Zachariah protected his face as Bolan brought the Rocket down. He helped Rabbit up

the ladder before he climbed up. He took the pilot’s seat as Rabbit moved to the back

of the compartment.

“Octo took the others on what Gold Bug built out of his wreck,” said Bolan. “Knife

and Hardy helped with some of the fine tuning.”

“Was he all right to fly?,” asked Zachariah. He checked the controls as he strapped

in.

“He said he could handle it,” said Sola. “We sent the others with him to watch him.”

“All right,” said Zachariah. He lifted the Rocket off the sand. He saw men

approaching on horses. He didn’t know if they were more rebels, or guards from one

of the Houses. He couldn’t let either side capture him and his passengers. He

switched the jet and lunged after the other air ship.

Zachariah considered the map as he rushed after the other aircraft. Gold Bug crawled

up his arm and sat on his shoulder. The bug watched the sky beyond the window as

his partner thought.

“We’re going to have to let the Kellers win this leg,” said Zachariah. “We have to

stick with Octo to make sure he can make it.”

“The riders and Sir Dormir have already headed for the wall,” said Sola. “We can’t

catch any of them now.”

“How’s Pearl doing?,” asked Zachariah.

“She’s fine, Master Eight Arms,” said Brother Rabbit. “She seems ready to fly.”

“As soon as we’re over the wall and away from the desert, we’ll let you out,” said

Zachariah.

“That would be excellent,” said the pooka. He held the miniature dragon close. “I

can’t believe the Alvas helped us. They aren’t usually friendly to others.”

“I think he didn’t like the interference,” said Zachariah. “He’s not trying to win the

race. I think he’s watching us.”

“He did say he’s testing his flying tree,” said Bolan.

“He’s not testing it for speed,” said Zachariah.

“He’s testing the actual spell work,” said Rabbit. “The Alvas can do a lot with their

magic, but flying trees aren’t what they would consider natural working material.”

“But they can make trees servants,” said Zachariah. “And adding flight to that would

make their trees able to attack anything from the air.”

“And protection from airships like this,” said Brother Rabbit. “It’s no good to have

a wall when your enemies can fly over it and drop spells and technological weapons

down on top of you.”

“Ground attacks would already be stymied by their normal defenses,” said Zachariah.

“Their government must be trying to get on equal footing with the other nations

trying to take to the air.”

“Their king is said to be prescient,” said the pooka. He flicked an ear. “Strengthening

the wards against air attacks makes sense. They can’t afford to lose a majority of their

dragon power.”

“All right,” said Zachariah. “Is that Octo’s aircraft?”

Bolan came forward to look out the window.

“Yes, it is,” said apprentice. “It’s flying great. Gold Bug did a good job with it.”

He returned to his seat and strapped in.

“I’ll say so,” said Zachariah.

The daemon had taken Octo’s wrecked jet and rebuilt it with some improvements

from what Zachariah could see. He would like to see what the engine looked like

now.

“We’re almost to the wall,” said Sola. “Another five minutes maybe.”

Zachariah looked at the silhouette of the other pilot. He saw the other man raise his

hand. He nodded at the hand signal. The ace felt like he could make it to the landing

spot in Riordiana.

“He just told us to leave him,” said Zachariah. “I think we are going to hold position

until we reach the wall.”

Zachariah knew that Gold Bug’s machinery worked as advertised. It was more fragile

than building things by hands. A bird hitting Octo’s airship could punch a hole

through it if it hit a section made solely of the daemon’s webbing.

The wall bordering the desert loomed closer. Zachariah pulled the stick to gain

altitude. He watched Octo mirror his move. In the distance, a spark of light marked

the Kellers chasing after the Riordianians and other pilots who had not been taken by

the rebels’ trap.

“Are you sure you two can make it from here?,” asked Zachariah.

“What do you think, Pearl?,” said the rabbit. He smiled at the lizard in his arms. The

lizard squeaked in reply. “This is two favors you have done us, machinist. At this rate,

we’ll never pay you back.”

“One day, I will need your help to get something done,” said Zachariah. “You can pay

me back then.”

“I will be ready,” said Brother Rabbit.

“All right,” said Zachariah. “I’m going to land so we can let you out.”

“No need,” said the pooka. “Open the window.”

Zachariah pressed the levers to divert the jets. He slid the window out of the way.

Brother Rabbit came forward with Pearl in his arms. He threw her through the opened

window. He hopped into the sky after her. The pair circled the Rocket. The pooka

waved as the dragon circled to start climbing. Then she surged after the other racers.

Zachariah slid the window shut. He smiled as the dragon clawed at the air, chasing

the pack.

Octo roared by in his patched ship. He waved as he went by. Then he was chasing the

dragon.

“It looks like we’re last,” said Bolan. “I think we need to get a move on.”

