Read Online Iron Horsemen by Brad R. Cook - Free Book Online

three propellers by dinner.”
    A voice echoed back through the tube. “Aye, aye captain!”
    Captain Baldarich turned and welcomed us with a smile. “I see you got dry clothes. I didn’t think we had anything for a lady.”
    Genevieve smoothed out her jacket with her hand. “Ignatius said they were from the French crates you
borrowed
.”
    â€œAh yes, let us thank the French.” Captain Baldarich laughed and Genevieve smiled. “So tell me, why do you need my vessel?”
    I walked around the bridge in awe. “My father and I moved to London last summer, he’s teaching at Eton College. It turns out he was summoned by Queen Victoria to help translate some ancient texts about a great evil thatrises up every so often. A secret society, the Knights of the Golden Circle, kidnapped him so he’ll help them unleash that evil.”
    Captain Baldarich toyed with his moustache. “Sorry I asked. I hate to tell you, kid, but the world’s full of ancient evils. Could you be a bit more specific?”
    The smile drained from Genevieve’s face. “According to my father and his colleagues, every time a certain comet appears it heralds the four horsemen.”
    â€œYou mean from the Bible? The four horsemen of the Apocalypse? From what Ignatius says they only come at the end.”
    She glared at him with a cocked hip. “The four horsemen are older than that. Apparently they have sown destruction through every age. My father used to tell me tales of our family’s heroes. I always thought they were just stories, until now.”
    My family marked me as a commoner, especially with her bloodline’s long history. I certainly would never know the queen or be able to make such a claim. She truly came from a different world. I’d often been made fun of at Eton by the boys with distinguished lineages, their two favorite lines, calling me a commoner among great men or a traitorous colonist.
    Captain Baldarich stood and opened all four speaker pipes, “Well men, we’re off on a great quest!”

CHAPTER 9
THE TALE OF CAPTAIN BALDARICH
    Genevieve and I followed the smell of spiced potatoes, bread, and beef stew to the galley. A long table left only enough room for the crew to squeeze around with forks in hand. The sound of the chef rooting around the kitchen accompanied the delicious aroma.
    My stomach grumbled and roared like Rodin. The little dragon looked down from Genevieve’s shoulder and cocked his head to the side. Everyone laughed as my stomach rumbled again and the captain slapped my back.
    â€œDon’t worry lad, Gustav will take care of that for you.” Baldarich turned to the doorway and yelled. “Hurry, our guest might pass out soon.”
    A thick German accent echoed from the kitchen, “Coming right up, captain!”
    I stepped back as the dirtiest man I had ever seen walked in from the corridor. Black grease and soot covered everything except his teeth, which glowed like moonlight in the middle of his midnight-colored face. He started to sit as Gustav emerged from the kitchen. The portly man in a white apron speckled with stew broth yelled, “Don’t you dare!”
    Gears froze, his backside hovering inches above thebench. In German he said, “You’re worse than the Kaiser. I just want a quick meal before heading back to the engines.”
    Mr. Singh stepped between them. “Gears, Gustav, no arguing. Many are hungry, including the captain.”
    A vain bulged on Gustav’s forehead. “Listen Donkeyman, I’ll not have you getting grease all over my food!”
    â€œYour food is already greasy.” Gears sat down and a cloud of soot rose up around him.
    Gustav slammed down the pot of stew and handed out bowls to everyone but Gears. “You don’t get any, you dirty wrench-rocker.”
    Shaking his head, Captain Baldarich turned to Gears. “Go wash your hands; I don’t want soot