We might die in the next twenty minutes, Jaxi.
Speak for yourself. I’m living forever.
You don’t think you’d melt if you fell into one of those geysers?
Of course not. Jaxi paused thoughtfully. I might rust, though. That would be unpleasant.
So, being shot down would be a bad time for all.
The basket cleared the mountain, but Sardelle couldn’t see much from the floor of it. A few stars. Steam.
Ridge was crouching rather than sitting, as if he would spring up to defend them somehow.
“You’ve been through everything I have,” Sardelle murmured, patting his thigh. “Yet you seem like you could march another twenty miles while carrying your flier on your back. If there were female dragons around, I’d have to worry about you attracting one.”
“Your mind is on dragons tonight.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
They’re coming our way. Two ships.
“Jaxi says two ships are coming to check us out.” Sardelle didn’t move away from Ridge, but she did take a deep breath and pull in her focus. “I’ll do my best to shield us. Bullets, I can handle. I’m uncertain about cannonballs right now.”
“What about rockets?” Ridge asked.
“I’m even less certain about those.”
At first, she tried to wrap her shield around the entire balloon and basket ensemble, but it was like trying to stretch tissue paper. Her efforts ripped and tattered, leaving giant holes.
Focus on the basket. The balloon can take a few holes.
Sardelle nodded at Jaxi’s advice. I’m going to have to.
I’ll shield the other one. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can manage any gouts of flame at the same time.
We just need to escape.
“Sir,” Kaika said, “what are you and her talking about? Or… do I want to know?”
“Probably not, Captain. But I can explain later.”
The wind caught the balloon, and it drifted away from the mountaintop, carrying them north, toward the real mountains.
“Time, Captain?” Ridge lifted a hand toward the lip of the basket but caught himself. He doubtlessly wanted to poke his head up to check on the other half of their team, but on the chance the Cofah were thinking of dismissing them, he dared not risk it.
“One minute, thirty-seven seconds.”
For the first time, Ridge shifted his weight, a hint of unease escaping his otherwise calm facade. Sardelle was so busy focusing on maintaining her shield, she barely registered it. Gurgles came from below, and a geyser erupted twenty meters to the side of them. Why couldn’t one erupt under one of those airships? They were probably too high up for it to matter, though.
A hiss-thud came from the nearest Cofah vessel, and the unexpectedness of the noise broke through Sardelle’s concentration. That was a different sound than the cannons made. “Is that—”
Ridge stood up, his rifle in hand. “A rocket.”
Sardelle tracked it with her senses. It was heading straight for them.
Jaxi—
Before she could get out her request, a second hiss-thud came from the same ship. This rocket was aiming at Ahn and Tolemek’s balloon.
Take care of them, she thought, then threw every shred of energy she had into shoring up the shield on the side closest to the rocket. She tried to increase the area to protect the balloon as well, but she was straining, and the entire ethereal construct threatened to collapse.
The rocket blasted against her barrier and exploded. Yellow and orange light flared so brightly that it stung her eyes even down in the basket. She expected the force of the explosion to shred the balloon into confetti and hurl them all into the scalding pools below, but the basket scarcely moved.
Thanks, she told Jaxi, knowing she’d had help.
She didn’t get a response. Sardelle knelt up to look over the rim and touched Jaxi’s hilt at her waist. It was so hot it almost burned her hand. Another flare of light burst into the night sky, almost blinding her. The other balloon. Dread and guilt threatened her equilibrium. Had Jaxi left them undefended in order to save Sardelle?
No, I blew up the second rocket before it reached them. That’s better than buffering the explosion. But I don’t know how many more I can handle. Those airships are getting ready to throw their whole arsenal at us.
