Sky Scorcher 1 Read online

  “His cell is ready, Mr. Blackwin,” said Misty as she opened the cell’s door.

  James told the guards to place the man on the bed and leave the irons on him. As soon as the guards had left the room, James said to Misty with a serious look on his face, “I believe this man is a pirate.”

  “What makes you think that?” asked Misty puzzled.

  “Well, I didn’t have a chance to hear him talk as you did, but the broach attached to his cloak has a circle and flames,” James explained. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s a pirate’s mark.”

  “Sharp eye, sir,” Misty commented. “I didn’t notice it when we fought.”

  “Before you go to the helm,” James asked as he left the cell, “please take his belongings to my study. I’ll go and apologize to the guests for our late departure.”

  Misty began to gather the man’s belongings but paused for a moment to look at the broach. It didn’t take long to collect his effects. As Misty left, she shut the door and locked it tight. She took the man’s belongings to James’ study and realized how far behind schedule they actually were. She hurried to the helm and announced to the guests over the intercom on the deck that the ship was about to depart.

  The ship made a slight rumbling sound when the engine started with a slow hum. The steam vents erupted luke warm steam with a low shhhhhhh. The docking couplings released and Misty turned the wheel hard to the starboard side. Cloud Bay grew smaller as they steamed towards Moon and Star Palace.

  James apologized to the nobles by making a joke of the day’s ordeal and the room filled with laughter as Misty entered it carrying a tray of tea and refreshments. One by one, she showed each of the guests to their sleeping quarters. The ship, which had been in the Blackwin family since James was a young boy, was well made and expensive, therefore the sleeping quarters for the quests were very exquisite and accommodating.

  After each of the guests were resting in their own rooms and had all of their needs met, Misty made her way to James’ study. James was examining the man’s belongings as she entered the room. “Misty! Come look at this!” James said with excitement in his voice.

  She stepped closer and saw that James had rolled out a small kit on his cherry desk. “What is it?” asked Misty unsure of what she was looking at.

  “I believe it to be a master lock picking kit. There are a few of these tools I have never seen before,” said James with a puzzled look on his face.

  “I’m not sure, either. Maybe one of the Blacksmith Guild members will know more about the kit,” implied Misty.

  “Perhaps, but for now, head back to the ships wheel at the helm and I will be there to relieve you in a few hours. I’m going to document his belongings first,” said James as he dipped a quill in an ink well sitting on his desk and began to write.

  “Alright,” Misty agreed. As she headed out the door, she added, “but try to get some rest, Mr. Blackwin.”

  Misty arrived at the helm with a cup of coffee that she had brewed for herself. She sipped from it absent-mindedly as she placed her hand on the wheel and pondered over the man’s belongings.

  A couple of hours had gone by when she noticed that the red light was on for the intercom of the young man’s cell. She hesitated for a moment before she slid her finger onto the button. Before she could speak, she heard the man’s voice. “Where are you taking me?”

  Misty remained silent for a moment but then answered the man’s question. “We are a few hours from the palace where we will be handing you over to the royal guards.”

  “Is that so?” said the man with a laugh. “Nothing like a free ride.”

  Misty grew agitated at the man’s rudeness. “Since you are getting a free ride, I would think that you’d be better behaved,” chimed Misty with more confidence in her voice.

  “If you say so…”the man answered distractedly. “Ahhh. Now that feels better,” he continued before the intercom light for the cell clicked off.

  “What have you done now!” demanded Misty, but there was no response. A few moments went by and she began to grow concerned. Fearing the worst, she began to think the man may have escaped.

  She heard footsteps coming towards her. She followed the sound up the steps and to the helm’s door. She quickly gripped her sword and thought to herself, “If he’s escaped, he’s had enough time by now to make his way to the helm or the deck.”

  The brass door handle began to twist and the door opened. Misty breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only James. James greeted Misty with a smile. “Smooth sailing, I hope,” said James as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

  “No troubles. Calm winds and light clouds,” Misty explained. “However, the prisoner did manage to find the cell’s intercom,” she continued as James took over the ship’s wheel.

  “Oh…he seems to have some knowledge of airships. What did he have to say,” James asked with interest.

  He asked where we were taking him to but then the intercom just went quite. I tried to get him to say more but with no success,” Misty explained to James.

  Misty didn’t want to trouble James with the concern that she felt that he may have escaped. James must have seen the worry on Misty’s face. He replied, “Hmmmm….maybe you should stop and check on him. I don’t think he could escape the cell seeing that it is Vaspian steel, but nonetheless, to put our minds to ease.” Misty nodded her head in agreement. “And afterwords, get some rest. I can dock the ship,” said James as he finished his coffee.

