“Belldorn sent two of her mighty warships to protect Bollwerk. With their assistance,” Archibald said as he placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder, “we fought off a fleet of Ballern’s destroyers. I sent our warships to free Dauchen from Fel’s grasp, and Dauschen sent its men here to free you.” Archibald squeezed Cage’s shoulder before he stepped forward and settled his hands on the shoulders of Jacob and Alice. “And you, Ancorans, have fought from the beginning.”
Archibald paused, and barely a whisper rose. “We have all suffered loss.” He raised his arms to the south. “Our cities. Our friends. Our family. But we must persist, for if the rumors are true—and I assure you we
will
discover the truth—Ballern has three dozen more destroyers.”
Whispers and cries went up around the courtyard. Declarations of an inevitable fate for the Northlands, the end of Ancora, and the failure of the trade alliance.
Jacob’s gaze followed the ring of bystanders. He saw fear and resignation, and it felt as though the light of Ancora had gone out. It was an awful thing. Jacob laced his fingers through Alice’s and squeezed.
Archibald studied the crowd, looking for something, or someone. “Princess,” he said as he held out his hand and gestured to the watchtower.
Jacob turned and almost cried when he saw Samuel standing beside Bessie with a very bandaged George, and Gladys.
She walked forward with George. Gladys had cleaned some of the blood from her face since last Jacob had seen her, but it was still obvious, and her chest was stained red.
Gladys stopped beside Alice and laced their fingers together. Archibald held out his hand. Gladys took it with her free hand and joined him in the center of the guards.
“This, my friends, is Gladys, Princess of Midstream. You all know the story of that lost city, crushed by rampaging Mechs, only to be terrorized by warlords and plagued by the fears many of our cities harbored for their differences.”
Gladys looked sad, and Jacob wanted to hug her and remind her that he and Alice didn’t feel that way. George seemed downright normal next to Drakkar, and hell, they even liked Drakkar quite a lot. Jacob glanced up at the Cave Guardian beside him, a man who had fought for a city full of people who feared him.
“The last of Midstream’s royalty now lives within the walls of Bollwerk.” The boom of Archibald’s amplified voice drew all the attention of the courtyard back to him. “It is my intention to help them rebuild, and become stronger.”
Gladys no longer looked sad. She looked stunned.
“The reconstruction efforts are already under way in Dauschen,” Archibald said. “In time, their medicines will flow freely between the cities once more.”
The crowd grew louder, talking amongst themselves.
Archibald raised his voice. “Ballern would make ashes of us all. Our peoples would be lost to history. The Northlands
must
stand together!” Archibald’s calm, placid tone cracked, and a passion appeared that Jacob hadn’t seen in the man before. “We must drive back out any aggressors! We’ll need Cave,” he said, landing a heavy hand on Drakkar’s shoulder, “and Belldorn, and Ancora, and
all
of the Northlands to stand as one. If we do not, our very country will be lost to Ballern’s warmongers.
Small cheers and a round of shouts started around the courtyard. A few dissenters cast an understandable doubt on Archibald’s claims.
“Know this …” His voice fell to almost a whisper, and then the passion returned.
“I will not leave Ancora in ruins. I will help my friends rebuild and raise the walls once more. Your gates will be restored. The Lowlands will be rebuilt, and with our armies at each other’s sides, Ballern will fall!
“So I ask you, people of Ancora, will you stand with me? Will you fight to restore your home?”
Goosebumps marched down Jacob’s arms as more people shouted, coming forward to pledge their support of Archibald and his mad plan. And there, in the middle of it all, stood a Spider Knight and his mount. Samuel slid the halberd from Bessie’s saddle and took a knee, his bandaged arm showing signs of fresh blood.
The Spider Knight took a deep breath and shouted, “Aye! My blade is yours!”
Half the courtyard echoed Samuel, and Archibald visibly relaxed. Gladys cried beside the man, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“This will not be an easy journey, my friends, but we will have a better world when it is done. The gates will be rebuilt. You will all be safe inside the Highlands this night. These fine soldiers from Belldorn will help support the remaining Spider Knights and the few knights left behind still loyal to Ancora.”
“Thank you.” A rumble of agreement rounded the courtyard.
“It is the least I can do,” Archibald said. “Gather what leaders you trust. There is a great deal of planning ahead.”
He clicked the button on his collar, and the static-laden buzz from the Porcupine died away.
“You’re going to rebuild Midstream?” Gladys asked, her voice shaking and cracked.
“Yes. It should have been done half a century ago. I am sorry I allowed the warlords to rule the deserts, Princess.”
Gladys curtsied and took a hesitant step toward Archibald. When he opened his arms, she launched herself at him. Archibald looked up at Drakkar. His gaze trailed to Samuel and Alice, and the injured George being helped forward by Smith. Finally he turned to Jacob.
“Charles would be proud.”
T
he Porcupine was
a monstrous ship. Every corridor seemed as wide as the Skysworn, and every room they passed large enough to fit twenty soldiers. Archibald led them through the heart of the warship, and Jacob wanted to stop and study the mass of gauges and levers and valves clustered around the largest boiler he’d ever seen.
