Leviathan

EIGHTEEN

THE FLARES CAME FIRST.

They screamed across the sky, burning phosphorous spilling a cold blue light into the darkness. The icy spray from the Stormwalker’s footsteps glittered like diamonds scattered in the air.

More flares flew overhead, until the sky glowed with a dozen suns.

Flares and fireworks—not such secret weapons after all.

“Into the forest!” Klopp shouted.

Alek twisted the saunters hard, and the walker climbed the bank of the stream in a single step. It was darker up in the trees, the shadows shifting and dancing as the flares raced overhead.

But there were no more rifle shots, no thud of cannon fire.

“What’s happening, Count?” Klopp shouted.

“The frigate is turning,” Volger called down. “She looks sluggish.”

“Perfect!” Klopp said. “We caught her engines cold.”

“But why isn’t she firing?” Alek asked, veering the Stormwalker around an outcrop of bare rocks.

“Good question, young master. Perhaps they intend to capture you alive.”

Alek raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s reassuring.”

The ground became steeper beneath them, the walker’s engines straining. Wider spaces opened up among the trees as the slope increased. It made walking easier, but Alek felt exposed in the jittery light of the flares.

“Which way to more cover?” Klopp called up.

Volger lowered himself into the cabin. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?” Klopp cried.

“The frigate isn’t our immediate problem.” Volger leaned down next to Alek. “Bring us around. You need to see them. And load that cannon!” he shouted down the belly hatch.

Alek brought the walker into a tight turn.

From up here on the unsheltered slope, he could see the frigate on its hill, the eight legs slowly flexing as it awoke. Its gun turrets had already spun around, but Alek could see why they hadn’t fired yet.

Climbing the slope behind them were a half dozen walkers unlike anything Alek had ever seen. They were four-legged craft, with a galloping stride like metal horses. A single crewman rode half inside each one, his head and shoulders emerging like a centaur’s. The scout walkers’ single headlights danced through the trees like fireflies.

Their only weapons were small mortar tubes mounted on the rear of the machines. As Alek watched, one blossomed with a cloud of smoke, shooting another flare into the radiant sky.

“Some new kind of scout,” Klopp murmured.

“And perfect for tracking the likes of us,” Volger said.

Alek frowned. “But those mortars won’t even scratch us!”

“They don’t have to,” Klopp said, “as long as they keep us in sight. The frigate will be moving sooner or later.”

“So what do we do?” Alek said, hands clenching the saunters. “Fight them now, while she’s still warming up?”

Klopp thought for a moment. “No, keep moving. Maybe you can get us to the border faster than they expect.”

Alek turned the walker back around and started up the slope again. He heard Volger preparing the Spandaus. The scout walkers’ pilots were only half covered with armor. A few machine-gun bursts might make them think twice about following too closely.

A sudden red glare filled the Stormwalker’s cabin, along with a choking wave of smoke. Alek squinted through the haze—a still-burning flare skittered away across the ground.

He coughed into a fist. “They’re shooting flares at us now? Are they mad?”

“It is a bit pathetic,” Klopp said. “But I’ll close the viewport.”

Alek nodded. The thought of burning phosphorous bouncing around the cabin was unnerving. He hardly needed the viewport open; it was still as bright as day outside.

But one thing was odd. The sky was lit a cold blue, but the flare that had just missed them had burned bright red.

As the viewport cranked closed, another flare rocketed past—also red—missing the Stormwalker by a hair.

Volger started up with one of the machine guns, filling the cabin with the roar of gunfire and still more smoke. Shell casings clattered down onto the metal deck, rolling back and forth underfoot as the walker lurched along.

Another red flare whizzed past, spitting smoke and sparks. Alek’s eyes were beginning to sting, and his vision blurred with tears.

“Otto, take over!”

Klopp grabbed the saunters, and Alek searched blindly for his canteen. He drained it onto his face, washing the smoke from his eyes.

A metal clang shuddered through the cabin.

“Did you hit something?” Alek asked, blinking the water away.

Klopp shook his head. “Hardly. It’s light enough out there!”

Alek frowned, feeling the machine rumble beneath him. The walker’s steps were steady on the slope, and the gauges all flickered at normal levels.

Except one—the temperature of the rear exhaust had suddenly jumped.

He stood and pushed the top hatch open.

“Alek!” Volger said, turning from his machine gun. “What are you doing?”

“Something’s wrong.” He pulled himself up.

Fresh air blew across his face, and the engines’ unmuffled roar filled his ears. Keeping his head down, he scanned the forest.

Nothing but trees and undergrowth. Where had the scout craft gone?

Then Alek spotted one in the distance, running away at top speed.

“What the … ?” he began, then saw a reddish flicker coming from the rear exhaust ports. He pulled himself a little higher and saw what it was.

A hissing glob of phosphorus was stuck to the engine casing. Still burning, it billowed smoke into the air. Alek lifted his gaze and saw the red column drifting up into the bright sky.

“So much for capturing me alive,” he muttered, and dropped back through the hatch.

Count Volger glared at him. “Glad to see you’ve regained your—”

“Klopp!” Alek shouted. “Run serpentine!”

The master of mechaniks hesitated, then began to weave the Stormwalker through the trees.

“Turn harder, man! That last flare hit us. It’s stuck to the armor like a mud ball and sending up smoke!” The others just stared at him, and Alek cried, “Those scouts are running off as quickly as they can!”

Awareness finally dawned on Klopp’s face. He pulled the walker to the left for a few long strides, then back to the right.

This was why the frigate hadn’t fired yet. Its gunners were waiting for the target to be marked and for the scouts to get clear. But now the Stormwalker was in for a thrashing.

