Skybound Read online

  “I know,” I say and take his hand with both of mine. I don’t want to let him go. I don’t want to see him race into the sky anymore to challenge death head-on. It’s no longer necessary; the battle is lost, and we’re both alive. “Are you going to stay?”

  He glances at his guard, then back to me. “I’m not going anywhere. Not while you’re still hurt. Not ever, if I can help it.”

  A gentle, warm, sweet pain spreads through my chest at those words. I want to pull him into an embrace, but we have to keep up appearances. Whatever we have can only be in secret, but I don’t care as long as I know he is safe and sound.

  Ami, Amis: Slang for American, Americans (“Yank,” “Yanks”)

  Experte, Experten: Luftwaffe slang, “ace,” “aces”

  Geschwader: Wing

  Gruppe: Group

  Jagdgeschwader: Fighter wing

  Katschmarek: Luftwaffe slang, “wingman”

  Kneipe: Pub

  Leutnant: Lieutenant

  Luftwaffe: German Air Force

  Rotte: Pair of two aircraft; consists of Rottenführer (pair leader) and Rottenflieger (pair flyer)

  Schwarm: Literally “swarm.” Group of four machines, part of a Staffel

  Schwarzer Mann, Schwarze Männer: Literally “black man,” “black men.” Air force mechanics, called that because of their black coveralls

  Staffel: Squadron (nine to twelve aircraft)

  Staffelkameraden: Squadron comrades

  Stuka: Short for Sturzkampfbomber, dive bomber

  Wehrmacht: German Army

  Many thanks go to my editors, JoSelle and Rachel, who kept chiselling away and demanded I be more specific and thus kept driving me back to my research and reference material. Thanks also to my first readers: Peter, Anja, Aija, Sue (who tipped me off that the attacking planes in the raid on the airfield would likely be Mustangs), Heidi and Sara; my Brit-checkers, Alyssa and Alex Muir; and my final proofer, Alex Whitehall.

  Luftwaffe history is a somewhat complex field, and even though I’ve probably seen all readily-available contemporary footage of German fighter operations and airfields (much to the chagrin of my partner, who was interested at first and grew more jaded with every DVD delivery featuring the history of the Luftwaffe and WWII fighter planes), I will inevitably have made mistakes.

  Where possible, I’ve drawn on memoirs of German aces, especially Hermann Buchner, who relates the striking anecdote of Baron Wolfram von Richthofen and the “black men” in his memoir, Stormbird. I also used a number of Osprey Publishing titles for visual reference and to get an idea of the processes and flying characteristics of the planes I mention. I must have spent hours looking at the very fine illustrations, especially the Bf 109 cockpit layout. Readers will be grateful that none of that made it into the story. YouTube was helpful for referencing the sound of the historic planes and their movement, thanks to amateurs filming air shows.

  Baldur’s hometown is modelled on Templin, which I’ve visited, but the timing of the attack on Templin on March 6, 1944, didn’t suit the story, so I changed it to a generic, very common name meaning simply “new city.”

  Despite my best attempts to get the research water-tight, I will have made mistakes, and these, as always, remain entirely mine.

  Incursion

  Country Mouse, with Amy Lane

  Dark Soul Vols. 1–5

  Break and Enter, with Rachel Haimowitz

  Counterpunch

  Scorpion

  Dark Edge of Honor, with Rhi Etzweiler

  The Lion of Kent, with Kate Cotoner

  For a full list, go to www.aleksandrvoinov.com/bookshelf.html

  Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he makes his living editing dodgy business English so it makes sense (and doesn’t melt anybody’s brain). He published five novels and many short stories in his native language, then switched to English and hasn’t looked back. His genres range from horror, science fiction, cyberpunk, and fantasy to contemporary, thriller, and historical erotic gay novels.

  In his spare time, he goes weightlifting, explores historical sites, and meets other writers. He singlehandedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects and interests. His current interests include World War II, espionage, the history of money and banking, gold exploration, medieval tournaments, and prisoners of war. He loves traveling, action movies, and spy novels.

  Visit Aleksandr’s website at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com, his blog at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com, and follow him on Twitter, where he tweets as @aleksandrvoinov.

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  Table of Contents

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS