Maledictus Aether (5 page)

Holding it open for me, he nods
respectfully to me as I walk past before he closes it.

This room does no
t
smell as intoxicating, and is a lot quieter than the other. A
scattering of men and women sit at the booths, obviously a cut
above the rest with their wealth shining in the light.

I recognize Captain Davis sitting at the bar, so I amble
over and sit at the stool beside his. He turns his head, and
the pirate grins at me as if he has
won the world’s greatest treasure.

“
I knew my
faith in you wasn’t misplaced,” he laughs, gesturing to the
bartender. “What’s your poison? It’s on me.”

The bartender comes over, and I place an order for gin on
the rocks. With a small nod, he walks off to fill the order, and
the Captain turns in his stool to face me whil
e chuckling at the fact that it is a very
British thing for me to ask for – not that I can help it, really.
In London, it is practically in your veins.

“
So, have you
had a look at his journal?” He inquires, and I nod in affirmation,
thanking the man for the drink. “For over a decade I’ve poured over
it, with little success – I hope you’ve had a fair bit
more.”

“
I read it
from start to finish,” I reply, mixing the drink a little by
twirling it in the glass and taking a swig. It burns down my
throat, but settles pleasantly in my stomach as the pirate gapes at
me, and I look at him while arching an eyebrow. “The cipher was the
hard part, but once it was out of the way it was smooth sailing
from cover to cover.”

“
I’m not
going to lie, then. I’m impressed,” he muses, taking a swig of rum.
“Read something in the journal that changed your hesitant
mind?”

“
Something like that,”
I agree, deciding then that that is as much as I will say
on the matter. He seems to realise this, or maybe he can somehow
sense the burning fury I am keeping in check, but regardless of
that he chooses to press the matter no further.

“
So, you want
a ship and crew,” he concludes, and I nod.

“
I k
now where his
riches lie, and I have a rough estimation of where Tier is as
well,” I inform him, but again I withhold further information. This
is my quest, and mine alone – my father’s legacy, now my burden to
carry.

He laughs idly, taking another
drink, and I follow suit a moment later.

“
Well, first
we need to get you away from the Fleet before they notice you’re
gone, and you’ve got to be far away by the time they notice,”
Captain Davis states, shrugging a shoulder. “I don’t know if you’re
up for that monumental task.”

I take a gulp of my drink, and
face him.

“
When do we
begin?”

I do no
t feel as bad
as I should sneaking off in the middle of the night a day later,
leaving the hotel and making my way through the city to the docks,
where the
Calypso
is docked. The only thing with me is
my duffel and the clothes on my back, and I would not want it any
other way.

When I reach the ship I a
m hoisted up by a member of the crew, who graciously
welcomes me aboard and informs me that the Captain is waiting for
me at the helm. I thank the pirate, weaving my way through the
bodies of the able-bodied men and women working the rigging,
preparing to set sail in the hush of night.

Keeping the guardrail to my
right so that I can remain well out of the way, I find the
staircase that brings me up to the helm, ducking underneath a beam
swinging into place as they prepare the galleon-styled airship for
flight, unfurling the sails and tightening the rigging, all without
a sound so as to remain inconspicuous.

I find the Captain standing by
the helm, silently ordering his crew with hand gestures and
gesticulations. When the man catches sight of me he breaks into a
broad grin, walking over to me and throwing a strong arm around my
shoulder.

“
Once we’re in the skies, lad, we’ll get you settled in and
we’ll begin come sunup,” he
tells me, and I nod. My stomach is tying itself into knots
and stopping me from spewing the first thing that comes to mind –
whether from fear or excitement, I do not know. “Don’t worry –
you’re the second man I’ve had to smuggle away from the Forces’
clutches, and I am the only pirate sailing the skies to have done
so and lived to tell the tale.”

Oh, great. That
really
makes me feel
better.

“
I’ve a
better idea – let’s get you out of the way so you can settle
comfortably and get some shut-eye. Things might get rough as we
take off, and I’ll be more at ease knowing you’re out of sight.” I
nod again, and the man laughs lightly. “Come this way, then – I’ll
give you your father’s quarters when he was my apprentice, much
like you’ll be as we fly for Aeon.”

My eyebrows skyrocket at the name of the floating city, but
regardless of that I follow the man in the darkness of the night as
we descend below deck. The stars are our only light as we walk, but
as we enter the hull of the galleon, brass lights line the wall,
giving the interior
the
entire atmosphere it needs among the barrels, crates, hammocks and
wooden beams that help support the deck. He leads me through this
part, where I can hear a few pirates conversing out of the reaches
of the gloom, and into the next where the sleeping quarters clearly
lie.

Open doorways spill light into
these rooms filled with half a dozen hammocks, cots and crates
where they stash their belongings. We pass those without pausing,
until we reach the very end of the hall and he slips open the only
doorway that has a door thus far, gesturing to the innards with a
flourish.

“
I hope
this’ll be to your liking, lad,” Captain Davis says as I walk in,
glancing around. I leave my duffel on the ground, looking at him
briefly.

“
My father
was your apprentice?” I inquire, and the large man nods, leaning
against the frame.

“
I taught him everything I know – and he taught me quite a
bit, in his own time – before I got him a ship and a crew,” he
informs me, and I return
to
looking around the room. It is by no means extravagant, especially
when compared to the quarters I had on the
Charybdis
, but
somehow I see myself able to relax here the way I was not able to
on the Fleet’s ship. “It worked the first time – made him into the
greatest pirate who ever sailed these skies – so I fail to see the
logic in changing the system.”

