Chenda and the Airship Brofman (39 page)

The others are going to need a whole lot of luck to find a gap in the patrol. Maybe we should go back for them?

“No. You are one pickle tub away from getting off this gods-forsaken rock. I know Fenimore, he'll be quick and careful. What we need to do now is get that vessel ready to drop into the water as soon as they get in here. Come on.”

He pulled Chenda down the dusty planks of the dark warehouse to where several of Ma-Took's pickling tubs lay on their sides. Verdu kicked the chocks away from the first one and started to roll it toward the opening in the floor over the water. Once he had the tub positioned, he set one brace to keep it from rolling into the loading slip and started to unclasp the lid. Chenda walked around the tub as Verdu worked, touching the metal and checking for any leaks or weak points. She checked the valve in the funnel and made sure it was closed securely. By the time Verdu had the lid off, Chenda was satisfied that the tub they had selected was shipshape.

“We are ready. All we need is our last two passengers and the one who will send us off.”

Then they waited.

Minutes passed in dark silence. Chenda felt for Verdu beside her.
Where ARE they?

“I don't know,” Verdu whispered, worry evident in his tone. “Where are the guards?”

Drat! I've been so worried where the others were I forgot to look.
Chenda concentrated for several seconds.
Six guards are still on patrol, but slowpoke has picked up the pace now. I THINK that our three are still on the far side of the pier's main gate, but I'm not sure. There's too much water around for me to sense people clearly.

“All we can do is wait,” Verdu reassured her.

Chenda turned her attention to the sea.
What are most Tugrulian patrol boats made of? Wood or metal hulls?

“Metal. Wood we just don't have much of,” Verdu replied.

Chenda searched the sea for metal, and found several ships slowly patrolling a dozen miles from shore. She mentally followed them for a few more seconds, until her concentration was suddenly broken by the sound of the door to the warehouse opening and closing quietly.

IS IT THEM?

Chenda was almost in a panic. She could feel herself losing a grip on her pent up power. Water splashed in the loading slip. She started to breathe heavily and too fast. She barely heard a double hiss sound from a space next to the door.

Fenimore.

Verdu hissed in response and two pairs of footsteps approached.

“Fen, over here!” Verdu shouted in a whisper.

Fenimore pulled Candice along, and Chenda could hear her muttering, “...gotta go back... maybe we can help... gotta go back...” Fenimore put a single finger on Candice's lips.

“No,” Fenimore said in a hushing tone. “He knew what he was doing. It's too late anyway.”

“Fen, where's Pranav Erato?” Verdu asked.

“We were waiting in the shadows by the gate, and we couldn't find a break in the pattern of the guards. There was no time to run here without being seen. Then Pranav Erato said 'Well, if we can't do this without getting caught, let's get caught' and he ran out onto the pier, waggling those rubbery arms of his, and the next soldier in the watch charged after him and around the corner....”

“We can go get him,” Candice said adamantly.

“No! The only place he could have ended up was running into the back of the next guard on patrol. He sacrificed himself so we can get out of here. Now, we need to go before this place is crawling with soldiers who want to cut our heads off.”

Verdu grabbed the quaking Candice and pushed her into the pickle tub. “Help her pull it together, Fen.”

Fenimore glanced at Chenda, who was trembling and near the edge of losing control. She struggled every moment to keep the power of the elements from flying out of her. She was in no shape to bear anymore.

“She can't handle this. She's gone too long without discharging any of that power!” he said to Verdu.

“Not now.” Verdu replied, matching Fenimore's angry face perfectly. “Get in there and get Candice ready.”

“Hurry!” Fenimore growled, but he ducked his head went inside the small tub.

Verdu pulled Chenda to the side of the tub and spoke quickly to her. “You've done enough for my people, our people, do you understand? I've seen you, witnessed what you can do. I know you and, more than that, I love you. So, you need to
let
Fenimore take you someplace safe. Someplace where you can learn the extent your power, and how to live with it. You're going to be fantastic, and when you've had a chance to fully understand that power, you'll make it dance. You are going to help people, a lot of people, all around the world, and it's going to be so easy for you. Don't worry about us here – you've given the Resistance hope. You've done the hard part. So, I'm going to take that hope and set a lot more things in motion.”

He pulled Chenda's shaking body closer to him. "Shh," he whispered in her ear. “Peace, my dear. Fenimore is going to do what he promised. And I am sorry I can't go with you. Without Pranav Erato, the people here need me.”

Chenda, afraid to speak, bit her lip and stared into Verdu's eyes. Despite the shock of losing Pranav Erato and the itch of the power within her trying to claw its way out, she could see the longing in Verdu. She couldn't ignore his eyes as they begged for answers about her loneliness, perhaps even her love. She already knew that time apart from him would pain her, but curiosity, and the memory of Edison's promise about the love of her life being out there, gave her courage. She touched his skin and thought,
Try
.

Verdu's breath stuck in his throat. He could feel the double meaning of her single word, and understood.

He lifted his hands to her face as he brought her closer. His eyes never left hers as their foreheads touched. He turned his head to the side slightly, and his lips pressed against hers. He closed his eyes then, concentrating on wrapping himself around her. His arms pulled her up, his hands clutched at her back. His lips parted and enveloped hers. He tasted her. With every move she responded. Trying.

Just as quickly as it started, the kiss broke. Verdu and Chenda rested with their eyes locked together, their foreheads touching. Verdu's hands eased her feet back onto the ground and made their way back to the sides of her face. She moved her hands to the back of his head, and slowly stroked down his neck, shoulders and arms until her hands reached his elbow. She gently pushed him away, completing the Pramuc's Blessing.

“At least we tried,” Verdu whispered.

Chenda made a sorrowful half smile and a curt nod.
I'll always love you, and pray the gods bless you and keep you until I see you again.

