Blood and Steam (The Tinkerer's Daughter) by Jamie Sedgwick

Author:Jamie Sedgwick
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: sci, Science Fiction, steampunk, Fantasy, Adventure, elves
ISBN: 9781481072090
Publisher: Timber Hill Press
Published: 2012-12-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

After mashing lips with Nena for a minute, Kale joined us on the platform. He threw his arms around me, lifting me off the ground. “I can’t believe you came after me, River. You’re insane.”

“You may be right,” I said. “Put me down.”

He set me gently on the platform, noting my grim expression. “What’s wrong?”

I quickly explained the situation. There was no delicate way to explain that we were all about to crash and die horribly. His smile vanished as I spoke. “Maybe we could jump off the train,” he said.

“We’re already going too fast. We’d all break our necks.”

We turned to look at the slaves laughing, clapping each other on the backs, jubilant about their escape. They were completely unaware of our true situation. “What about the river?” Nena said. “The train goes right over the river outside of Avenston. Could we jump in the water?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Kale said.

I regarded the two of them, trying not to dismiss Nena’s idea just because it was hers. “That might work,” I said, “but we still have a few problems. The first is that we don’t know what’s waiting for us in Avenston. The last I heard, there was a full-scale uprising going on, and the overseer went there personally with two hundred soldiers.”

“Then we won’t go to Avenston,” Kale said. “We go north, make a run for the mountains.”

“Perhaps,” I said, glancing at Crow. “That does fit nicely with our original plan, doesn’t it?” He nodded quietly.

“What plan?” Kale said. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain later,” I said. “Right now we need to worry about this train. The sun’s already up so that means the factories will be full of workers when it pulls into Avenston. If we don’t give them some kind of warning, people will die.”

“We could blow the whistle,” Kale said helpfully and then added, “If we’re still on the train, that is.”

“I might be able to rig it open,” I said. “Let it blast all the way into town. That would at least give them some warning. I’m not sure it would be enough, though.”

“I could fly ahead and warn them,” Crow said, “if my wing wasn’t damaged.” He took off his cloak and flipped it around, showing me the busted steamjet under the fabric. I examined it.

“When the axe hit this and it broke, you shot up in the sky,” I said.

“Yes, it released the entire system’s pressure all at once. I can replenish the steam easily enough, but with no pressure I still can’t get off the ground.”

“What if we close off the damaged jet?” I said. “Will the others still work?”

“I suppose. But we’d need a smithy for that, or at least a good vice.”

I grinned. “How about a forge and a few shovels?”

He looked skeptical. “You mean the furnace? I can’t see how it will work, but I can’t think of anything better.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Kale said.

“Let’s do it,” I said. “Give it to me.”

As we readied for our experiment, I found a toolbox in the front corner that had a hammer in it.

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