Whispers of the Skyborne (Devices of War Book 3) (48 page)

B
Y THE TIME THE STORM
finally passed, I had recovered. My communication unit was fried, and I zapped Haji’s when he’d tried to give me his.

I might have survived being struck by lightning, but my body wasn’t fully functional. Not quite yet, anyway. My muscles still shivered and quivered beyond my control. I’d finally made it past the point where I wanted to throw up. That was a blessing.

Clambering down the mountain was not nearly as easy as climbing it had been. The soils were slick. The grass and other vegetation was wet. We gained a lot of bruises just walking. Who would have guessed that climbing down a mountain would have been more dangerous than entering a battle with a formidable foe?

Back in the air, we regained altitude, reached out to all of our ships, and decided to gather at the
Basilah
at the southern tip of Kiwidinok. Hours away, but there were things we could do.

Like sleep.

Normally, I would have said we would honor our dead, but Haji declined, saying he needed the earth to honor his dead by, and Rose wasn’t with us. I had lost none of my crew, though technically, I didn’t have a crew of my own.

My crew were my commanders and captains. Rose, Haji, Jamilah, Rajih, Qamar, Najat, Mudar, Ryo. I counted Oki and Neira in that, too, though. Oki might not be in my Fleet, but she was my sister, and while my mother might not honor the bond of blood, I did. And Neira, well, technically, I answered to her, so she had better be my crew.

When I woke, Jamilah was dropping in altitude. Outside the control dome’s glass, the massive, dark storm that had blown down trees and decimated this area was several kilometres to the south and west. The roll of distant thunder still permeated the air. A light rain fell around us, tapping the glass gently, as if asking forgiveness for the brutal impact of the previous storm.

The
Basilah
had landing legs. The ship looked like an odd type of bug, resting on its eight spindly legs, its wings tucked away.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

Because there were parts of me still driven by tradition. Our air ships didn’t touch water and we never touched land.

Well, we not only touched water now, we could swim through it. So, I needed to get over that part of myself and get some legs installed on the
Layal.

I could have slept several more hours. If we had several more hours. I had a nervous, anxious energy I couldn’t curb. The few hours of sleep I did manage to get did make me feel better. My body had healed enough that I no longer had any jitters and I didn’t feel the need to throw up.

But I couldn’t call my Mark.

I’d had my Mark for the span of about six months. I’d lived without my Mark for far longer than that. I should be relieved. I should feel better. If the lightning had canceled the nanites somehow, then I was free from the Skyborne, from their control.

I couldn’t communicate with Du’a, either, and could hear nothing from my
lethara.
I felt naked without the power of my lava-lightning, though the Marks were still visible on my skin. It had retreated from my neck and lower arms, but had remained everywhere else.

I hadn’t realized until that moment just how much my life had changed in the past several months; how much I’d grown to depend on my Mark.

The air flowing through the
Layal
was chilly.

Chilly. I hadn’t been cold since I’d gained my Mark.

I put on my heavy waterproof jacket of wolf’s hide. At least, I knew I could wear this and not destroy it. There were several articles of clothing I stopped wearing for fear of burning them.

I hopped out of the galley door when we’d gotten close enough to land and not break our legs. I didn’t even have to roll to deflect the impact. Lash was getting much better at piloting the
Layal
near land.

Haji and his crew followed in a much slower pace, carrying their dead.

There was nothing I could do for him. They were his people. I barely knew them. Didn’t even know most of their names. He had to do this on his own. I had to be okay with that.

I had other things to do anyway. Ryo had Tokarz.

Aiyanna joined me, pulling up a wide hood of her leather jacket.

I acknowledged her with a nod. Having her next to me, having her in the same room, made me feel as though I walked on solid planking on a calm wind. I was about to face the man who took ownership of destroying my tribe, of destroying the ships they lived in while several kilometres above the ocean.

If I’d been in a similar situation three months ago, I doubted the
Basilah
would have survived my rage.

No. I couldn’t say that. I’d
had
the opportunity to destroy him a week ago, and I’d declined. Maybe I wasn’t as angry as I thought I was. Maybe I was as enraged as I should be.

The
Najmah
lowered to the ground and settled on six rather bulky legs. Once settled, the dock doors opened, and Rose and her pilots poured out. They didn’t carry any bodies.

With the pilots, there never were any bodies.

Rose stopped, metres of flattened grass and leaves between us, and simply stared at me. She was far enough away that I couldn’t read her face. I could only read her stance. She stood strong and tall, her shoulders squared.

She would be all right.

That was enough.

The
Karida
and
Jihan
remained high in the sky. But the
Maizah
joined us on the ground. She parked on her four legs and a tripod pedestal holding up the back, dozens of antennae high in the air.

I blinked at the now full meadow. Was I the only one who refused to allow my ship to touch the ground? “Remind me to talk to Jamilah about installing landing gear.”

Aiyanna’s lips rose a little, the corners of her eyes drawing down. “She’s already working on plans. She didn’t appreciate being on her side through a hurricane.”

I bet not.

Aiyanna placed a gentle hand on my arm.

I faced her, forcing my expression to remain light and non-threatening. I was working through my anger.

No. At that moment, it almost felt as though I was trying to work up to it.

Why would he claim ownership? I knew he hadn’t done it. My mother had. I doubted he’d even had access to my ships, so his ability to slaughter my people would have been physically impossible.

Glory. He’d probably gained a lot of standing with the other tribes by claiming he’d been the one to destroy the great and powerful El’Asim Fleet.

