The deck of the Blade of Empire was packed full of grounded fighter jets. Task stood in front of a crowd of formal sacrifices from the Plane of Wind. Zakx sat in the back seat of their Skinny Meg fighter jet, looking down at the plump man.
"Study your picture dictionary every day. And speak Imperial! Your Elementals won't follow your commands otherwise. Your mission... is to create helium! You never realize how much helium these airships leak. So if you don't want to go swimming with the sharks, then give it your best effort. Dismissed!"
The former sacrifices sauntered off to begin their mission. Lieutenant Task climbed the stairs and plopped down into the front seat of the fighter jet. He tossed a sack of keystones back to Zakx. Zakx rifled through the bag. They were lopsided, metallic, and pale yellow, keystones for the Elemental Plane of Lightning. Task closed the canopy and locked it.
"This aircraft isn't equipped with wicks!" Zakx protested.
"Oh shut up," Task said. "We just need to time our flight."
"What is the mission?"
"Intelligence gathering."
"What, are we working for the FIA now?"
"Stay focused. Summon your Fire Elemental into the right engine. I'll handle the left one."
They lingered in the sky with full flaps outside the portal when it appeared. The Elemental Plane of Lightning, that vast desert world with its dark sky and swift moon, stretched out beyond. Zakx glanced away from the blinding light of the millions of bolts of lightning when the storm started. When the light faded, Task punched the throttle to full and the fighter lurched forward.
"Turning ninety left," Task said.
Task tilted the fighter jet on edge, then pulled hard on the stick. Zakx began the sharp, spitting breaths required by the turn. His pressure suit activated, compressing his legs to prevent the blood from pooling there. The turn ended, and Task rolled them upright.
"Why such a high-G turn?" Zakx asked.
"Do I have to explain every maneuver?" Task snapped. Zakx said nothing.
They crossed into the portal, then angled slightly up toward a nearby wick city. The city had been modified with a long runway on one end, covered with cages and trailing long wicks through the sky. They ascended into a standard traffic pattern adjacent to the city.
"Turning one-eighty left," Task said. Zakx braced himself.
If Task had one weakness as a pilot, it was landing. The Skinny Meg fighter struck the runway somewhat hard. As soon as the nose was down, Zakx opened the yellow guard and pulled hard on the parachute release lever. A tiny white parachute shot out between the tail fins, pulling the much larger red-striped parachute fully open. The deceleration was so violent that the straps on his shoulders knocked the wind from his lungs.
Imperial Marines on the runway guided them to the city gates. They didn't have to wait long for the stairs to be dragged out.
Task led the way through the packed rubber streets of the wick city. Colored Orbs of various colors floated playfully in the space above the buildings, filling the city with a cacophony of neon light. Market stalls lined the street. Zakx could not read the language on the glowing signs.
They approached a pot-bellied man selling skewers of meat. He looked unshaven and was sweating profusely. Ashe, the Queen of Darkness, stood adjacent to the stall. She had changed since Zakx had last seen her. The horned-bone mask only covered one eye, and rested like a crown on her head. She was also eight feet tall.
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"Queen Ashe?!" Zakx asked. "What are you doing here?"
Ashe pointed at the pot-bellied man behind the stall. "Tormenting this bag of poo is my new hobby!"
"How did you even get here?" the man asked. He offered two skewers of meat. Task and Zakx both accepted them.
"That's my secret!" Ashe said. "How did you get in here?"
"Through a portal in the Bank of Taisia," the man said. "Obviously. The sacrifices need to eat, after all."
"Special Agent Algot Gunn," Task said.
"He is not me! I swear!"
"He is lying!" Ashe said.
"We know who you are," Task said.
"I'm retired."
"Not anymore. By the order of Princess Vaska Maryy, you are being returned to service in the Foreign Intelligence Authority."
"You came all the way up here to tell me that?" the man said.
"No," Task said as he took a bite of the meat skewer. "A fighter pilot's got to eat. Obviously."
