Masks and Master Keys: A Clockpunk Fantasy by Z.C. Chaos

Author:Z.C. Chaos [Chaos, Z.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Cat Orange Cat Publishing
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

13

I woke up to the bobbing pod on the surface of the water. I opened the lid and fresh ocean air filled my lungs. I put the key back on to reestablish my glamour and the mask to protect my face. The sunlight glinted off the waves and no matter which way I looked, there was water.

“This isn’t good.” I laid back in the pod and thought about what just happened. “Edward is the General now…” I sighed, then panicked. “Oh no. He knows I’m alive! And that I’m the one who destroyed the Cannon! And I kissed him!” I screamed to myself, the sound echoing through the air.

A day later, I continued to float in the water. I touched my red burned face and stared at the salt water. I survived the aeroship crash just to die out here. Water surrounded me, but I could not drink a single drop.

Something circled the stasis pod under the water. The shark’s silver fin breached the surface a couple times. It tried to chew on the metal that I sat in, but the pod was impenetrable. When it came closer again, I stabbed it in the eye with my screwdriver. It lashed out and almost caught me in the arm. I struck it in its other eye. It flailed and thrashed.

The water shifted and moved as more of its brethren came to its aid. Or at least they were until they sensed its blood in the water. The feeding frenzy kept me entertained for a while, but the hot sun beating down on me and reflecting off the glassy water made it miserable.

The pod fell apart that night, and I was glad that they added floatation rafts to the stasis pods to keep me afloat. The metal sides of the stasis pod sank under the waves.

Day three of floating on the ocean brought hallucinations. Like a ship coming closer to me…

“Do you think she will wake up?” a woman asked in Vidian.

“We should toss her back into the ocean. Everyone knows that Vermin are bad luck on ships.”

“Please don’t do that,” I whispered. “I’ll work for passage, or my Master will pay for it.” I opened my eyes and looked up at the gruff man and well-dressed woman. The woman wore the clothes of a Merchant, and the man was the captain of the vessel.

“Who would pay for a Vermin’s passage?” the captain asked.

I struggled and sat up. “Merchant Ructis is my employer.”

The Merchant perked up. “You must be Aureus.”

“The one and only. You are?” I rubbed my eyes, and the Merchant might have been a copy of Ructis. “You’re related to Boss.”

She nodded. “Xyleena,” she introduced herself. “I was actually planning on meeting with him after we made landfall.” She looked up to the captain. “From what my older brother has told me, she’s a hard worker.”

“That I am. As soon as I catch my sea legs, I’ll do whatever task you need until we reach shore,” I promised.

“So be it. You have an hour before I send someone for you,” the captain said then left the tiny room.

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