Tyen could try to bluff them, turning one way to begin with, then dashing the other way across the Dart’s Soot trail in the hopes of escaping the trap. But the Dart was faster and would soon be circling around them in the other direction.
They could keep weaving back and forth in this way, but with a torn capsule the aircart would soon end up in the sea. They needed to fly directly to shore.
Then we’ll have to fly in the Dart’s Soot trail. He and Veroo could do it for a while if, before they reached it, they gathered enough magic to drive the cart and hold the shield. He looked closer at the blackness. If the trail’s width was an indication, his reach might be a little greater than the sorcerers’.
He moved past Sezee again to stand close to Veroo as the Dart moved between the aircart and the coast. The sorcerer not driving the Dart moved to the rear of its chassis, a large cylinder tucked under one arm from which he was pulling arrows. He sent them in multiples, each time sending one or two arrows on an arching path to strike Tyen’s shield from the side or back.
“What do you want me to do?” Veroo asked.
“Keep flying straight.”
“Into the Soot?”
“Yes. Take as much magic as you can from all directions before we reach it.”
“That means there’ll be nothing for you—”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Soot surrounded them as Veroo drew in magic, moments before they entered the void.
It always seemed to Tyen that the air was cooled and sound dampened within Soot. He had enough magic left to hold the barrier in place as he reached out in all directions, beyond the edges of the void. He sensed magic within his grasp. Felt it drifting towards him, naturally flowing in to fill the gap the sorcerers had made. He seized it.
Veroo gasped and looked up at him. He kept his attention on the Dart. Looking closely, he saw that he had even managed to rob the magic from around and beyond the other aircart.
He straightened, surprised. “Well … that worked better than I expected.”
“Are all Academy sorcerers like you?” Veroo asked.
He shook his head. “I have no idea. There’s so little magic in Belton that we’re only allowed to use it in the Academy grounds, and nobody uses more than they have to.” He shrugged. “I’m starting to suspect I may be a bit stronger than the average.”
“It was a waste you being there,” she told him.
He blinked, remembering his own thoughts about the Academy’s rejection of her. Before he could think of a way to tell her this, she looked ahead and cackled with glee.
“Their propellers have stopped! They’re descending.”
His heart skipped as he saw she was right. But the Dart was coming to a level with them which meant … He looked down. The sea was a lot closer than it had been before the capsule had been damaged. Disturbingly close.
“So are we,” he muttered.
“We’ll make it to shore,” she assured him.
He looked ahead and shook his head at her optimism. More likely they’d crash into the trees, or the low cliff. He could try to push the aircart higher with magic, but he needed solid ground to push against, and the capsule support struts weren’t designed for such stresses. If they were going to repair the capsule and use it to cross the mountains, the less damage done to it the better.
The attack from the Dart had stopped. The driver had abandoned his seat and had joined his companion, both moving about hastily.
“We’re gaining on them,” said a voice at Tyen’s shoulder. He looked back to see Sezee standing behind him, the rope railing gripped in white-knuckled hands. “Will they shoot at us as we pass?”
Tyen nodded. “Probably. How much magic do you have left, Veroo?”
“I’ll get us past them, I think.”
He was relieved to hear it. Though he could drive the cart and hold a barrier at the same time, he’d rather not have to when he needed to keep his attention on the sorcerers. Veroo shifted direction, obviously intending to give the Dart a wide berth.
“No, pass them as close as you can,” he told her. “The sooner we reach land the better.”
The front of the aircart drew level with the rear of the Dart. The two sorcerers were no more than twenty paces away. They turned, each steadying a large sprung bow resting on the struts of the Dart’s capsule. Twin arrows shot towards Tyen. As they reached the stilled air of his barrier they passed through, but their path had slowed so much they dropped towards the sea. He caught them with magic.
The sorcerers notched and cranked two more arrows. Tyen couldn’t tell if they were holding a barrier, but it was likely they had put all their remaining magic into one. He turned the arrows to face the Dart. Yet he hesitated. The sorcerers were no danger to him right now. He did not want to kill anyone needlessly.