Zachariah switched the jet. He smiled as the Rocket sped forward. He watched the

gauges as the engine clicked away in its compartment. He settled in, watching the

route map flipping along on his dashboard.

“Let’s see if we can fly out of last place,” said Zachariah.

“I doubt that,” said Bolan. “There’s no way we can boost the output of the engine.”

“There’s ways,” said Zachariah. “Let’s see if we can catch up with the others without

resorting to doing something drastic.”

The Rocket caught up with Rabbit and Pearl first. The dragon looked tired as it swam

through the air. The official resting point was far ahead. If they landed now, they

could get some rest on the ground and catch up later.

The race officials didn’t care about taking a break on a leg. They just recorded when

you landed at a checkpoint. He was sure there were some racers that never made it

around the circuit. It was up to them to report in and tell the officials what had

happened.

He passed Octo again. The other’s scratch jet was still holding on. If it blew up now,

the pilot would be on his own when he hit the ground.

Zachariah watched the spark of the Kellers’ airship drawing closer. He passed several

daemons and riders as well as he chased after the other jet. He passed a propellor

driven aircraft still hanging on. He wondered how that pilot had avoided being

stopped by the desert people.

Sir Dormir came into view. His tree rotated its branches as it sailed through the air.

He waved an acknowledgment as the Rocket whipped by. He sipped his tea as he

watched the airship chase after the lead.

Zachariah eyed the Kellers’ vehicle as he chased after it. It would be so easy to have

Gold Bug take the thing apart in midair. He smiled to himself. He was only mad that

they had passed him because of their obnoxiousness.

He put the thoughts away. He had entered the race to test the Rocket out. He was

doing it now by trying to catch up to a ship with a lead. If he could do it, he would

have something to be proud of doing.

And it would show the Kellers they weren’t as good as he and Gold Bug were.

He passed the other aircraft. He waved at the boys as he moved ahead. It looked like

he would be touching down in Riordiana first.

Zachariah watched his numbers flipping as he roared along. He was chasing the night

now. He wondered how far he would be along before the sun caught up with them.

He rubbed his eyes. He needed to get some sleep. He looked around. Bolan and Sola

were asleep at their stations. He shook his head. He looked at the map flipping along.

He could hold on for few more minutes.

They were almost across the plains leading to the coast. He should be able to see

Riordiana before the sun blotted the ground out.

He saw the ocean ahead. Riders on daemons held station. One of the riders pointed

to a cleared spot next to the bay that Festus had created with his Primrose. He brought

the Rocket in for a landing. He lowered the skids and cut the engine as soon as they

had touched down.

Now he had to report what had happened in the desert, and talk about what he had

been asked to find in the water. Then he could get some sleep until the race started

again.

He slid the window back. He looked at the daemons. They stared back.

“You’re on guard duty until I get back,” he said. “After that, the kids can take you

sightseeing.”

Knife and Hardy clacked cheerfully. Gold Bug refused to move from his shoulder.

“Going with me, buddy?,” asked Zachariah.

Gold Bug waved his antennae around.

“All right,” said Zachariah. “You two guard the ship and don’t let anybody board

her.”

Knife produced weapons and tools from his back like an angry porcupine. Anybody

trying to get onboard the Rocket would get a shock.

Zachariah climbed down the side of the Rocket. An official came forward. The man

held the official stamp in his hands.

“How do you do?,” Zachariah said.

“I need to stamp your card so I can put down the official time,” said the functionary.

“Hold on,” said Zachariah. “My daughter has the card. She’s asleep.”

“I’ll need to stamp it before any of the others come in,” said the official.

“Some of them might be delayed,” said Zachariah. “We had some trouble flying over

the Crater Desert.”

“What kind of trouble?,” asked the official.

“Some of the desert people attacked us,” said Zachariah. He climbed up inside the

Rocket. He held up his hands so that Knife wouldn’t shoot. “It’s just me.”

Zachariah walked over to where his daughter slept. He shook her gently. Her eyes

came open for a second.

“I need the card so we can be declared winners,” said Zachariah.

“Hardy has it,” Sola said. She started snoring again.

“Cough it up, Hardy,” said Zachariah. “As soon as I get this done, I can check to see

if Festus is around so we can talk to him.”

Hardy opened up his wing case so the machinist could take the card. He put it back

when he had it stamped.

“The desert people caused problems?,” said the official. “How? They can’t fly.”

“Apparently they can move things with their minds,” said Zachariah. “Luckily, we

didn’t get the brunt of it like the others. Is Festus around? I have to talk to him about

something.”

“He’s on the island,” said the official. “You won’t be able to get out there without a

pass.”

“Thank you,” said Zachariah. “I have two overenthusiastic watchdogs on the Rocket.

Knock and announce first before you try to climb aboard. They might set you on fire

by accident.”

“I’ll pass the word around,” said the official.