Free Voyages of the Flying Dragon by Ben Chandler Page B

think of a Bestia like that, she was sure. Somehow he saw them for what they really were. It was part of what made him such a great Bestia Keeper. It was how he was able to draw out their hidden powers.
    Missy looked at the other Bestia, all focused on Terra’s progress, and wondered what they would have been like if theyhad never been hooked up to a machine. Memories came back to her of when she and her brother had first met Aeris back in Pure Land. She had been a wild Bestia and used to play with the twins in the long grass around Blue Lake. She’d make the wind chase them through the tall stalks, or make the leaves dance on the surface of the lake. When was the last time Aeris had played like that? When was the last time any of them had?
    â€˜Perhaps it is time we followed the Bestia,’ the captain suggested, breaking into Missy’s reminiscences.
    Missy looked into the opening Terra had created. The Bestia had already disappeared from view. ‘I think you’re right. We’ll have to crawl to fit through, though.’
    â€˜What wisdom forbids, Miss Clemens, necessity dictates.’
    Missy nodded and reached up to let Lucis out of the light tube. The Bestia climbed eagerly into her arms and then leapt down into the tunnel to follow Terra. They were all suddenly thrown into darkness until Heidi relit her torch.
    â€˜I will go first, in case there is trouble,’ the captain said over his shoulder as he knelt down. ‘Sir Yami, will you bring up the rear to ensure we are not followed?’
    As Yami nodded, Missy wondered who the captain was referring to, and then she remembered Karasu’s men had escaped into the burning ruins of Fronge. She had thought they meant to escape her and the strange power she wielded, but perhaps they had been sneaking off to ambush them later. They could even be hiding out somewhere in these mines. The thought made her shiver.
    Missy followed Captain Shishi into Terra’s tunnel. She could see his shadow ahead, a dark blotch obscuring most of Lucis’s light. On hands and knees she hurried after him.

    It seemed as though Lenis had been below decks for hours when he finally reached the captain’s cabin. He guessed that the day had ended while he had snuck, ever so slowly, by the crew’s cabins. They were all occupied, their inhabitants sleeping or preparing to. Lenis had been very careful not to draw their attention. He might be invisible to their eyes, but they could still hear his boots on the timber of the deck, or his breathing, or even his heartbeat, which seemed to Lenis to grow louder the closer he came to the captain’s cabin. Passing the engine room had been sheer torture. He could sense the thrum of Bestia power, but he couldn’t tell if the Bestia could feel him and Atrum. If they could, they ignored them, but it had made for a harrowing few moments as Lenis tiptoed by the doorway.
    He had expected to hear his sister inside his mind by now, asking for help with the engines, but no such message came. Lenis pushed his panic far down, unwilling to admit what he knew must be true. His sister wasn’t coming for him. He didn’t want to think about why. His trust in the HiryÅ« ’s crew was still new. Only a couple of months before, Lenis had been plagued by the belief that his captain would sell him off, separating him from Missy for good. He thought such fears were behind him. He wanted so badly to believe in CaptainShishi and the rest of the crew, but if they weren’t keeping Missy from reaching out to him, then that meant she wasn’t able to. Karasu had left armed men behind in the square to secure his own escape. There must have been a fight, and Missy still had the Quillblade …
    No! Missy is fine. Something else must have come up! She’s probably helping take care of the townspeople. But the hours passed and still no message came from his sister. In that time Karasu’s airship had not ventured