But what will happen when – if – we reach land? Will I regret not taking advantage of this opportunity?
They would have sensed him taking magic. They knew he was stronger. If he were in their position, he’d withdraw and return with more sorcerers.
He could ensure they took longer to do so.
Propelling the arrows towards the Dart and through his own shield, he gave them an extra push when they neared the capsule. They encountered a weak barrier but broke through it and pierced the Dart’s capsule. As the sorcerers sent more arrows he did the same, but this time their barrier repelled the attack. They did not send more. When the aircart overtook the Dart, Tyen propelled the arrows he’d collected earlier towards them. These encountered no barrier at all, and made splashes as they broke through the other side of the capsule and landed in the sea.
“They’re out of magic,” he said.
He smiled as Veroo and Sezee cheered. The holes he’d made would bring the Dart down slowly, allowing it reach land but forcing the sorcerers to stop and repair their cart before seeking reinforcements. He watched one of them set down his bow and hurry back to the driver’s seat. The wind would still push the Dart towards land. To keep the sorcerers disabled a little longer, he took more magic downwind from the cart, ensuring they would not be able to follow easily and attack the aircart’s rear.
“I’m done,” Veroo declared.
Tyen heard the propellers slow to a stop. “Stay there and steer,” he told her as she began to climb out of the seat. He concentrated on warming the air within the capsule and setting the propellers spinning again.
“We’ve made it!” Sezee exclaimed. Looking down, Tyen saw they had finally passed over land. He let out a sigh of relief and looked back at the Dart. It still appeared to be following them, steering with its rudder.
“Ah … Tyen,” Veroo warned.
Turning back, he saw a wall of foliage blocking their way.
“I can’t see any clearings,” Veroo said.
“Aim for the widest gap between the trees.” Tyen drew more magic and, using the ground below to orientate it, gently took hold of the aircart chassis and moved it upwards. The support struts creaked as they pushed up against the capsule, which bulged and rippled.
The cart rose a little, but too slowly. The raking fingers of a tall branch scraped over his shield where it protected the propellers, jerking the aircart sideways. As it broke through Veroo spun the steering wheel to turn them back towards a too small gap in the trees ahead. Tyen sent out magic in a chopping force, snapping off limbs. Foliage whipped back and forth as they scraped past, then the aircart emerged into branch-free space.
Only to face a high, treed ridge. Tyen noted that it angled towards the mountains.
“Follow the valley,” he instructed.
“We won’t get far,” Veroo told him. “We have to find a place to land.”
“I know, I know.” He looked down, but found no open space. A narrow thread of water glinted in the sunlight. A river … but with trees growing right to the edge.
The cart tilted as it changed direction. Now that the capsule was side-on to the wind the ride became rougher and slowe
r. Tyen felt his stomach lurch as they began to descend quickly. Perhaps the rent in the capsule was being blown wider.
“Tyen,” Veroo said.
“Just keep flying, as long as possible.”
Sezee grabbed his arm. “They’re still following us.”
He looked back. The Dart was cresting the ridge. Why aren’t they hurrying away? Are they staying to see where we land?
“Tyen!” Veroo shouted.
He turned back to face a wall of branches and leaves.
“Hold on!” he shouted, and strengthened the barrier around the aircart. They plunged into the foliage, branches scraping over his barrier, then burst through.
And fell, nose first, into the waiting heart of another tree.
CHAPTER 19
The impact tore the railing from Tyen’s hands. He heard a gasp from Veroo, but nothing from Sezee. He fell forward, sliding head first over the side of the chassis. Throwing his arms out, he caught a strut and managed to hook a leg around the railing support. The shoes tied to his belt swung up to strike him in the chest. His satchel’s strap scraped his nose as it slid over his head. He snatched at it but his hand clawed at the air as it fell.