Fenimore, who had poked his head out of the tub to see what the delay was, stared at the two of them, horrified. He turned on Verdu. “What the holy hell do you think you're doing?”

“I'm saying good bye,” Verdu said. “Take care of her. She's all yours now.” He backed Chenda into Fenimore's chest. “I love you, brother.”

With a mighty shove he pushed Fenimore and Chenda into the tub, repositioned the lid and quickly started clamping it in place. He could hear Fenimore's protest from within, but once the first clamp caught firmly, there was no escaping. A few seconds more and Verdu finished sealing his companions inside. He kicked the chock away and pushed the make shift sailing vessel into the water below, where it bobbed for several seconds, and then slowly sank, leaving no trace of it on the dark surface of the sea.

Chapter 21

CRIDER ISLAND

Chenda fell down hard inside the pickle tub. Verdu's heavy blow had knocked the wind out of her. What little moonlight had filtered into the darkened warehouse disappeared the moment Verdu slammed the lid down tight. Neither the lack of light nor Chenda's gasping body knocked atop his slowed Fenimore much. He pushed Chenda aside and banged on the lid.

“Hey!” Fenimore scrambled to his feet. “Verdu! NO! We're not leaving you behind. STOP!”

Fenimore started to slam his shoulder into the tub trying to break out, but it did no good. Suddenly, the tub rolled, throwing the three bodies within sideways and to the floor. They slid around in the darkened tube as it fell through the warehouse floor into the sea. The impact slapped them all to the floor again.

Chenda could feel the water right under her, and she was ready. Without lifting her head from where she lay, she reached out to the water with a thread of her power, demanding it take the buoyant pickle tub down below the surface. It was harder than she thought it would be, holding the air-filled tube under the water. The fact that she couldn't see was a bit of a challenge, too. Candice's whimpering and Fenimore's angry snorts distracted her.

She bit her lip, concentrating.
OK,
she thought to herself,
one bit at a time. I'll get us out of sight of the coast and then take a break.
Chenda repositioned herself. She sat up and crossed her legs. She found that pressing her palms flat on either side of her helped to connect with the water elements around her. Once she persuaded the water to push the tub clear of all the pier pilings, she had the water draw them due west. After 20 minutes, beads of sweat rolled down her face. She started to feel weak, even though she still brimmed with elemental power. She felt lightheaded. She needed to take a break. She pulled back her power and the pickle tub bobbed to the surface of the Kohlian Sea.

Chenda despaired for a little light. She pulled up her dress and rummaged around in several pockets in her pouchbelt until she finally found that for which she was looking: Edison's pocket watch. She wound it several times and opened it. The dim light within, just barely enough to illuminate the face of the watch, shattered the oppressive darkness around her.

“Ah...” she sighed.

“Why are we stopping?” Candice asked.

“I'm getting dizzy,” Chenda said, risking a few words out loud. She was much relieved that it didn't cause a tidal wave or other disaster.

“Me, too,” said Fenimore. “What's happening?”

“We're breathing up all the air. We need some more oxygen,” Candice said. “I've got the stuff we talked about if you have the spark.”

“Sure, I'm free.” Chenda giggled.

Candice pulled a bowl and a narrow metal tube out of a bag tied to her waist. She set the tube into the bowl and handed a steel knife to Chenda.

“One spark should do it; after that, the reaction should be able to keep itself going,” Candice said weakly.

Chenda held the knife point over the white crystals in the bowl and let off a single spark. The tube ignited, and sparkled faintly.

“Wait a second, how is burning something going to create more oxygen in here?” Fenimore asked. “Doesn't fire consume oxygen?”

“Usually, but this is granulated sodium chlorate. Ahy-Me did a fine job finding all of the things I needed to mix up this batch. There's a bit of iron and a few other chemicals mixed in. Anyway, when sodium chlorate decomposes, it actually releases more oxygen that it takes to combust, which is good for us, sealed in this wee tube.”

“Interesting. Why didn't we just light that up when we got started and save ourselves the dizzy spell?” Fenimore asked.

“Well...” Candice said, looking sheepish. “I'm not entirely sure it won't kill us. One of the minor byproducts of it is chlorine, and I did see about adding some barium peroxide to absorb the chlorine, but who knows if I got the mixture right and then there could be other impurities in the-”

“Fine,” Fenimore interrupted. “Working without a net. I get it. I guess we just need to hurry on to our destination and get out of this stinking tube. Chenda? How are you doing? Can you get a fix on where the patrols are?”

Chenda shook her head to clear it. “Sure. I think the oxygen generator is working fine, Candice. My head is starting to clear. You're brilliant.” She focused her thoughts outward, combing the water around her for anything large and metallic. “Mu-huh,” she said. “There are three patrol boats within five miles of here.”

“Are they coming closer?” Fenimore asked tensely.

“Who cares?” said Candice. “Submerge us and let’s be gone. The bigger question is can you find Crider Island without seeing it?”

“I think so. If I am focused on the element of water, I think an island would look like a big hole in the sea to me. If I get within about ten miles of it, I could see it.”

Chenda sighed. “This is really hard, trickling the power out slowly enough to pull us there. I can't say that I like it much. I'll get us started again, and you tell me about the island. If there is something specific about it I can focus on, it might help me home in on it.”

Chenda closed her eyes and concentrated, releasing her power to make the water below the surface pull them along. Once she got the tub moving, she settled in to the excruciating task of keeping the power flowing from her in a steady stream. The power always wanted to burst forth from her in a rush. For the most part, she preferred to just chuck it out that way, but control was the necessity of the moment. She was happy to hear Fenimore start talking. She knew his voice would soothe her as she struggled through this tedious task.

“From Nivarta, Crider Island is west by west-northwest. So tack in that general direction,” he said.