Read Fall of Sky City (A Steampunk Fantasy Sci-Fi Adventure Novel) (Devices of War) for Free Online

were changing elevation. I turned to the Yusrra Samma, but she continued to bob with the current, level with us.
    I didn’t like it.
    And neither did our men.
    I searched the deck. It was barren and clean. There were few people. Someone was mopping not far from us. Someone else sat on a metal bump whose purpose was lost to me and worked on a net in his hands. Where was everyone? They couldn’t all be below deck. Could they? And why would they choose to stay down there?
    A cathedral-like structure rose above the deck about midship. It was one and a half stories high with large painted glass windows. The queen led us there.
    “I wonder if you came for the survivors of the Family of Umira.”
    Father tipped his head with a frown. “Umira? What are they doing out here?”
    “Searching for summer ground, perhaps?”
    Father’s eye twitched. “They are a land family and do not venture into the air. Our paths rarely cross.”
    “I’m sure.” The queen stopped and waited for one of her guard to open the heavy door. “So you did not see us until it was too late to alter course?”
    Father followed her through the door and blinked once inside. “You’ve stolen all of our technologies, our research.”
    “Stolen,” she scoffed, her skirts swaying with her steps. “So harsh a word. You willingly gave them to us, as you knew you should have from the beginning.”
    Father raised his chin.
    A cold smile slithered across her face.
    I had never met anyone so evil in my life. I felt sick and slimed just being in her presence. How could someone like that exist?
    And what did I plan to do with it? What could I do?
    She turned and headed toward the end of the long state room. “If you were to surrender your Family to our care and offer your life into servitude, I could give you access to your research and more.” She gestured around her, her gait so smooth, she almost appeared to float before me. “As you can see, we’ve taken what you’ve gathered and moved a bit further with it. I think you will be impressed with the advancements we’ve made.”
    “How does this ship stay afloat?” I asked.
    She gave my father a cunning look, but stepped aside so I could walk beside her. “Wouldn’t you like to learn?”
    I narrowed my gaze, but remained a step behind. “I am mildly interested.”
    Father gave a slight nod of approval.
    Unsure of what to do, I followed my curiosity. “Do you use gas ballasts?”
    She slowed her steps and gathered my arm in her own. “We use gas, but not as you use it. We burn it.”
    A wave of revulsion pulsed through me. Burned it? If that were the case, how did they gather the gas to burn?
    She peered around the empty room as we neared the far wall, a superior smile clinging to her ruby lips. “To power our propellers. Ingenious, I think.”
    “But if you burn it, how do you replace it?”
    “We harvest it from the jellyfish.”
    A chill swept through me. The air jellies were crucial to airship maneuverability. Without them, we couldn’t fly. The way she said the word “harvest” didn’t sound promising to the air jellies.
    She stepped away from me as another door opened, and we walked into sunlight again. “If you will excuse me, I have some business to take care of.”
    As soon as my eyes adjusted to the brightness, the air escaped from my lungs. Before us was carnage. Two wooden pyres burned to smoking ruin to one side with the charred remains of people on top of them. The air reeked with the smell of burned flesh. Several more pyres stood, two currently burning, three more untouched, all of them in a circle surrounding a large cage.
    Filled with children.
    Dear Sky! I stopped. I didn’t know what to do, overcome with horror. This couldn’t be true.
    Guards walked from one of the burning pyres and lit torches, then went to the next to set it ablaze.
    Anger, fear, outrage and disbelief warred for control inside my chest.
    The children inside whimpered. One screamed, her hand reaching