Blood and Steam (The Tinkerer's Daughter)
Page 24
“Where are we going?”
“All journeys begin somewhere,” he said. “This is where ours begins.”
The elevator stopped and the doors parted, opening up to reveal a wide concrete subway station below the capitol building. My jaw dropped as I saw a massive steam locomotive idling on the tracks in front of us. It was similar to the Vangars’ steam locomotives, but only in a superficial way. This locomotive was much bigger, so tall in fact that it nearly reached the roof of the tunnel, and so broad that it swallowed up two entire sets of tracks. It was made of gleaming black steel with brass and copper pipes and fittings. Brass lanterns were attached to the sides of the cab and brass filigree decorations raced along the boiler and up and down the pillars in front of the cab.
Towering smokestacks rose up along either side of the boiler, not just one or two, but half a dozen on each side. Their tips glowed menacingly as sparks drifted out, floating lazily up toward the ceiling. A number of railcars stretched out behind the locomotive, down the tunnel and out of sight behind us, each as large and impressive as the steam engine itself.
I couldn’t speak as I stared at the thing. It was so massive, so eerily powerful and dominating that it seemed like some prehistoric wild beast snorting flames and rumbling the earth with its sheer power. I wanted to run up to it and touch it, to explore the wonders that most certainly waited inside those railcars, but I was afraid to move or even speak for fear of shattering the illusion.
“Introducing the Iron Horse Express,” Socrates said with a smile. “This will be our home.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said in a breathless whisper.
I heard a shout behind us and turned to see Kale running out of the elevator. He had a bag thrown over his shoulder and a broadsword strapped to his back. “What are you doing?” I shouted at him, narrowing my eyebrows.
“Looking after my interests,” he said slyly as he joined us. “Besides, I’m not going to let you have all the fun. We’re making history here, you know.”
“He’s right about that,” Socrates said. “You’re going to see things your kind hasn’t seen in thousands of years, if ever.”
“You’ve seen it, though,” I said. “Do you think the world has changed so much?”
“Never underestimate how things may change,” Socrates said wisely. “The world is a whirlwind waiting for you to turn your back. Just when you think you have it mastered, you are in the greatest danger imaginable.”
He sighed in a humanlike manner and then clapped his hands together. “Well, then. Shall we?”
Kale and I couldn’t help but grin as we followed Socrates across the station and climbed the stairs up to the massive platform. I glanced ahead and saw the bright lights of the tunnel twinkling in the distance, and a chill ran down my spine. “What happens when we run out of track?” I said.
Socrates smiled as he twisted the control valve, releasing the built up steam pressure into the engine. There was a loud hiss followed by the slow, deep drumming of the lifting cylinders. Slowly, the wheels began to turn.
The End
Coming Soon, a new Steampunk series!:
Aboard the Great Iron Horse
Click here for these and other exciting titles by Jamie Sedgwick:
The Tinkerer’s Daughter Series
The Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre Detective Series
The Shadow Born Trilogy
The Darkling Wind
Karma Crossed
Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Janice, who gave me an amulet of light in a dark place. Also a very special thanks to Jeramiah, without whose imagination and insight this book would not have been possible. Last but not least, my eternal gratitude to Tanja, my first and last editor and my greatest fan.
Blood and Steam Copyright 2012 by Jamie Sedgwick
Cover art copyright 2012 by Timber Hill Press
ISBN-10: 1481072099
ISBN-13: 978-1481072090
All Rights Reserved
Any similarity between people or events, real or fictional, is purely coincidental.