Read Online Bitter Cold: A Steampunk Snow Queen (The Clockwork Republic Series Book 4) by Katina French - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Katina French
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She tossed her supplies into the sleigh, and clambered up into it. From inside, she swept the torch all around the outside and inside of the conveyance. With every pass, it floated higher and higher, till she cleared the treetops.
With a great whoop of triumph, she fired up the engine and set the propellers spinning. The sleigh shot forward, causing her to tumble over the driver's seat into the cargo area which had held Santa's enormous bag of toys. She pulled herself back up and dragged herself back into what was now the pilot's chair. Her gloved hands worked the controls, and she quickly figured out how to direct the makeshift airship, although it didn't turn with anything like precision.
After some consternation about whether to leave them behind, she'd left the clockwork reindeer attached to the sleigh, thinking they made the bizarre contraption look a bit more natural. It turned out to be a good instinct; they helped steer the thing like a forward-mounted rudder, prancing across the night sky. She rejoiced that she'd decided to activate them first. Climbing across them with the torch while hanging in midair might have been a strain on even her nerves.
Greta slowed the propellers slightly and reached under the seat for the old blankets and scarves she'd need to bundle herself up against the cold, pulling her goggles over her eyes and wrapping a scarf around her face to protect her from the bracing wind. Her workbox and the angel decorations rattled against the floorboards.
She scanned the air, looking for the landmarks and airship lightposts which would guide her way to Little Rock, where she hoped the captors had taken Kit. She was gratified to see a beacon in the distance to the south.
She would follow their trail towards the Arkansas border. Greta feared her flying sleigh could not overtake the expensive airship the old woman from the park described. She had another outrageous idea to speed her progress.
Once, when she'd been working in the lab, a particularly volatile mixture had caught fire. Jets of flame from the top of the bottle had propelled it across the room like the Chinese rockets she had seen during a fireworks display.
Dare I attempt another successful formulae in one day? Especially when the next is a controlled explosion?
Although she had far more experience creating explosions than any of the other achievements she'd accomplished today, she decided she didn't like her odds of success. She had cheated death enough times for one day. If the rockets misfired, it might destroy her air-sleigh. Kit would be lost for certain.
As she soared through the Missouri sky, she wondered who on earth could have taken him. The most obvious reason was someone needed his mechanical skills, and had seen the newspaper articles from the exposition. She agreed with the old woman from the park: anyone with a personal airship must be wealthy. At least, it implied someone with means enough to just hire a simple tinker as opposed to kidnapping him.
The abduction cast a grim light on the whole affair. Whomever was responsible either expected Kit to refuse to do whatever work was required, or didn't intend to let him walk away after it was completed.
Most likely, both.
She diverted from the glowing trail of beacons as she neared the Arkansas border. Slipping a flying Santa sleigh pulled by four copper reindeer past the border unnoticed would work better away from the main roads and airship routes. She'd make camp and sleep in the woods.
A small airship was not made for overnight travel. They'd most likely stop in the capital city of Little Rock several miles past the border, at least for the night. Even as large as the city was, it only had one sky port. She'd pick up the chase the next day.
She found an empty swath of grass in the woods near the edge of the city, and poured a bucket of water down the sides of the sleigh. It slowly dropped to the ground, landing with a jarring bump. Switching the gear
She tossed her supplies into the sleigh, and clambered up into it. From inside, she swept the torch all around the outside and inside of the conveyance. With every pass, it floated higher and higher, till she cleared the treetops.
With a great whoop of triumph, she fired up the engine and set the propellers spinning. The sleigh shot forward, causing her to tumble over the driver's seat into the cargo area which had held Santa's enormous bag of toys. She pulled herself back up and dragged herself back into what was now the pilot's chair. Her gloved hands worked the controls, and she quickly figured out how to direct the makeshift airship, although it didn't turn with anything like precision.
After some consternation about whether to leave them behind, she'd left the clockwork reindeer attached to the sleigh, thinking they made the bizarre contraption look a bit more natural. It turned out to be a good instinct; they helped steer the thing like a forward-mounted rudder, prancing across the night sky. She rejoiced that she'd decided to activate them first. Climbing across them with the torch while hanging in midair might have been a strain on even her nerves.
Greta slowed the propellers slightly and reached under the seat for the old blankets and scarves she'd need to bundle herself up against the cold, pulling her goggles over her eyes and wrapping a scarf around her face to protect her from the bracing wind. Her workbox and the angel decorations rattled against the floorboards.
She scanned the air, looking for the landmarks and airship lightposts which would guide her way to Little Rock, where she hoped the captors had taken Kit. She was gratified to see a beacon in the distance to the south.
She would follow their trail towards the Arkansas border. Greta feared her flying sleigh could not overtake the expensive airship the old woman from the park described. She had another outrageous idea to speed her progress.
Once, when she'd been working in the lab, a particularly volatile mixture had caught fire. Jets of flame from the top of the bottle had propelled it across the room like the Chinese rockets she had seen during a fireworks display.
Dare I attempt another successful formulae in one day? Especially when the next is a controlled explosion?
Although she had far more experience creating explosions than any of the other achievements she'd accomplished today, she decided she didn't like her odds of success. She had cheated death enough times for one day. If the rockets misfired, it might destroy her air-sleigh. Kit would be lost for certain.
As she soared through the Missouri sky, she wondered who on earth could have taken him. The most obvious reason was someone needed his mechanical skills, and had seen the newspaper articles from the exposition. She agreed with the old woman from the park: anyone with a personal airship must be wealthy. At least, it implied someone with means enough to just hire a simple tinker as opposed to kidnapping him.
The abduction cast a grim light on the whole affair. Whomever was responsible either expected Kit to refuse to do whatever work was required, or didn't intend to let him walk away after it was completed.
Most likely, both.
She diverted from the glowing trail of beacons as she neared the Arkansas border. Slipping a flying Santa sleigh pulled by four copper reindeer past the border unnoticed would work better away from the main roads and airship routes. She'd make camp and sleep in the woods.
A small airship was not made for overnight travel. They'd most likely stop in the capital city of Little Rock several miles past the border, at least for the night. Even as large as the city was, it only had one sky port. She'd pick up the chase the next day.
She found an empty swath of grass in the woods near the edge of the city, and poured a bucket of water down the sides of the sleigh. It slowly dropped to the ground, landing with a jarring bump. Switching the gear
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