Blazing Blunderbuss (Wyvern Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  Hara was shoved out of the tavern. She swore at the men and ducked when they threw her glider at her. It clattered on the cobblestones of the alleyway and she went to see if they had damaged it. The door to the tavern shut and she was left alone in an empty alleyway. She was glad she had convinced them that no matter their desire for her, she would be more trouble than pleasure.

  Hara ran her hands over the wooden sides of the glider case. The box was scratched but was still in good shape. A door opened further down the alleyway and two men shoved another man out. He had his hands tied in front of him, so he stumbled and regained his balance.

  He turned to the two men and said, “Hey, I’m delicate here. There’s no need to be so shovey and pushy. Remember, I’m just a professor. I don’t have a weapon. I’m not going to hurt you, so you don’t have to be so…so violent. And with all this movement I really don’t want to see my dinner again. No matter how lovely it was.”

  He tried to smooth his hair away from his face, but with his hands tied together it was an awkward action. The man looked like a fop and he certainly didn’t fit in with the Roshian commoners who were holding him captive. The Roshians were also armed to the teeth—though being armed was not surprising in a smugglers’ port.

  Hara hesitated. She hated fops. They were less than useless. She really shouldn’t get into this. She needed to find a way out of the town and eventually find a permanent berth. She didn’t need to get into fights with random Roshians. She sighed, because she knew it really didn’t matter. She had a thing for trouble, to the point that she wondered some days whether it was hereditary.

  Hara called out, “Hey, I don’t think the toff wants to go with you guys!”

  All of them turned to her. The prisoner motioned with his tied hands to shoo her away and said, “That is awfully sweet of you to say that, but these guys aren’t about to play nice. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt or anything. As long as they remember I’m delicate, I’ll be fine. Especially if they remember to use silk next time.” He grinned as if it was merely a game of sorts and he wasn’t being kept as a prisoner.

  At least he was a decent guy. That made it almost a good idea to help him. Almost. She came closer and dropped her glider on the ground. It would be easier to move without it.

  One of the Roshian men said, “Get lost, malenkaya devotshka. This is not your problem.”

  Hara replied in Rosh. “I’m afraid I have the bad habit of making things my problem.”

  One of the Roshian men held the prisoner so he wouldn’t escape and the other pulled out a large Barker Iron. There were more sophisticated weapons on the market, but it was big enough to put a pretty large hole in her. The Barkers were a favorite of Roshian revolutionaries, to the point that the revolutionaries were called Rosh Barkers after their weapon of choice.

  Hara stepped closer. “If you let him go, no one has to be hurt.”

  The two Roshian men looked at each other in confusion. The one with the gun turned to her and said, “You do realize there are two of us and only one of you.”

  Hara grinned with her hands spread out to appear harmless. “I know. It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Maybe if I tie one of my hands behind my back it might even the odds.”

  She took another step forward and the men still hadn’t tried anything. Maybe going around as a girl without a disguise was a good idea. If she had been dressed as a boy she would have been attacked already.

  Hara waved her hands as she spoke. “I mean, you can’t even call for help. This alleyway is completely deserted. I doubt the people in the tavern will even rouse if they hear a small scuffle out here.”

  There, she was close enough. She used the waving of her hands to disguise her movement and took the final step she needed to get close enough to the gun-waving Roshian.

  Hara moved fast. Setting her feet apart for stability, she knocked his gun aside and stepped into his guard. She pulled her arm back and slammed the ball of her palm into the man’s throat. He doubled over and she helped him over a little further into her knee. He grunted and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

  The other Roshian fumbled for his gun, but his prisoner saw the opportunity for escape and started to struggle. Hara grabbed the Roshian’s gun. She slammed the metal handle on the man’s face and knocked him out.

  Now that she had dealt with the Roshians she turned back down the alley and picked up her glider.

  The fop followed her and said, “Thank you for that. The rescue I mean.” He waved with his tied hands to indicate the alleyway and the downed men.

  Hara shrugged. “You don’t happen to have a spare airship available?”

  He shook his head. “I’m looking for one though. We can look for one together.”

  Hara picked up her pace as she said, “That’s nice for you. But I think we might be better off on our own.”

  She certainly would be better off without a fop following her around. She headed out of the alley and down the street. The fop followed. He worked the knots out of his restraints with his teeth as he skipped to keep up with her.

  Hara looked up and saw the airships floating above the town. She might not be able to get a job on one of them, but she knew enough about airships to stow away. And she needed to get out of town before the men she had knocked out woke up and informed the others. Only an idiot would make enemies of the Rosh Barkers and stick around to see what they would do about it.

  Hara picked up her pace, but the fop managed to keep up with her. She bet he would still keep up with her even if she was sprinting. She stopped at the wooden palisades which marked out the boundary around the port. There were large rocks with metal pins lined up in a row. The ships were tied to these anchors. Men milled around or lounged on stools at the base of their ships or on the decks of their ships. There were large wooden crates piled up around the edge of the port ready to be loaded. There were always a lot of people around anchored ships, mostly to load cargo.

