The Dragon Chase: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 29: Tabitha

"The very same. Take it. Having a dagger actually makes you less dangerous." He explained, still holding the knife out to her.

She took hold of it and rested her fingers on the flat of the blade. She sighed in immediate relief, and said, "Thank you. I didn't expect to see that knife again."

The calm that settled over her as she held the knife in her hand was as strong as if she had just fallen into a pool of water. She smiled, as she tucked the knife away in one of her coat pockets, and let its searing cold distract the fires of her will.

And with her focus restored, Tabitha could feel the Dragon's will as it began to pour flames into the air, building a cloud of fire around itself. A mass of flame that was neatly placed in the path of the other airship.

"Are we in range?" Tabitha called out, and Lieutenant Keates took up the question with one of his sergeants for a moment, before turning back and holding his hand up, thumb pointed towards the deck.

Adrian made another couple of gestures, and she turned to Mathias questioningly. "Forty seconds more, at full speed. Thirty if we rise two-hundred yards."

Both options were too long to help Gerald, as his ship was only moments from colliding with the cloud of fire in its path.

But as she looked closer, she noticed his ship was already pointed sideways.

Two Valkyries flashed, launching thin streaks of grey directly into the mass of flame, and through. One struck the Dragon in its chest while the other passed just beneath its left wing. The Dragon reeled in the air but held its place.

As the ship reached the cloud, it shot away from the Bore, skimming along the edge of the cloud of fire. The fire rippled as the ship passed through, turning as it flew with starling speed until it passed the cloud, and turned back into the Bore.

Right behind the Dragon. Clever boy.

Two more shots flashed along the deck as the Dragon began to turn towards the ship, crashing into the Dragon from behind and causing it to fall through the air, spiralling for a few seconds before it rightened itself and turned to pursue the other ship.

By then, Gerald had already pointed his ship back into the wind and had a hundred yard lead.

And they were almost in range.

"Guns?" Mathias called out to Adrian, although Tabitha already knowing the answer.

Lieutenant Keates looked quite a bit older than he had just a few hours ago when he first stepped on her ship. His hair was unkempt and burned in a few places, and the pain he couldn't keep from his face left him a dark, dangerous expression that even Mathias might have been proud of. "Loaded and primed! Ready to engage!" he called back, with a wave of his unbroken arm.

"Flight crew?" Mathias called out again.

Caitlin still looked like a teenager. Of course, that might be her own head refusing to see otherwise. It was easier to make fun of Mathias that way. 

"Propellers are fine! Reservoirs full, minimal strain on the hull, and the tethers are undamaged. Crew is ready!" Caitlin replied. Her voice had a calm, confident note to it that Tabitha appreciated hearing, especially since it concerned the state of her ship.

Caitlin will have her own ship once they build more, Tabitha thought to herself. So long as the City survives the night.

"Excellent," Mathias replied. He then turned to her, and still at a shout, asked, "Your orders, ma'am?"

"Prep for a port-side volley. We engage at close range and will attempt to drive the Dragon into the water. If it falls, we follow, and keep hitting it until it drowns," Tabitha said, fiercely, as the pointed the bow of the ship at the Dragon, and put the propellers into a speed they weren't designed for.