Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle by Kaja Foglio

Author:Kaja Foglio
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Acatha and the Voice of the Castle
ISBN: 9781597802956
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Published: 2014-03-03T05:00:00+00:00

On the ground below, or rather, on the back of the rampaging automaton, Tarvek was coming to terms with his imminent death.

He had heard the stories about the castle, of course, but had assumed they were exaggerated. This had proven to be hubris on his part and the reality would have been challenging enough, even had he been fully fit and dressed. As it was, he was injured, practically naked, and depressed because he was about to die. He had always planned to die while ranting atop a tower or something—he had a very nice outfit all designed for the occasion and everything—and now all that effort would be wasted. Plus, he was worried that his mind might not be as properly focused as it should be.

But it would all be irrelevant anyway, at least to those people who wouldn’t have to scrub his remains off of the floor, because now he was going rather numb and his hands were starting to slip and it was getting awfully cold and…

“Tarvek!” That was Agatha’s voice. That opened another steamer trunk full of regrets… “Tarvek! Get ready to let go!”

Let go? Was she insane?

A bright red dot of light blinked into existence on the floor in front off them. The steam cat tensed. The dot wavered and then skittered off across the floor. With a roar, the creature leapt after it.

Instead of letting go, Tarvek reflexively gripped harder and then realized his error as he saw the dot dancing merrily upon the jammed door.

He screamed as the steam cat plowed through the ancient wood like a battering ram and slammed into the opposite wall. It shook itself and spun about just as Agatha stumbled through the shattered door after it. “Castle! Can you hear me? Destroy it! Now!”

“Of course, my Lady.” The Castle’s voice was nearly drowned out by Tarvek screaming her name in panic and she quickly added:

“And don’t hurt the person on its back!”

“Of course not.” As the Castle spoke, parts of the floor rose up and crushed the clank with a squeal of metal and a shower of sparks. The crushed mechanism clattered over, sending Tarvek rolling to land Agatha’s feet.

“Amazing,” he breathed, staggering as he tried to stand. He felt a bit dazed. “And…and I’m completely unhurt!”

A thrown boot—the mate to the one on his left foot—smashed into his face. “Are you done?” Violetta shrieked. “Are you finished?” She strode over to Tarvek, who was dazedly trying to determine where the stars that drifted across his field of vision belonged on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. “No, wait, you can’t be! You’re still alive!”

Tarvek focused on her. “You know, I really hate you,” he muttered.

“You hate me? How dare you!” Violetta began kicking the prone man in the head. “Feel my hate! Feel it!” Tarvek rolled over and feebly waved his hands in a parody of self-defense. “You aren’t allowed to commit suicide,” Violetta continued. “Only I must kill you!”

Agatha watched this with strong mixed feelings.

Since she had first met

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