CHAPTER 49
Lizanne
“Get them all up!” Lizanne shouted as she sprinted towards the Typhoon, the other aerostat crews all running across the Redoubt’s courtyard to where their craft waited. Tekela was already strapping herself into the pilot’s seat when Lizanne clambered inside. Morva and the three gunners followed in short order. The top gunner climbed the ladder to her station in the upper cupola as the others prepared their guns and Tekela tilted the engines toward the ground, simultaneously opening the throttles to take off.
Lizanne slotted one of her three remaining Redballs into the chamber of her Smoker, positioning herself at the rear port hatch, gaze fixed on the top of the Redoubt wall as the Typhoon rose, expecting the Reds to appear at any moment. Instead they ascended into an empty sky, the reason becoming obvious as the walls fell away beneath them. The Red swarm was streaming by a half-mile distant, keeping out of range of the repeating guns as they flew over the coast and banked towards the Varestian fleet in a dense crimson mass.
“They’re going for the ships!” she called to Tekela, moving to the blood-burner’s ignition tube. “Take us east. Maximum speed. Morva, trance with the Hurricane and the Whirlwind, tell them to form up alongside.”
She waited until she could see the two aerostats through the port and starboard windows then injected Red and put her eye to the ignition tube, lighting the thermoplasmic engine. She managed to catch hold of the central support beam before the instant acceleration sent her flying and hauled herself forward to stand at Tekela’s shoulder.
She could see the ships already firing at the oncoming Reds, the diminishing space between them lined with criss-crossing tracer and exploding cannon shells. White splashes pock-marked the sea beneath the swarm as drake after drake fell to the guns, but it was clear no amount of fire-power would stem their charge, there were just too many. The ships closest to shore were blotted from view as the horde of Reds swept over them, Lizanne seeing others diving onto the neighbouring ships, talons opening to deposit Greens on their decks. Within seconds the entire fleet was obscured by the multitude of drakes, Lizanne catching sight of explosions blossoming beneath as ships began to fall victim to the assault.
“There,” Lizanne said, pointing to the densest part of the drake horde. “Take us straight through.”
“Swarmers?” Tekela asked, hand poised to trigger the firing mechanism for the rockets. There were four switches, one for each row of ten Swarmers fitted to the underside of the gondola.
“Not yet,” she said. “Let’s see if we can get some to follow us. We need to take the pressure off the fleet.”
A trio of Reds spotted the aerostats as they approached, peeling away from the flock to fly directly into their path. Tekela pulled the switch fitted to the top of the main control lever, triggering the forward guns and blasting the lead Red from the sky. The stream of bullets tore the wing of another, sending it spiralling down into the sea, but the third dodged aside, banking hard to assail them from the side only to be cut in two by a burst from the starboard gunner.
All guns aboard began firing as they tore into the central mass of the swarm, the hull resounding with the thud of colliding drakes and the windscreen becoming so spattered with blood Tekela had to engage the mechanical wipers. Lizanne rushed back to the rear port hatch, rapid firing her Smoker at the drakes flashing by the opening. Then they were through, the windows showing clear sky.
Lizanne turned to the rear window, letting out a relieved sigh at the sight of the Hurricane and Whirlwind following close behind. The Hurricane appeared undamaged but she could see smoke streaming from the Whirlwind’s port engine. Beyond them she was gratified to see a large number of Reds, wings blurring as they laboured in pursuit.
“Blood-burner off,” she told Tekela. “Turn us around and make ready to fire the Swarmers.”
The Typhoon slowed then tilted as Tekela killed their forward speed and reversed the propeller on the starboard engine, spinning them around. Lizanne saw the Hurricane and Whirlwind following suit, forming up on either side as Tekela put the Typhoon into a hover. Lizanne went forward, peering through the blood-streaked window at the fast-approaching pack of Reds. It was hard to judge the distance but she had little doubt they were now in range.
“Fire half only,” she told Tekela who lost no time in flicking two of the switches on the firing mechanism. There was no recoil from the rockets, the Typhoon rising a little due to the reduced weight as the Swarmers shot from underneath the gondola, smoke trails overlapping to describe a complex pattern in the sky. Seeing the danger, the formation of pursuing Reds began to break apart but were unable to avoid the unpredictable trajectory of the Swarmers. Multiple explosions ripped through the drakes, sending dozens plummeting down. The survivors veered left and right only to fly into the rockets launched by the Hurricane and the Whirlwind. Within seconds the sky to the front of the Typhoon was clear of drakes.
“Well,” Tekela said, “that worked.”
Lizanne lowered her gaze to the battle raging below. She counted five ships alight and apparently adrift whilst battles seemed to be raging on several more as the crews fought the Greens that had been dropped onto their decks. However, most vessels appeared undamaged and were maintaining a blizzard of Growler and Thumper fire at the Reds, the waters around them dotted with numerous dead or dying drakes. Satisfying as this was, Lizanne also took note of the fact that whilst the battle raged, no ship was firing its main guns towards the shore.
“Take us up,” she ordered.
Tekela angled the engines to ninety degrees, putting the Typhoon into a rapid ascent, Lizanne watching in dismay as the Redoubt came fully into view. Cannon were firing all along the fortified ridge, shells trailing smoke as they slammed into the mass of Greens and Spoiled assaulting the second trench line. The attacking army resembled a dark tide on a stormy two-moon night as it washed against a harbour wall, the waves inching closer to overwhelming the barrier with every passing heave.
“Re-engage the blood-burner,” she told Tekela. “Head for the Redoubt.”
She turned, intending to tell Morva to trance with the Blood-blessed in the other aerostats, but finding her distracted, frowning as she squinted at something to the east.
“He’s a big bastard,” she said, hefting her mini-Growler. “Think I might be able to get him from here.”
Lizanne went to her side, tracking the direction of the Growler’s multiple barrels to see a very large drake flying towards the fleet. In the haze beyond she could make out the outline of a ship. It was an unusual design, her hull lacking paddles and leaving a broad wake as she headed towards the shore.
“Don’t!” she said, pushing Morva’s mini-Growler aside and sending the stream of tracer arcing into the sea. She could see him now, a figure perched on the drake’s back, a drake with black scales instead of red.
“Tekela!” she called out. “Change of course!”