Goliath by Scott Westerfeld Read Free Book Online Page B

snapped all these trees would’ve shattered them. The poor beastie must have come along afterward.”
    “Aye, sir. Shall I whistle for another lizard and inform the bridge?”
    In answer the engines slowed to quarter speed. After two days at full-ahead, the great forest around them seemed to echo with the sudden quiet.
    Mr. Rigby spoke softly. “They know, lad.”
    As the
Leviathan
drew closer to the dead airbeast, Deryn spotted more bones among the fallen trees below. The skeletons of mammothines, horses, and smaller creatures were scattered like tenpins across the forest floor.
    A growling chorus rolled up through the freezing air. Deryn recognized the sound at once, from during the cargo snatch-up, when the ballast had put too many smells into the wind.
    “Fighting bears ahead, sir. Angry ones.”
    “Angry’s not the word, Mr. Sharp. Have you noticed that we haven’t spotted any caribou or reindeer herds since we reached this place? With the forest fallen, there isn’t much hunting hereabouts.”
    “Oh, aye.” Deryn looked closer at the bones of the smaller beasties. They’d all been gnawed clean, and when the distant roars came again, she heard the hunger in them.
    The bears came into sight soon, a dozen at least. They were skinny and hollow-eyed, their fur matted and their faces scarred, as if they’d been fighting among themselves. A few of them stared up at the
Leviathan
, scenting the air.

 

The Klaxon began to sound, the long-short ring of an upcoming ground attack.
    “That’s a bit odd,” Mr. Rigby said. “Do the officers think aerial bombs can hit those beasties?”
    “We’re not dropping bombs, sir. That secret Russian cargo was mostly dried beef.”
    “Ah, for a distraction. Nice of the czar to provide a bit of help.”
    “Aye, sir,” Deryn said, though she wondered how long two tons of beef would distract a dozen starving bears the size of houses.
    “There we are, lad,” Mr. Rigby said with satisfaction. “An encampment.”
    She raised her field glasses again.
    Here, deep in the devastated area, a large circle of trees remained standing. They were stripped bare like the others, as if the blast had come from directly above. In a clearing among them was a handful of simple timber buildings, surrounded by barbed wire. Wispy columns of smoke rose from their chimneys, and small forms were spilling out, waving at the airship overhead.
    “But how are these people still alive, sir?”
    “I’ve no idea, Mr. Sharp. That wire wouldn’t hold back a single bear, much less a dozen.” The bosun lifted Bovrilfrom her shoulder. “I’ll have this beastie taken down to the lady boffin. Go prepare your Huxley for descent.”
    “Aye, sir,” Deryn said.
    “Get those men set for a rope-and-winch landing, and be quick about it. If we come about and you’re not ready, we’ll have to leave you all behind.”
    As she glided toward the ground, Deryn took a closer look at the fallen forest.
    Lichen was growing over the snapped-off tree stumps, so the destruction had happened months ago, perhaps years. That was comforting, she supposed.
    But this was no time for pondering. The
Leviathan
was already headed back, preparing to scatter the dried beef a few miles away. Hopefully searching through the broken trees for food would keep the beasties busy for a while.
    Deryn landed the Huxley softly, just inside the ring of barbed wire. About thirty men had come out to greet her, hungry- and astonished-looking, as if they couldn’t quite believe that rescue had arrived. But a half dozen of them took hold of the Huxley’s tentacles with the efficiency of experienced airmen.
    Among those watching was a tall, slender man with dark hair, a mustache, and piercing blue eyes. The others’ furs were threadbare, but he wore a fine traveling coat and carried a peculiar walking stick. He watched as theHuxley was secured, then he addressed Deryn in an unfamiliar accent.
    “You are British?”
    She struggled out of the