Westhaven by Rowan Erlking (best sci fi novels of all time TXT) 📕

Key drew in a breath and set his cup on the table. “Yes. We really should start. I think the first thing we ought to discuss is the heightened presence of the Sky Children here. They’ve anticipated us—though I don’t know how Captain Tousen could have possibly predicted our arrival.”

“Yes, but they are expecting a fire,” Tiler said, lifting his fork to stab a piece of fruit from the already diminished tray-full.

Bredin nodded as the others chuckled.

“I think the first thing we ought to do is build the tunnels,” Key said. He looked to Lanona then Soin. “We’ll need escape routes, just in case things go wrong.”

Lanona nodded, glancing to Soin who drew in a breath.

“We need a map of the city to make effective tunnels,” Lanona replied, looking right back at Key.

“Which brings us back to the first problem,” Bredin said with a sigh at the possibility for a paradox.

But Key unexpectedly looked thoughtful. He glanced to Lanona. “Can you conjure the map?”

She blinked at him. “C-conjure?”

He nodded. “Stealing it is out of the question. None of us can just go inside the office and take it.”

“Taking it by magic would do the same thing,” Lanona replied. “Even if I could summon the map, I don’t think it would go unnoticed.”

“Then we’ll have to get a map another way,” Bredin said.

Most were silent, though Key shook his head, thinking hard. He then glanced to Bredin with another idea. “How tall are those ship masts?”

Blinking, Bredin shrugged. “I don’t know. Some are twenty, thirty feet up.”

Key nodded to himself and exhaled.

Seeing what Key was thinking of, Luis asked, “Is there any place that overlooks the city, a tower or—”

“Yes.” Bredin nodded, seeing what he was thinking also. “The bell tower. It is in the center of the stone city. It overlooks the bay. A family runs it, though the blue-eyes have soldiers there. It is also a lighthouse.”

“We have to get past the soldiers somehow,” Loid murmured, glancing to Soin.

“I can do it,” Lanona said.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“How can you do it? You said you needed a map.” Rainold leaned over his plate.

She gave a confident nod. “Now that I know I’m feeling for a bell on hard ground, I can easily find it and make a tunnel to there. I just need to start on hard ground.”

“That might prove a problem,” Bredin replied. He leaned back with a gesture towards the bay. “Most human property is on the water. I could get you into an inn on land, but that would draw suspicion.”

“I-I can help her,” Soin said, nodding to him. “After all, w-we were to t-team up right?”

Lanona gave him a grateful smile.

“I’ll part the w-water, and she can b-build a pillar to our starting point, m-make it hollow t-tunnel and from th-there we can start th-the c-construction of the tunnels.” He looked to Key with a nod. “I-I’ll go with her to the bell tower. W-we can take Luis with us and s-someone else. Both of us can s-start to plan the c-canals. We’ll draw the m-map or at least get a g-good idea of what the c-city looks like from th-there.”

“That might work.” Bredin growing hopeful.

“It will work.” Key gave Soin a nod, then Lanona. “They’ll be able to get it done.”

No one refuted it when Key said it so firmly.

“Then to our other business,” Bredin looked to Key. “You ought to go with them to identify the military post for our raid. I think then if you would help arrange our plan of attack I could organize a distraction.”

“What kind of distraction are you thinking of?” Key peered at him. He wondered what kind of trouble they were getting themselves into. Bredin did not seem like a reckless man, but then not every person revealed his true nature in just the first encounter. On his home ground, Bredin was known as a pirate.

Bredin saw his look and tried to give a reassuring smile. It came out more as a grimace. “Nothing out of the ordinary, I assure you. But the blue-eyes won’t resist being drawn into what I can prepare for them. Just as long as you make sure a rainstorm and flood comes to wash out the evidence of what’s been stolen in the outpost, I will have no qualms about causing a stir in the bay.”

They all sat back.

“You are not going to attack the city, are you?” Key stared at him.

 The others also looked just as flustered.

“Not the humans. But the famous Sea Fisher has been know to take shots at the blue-eyes ships from time to time. And when you see me, you won’t even recognize me.” Bredin then laughed. “I’ve lived a double life for some time now. Most people here think my name is Breidin Fishman. This is my inn, though I own another one uptown that caters to the wealthier crowd. I can get our so-called Wede Mountain merchants in there. But the rest of you would look too conspicuous in that area of town.”

“But we can tunnel to the inn, right?” Lanona asked, watching Key’s face as he thought seriously on what Bredin was saying. “That could be our starting off place for the attack on the military compound.”

