The Ghost Engine by Theresa Fuller

Author:Theresa Fuller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA, steampunk, fantasy, romance
Publisher: Bare Bear Media
Published: 2017-11-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

IT WAS A nightmare.

Again the doppelganger reached Charles first. This time it said nothing as it stood before him, but looked at Charles as though joyful to have him returned to the land of the living. Berd did not doubt that it would even go so far as to tell him it loved him. Or kiss…

Strength ebbed from Berd and she was cold, so cold, as she came panting up behind them, her hands on her sides and her head bowed as she sucked in deep breaths.

Blast that Gine! He knew exactly how to trick Charles. Even kissing wasn’t going to work this time.

Charles’s blue eyes were bright with wretchedness as he stared from her to the doppelganger, the doppelganger that seemed to be made of flesh.

Berd brushed her fingers through her hair. They caught, stuck in the tangled mess that seemed to have ballooned around her head like a lion’s mane... A bone-white chemise flashed through the rips and burns of her mauve silk blouse. She lifted her hands to her face, only to discover she was curving them.

The doppelganger spoke, its voice nice and strong as Berd’s. “It’s me. I know all three reasons as to why Gine created the forest of metal trees.”

Then the doppelganger leaned forward stiffly. Its lips puckered, its eyes shut.

Had I looked that awkward when I’d done it? Oh, Lord alive…

Charles cleared his throat, eyes wide and frantic then took a wary step back.

“So, you know all three reasons why Gine created the forest of metal trees,” Berd said, her voice raw with emotion, as the doppelganger leaned towards the man.

It nodded primly, its lips inches from Charles’s. Its eyes closed.

“Good!” Berd gave a vicious shove, and the doppelganger fell to one side.

It was surprisingly light. It collapsed, crashing to the ground like a toppling tree. There hadn’t even been any flailing of arms, but Berd didn’t wait to see what happened to it. She’d had enough of Gine’s little games.

“And you,” Berd accused the figure that looked like Charles with a pointed finger, “you’re not Charles!”

She swivelled away from it and would have crashed into another figure, this one standing right behind her, had not two hands reached out to grasp her firmly, steadying her.

Berd barely noticed the pressure on her upper arms, because she was staring into eyes so blue she was lost in them. She didn’t need the hint of any aroma to tell her who this was.

Now she knew that deep down she would never have thought Gine was him.

“Are you all right, princess?” Charles’s voice burred.

Her heart began to hammer. And for one intense moment as he reached down, she thought he was going to kiss her—

He grasped her hand.

“Run!” He pulled her along, and they were running again.

She glanced back at the spot where the doppelgangers had been, but both body doubles were gone. No doubt they had disappeared back into the Engine. She snuck a peek at Charles, but he was looking straight ahead. Her heart beat faster but she knew it wasn’t solely because of the exertion.

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