Zachariah protected his face as Bolan brought the Rocket down. He helped Rabbit up
the ladder before he climbed up. He took the pilot’s seat as Rabbit moved to the back
of the compartment.
“Octo took the others on what Gold Bug built out of his wreck,” said Bolan. “Knife
and Hardy helped with some of the fine tuning.”
“Was he all right to fly?,” asked Zachariah. He checked the controls as he strapped
in.
“He said he could handle it,” said Sola. “We sent the others with him to watch him.”
“All right,” said Zachariah. He lifted the Rocket off the sand. He saw men
approaching on horses. He didn’t know if they were more rebels, or guards from one
of the Houses. He couldn’t let either side capture him and his passengers. He
switched the jet and lunged after the other air ship.
Zachariah considered the map as he rushed after the other aircraft. Gold Bug crawled
up his arm and sat on his shoulder. The bug watched the sky beyond the window as
his partner thought.
“We’re going to have to let the Kellers win this leg,” said Zachariah. “We have to
stick with Octo to make sure he can make it.”
“The riders and Sir Dormir have already headed for the wall,” said Sola. “We can’t
catch any of them now.”
“How’s Pearl doing?,” asked Zachariah.
“She’s fine, Master Eight Arms,” said Brother Rabbit. “She seems ready to fly.”
“As soon as we’re over the wall and away from the desert, we’ll let you out,” said
Zachariah.
“That would be excellent,” said the pooka. He held the miniature dragon close. “I
can’t believe the Alvas helped us. They aren’t usually friendly to others.”
“I think he didn’t like the interference,” said Zachariah. “He’s not trying to win the
race. I think he’s watching us.”
“He did say he’s testing his flying tree,” said Bolan.
“He’s not testing it for speed,” said Zachariah.
“He’s testing the actual spell work,” said Rabbit. “The Alvas can do a lot with their
magic, but flying trees aren’t what they would consider natural working material.”
“But they can make trees servants,” said Zachariah. “And adding flight to that would
make their trees able to attack anything from the air.”
“And protection from airships like this,” said Brother Rabbit. “It’s no good to have
a wall when your enemies can fly over it and drop spells and technological weapons
down on top of you.”
“Ground attacks would already be stymied by their normal defenses,” said Zachariah.
“Their government must be trying to get on equal footing with the other nations
trying to take to the air.”
“Their king is said to be prescient,” said the pooka. He flicked an ear. “Strengthening
the wards against air attacks makes sense. They can’t afford to lose a majority of their
dragon power.”
“All right,” said Zachariah. “Is that Octo’s aircraft?”
Bolan came forward to look out the window.
“Yes, it is,” said apprentice. “It’s flying great. Gold Bug did a good job with it.”
He returned to his seat and strapped in.
“I’ll say so,” said Zachariah.
The daemon had taken Octo’s wrecked jet and rebuilt it with some improvements
from what Zachariah could see. He would like to see what the engine looked like
now.
“We’re almost to the wall,” said Sola. “Another five minutes maybe.”
Zachariah looked at the silhouette of the other pilot. He saw the other man raise his
hand. He nodded at the hand signal. The ace felt like he could make it to the landing
spot in Riordiana.
“He just told us to leave him,” said Zachariah. “I think we are going to hold position
until we reach the wall.”
Zachariah knew that Gold Bug’s machinery worked as advertised. It was more fragile
than building things by hands. A bird hitting Octo’s airship could punch a hole
through it if it hit a section made solely of the daemon’s webbing.
The wall bordering the desert loomed closer. Zachariah pulled the stick to gain
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.altitude. He watched Octo mirror his move. In the distance, a spark of light marked
the Kellers chasing after the Riordianians and other pilots who had not been taken by
the rebels’ trap.
“Are you sure you two can make it from here?,” asked Zachariah.
“What do you think, Pearl?,” said the rabbit. He smiled at the lizard in his arms. The
lizard squeaked in reply. “This is two favors you have done us, machinist. At this rate,
we’ll never pay you back.”
“One day, I will need your help to get something done,” said Zachariah. “You can pay
me back then.”
“I will be ready,” said Brother Rabbit.
“All right,” said Zachariah. “I’m going to land so we can let you out.”
“No need,” said the pooka. “Open the window.”
Zachariah pressed the levers to divert the jets. He slid the window out of the way.
Brother Rabbit came forward with Pearl in his arms. He threw her through the opened
window. He hopped into the sky after her. The pair circled the Rocket. The pooka
waved as the dragon circled to start climbing. Then she surged after the other racers.
Zachariah slid the window shut. He smiled as the dragon clawed at the air, chasing
the pack.
Octo roared by in his patched ship. He waved as he went by. Then he was chasing the
dragon.
“It looks like we’re last,” said Bolan. “I think we need to get a move on.”
