Jack & The Mechanical Beanstalks (The Clockwork Fairy Tales Book 4) by Amelia VanBassett

Author:Amelia VanBassett [VanBassett, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BSP
Published: 2016-06-27T04:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Jack had never seen a fairy. Whatever he’d expected… this wasn’t it.

She could have been a child’s toy if she had shrunk down to size. Metal wings an intricate, working conglomeration of clockwork. Metal skin etched with the harsh marks of the ancient language. Her hair looked like threads of woven metal wisping around her head as though caught in an ever-present breeze. Her fingers were sharp as nails, her teeth needles.

Jack took an involuntary step back, swallowing his trepidation.

Orla was unaffected. How many times had she dealt with this monster?

Gao studied him as he studied her, and when she turned to Orla, her tone was approving. “For once you’ve managed to steal one of your brother’s toys… his vengeance would be swift if he got a chance to enact it.”

Her laugh was as harsh as shattering glass. “How are my children progressing?”

Grimacing, he looked between them. The only way he knew of fairies having children was through a royal line, and if she was pregnant she would know better than Orla… what was going on?

Jack didn’t miss the way Orla swallowed or that she bit the inside of her cheek before speaking.

“They’re not done.”

Gaodesong stood to full height, her wings unfolding fully as she filled the space. “Where is she?”

“I haven’t seen her since we talked last night, when she drugged us.”

“Is that why you looked as if you wanted to kill her at the mere mention of her name? It was harmless enough… you both want each other, after all.”

“You of all fairies should understand cognitive dissonance, my lady.”

Her smile was an ugly, glittering thing. “Ask him the question you’ve been dying to know. The answer will remove any doubt, one way or the other.”

Jack hadn’t spoken yet and even though he wanted to know the question she was talking about, he kept his mouth shut.

Gao smiled knowingly. “Now, let’s speak with our witch, shall we?”

With a flick of her hands, a swarm of titanium gnats swirled around them and then flew away, disappearing in a flash. Orla stood silently as Gaodesong pulled her hands upward and a throne-like titanium chair grew out of the ground, glittering in the moonlight.

A screech echoed through the jungle around them and the fairy laughed beneath her breath as she sat.

Zaryanne rushed into the clearing and stopped feet from the fairy’s throne, her skin smoldering with tiny red burns, part of her fern hair smoked, and there was a deep gash in her left horn.

Jack balled his hands to fists, nails biting into his palms. Vengeance would have to wait a while longer.

“That was not nice.” Dark magic washed over him and Jack took another step back. Orla glanced at him and then turned her attention back to Gao. But she stepped in front of him, an odd shield against magic neither of them could fight.

Leaves fluttered and the detritus of the jungle floor swept past them, swirling around Zaryanne.

“Stop posturing.” Gao waved a dismissive hand and Zarya’s magic all but disappeared. “Why are my giants not ready yet?”

Jack glanced at Orla.

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