Wingborn (32 page)

Lyrai had never been so relieved to see a
skyship in all his life as when the
Illuminai
finally
drifted into view, flying high above the Cloud Sea, sails fully
extended, the green and silver gasbags proclaiming its Kilpapan
ownership to the Overworld.

He hardly needed Cumulo
’
s screech of recognition, though it did
prepare him for when Hurricane soared in pursuit of the darting
Wingborn.

They
’
d made it, they
’
d found the
Illuminai
. Now all they had to
do was convince the countess to let her daughter go.

As they drew closer to the ship, Cumulo
flared his wings to slow down, finally realising that he
couldn
’
t do this alone.
They needed a plan, and Lyrai would probably be the one to execute
it. He twisted in his saddle until he found Dhori and Latinym,
gliding alongside, several wingspans to the left.

“Any ideas?”
Lyrai shouted over to the student.

Dhori grinned.
“
A few.
”

Which was more than Lyrai had. Urging
Hurricane to turn, he swept in a broad circle around the twelve
Riders from his flurry. Using the Rift Rider code of hand and arm
gestures, he soon had his men arranged as he wished, surrounding
the ship, then flew back towards Dhori and Cumulo.

“
You,
circle until I call for you,” he told the Wingborn, not trusting
the brash youngster to hold his tongue – or his talons. Though
Lyrai sympathised with his troubles, he also didn’
t want him
to ruin everything. Not that Lyrai was confident about any of this,
in which case it would be best to keep Cumulo in reserve anyway.
“
I mean it. Stay away
from the deck unless I call you.
”

He saw the miryhl
’
s beak moving, no doubt muttering curses
down upon his head, but eventually the Wingborn nodded.
“
Aye, sir.
”

“
Good.
Dhori, you’
re with me.
”

The student saluted and urged Latinym
alongside Hurricane as the two miryhls dived towards the ship,
taking care not to get tangled in either the sails or the
gasbags.

“
Do you
have a plan, sir?” Dhori called, as they circled over the top
gasbag and down beneath the
Illuminai
’
s
hull.

“
No,”
Lyrai shouted back. “I’
m making it up as I go
along.
”

As Dhori laughed, Hurricane shot up the
starboard side of the
Illuminai
, came level with the deck
and twisted. With a flare of his enormous, marbled wings the great
miryhl swooped over the guard rail, scattering skysailors as he
landed in the middle of the deck.

Amidst the ensuing confusion of men tumbling
out of the way, Latinym hopped the rail himself and joined the
other miryhl on the
Illuminai.

Not that Lyrai was paying attention. His
eyes were firmly fixed on the woman standing halfway up the stairs
to the wheelhouse. Slender and small though she was, only a fool
would think Lunrai, Countess Kilpapan was weak. Her curly black
hair had been ruthlessly pinned back, her sharp chin was tilted at
a haughty angle and she met Lyrai
’
s gaze with the imperious confidence of a
queen.

“
Welcome
aboard the
Illuminai,
lieutenant,
”
she greeted coolly.
“
To what do we owe this unexpected honour?
Are the Rift Riders performing customs checks these
days?
”
Her words created
a ripple of nervous laughter amongst her crew, but Lyrai kept his
eyes solely on her.

“Only for
contraband, countess.”

She smiled.
“
I
’
ll
think you
’
ll find
everything in the hull is bought, paid for and fully verified,
lieutenant. Kilpapans have never been afraid of taxes.
”

“I believe
human trafficking is a new enterprise for your family. Hard to tax
too, since it’s illegal in all Overworld states.”

Her smile didn
’
t falter.
“
I believe you are mistaken, sir. All the people we
have on this ship are either crew or paying passenger.
”

“
All
except one, my lady,” he countered, watching as she descended the
rest of the stairs to stand before the door to the staterooms below
the wheelhouse. “And that is who we’
ve come to
collect.
”

Lady Kilpapan folded her arms across her
chest.
“
I have no idea
what you mean.
”

It was Lyrai
’
s turn to smile.
“
I mean your daughter, countess. We
’
ve come for Lady Mhysra, and we do
not intend to leave without her.
”

MHYSRA STARED OUT
of the porthole, hungry for another glimpse of her Wingborn, but a
crash made her turn, wiping the tears from her face. Her guards
were arguing. The older one was making fierce gestures, while Talro
was shaking his head. The water jug had somehow been knocked to the
floor, wooden beakers rolling across the sodden boards.

Then the door opened.

“
Aunt
Mhylla!” Before the guards could stop her, Mhysra launched herself
across the room into her aunt’
s arms.

“
There
now, hush, don’
t fuss,
”
Mhylla murmured in a stern yet comforting voice,
though her arms gripped Mhysra just as tightly.

“How did you
get in?” Mhysra asked, knowing without asking that the door had
been locked. Her mother was good with locks.

Pulling free, Mhylla opened her palm.
“
With the key, of
course. I find that
’
s
always the best way of getting through locked doors.
”

Mhysra raised her eyebrow, knowing full well
her mother wouldn
’
t have
left the key behind, no matter how distracted she
’
d been.

Mhylla grinned.
“
Lunrai never checks her pockets.
”

“
You
stole it?” Mhysra said incredulously. “You picked a
countess’
pockets? Aunt Mhylla, stealing from the
aristocracy is a serious crime. She could have you
hanged!
”

Her aunt chuckled.
“
Dearest girl, I
’
ve been picking your mother
’
s pockets since before she could
walk. If she hasn
’
t had
me executed yet, I doubt she ever will. Now, will you stop fretting
over stupid things and fetch your bag.
”

“But –” Mhysra
looked from her aunt to her guards in confusion. The older one
looked grumpy and angry, but Talro was grinning.

