had died in the crash while trying to capture Teldin Moore. There was no need now to be polite about it. Teldin Moore, tragically, would have to be killed.
And it would be best if the admiral did it himself, he thought, fitting and proper in the grand scheme.
Far below him, specks crowded around the black ship.
*****
'We cannot retreat,' said Gomja, matter-of-factly. He checked the firing mechanism on his fourth pistol, then jammed it into his belt beside his other weapons, like Teldin, Gaye, and a handful of gnomes, including Dyffed, he crouched on the grass beneath the bulk of the
Teldin exhaled slowly and looked across the trampled grass to Aelfred's hunched figure. From this position, Teldin could not see Sylvie's body, and for that he was glad. 'So you're saying we should surrender.'
Gomja snorted and gave Teldin a disgusted stare. 'No. We should make the elves regret their unprovoked attack.'
'Make them regret it?' Teldin asked in disbelief. 'How in the name of all the gods can you just say something like that? You have got to be the craziest person I've ever met in my life. When I first met you, you gave me this incredible speech about how you were going to kill me, then your pistol blew up. You lead an attack on a neogi deathspider with a few dozen gnomes, and you crash the whole ship into a lake. You were helping out the elves-' Teldin broke off, sensing he had said too much.
The giff looked down, carefully pulling his uniform's front together and buttoning it where it had come loose. 'I freely admit that the elves used me, sir, but they have killed our navigator and chief helmsman. We must make them regret it by being prepared to take advantage of their every mistake from this moment forward. They have two ships above us, but neither ship can land. We are at an impasse unless the elves have more of their small flitters to come after you personally. Ever, if the elves win, their casualties will cause them to mourn their victory.'
Teldin said nothing at all to this. He looked down at the grass on which he sat, with his cloak bunched up beneath him. After a moment, he turned to his right, where Dyffed and Gaye sat, almost within arm's reach.
Gaye's tear-streaked face was almost hidden in her black tresses. She still watched Aelfred but made no sound at all. Occasionally she would sniff and wipe her nose on her sleeve. Dyffed sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, idly picking at a thumbnail. He sensed that Teldin was watching him, and he looked up blankly and shrugged, carefully avoiding any glance in Aelfred's direction.
Something clicked in Teldin's mind but wouldn't quite surface. Something about Dyffed and the
'Your secret weapon,' said Teldin. 'Dyffed, where's your secret weapon? The birthday party?'
The gnome peered through his thick spectacles and blinked rapidly. 'The what?'
'The birthday party, damn you! You told me that you had a secret weapon aboard the ship, something you and One Six Nine had been working on. Where's your weapon?'
Dyffed's blank look vanished. 'Yes, it's…' The gnome hesitated and looked around, but no one else had the slightest interest in either him or what he was saying. 'It's here with me, all finished. Why? What did you want with it?'
I must be dreaming, Teldin thought. 'What did I want with it? I want you to use it! Use it on the elves! Can you use it to blow up their ships?'
Dyffed's eyes glazed over as he became absorbed in the idea. 'What a thought,' he finally mumbled. 'It could certainly do that. I have no idea if there's any limit to what it can do. We should set up some tests, then arrange for a field demonstration, then-'
'You idiot!' Teldin yelled. Everyone but Aelfred turned to look at him. 'We have no time for testing it! We have no time left for anything! Pull out that secret weapon and show us the damned thing!'
Again, Dyffed looked around. Seeing all eyes upon him, he made a decision and sighed heavily. 'This goes against all my better judgment and scientific ethics,' he said, 'not to mention the members' code of Ironpiece Dweomerfusion Industries, Ordnance, and Technology, but perhaps you have a point.' He reached into his dirty vest and carefully extracted a slip of folded paper. This he handed, after a moment's hesitation, to Teldin. 'Here it is.'
Teldin took the paper in disbelief. After staring at the gnome, he looked down and slowly unfolded the paper. He read it without comment. 'This is it?' he finally said.
The gnome looked down and nodded somberly. 'Took me decades just to get it right,' he said with a trace of satisfaction. 'One Six Nine was a jolly help, just perfect. Fine old boy.' 'Is this a spell?' Teldin asked.
'Oh, no, no, not at all. That's just the theory. We'll have to get the raw materials and some equipment, assemble a device or two, develop a delivery system, conduct at least a few tests, then we'll be ready to put it into production.'
Teldin said nothing. After a few moments, the slip of paper dropped from his fingers. His head sagged forward until it dropped into his upraised hands, his palms and fingers covering his face.
Duffed grabbed for the paper, but Gaye caught it first and held it up to her wide, dark eyes. All that was written on the scrap was a simple notation:
E = mc2
'Eee mik two,' she said, just before Dyffed snatched the paper away. 'I don't get it.'
'It's actually rather simple,' Dyffed said irritably, folding the paper up again and putting it safely away in his inside vest pocket. 'It's the relationship between mass and magical potential in all the spheres, throughout the cosmos. The equation shows clearly that-'
'The armada's sending down a flitter, sir,' said Gomja in a flat, deep voice. He was looking up into the sky. His large, blunt fingers closed on the butts of two of the pistols at his belt. 'You and the others had better get inside the ship. I can stall the flitter crewmen if they still think I'm helping them. I might be able to force my way inside and take the crew hostage, using them to get our freedom.' The giff shoved himself unsteadily to his feet. He looked down and saw that no one else had moved. 'Sir, you and the others had better get inside now,' he repeated.
Teldin's face turned to look into Gomja's own. The giff shifted uncomfortably. There was something new in Teldin's face that the giff did not recall ever having seen before. It was so intense that Gomja swallowed, almost turning away.
'I'm going with you,' Teldin said, and abruptly got to his feet. His cloak was at full length, so blue that it seemed almost purple. He waved at the gnomes and Gaye. 'Get the hell inside the ship, right now. Move.'
With only the slightest pause and without even the slightest comment, the kender and the gnomes did exactly as they were told, though Gaye stopped before him long enough to look into his face. Her hand came our as if to touch him, but it then pulled back, and she followed the others to the rope ladder to climb inside.
Teldin and Gomja glanced up at the tiny green-and-white striped flitter that slowly descended from the orange butterfly ship in the sky. Teldin looked over for a moment at Aelfred.
The big warrior was stroking Sylvie's face with his fingertips, still cradling her head with his other hand. His face was hidden. Teldin looked away and began walking in the Sitter's general direction. After a moment, Gomja straightened his posture, lifted his chin, and followed.
*****
Mirandel watched the flitter fall toward the ground. It was impossible to tell at this close distance that what lay beneath them was the surface of the head of a creature larger than many worlds, whose footsteps could span continents. The
