Free Soulblade by Lindsay Buroker

smells like mildew, I don’t think she’ll get a horse for that.
    She has many skills she can trade , the voice repeated.
    Ridge was tempted to ask what they were, but he wasn’t coming out ahead in the conversations he was having with himself, so he doubted he should encourage them. He prodded at an itch under the bandage that wrapped his head, hoping the voice would go away once his brain stopped hurting.
    As they rounded a bend that would take the crash site from view, he gave it one long look, once again doubting that anyone could have survived that landing.
    • • • • •
    Mist hung over the dense green landmass that stretched ahead of and below Cas’s flier, the sun setting behind an equally green mountain range that ran northeast to southwest in the distance. No glaciers or snowpacks adorned those peaks. Even with the sea breeze tugging at her scarf, and the sun’s intensity fading, Cas sweated beneath her uniform. She had stuffed her flight jacket into her pack earlier in the day, as they had crossed the equator, but she wouldn’t have minded stripping off more clothing. The season should be autumn down here, but she doubted that frost ever blanketed the ground in Dakrovia or that the jungle leaves turned color and fell off.
    “Reminds me of Owanu Owanus,” Tolemek called from the back seat. “Except much bigger.”
    As they had flown up on Owanu Owanus earlier that spring, the tropical island where they had freed Tylie and discovered Phelistoth, they had been able to see the sea on all sides. According to the maps, the Dakrovian continent was much larger than Iskandia. An entirely different ocean lay on the far side, and they would have had to fly through the night if they wanted to see it. The coordinates the king had provided were on the eastern shore, so that wouldn’t be necessary.
    “Have you ever been to this continent before?” Cas wiggled in her seat, hoping they landed soon. Her legs and butt ached from sitting for so long. They had left early and flown the entire day to cross the ocean, the entire day and then some, since they had been following the path of the sun.
    “I’ve ordered numerous plants, poisons, and reptile specimens from suppliers in some of the bigger cities down here,” Tolemek said.
    “So, no.”
    “No. But I’ve perused many catalogues and am quite familiar with the flora.”
    “Good to know.” Cas tapped the communication crystal nestled into the grip of her flight stick. “Has anyone been here before?”
    She had chosen Captain Blazer and Lieutenants Pimples and Duck as the other Wolf Squadron officers for this mission. They were all capable pilots, with Duck and Pimples already knowing about dragons and sorcery. Blazer had more experience than any of them, including an aptitude for mechanical repairs, and nothing seemed to faze her. When Phelistoth had joined them halfway across the ocean, Tylie sitting astride his back and the sun gleaming off his silvery scales, Blazer had merely taken a puff of her cigar and said, “Pretty.” It hadn’t been clear whether she’d meant Tylie or the dragon, since her tastes ran toward women.
    “Colonel Quataldo has,” Duck replied. “We’ve been discussing the animals and plants in the jungle. Apparently, there are giant wolves five times bigger than the ones back home. And black panthers that can turn invisible. Massive vining carnivorous plants. Alligators big enough to swallow a squad of troops whole.”
    “Is anyone else alarmed that he sounds excited by those things?” Captain Blazer asked.
    “Not really,” Pimples said. “It just means we can volunteer him to go first.”
    “I’ve been here,” Kaika yelled from Pimples’ back seat. “It’s exceedingly difficult to find explosives or ingredients to create explosives in the towns. Last time, I had to wander around some jungle hot springs looking for my own sulfur.”
    “Are there any continents you haven’t blown things up on, Captain?” Pimples