Black Mercury (The Drifting Isle Chronicles) by English Charlotte E

Author:English, Charlotte E. [English, Charlotte E.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2013-03-23T16:00:00+00:00

To begin with, Clara was grateful that they’d set out on bicycles instead of on foot. Eisenstadt was dotted all over with parks and green spaces, some large enough for lengthy promenades, others a mere pocket of green surrounded by buildings. Between the three of them, Clara, Min and Til felt able to locate the majority of them.

After considerably more than an hour of searching, however, when Clara’s legs were tiring and her behind ached from its close proximity to the hard leather seat, she began to wish they’d dispensed with considerations of noise, unwieldiness and disruption and just taken Hildy’s autocarriage instead.

She refused either to give up or to slow down, however. As the dark and silent night went on, her concern for Cas grew steadily stronger, and she wouldn’t listen to Min’s complaints.

It was at the fourth—or was it fifth?—stop that they finally stumbled over Cas. Min had the job of scouting; sadly Cas was far from the only person in Eisenstadt reduced to seeking the dubious comforts of a park bench overnight, and Min alone of the three of them could look for Cas discreetly. Min flew on ahead; a startled squawk a few moments later told Clara that she’d found something.

Clara followed at a run, arriving just in time to see Min settle atop a dark form that lay huddled up on a rickety bench. She began to jump on it. “Mr.—Caspar—Goldstein!” she pronounced, fitting one word to each jump, “You—are—more—trouble—than—you’re—worth!”

Clara dropped to her knees beside the bench. “Cas? Is Min just crazy or is that you?”

“Liebling?” Cas said in a sleep-slurred voice. He pushed himself up on his hands, then stopped abruptly, as though the movement pained him. “Um. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, silly,” Clara said, careful to keep her voice even and her emotions in check. Having a visible fit of dismay wouldn’t help.

“But… it’s the middle of the night.” He eased himself into a sitting position as he spoke; Clara couldn’t help noticing that his breathing was a little too fast, and he held himself upright with great care.

“That’s exactly why we were looking for you. What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”

“You aren’t alone, I hope?” Cas said, ignoring her question. Then his eye fell on Til and he gave a little sigh of relief. “Not alone. Good.”

Til stood a little way off, his arms folded. “You’ve caused a deal of concern, Cas.”

Cas nodded. “Wasn’t the idea. I can’t say I expected anyone to be combing the city for me at some unearthly hour of the night. Or morning. Is it morning?”

“You thought we’d just leave you to your fate, I suppose?” said Clara, a hint of acidity creeping into her tone.

Cas’s face turned towards her, though it was too dark to make out his expression. “It’s my own fault so I’d better deal with it myself. I thought that’s what you would say.”

“Did you? Really?”

He gave a choked laugh. “You’d be quite right. It is all my own doing.”

She shook her head at that.

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