Into the Storm by Larry Correia

Author:Larry Correia [Correia, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy
Goodreads: 18402191
Publisher: Skull Island eXpeditions
Published: 2013-08-27T23:00:00+00:00

Hartcliff Manor burned to the ground in a matter of minutes. It burned so hot that metal turned molten and dripped down the facing. It burned so hot that the stones cracked and popped. It should have been impossible to hear the screaming of those trapped inside over the rushing hot wind, but somehow he did. He heard everything.

There were faces in the windows. They were consumed. Innocents leapt to their deaths to avoid the flames. Lives were snuffed out.

He had ordered the fire started, but he hadn’t expected this alchemical butchery.

Groller Culpin watched the conflagration, giddy with excitement. Madigan grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall. “What have you done?”

“I’ve done as you asked me to do.” Culpin couldn’t tear his eyes away from his masterpiece. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Sir Madigan? So beautiful. Witness the future of warfare.”

And the screaming continued.

Hugh Madigan woke up with a start, covered in sweat, gasping for breath. His bedroll was spread on the cold stone floor of church. He had wadded up his cloak to use as a pillow. The giant Menofix upon the nearby altar loomed as if to remind him that he was the trespasser here.

He rubbed his face in his hands. It would not be dawn for a few more hours, but there was no point in denying wakefulness now.

Somebody approached in the dark. “Are you all right, sir?” It was Cleasby’s turn on watch. “I heard you wake.”

“Status?”

“Quiet. The perimeter is secure.” He kept his voice down so as to not wake any of the men. Their sleep was a precious commodity.

“Good. Carry on.”

Cleasby was concerned. “Can I fetch you anything?”

“Superiors that understand how dangerous the situation is, or perhaps an intelligence command smart enough to listen to a washed-up old knight.”

“I’ll get right on that, sir . . . You’re concerned about this device?”

“I’m concerned about what somebody like Groller Culpin could do with such a thing. The man was a genius. A deranged genius, but a genius all the same.”

“I remember that he wrote several important treatises on various topics, but we didn’t study those much in my field. I do know King Vinter appointed him to be one of the chief architects of Caspia’s remodeling and modernization. The Great Public Works was his design.”

“Yes, he was a regular hero of the kingdom. There was even talk of naming the central building after him, but they settled on calling it just the Great Dome. Maybe in a hundred years idealistic young students will still be reading about what a civic-minded, kind-hearted man he was, but that doesn’t make it true. Just like how your prized books about chivalrous knights leave out the fear and death.”

“That’s not necessary, Lieutenant.” It was dark, so it was difficult to tell, but it appeared that Cleasby hung his head. “The last month has already demonstrated to me some of the flaws in my previous view of the world.”

Madigan was surprised to find Cleasby’s admission made him a little sad—there should be some idealism in the world—but it was for the best.

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