Sardelle could see the Cofah craft now, and they weren’t nearly so far away as she wished. The weak wind wasn’t moving the hot air balloon anywhere fast. Seven gods, she should have been trying to push the balloons along rather than shielding them. No, she dared not let up on the barrier. She rubbed at her sweaty face and gritty eyes. She wasn’t sure if the black spots floating through her vision were aftereffects from seeing that explosion or were a more worrisome side effect of overexertion. The air did seem thin and not nearly substantial enough for her lungs at the moment.
In the other balloon, which had risen to the same height as Sardelle’s, Ahn raised her rifle, targeting some Cofah gunner on one of the ships.
“No,” Sardelle called, able to sense Jaxi’s shield around the other craft. “You’re protected.” She wasn’t sure if her voice carried, but Tolemek put a hand on Ahn’s arm, forcing the weapon down, and pointed in front of them.
“More weapons firing,” Kaika said, glancing at Ridge and Sardelle.
“A lot more.” Ridge clenched his fist. “If I had my flier…”
The first round went toward the other balloon.
Something like a moan echoed in Sardelle’s mind as Jaxi threw everything she had into blowing up the explosives before they reached the team. The next round would be aimed at this balloon, and Sardelle didn’t know if she had enough to blow anything up. Or keep the shield alive, either.
Apex eyed the ground below them, as if he knew his sorceress protector was about to fail.
It was too dark to see the geysers and mud pots, the near boiling water bubbling and gurgling in the pools, but Sardelle knew that terrain was still down there. It would take several more minutes to reach the forest and a spot where they might land… or grow tangled in the trees and climb down.
“Here it comes.” Ridge gripped the edge of the balloon, his longing to do more washing over Sardelle with its intensity.
A muted boom came from the depths of the mountain. It was a weak sound next to the explosives being launched from the airships, and Sardelle almost missed it. But it made the Cofah stop firing for a moment. Gunners looked back and forth at each other, then over the railing of their ship.
Kaika leaned against the basket next to Ridge, peering down at the mountain. As far as Sardelle could tell, not much was happening.
“Did it work?” Ridge asked.
“Give it a moment.” Kaika didn’t sound certain. “With the lower supports removed, the levels should collapse in on themselves, under the weight of gravity.”
“If we destroy that mountain,” Ridge said, “and take the blood… even if it goes down with us in one of those pools, we’ve won a victory.”
“Who’s going to live to tell the king about it?” Apex grumbled.
More muted thuds came from the mountain. It was too dark to see what was going on, but the sides didn’t seem to be tipping over or crumpling inward.
“Geyser,” Ridge warned.
“Under us?” Sardelle leaned forward to look, but the black dots in her eyes turned into black circles, obscuring her vision. A wave of dizziness accompanied the circles. She had definitely pushed herself to the limit.
Ridge caught her arm and pointed toward the ground. “Looks like it’s going to be a big one.”
Even as he spoke, the funnel of water increased in size, from a few meters to over fifty. Maybe over a hundred. The phenomenon was big enough to see even in the dark. The steam and spray blocked the view of the mountain and two of the ships.
One of the outside ships could still see Sardelle’s balloon, though, and orange flashes and booms announced cannonballs firing. Her shield had s
lipped in her distraction, and she rushed to reassemble it.
A cannonball tore through the balloon twenty feet above them. She couldn’t do anything to stop it, could only focus on the basket.
“Down,” Kaika barked.
A rocket raced out of the night sky, arrowing straight at their basket.
Can’t, Jaxi whispered. The others—
I’ve got it. Sardelle flung a hand in that direction, but she didn’t have Jaxi’s power, and it wasn’t enough. At the last moment, she tried the only other thing she could think of. She turned her energy toward cutting the cables holding the basket to the balloon.
They plummeted. Someone screamed. The rocket soared by overhead, missing them. But, as they fell, she saw it arcing back toward them, angling downward, and remembered the way one had followed Ridge.
She lifted her hand one more time, this time only trying to find and destroy the vial of dragon blood instead of detonating the whole rocket. It worked. The glass burst open, spraying blood all over the inside of the projectile. She could only hope it was enough, because the blackness she had been fighting against finally swept over her. She was aware of the basket slamming into a pool, and water flying everywhere, scalding her skin, and of someone crying out in pain… and then she knew no more.