  Misty said goodnight and left the helm and headed below deck to the brig. She opened the door to the cells when the man said, “I thought you were on the other end of the intercom.”

  Misty completely ignored what the man said and continued to stare at him angrily. “How did you get out of the chains and irons?” asked Misty.

  “You should have searched me better,” said the man with a grin.

  Misty tried not to show the shock that she felt after seeing his restraints off. She stepped closer to the cell and saw his eyes for the first time and thought to herself, “Those are not the eyes of a killer.” The reassurance made her relax a bit.

  The man noticed her staring at him and smiled. “You can come closer for a better look if you’d like,” said the man with a devious grin now on his face.

  “No, thank you. I’m fine right here,” Misty said as she forced herself to think straight again. “But if you would tell me your name, that would help when we turn you over to the Palace Guard,” she replied softly.

  “I bet it would,” said the man sarcastically, “but I’ll keep it to myself. You see, I have business at the Palace as well. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep,” he said as he lay down and turned away from her.

  “Fine. That’s fair. You won’t be our problem much longer anyway,” said Misty as she turned on her heels and left the brig.

  Back in her room, Misty took off her shoes and fell onto the bed. As she lay in her bed, her mind wondered and she thought about the day’s events one last time before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  James was on his third cup of coffee when the sun came up the next morning. “The palace is just a few hours away,” thought James to himself as the ship sailed through a few clouds. “We’re making good time.” His mind went back to the prisoner housed in the ship’s brig. “I wonder if he would talk to me,” he said thinking out loud.

  James put his pointer finger on the intercom button and pressed down lightly. “Hello? Young man? Are you awake yet?” James asked with a firm voice. A few minutes went by with no response from the man. Just as James had given up on hearing a reply, the light for the cell’s intercom came on. James looked twice just to make sure he was seeing things correctly, and with a little excitement, he pressed the button once more.

  “Can I help you?” said the man’s voice sounding irritated.

  “Possibly,” answered James. “What made you want to attack my friend and why were you sneaking around my ship and looking thro
ugh the windows,” asked James firmly.

  “To be honest,” the man complied, “I thought she would be an easy target. Most pretty girls don’t have swords skills of that level,” answered the man as he hoped the maid was also hearing his answer. “And I was hiding when the guard must have spotted me, slipped up behind me, and struck me from behind. As for what happened after that, the rest is a little foggy.”

  “I’m glad it was someone who could hold their own with you,” James answered with pride in his maid. “Anyway,” he continued with pity in his voice, “it would seem that you have gotten yourself in quite the situation. In all honesty, you will be given a fair trial,” James said feeling sorry for the man.

  “I really don’t expect to be at the palace long,” assured the man, “You see, I have business of my own to take care of there.”

  “Really? And what is your business at the palace?” asked James curiously.

  “Come now. I can’t tell all of my secrets,” said the man with a laugh.

  “It was just a question,” said James firmly as he grew tired of the man’s games. “When we hand you over to the guard, I bet you’ll change your mind. I don’t think you’ll find them as inviting as I am,” continued James with hopes of shaking the man up.

  “We’ll see,” said the man in a nonchalant tone of voice, “I’m strong willed. I believe we will all enjoy the King’s Ball quite well.”

  “I know the King’s guests will. But as for you, it will be spent in the dungeon where you can think long and hard about the decisions you have made,” said James with a sharp tone. He then lifted his finger off of the intercom button and turned the cell’s intercom off completely.

  Chapter Three

  The Palace

  When Misty woke up, she checked the time and noticed that the sun had been up for several hours. She made her way to the ship’s kitchen where she prepared breakfast for James’ guests. The nobles had gathered at the large table in the room adjoining the kitchen.

  As Misty brought breakfast to the guests, she began to see familiar landmarks through the ships’ windows. She knew that meant that soon after the guests had finished their meal, the ship would arrive at the Palace. She placed the food on the table in front of the guests and then waited to see if any guests had additional needs.

  The guests were halfway through eating their morning meal when James’ voice came booming though the intercom. “We will be docking at the Palace within an hour. Please prepare your belongings for the Palace staff to place in your sleeping quarters,” announced James before turning off the intercom.

  The guests finished eating and the table began to grow empty. A couple of the nobles remained seated at the table. Misty knew that the reason they stayed behind was that they wanted a chance to inquire about the encounter she had the day prior.

  “So,” Misty asked as she hoped to move things along, “Is there anything I can help you with before you leave to collect your affairs.”

  One of the guests was an elderly man named Todd Evanson. “Ma’am, I hope you don’t think I’m being rude by asking, but did you find anything out about the young man?” asked Todd with so much interest that he leaned forward in his chair.

