It’s #BookQW and what a magical word for my ‘steam’punk series!
More from Chapter 10:
Though she wanted to rub her aching temples, Annmar kept her hands folded in her lap. Mistress Gere worked magic. And what’s more, she was saying Annmar could as well.
A shiver ran down Annmar’s spine. Rational thought and every lesson given a well-brought-up young lady said Annmar ought to deny it, but she couldn’t. She would rather believe Mistress Gere, because unraveling the mystery of her visions was a better choice than acknowledging a faltering sanity. Even Polly had said she felt “some sort of magical workings” in Annmar’s art.
A bubble seemed to burst inside her, scattering the clouds of worry that’d hung over her so long. Nerves weren’t her problem, magic was. A Knack. What did it do, exactly? And how? Could she manage to train herself to use it? And then…?
Well, Annmar certainly knew what she would not do: work for Mr. Shearing. If having a Knack ensured her freedom and prevented her from becoming that random cog in an industrialist’s plans, then she’d spend every last minute of this trial learning to use it.
She smiled at the thought and, with a start, realized Mistress Gere was smiling, too.
The lady briefly pressed a hand to Annmar’s shoulder. “Your spirits appear to have recovered. It’s up to you to get to know Blighted Basin and your mother’s people.” She stood and waved to the closed door. “Your entrance is there. No one can access your room unless you give him or her permission, something my Knack links to you. Privacy is important, even in a well-functioning team such as ours. Is this arrangement acceptable?”
Annmar rose from the chair and swiveled to survey the lovely room again, a ridiculous grin stuck on her face. “I believe it is.”
“Let’s set your room’s barrier and leave you with a few minutes to freshen up before the dinner bell rings.”
Annmar did as Mistress Gere directed. She touched the doorknob and ran her hand down the railing of the spiral staircase. Both were warm, warmer than the metals should have been. The staircase was the same one she’d noted earlier, across from the workshop. This time the curlicue decorations of the metal were clean, and the space surrounding it cleared.
Annmar felt as if she’d donned special spectacles, but stopped herself from gawking at what hid beneath Mistress Gere’s magic. No, Knack. She ought to use the local term. That Mistress Gere managed all this, and ran a business, simply thrilled Annmar.
Mistress Gere nodded to a neat line of small machines. “You’ll share an entrance with our mechanic’s inventory.”
Poised on jointed legs like huge insects—no, eight legs, so spiders—they looked ready to march from the bay. A small engine, the head, powered them from one end of the water tank body. The engine was a typical steam design, but the machine moved by way of legs? A pulley and cable system with tiny gears graced each articulated leg joint. Clockwork techniques.
Before her sat more intricately operating steam machinery than anything Annmar had been shown at Mr. Shearing’s factory. “I hope I can see them in action.”
“The growers won’t be using these much longer for the late crops. In fact…” Mistress Gere frowned and stepped to the doorway, where the afternoon light had grown fainter. “It’s time I see to a certain problem we’ve experienced.”
Annmar followed her. The dark-skinned man who had been operating the mechanized windlass now stood beneath the walnut tree, along with a younger man. Like the mechanics at Shearing’s, both wore leather aprons over waistcoats and trousers. Several other men wearing bib-and-braces, hats and carrying work gloves joined them. Farmers.
“Excuse me, please. I’ll see you at dinner in a few minutes.” Mistress Gere strode to the gathering group, arriving before a number of other workers crossing the farmyard.
~~~
Can one struggling orphan can switch gears and run full-steam into freedom?
Download volume one of this serialized novel, The Unraveling, for free.
The novels are available individually through most retailers and the trilogy box set is at Amazon and Kobo.
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On a personal note: I’m traveling–and still social distancing!–in Colorado and the surrounding states. Yes, we’ve seen the fires from a distance; the Cameron Peak fire viewed from Trail Ridge Road.
Half our hikes are inundated with smoke and very dry weather, while others are very pleasant, with wildflowers blooming in the higher valleys, like Lake Isabelle in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
We did indeed experience the incredibly early snow on September 9th:
While camping I have been without internet and it’s difficult to keep up with writing. However, things are afoot for The Luminated Threads series. I received a new book blurb for The Unraveling (read it here) and am preparing a cover design brief for a new cover. Once the new covers go up, I doubt I’ll keep the first book free–so pick it up soon!
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