Behemoth

FIFTEEN

Climbing down the tower was simple. A set of metal stairs spiraled through its center, and the five of them descended quickly.

Or was it six of them now? Suddenly Alek could feel the weight of the fabricated beast riding on his shoulder. The single word it had spoken made the animal heavier somehow, as if its uncanniness were something solid.

Alek hadn’t told the others, of course. Volger was terrified enough of message lizards. Why provide him with another excuse to get rid of the newborn creature?

At least it seemed to know when to stay quiet. Since speaking that one word, it hadn’t uttered another sound.

As they neared the bottom of the stairs, Alek found himself level with the airship’s bridge. Light from worm-lamps shone through the windows, silhouetting two officers on duty inside. But the faint green glow didn’t reach the shadows within the tower.

The Leviathan’s guards stood at attention in the airship’s hatches. Ground men in red fezzes faced them, the two groups watching each other warily. The rest of the Ottomans were at the airfield gates, keeping an eye on the protesters.

No one was guarding the base of the mooring tower.

The moon was climbing, a fat crescent in the sky, and the tower cast a long shadow pointing west, away from the city and the crowds. Volger lead the others along that slender finger of darkness, heading for an empty stretch of fence at the airfield’s edge.

Alek wondered what would happen if they were spotted now. The Leviathan’s crew had no authority here on Ottoman soil. But he doubted that the Darwinists would let their only engineers slip away without a fight. For that matter, the Ottomans mightn’t take kindly to foreigners trespassing on their airfield.

All in all, it seemed better to remain unseen.

Suddenly the newborn creature stood up on its hind legs, its ears twisting back toward the ship. Alek came to a halt and listened. The distant shriek of a command whistle reached his ears.

“Volger, I think they’ve—”

A hydrogen sniffer’s howl pierced the night. The sound came from near the engine pod—someone had found the bound and gagged Mr. Hirst.

“Keep moving,” Volger whispered. “We’re half a kilometer from the fence. They’ll search the ship before they think to look out here.”

Alek broke into a run, shuddering to think what beasts the Darwinists would send after them. The six-legged sniffer dogs? The awful fléchette bats? Or were there even worse creatures aboard the ship?

The alarm spread along the long, dark silhouette behind them, the gondola lights flickering from soft green to brilliant white. On Alek’s shoulder the creature softly imitated the sounds of the alert, the barks and cries of the hounds, the shouts and whistles of command.

“I’m not sure that’s helpful,” he muttered to it.

“Helpful,” the creature repeated softly.

A minute later a blinding searchlight lanced out from the ship’s spine. At first it pointed at the airfield gate, but slowly it began to turn, like a lighthouse on a dark ocean.

So much for the Darwinists letting them slip away.

“You four go ahead,” Klopp said, his face bright red. “I can’t keep running like this!”

Alek slowed his pace, taking the man’s heavy tool kit from him. “Nonsense, Klopp. Spreading out just makes it easier for them to spot us.”

“He’s right,” Volger said. “Stick close together.”

Alek glanced over his shoulder. The light was swinging toward them, rippling across the grass like a luminous wave.

“Get down!” he whispered, and the five of them dropped flat to the ground.

The blinding light flashed past, but didn’t stop on them—it had been aimed too high. The spotlight crew were searching the airfield from the outside in, checking the boundaries first. But Alek doubted Klopp could make it to the fence before the light swung round again.

The newborn creature’s claws tightened on his shoulder, and it made a new noise in his ear … a sound like fluttering wings.

Alek glanced back at the ship, his eyes widening. A dark cloud was boiling up from beneath the gondola, thousands of black forms spilling into the air. The tempest of wings climbed through the searchlight’s beam, glittering with the flash of steel talons.

“Strafing hawks,” Alek breathed. Back on the glacier, he’d seen the hawks in action against German soldiers. And just yesterday he’d seen a crewman sharpening the steel talons they wore, like a razor on a leather strap.

The birds spread out from the ship, and soon the air above was full of fluttering shapes.

Alek looked ahead—the fence was only a hundred meters away.