  “To be honest, Mr. Evanson, not as much as I would have liked,” said Misty with disappointment.

  “I see. If you don’t mind, let me know if you do. It would make for interesting party conversation as I am sure he will be the talk of the palace for a day or two,” said Todd with a wink before he stood up and strolled out of the room.

  Misty rolled her eyes and started cleaning up the dining room. She thought to herself, “I might as well take the man some food.” She quickly threw a tray of food together and went to the brig. When she entered the room, the man was singing a song she hadn’t heard before:

  “With fire light

  In the dim of night…”

  When she entered the brig, he stopped singing. “It’s about time. I was beginning to wonder if there was any food on this ship. I was thinking maybe you had forgotten me,” mocked the man.

  “If only I could forget about you. If we had never met, that would have been just fine with me,” barked Misty as she opened the tray slot just enough for the tray to slide through and then slammed it shut.

  “Admit it. You were worried about me,” said the man as he began to eat, sparing no table manners. It had been a while since he had eaten anything.

  “As if you’d be that something I would worry about. And besides, I wanted to inform you that we are close to docking at the palace port,” said Misty with more delight than she had intended.

  “Face it, you will miss me,” said the man as he stuffed his face with the last bite of food on his plate.

  Misty’s face was turning red with anger at what the man was implying. She took a deep breath and pushed down the frustration she felt. “Not at all,” said Misty in a calm voice. “I hope you have enjoyed your stay in our brig.” Misty left the man and made her way to the helm. On her way, she passed some of the guests who had placed their belongings on the deck. Misty opened the door to the helm where James was gripping the ship’s wheel.

  “Good morning. I see that the guests are prepared for docking and the prisoner is ready for transfer to the guard. Did he have much to say when you checked on him this time?” asked James as he looked at the ship’s controls.

  “All is in order, Mr. Blackwin, but I will be glad when the prisoner is no longer our problem. He is rude and quite the pain!” exclaimed Misty. “I do regret that we couldn’t find out more information about him.”

  “There is more than meets the eye about that young man. I just can’t put my finger on it,” said James as the palace came into view.

  Chapter Four

  The King’s Ball

  The palace was laid out before them with bushes and shrubbery trimmed and shaped to look like exotic beasts from the edge of the map. Grand water fountains were placed perfectly to align with certain star patterns in the night sky. Beautiful flower patterns were in full bloom next to rows of fruit trees. The crowning sight to behold was the two giant towers built in the center of the marvelous palace. On the left stood the Moon Tower. When moonlight shone on it, the tower glowed with a radiant white light. Right next to it was the Sun Tower which pulled energy from the sun and stored it to power the entire region.

  “It truly is a sight to behold, isn’t it?” James asked Misty while keeping his eyes on the towers.

  “It truly is remarkable,” said Misty as she looked out of the window of the helm and took in the beauty of it all.

  As the ship drew closer, the docks came into view. “Here we go,” said James as he turned the ship’s wheel to port and closed off the forward steam vents which caused the ship’s speed to slow. With precision, the ship slid into the dock. The familiar sound of docking couplings locking into place could be heard as the ship was tethered to the dock.

  James pushed the intercom button and announced, “We have arrived at the palace. The palace staff is waiting to show you to where you will be staying.” James released the ships wheel and directed his words to Misty. “Go and gather our things while I greet the Lieutenant.”

  Misty’s belongings were already packed so she made her way to the ship’s study and placed the prisoner’s items in a lock box. She tucked James’ documents in his travel bag and gave the room one last go-over before she left to meet up with James.

  When she arrived on deck, James was talking to Lieutenant Plateman as the last of the guests left the ship. She heard the Lieutenant order the men to go collect the man from below deck. A few minutes passed by and the men returned with the young man bound in chains again.

  As he walked past Misty, the man said, “Wait a moment…” He then turned and looked at Misty and said softly, “My name is Joshua Firebolt.” Joshua smiled and told the guards, “Carry on.”

  “Hold on one moment! Why wait until now to tell us your name?” asked Misty almost shaking with anger.

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sp; “I have no more reason to hide it,” said Joshua as he looked Misty in the eyes. “No one here knows who I am…yet.”

  During their conversation, the guard had loosened his grip on the chains. Joshua stepped forward without warning and kissed Misty on the lips for a brief second. “For luck!” he shouted as the guards dragged him off the ship.

  James shouted, “Take him away!” as Misty stood in place and shook uncontrollably. She grew more and more furious thinking about the man. “You have to be kidding me,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “The nerve of that man…” said James as he placed a hand on Misty’s shoulder.

  “I hope he gets what he deserves,” replied Misty as she exited the ship.

  “I’ll see to it personally that he is locked up tight,” assured Lieutenant Plateman.