Beyond the Endless Sky

Chapter 18

Rivers of white mist fell into a gaping chasm in the face of The Ruins. The passing of an island the size of a city dragged the mists with it, creating a gaping maw trying to swallow whatever approach. And even from miles away, safely ensconced in the bridge of the ship, Clarissa could hear the roar of colliding boulders, and the groan of breaking rocks.

And into this storm of stone the Ravens' Child descended.

"Still a chance to back away," Captain Locklear said. The captain was standing in front of the bridge, almost close enough to touch the massive window that took up most of the ship's bow. His left hand rested on the pommel of the sword at his hip, and his right was holding a pocket watch. The only sign of his nervousness that Clarissa could see was the thumb of his left hand slowly rubbing the metal guard of the sword. "But that door is closing fast."

It wasn't Clarissa he was speaking to. Above and to her right, Tonya held the Child's wheel in a grip so steady iron might have envied it. "We'll make it, captain. All I needed was sleep, coffee, and smoke," she replied, and gestured to the lidded mug floating in the air next to her.

Clarissa grinned, seeing the mug drift in a slow spiral a foot away from Tonya's head. She found herself envying the ways the crew of the Ravens' Child took advantage of the weak gravity beyond the inner isles.

"Mercy and Leslie are already standing by on the top deck," the captain said, pointing straight above his head. "They have signal flares and smoke canisters aplenty, and the Banshee's prepped. Anita's in engineering, fire's been over-stoked to give you as much power in the propellers as the Child can give."

The captain smiled, shifted his googles up onto his forehead, and tied his scarf in place. "I'll be up top, directing the others and keeping watch. Tonya Hughes, the bridge is yours."

Tonya nodded solemnly.

The captain marched off in that awkward walk of someone wearing boots with magnets set into the soles. He reached the door, turned back, and added, "I will take crashing as a personal slight. Run my ship on the rocks and we stop being friends."

"That's cruel, captain."

"Don't hit the rocks, then," the captain said. But he was smiling as he stepped through the door and shut it behind him.

Tonya twisted in position and turned her head towards one of the nearby speaking tubes. There were several here, all long steel tubes that connected to various places on the ship. Clarissa recognized the one Tonya had turned to as the one leading to engineering. "Anita, how's the engine?"

"Purring happily. I'm going to run her pretty hot for the next few hours. She should keep up with anything you put us through," a voice shouted back through the tube.

"Glad to hear it," Tonya said. She pushed one of the brass levers forward, and her eyes rested on a nearby set of dials. "Increasing to two-thirds speed, prepping peripherals for frequent, intermittent use. And Anita, don't be bashful about any kind of engine trouble. Captain threatened to end our friendship if I crashed his ship."

"I have to second that," Anita replied through the tube. "Spent a good lot of my waking life working on this engine. You break it, I'd be mighty upset. Wouldn't even let you eat the cake at my birthday."

Clarissa, in the meantime, decided to step up to the window, to see as much as she could. She leaned over the rails in front of the massive window and tried to look to her left. "Are those pirate ships still following us?"

"Corsairs, kid," Tonya replied. "They're called corsairs. Pirates wouldn't try to take on a ship like the Child. And that's something I'll ask the captain in a minute, once he confirms he's on the top deck."