  Hara moved for the crates and crouched down behind them. She peeked over the top to look at the different ships. There were five floating above the large field. The one closest to them was a sleek runner. It wouldn’t have a large cargo hold, but it would be fast. The ship was also armed. Large guns were mounted on the sides and there were ports hiding other armory.

  This was most likely a pirate rather than a smuggler. A little more dangerous, even for this town. The guard was asleep, but she dismissed the ship as too much trouble. If she was discovered on it, she would be killed rather than dumped overboard at a low altitude or over water. Though a beautiful ship, she would have to pick another ride if she wanted to avoid trouble.

  The fop flopped down next to her where she was hiding behind the crates. He said, “You’re very agile. I could hardly keep up with you. I like that.”

  Hara glared at him and said, “That was the point. I told you I thought we should split up.”

  But the fop seemed oblivious to the bite in her tone. He popped his head up over the crates, then back down just as quickly.

  He asked, “Which one are you going for?”

  Hara looked over the top of the crates again. The only one which had a distracted guard was a large-bellied hopper. It was made for short trips. Good for smuggling along the border. The guard was trying to talk a girl into spending some time with him. It would be an easy task to sneak past him and climb the ladder hanging from the deck of the ship.

  Hara was just about to move for the hopper when a commotion at the gate of the port made her glance that way. There were several Rosh Barkers pushing their way past people. She swore and ducked down again.

  She turned to the fop and said, “You just made things very difficult.”

  He glanced over the top and said, “Mmm, those men again. I’m afraid they chased all the girls away as well.”

  Hara hoped he wasn’t right when she looked over the crates again. The girl the guard had been sweet talking was gone, and the guard had pulled out his gun as the Roshian men went around lookin
g for the fop. She swore.

  “The guy over there is still asleep,” said the fop, as he gazed over at the sleek runner. “He sure does have a pretty ship. Almost as pretty as you are.” He flashed her a grin but didn’t expect anything from his flirting, as he was already looking at the ship again.

  The sleek runner would be a possibility, except that the Rosh Barkers would see them going for it before they could complete the climb. They wouldn’t be able to hide away until the ship had left on its own, like she had wanted to do before. Besides, the runner was still a pirate, and the crew wouldn’t be very forgiving.

  Hara was about to hide again to make a new plan when the fop moved. He went for the ship. Crouched low, he dashed across the empty space between the crates and the anchor the ship was tied to. The guard didn’t even stir as the fop started climbing the rope.

  The Rosh Barkers yelled as they spotted him, and she swore. That fop was going to get her killed. She shouldn’t have rescued him in the first place. She had known he was trouble when she had seen him. Well, she thought, in for a penny, in for a pound.

  Hara ran and threw a few flash bangs into the crowd. There was yelling and smoke as they exploded. There were also gun shots, but with the smoke, they were shooting blind. She went by memory into the smoke. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished she had the time to put on some goggles.

  Hara felt for the rope and cut it with a knife once she had a firm grip. She was yanked off her feet by the buoyancy of the runner. Swinging, she climbed up the rope. The fop was more agile than she could have imagined, as he was already pulling himself up onto the runner and over the railing.

  There was still a chance there were people on board. It was rare for a ship to be left in port without even a single sentry, even if they had someone set up on the ground. The fop had no weapon and no chance against a pirate sentry.

  Hara climbed faster. At the top she pulled herself on board. It was difficult as people weren’t supposed to access the airship from the anchor.

  She jolted when someone flew past her. The man thunked on the ground below. He groaned and started to move, so they weren’t high enough to kill anyone by throwing them overboard.

  Hara turned to see the fop dusting off his hands. She yelled, “You could have killed him!”

  The fop glanced over the edge and said, “He lived? What a pity.”

  She shook her head. The man was crazy. Maybe she should have left him with the Rosh Barkers. She heard a commotion and saw that she and the fop had been discovered by another crewman.

  The crewman said, “Hey, what are you guys…” He stepped back when she pulled a gun on him. He must not have been armed, because he quickly surrendered. He put his hands up and said, “Hey, no need to get all violent here. If you want to take the ship I’m up for it.”

  Hara looked the man over. He was covered in soot and was probably the man who stoked the boiler. He was scrawny and there was a bruise half-hidden by the soot on his cheek. She narrowed her eyes as she took in his appearance. This man wasn’t a pirate.

  The fop came forward and patted the man on the shoulder. “Perfect. We’ll need a crew.”

  Hara glared at the fop. How did he think they would work a ship that usually had a dozen men to fly it?

  The man looked at her and the fop and asked, “So who’s in charge?”

  The fop said, “Don’t look at me. She is. I don’t do leading. Too much responsibility for me.” He wriggled his fingers to indicate he didn’t want to get his hands messy.

  Hara rolled her eyes. The fop passed by the crewman and wandered further into the ship. The crewman watched him go then looked at her. She put her gun away and the man didn’t seem inclined to fight.

  Hara asked, with a nod to the bruise on his cheek, “Did you they treat you all right?”

  The man shrugged. “As good as can be expected. They could have killed me when they took my ship, but they kept me because they were short a few men and needed someone to stoke the fires.”

  He would be all right. She had heard this story before and it told her what she had suspected—that this had been a pirate ship.