Smith paused and whistled. “Archibald, where are you taking us? I would rather like to stop and speak with the engineers in this place.”
The Speaker glanced over his shoulder. “You’ll have time, Smith. For now, come with me. It’s important.”
No one spoke for some time. Jacob kept his fingers laced together with Alice’s. Samuel stayed behind to be looked at by some of Archibald’s medics, and George.
“Here,” Archibald said, pushing through a thin bronze door.
The room beyond bathed them in a dim golden light. Jacob let go of Alice’s hand and followed her into that shadowed space before freezing in his tracks. On the far wall stood a Steamsworn fist the equal of Gareth Cave.
“Gods …” Smith said. “From Belldorn?”
Archibald nodded. “I was surprised myself. The tinkers you met? They’d been carrying the mantle of the Steamsworn for decades. Taught by Targrove.”
Jacob looked up at Smith, and the man’s eyes were red.
Smith rubbed at his face. “I did not know. No one ever told us, or I would have stayed. I could have helped them with so much …”
“You can help them now,” Archibald said. “You and your new apprentice.” He nodded at Jacob. “If you’re planning to take him on, of course.”
Smith smiled and laughed with tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. “Gods yes. A proper trade … an alliance with Belldorn, and a Steamsworn apprentice. I would be honored.”
“He’s not Steamsworn yet,” Archibald said as he stepped away from the fist. “But this is as good as any cave for that old oath. Do you know the oath, Jacob?”
Jacob nodded. “I do. Alice does too.”
“I’m not a Biomech,” Alice said.
Gladys stepped up beside her. “Doesn’t matter. You don’t have to be a Biomech to take the oath.” She pulled her hair up into a bun and looked down, exposing the nape of her neck. A Steamsworn fist stood etched into her skin, a tattoo that would stay with her to the grave and beyond.
“I have not sworn in an oath taker in some fifteen years,” Archibald said. “There comes a time when you don’t want to set foot into Gareth Cave ever again. But here, inside one of the warships of Belldorn, welcoming new Steamsworn to the fold feels right, like a new beginning. If you would join us, take the oath.”
Jacob looked at Alice. His question didn’t need to be said aloud. She nodded. Jacob took a deep breath and stepped toward the Steamsworn fist. He’d read
The Dead Scourge
enough to memorize half the book, and the oath was something he’d never forget. He started with the first word, and Alice joined.
Through the black we ride once more
Within the flames our fortune’s told
The gates of Hell lie broken wide
Within the steam, no hold abides
Feared and cast upon the stones
We fight to save the sacred lives
When all is done and all are safe
Find me in that Steamsworn grave
Archibald nodded. “Welcome to the Steamsworn.”
Tears rolled down Jacob’s cheek at the end. Alice sniffed and wiped her eyes. He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Maybe it was the honor of joining the Steamsworn, or knowing that Charles and Smith and so many others had taken that same oath, or the tears in his eyes, but the fist seemed to glow brighter.
“There is a power vacuum now,” Archibald said. “With the Butcher and most of Parliament dead, there will be more than one person who tries to take control of the reconstruction. Ballern will send its spies to infiltrate our alliance.”
“More fighting,” Jacob said once the words sank in.
Archibald nodded. “It’s likely. I won’t lie to you. It’s going to be a long and trying time. This city is going to need people who are loyal to it. More loyal to it than any paid politician could ever be. The Northlands’ alliances will take work as well. We have a great deal of history to overcome.”
“A small task for the Steamsworn,” Drakkar said. He slapped Jacob and Alice on the back in turn.
A heavy hand slammed down on Jacob’s shoulder, and he turned to find Smith. “I can stay in Ancora for a time. Help with the reconstruction while we start your apprenticeship.”
“Oh really?” a voice said from the hall behind them.
“Mary!” Alice said before hopping toward the airship captain and crushing her in a hug.
“You found a place to land?” Archibald asked.
She nodded and said, “Once the courtyard cleared out a bit. We’ll need a proper airship dock here if I’m going to ferry you and the kids all over the Northlands, Smith.”
“And in Midstream.” Gladys gave Archibald a beaming smile.
“Yes,” Archibald said with a smile. “You’ll need airship docks too, Princess.”
“We need to go to Cave,” Jacob said. “My parents might still be there.”
“I would be honored to help you look,” Drakkar said.
Archibald extended his fist to Jacob. “Then we part ways as allies, and friends.”
Jacob wrapped his fingers around Archibald’s hand. The Speaker nodded, turned to Alice, and extended his fist again.
“At journey’s end, come find me in Bollwerk. We have a great deal of planning to do.” Archibald traded grips with Smith and Drakkar, and hugged a surprised-looking Mary. “Farewell, friends.”
He walked out of the room and disappeared down a dim hallway. Smith led the rest of them back the way they’d come. Eventually the hold opened wide before them.
“What now?” Alice asked.
Jacob laced his fingers into hers. “Another journey.”
Alice looked to the south. The flames were almost high enough to mimic a sunrise in the early morning.
They left the Castle behind.
Eric is a former bookseller, guitarist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers. For more about Eric, see
www.ericrasher.com
.