Warmachines of Alexandria by Carpenter Thomas K

Author:Carpenter, Thomas K. [Carpenter, Thomas K.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery, steampunk, fantasy, Alternate History
Publisher: Black Moon Books
Published: 2013-09-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty Three

King Hiero the Second sent a force of men to counterattack the Romans, who had begun building a great siege engine. I admire the King for sending these men to their death, knowing their sacrifice was for the good of the city. The men took it well, and they were feasted and sang songs of valor all night until the appointed time. We kissed them and bid them the luck of the gods, for it is our luck too.

— The Journal of Archimedes

The weight of the armor became unbearable, suffocating even. The warm, moist air of the tomb caught in her throat and Heron clawed at the metal gorge. Before her was the tomb of the greatest inventor she knew and despite her adoration, she found herself suddenly claustrophobic.

Heron stumbled down the last few steps, dropping the shield to clatter on the ground and leaned against the carved wall, ignoring the geometric lines criss-crossing the stone. With her good hand, she clutched at the buckle at her side that held the two halves of the armor together, while Hoth watched curiously.

In her haste, she jammed a fingernail on the corner of the buckle, a shot of pain ran up her forearm, but the clasp would not budge. Heron yanked on the leather strap until Sepharia calmly took the buckle from her and began removing the armor. Before Sepharia could get the last pieces off, Heron was sliding out of them, pushing them to fall on the floor.

"Get this cursed armor off me," said Heron. "I'm sick of being someone I'm not."

Heron, standing in a sweat-soaked tunic, watched the glances between Hoth and Sepharia. They thought her mad, she decided, but let them think that. She eyed the useless metal limb once before deciding it was too much trouble to remove.

"Are we done with disguises?" asked Hoth with an eyebrow raised.

Heron froze, at first thinking he meant her gender, but then she realized he was just speaking of the armor. "I'm not carrying that shield a second longer and without it they'd know who I am. I'm sure Apion has given them my description."

"May I take my armor off?" asked Sepharia, resulting in a nod from Heron.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Heron sucked greedily at the water pouch, not caring if it spilled on her chest. The bindings were soaked through to the skin already.

"What is this place?" asked Hoth. "It's like no tomb I've ever seen."

Heron surveyed the room, realizing for the first time that the walls were curved. Lines carved into the stone criss-crossed, making geometric patterns like a stone-spider had let its web dissolve into the stone, except the distribution was not even, and the spaces between not equidistant. A swirling spiral was formed into the stone on the other side of the sarcophagus. Heron let her eyes follow the lines until she got dizzy and gave up. Sepharia was standing before the sarcophagus in the middle of the room running her fingers across the front.

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