Voyages of the Flying Dragon (6 page)

Lenis steeled himself, breathing as shallowly as possible. He could feel people moving around beneath him, but he couldn't be certain where they were exactly. He would just have to hug the wall and hope for the best. Giving Atrum one final squeeze, Lenis entered the hatch.

Missy finished explaining the cave-in to the captain and Yami, then sat down on the cold earth before the sealed tunnel. It had all been a complete waste of time! Karasu had probably already reached the temple of Njord. He might even have discovered Lenis by now! Missy didn't know how long Atrum could keep Lenis hidden, but he had once cloaked the
Hiryū
for most of a day. Surely he couldn't be close to tiring yet. Missy had lost track of time once they'd entered the mine, but judging by how tired she was, Karasu couldn't have been more than a few hours ahead of them.

First Lucis and now Terra. If only she'd thought to bring them both along! The Bestia that powered the landcraft was slight and had long legs and a small, bushy tail. He didn't look like much of a digger, but he had an affinity for earth. Lenis had always told Missy never to judge Bestia by their appearance. Her brother had a knack for drawing out their hidden potential. He had bought and trained Terra for Mistress Kell, a woman with an obsession for racing airships, landcraft, and just about anything else that moved. Under Lenis's nourishing hand, Terra had flourished, but he had been trained for speed, not excavation. Still, it was worth a try.

While she had been thinking, Captain Shishi and Yami had been discussing their options. Finally, the captain said, ‘We will have to return to the
Hiryū
and try to work the engines ourselves –'

‘Excuse me, Captain,' Missy interrupted, ‘but I think the Bestia can dig through this.'

The captain turned to her, his wild eyebrows dancing wickedly in the wavering light of Heidi's torch. ‘Are you certain?'

Missy swallowed the lump in her throat. She was sure this was the only way to get to Lenis, but she didn't want to lie to the captain.
Like you aren't lying to the people of Fronge so they think you're a goddess?
Missy pushed the errant thought deep into a corner of her mind, but she couldn't quash it completely. She was suddenly reminded of Lord Butin, the Ostian steward, and how he had used his telepathy to manipulate Crown Prince Alexis like a puppet. The memory caused her to shudder. As always, thoughts of their Ostian foe brought to mind the memory of Namei's last moments, kneeling before Lord Butin as he ordered her throat to be cut.

No! This was different. Missy wasn't Butin. She was only lying to the people of Fronge to get Lenis back.

To get what you want
.

With an effort, Missy brought her mind back to the captain's question. ‘No, sir, I'm not sure, but I think we have to try.'

Captain Shishi nodded. ‘Very well. We will return for the Bestia.'

The idea of walking all the way back to the
Hiryū
only to return to this very spot made Missy chafe. If only there was another way! Then she realised, a little sheepishly, that there was. ‘That isn't necessary, sir. I can call them from here.'

Which is exactly what she should have done in the first place! Missy detached her spirit-self and went whizzing back up the tunnel. It was dark, and she passed many openings and turnoffs on her way back, but this was a mine after all, not a maze. It was designed to allow swift access for the miners and equally fast removal of their goods, not to confuse and mislead. After a couple of sharp turns her awareness was back in the main shaft.

Missy raced back to the surface, conscious that the longer she took to reach the Bestia, the greater the chances that Karasu would complete whatever task he had planned for the temple and leave. Would her brother take the opportunity to sneak off Karasu's airship? Would he have a chance? Missy felt her panic rising again and channelled it into increasing her speed.

A moment later she broke out of the mine and into the fading light of evening. They'd been underground longer than she had expected. In passing she noticed that her crewmates and the townspeople had been busy setting up makeshift shelters on the northern end of the square and had even started salvaging what they could from the remnants of the morning's fire. There wasn't much left for
them to save. Ironically, they would need fire tonight, for although it was spring the mountains would be freezing come nightfall.

The Bestia were all aboard the
Hiryū
, waiting for everyone to return. Terra was curled up in the Bestia hutch in Lenis's cabin, fast asleep. Missy formed the image-messages she needed to communicate with him and gently nudged him awake, her spirit-self pressing against whatever subconscious dream had claimed the Bestia until he noticed she was there and stirred. She kept the message short and basic, as she always did. Simplification was one of the first things Bestia communicators were taught. Lengthy or complicated messages had a way of getting jumbled.

Three images were enough: Lenis in trouble, the rubble blocking the entrance to Njord's temple, and Terra digging. As the earth-based Bestia leapt up and out of the hutch, the other Bestia looked after him. Missy thought for a moment and then sent similar messages to all of them. She'd lost enough time because she hadn't been prepared with Lucis and Terra in the first place. She may as well bring them all along in case something else sprung up once they were inside the temple. Assuming Terra could dig them a way in.

