1899- Journey to Mars

Tardos Mors laughed at Billy’s consternation.

Dejah’s flier hung in the air a few feet off of the ground. It hummed steadily and the extended gossamer wings beat a hurricane wind that made Billy’s hair fly around. They had to practically shout at each other over the wind.

Tardos shrugged as well.

“Come on, Billy,” Avi said. “We must go to the castle to find your friend.”

Billy brought his six-shooter from his left holster and checked the load, then the JPM from his right and checked the charge. He nodded, skirted the wings and then climbed into the rear saddle.

“How do we get to depart?” Avi shouted at Tardos Mors.

Tardos stepped to the stairway and his foot tapped an odd-colored brick. The domed ceiling divided into six sections and descended into the floor. The bright pink and orange sky was slowly revealed. After a moment the entire chamber was exposed and the height became dizzying.

Avi grinned and looked back at Billy.

“Oh shit,” Billy said. “I think I’m not going to like this.”

The flyer shot away from its high perch and into the air.

The dust cloud on the horizon had grown to become a wall of darkness in which heat lightning played about.

“Go around them!” Billy shouted. “We don’t want them to see us!”

Avi nodded and banked to the left and away from the Atmosphere Factory and the Great Canal.

“Like I don’t know how to fly,” Billy mumbled to himself.

[ 86 ]

“Where be we going, Mizz Ekka?” Bixie asked. “This be de same canyon where de Argent came to rest.”

They were two miles along the canal wall and nearing the Argent. The sun revealed two-thirds of the far canyon wall. At this height it was a quarter of a mile to the surface and they were going steadily down.

“You mean crashed, Bixie. Yes, we’re stopping by the Argent first. Do you remember when you were talking about those spider things? About how they were neither evil nor good and that it was more of an intelligence thing, and that they needed food just like anything else?”

“I recall dat.”

“Do you see that dust cloud approaching above us?”

“Big as a storm,” Bixie said.

“That’s the dust from the approaching army of Jonathan Conklins and Corts.”

“Dem I remember. Morts and Corts.”

“We need...allies,” Ekka said.

Bixie laughed. “Mizz Ekka. You be more crazy dan I be, and I be plumb outta my mind.”

“You said you couldn’t read the spiders. That tells me that they are more animal than not. Am I right?”

“You be right,” Bixie said. She sloughed her pack off when Ekka paused for a breather. The women regarded the high cliff walls above them. Then Ekka looked down in their direction of travel and saw a glint of tarnished steel. They weren’t far from the Argent.

“Those things were climbing the walls of that cavern when they were after us, weren’t they?” Ekka asked.

“Dey sure was.” Bixie sat on a red boulder and slapped her leg. “Now how we gonna get da Ten Legs to follow us up dat cliff? Neither of us be climbin’ fast as dem.”

“We get to the Argent. We see how far along Edgar and Pat are on the repairs, then we have them wait for us to get back. Then we—”