Was that enough to kill him?

I’d have to see how Ryo was holding up first.

Aiyanna cupped my cheek, her big, brown eyes soft. A few rain drops made it past her hood and landed on her eyelashes. She blinked and flinched automatically. The sun behind me set the raindrops to glitter.

“You’re beautiful,” I clamped my mouth shut, closing my eyes. I couldn’t believe I’d just said that, even though I meant it. The effects of the lightning strike still must have been affecting my brain. I opened my eyes, but kept my mouth shut.

Her smile brightened. “How are you?”

“I am well.” Except my brain wasn’t working quite as effectively as it could have been.

“You are about to face Tokarz.”

I lifted my head and looked toward the
Basilah
. The dock doors opened in the rear and Ryo stepped out, dark, scarred, and impressive. A team of six men in black trailed behind him, carrying Tokarz between them.

“Are you in a good frame of mind?”

I nodded and turned my attentions back to Aiyanna. “Are you? Jamilah told me about Hehewuti.”

Aiyanna’s smile disappeared. “Yes,” she said softly. “I am fine.”

What was it like to be her? In that moment, I wanted to know that, wanted to ask that. She’d never spoken much about the high priestess, so I didn’t think they had been that close. Would things change for her? Would she leave? “Will you be high priestess next?”

She chuckled in surprise. “No. If Hehewuti had a successor, she’d been training said person a long time and in secret.”

“In secret? Why?”

“The queens.”

“Ah.” There was a lot of politics in the Hands of Tarot that I just didn’t understand. And I didn’t think I wanted to.

Ryo stood in the shadow of the
Basilah
, quietly waiting, his hands clasped in front of him.

“Will you bury her?”

Aiyanna shook her head.

I frowned down at her.

“She is of the Vash tribe. Neira will burn her body with the rest of her dead. It is their way.”

“But she’s the high priestess of the Hands of Tarot.”

“Not all tribes broke ties to those the Hands took in, Synn.” Aiyanna brushed past me, irritated. “Some were still accepted and loved by their tribes.”

I hadn’t meant to chafe her nerves, not when she so often soothed mine. She had to be hurting. She had to have been closer to Hehewuti than I’d thought.
…training her in secret.
Perhaps, Hehewuti had been training Aiyanna in secret. Maybe they’d grown close, like a mother and a daughter.

I grabbed her shoulder and tugged her gently to me, wrapping my arms around her and cupping her head to my chest.

She resisted for a moment, then sagged into me, wrapping her arms around my waist as the gentle rains fell, the drops tap-tap-tapping on our hoods and shoulders.

As we stood there, offering each other our support, Neira and a group of eight warriors in ragged, torn leathers entered the meadow behind Ryo. She cleared the
Basilah
and stopped, taking in the situation. Blood smeared her forehead, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.

Her people surrounded another woman, short enough that I couldn’t see much more than her blonde hair, darker than Skah’s and shorter.

Prisoner?

I shook my head and turned as sticks broke and stomping sounded to my right. Another group of people entered the meadow from the south. One group was obviously Vash. They carried their dead on stretchers.

More of the Vash entered from the south and east, carrying their dead in their arms. Hadn’t they stayed on Enhnapi?

What was going on?

Along with the people of Enhnapi came other people I knew. Chie, Kenta, Hitoshi. They no longer wore the normal attire of the Ino. Instead, they wore the garbs of the El’Asim, though with color pairings I had never seen. It was as if they’d gone through people’s leftovers and randomly chosen items to wear.

Perhaps, that’s exactly what they’d done.

I pulled away from Aiyanna, cupping her cheek in the palm of my hand. “Are you all right?”

She nodded with a shrug. “When am I not?”

I quirked my lips, tucked her hand into mine, and headed for Chie.

We met at Ryo.

“Chie,” I said, “Where is Oki?”

She raised her chin and turned, her eyes resting on a stretcher being carried by four men behind her.

My breath caught in my throat and my heart stopped. No. “How?”

Chie shook her head and took in a deep breath. “On the way back from Peacock Rock, we were attacked.”

“From below.” A man from Enhnapi stood tall, his thick, full hair standing up even in the light rain. Wapasha. I’d met him on several occasions. He was equal in status to Skah.

My gaze roved over Chie’s face. “LeBlancs?”

She nodded, her expression devoid of emotion, her eyes bleeding sorrow.

“Shankara was attacked from below as well.” I watched Neira approach. It didn’t make sense that the LeBlancs would attack Shankara
and
Enhnapi.

Chie shook her head. “We heard.”

I didn’t know what to do for her. My heart churned with disbelief, shock, hurt, anger, but all that paled in comparison to what she had to be feeling. Oki had been her best friend. They’d grown up together. Taking her hand, I squeezed her fingers.

“She gave me the city.”

Oki had been my sister, but we’d never really been close. She’d been my favorite, but I’d barely known her. I gave Chie the warmest smile I could offer. “I’m sure she did.”

“Do you think I’m capable?” she asked in a small voice.

How was I supposed to know? I was still struggling to figure out how to be a good leader to my own people. “I think she believed you capable.”

She tipped her head to the side, her eyes closed.

“But the only person who can decide that, really, is you.”

Her drowning brown eyes met mine as the rain pitter-pattered around us. Finally, her lips raised in a small smile and she nodded.

Hitoshi squeezed her shoulder, offering support.

She raised her head. “Let’s take care of our dead.”