“
How long was
he here?”

“
Hard to say.
The man was a quick learner, really,” he shrugs, watching me as I
trail my fingers along the walls, a small smile on my lips that
dies when my next question comes to me. “Two months, maybe
three.”

“
Why did you choose him, Captain?” I ask, turning to face
him fully. My hand still rests idly on the wall. “Why my father?
Why
me
?”

Now he grins, stepping into the
room and tipping my chin up with a hooked finger. I frown.

“
That’s the exact reason why, for both accounts,” he
replies, and here I cock my head slightly, confused. “There’s a
fire in your eyes I’ve seen in only a handful of men, a spunk in ye
that no man can deny that would make the bravest of foes kneel and
swear his loyalty. You hold yourself confidently, despite a
crippling injury that makes others mock you – if
anything; you work harder for their
respect, and to prove yourself.

“
You have the
sky in your eyes, lad, and you’re a pirate at heart – even if the
Fleet tried to reign you in. You can’t tame a pirate,” he states,
releasing my chin. “At dawn, I’ll show you exactly what the
pirate’s blood in your veins can do. For now, get some rest –
Anketin knows you’ll need it.”

“
I’m sorry –
who, now?”

“
Your first lesson, then,” he starts, grinning, and holds up
a finger. “We
Sky Pirates
have our own customs and beliefs set up here, as we’ve seen the
creatures that have made this world their home. Anketin is the
goddess of the future, and of destiny.”

I nod, and the pirate laughs
again.

“
Get some
rest, lad.” He turns to leave, swinging the door shut and pausing
just before it clicks shut. “Oh, one more thing – welcome to the
trade.”

With that said, my humble host – now my mentor, apparently
– closes the door, his heavy footsteps fading away as he climbs up
topside. I watch the wooden surface,
as if by some magical trick he will reappear, bringing with
him one of these creatures or one of these deities.

Shaking my head, I push some of
my curly hair from my eyes and cast another eye around the
room.

There i
s a
comfortable-looking hammock strung from between the curving wall of
the hull and the wall separating my quarters from the others, a
chest that is obviously meant to store my belongings, and a chair
and desk pushed along the farthest wall. There are two portholes
giving me a view of the midnight sky, stars shining brilliantly in
the gloom.

I ha
ve finished
placing my clothes and the journal in the chest when the galleon
lurches, taking to the sky with the hum of the steam engine like
music to my ears. I lose my balance for a second with the sudden
pull, but find my sky legs once more and sit on the chair, rubbing
the skin that touches the brass metal of my legs.

Looking to the porthole, I watch the stars stumble across
the skies until a yawn forces itself through, demanding my
attention. With that, I heed to the call of the hammock and pull
myself into it, sinking in the comfortable coils of the woven rope
bed and falling asleep to the swaying of the ship as it gains
altitude, le
aving behind the
height of the Skylands.

• IV
  –
  Aboard the
  Calypso
  

I wake the following morning, feeling well-rested despite
the fact that I probably got no more than six hours of sleep, and
remain in the hammock so I can stretch my arms above me, the creak
of metal from my left arm reminding me that a bit of
m
aintenance is in order if I
do not want it breaking. Same could be said for my legs.

I took it upon myself to learn
how not long after I was given the limbs, to avoid having to go
find a mechanic the moment something goes awry.

Besides, I a
m an
engineer. An artificial limb is child’s play next to a clockwork
system.

I freeze when I feel small,
claw-like feet start walking along my abdomen, suddenly aware of
the weight of whatever creature sitting on my stomach. Carefully,
so as to not startle the beast, I lift my head up enough to lock
eyes with the... lizard.

Now, I a
m no expert
on the creatures, but this particular beast watches me almost
curiously, its head slightly tipped to the side and blinking its
small beady eyes at me, thick lids opening and closing with smooth
ease. It has small spikes running all the way down its spine, and
it decides to lie down on my stomach as we both stay immobile,
waiting for the other to make the first move.

Its scales are a lovely colo
ur, though; at its head they are a sandy hue and they
darken to a deep red and brown as they go to its long
tail.

Carefully, so as to not disturb
the creature, I reach for it and pick it up. It lets me, climbing
up to my shoulder as I slip off to the ground below. For a moment I
stand there, looking at the lizard sitting on my shoulder, and it
watches me impassively, blinking lazily.

Then I notice that I a
m not alone in my room – well, aside from the
lizard.

Captain Davis sits at the
chair, watching me as I glance back and forth from him to the
creature sitting on my right shoulder, extending my arm when it
crawls over to my left shoulder and starts walking down the metal
length. When it reaches my hand, I hold out my other for it to
begin trekking up my right arm.

“
What
is
this beast?” I ask, watching it
quietly stalk back up until it comes to a full stop where it
started. When it stops, I carefully lift my right hand and stroke
the top of its head – the creature seems to close its eyes and, for
lack of a better word,
purr.

“
A lizard,”
he comments idly, watching me as I give the lizard the attention it
seeks. It rubs its head willingly against my knuckle, eyes closed
in bliss. “His name is Orin, and he’s your second
lesson.”

I look to the pirate, eyebrows
furrowing as the information throws me off.

“
How i
s a
lizard
going to teach me anything about being a pirate?” I
question, my look screaming my scepticism, and the man shakes his
head with a sigh.

“
Your father
asked me that very same question,” he states, rolling his dark
eyes. “I keep a variety of creatures aboard this ship, all with
their own freedom to roam as they please. Orin’s the last of his
breed, and he’s chosen you as his master.”