“Beetle!” he called. “Fly!”
The flap opened and the insectoid emerged, wings blurring.
“Guard bag,” he ordered. Beetle zoomed downward. He didn’t wait to see it land. The aircart’s forward momentum had stopped. Its nose – or, rather, the front of his shield – was planted in the tree, but with nothing supporting the rear it began to fall. Tyen strengthened the shield below the cart, but when it was almost level it caught on something and, after bouncing a few times, went still.
He hauled himself up, the movement setting the cart swaying, and looked around. Sezee was cradled in the netting. She met his eyes and smiled grimly, which he took to mean she was unhurt. Veroo was muttering darkly as she climbed out of the driver’s seat. He sighed in relief. The driver’s seat, at the front of the aircart, could have sustained the most damage but his barrier had protected her.
The rear of the aircart capsule had settled onto a branch of another tree. Only his barrier was keeping it in place, however.
“Keep your movements slow,” he said. “The cart could still fall.”
Sezee looked over the side. “How are we going to get down there?”
Tyen followed her gaze. The ground was too far away to risk jumping down to. It was covered in vegetation, so he couldn’t guess how even or rocky it was. He considered the rope ladder that all aircarts carried, attached to a strut. He doubted it would reach the ground. He examined the tree the cart had plunged into. The branches were too widely spaced to climb down. But a combination of both …
“We’ll go down in stages,” he decided.
“Wait. Can you hear that?” Veroo asked.
They fell silent. A distant, throbbing noise was barely audible over the sound of the wind in the leaves.
“The Dart?” Sezee wondered aloud.
“Probably. If it is we’ll be safer on the ground,” Tyen told them. Using magic, he brought the ladder to him rather than risk unbalancing the chassis. He created a hole in his barrier and stepped out into the nest of branches the cart’s nose had plunged into. Looking down the trunk, he chose another cluster of branches well within the ladder’s reach to aim for. He secured the ropes and started to descend.
“What happened to women going first?” Sezee asked, looking down at him through the netting.
“Do you want to be the one who tests my knots?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“And if you fall I’ll catch you much more easily if I’m standing on something firm.” Safely reaching the cluster of branches, he looked up at Veroo. “Your turn.”
“Sezee should go next,” the woman said.
Tyen nodded. “Then get onto a branch. I don’t want to have to catch you both if the cart falls.”
He stilled the cart as Sezee crawled along it to the tree. Soon she was climbing down the ladder, Tyen putting his weight on the bottom rung to keep it from swinging around. Veroo followed, then Tyen untied the ladder with magic and secured it so that they could descend the rest of the way to the ground.
Firm ground had never felt so welcome. As the women descended he looked up at the cart. With no air being sent into it and heated, the capsule sagged.
“Can you bring it down without damaging it further?” Veroo asked as she joined him and Sezee.
“I hope so.” Sezee had already replaced her shoes, he noted. He sat down on a large exposed tree root and began putting his own back on.
“Can you repair it?” Sezee asked.
“I’ll answer that when I’ve seen the damage.”
Taking a deep breath and a little more magic, he used the barrier around the cart like a cupped hand, gently cradling and guiding the cart downward. It slid off the branch abruptly, then he had to let it tilt away from the tree it had landed in to come free at the front. From there he had to support the full weight of it, which forced him to take even more magic. The struts creaked as he set it down and the capsule collapsed in on itself with a whoof of air.
They moved closer. Sezee stopped, then parted the wide leaves of a plant.
“Here’s your satchel.” She bent then recoiled. “And Beetle.”
Tyen started towards her. “Beetle,” he called.
A familiar buzz sounded as the insectoid rose up from among the undergrowth. It flew over to him and the pressure of tiny metal legs settled on his shoulder. Sezee stared at it in fascination.
“I’ve never asked – is it a he or she?”
He blinked in surprise. “It’s just … Beetle. It doesn’t have male or female, er, parts.”
