Child of Time by David Howe

Author:David Howe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: time, adventure, action, hunter, bomb, war, sci-fi, Doctor Who, science fiction, telos
ISBN: 9781845838102
Publisher: Telos
Published: 2011-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

2

Emily watched as Honoré and Roberto headed off into the night. She knew that she had to do this; it was a siren call to her... And then there was the mysterious Child of Time... Was that really her? Maybe the children could shed some light on that as well. She picked up one of the cloaks by the door and set off, walking in the opposite direction from her friends, keeping half an eye out for any more of those gargoyle creatures as she went. She had no wish to meet with one of those. Not now. Not never.

The Palazzo was surprisingly easy to find, though she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to retrace her steps back to the house again, now that she’d left the maze of narrow streets and entered a wide, open piazza. It had started to rain and the water was washing the day’s debris down the gutters; she had to watch her step in the twilight to avoid treading in Venice’s waste. Sometimes she longed for 20th Century advancements like streetlights and sewers.

At the end of the piazza, a wider street led gently uphill, the cobbles neater and the runoff directed to either side rather than straight down the middle of the road. The further she went, the more the area improved, until she rounded a neat stone building to find herself in the shadow of the Palazzo, its imposing round towers rising before her to pierce the clouds above. There were lights in some of the windows, but the grounds seemed empty and the main gates were invitingly open.

She made her way around the base of the building, keeping an eye open for any guards and hoping she could soon find a less conspicuous way in. Surely these places had entrances other than the main one... or did they build them like fortresses with only one way in and out? But this place didn’t look built for defence – far more for comfort, with elegant statuary and ornate carvings in the walls. There must be a servants’ entrance, she reasoned, so that the staff and the nobles didn’t have to see each other or accidentally meet.

Her feet crunched on gravel and she peered into the damp gloom as a dark shape loomed in front of her. Edging closer, she saw it was an entrance of sorts: a short flight of hewn steps leading down into pitch darkness. At least she’d be out of the rain.

Emily stepped down into darkness and held one arm in front of her to feel her way. Almost immediately her fingers brushed wood, and she knew there was a door there. Now, if only her luck held...

She used her fingers to explore the door before her, and at around waist level to the right, she located a sturdy iron ring. She grasped it and pulled, but nothing happened. A little further investigation revealed that the ring turned, and also that the door opened inwards and not outwards. She smiled to herself at that mistake.

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