“
I’
ve been needing a couple more farmhands for a
while,
”
Mhylla
explained, slapping Talro
’
s shoulder and nudging the other guard with her
elbow.
“
Talro likes
animals, and Memlo thinks a change of scenery might be best about
now.
”

“
I like
bullwings,” Talro agreed in heavily accented Imercish.
“Memlo’
s good with horsats. We will like
Wrentheria.
”

Mhysra blinked, having assumed her guards
didn
’
t speak anything
but Mistrunan. They
’
d
certainly done nothing to make her think otherwise.

“
Lady
Kilpapan will not be pleased,” Memlo growled, his accent less thick
than his brother’
s.
“
We will be lucky to even reach
Wrentheria.
”

“Gloomy,”
Talro chuckled, while Mhylla waved a dismissive hand.

“
I’
ll deal with my sister. Mhysra, I told you to
fetch your bag. Or do you want to go to Aquila with nothing but
what you
’
re
wearing.
”

Grimacing, Mhysra did as she was told,
pulling out the bag she
’
d packed in Nimbys when she
’
d contemplated running away.
“
Where
’
s Bumble?
”
she asked, as she pulled her flying gear from
another bag.

“
Here,”
Mhylla dragged Mhysra out into the stateroom, buckling her
coat straps for her along the way. On spotting her mistress, the
nakhound pup jumped up from the basket in the corner and bounded
across to lick Mhysra
’
s
hands.

“Why is she
wearing a harness?” Mhysra asked, pulling on her gloves.

“
Because
it won’
t be safe to fly with her any other way,
”
Mhylla told her, wedging a flying
cap over Mhysra
’
s curls.
“
I don
’
t know how we
’
re going to get you off this ship, but oh, Mhysra,
good luck.
”
She pulled
her into a tight hug.
“
And remember that no matter what happens you will
always have a home with us.
”

Mhysra squeezed her aunt until she could
barely breathe.
“
Thank
you,
”
she whispered, her
heart too full to say anything else. She should have known better
than to think her aunt had given up on her just because
she
’
d stopped arguing
with the countess.

Mhylla nodded, her eyes a little damp.
“
Let me go first.
I
’
ll distract Lunrai,
you look for Cue. Keep Bumble close. This
’
ll be a near run thing.
”

Taking a deep breath, Mhysra nodded, jittery
with excitement and trepidation.
“
Let
’
s
go.
”

“Bumble,
come.” Snapping her fingers, Mhylla strode across the stateroom and
opened the door, barging her sister out of the way in the process.
“Oh, Lunrai, how careless of me. I am so terribly sorry.”

Even as her aunt bent over to help the
countess up, she was waving frantically behind her back for Mhysra
to get out.

Gripping her bag tightly, Mhysra sidled out
of the stateroom and found the main deck of the
Illuminai
mostly empty. The crew was lined up uneasily along the rails,
keeping as far as possible away from the two miryhls in the centre.
She
’
d recognise
Hurricane anywhere, her eyes widening to find that Lieutenant Lyrai
had flown all this way for her. Seeing Dhori behind him was almost
as astonishing, since he was only a student.

A tug at her hand made her turn. Her mother
was fighting against Mhylla, but had managed to grab hold of
Mhysra
’
s bag.
“
If you do
this,
”
the countess
growled, looking almost wild.
“
You
’
ll
be no daughter of mine.
”

Mhysra tugged hard, but her
mother
’
s grip was
tenacious.
“
I never have
been.
”

“
You
won’
t be a Kilpapan.
”

Though not unexpected, the words hurt like
knives as she stared into her mother
’
s furious eyes.

“
She’
s always been more of a Wrentherin
anyway,
”
Aunt Mhylla
said calmly, drawing Mhysra
’
s tearful gaze.
“
And she
’
ll always have a home with us.
”

“Thank you,”
she whispered.

Then:
“
Mhysra!
”

She turned, the bag falling forgotten from
her hand as she saw Cumulo dive from the sky and swoop along the
side of the ship.

“Stop her!”
Lady Kilpapan pushed free of Mhylla and lunged for her
daughter.

“
Mhysra,
go!” her aunt shouted, but she didn’
t need telling.

Mhysra sprinted towards the two miryhls on
the deck, even as the crew started closing in.
“
Dhori, bring Bumble,
”
she shouted as she darted between
Hurricane and Latinym.

“What are you
doing?” Lieutenant Lyrai shouted, as Hurricane turned and bounded
after her.

The presence of the miryhl had the crew
stumbling backwards, leaving the deck clear all the way to the
prow.

“
Mhysra!” Cumulo screamed as he drew level with her at the
front of the
Illuminai.

“Cue, catch!”
Running the last few strides, she gathered herself and leapt over
the rail.

A cacophony of screams and shouts exploded
behind her, only to be snatch away by the roar of the wind as she
plummeted through the open air, arms and legs splayed in a
desperate bid to slow herself down.

There was nothing between her and the Cloud
Sea, only emptiness and oblivion.

“
Cumulo!
”

He fell with her, a dark shadow with
outstretched wings. Diving in front of her, he pushed closer and
closer until her hands gripped his feathers, then he swooped.

She hit the saddle with a jarring thud, but
it was the most beautiful feeling in the world as she wrapped
herself around her Wingborn and he carried her back into the
skies.

“Cumulo, oh,
Cue,” she sobbed into his neck, shaking all over.

He was trembling too as he raced them both
away from the
Illuminai,
the rest of the Rift Riders
dropping into formation around them.
“Mhysra, my Mhysra,” he crooned, his voice broken and
choked.