Emperor 04: Conspiracy by Lindsay Buroker

Author:Lindsay Buroker [Buroker, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, fantasy adventure, heroic fantasy, lindsay buroker, Steampunk, epic fantasy, Romance, emperors edge, swords and sorcery, fantasy series, high fantasy, assassins
Publisher: Lindsay Buroker
Published: 2012-04-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Akstyr joined Books in the dirigible’s navigation cabin. Maps were tented over levers, and open manuals sprawled across gauges, leaving little of the control panel visible. Books was hunched over it, scrutinizing the papers so hard that he didn’t notice someone had come in. Akstyr hoped there wasn’t a problem with the dirigible. The pilot had escaped while they’d been rummaging around in the mines, so there was nobody to turn to for help.

“I’ve been studying the implants,” Akstyr said. “It’s hard because they try to leap into your skin when you touch them. It’s real dangerous of me even to look at them, but I’ve got some ideas.”

He waited for a response—he wouldn’t have minded a little praise or encouragement for taking on the difficult task—Books didn’t acknowledge him.

Whatever. Akstyr sat down in the co-pilot’s chair. Darkness had come hours earlier, and he couldn’t see much outside the forward window. After a few minutes, Books stood tall, his head nearly brushing the ceiling, and rubbed the back of his neck. He yawned, spotted Akstyr, and jumped in surprise, cracking his head on the low ceiling.

“You didn’t notice me come in?” Akstyr asked. “Truly? Sicarius would have yelled at you. Well, not yelled but glared in that icy ball-withering way of his.”

“Probably true.”

“You figure out why those stowaways were lurking in our engine room?”

“I have several hypotheses, and none of them would be good for the team. There’s little we can do about it now.” Books rubbed his lips and frowned at the papers as if they were wayward students, running around one of his classrooms and ignoring his teachings. “I believe we’ve arrived at our destination in the Scarlet Pass.”

“Then why do you look so worried?”

Books leaned forward and peered into the darkness below. “Landing on a mountain ledge in the dark presents a challenge.”

“You landed us by the mine.”

“In a flat, stump-filled field with good visibility, yes,” Books said.

“If you crash, the blasting sticks will probably blow us up.”

“If I crash... it probably won’t matter.”

Akstyr leaned forward to peer out the window. Night had fallen, and snow drifted from the dark sky. He could make out the white tips of mountains in the background and a cliff nearby—a big cliff. What might have been railway tracks ran along a ledge on the cliff. To the side, the ground dropped away into a canyon. Nothing looked like a promising landing spot for a dirigible.

“Wait, why do we have to land?” Akstyr asked.

Books was muttering something about a lack of running lights, and he started to glare at Akstyr—he probably had a lecture on his lips—but he paused thoughtfully. “That’s... actually a good point.”

“You needn’t sound shocked.”

“Go see if there’s some rope on board. I think I can hover in place while you climb down to the ground and set the explosives.”

“Nice of you to volunteer me for that.” Akstyr had been thinking along those lines anyway, but didn’t like someone assuming he wanted to risk himself.

“I have the most experience piloting the ship, so it’s logical for me to stay here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.