But a moment later the hawks had begun to circle, a whirlwind of wings and glinting steel forming overhead. Alek stooped his shoulders, waiting for an attack.

“Just keep running!” Volger cried. “We’re no good to them dead.”

Alek ran, hoping the man was right.

As the spinning mass grew larger and larger, the spotlight altered course, heading toward the towering whirlwind of birds. It arrived in seconds, pinning Alek like the stare of a great, blinding eye.

The howl of hydrogen sniffers reached Alek’s ears again, closer than before. The beast on his shoulder imitated the sound.

“They’re coming on foot,” Alek said.

“Go on, Bauer,” Volger shouted. “You’ve got the cutters!”

Alek followed as the man spurted ahead. The airfield’s edge wasn’t far now; the spotlight streaming past them glinted on the coils of barbed wire.

When Bauer and Alek reached the fence, Bauer pulled out the bolt cutters and set to work. He snipped at the mesh of wire, slowly opening a way through. But the cries of the beasts behind them were growing louder every second.

Bauer was halfway done when the others caught up.

“The forest is heavy this way,” Volger said, pointing at the blackness past the fence. “Run due west until you drop, then find a place to hide.”

“What about you?” Alek asked.

“Hoffman and I will hold the breach for as long as we can.”

“Hold the breach?” Alek said. “With wrenches and a fencing saber? You can’t fight off those beasts!”

“No, but we can slow them down. And once the Darwinists realize they have an engineer and a translator in hand, they may decide it’s not worth chasing the rest of you. Especially across Ottoman territory.”

“We’ve thought this out, young master,” Klopp said, panting. “It’s all in the plan!”

“What plan?” Alek cried, but no one answered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“My apologies, Your Highness.” Volger drew his sword. “But you’ve been a bit loose with our secrets lately.”

“God’s wounds, Volger! Are you playing the martyr?”

“If they weren’t right behind us, I’d be going with you. But someone has to hold them here. And between the two of us, Hoffman and I offer them a chance to keep their ship flying, as long as they don’t treat us too roughly.”

“But I can’t …” Alek swallowed.

“It’s done, sir,” Bauer said.

“Go, then,” Volger said, handing his bag to Klopp, who scrambled through the breach. The shadows of hydrogen sniffers and men loomed, made huge by the searchlight.

“But, Volger.” Alek clenched his fists. “I can’t do this without you! Not any of it!”

“I’m afraid you must.” Volger saluted with his saber. “Good-bye, Alek. Make your father proud.”

But my father is dead … and you’re not.

“Come, sir.” Bauer grabbed his arm. Alek tried to pull away, but the man was bigger and stronger. Alek found himself dragged through the opening in the fence, his jacket nipped at by the wire’s barbs, the creature on his shoulder ducking low and howling like a hydrogen sniffer on the hunt.

A moment later they were among dark trees, Klopp’s panting ahead of them. Corporal Bauer still pulled him along, apologizing under his breath. The forest soon smothered the battle’s sounds, the searchlight barely glimmering through the leaves. The sniffers’ howls were muted, the strafing hawks forced higher by heavy branches.

The three of them thrashed deeper into the trees, until everything was swallowed up by blackness. All Alek could see were spots burned into his vision by the searchlight. Behind them the sounds faded abruptly.

Volger would be negotiating now, offering Hoffman and himself in exchange for the others’ freedom. The Darwinists would have little choice. If they fought their way through the fence, they’d risk killing their last engineer and translator.

Alek found himself slowing. Count Volger’s plan had worked to perfection.

Bauer tightened his grip. “Please, sir. We can’t go back.”

“Of course not.” Alek shook himself free and came to a halt. “But there’s no need to rush, unless we want to give poor old Klopp a heart attack.”

Klopp didn’t argue. He stood, stooped and panting, his hands on his knees. Alek looked back the way they’d come, listening for sounds of pursuit—nothing. Not even a bird in the sky.

He was finally free, but he’d never felt more alone.

Prince Aleksandar knew what his father would have said. It was time for him to take command.

