Read Online Steamsworn (Steamborn Series Book 3) by Eric Asher - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Eric Asher
Tags: Fiction
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taller than it was. “We’re already there? Here? We’re already here?”
“It is a more convenient layout than Bollwerk,” Smith said. “There is no doubt of that.”
A few passersby slowed and stared at their group when Smith mentioned Bollwerk.
Eva shot an annoyed look over her shoulder. “You want to say that a little louder? It’ll still take a good two or three minutes for the entire city to know we have visitors.”
“Sorry,” Smith said.
“He’s not one for subtlety,” Mary said. “Intricate gadgets and perfectly tuned engines, yes, but not so subtle when it comes to words.” She paused and then added, “Or common sense.”
Eva let out a short laugh and flashed a smile at the group. She led them between a pair of bronze statues, halberds held high to create the entrance to another hall. The wide stones of the entrance hall gave way to an impossibly detailed mosaic of tiny square tiles. They’d walked halfway down the hall before Alice saw the name Bollwerk laid out in the squares, and eventually they came to Ancora.
She glanced behind them, taking in what she now realized was a map of their continent, all green and tan and surrounded by a wide blue ocean. It was enormous and beautiful, and she could have stared at it for an hour, but Smith hurried her along to catch up with Mary and Eva.
The presence of guards, armed with swords and guns, grew heavy the farther into the Hall they walked. They entered a rotunda, lined with more guards, and Eva led them to one of the many doors off to the northwest.
“Lady,” one of the guards said with a nod to Eva.
Beyond the doors was a room made of wood and brass. Alice had never seen anything like it. A gear of polished metal sat embedded in the floor, some twenty feet in diameter. Chairs built of different metals sat on each tooth on the outside of the wheel. Alice wondered if the floor moved. It looked like it might, as there were more gears on the outside of the largest.
Above it all sat a throne. Upon that throne was a tired-looking woman, but she still summoned a smile beneath her bulbous, jeweled crown. “Welcome, Eva.”
“Lady Katherine,” Eva said. “These are travelers from Bollwerk. They have news from Archibald, Speaker of Bollwerk.”
“Alice,” Eva said as she gestured for her.
Alice stepped out from behind Mary and took two short steps to stand beside Eva.
Lady Katherine leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. Those bright eyes were set in a face almost as pale as Alice’s. “Child … I did not realize the bloodline had survived outside of Belldorn. And you are a child of this city, there can be no doubt of that.”
“What bloodline?” Alice asked. “Eva mentioned it, and Mary, but what is it?”
Lady Katherine lifted the jewel-encrusted crown off her head, letting wide curls fall to her shoulders. Hints of gray wove through those curls, but the rest was unmistakably red. “The founders of our fair city, child, for no one else has hair of fire and skin of light.”
Goosebumps ran down Alice’s arms. She’d never heard of her hair, or her paleness, referred to like that. She liked it.
“Archibald is a wise man to send you.” Lady Katherine rapped her fingernails on the arm of the throne. The metallic clicking filled her pause. “You have grown up, Mary.”
Mary gave a little bow. “My Lady.”
Lady Katherine smiled. “This must be an odd thing for you, having known me when I was but a baker.”
Mary looked up. “My favorite baker. I still remember the soft Iced Bread you used to make.”
Lady Katherine sighed and her smile waned. “What brings you back to our city? And with news from Archibald?”
“We …” Mary started before she glanced at Alice.
Alice nodded, and she let it all spill out. From the end of the trade routes, the Fall of Ancora that was fast becoming legend, to Charles’s discovery of the transmitters in the invaders, the kidnapping of Gladys, and the death of Rana. It wasn’t until
“It is a more convenient layout than Bollwerk,” Smith said. “There is no doubt of that.”
A few passersby slowed and stared at their group when Smith mentioned Bollwerk.
Eva shot an annoyed look over her shoulder. “You want to say that a little louder? It’ll still take a good two or three minutes for the entire city to know we have visitors.”
“Sorry,” Smith said.
“He’s not one for subtlety,” Mary said. “Intricate gadgets and perfectly tuned engines, yes, but not so subtle when it comes to words.” She paused and then added, “Or common sense.”
Eva let out a short laugh and flashed a smile at the group. She led them between a pair of bronze statues, halberds held high to create the entrance to another hall. The wide stones of the entrance hall gave way to an impossibly detailed mosaic of tiny square tiles. They’d walked halfway down the hall before Alice saw the name Bollwerk laid out in the squares, and eventually they came to Ancora.
She glanced behind them, taking in what she now realized was a map of their continent, all green and tan and surrounded by a wide blue ocean. It was enormous and beautiful, and she could have stared at it for an hour, but Smith hurried her along to catch up with Mary and Eva.
The presence of guards, armed with swords and guns, grew heavy the farther into the Hall they walked. They entered a rotunda, lined with more guards, and Eva led them to one of the many doors off to the northwest.
“Lady,” one of the guards said with a nod to Eva.
Beyond the doors was a room made of wood and brass. Alice had never seen anything like it. A gear of polished metal sat embedded in the floor, some twenty feet in diameter. Chairs built of different metals sat on each tooth on the outside of the wheel. Alice wondered if the floor moved. It looked like it might, as there were more gears on the outside of the largest.
Above it all sat a throne. Upon that throne was a tired-looking woman, but she still summoned a smile beneath her bulbous, jeweled crown. “Welcome, Eva.”
“Lady Katherine,” Eva said. “These are travelers from Bollwerk. They have news from Archibald, Speaker of Bollwerk.”
“Alice,” Eva said as she gestured for her.
Alice stepped out from behind Mary and took two short steps to stand beside Eva.
Lady Katherine leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. Those bright eyes were set in a face almost as pale as Alice’s. “Child … I did not realize the bloodline had survived outside of Belldorn. And you are a child of this city, there can be no doubt of that.”
“What bloodline?” Alice asked. “Eva mentioned it, and Mary, but what is it?”
Lady Katherine lifted the jewel-encrusted crown off her head, letting wide curls fall to her shoulders. Hints of gray wove through those curls, but the rest was unmistakably red. “The founders of our fair city, child, for no one else has hair of fire and skin of light.”
Goosebumps ran down Alice’s arms. She’d never heard of her hair, or her paleness, referred to like that. She liked it.
“Archibald is a wise man to send you.” Lady Katherine rapped her fingernails on the arm of the throne. The metallic clicking filled her pause. “You have grown up, Mary.”
Mary gave a little bow. “My Lady.”
Lady Katherine smiled. “This must be an odd thing for you, having known me when I was but a baker.”
Mary looked up. “My favorite baker. I still remember the soft Iced Bread you used to make.”
Lady Katherine sighed and her smile waned. “What brings you back to our city? And with news from Archibald?”
“We …” Mary started before she glanced at Alice.
Alice nodded, and she let it all spill out. From the end of the trade routes, the Fall of Ancora that was fast becoming legend, to Charles’s discovery of the transmitters in the invaders, the kidnapping of Gladys, and the death of Rana. It wasn’t until
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