Lenis emerged into the galley, one shoulder pressed against the inside of the airship's hull. It was eerie, stepping out into a place so like the inside of the
Hiryū
and yet strangely different. The layout was the same, but there was a woman standing
in front of Hiroshi's stove, and the doorway leading to Long Liu's cabin was open, revealing yet more stored provisions instead of an infirmary.

The female cook had her back to him, so Lenis stepped cautiously out of the corridor and into the mess hall. He could see the mast-shaft through the exit on the other side of the hall. It wasn't that far away, and Lenis was invisible, but dread overwhelmed him as he began creeping towards it. What was he
doing
? How did he think he was going to get away with this? It wouldn't take much – a sharp breath, a scuffed step – and the cook would hear him and turn. She might not notice him immediately, but her suspicions would be aroused and a search would soon follow. It wouldn't take long to find him, even under Atrum's cloak.

Step by slow step, Lenis made his way across the galley, barely daring to breathe. Each movement was agony; each one was carefully considered and precisely executed. Six paces and he was barely into the room. Another six and he was fully committed. There was no way he could retreat in a hurry now without drawing attention. Another six and he was in the middle of the galley. He felt completely exposed. What if Atrum's cloak failed? What if the Bestia tired and left them both standing, completely visible and with nowhere to hide? Lenis willed Atrum to be strong. He put his trust in his Bestia and forced himself to move on. Six more paces. Six more steps. Only six more and he would be safe. Well, at least as safe as he could be, given the circumstances.

The cook said something suddenly in Shinzōn. Lenis froze. Every instinct told him to run, but he didn't. The woman spoke again. Lenis inched his neck around to look back at her. How had she seen him? What had given him away? But she had not been speaking to Lenis. Someone had come down via the forward hatch and was standing right behind Lenis, who had been so caught up in staying silent he had forgotten to keep his awareness alert for anyone approaching. If Lenis had delayed his foray across the galley any longer, he would have been discovered! He was so relieved he nearly broke into a run again, but he forced himself to remain perfectly still. Whoever had come from the fore hatch said something to the cook, who snapped a reply. There was a grunt, and Lenis heard the person retreat. The cook muttered to herself as she turned back to the stove.

The relief made Lenis giddy. He tried to stifle it. He was far from safe, and far from completing his self-assigned mission. He needed to find the stones, and he came to realise the only place where they could be. In Karasu's cabin. In the
captain's
cabin. Lenis forced himself to move on, slower than ever, his heart beating so fast he was afraid the cook might hear it from across the hall.

Missy stared in open-mouthed disbelief as Terra tore through the rubble blocking the passage. She had expected he would use his delicate front legs to dig away at the earth, and she had even prepared to dig right alongside Terra. Instead, he was
eating
the dirt and rock in front of him. His canine mouth snapped at the debris, pulling large chunks of it free and gulping it down. But he was so small! Where was it all
going
? The tunnel was filled with the low thrum of Bestia power Missy had always associated with machinery, but maybe the noise and vibration had never come solely from the machines but from the Bestia themselves.

It was easy enough to see the reactions of the others. Lucis perched in the tube overhead, giving off a bright white light. Yami and the captain watched Terra intently, but they didn't seem surprised. Perhaps because they knew so little of Bestia power in the first place, they just took things as they came, but Heidi seemed as amazed as Missy was. Missy had seen Bestia do all sorts of things. Ignis generated fire. Aeris played with the wind. Lucis gave off light. Aqua could find and even freeze water. Atrum, perhaps most amazingly of all, could make things invisible. But she had never seen a Bestia absorb earth before. She wondered if other Bestia might possess powers she hadn't even considered. Had she become so used to thinking of them only as parts of a machine that she had forgotten they were powerful before machines were even invented? The thought shamed her. Lenis would never think of a Bestia like that, she was sure. Somehow he saw them for what they really were. It was part of what made him such a great Bestia Keeper. It was how he was able to draw out their hidden powers.

Missy looked at the other Bestia, all focused on Terra's progress, and wondered what they would have been like if they
had never been hooked up to a machine. Memories came back to her of when she and her brother had first met Aeris back in Pure Land. She had been a wild Bestia and used to play with the twins in the long grass around Blue Lake. She'd make the wind chase them through the tall stalks, or make the leaves dance on the surface of the lake. When was the last time Aeris had played like that? When was the last time any of them had?

‘Perhaps it is time we followed the Bestia,' the captain suggested, breaking into Missy's reminiscences.

Missy looked into the opening Terra had created. The Bestia had already disappeared from view. ‘I think you're right. We'll have to crawl to fit through, though.'

‘What wisdom forbids, Miss Clemens, necessity dictates.'

Missy nodded and reached up to let Lucis out of the light tube. The Bestia climbed eagerly into her arms and then leapt down into the tunnel to follow Terra. They were all suddenly thrown into darkness until Heidi relit her torch.