Bitter Cold: A Steampunk Snow Queen (The Clockwork Republic Series Book 4) by Katina French Page B
Authors: Katina French
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gloves and goggles off, and headed for the stairwell. Gaskon's power source was still safely ensconced in the cabinet. The alchemical seals appeared intact, and nothing could rouse their inhabitants while that remained the case.
While she was reassured nothing was amiss with Gaskon or the wolves, she worried about the lack of progress on the homunculi. She doubted Valentine would take failure gracefully, and this particular experiment could lead nowhere else.
It was essential Kit complete the Eternity Engine, and quickly. Once she had a weapon capable of eliminating huge swaths of people, Valentine's concerns would no longer be any of hers.
Chapter 11
Digging Up the Past
It didn't take long for Greta to find the home of Evelyn DeWinter, the infamous Snow Queen. As she asked passing strangers for directions, it seemed everyone in Little Rock knew about the woman, although nearly everyone told a different tale.
"Rumor has it, she murdered her father to take over his company. Then she seduced a half dozen honest businessmen to steal theirs!"
"She's a monster! I've heard wolves howling around that mansion of hers -- seen strange things through the windows. Mark my words, she's not human!"
"All those stories are mere nonsense. She's just a powerful woman who knows her own mind. Some folk don't like that, is all."
The more Greta heard about the Snow Queen, the more uncertain she was about what the woman might want with Kit. It all seemed so fantastic, so unlikely. Then she considered the sleigh sitting covered by brush and branches on the outskirts of town. Unlikely and fantastic seemed to be her stock in trade this week.
By late morning, she'd made her way to the elegant town house located in a fashionable part of town.
Was Kit inside? Did she dare to just walk up to the front door and pull the bell?
As much as she longed to see his face again, to know he was alive and well, a part of her was also terrified. It could very well have been exactly as Captain Hamm suggested. Kit may have simply seized an opportunity. For all she knew, there was a telegram waiting back in St. Louis, explaining everything.
Or the Snow Queen could be a madwoman who was torturing him with alchemical poison while Greta fretted on the street corner.
"They've already left." A thin, reedy woman's voice reached her from a narrow alley running alongside the limestone mansion.
Greta looked into the windswept alley. She saw a plump old grey-haired woman in a black taffeta dress. A dark veil adorned her shabby black hat, which had once been fine.
"Who's already left?" said Greta warily.
"The young man and the Snow Queen."
"Who's to say I'm watching for anyone?"
"Your manner, girl. If you're not careful, you'll be run over by one of these infernal smoke-belching contraptions. You're not watching where you go, but you are watching for someone to come out of that house." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I know where you can find him. You follow a boy of about your age, of sturdy build, with dark hair and eyes? Have you come from Missouri?"
Greta's eyes narrowed. "How could you know that?"
The woman looked around as if concerned she was being watched. "Not here, my girl. Not in the open. If you care about the tinker, you must come with me this instant!"
~*~
Greta hesitated. The woman looked harmless and genuinely afraid, clutching an enormous black leather satchel tightly to her chest, yet something seemed suspicious about her manner. Still, she clearly knew something about Kit. Regardless of whether Kit had come here willingly, simply marching up to the front door of the mansion and knocking didn't seem like the cleverest plan. An old woman's account had gotten her this far. How dangerous could it be to listen to this one?
Greta nodded, and followed her down an alley running the length of the town house.
The alley opened onto a winding, larger street. There were fewer people, and fewer conveyances compared to the bustling
While she was reassured nothing was amiss with Gaskon or the wolves, she worried about the lack of progress on the homunculi. She doubted Valentine would take failure gracefully, and this particular experiment could lead nowhere else.
It was essential Kit complete the Eternity Engine, and quickly. Once she had a weapon capable of eliminating huge swaths of people, Valentine's concerns would no longer be any of hers.
Chapter 11
Digging Up the Past
It didn't take long for Greta to find the home of Evelyn DeWinter, the infamous Snow Queen. As she asked passing strangers for directions, it seemed everyone in Little Rock knew about the woman, although nearly everyone told a different tale.
"Rumor has it, she murdered her father to take over his company. Then she seduced a half dozen honest businessmen to steal theirs!"
"She's a monster! I've heard wolves howling around that mansion of hers -- seen strange things through the windows. Mark my words, she's not human!"
"All those stories are mere nonsense. She's just a powerful woman who knows her own mind. Some folk don't like that, is all."
The more Greta heard about the Snow Queen, the more uncertain she was about what the woman might want with Kit. It all seemed so fantastic, so unlikely. Then she considered the sleigh sitting covered by brush and branches on the outskirts of town. Unlikely and fantastic seemed to be her stock in trade this week.
By late morning, she'd made her way to the elegant town house located in a fashionable part of town.
Was Kit inside? Did she dare to just walk up to the front door and pull the bell?
As much as she longed to see his face again, to know he was alive and well, a part of her was also terrified. It could very well have been exactly as Captain Hamm suggested. Kit may have simply seized an opportunity. For all she knew, there was a telegram waiting back in St. Louis, explaining everything.
Or the Snow Queen could be a madwoman who was torturing him with alchemical poison while Greta fretted on the street corner.
"They've already left." A thin, reedy woman's voice reached her from a narrow alley running alongside the limestone mansion.
Greta looked into the windswept alley. She saw a plump old grey-haired woman in a black taffeta dress. A dark veil adorned her shabby black hat, which had once been fine.
"Who's already left?" said Greta warily.
"The young man and the Snow Queen."
"Who's to say I'm watching for anyone?"
"Your manner, girl. If you're not careful, you'll be run over by one of these infernal smoke-belching contraptions. You're not watching where you go, but you are watching for someone to come out of that house." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I know where you can find him. You follow a boy of about your age, of sturdy build, with dark hair and eyes? Have you come from Missouri?"
Greta's eyes narrowed. "How could you know that?"
The woman looked around as if concerned she was being watched. "Not here, my girl. Not in the open. If you care about the tinker, you must come with me this instant!"
~*~
Greta hesitated. The woman looked harmless and genuinely afraid, clutching an enormous black leather satchel tightly to her chest, yet something seemed suspicious about her manner. Still, she clearly knew something about Kit. Regardless of whether Kit had come here willingly, simply marching up to the front door of the mansion and knocking didn't seem like the cleverest plan. An old woman's account had gotten her this far. How dangerous could it be to listen to this one?
Greta nodded, and followed her down an alley running the length of the town house.
The alley opened onto a winding, larger street. There were fewer people, and fewer conveyances compared to the bustling
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