“Did we drop anything?”

Bauer quickly counted the bags. “The wireless set, the tools, the gold bar—we’ve got it all, sir.”

“The gold …,” Alek said, wondering how much the last of his father’s fortune had slowed them down. He would’ve traded all of it for the extra minutes that Volger’s sacrifice had bought them.

But this was no time for self-pity, or for wishing that things were different.

“And there’s this,” Klopp added, pulling a leather scroll case from his jacket. It was marked with the crossed keys of the papal seal. “He said you should carry it from now on.”

Alek stared at the object. It was a letter from the pope stating that Alek was heir to his father’s titles and estates, despite the wishes of his granduncle, the emperor. One could argue that it made Alek the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary as well. It was why the Germans were hunting him—he might one day have the power to end this war.

As Alek’s fingers closed around the case, he realized that he’d always relied on Volger to keep the letter safe. But now he had to carry his own destiny.

He slid the case into a pocket and buttoned it shut. “Very good, Klopp. Shall I take Volger’s bag for you?”

“No, young master,” the man panted. “I’ll be fine.”

Alek held out his hand. “I’m afraid I must insist. You’re slowing us down.”

Klopp paused. This was the moment when he would normally have glanced at the wildcount for approval, but no longer. He handed the bag over, and Alek grunted as the weight hit him.

Volger, of course, had been carrying the gold.

The creature mimicked the grunt, and Alek sighed. Less than an hour old, and already it was becoming tiresome.

“I hope you learn some new tricks soon,” he muttered, to which the creature blinked its eyes.

Bauer hoisted the other two bags. “Which way, sir?”

“You mean Count Volger didn’t provide you with any more secret plans?”

Bauer looked at Klopp, who shrugged.

Alek took a slow breath. It was all up to him now.

To the west lay Europe, descending into madness and war. To the east was the Ottoman Empire, stretching, vast and alien, into the heart of Asia. And spanning the two continents was the ancient city of Constantinople.

“We stay in the capital, for now. We’ll need to buy clothes … and perhaps horses.” Alek paused, realizing that with the gold bar they could buy their own walker if they wanted. The possibilities were endless. “At least in the city some of the storekeepers will understand German.”

“Very sensible,” Klopp said. “But where tonight, young master?”

Bauer nodded, staring back the way they’d come. The woods were silent, but the searchlight still glimmered on the horizon.

“We head west for an hour,” Alek said. “Then circle back toward the city. Perhaps we’ll find a friendly inn.”

“An inn, sir? But won’t the Ottomans be looking for us?” Bauer asked.

Alek thought for a moment, then shook his head. “They won’t know who to look for, unless the Darwinists tell them. And I don’t think they will.”

Klopp frowned. “Why not?”

“Don’t you see, the Darwinists don’t want us to be caught.” As Alek spoke the words, his own thoughts became clearer. “We know too much about the Leviathan—how its engines work, the nature of its mission. It won’t help them to have us in Ottoman hands.”

Klopp nodded slowly. “They could say it was only Volger and Hoffman who tried to escape, and they’ve caught them. So there’s no one else to look for!”

“Exactly,” Alek said. “And as a warship, the Leviathan has to leave neutral territory by tomorrow. Once they’re gone, no one will know we’re here.”

“What about the Germans, sir?” Bauer said quietly. “They saw the Stormwalker in the Alps, with its Hapsburg crest, and saw the Leviathan mounted with our engines. They must know we were aboard, and they’ll guess who was trying to escape tonight, even if the Ottomans don’t.”

Alek swore. German agents were everywhere in Constantinople, and tonight’s ruckus hadn’t been subtle.

“You’re right, Bauer. But I doubt there are any Germans in these woods. I still say we sleep in an inn tonight—a quiet, comfortable one that will take gold shavings in payment. Tomorrow we’ll disguise ourselves properly.”

He walked into the darkness, setting his course by the last glimmer of searchlights behind them. The other two hoisted their bags and followed. No arguments, no debate.

As simple as that, Alek was in command.