“How quickly can it be done?” Mari asked. “Here is Mechanic Captain Banda. Please work with him.”
“Please? I have never before heard a Mechanic use that word in my presence.” The officer saluted. “It will be my honor to do as you say, Lady. Under duress, of course.”
“There may be Mechanic forces on their way to Edinton,” Alain told the woman in the red uniform.
“We cannot fight them,” she replied. “Not unless the daughter wants us to rise up now.”
“Can you remain uninvolved even if the Mechanics Guild demands assistance?”
“It would take time to respond to the Guild’s demands,” the woman said. “Perhaps a lot of time. My forces have been greatly stressed by the pirate attack and the dragon.”
“Thank you,” Mari said, awkward with gratitude. “I need to talk to my people about some other things.”
“We will be nearby until you depart,” one of the officials assured her.
As Alain and Mari walked away, Alain heard argument break out again, at least a couple of the officials terrified of what might happen to the city if its cooperation with the daughter was discovered or even suspected by the Great Guilds.
“It’s almost a relief to have some of them disagree with me,” Mari said to Alain. “I’m beginning to worry that I might start liking being surrounded by people who will agree to anything I say.”
“I do not think that will ever be a problem,” Alain assured her. “The more people are in awe of you, the less you like it.”
Mari choked out a brief laugh. “I’ve always been a little resistant to being told who to be and what to do. I guess being seen as… her… feels like people trying to make me into something else. So if I ever start to act too high and mighty, just start worshiping me and I’ll start being humble just to spite you.”
“But I already worship you,” Alain protested.
That earned him a full laugh.
Mari dove into the work of making decisions needed to loot the Guild Hall. Alain stood by, watching for signs of deception in those Mari spoke with. Mechanics Alli and Calu also stood ready to assist. Mechanic Ken came up with information and left with more instructions, while the older Mechanics like Lukas and S’san gave advice that Mari listened to intently. Open-bed wagons rolled up to the Guild Hall and large Mechanic devices were hoisted onto them. Every once in a while several loaded wagons would head for the docks, accompanied by Mechanics who appeared gleeful to be pillaging their Guild Hall.
Alain was not certain how much time had passed when he felt the presence of a now-familiar Mage and looked to the north. A black dot was visible in the sky and growing rapidly larger. “Mage Alera returns.”
Mari stared as the Roc glided low above the plaza and came to a running halt nearby.
“A smoke-snake comes,” Mage Alera said even before dismounting from the Roc. She slid off the bird’s neck and inclined her head toward Mari. “Elder, the smoke snake is on the shining lines entering the far side of the hills beyond this city.”
“Kasi!” Master Mechanic Lukas called to another Mechanic who was not yet wearing one of Mari’s armbands. “Did you get any notice of a special coming in today?”
Mechanic Kasi ran up to Lukas. “No. A special? Why would the Guild have sent a special train?”
“They got warned that we might hit Edinton,” Mari explained. “The train is just entering the hills north of here. How much time do we have?”
“From there, if they come in at the best speed they can manage on those stretches, maybe two hours.”
“That’s not nearly enough,” Lukas said. “We’d have to abandon almost everything.”
“Is there a place where we could blow the track?” Alli demanded. “Some spot where it would really slow them down?”
Mechanic Kasi nodded. “Where the trestle crosses the river north of town, on the near side of those hills. That’s the only good spot between here and there. Blow the trestle and they’ll have to climb down, cross the river, climb up, and walk along the track to get here. That’d take several hours at least. But you can’t do it. There is no way to get to that trestle before the train does.”
“Horses at full gallop—” Calu began.
“Not even close,” Kasi said. “The train is too near and that trestle is too far. Nothing could get you there fast enough.”
Everyone had forgotten Mage Alera, but now she spoke as dispassionately as ever. “If a Mechanic can do a spell at this place, my Roc and I can take the Mechanic there.”
“Fly?” Alli said, then broke into a broad smile. “Yes! She can fly me to the trestle, I can blow it, and we’ll be fine.”
Calu waved both hands at Alli. “Whoa. Wait. We have to think about this.”
“Why?” Alli asked. “I’m going to fly on the back of an imaginary bird to plant an explosive charge in front of a train loaded with heavily armed, hostile Mechanics. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Then I need to go, too,” Calu insisted.
Mage Alera shook her head once. “The spell forming my Roc grows old and fades. He cannot carry three to the river and back.”
“Alli…” Mari stared at her helplessly.
“The suggestion of Mage Alera and Mechanic Alli is a good one,” Alain said, knowing that Mari did not want to hear that but needed to regardless.
“Do I get a say in this?” Mechanic Calu asked, his eyes on Alli.
She stepped close to him and whispered, then kissed him. “It’ll be all right,” Alli added as she stepped back. “How much can I carry, Mage Alera?”
Alera looked at her Roc. “He grows weak. Carry as little as needed.”
Alli tossed her rifle to Calu. “I’ve already got the fuse I require, but I need several blocks of standard explosive compound C. Who can get it for me really fast?”
Mechanic Kasi and Mechanic Ken ran off. Alli pulled a small packet from a pocket of her Mechanics jacket, placed it carefully in one pocket of her pants, then peeled off her jacket before kicking off her boots.
“Do you want my pistol?” Mari asked.
“I’m good,” Alli said. “I just need those boom blocks.”
Alain saw the look on Mechanic Calu’s face and felt the need to say something. “I am sorry,” he said to Calu.
“Don’t be,” Calu said. “This was Alli’s idea, and it is a good idea. I just wish it wasn’t Alli doing it. But she’s right. I shouldn’t stop her from doing what she’s best at. You and I really made some choices in women, huh? Never a dull moment.”
“I do not think I have experienced a dull moment since meeting Mari,” Alain agreed.
Mechanics Kasi and Ken came running back with what looked to Alain like several bricks, though the material seemed softer. Alli pulled her shirt out of her pants and wrapped the blocks into the front, then nodded to Alera. “Tell me what to do, Lady Mage.”
Alera helped a visibly nervous Alli onto the back of the Roc, the bird eyeing her with the vast orb of his right eye. As soon as Alli was settled, Mage Alera climbed on in front of her, leaning over to whisper into the ear of her Roc.
The bird shuffled about, then ran across the plaza, hopping into the air just in time to clear the crowds and the buildings around its margin.
Mari stared after it, blinking hard. “Alain, what else should we do?”
“Even if—” Alain saw the effect of his first two words on Calu and quickly changed them. “After Mechanic Alli succeeds, the Mechanics from your Guild will still come on, though they will need more time. You will need armed Mechanics to slow them further. It is called a rear guard.”
“I’ll—” Mari started.
“No!” came simultaneously from Professor S’san, Master Mechanic Lukas, Mechanic Calu, and Alain.