on the battlefield, a natural born leader. And he was a silver-tongued poet as well, and not only in the ways of politics.

It made sense of course, though I had never thought of it before. My father had managed to secure the interests of a Tal’mar woman. How many humans could claim that? I was a living testament to his charm. The very thought made me laugh.

Until that day I had always believed my father had been recalled as a soldier. It seemed logical enough, him being so large and strong, but now I knew he’d gone back as an ambassador. He’d gone back to ensure the success of this treaty. I was certain that he could have refused to do this, but he hadn’t. The reason for that now struck me like a boot to the forehead. He’d been trying to create a world that was safe for me. Not by going to war, but by delivering treaties. By using his natural leadership qualities, he had been trying to bring our people together. And he died for it. He died so that the Kanters could keep the war going.

And suddenly I was angry.

My mind filled with thoughts that were new and strange to me. Thoughts of hatred and revenge. I glanced at the crate of explosives and realized that I might actually enjoy dropping a few of those on the Kanters. I had never felt that way before, and I hardly knew what to think of myself. Did it make me a bad person, wanting to avenge my father’s death?

I knew that some people killed as a matter of routine. Soldiers spent every waking moment perfecting that ability. If they could march into battle on a simple command, couldn’t I do the same in the name of my father?

Later, I realized that I was already doing the best thing I could. I was using my own unique gifts and station in life to fight for what I believed. I wasn’t on a battlefield with a sword and shield; I was delivering a treaty that could bring the humans and Tal’mar together in the fight against a common enemy.

I also realized that I had somehow just filled my father’s shoes, that I had followed in his footsteps and taken up his cause. Fortunately, the thought didn’t occur to me at the time. If it had, I probably would have been too terrified to do anything but turn around and go home.

The Kanters had been marching steadily for the entire day, and it was late afternoon when I found them. They were fifty miles north of Riverfork. They had burned or crushed everything in their path, and left the land dead and blackened in their wake. I didn’t see as many refugees in their path, and I assumed that most of those people had already made it to Anora. The Kanters were still less than halfway there.

I flew over them, scanning their ranks. It wasn’t long until I found what I was looking for. The Kanters were moving like a well-organized army. They had scouts out front, followed by archers on foot and then a large infantry. Behind this, I saw the war machines General Corsan had warned me about.

Not all that I’d read about the Kanters was exaggeration. The largest of them were giants. I estimated their height to be about fifteen feet. A dozen of these creatures were pulling cannons and catapults with thick, braided ropes. Further back, I saw what could only have been the supply wagons. These would have been carrying the materials that the army needed to keep moving: clothing, building materials, weapons, and especially food. Then I saw the two large wagons filled with bodies. Human bodies. This, I realized with a sick feeling, must have been their food.

My stomach churned. I’d long since known that the Kanters practiced cannibalism, but it was one thing to read about it, and another to see it. Was it possible that they had actually lifted the bodies of their victims from the battlefield so that they could later eat them? I knew it to be true, and it made me want to vomit. I clenched my teeth and silently promised myself that the Kanters wouldn’t touch any of those bodies.

I swept around behind them and came up from the rear. I waited until I saw the bodies, and then I started bombing. The Kanters must have thought the wrath of God was raining down on their heads. I took out the wagons first, making sure to cripple their movement and destroy their food supplies. I didn’t like the idea of blowing up those bodies, but it was sure better than letting the Kanters eat them. A chill crept up my spine as I thought of it.

I swept back around and started bombing the war machines next. The Kanters had no choice but to break and run as I buzzed overhead, throwing those charges with increasing accuracy. The few who had the courage to stay with the cannons were doomed. They couldn’t aim the weapons high enough to shoot at me, and even if they could it would have been impossible to train them on my fast moving plane.

Within minutes the Kanter army fell into disarray. Their cannons and catapults were lying in ruins, and their wagons were overturned and burning. I could have turned back then, but I chose not to. I had a few charges left. So I circled overhead, throwing them down at random, sending those monsters scurrying like insects across the ground. I don’t know if I actually hit any of them, but it was worth it to see them fleeing in terror.

In some small way, I had my revenge. When I was done, I threw the crate down and turned back to the north. The sun had already set, and I still had hours to fly

It was well past midnight when I flew past Relian Keep and crossed the Crimson Strait. It took all of ten minutes to cross the Strait, which appeared as no more than a wide river from my vantage. I passed over the churning black waters and a narrow strip of sandy beach, which immediately gave way to thick, impenetrable forest. The treetops formed a sort of green, bubbly landscape beneath me, rising and falling with the gentle roll of the hills. Flying over this strange expanse, I realized that I could see the curve of the earth at the horizon.

It was common knowledge that the world was round in those days, but according to Analyn, nothing existed beyond the known lands of Astatia and the Isle of Tal’mar. All the rest of the world was ocean. The best seafarers had set out to prove this wrong, and had either returned starved or more likely never returned at all. Of course, no one had ever had a plane before. No one had ever been able to go so far, or to see so much from a single vantage. Perhaps someday I could test my own luck…