Page 74 of Stalk the Sky

“This is Lt. Laesornysh.” Fieran fought to keep both the control stick and Lt. Rothilion’s flyer steady. “Lt. Loiatir and I are coming in hot with a gravely injured Lt. Rothilion. He won’t be able to stop his own aeroplane, so someone needs to fetch Pip and have her standing by. An elf healer standing by wouldn’t hurt.”

“Not sure if we can get one of the healers. They’re a bit…busy at the moment.” Those words held weight. Perhaps the man was referring to that unexplained situation. “I’ll fetch Pip.”

Fieran breathed out a strained sigh of relief. At least the ground crew at the airfield would be ready.

Because this landing was going to be rather tricky to pull off without killing all three of them.

Chapter

Twenty-One

As they swept over the southern tip of the island, the swirling winds grew worse. The aeroplanes danced on the wind, the dead weight—hopefully that was a metaphor and not literal—of Lt. Rothilion’s aeroplane jerking Merrik’s aeroplane around.

Fieran fought with his own aeroplane and with his magic to fly the other aeroplane. Merrik shouted orders into the radio, and Fieran worked to follow them the best he could.

As they neared, there appeared to be something burning in the harbor and a few extra craters in the hills surrounding the airfield that hadn’t been there before. But Fieran couldn’t take more than a moment to note them.

“Any ideas of how we are going to land?” Merrik sounded even more strained. “Lt. Rothilion bound his magic so tightly to mine that I do not think I can retract my vines.”

A good question. Fieran dropped his aeroplane slightly lower so that he had a better view of the wheels on Lt. Rothilion’s aeroplane. “I’ll talk you through touching down. Once his wheels are close to the ground, I’ll slice the vines with my magic. Then both of us will pour on the speed and climb back into the sky while Pip stops his aeroplane.”

“Understood.” Merrik maneuvered the aeroplanes so that they faced the airfield.

The land rushed up to meet them. Far too fast. But if Merrik slowed too much, he’d never keep control of his two aeroplanes. The aerodynamics were already off.

“About a hundred feet. Seventy-five feet.” Fieran called out how many feet Merrik had to go before Lt. Rothilion’s wheels touched down. “Fifty feet. Shoot.”

“Shoot, what?” Merrik gritted out. “Fieran.”

“Just a minor problem. Give me a moment.” Fieran glanced from the wheels to the ground. Right now he could see them because he was flying lower than Merrik’s and Lt. Rothilion’s aeroplanes.

But once they neared the ground, he wouldn’t be able to do that. Not without landing first. Even then, his aeroplane’s nose blocked his view of the ground.

Time to try something crazy. Well, crazier than what they were already doing.

Fieran backed off for a moment, then he gave the engine more power as he lifted higher into the air. Once he had enough clearance over the ground, he checked that his lap belt was secure and drew in a deep breath. He’d done this once before…by accident. Now to do it on purpose.

He cranked the rudder and control stick hard over while goosing the power. His aeroplane flipped onto its side, hanging there for a moment, before it tipped all the way over so that he was flying upside down. The lap belt tightened around his hips, the only thing keeping him from falling out.

At least with the magical power cell, he didn’t have to worry about dousing his aeroplane with fuel.

The cambered wings weren’t exactly designed for upside-down flight. He had plenty of power to maintain speed, but he’d have to match Merrik’s coming-in-for-a-landing speed.

Fieran tried to swing back lower, but the aeroplane pitched upward. After correcting, he took another deep breath before he pushed the stick the other way. Of course, while flying upside down, all the motions would be reversed. He would have to push the rudder and the stick in the opposite direction he normally would.

“Fieran, what in the Alliance are you doing?” Merrik must have glanced over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about me. Just concentrate on flying.” Fieran maneuvered his aeroplane behind Lt. Rothilion’s aeroplane once again. This close to the ground and in the wake of the other aeroplanes, the lift felt…light. Not as solid beneath his inverted wings. “Ten feet to go.”

Any strong puff of wind would shove him downward. If he crashed, his wings would crumble, and he’d be crushed.

Best not to think about it.

“Do not kill yourself.” Merrik’s words were more an order than advice.

“Lt. Rothilion made me promise not to get you killed. He didn’t say anything about me.” Fieran worked the stick and rudder. His aeroplane was barely floating above the ground. “Eight feet.”

To one side of the airfield, several figures lined up outside of the hanger, but Fieran couldn’t glance in that direction long enough to see if Pip was among them.

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