The Undying Legion by Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith

Author:Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith [Griffith, Clay & Griffith, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FIC028060 Fiction / Science Fiction / Steampunk
ISBN: 9780345540485
Goodreads: 23308401
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 2014-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Simon slid into the door, with Kate careening against him. Malcolm cursed over the sound of the whip and the team of horses screeching in alarm. The vehicle nearly toppled over on the other side before smashing down on all four wheels again and rolling to a stop.

With cane in hand, Simon was out the door, hissing at the pain in his chest but summoning runic strength. He turned in every direction, seeking some enemy but all he saw was a disheveled Malcolm tying off the reins.

“It’s nothing.” The Scotsman spun around and held up a cautioning hand. “Just the bloody road.”

Behind the coach, the worn tracks extended into the darkness. Several yards back a deep furrow cut across the path. Malcolm’s feet hit the ground and he swept his coat back to reveal his pistols. He walked back toward the trench as Kate climbed from the carriage. The Scotsman kicked loose dirt and stared into the distance down both sides of the channel. Simon continued to study the silent grassy hillocks around them. A light snow was falling over the landscape.

“A washout?” he asked when Malcolm returned and knelt to look under the carriage, checking the wheels.

“Maybe,” he muttered. “It looks freshly dug. There’s another gully ahead of the coach too.”

Kate glanced around. “We’re not far from the estate now. Only a few miles from Hartley Hall. We can walk if need be.”

Malcolm pounded on one of the wooden wheels. He rose and went forward to where the four admirably trained black Friesians huffed breath into the air. He ran his hands along glistening flanks and down their legs, checking for injuries. He inspected the tack next, pulling harnesses and testing braces. “Looks sound enough. We should be able to ease over the gulley and move on.”

“No worse for wear then,” Simon said.

“Simon.” Kate had walked a few steps away, staring over the downs. “Have a look at this.”

He joined her, sheltering his eyes from blowing snow, and followed her pointing finger. He shook his head. “I don’t see—”

“There.”

At the base of a hillock, something moved. At first he thought it was simply high grass in the wind. But no. There was motion along the ground.

“What the hell?” Malcolm said from behind them, staring out over their shoulders.

In the distance, the heavy grass parted and dirt shifted beneath it. A hump of soil rose and moved. A furrow nearly three feet high slid along the ground as if a large, burrowing animal was tunneling. The mound shifted direction and seemed to vanish into the side of a hill.

“You have enormous voles in Surrey,” Simon quipped.

“I think we should go.” Kate tugged on the men’s coats. “I’d feel safer closer to home inside the wards.”

When they all turned, they saw a small figure of a woman walking across the dark field, moving closer, coming toward the front of the carriage. Some twenty yards away, she stopped and stood quietly in the high grass. She was short and appeared to be naked, except for a necklace with a heavy stone between her small breasts.

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