The Unwilling Aviator (Book 4) (27 page)

In the air Fred clung to Ruth, and Ruth clung to both him and the tuning fork. The harpies attacked them from all sides, and only Fred's fireballs kept them from clawing the two to ribbons. His aiming meant he wobbled and turned a great deal, and their sweaty hands slowly lost their grip. Ruth tried to grasp him with her other hand, but she nearly dropped the fork.

Fred saw her dilemma and glanced at the ground. They were forty feet above the city and slowly descending through the path cleared by their friends. In a few seconds they would be over the Senex and near the glowing column of light. He whipped his head up to her. "Drop me!" he yelled.

"I will not!" she refused.

"I'll be fine, but you need to get that fork near the stone and the only way you can do that is if you fly through that small hole in the ceiling," he argued.

"You cannot survive such a fall!" she protested.

"Drop me above Ned. He'll do something," Fred insisted. Ruth pursed her lips, but her decision was made when Fred grabbed her hand that held his own and wrenched it off. Her eyes widened in horror as he dropped toward the roof of the Senex.

Ned saw Fred release himself and flung a large bubble at the young man like the one Fred had used in the swamp to protect himself. Fred dropped through the ceiling of the bubble and landed with a bounce on the bottom. The harpies latched onto the bubble and tried to bite into its plushy surface, but the bubble bent under the pressure. When their teeth could get a grip they pulled and yanked, but the bubble stretched like taffy and sprang back into its original round shape like a rubber band. Fred floated down to the roof of the Senex and the bubble popped on landing.

Free of her burden and with Fred safe, Ruth turned her focus on her mission. She clutched the tuning fork in both hands and swooped low toward the hole in the stone room ceiling. The harpies dived, dove, swooped, barreled, and barraged her with their bodies, claws, teeth, and wings. Ruth had the advantage that her sharp, thin wings made her more maneuverable, and she made quick turns to escape their attacks.

A thick wall of harpies coalesced in front of her, but a hail of fireballs erupted from the roof beneath them. The monsters screeched and scattered, but most fell to the ground with their bodies on fire. Ruth shot through where they were a moment before and pointed downward to her target: the hole in the ceiling. The pulsing column of light widened, and she saw it meant to fill the gap between itself and the roof.

Ruth hugged her wings against her body and fell toward the hole. In a few quick seconds she shot through the shrinking hole and crashed into the dozens of harpies that flitted about the small room. They screeched and tried to claw the tuning fork from her hand, but she slammed it against the stone floor. The room shook as the reverberations caused an earthquake like in the caves of the fork's origins. The sound waves rippled through the air and across the city. The harpies screeched, and those in the air collided with each other and fell to the ground writhing in pain. All those around the rock scratched and dug at their ears, some clawing their eyes out in agony.

Ruth scurried back to the room's entrance and watched a crack appear in the stone. The dark column imploded, and the harpies were sucked into the column above the stone. The last harpy disappeared inside the crack and the stone burst into a thousand small bits of plain rock. Ruth slid around the corner of the entrance as the explosion threw up the dust on the ground and a thick haze filled the area.

She covered her mouth and coughed. The air wasn't breathable, so she blindly crawled her way through the chamber toward the entrance hall. Plaster and bits of ceiling continued to rain down on her and she wondered if she was even heading in the correct direction.

"Ruth!" Pat called from the fog.

"Ruth!" Fred cried out.

The joyous sounds of her friends' voices told her which direction to travel, and she quickly crawled to them. The thick fog was suddenly swept away by a powerful force, and her friends stood just a few yards in front of her. Pat rushed forward and grasped her friend.

"Are you badly hurt?" Pat asked her.

Ruth smiled and shook her head. "I will be fine," she replied. Ned and the others strode forward, and the old castor and Canto knelt by her side. Ned's hands brushed against her wings and she winced. "I merely need a day's rest," she insisted.

"Then we'll give it to ya," Canto promised her. The gruff old dwarf shouldered his ax and lifted Ruth into his arms.

Ned led the group outside to the square. Percy lingered for a few moments as his eyes swept over the ground. They spied a bit of the Region Stone, and he grasped the stone and pocketed it. He hurried after his companions, and they were met by a large group of battered guards and twinners. Regis and Honorous led the march, and the two groups met at the depression. Regis glanced past them at the cracked and dusty Senex, and then back to the companions. "Are they gone?" he asked them.

Ned nodded. "As is the stone," he told them.

Regis pursed his lips, but nodded. "I see. The stone was the source of them?"

"It was," Ned replied.

"And the reason for its awakening after so many countless centuries of sleeping?" Regis wondered.

The color drained from Fred's face, but Ned shook his head. "That will have to remain a mystery at this time, as my companions and I are in need of rest." His eyes flickered over to Ruth, and Regis followed Ned's gaze.

"I see," Regis replied. "Then perhaps tomorrow night we will call you at your inn. We have many things to discuss-" He glanced at Fred who sheepishly smiled. "-and explanations to hear, but tonight will be another night of repairs and bandaging wounds."

Ned bowed his head. "We thank you for your kindness, and will retire to await your summons," he agreed.

CHAPTER 31

The weary companions walked back to the inn and, out of habit, into the alley in back of the building. They found Ti on the steps. She jumped to her feet when she saw them and rushed over to Sins where she captured him in a strong hug. "I was so worried! I thought you'd been taken by those horrible creatures!" She glanced past him at the others and saw Ruth in Canto's arms. "Is she hurt bad? Are the rest of you all right?" she asked them.

"Quite fine and our friend only needs rest like all of us," Ned replied.

"Well, let's get you inside. I'm sure you had a terrible time trying to hide from those monsters," she commented.

Ned and the others wearily smiled. "Something like that," Ned admitted.

