The Himmelsfestung

Ulrich Ziegler leaned back in the chair, impatiently tapping his scepter against his thigh. Outside the tall windows at the front of the bridge, all he could see was the blue Tielan sky.

The sight hadn't changed since he had set off in the Himmelsfestung a few days ago. To his annoyance, he'd had to waste an entire day getting the skycraft serviced, as it hadn't flown since his father's generation.

Which only gave Spider Lily's new wizard a greater head start. Well, there was no use worrying about it. The Himmelsfestung would catch up to them soon enough.

As he absently rubbed the crystal tipping the scepter, he felt a faint twinge from its Levia. The further the Himmelsfestung traveled, the deeper its power seemed to become. It was a subtle change, but impossible to miss.

Which, perhaps, gave Ulrich even more reason for excitement.

The doors at the back of the bridge clicked open. Standing to the right of his chair, Rain stiffened, and didn't relax even as a rather nondescript nephilim stepped inside. Vigilant as ever. Ulrich did find it one of her more endearing traits.

Not that the nephilim's arrival warranted such caution; she was only Ulrich's strongest Levia sensor. Ever since the Himmelsfestung had departed, she'd been meditating over the cello the wizard had left behind, resonating with the traces of his Levia. As she knelt before Ulrich, he couldn't stop his heart from pounding harder in anticipation.

Though he refused to let it show. Drawing himself up stiffly, he snapped, "So what's your report?"

"Master," the sensor said to the plush carpet beneath her, "the Levia signal continues to grow stronger. I estimate at our current rate, we might intercept it within the evening."

"Ah." The skin on the back of Ulrich's nape prickled. "Are you certain?"

The sensor bowed lower. "Yes, Master."

Rain spoke up, her voice sharp. "This is the correct Levia, yes? Last night, you said it didn't feel like an exact match."

"Perhaps not," the sensor mumbled, "but it feels very similar."

"Then we'll continue on our present course," Ulrich said, annoyed Rain had butted in without permission. "Return to your work, and report again if you notice any changes in the Levia."

"Yes, Master." Another bow, then the sensor rose to her feet and quietly departed the bridge.

Ulrich turned toward Rain. "Inform the engineer to increase our speed as much as reasonably possible."

Rain bowed, but just as she stepped away from the chair she turned to cast him a troubled glance. "Master, if I may…."

"What is it?" Ulrich gripped his scepter tighter.

Rain breathed in deeply. "With all due respect...are you certain about this? The Levia isn't an exact match, and we have yet to detect Spider Lily's Levia as well."

She kept her tone polite and emotionless, but Ulrich caught on to everything she wasn't saying. No doubt she considered this entire venture a waste of time, and that he'd be better served performing his duties as Ziegler head back at the castle.

Once, she had been his father's personal guard. Though she had fallen in line after Ulrich had slain the old man, he knew full well which master she'd rather be serving.

Ulrich snapped his fingers. "Come here."

Rain looked puzzled, but obeyed. As soon as she was close enough, Ulrich lashed out his arm. The back of his hand cracked across her face with enough force to knock her off her feet.

"How dare you question me," Ulrich said coldly, glaring at the demon crumpled before him. "Do you need any further reminders, or will you obey the orders you are given?"

To emphasize his point, he slammed his scepter into the carpet. To his satisfaction, Rain flinched.

"No, Master." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "Forgive my insolence."

"Whatever." Ulrich flicked the scepter. "Get out of here."

As Rain climbed to her feet and headed to the doors, Ulrich glared after her retreating back. It didn't matter what she thought of him, or anybody else.

None of them understood his feelings for Spider Lily. Everything, everything had been for Spider Lily's sake – killing his father, becoming the Ziegler head. Who cared about the pathetic villagers crowding around the castle, the pitiful travelers begging for his blessing. Ulrich owed nothing to them.

This time, he would not let Spider Lily slip out of his fingers.

His grip tightened around the scepter, hands closing around the crystal. Its Levia surged, and for a moment he felt as if he were swooping through an unending night sky. A few hard blinks scattered the strange sensation, but the Levia didn't stop tugging at his consciousness.

He'd never sensed anything like this from the crystal. It couldn't be a coincidence that it too was leading him toward the Levia the sensor had detected.

Soon. Very soon. And when the ship's propellers thrummed louder, a satisfied smirk spread across his face. Rain had obeyed his order after all.

~*~

'Please, Eulyn. Let me hear your voice.'

Cay had no idea how long he'd stayed out here, back hunched and hands clasped over the Star of Miriel. The cold had worked its way into his joints, leaving his entire body numb, but he didn't give a damn.

As long as he could sense Eulyn's Levia – the faintest silver glimmer within the medusid's clear blue depths – he wouldn't give up.

His own Levia pulsed in his veins, bright and strong. In a dim way, he felt amazed at how steadily it flowed even after all this time. Under normal circumstances, he would probably have long run dry. But as long as the Star of Miriel pulsed beneath his hands, its deep night sky augmented his silver light.

It was almost peaceful – or would have been if it weren't for his heart madly throbbing against his ribcage. As the minutes slipped past, it pounded harder and harder until the sound thrummed through his entire body, from the top of his skull to the soles of his feet.

Wait. Was this his heartbeat?

Just as the thought struck him, the Star's Levia flared. It was like a comet had streaked across the sky, shattering the tranquil night. Cay's eyes flew open.

He could no longer feel a trace of Eulyn's Levia, or even the medusid's, but it didn't matter. Not when the Star was blazing with blue light.

The light burned brighter, washing out the crystal's outlines and making his eyes water. Waves of heat pulsed from it, chasing away the night's chill. Every instinct screamed at him to drop it, but his hands were frozen in place.

Maybe just as well. As he lifted his head, dread welling in his stomach, he saw a massive shape cutting through the pitch-black sky. Heading straight toward the Blue Sky.

Another skycraft, Cay realized. But more than twice the size of the Blue Sky, crowned by a medusid trailing scarlet tentacles like a river of blood. The skycraft slowly turned toward the Blue Sky, the roar of its propellers wiping all thought from Cay's head.

When the tentacles shot toward the Blue Sky, cold horror crashed through Cay. He flung himself off the cabin roof, hitting the deck on his side. Pain seared through his bones, but Cay clenched his teeth and scrambled to his feet.

The hatch was only a few yards away. He had to dive under, alert the others –

Thud. An impact jolted the entire craft, causing it to list starboard. Cay rolled across the deck until he hit the railing, knocking the breath from his lungs. Across from him, he saw the tentacles had already latched around the port side railing.

They kept coming, shoving between Blue's much thinner tentacles, their angry scarlet drowning out her soft blue. With a tremendous yank, the tentacles tugged the skycraft level once more. Cay spilled flat onto the deck.

A horrid screech of metal sliced through even the roaring propellers. Cay's blood turned to ice when he saw a ramp unfolding from the skycraft's side.

'Hurry!' Once more he scrambled toward the hatch. But it was too late, much too late. The ramp hit the Blue Sky's deck hard enough to crumple the metal beneath it, and the thud of marching boots filled the air as soldiers clad in black leather descended.

Behind them came a tall man carrying a scepter, its tip blazing as blue as the crystal in Cay's hands.