Read Online The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom by Leah Cutter - Free Book Online Page A

struck a lady. His mama had drilled that into his head but good.
    Traffic grew congested. However, instead of a town, a huge
collection of outlet shops crouched together on the side of the road, drawing
crowds of people.
    “That, right there, is what’s was wrong with America,” Chris
said out loud to the empty car. He ground his teeth, changing into the fast
lane to avoid the merging traffic, though he continued to stay close to the
speed limit. He couldn’t risk getting a ticket or calling any attention to
himself.
    “Big impersonal stores with faceless clerks, uprooted
people,” Chris continued his diatribe. They made families, towns, and neighbors
less important, easier to split apart.
    Chris was determined to bring his family back together. Not
Denise—Mama had been right to dislike her on the spot. Denise was
everything Mama wasn’t: college-educated, dark-colored, and frail.
    Nora was as dark as her mother, but wild. She’d defied him,
daring him to knit something when he’d pointed out the flaws in what she’d just
finished. Lord knew how out of control she was now, three months away from his
influence.
    No, it was his boy, Dale, that Chris intended to rescue.
With only women around him, what sort of a man would he grow up to be? It just
wasn’t right.
    Like many other industries, business at Chris’ architecture
firm had been slow for a while due to the economy. Sure, they had a couple of
presentations coming up, but they were show-and-tells, not money-generating. He
didn’t need to be there.
    However, Chris’ witch of a boss, Bonnie, hadn’t seen it that
way. Chris sneered as he changed lanes, back to the slower right lane,
determined to be a polite driver, another thing too many people forgot these
days. It wasn’t that Chris didn’t like women—just that they had their
place. He could never figure out why Dave had promoted Bonnie over him.
    Her firing him just meant a new start for him and his boy.
Maybe they would go back to Georgia, after a bit, and see Mama.
    Except Dale was the same age Chris had been when his dad had
died. That summer, his Mama had made him a man. She’d met Red in the fall, and
married him shortly after. She’d never looked at Chris like that again.
    Still. Maybe it was better to wait until Dale was older
before going back south.
    The radio blasted out a new song and Chris sang along
loudly, “Hold on. I’m coming. Hold on. I’m coming.”
    ***
    “When did you learn how to do magic?” Dale said, an ugly pit
of jealousy blossoming in his gut. He looked toward the old house. The door
still stood open, the darkness promising cool shade away from the hot sun. The
ocean wind pushed at him and gulls in the distance cried their displeasure.
    “She’s always known,” the man said. “Just as you’ve always
known clockwork.”
    Dale’s cheeks grew warm. Nora had always praised his ability
and had never seemed envious. The man’s tone shamed him. “Who are you?” Dale
demanded of the man.
    “I am Kostya ,” he said, bowing
from his waist. “I am a dwarf, not a fairy.”
    “I thought the polite term was little person ,” Nora said.
    Kostya shrugged. “Maybe for
humans. I am not human.”
    Dale edged closer to Nora. The guy’s eyes did look funny, a
golden color, and the pupils were long, like a cat’s.
    “What did the fairies want with my brother?” Nora asked. Her
hands still shook. Dale finally reached out and squeezed one. It felt
unnaturally hot. He dropped it quickly.
    “He’s a Tinker. The fairies lost their own Master Tinker, Thaddeus.”
    “No, that’s not it,” Nora said, shaking her head. “Wait.”
She turned and told Kostya , “The fairy with the red
eye—”
    “Bascom,” Dale told her.
    “Bascom,” Nora continued. “He accused you of killing the Master Tinker.”
    “When?” Dale asked.
    “While you were supposed to be escaping to safety,” Nora
said, now glaring at Dale.
    Kostya sighed, deflating. He still
bled from his wounds,