Without a second thought, Falconer charged and leapt over the railing, knocking the man over with him. A gust of wind pushed the man away to fall to his death elsewhere so Falconer could now concentrate on getting to the Princess. The wheel man cranked the ship toward the islands, intent on smashing the ship in a suicide run. A rifle blast took him down and Helshred steadied the wheel long enough for Reigndale to get to him.
“Shall I catch her?” Sersi said in Falconer’s mind.
“No, your talons could pierce her. I’ll have to do this.” Falconer concentrated on pushing himself through the air as fast as he could go. She was several yards ahead of him and the sharp pointed rocks were coming fast. As some kind of grace, her swaddling blankets weren’t coming unraveled from around her. Maybe that would make this somehow easier? He reached out his hands and gritted his teeth, straining to win the race against gravity. As his fingers touched the blanket bundling her, he thought he might be too late. He pulled her close to his chest fast and rolled his body, jarring to halt. He hovered there and grimaced as one of the tallest points of rock slightly stabbed into his back. He glanced at her against his chest. She stared at him wide eyed, seemingly more confused than anything. But then she smiled at him.
“Yes,” he said as he lifted himself back into the air, “I’ve got you.” He tried not to wince too much as the point of rock pulled out with his rise away from it. The wound wasn’t deep and would heal fine with a small spell from Sersi. It still hurt like blazes.
He flew back up to the ship to find crewmen tied up by the mast with Helshred hovering over them. He clicked his blades muttering his name and paced a little, not taking any of his three eyes off them. They watched him with new terror in their eyes. They dared not move. Reigndale knelt beside Shira and Sersi landed nearby. A knife handle protruded from Shira’s abdomen just under the breastbone. Reigndale looked up and shook his head.
“It’s too late, she’s gone,” came Sersi’s voice, “They killed her.” She automatically cast a healing spell at Falconer for the wound in his back. He barely took notice with the scene around him.
“The one I knocked over to get to the Princess is who killed her. That makes falling from the ship a fitting end twice over then. Reigndale, steer us back home. We have business with the Chancellor.” Falconer gritted his teeth and stared out at the direction of the palace. What of the King?
As they flew, Falconer’s rage mounted. The Chancellor had hand-picked the crew. He also claimed the deaths of the mind reader and the Queen to be of natural causes. He must be behind the murders. But why? Gren probably figured out the Chancellor’s plans. Maybe he even confronted the Chancellor, getting himself killed in the process. It’s hard to plan treason when someone can read your thoughts after all. But why kill the Queen? Was he making a move for the throne? If there were no successor’s in event of a tragedy, the Chancellor would take over rule automatically. They had to hurry. There was no telling how many men the Chancellor turned or even how he turned them. What could he possibly offer to turn their loyalty? Either way, the Chancellor had done a good job in making sure that the Royal Guard would be nowhere near. There were eight members of the guard and four of them were off world. One for his own pursuits but the other three had been sent on errands by the Chancellor. Falconer looked up at the sails. He wanted to summon a wind to push them, just a little. He worried that if he pushed too hard, he would force them off course. But he couldn't shake the urge to move faster. After all, King Stymus was likely in danger. So the wind rose and they pushed on a little bit faster.
Reigndale had to hold the wheel tightly to keep it on course with Falconer's pushing but he too felt the need to move quickly. Duty called and he wasn't one to leave such a call waiting. His rifle was slung across his back but he could have it ready in the blink of an eye. Helshred crouched next to Shira. He had always liked her. She was nice to him when others shunned him. He wanted the person responsible for her death to pay dearly. He dug his finger blades into the wood of the deck and ever so quietly muttered his name again.
For an hour trip out, they made it back in half the time. Falconer had the wind push them up against the port tight, but a little roughly. Reigndale moored the ship and looked after the Princess while Falconer stormed into the castle. Guards stepped out of his way in a hurry as he stomped into a wide foyer and suddenly found the Chancellor and Federation members staring at him.
“There you are! Where is that brute of yours?” the Chancellor bellowed.
“What are you talking about? Never mind that. Your hand picked crew tried to kill us!”
“A likely tale. The King is dead, Falconer. Killed by the blades of your pet! I've seen the body myself, as have all the Federation leaders.”
They all stared at Falconer and nodded while he reeled in open mouthed shock.
“That's impossible,” Falconer protested.
“Treason,” Madame Yhulla spat, “The Royal Guard has committed treason!”
“Guards!” the Chancellor called, “Arrest Falconer and the Royal Guard!”
“This is insane!” Falconer pushed back the approaching guards with a gust of wind, throwing them against far walls, “I have been ever loyal! It is you who have committed treason!”
That didn't seem to dissuade the guards or the Federation and Falconer didn't want to hurt any of them. The penalty for treason was a swift and terrible death. At the hands of the Chancellor, he wouldn't get much of an opportunity for defense. Worse yet, without him and the guard to protect the Princess, she would be next. He turned and fled back toward the ship. Wind gusts like giant invisible hands threw guards side to side. Sersi flew by his side. She had witnessed the whole thing from a window ledge.
“What will we do?” her voice chimed in his mind.
“Get out of here and protect the Princess. So long as she lives he cannot become king!”
“But won't he claim the throne with her absence?”
“Can we discuss this later?”
“Get on the boat!” Falconer called to Reigndale and Helshred as he ran up and practically pushed them both on board.
“Give me our Princess and get ready to steer!”
“What's going on, sir?”
“Just do it! The Princess is in danger!”
Reigndale needed no further prodding. He ran to the wheel as the guards and the Chancellor appeared on the dock. They brandished swords and spears with determination. Falconer locked eyes with the Chancellor in a glaring match of hatred. The boat jerked suddenly as the mooring rope was still attached. Guards were reaching for it to pull the boat back to the dock. An energy blast from Reigndale's rifle severed it and they floated away free. Falconer summoned a new wind to carry them away.
“Shall we pursue?” a guard asked the Chancellor.
“No. He'd twist you right out of the sky. Let them go for now. I have other plans for this,” the Chancellor turned to the Federation leaders, “As you can see, they have absconded with the Princess. I must ask all of your cooperation in bringing them to justice.”
“Actually,” Queen Margel said, “the law expressly forbids any of us to interfere in your internal affairs except as advisers. We can lend some manpower if you need it, but I don't think you do at this point. They can't leave the planet on an airship and they can't stay aloft forever. If they were to find their way to any of our worlds, we could extradite them to you. On that, I'm sure you have our cooperation.”
“Let us know the status of the situation,” the Duke said.
“In the mean time, I think it best we return to our home worlds for safety sake. We can reconvene later to decide what further action we should take,” Lord Nofu said.
As the leaders walked away, the Chancellor stared out after the shrinking view of the airship. It mattered little that the Princess lived since the situation put him directly in command. With that in mind and no one to see him do it; he looked out at the airship and slightly smiled.