At that moment the rear door to the inn opened and Hugh stood in the doorway. He had a wide grin on his face and his eyes gleamed with glee. "There you are, my dear fellow gamblers," Hugh greeted them. He stepped down the stairs and looked to Ti. "I thought if you were gone they were here."

She scowled at him. "What if they are?" she challenged him.

Hugh chuckled. "Well, I thought perhaps they were trying to escape from our little wager, or have you forgotten about it?" he asked Ned.

Ned shook his head. "Quite the contrary. I had every intention of finding you and settling your debt with me. That is, after we rested."

The grin slipped off Hugh's face. "Come again?" he asked him.

"Surely you haven't forgotten it? I believe the agreement was if Crash won our room costs would be refunded and Crash's bill would be settled," Ned told him.

Hugh grinned again and tucked his thumbs into the sizable waist of his pants. "That's true, very true, but I know for a fact he didn't win. Some of my friends were watching the swearing when everyone found out this boy's the one who did it. That means you lost."

"Ah, but this young man flew under Crash's name, and so Crash has indeed won the tournament," Ned insisted. "That is, unless you wish to take this matter up with the Senex, though at this moment they may not be obliging. We performed a very great service to them recently."

A puzzled expression crossed Hugh and Ti's faces. "What service?" she asked them.

"We're the ones who got rid of them harpies," Canto spoke up.

Ti and Hugh's eyes widened. She turned her head to Sins. "Is this true?" she gasped.

"Yes," he replied.

Ti squealed and wrapped him in another bone-crushing hug. "I knew you could do good if you wanted! I'm so proud of you!"

Hugh didn't look entirely convinced. "How'd you do it?" he asked them. A single fireball sputtered from the top of Ned's staff and swirled around Hugh before puffing out of existence. Hugh stumbled back toward the stairs with his jaw dropped to the muddy ground. "C-castor!" he sputtered.

Ned smiled and bowed his head. "At your service," he returned.

"I-I'll give you your money," Hugh willingly agreed.

"And Crash's bill?" Ned reminded him.

"Settled. Everything's settled!" Hugh turned and scurried back into the inn.

Ti slipped off Sins, laughed and slapped a hand across her hip. "Doesn't that beat all! I've never seen anyone beat Hugh at his own game, but you've beaten him well!" she complimented.

Ned smiled and bowed his head. "I thank you, but I'm sure my companions and I would be happier with a few hours rest."

"Oh, of course!" she agreed. She stepped behind the group and guided them to the door. "Let's get you all tucked in, and yes, even you, Sinny," she told her brother. Sins' eyes narrowed, but he didn't argue.

The heroes collapsed on their beds and blankets, Ruth changed into her stone form to heal. When the companions awoke late the next afternoon the city was abuzz with their exploits. Fred awoke to a tremendous amount of noise downstairs and around the inn. He rubbed his tired eyes and noticed Ned standing by the window looking down on the alley. "What is it?" Fred asked him.

"Fans," Ned told him.

Fred furrowed his brow, slipped out of bed and went to stand beside Ned. He glanced out the window and saw the alley was packed with people. "Fans of what?" he wondered.

"Not what, who," Ned corrected him. "And if I'm not mistaken they wish to see us." There came a knock on their door. "Enter," Ned called out.

Pat and Ruth quickly slipped into the room and closed the door behind them, though not so quickly that the men didn't notice a half dozen people behind the girls. Fred pointed at Ruth, but then recalled how they needed only a slip of her human hair to change her back. The gargoyle girl was only half-healed as her arms were still covered in scars.

Pat glanced over her shoulder as though they'd been followed. "The halls are crowded with people!" she told them.

Ned chuckled. "No doubt wanting to thank us for our heroic actions last night."

Ruth shook her head. "No. They are blaming us for the harpies and the destruction of their stone," she replied.

The color drained from Ned's face. "Oh dear," he murmured.

At that moment there was a wild pounding on the door. Ned tightened his hold on his staff and Fred reached for his at his waist. Ruth and Pat pressed their backs against the door when it tried to open. "Open the damn door!" Canto ordered.

Ruth and Pat stepped away, and Canto and Percy pushed inside and slammed the door shut behind themselves. The crowd in the hall had doubled, and they beat their fists against the closed door. Canto scowled. "This is the last city we try to place nice. The next one we take the treasure and destroy the stone whether they want it destroyed or not," he growled.

They heard the doors opposite and beside their current room break open. There were cries of outrage from the room across the hall. "We may be in deep trouble. They have found Crash," Percy commented.

The whole party jumped when something clattered against the window. They glanced out the filthy glass and saw a ladder was placed with one end on the sill and the other on the roof across from the inn. Ti stood on the roof and gestured for them to come to her. Percy opened the window and leaned out. Something red hit his face, and he pulled back inside to show a rotten tomato slide down his cheek. "They have admirable aim down there," he told his friends.

"Then we had better test their aim and hurry across," Ned advised.

Percy climbed over the sill and scurried across. The ladder bounced beneath him and fresh and rotten fruit bombarded him, but he made it to Ti. Canto, Ruth, Pat, and Fred made it across, and Ned was the last. He clamored across the rickety ladder with his beard wagging. "What a nuisance," he grumbled as he stepped off the impromptu bridge.

"Follow me. Your animals are this way," Ti ordered them. They hurried to the left and across a system of planks set between the buildings. "The moment I heard the report I set these boards in case you should need them," she told the group.

"And we cannot thank you enough," Ned told her.

"What report to you speak of?" Percy asked Ti.

"Master Topper released a statement that accused you of destroying the stone and releasing the harpies, and though the Senex tried to correct him the damage was already done," Ti told them.

Pat frowned. "If I ever regret an act in my life it is saving that worthless coward's life," she grumbled.