A Grimoire for the Baron by Eon de Beaumont

Author:Eon de Beaumont [Beaumont, August Li; Eon de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

NOT LONG after they stopped for lunch, thick black clouds rolled in to cover the brilliant blue of the sky. Only minutes after they appeared, the storm broke open, dousing the jungle in a heavy downpour. Querry hurried to help the others pull the sheet metal coverings over the cart beds so the guns and explosives would stay dry. By the time they’d finished, Querry’s clothing, including his protective leather waistcoat and heavy boots, dripped as if he’d just emerged from a lake. The water was warm as tears, and it intensified the cloying scents of jungle flowers and decaying leaf litter. The narrow trails they traveled turned to slippery mud, slowing their progress and making everyone irritable and uncomfortable, with the exception of Frolic, who stared with obvious fascination at the unusual vegetation, bright birds, and even occasional small monkeys they passed. But then, the warm water and the thick, heavy mist it conjured wouldn’t annoy the clockwork boy the way it did the humans.

Querry looked back at Reg, trudging along several feet behind everyone else, wiping his foggy spectacles on his sleeve every few minutes. He knew Reg felt like he’d somehow let them down by failing to find a way out of their contract, but he hadn’t predicted Reg’s melancholy would last so long. Querry stepped off the trail, into the thick, dripping undergrowth, and waited for his friend to catch up. Then he fell into step beside Reg. They walked in silence for several minutes while Querry considered how to start the conversation. He abandoned his original intention of making some joke to cheer his friend, knowing what had to be said.

Querry took a deep breath and caught Reg’s wrist. Both of them paused on the trail, and Querry took Reg’s other hand and guided him around so they faced each other in the decreasing rain. Reg’s blond hair sparkled in the weak sun finally breaking through the clouds. Querry reached up and gently removed his glasses. Even Reg’s thick eyelashes glittered. Though Querry wanted nothing more in that moment than to tell Reg how beautiful he was, instead he said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry any of us are here. But I need to say that it’s my fault we are. Mine, not yours. I’d rather have you cross with me than feeling responsible. I made a mistake going to Starling’s villa. You did nothing wrong. You’re here with us when you didn’t have to be. If I seem too confident, it’s just because I know what the three of us can do together. Still, I should have listened to you from the beginning. From now on, I’m going to start. You’re much cleverer than I am.”

“Finally realized that, have you?” Reg smiled, and the lines of tension on his forehead and around his hazel eyes smoothed. “Look, we’re here now, and we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. There’s no sense in getting cross with each other. We need to watch out for each other, now more than ever.

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