Zachariah switched the jet. He smiled as the Rocket sped forward. He watched the
gauges as the engine clicked away in its compartment. He settled in, watching the
route map flipping along on his dashboard.
“Let’s see if we can fly out of last place,” said Zachariah.
“I doubt that,” said Bolan. “There’s no way we can boost the output of the engine.”
“There’s ways,” said Zachariah. “Let’s see if we can catch up with the others without
resorting to doing something drastic.”
The Rocket caught up with Rabbit and Pearl first. The dragon looked tired as it swam
through the air. The official resting point was far ahead. If they landed now, they
could get some rest on the ground and catch up later.
The race officials didn’t care about taking a break on a leg. They just recorded when
you landed at a checkpoint. He was sure there were some racers that never made it
around the circuit. It was up to them to report in and tell the officials what had
happened.
He passed Octo again. The other’s scratch jet was still holding on. If it blew up now,
the pilot would be on his own when he hit the ground.
Zachariah watched the spark of the Kellers’ airship drawing closer. He passed several
daemons and riders as well as he chased after the other jet. He passed a propellor
driven aircraft still hanging on. He wondered how that pilot had avoided being
stopped by the desert people.
Sir Dormir came into view. His tree rotated its branches as it sailed through the air.
He waved an acknowledgment as the Rocket whipped by. He sipped his tea as he
watched the airship chase after the lead.
Zachariah eyed the Kellers’ vehicle as he chased after it. It would be so easy to have
Gold Bug take the thing apart in midair. He smiled to himself. He was only mad that
they had passed him because of their obnoxiousness.
He put the thoughts away. He had entered the race to test the Rocket out. He was
doing it now by trying to catch up to a ship with a lead. If he could do it, he would
have something to be proud of doing.
And it would show the Kellers they weren’t as good as he and Gold Bug were.
He passed the other aircraft. He waved at the boys as he moved ahead. It looked like
he would be touching down in Riordiana first.
Zachariah watched his numbers flipping as he roared along. He was chasing the night
now. He wondered how far he would be along before the sun caught up with them.
He rubbed his eyes. He needed to get some sleep. He looked around. Bolan and Sola
were asleep at their stations. He shook his head. He looked at the map flipping along.
He could hold on for few more minutes.
They were almost across the plains leading to the coast. He should be able to see
Riordiana before the sun blotted the ground out.
He saw the ocean ahead. Riders on daemons held station. One of the riders pointed
to a cleared spot next to the bay that Festus had created with his Primrose. He brought
the Rocket in for a landing. He lowered the skids and cut the engine as soon as they
had touched down.
Now he had to report what had happened in the desert, and talk about what he had
been asked to find in the water. Then he could get some sleep until the race started
again.
He slid the window back. He looked at the daemons. They stared back.
“You’re on guard duty until I get back,” he said. “After that, the kids can take you
sightseeing.”
Knife and Hardy clacked cheerfully. Gold Bug refused to move from his shoulder.
“Going with me, buddy?,” asked Zachariah.
Gold Bug waved his antennae around.
“All right,” said Zachariah. “You two guard the ship and don’t let anybody board
her.”
Knife produced weapons and tools from his back like an angry porcupine. Anybody
trying to get onboard the Rocket would get a shock.
Zachariah climbed down the side of the Rocket. An official came forward. The man
held the official stamp in his hands.
“How do you do?,” Zachariah said.
“I need to stamp your card so I can put down the official time,” said the functionary.
“Hold on,” said Zachariah. “My daughter has the card. She’s asleep.”
“I’ll need to stamp it before any of the others come in,” said the official.
“Some of them might be delayed,” said Zachariah. “We had some trouble flying over
the Crater Desert.”
“What kind of trouble?,” asked the official.
“Some of the desert people attacked us,” said Zachariah. He climbed up inside the
Rocket. He held up his hands so that Knife wouldn’t shoot. “It’s just me.”
Zachariah walked over to where his daughter slept. He shook her gently. Her eyes
came open for a second.
“I need the card so we can be declared winners,” said Zachariah.
“Hardy has it,” Sola said. She started snoring again.
“Cough it up, Hardy,” said Zachariah. “As soon as I get this done, I can check to see
if Festus is around so we can talk to him.”
Hardy opened up his wing case so the machinist could take the card. He put it back
when he had it stamped.
“The desert people caused problems?,” said the official. “How? They can’t fly.”
“Apparently they can move things with their minds,” said Zachariah. “Luckily, we
didn’t get the brunt of it like the others. Is Festus around? I have to talk to him about
something.”
“He’s on the island,” said the official. “You won’t be able to get out there without a
pass.”
“Thank you,” said Zachariah. “I have two overenthusiastic watchdogs on the Rocket.
Knock and announce first before you try to climb aboard. They might set you on fire
by accident.”
“I’ll pass the word around,” said the official.