  She said, “I’m Hara. What is the name of this ship?”

  “The Blazing Blunderbuss,” the man answered.

  She shook her head at the ridiculous name of the ship. It could be worse; at least the name didn’t denigrate women.

  The crewman followed her as she went further into the ship.

  He asked, “What do you intend to do, Captain?”

  Hara glanced at the man. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Henry, sir. I used to be a cook on an empire cargo ship.”

  Hara moved rapidly through the ship. “Well, Henry, I don’t really have any plans. But that crazy fop seems to attract trouble, so I hope we don’t end up dead after all this.”

  Henry looked to where the fop had disappeared and asked, “Who is he?”

  Hara shrugged. “No idea, but I think I should find out.” She made it to the bridge and turned to Henry and said, “Stoke up the boilers. I think we might need some power, and very soon.”

  Henry disappeared and she turned to the fop, who stared out the window of the bridge. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact he had just stolen a pirate ship.

  Hara yelled, “What the blazes were you thinking? This is a pirate ship. We’ll have more than the Roshians on our tails after this.”

  He turned to look at her and said, “I suppose so, but I thought the ship was just going to waste. Ain’t she a beauty? The crew obviously didn’t appreciate her. Just leaving her there with hardly any crew at all.” He smoothed a hand over the polished wood frame around the window.

  “Her name is the Blazing Blunderbuss,” Hara stated.

  He grinned, flashing white teeth. “What an awful name. See, I was right. They don’t appreciate her. You’ll be a better captain for her. Maybe give her a better name. Though I do like that it’s an alliteration.”

  What delusions must he have floating in his head to think that I want to be captain of a pirate ship? thought Hara. “But I’m not a captain,” she said.

  He blinked gold eyes at her as he asked incredulously, “Why not?”

  Hara threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. Why was she arguing with a madman anyway? She ignored him and went to the wheel. With a glance at the charts she set the wheel and turned back to the fop.

  He was staring at her and said, “See, you are perfect!”

  Hara glanced back at the charts and said, exasperated. “Only a moron wouldn’t be able to read charts.”

  He came up to the charts and said, “That’s true, but these are all in code. A lovely code. Look, it doesn’t even use letters.” He traced his fingers over the charts.

  She snorted and said, “A common code, and though lovely, it’s simple. It has to be. Pirates aren’t the brightest of cookies. Anyone who has spent even a modicum of time on an airship will be able to read these.”

  He looked over the charts again and glanced at the window, ignoring her argument. “So where are we going, Captain?” he asked instead.

  Hara growled. “I’m not a captain. I’m Hara, I’m just an engineer.”

  He flashed her a grin and said, “A cute engineer.”

  She huffed, her eyes going to the heavens and asking the gods for patience. “This is not the time to flirt. We could have pirates on our tails and Rosh Barkers wanting to kidnap you again.”

  His eyes sparked and he asked, “You think I’m flirting with you?”

  Hara narrowed her eyes. “This is not the time.”

  He said with a lopsided smile, “Gideon. My name is Gideon. Is Hara your full name, or is it a nickname? Harrrra, Harrrra.” He rolled the “r” and played with it on his tongue.

  She had had enough of this. She stalked up to him and said, “I didn’t save you because I thought you were cute or because I liked you.”

  He didn’t seem intimidated at all by her tone or proximity. He stared at her with
his gold eyes. “Then why did you save me?”

  Hara sighed. “Because, apparently, I’m a sucker. Now go find something useful to do. I have to get us out of here before the original owners of the Blazing Blunderbuss track down another ship to come after us.”

  Gideon shrugged at her suggestion and asked, “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  She answered with a defeated tone. “Home. I’m going home.” And apparently she was taking a madman with her.

  Gideon looked over the terrain. He had been here many years ago when he had first come to this planet. It had seemed so lush and green compared to the fireball he had left behind.

  All the dragons on planet Earth were refugees. They had left their own planet because it had come too close to a comet and was mostly a wasteland of fire. When it was deemed that their world was dying, all their scientists had gotten together. They had come up with two plans.

  One was to dig into the crust of the planet and live underground. Since they were a race of flyers, many had deemed that a fate worse than death. The females had embraced this plan more than the males, as they were used to laying eggs in caves and feeling the earth all around them.

  The other plan was for them to abandon the planet altogether and leave for another plane. They had some success going to places which were similar to their own by using elements which were common to both realms. After the comet had destroyed their planet the scientists had scrambled for these elements. In the end they had used petrified wood and the horn of an animal. They had brought the dragons here.

  Most of the dragons who had come to Earth had been male, as the females had stayed behind with a few males who could breed with them. When Gideon had come here he had thought he was giving up his chance for family and adding a female to his collection. Most of the other dragons had been bitter and had attacked the humans. If they could not procreate, then they could at least collect.

  Gideon had come for the sky.

  He turned to look at Hara. She was working with the log books left by the previous owners. Maybe he could do some collecting of his own, after all. He had heard of the others bonding with humans, and it allowed them to fully come to this plane. That meant breeding with a human woman and having children; a dream many of his kind had abandoned when they had come here many years ago.