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The pontoon airplane skipped like a stone across the flat, turquoise waters of the Queen's resort. Mia sat in the first officer's chair, but she had no idea how to fly an airplane. Reese sat in the commander's chair on the left.
"Deploy the sea rudder," Reese commanded.
"What is that?" Mia asked.
"Right in front of you! The lever that says 'Sea Rudder Hydraulics' and the black guarded switch right next to it."
"Fine!" Mia said. She started pulling things and flipping switches, hoping the airplane didn't explode. Reese skillfully piloted the pontoon airplane along the water like a boat, to a long dock ending in a beach.
Mia looked uneasily down at the water as they crossed the dock.
"What's your problem?" Reese asked.
"The water here is upside down!" Mia insisted. "It doesn't flow up into the sky!"
"Not all water is stupid like it is in the Plane of Wind! Look, just ahead. My mother is waiting for us. I need you to take the canister from my chest, open it and give it to her."
"The what from your what?"
"You heard me."
An extremely tall woman with huge boobs waited at the end of the dock, wearing a black one-piece swimsuit. As Mia approached, the tall woman took a sip out of her coconut cup and tilted her dark sunglasses down, revealing brilliant blue eyes.
"Sheesh, could you imagine carrying those things around?" Mia whispered. "Her back is going to break!"
"Silence mortal," Reese said. "Mother, I have come as you requested."
"Your burdens shall end, my daughter," the tall woman said.
The Elemental Queen of Water, Mia realized.
Reese began to grow. Her clothing ripped away and vanished, leaving her completely naked. Her skin began to change to a pale blue color, and by degrees Reese transformed into a Water Elemental, complete with a mask and a crown, like the High Daughters that Ingrid could summon. The Elemental placed both hands inside her chest, then ripped it open, revealing a canister, similar to the ones Mia had seen in the Plane of Stone. Mia reached up and plucked it out.
Mia knew what awaited her when she opened the thing: a human brain, a heart, and blood circulating in glass tubes. She offered the canister to the Queen of Water.
"Reese," the Queen of Water said, "you may have been a condemned criminal in life, but you are forgiven of all your sins. As promised, I shall craft a new body for you, one that is young and beautiful. You shall sail the seas and fly the skies forever, as my immortal worshiper."
"Dreaming goddess!" Mia exclaimed. "Make me immortal too!"
"Perhaps," the Queen of Water said.
Mother, the High Daughter said in Mia's mind, her voice not unlike a babbling creek. Have I done well?
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"Ingrid," Vaska whispered. "Wake up."
Ingrid groaned and rolled away, escaping Vaska's vice grip. Vaska ripped the comforter away from Ingrid, leaving her naked in the cold air of her room.
"Now Vaska?" Ingrid asked.
"Don't get your hopes up. I have a gift for you. Everyone needs to be asleep though."
Ingrid sat up.
"High Daughter of Dreams!" Vaska said. "Show yourself!"
The pale cyan Elemental began to materialize, filling the room with dim light. The Elemental reached forward, offering a trio of lopsided cyan-magenta keystones. Ingrid snatched them away greedily, suddenly feeling completely awake.
"Another sky!" Ingrid exclaimed. "Another sky! Vaska, you are the best!"
It was past midnight. Spring had arrived in Taisia, and the starry sky outside was warm. Dark as midnight, Ingrid's fighter jet roared up above the mountains near House Veronika, too high for anyone to see. Ingrid activated the keystones, creating three dots of cyan light in the night sky. She timed her turn perfectly, just as the portal began to open.
"I promise to close my eyes," Vaska said from the back seat. "You, and you alone, will be the first human to see the Elemental Plane of Dreams. This is my gift, my love."
"I accept your gift, Vaska. You will need to fly in the front seat next time, when the Plane of Spirit is complete. That will be my gift to you, my love."
The undulations of cyan light gave way, and the rim of the portal began to glow fiercely. Ingrid brought the nose around and lined up for a direct path through.
Gear up.
Flaps up.
Kerosene bleed to full.
Throttle open.
The Fire Elementals reveled as the fighter jet raced forward, into another sky.