She reached out and stroked its head. “I reckon it’s a she, based on the pretty wings. You wouldn’t have made them decorative and colourful if you’d meant it to be male.”
“Some men like to adorn themselves,” Veroo pointed out. “And wear bright colours.”
“Not in Leratia, and Tyen’s Leratian.”
Tyen shook his head. “Why does it have to be male or female?”
Sezee shrugged.
“I don’t hear aircart propellers now,” Veroo interjected.
They fell silent, listening intently. The only sounds Tyen heard were of the forest. He let out a sigh. “They’ve marked where we landed and are probably looking for somewhere safer to stop and fix their capsule.” He looked under the plants, found his satchel and picked it up. Opening the flap to check if Vella had survived, his heart froze as he saw she wasn’t in there. He began searching around the plant.
“Lost something?” Sezee asked.
He grunted in reply.
She began parting vegetation. “What is it?”
“A book.”
“The one you were reading during the— Ah! Here it is!”
She crouched, her hands disappearing under the leaves of another plant. When she straightened she was holding Vella. She looked at the worn old cover, turning it in her hands. Tyen kept his expression unconcerned as he walked towards her, extending a hand. To his relief, she did not flick through the pages but handed it over.
“Thanks,” he said, tucking it away in the satchel. “Now, let’s see how bad the damage to the cart is. If we’re lucky the owner kept a patching kit on board for the capsule.”
“Where will it be?” Veroo asked.
“Inside the chassis.”
They followed him over to the aircart. Part of the capsule was draped over the support struts, so he pushed the thick fabric back inside the cradle. His heart sank as jagged ends of wood appeared.
“It’s worse than I thought,” he said. The hole in the top of the capsule appeared. It was not as bad as he’d feared, but the damage to the struts was bad news. He’d need to carve new ones and attach them somehow. Holding the edges of the hole up, he looked inside and found the spear that had caused the damage. As he’d guessed, it had a barbed shaft. He pulled it
free, tossing it onto the ground.
“Nasty-looking thing,” Sezee said, eyeing it critically. “And to think it came so close to putting a hole in your head.”
Tyen shivered. “I’d rather not contemplate that.”
“Is this the patching kit?” Veroo held up a small, familiar bag – the standard kit sold to aircart drivers by the main aircart outfitters, Lawson & Sons.
“Yes.” He shook his head and sighed. “It’ll take longer to fix this than the Dart will. They’ll be back before we’re finished.”
“Tyen,” Veroo said, in the same warning tone she’d used when they’d been heading for the trees. He turned to see her attention was on the stream nearby. “We have company,” she told them.
Surely the Dart’s sorcerers hadn’t arrived already? It took him a moment to make out the two figures standing in the dappled shadows of the trees, and he was relieved to see these were not his pursuers. A man perhaps ten years older than Tyen stood with arms crossed, scowling. Beside him was a wide-eyed youth, who kept looking from the aircart to his companion anxiously.
“Who are they?” Sezee whispered.
“I have no idea,” Tyen replied. The pair wore tough, well-worn clothing. The man was carrying an axe. They were probably local, possibly foresters. Would they be willing to help? Though it was a risk to put their trust in strangers, whether or not Tyen repaired the aircart or abandoned it, he and the women needed food and shelter. Taking a deep breath, he took a few steps towards them.
“Good day,” he said. “Please, could you tell us where we are?”
The man’s frown deepened. “The Greening,” he said. “Southernmost edge of Rymuah.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re Leratian.”
Tyen nodded.
“But the women aren’t.”
“They are from the West Isles.” Tyen turned to each of the women and introduced them. “I am Tyen. We are…” Fugitives? Escapees? He couldn’t tell them that. “We are adventurers.”
The man tilted his head briefly towards the coast. “I’ve seen your type before. But I’ve not seen the Empire try to shoot one of you out of the sky before.” He tramped towards him and held out his hand. As Tyen extended his, the man seized it and squeezed firmly then let go.