• • • • •
The basket rocked so hard it threatened to throw people out. Ridge tried to grab everyone and cover and protect Sardelle all at the same time. Scalding water sloshed in, and Kaika cried out in pain that soon turned to rage, as if she was tired of this entire mission and longed for an enemy to throttle.
“Sardelle?” Ridge whispered as the basket settled—it was floating, for the moment. He prayed to the ancient dragons that it was waterproof.
She didn’t respond. He touched her cheek and found it clammy and sweaty. She was breathing. That would have to be enough for now. He had to figure out how to get them to safety and what was happening to the rest of the team.
A plop sounded a few feet away, and he squinted, wondering what had fallen down beside them. He almost laughed, realizing it was the rocket. Whatever Sardelle had done in the end, she must have deactivated it somehow. His humor was short-lived, for he knew there would be more. Possibly aiming at them right now.
He spun, nearly knocking over Apex, who was standing and gaping toward the mountain. What was left of it. The geyser had finished erupting, and the rubble was visible now, the pile only a third of the height it had been before, if that. Unfortunately, the airships remained in the air above it. Most of them. One was flying in their direction.
“Any chance we can paddle this thing to safety?” Ridge asked, turned in the other direction again.
He spotted two things that gave him hope: the trees marking the foothills of the mountains—they weren’t that far off—and the silhouette of the other hot air balloon. Since Ridge’s basket was now missing its balloon, he hoped the others could get to them, and they could manage to all pile in and fly to safety. The only problem was that the Cofah only had one target now, and Sardelle couldn’t defend them if she was unconscious.
Ridge hefted his rifle. They would have to do their best to defend themselves. Too bad nobody had thought to mount cannons or rocket launchers on the hot air balloons.
Waves rocked the basket. His first thought was that Tolemek’s balloon had crashed, too, but it was still aloft, still a good twenty meters overhead. They looked like they were having trouble steering.
Three geysers erupted at the same time. The mud pots belched, and the most potent stench yet emanated into the air. Ripples flowed through the pool the basket was sitting in.
“Uh,” Kaika said. “The mountain is steaming. What’s left of it.”
So much smoke was wafting from the giant rubble pile, that Ridge had no trouble seeing it, even by night. It blotted out the stars and obscured the airships, almost as if they had flown into clouds. “That’s not your work?”
“Zirkander,” Tolemek called down, his voice almost drowned out by the increased noise of popping bubbles and gurgling pools. “We’ll be in trouble if we land. Can you catch this rope?”
“Yes,” Ridge called back. He didn’t see the rope, but he would find a way to catch it anyway. Then he would have to figure out how to climb it with Sardelle slung over his shoulder. Whatever had made her think he still had the energy to march twenty miles?
“There it is.” Apex leaned out of the back of the basket, a hand outstretched. “Got it.”
“You and Kaika go first.” Ridge picked up Sardelle, careful to make sure her sword was still in its scabbard. Jaxi had certainly earned more than to be dumped into a pond and left there.
I should hope so.
Well, at least someone’s conscious.
Barely. You people are taxing.
Apex grabbed one of the bags of dragon blood and shimmied up the rope. Kaika did the same and followed before he was more than halfway up. Ridge wasn’t certain what was happening exactly, but the water was growing more agitated rather than less. He didn’t know if Kaika’s explosion could have triggered some twitchy fault down under all these pools and geysers, but if there was about to be an earthquake—or a volcanic eruption—he didn’t want to have his nose pressed against the window for it.
“Hurry, Zirkander,” Tolemek called down, the urgency in his voice clear even over the noise.
He must know something Ridge only suspected at this point.
