6.0 - Raptor by Lindsay Buroker Page A

military disguising themselves as a ragtag band of pirates harassing the northern coast. They had four times the numbers and weapons than intel had led our men to believe. Half the squadron didn’t make it back. Ridge was probably hoping nobody would notice that he’d had a small accident at some point during the sheer terror of that battle, but we had khaki uniforms back then. Dark spots were quite noticeable.”
    “He peed on himself?” Pimple asked.
    “Puddles stuck for a long time afterward. It wasn’t until he took command of Wolf Squadron that he managed to stamp it out.”
    “Sir, that is the most wonderful thing I’ve heard.”
    “Good. I’ll expect extra pickles on my sandwich. And coffee. Black.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    A finger poked Tolemek in the back, and he jumped, whirling.
    “Looking for someone?” Cas asked, lowering her arm.
    Even though she was a foot shorter than he and looked more curious than stern, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was fairly certain that fearsome ex-pirates and research scientists appointed by the crown were supposed to be above eavesdropping.
    “Yes.” He leaned a hand casually against the flier. “You.”
    Lieutenant Pimples jogged past on his lunch-acquisition errand, pausing to look at them. And to wonder how long Tolemek had been standing there? No, he barely glanced at Tolemek. Instead, he gave Cas a quick, shy smile.
    “Pimples,” Cas said by way of greeting, her tone neutral.
    “Good to have you back, Raptor.” Pimples saluted her, his smile broadening, then he ran off.
    An admirer, was he? Tolemek hoped he had nothing to worry about from a gangly insecure kid named after the pockmarks on his face.
    “I was hoping to talk to you today,” Tolemek said. About the sword, he almost said, but there was a tenseness about her eyes, an expression that had grown familiar of late, and he doubted she wanted to be questioned on her decision. “About coming up with a weapon that might work against dragons,” he said instead. He would be happy to talk to her about his experiments, thus making the statement not quite a lie. And maybe he would bring up the sword at the end.
    “Oh. All right.”
    Aware of the general standing by the railing, Tolemek asked, “Do you want to see my new lab?” He believed he would get more honesty from her if they spoke in private. Then he doubted the decision, wondering if she would think he wanted to get her back there for sex. The lab did have a bunk in the corner, but he’d gotten the message from their recent encounters that she didn’t want anything to do with anyone, physically or emotionally. “The king must expect miracles, because he gave me some fancy new equipment.” There, that addition should make the request seem innocent.
    And it was. He didn’t want to trick her into anything, except explaining her reasoning with the sword. It was probably too late to change her mind about being the one to wield it, but it might not be. Captain Kaika was on the airship, too, and she’d said she would accept the responsibility if the king wished it. Tolemek didn’t want anyone to wield that monster, but he hated the idea of Cas doing it again. What if she did lose control, magical phrases notwithstanding, and the sword made her kill Sardelle? Or slice Zirkander’s head off while he was flying her? That would destroy her even more surely than killing Apex had.
    Cas smiled faintly. “Have you been making ice cream again?”
    “Not yet, but I could.”
    She waved toward the nearest hatchway that led below decks, and he took the lead. They passed soldiers lugging up shells for the big artillery weapons mounted at intervals around the deck. Tolemek doubted they would bring down a dragon. He had more hope for his own work. If he came up with something—and he was trying to, based on the same acid he had created to destroy the dragon blood powering the Cofah fortress—Cas wouldn’t need to risk herself with the sword. Besides, he