Read Online The Gossamer Crown: Book One of The Gossamer Sphere by Melissa Conway - Free Book Online
Authors: Melissa Conway
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the jeans and shirt he’d been wearing since yesterday.
“I’m going to find a bathroom,” Kevin said. “I hope they have an indoor toilet.”
“Don’t fall in.”
After Kevin left, Zach tried in vain to find a light switch or a lamp. In a sudden burst of panic, he dropped to the floor in a desperate search for an outlet. When he didn’t find one, he went to the window and looked out across the pasture to the lonely country road, trying to remember how far it was to someplace with a power source for his laptop. He’d used it on the plane until the battery went low. Then he’d tried to get some sleep in his seat, but Kevin proved to not always , as he’d claimed, wake himself with snoring.
The blanket looked soft as sandpaper and the bed as inviting as a church pew, but Zach eyed it anyway. He was so tired and overwhelmed by the events of the last twenty-four hours that he felt his control slipping. Anger, his constant companion for as long as he could remember, boiled beneath a tightly-sealed barrier of what he liked to think of as psychic energy. He knew it wasn’t fair to take his frustration out on Kevin, but the guy just grated on his nerves. He was so affable, so weak, couldn’t even handle a little nose-dive without spewing barf all over the plane.
Not that Zach would admit it, but he’d been scared, too, especially after finding out how many airplanes had gone down after communications had been crippled. All over the world, the powerful substorm and unexpected magnetic reversal had disrupted essential systems, many of which hadn’t recovered in time to avoid disaster. There hadn’t been any lasting problems at Heathrow, though, and they’d landed without incident.
Zach sat on the bed, not surprised when the thin mattress sank beneath him on squeaky springs. Sleep would be impossible. Unlike his roommate, Zach was a light sleeper. Besides, Caitlin might drag them off at any time, since they were supposed to find a way to stop the drilling vessel from going back out to Silverpit.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness now and he noticed something on the wall across the room, an irregular bump in the faded wallpaper. The bed squealed as he bounced up and strode across the room.
“There you are,” he said to the outlet. He hadn’t seen it before because it was located halfway up the wall next to the bureau, and the plate was covered in the same brown-on-burgundy flower pattern as the walls.
He had his laptop out and ready to plug until he realized the outlet was shaped differently. He thought about how nice it would be to put his fist through that horribly papered wall.
Someone was coming up the stairwell. From the sound of the heavy steps, Zach figured it was the huge man who’d let them in. Moments later, the man appeared in the doorway. He had to duck considerably to get under the doorframe and Zach noted the top of his balding head was only inches from the ceiling.
“Thought you might need these,” he said in a rumbling baritone.
He handed over a desk lamp and what Zach hoped was a plug adapter.
“Thanks.”
The huge man nodded and turned to leave.
“What’s your name?” Zach asked.
Brown eyes under an exaggerated brow met Zach’s. “Simon.”
“Are you a giant?”
The corners of Simon’s thick lips dipped in a frown. “My pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone. The politically correct term for it is ‘horizontally challenged.’”
It took Zach a couple of heartbeats to get the joke.
“Oh,” he said with a little laugh. “So what is this place? Some kind of hostel for travelers on their way to save the world?”
Something flickered in Simon’s eyes. “It’s called a farm.”
“No offense, man, but this place doesn’t look very prosperous.”
“It’s secluded and serves my needs.” Simon ducked under the doorframe and turned. “You may want to consider carefully who you talk to about
“I’m going to find a bathroom,” Kevin said. “I hope they have an indoor toilet.”
“Don’t fall in.”
After Kevin left, Zach tried in vain to find a light switch or a lamp. In a sudden burst of panic, he dropped to the floor in a desperate search for an outlet. When he didn’t find one, he went to the window and looked out across the pasture to the lonely country road, trying to remember how far it was to someplace with a power source for his laptop. He’d used it on the plane until the battery went low. Then he’d tried to get some sleep in his seat, but Kevin proved to not always , as he’d claimed, wake himself with snoring.
The blanket looked soft as sandpaper and the bed as inviting as a church pew, but Zach eyed it anyway. He was so tired and overwhelmed by the events of the last twenty-four hours that he felt his control slipping. Anger, his constant companion for as long as he could remember, boiled beneath a tightly-sealed barrier of what he liked to think of as psychic energy. He knew it wasn’t fair to take his frustration out on Kevin, but the guy just grated on his nerves. He was so affable, so weak, couldn’t even handle a little nose-dive without spewing barf all over the plane.
Not that Zach would admit it, but he’d been scared, too, especially after finding out how many airplanes had gone down after communications had been crippled. All over the world, the powerful substorm and unexpected magnetic reversal had disrupted essential systems, many of which hadn’t recovered in time to avoid disaster. There hadn’t been any lasting problems at Heathrow, though, and they’d landed without incident.
Zach sat on the bed, not surprised when the thin mattress sank beneath him on squeaky springs. Sleep would be impossible. Unlike his roommate, Zach was a light sleeper. Besides, Caitlin might drag them off at any time, since they were supposed to find a way to stop the drilling vessel from going back out to Silverpit.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness now and he noticed something on the wall across the room, an irregular bump in the faded wallpaper. The bed squealed as he bounced up and strode across the room.
“There you are,” he said to the outlet. He hadn’t seen it before because it was located halfway up the wall next to the bureau, and the plate was covered in the same brown-on-burgundy flower pattern as the walls.
He had his laptop out and ready to plug until he realized the outlet was shaped differently. He thought about how nice it would be to put his fist through that horribly papered wall.
Someone was coming up the stairwell. From the sound of the heavy steps, Zach figured it was the huge man who’d let them in. Moments later, the man appeared in the doorway. He had to duck considerably to get under the doorframe and Zach noted the top of his balding head was only inches from the ceiling.
“Thought you might need these,” he said in a rumbling baritone.
He handed over a desk lamp and what Zach hoped was a plug adapter.
“Thanks.”
The huge man nodded and turned to leave.
“What’s your name?” Zach asked.
Brown eyes under an exaggerated brow met Zach’s. “Simon.”
“Are you a giant?”
The corners of Simon’s thick lips dipped in a frown. “My pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone. The politically correct term for it is ‘horizontally challenged.’”
It took Zach a couple of heartbeats to get the joke.
“Oh,” he said with a little laugh. “So what is this place? Some kind of hostel for travelers on their way to save the world?”
Something flickered in Simon’s eyes. “It’s called a farm.”
“No offense, man, but this place doesn’t look very prosperous.”
“It’s secluded and serves my needs.” Simon ducked under the doorframe and turned. “You may want to consider carefully who you talk to about
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