“Good luck to us,” he whispered to Sardelle, gave her a kiss, then wrapped the rope around his forearm and hand a few times, hoping that would be enough. There was no way he could climb without risking dropping her. “Go,” he called up. “I’ve got a grip.”
He thought he might have to explain further, but Tolemek understood. Their balloon had already been trying to drift away. Ridge curled up his legs, letting it pull him from the basket.
But with all the weight, their balloon didn’t gain any more lift. It was drifting off in the right direction, toward the trees, but the angry, bubbling water spit and sputtered right beneath Ridge’s butt. He was so busy jerking his legs up and sideways—anything to keep from being burned—that he almost missed the first spews of angry orange magma bursting forth from the mound of rubble. Or maybe it was shooting up from behind it, from some new volcano thrusting out of the mire. It was too dark to tell, but whatever was happening was alarming the airships. None of them was shooting or sailing toward the hot air balloon now.
“Ouch,” Ridge yelped. His trousers provided some protection from the hot water, but not enough. He envisioned one of those geysers blowing right under him.
“A little more altitude would not be unappreciated,” Ridge called up.
He smacked into something. Hard.
“What the—” He had wrapped the rope around his arm so many times that he wasn’t immediately knocked free, but the blow did send him spinning, and then a second one followed it. Something big and brushy slammed into his face. This time, he was knocked free, and he shouted an angry, “No!” as he fell.
He didn’t land in scalding water but in cold snow, his limbs tangled with Sardelle’s. She moaned but remained unconscious. He grinned, realizing they had made it to the forest. Safety. Well, maybe not. If that new volcano grew serious about erupting, who knew how far it would hurl lava and ash? Maybe the magma would be swallowed by the pools all around the area, but maybe not.
“Sir,” Duck called down.
“Here.” Ridge gathered up Sardelle again and floundered through the snow, trying to catch up with the balloon. He might have cursed the hapless craft earlier, but they would escape lava flows a lot more easily from the air.
“There he is,” Duck called. “We’re coming down, sir. Can you meet us in that clearing?”
Ridge had no idea where “that clearing” was, but he followed the balloon, weaving through the trees and fighting snow that went up past his knees. He was stumbling by the end, and only his desire not to drop or hurt Sardelle kept him upright. br />
“I love you people,” he called when he spotted the basket waiting for him, the craft tied down with a rope around a tree. “If I don’t get court-martialed, I’ll put you all in for awards.” His enthusiasm grew even more heartfelt when Duck and Apex grabbed him and Sardelle, hoisting them into the basket. It was a tight fit, but he didn’t care, not even when his legs collapsed and he ended up propped up against Tolemek.
“What award can I, as an expatriate civilian, expect?” Tolemek asked.
“I’ll fly south to Terra Falls and pick you up the best mango turnover you’ve ever had.”
“A fair reward. Cut that rope, Duck,” Tolemek said. “As much as I’d like to observe the eruption of the long theorized but never seen Boiling Pools Volcano, I don’t believe this is a safe observation station.”
“Definitely not,” Ridge mumbled and sank down beside Sardelle, wrapping an arm around her.
Jaxi? Can you hear me? Will she be all right?
I believe so. Humans are much frailer than swords, you know. But they’re resilient too.
“I hope so,” he murmured and rested his head against hers. If the rest of the team thought it was strange that he was muttering to himself, they didn’t said anything.
Epilogue
When she woke up, a headache pulsing behind her eyes, Sardelle’s first thought was to worry about Ridge, her second to worry about herself, and her last to wonder how going to pick up her first student had turned into such an… event.
Daylight had come, but it was far darker than it should have been, the sky a hazy dusty gray. It was ash, she realized, not dust. Sardelle could taste it in the cold, thick air. She should have been cold, too, but someone had wrapped her up in parkas before laying her on the frosty ground. The fur lining of Ridge’s coat was snugged up protectively over her face—she could smell his masculine scent on it, though it was faint compared to the sulfur and ash in the air. She pulled the warm fur down so she could see her surroundings.