Fall of Sky City (A Steampunk Fantasy Sci-Fi Adventure Novel) (Devices of War) Read Free

the last time Mother had seen me. I was more of a man, and less of a boy. The red pants didn’t balloon around me anymore. My tall, black leather boots rose to the knee. A thick belt held my knife and static array pistol. I opted to remove my hat, but kept the goggles. They were shaded. With the coming season, the suns ruled the sky, constantly shining blindingly off the ice and snow.
    I met my own blue, slightly slanted eyes in the mirror, and raised a single black brow. I wasn’t going to get any prettier.
    I donned my half-coat, the collar of long black wolf hide riding along my chin. I stopped and turned back to the mirror. For a second, I almost looked fierce, almost like a man. I made a face at myself and left, my ears popping with the pressure change, the cracking of the ice almost deafening. We were nearly there.
    Father was topside, standing tall and formidable on the quarterdeck.
    Father’s spitfyre falcon stood proudly on his shoulder. Saqr’s wings were tucked in. His reptile-like, prehensile tail came out from his feathered flight tail and wrapped around Father’s shoulders while the finger claws at the apex of his wing curled in reflex.
    This spring, I would have my chance to capture and train my own falcon as I proved myself a man capable of leading, first an airship, and then the Fleet. We would also work on making my ship. I was more than ready.
    Father’s goggled eyes shifted in my direction, his main attention on his fleet. His face shield was stowed in the pouch on his belt. In the lower altitude, the bitter wind of winter was warmer. I followed his lead, stashing my shield in the pouch on my belt as well, but the goggles were staying. The sunlight stabbing its way back up from the mountainous waves of ice were painful.
    I stood next to him. From there, I could see the whole ship. The new foremast, the veins of copper shining in the light, the gleaming deck, and all the men and women working the rigging. Falcons watched from the trestle trees of each mast, chirping to one another. Several climbed along the full sails, their claws and wings working to keep them close to the cloth. They were hunting the luminescent feather worms, a parasite that was deadly to the air jellies. These currents were filled with similar parasites, one more thing to watch for. Ino City hadn’t found a good location to wait out the winter.
    Father turned and headed down the stairs to the main deck. “This is as far as she goes.”
    An airship never touches water and most certainly never touches land.
    I grinned and followed.
    He waited for me on the loading platform. As soon as I leapt over the railing of our ship and onto the flat wood suspended in the air by ropes, we were headed down. The counter-weight rose beside us.
    Saqr fluttered his wings and resettled closer to Father’s bearded neck.
    Father made a point of studying the hull as we descended and I attempted to follow his lead. The blue feather stars fluttered along the hull, ensuring the Yusrra Samma’s integrity. I was eager to see my sister and really didn’t care too much about the feather stars. They were capable of taking care of themselves.
    The cold of the ice barely had a chance to seep through my boots before a whirlwind of leather and arms attacked me with a screech that made my ears ring.
    I laughed and twirled her around, setting her down to look at her.
    Saqr squawked at us.
    I gave the falcon a laughing glare. Oki and I both reached up to move our goggles to the top of our heads. Once I could see her round face, I gripped her head in my hands and touched my forehead to hers. “Oki,” I said in her native language, Sakin, which was only fair since we were in her territory, not mine, “it is good to see you again.”
    Her slanted, dark eyes beamed at me, her fingers grasping my head as she rubbed her stubbed nose to mine. “I have missed you, little brother.”
    Something sparkly dangling from her ears caught my attention. I pulled back and held