Alek looked at the rear exhaust gauge—still hot. That column of red smoke was still rising above the trees.

He turned to Klopp. “Is there any way to put it out?”

“Phosphorous? Water won’t work, and it’ll burn through anything we try to smother it with. We’ll have to wait till it burns out.”

“How long?” Volger asked.

“Could be half an hour,” Klopp said. “Long enough for them to—”

A rumbling sounded in the distance.

Alek shouted a warning, but Klopp was already twisting the saunters, driving the walker into a hard turn. The machine thrashed through a stand of saplings, and Alek grabbed the hand straps, slipping on the shell casings rolling across the metal deck.

Then a sovereign boom rolled through the Stormwalker. The sound shook Alek to his bones, and the world suddenly tipped sideways. He hung from the hand straps, feet swinging in the air.

Klopp’s hands never left the controls, and somehow the walker staggered back upright. It swerved, narrowly missing a beech tree. Heavy branches lashed at them, sending an explosion of leaves through the half-closed viewport.

“How long till the next volley?” Volger’s voice was dry.

“About forty seconds,” Klopp said.

“We have to get that flare off!” Alek shouted. “Give me something to hack at it with!”

Volger shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, Your Highness.”

Alek had to suppress a hysterical laugh, tearing open the pilot’s storage locker. “Dangerous, Volger? Compared with letting ourselves be blown to pieces?”

“I’ll do it, then,” Volger said.

Alek’s hand closed on a sword he’d never seen before. He pulled it from the locker—an old cavalry saber, much heavier than the swords they fenced with, perfect for the job.

“I’ve been climbing on walkers since I was ten, Volger,” he said, sticking the scabbard through his belt.

Volger placed his hand on Alek’s shoulder. “That sword is two centuries old! Your father—”

“Can’t help us,” Alek said. “Reload the machine guns in case those scouts come back.”

Without waiting for a reply he pulled himself up and out.

Up top, branches slapped at his face, and the machine rocked beneath him like an unbroken horse. Klopp was doing his best serpentine. The hot metal of the engine casing burned Alek’s fingers even through his piloting gloves.

The marker flare was stuck among the Stormwalker’s exhaust pipes, hissing and spitting, driven brighter by the machine’s speed. Red smoke trailed out, spreading as it rose into the brilliant sky.

Alek drew the saber and clutched it with one hand, holding the scabbard with the other. He raised the sword high, then brought the blade down hard.

The flare split open under his blow, but only blazed brighter, like a burning log jabbed with a poker.

Alek raised the sword again and saw flames running along his blade—the fire was clinging to the metal! He swallowed, wondering what would happen if the infernal substance were stuck to someone’s skin.

“AN HEIRLOOM SAVES THE HEIR.”

Lights flickered through the trees. Alek looked up and glimpsed the frigate in the distance, smoke pouring from her guns. As he knelt for a firmer handhold, the cannon’s rumble followed at the tardy speed of sound.

Long seconds later the shells hit. The shock wave battered his ears, spraying dirt into his face and lifting the walker beneath him.

Alek felt its massive feet hit the ground again, the machine staggering like a newborn colt. He opened his eyes—just in time to duck beneath a tree branch whipping across the walker’s head.

Now there was no sound except the ringing in his ears, and his eyes stung with debris and smoke. But he could feel Klopp righting the walker, regaining control.

The frigate would have their range now. Each time they fired, the shells would land closer.

Alek stooped again and raised the saber, hacking at the sticky flare, sending up sparks and angry gouts of smoke. Embers fell from the blade onto his uniform, burning into the leather piloting jacket like hot coals. He smelled his own hair singeing in the heat.

A volley of flares shot past, the retreating scouts taking one last shot at the Stormwalker. Alek ignored the near misses and kept battering at the flame.

Finally a big chunk came free, sticking to his saber like honey on a stick. He waved the blade back and forth in the wind, but that only drove the flare brighter.

Alek swore. The frigate’s guns would be loaded again in another few seconds. There was only one thing to do.

He rose into a half crouch, one arm wrapped around an exhaust pipe.

“Sorry, Father,” he whispered, and threw the ancient saber as hard as he could into the forest.

He kicked at the last few burning pieces clinging to the Stormwalker’s armor, then crawled toward the open hatch.

“Klopp!” he shouted down. “Go straight ahead, as fast as you can!”

Alek glanced back before climbing inside. The ancient sword was still burning back among the trees, sending up red smoke. The gunners on the frigate would think that the Stormwalker had staggered to a halt, or fallen after that last barrage. Hopefully they’d pound the spot a few more times before sending the scouts back in to check.

And by that time the walker would be kilometers away.

As Alek’s adrenaline faded, his body began to throb with pain. His hands and knees were bruised and burned, and the leather of his uniform smelled like scorched meat. He hoped Volger had something for burns along with his supply of family heirlooms and pointless secrets.

As Alek lowered himself into the hatchway, Volger’s eyes widened, taking in his singed hair and smoldering uniform.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” he said, collapsing into the commander’s chair. “Just keep moving.”

The mountains were rising taller in the viewport. The border couldn’t be far now; the sky up ahead was empty of flares. Soon they’d been in friendly darkness again.

The frigate’s guns rumbled again, but the shells hit far behind them, hardly breaking the Stormwalker’s stride. The Germans were still firing at his father’s sword.

Alek smiled—so much for their secret weapons.

He let his eyes close. After a month of running, finally he could rest. Maybe his life would begin to make sense again, once the Stormwalker had reached safety.

No more surprises for a while.