The Map of Time by Félix J Palma

Author:Félix J Palma
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General, Steampunk
ISBN: 9781921844119
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2008-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

23

When the girl and the guide vanished along the steep path, Captain Derek Shackleton left his hiding place and paused for a few moments looking at where the woman had been standing, as though expecting to discover a trace of her perfume or her voice lingering in the empty space, some sign of her presence that would prove she had not been a figment of his imagination. He was still reeling from the meeting. He could scarcely believe it had really happened. He remembered the girl’s name: “I’m Claire Haggerty and I’ve come from the nineteenth century to help you rebuild the world,” she had said, with a charming curtsy. But her name was not the only thing he remembered. He was surprised at how clearly the image of her face was etched in his mind. He could conjure clear as day her pale visage, her slightly wild-looking features, her smooth, shapely mouth, her jet-black hair, her graceful bearing, her voice. And he remembered the look in her eyes. Above all, he remembered the way she had gazed at him, enraptured, almost in awe, with mesmerized joy. No woman had ever looked at him like that before.

Then he noticed the parasol, and he flushed with shame once more as he remembered the reason for the girl dropping it. He went over and carefully picked it up off the ground, as though it were an iron bird fallen from some metallic nest. It was a dainty, elegant parasol that betrayed the moneyed status of its owner.

What was he supposed to do with it? One thing was clear; he could not leave it there.

Parasol in hand, he set off to where the others were waiting for him, taking the opportunity to collect himself as he walked.

To avoid arousing their suspicions, he must hide his agitation at the encounter with the girl. Just then, Solomon leapt from behind a rock, brandishing his sword. Although he had been daydreaming, the brave Captain Shackleton reacted in a flash, striking the automaton with the parasol as it leapt on him, baying for his blood in his booming metallic voice. The blow glanced off Solomon, but it took him by surprise, and he teetered for a few seconds before toppling backwards down a small incline.

Clutching the by now rather dented parasol, Shackleton watched his enemy rattling down the hill. The clattering sound came to an abrupt halt as the automaton hit a pile of rocks. For a few moments, Solomon lay stretched out on his back covered in a thick layer of dust thrown up by his fall. Then he tried laboriously to pick himself up, cursing and hurling insults, which the metallic timbre of his voice made sound even more vulgar. Loud guffaws rang out from the group of soldiers and automatons who were looking on.

“Stop laughing, you swine, I could have broken something!” groaned Solomon, amid further guffaws.

“It serves you right for playing pranks,” Shackleton chided him, walking down the incline and offering Solomon a helping hand.

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