Zach Brenner's Arc

Chapter 36 of 86

At first light the airship lifted from Fairhaven. The sleek hull climbed above the harbor, brass fittings catching the dawn. Talon stood at the wheel, guiding the ship south toward the swamp where Geneva waited. Zach gripped the rail and watched the coast fall away. Ahead lay open sky. Below lay the southern wetlands, and somewhere down there Malachar's forces might be watching. Zach had no way to know if eyes tracked them from the ground. "We're exposed up here," Zach said. "If Malachar has men in the south, they'll see us coming for miles." Talon didn't turn from the wheel. His long black hair whipped in the wind. "Then we don't fly high," he said. He pushed the ship down until they skimmed the treetops. "I know this land. Stay low and the marsh mist hides us." Lyra knelt at the bow. She pressed her palms flat to the deck. Her elven gift reached down through the wood, searching the ground below for heartbeats. "I feel movement," she said. "East of us. A dozen men, maybe more. They're camped near open water." She looked up, her purple eyes sharp. "They haven't seen us. The mist is thick over there." Talon banked the ship west, away from the camp. Zach let out a breath. Lyra kept her hands on the deck, calling out every cluster of heartbeats she found. Twice more Talon changed course to slip past patrols. The Aether Skimmer threaded through fog and reed, silent as a hawk. No horn sounded below. No arrow rose to meet them. By midday the water spread wide beneath a broken canopy. Lyra sat back on her heels. "One heartbeat now," she said. "Alone. Straight ahead in the deep marsh." She smiled. "That's Geneva." Talon eased the ship toward a muddy rise between the trees. The engine dropped to a hum. They had crossed the open sky and reached the swamp unseen. Ayla came to the rail beside Zach, her staff crystal glowing faint. "We made it," she said. "Now you learn the blade." Talon locked the wheel and stepped down to the deck. He watched Raven laughing with Zach at the rail, her hand on his arm. Something shifted in his face. He crossed to where Lyra still knelt and offered his hand. She took it and rose. "You waited five years for me," Talon said. His voice was low. "I won't waste more time being a coward." He held her gaze. "When this war is over, I want to see where this goes. You and me. If you'll have me." Lyra's breath caught. Her eyes filled. "I've wanted nothing else," she said. Talon almost smiled behind his mask. Below the muddy rise, reeds parted. A lone figure stood in the shallows, watching the airship settle. Geneva had heard them come. The crossing was done. The lesson waited.