“It would have to be,” Key murmured, nodding. He then glanced to Bredin. “If Soin conjures a storm, bring in rain, how will that affect your attack on the bay?”

Bredin held an amused smile. “Actually, I plan to do it after the storm is over, when you all escape the city.”

“We should make a tunnel out of the city,” Lanona said, nodding to Soin who she quickly noticed was looking a little harried. “Is something wrong?”

Soin clenched his teeth with a jerky shake of his head. “N-not exactly wrong. B-but y—oh crap! It-it’s just that I-I have to c-conjure a n-natural looking storm, keep the water back as y-you make t-tunnels, draw in a fog, and then f-f-flood a military post, all without th-them seeing us. I’m going to be tired.”

“We’re asking too much of you, aren’t we?” Key was sorry, peering at his friend’s face.

“B-besides that,” Soin snapped, looking more irritable than normal. “This p-place reeks. H-how can y-you s-stand it!”

Lanona set a hand on Soin’s shoulder. “Sorry. We just can’t smell it.”

“As much,” Key muttered, nodding.

The Sea Fisher let out a loud sigh. “You get used to it.”

“I-I don’t think I could.” Soin leaned back in his seat. “I w-will be happy when w-we’re back on land.”

Those around him patted him in commiseration. Bredin pretended not to be affronted by it. Instead the Sea Fisher turned to Key and started to discuss the details of their plans. Most of the dinner party had split up anyway. Soin and Lanona with Luis began to discuss their raid on the bell tower, something they would do in the early morning though they intended to start the tunnel that night. The others listened to Key describe the actual military office and how that particular one was set up. Most were active in the planning except for Telerd who had nodded off in his chair from too much drink.

It was well late when they all parted to the rooms Bredin had prepared for them. By then, the entire group rolled into a deep sleep—though perhaps Soin struggled more than the others, unable to close off is wizard sense of smell to the reek of rot and demons.

The morning air was filled with a wet mist. It was mildly sprinkling from clouds that had gathered in the night in what seemed like an autumn rain. Soin had already started his work.

He and Lanona were already gone when Key awoke. Yet, the tunnel they had formed early that morning had been left open for him to follow. Key, Telerd, and Loid climbed in while Tiler went with Rainold to scout out the inn that Bredin owned. They had to rent a ground floor dining room as the exit point for Lanona. As they separated to their tasks, inside his head, Key went over all the things that needed to happen in the order they had discussed. As he did, a frown formed on his face, counting all the things that could go wrong with their plan.

To start with; beyond the construction of tunnels, Soin had to bring in a fog also. They needed it to mask that he was raising the waters inland but not in the bay. With that water, they intended to flood out the military post after they had ransacked it.

And of course there were others in the plan that had to coordinate with them, which complicated things. Edman was leading the first crew with sleeping balms. Then everyone else would go in. Of course all of their men would be armed, because if soldiers stopped any of them, it would mean trouble.

Also, their escape routes were still in the works. Each man depended upon the tunnels Lanona had to make. They needed them to get out of the city during the final escape. And even then they had to get out of the city while Bredin attacked the Sky Child ships as the Sea Fisher.

Each part had to work perfectly. Key just hoped that the Sky Children were not prepared against the storm they were about to bring.

The tunnel reached an incline after the long walk in the dark, and they found steps taking them upward. Loid emerged from the tunnel first, letting Key out once he was sure it was safe. When Key emerged from the tunnel into the bell tower’s bottom floor, his eyes fell on two dead Sky Children who were lying in puddles of blood on the ground near the hole’s opening.

Both men’s guts had been cut open, though their mouths looked sealed shut through magic. The mark of a handprint was on each of their faces. Unfortunately it was also proof that a wizard was among them. He’d have to talk to Lanona about that. She still didn’t seem to comprehend how important it was to hide her presence from others.

Loid led the way up the stairs. Key followed with Telerd on his flank. As they went up, they saw the occasional window and room. It was a Kitai tower, though much of the artwork it had been defaced by bullet holes and fire—all of it to remove all the anti-demon wards as well as a number of the building spells. A few children peered out from the doors. Key noticed them watching their group with mixed horror and curiosity. He wanted to say something to keep them calm, but they ducked back inside their rooms and leaned on the backs of the doors in case he tried to come in. Shrugging, he continued upward.

All three Bekir men were winded when they reached the top.

“It’s about time,” Luis declared when they lifted the hatch and climbed out onto the open top.

Not far, yet near the edge, Lanona was peering down on the city with Soin along with an older local couple. The couple whispered to the two wizards things they knew about the city. All of them turned the