Empire of Unreason by J. Gregory Keyes

Author:J. Gregory Keyes [Keyes, J. Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: SteamPunk, Fiction, Fantasy, General
ISBN: 9781439501122
Publisher: Paw Prints
Published: 2008-06-25T14:00:00+00:00

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6.

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Ambassador

The explosion rattled the tower, and for a moment Franklin thought it was broken, that it would collapse and take Nairne and him with it. It also finally rattled some sense into his brain. Guns and cannon were firing all around now�they might bring the flying thing down, but they might well not. He knew something that would do it for sure, and he should have been going for it this whole time.

They went down the ladder quickly, jumping the last ten feet, and pounded off through the chaos raging around them. The flying machine was presently out of sight. Its attack might even be over, but Franklin fervently hoped not. Though it seemed intent on doing some damage, its primary purpose was undoubtedly reconnaissance. The job might already be done�if the pilot had some form of aetherschreiber or its demonic equivalent�but it might not be. In any case, if a human flew the thing, he might be intimidated enough to fly whence he came. Franklin didn�t want that. If there was any chance of keeping information from reaching the forces of the Pretender, it was worth taking.

But people kept getting in his way. The Cherokee were still firing into the air, reloading, firing again, screaming at the tops of their lungs. The Colonials weren�t doing much different. Franklin wondered briefly how many of them would be killed by the hail of their own bullets coming back to earth.

He pushed on through, finally reaching the wains, which as yet were not completely unloaded. Cursing, he began searching through the crates and bundles.

God slapped him, slapped him good, and for a few moments he became one kinetic object amongst many, lifting, falling, colliding. Then he was shaking his head, the bright smell of blood in his nose, wondering if his skull or some other vital part was cracked and had not yet gotten around to informing him that he was dying.

Of course. Destroy the supplies. He had run to the very spot their aerial attacker was most interested in. Why hadn�t they unloaded the wagons and put their contents under cover? Yes, they wanted to be able to move at moment�s notice, but they knew the Moscovados had airships�

Stop thinking, you idiot, and look!

The wain had been blown onto its side, its contents strewn about. Another few feet, and he would have been made confetti along with everything else. As it was, the spilled cargo was easier to search through. Grimly, Franklin tried to keep his gaze on its task and away from the sky, but it was no easy thing, knowing he might as well have an archer�s bull�s-eye on the top of his head.

He flinched at another explosion, and the wagon only a dozen paces from him turned into flaming splinters. He was shielded from the blast by the overturned carcass of the wagon he was hunting through, but he still stumbled. Well, at least bull�s-eyes were not so easy to hit as all that.

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