Lincoln's Wizard (Dragons of the Confederacy Book 1) by Dan Willis & Tracy Hickman

Author:Dan Willis & Tracy Hickman [Willis, Dan & Hickman, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Runeblade Entertainment
Published: 2023-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

Colonel Beauregard Fuller stood looking out the window of his office as the rays of the morning sun crawled slowly down the black granite surface of Stone Mountain. Between him and the mountain, the rail yards and workshops of the Confederate Engineer Bureau lay bustling in the early light. Already the smokestacks of the Distillery were belching up black clouds that filled the air with the smell of coal smoke and sulfur.

From somewhere below a train whistle screamed. Colonel Fuller couldn't see the switchyard from his window, but he didn't have to. The rumble of the massive machines penetrated his office and vibrated the soles of his feet. He could see the men rushing back and forth in his mind's eye well enough. The emergency call had just gone out and already the yard filled up. Fuller tried to enjoy this one moment, the calm before the inevitable storm of request for this or that impossible thing, but his feet shifted side to side in restless motion. He felt like a thoroughbred waiting for the signal to run.

A polite knock sounded at the door and Fuller turned. He could see the silhouette of a thin man with a bowler hat through the frosted glass.

"Come in, Lemuel," he said, turning away from the window and the view of Stone Mountain.

The door opened and Lemuel Grant came in from the outside landing, removing his hat and tucking it under his arm. Lemuel was Fuller’s head of Engineering, in charge of trying to understand and recreate whatever new mechanical horror the Federal engineers came up with. He had a long face and a sloping, pointed nose with spectacles over his large brown eyes, which made them appear larger still. A man of precise habits, Lemuel’s face showed no stubble and his clothes were clean. He wore a suit of brown wool with no adornments other than a gold watch fob that ran to his vest pocket. He removed the watch and checked it after he closed the door, and Fuller noticed that his fingertips were stained with lead.

"It's a bit early, Beauregard," Lemuel said, snapping the watch closed and returning it to its pocket. "What's all the fuss?"

Fuller sighed and handed Lemuel a paper from his desk.

"Some time yesterday a Federal raiding party blew up the railroad bridge over the Tennessee River," he explained as Lemuel glanced over the paper.

"We'll have to reroute the reagent train," Lemuel said. "Send it over to Jackson and up that way."

"We can't," Fuller said. Lemuel cocked an eyebrow and waited for more, so Fuller continued. "The explosion happened when the train was on the bridge. Our shipment is at the bottom of the Tennessee River."

Lemuel whistled.

"Now I know why the distillery is working already. I'll get an engine ready and clear the route to Jackson."

"That won't be necessary," Fuller said with a sigh. "Almost simultaneously the Federal army in New Orleans raided Jackson. Our boys managed to rally and drive them off, but not before they destroyed the rail yard and several miles of track.

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