Magical Mechanications by Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris Page A

of pain shot through his hands, causing him to toss the lamp away. His fingers were tingling, and he felt a little confused and off-balance. He waved his hands back and forth, taking deep breaths, while shaking his head. The prickle under his skin began to subside, and his focus slowly returned.
    He looked over to where he had dropped the lamp. The crest was a button? The lamp had some sort of deterrence built in. So, perhaps there was a cipher to this crest that prevented from triggering said deterrence. How very clever, Aladdin thought.
    He reached for the lamp, and that was when the lamp jumped into the air, seemingly of its own accord.
    From inside the vessel came a sharp, loud ping that repeated itself a second time. Then a third. With each ping the lamp jumped and spun in the air, until it became a rapid, sharp clatter, the lamp appearing to dance madly along the sand and brick. Aladdin stepped back as thin metallic extensions reached out from within the base. The lamp then righted itself on them.
    Aladdin stepped back, his eyes narrowing on the metal plate now growing wider and wider. The metal was—beyond his reason and senses—stretching.
    In fact, the lamp was growing larger before his eyes.
    What was once a piece of metal easily carried in one hand had grown to half of Aladdin’s size. The bulbous reservoir was now pulsating as would a man’s chest when taking in great draws of air while the spout stretched and thickened, reaching down to the lid and balancing it just on top of the spout’s opening. The handle snaked around what now appeared as a waist, and try as the golden sash might, the bands of metal sagged under the weight and girth of the growing belly. The arms were also creeping from the hole in this brass giant’s back. Struts and coils of brass, gold, and silver intertwining like snakes around each other, taking on the look and texture of powerful arms. Aladdin swallowed nervously as the monster flexed its fingers, causing its sinews and muscles to move in concert with the digits. Considering the height of this beast was now well over twenty feet, those arms could easily squash Aladdin before he could move.
    It stood tall, towering over him, and the pinging, grinding, and groaning. Silence returned, but only briefly.
    Pop , and between the spout’s mouth and the lid, a ball of flame appeared. The lamp’s lid now looked like a tiny hat on this sphere. The polished surface of the lid and the massive body underneath it, cast light everywhere, making it slightly brighter in the cave.
    Aladdin’s eyes narrowed as it saw color—no, details—in the ball of light. Two smaller fires danced and swirled where there would be eyes, and there was even a thin line of scarlet flame where he could easily imagine a—
    “Oh dear,” the line of fire surged and shimmered as it asked, “did I startle you?”
    He felt the ground shake, but Aladdin’s eyes never left the massive brass creature now looking down at him with glowing green eyes.
    “Yes, that is the usual reaction I get.” The thing took a step back, and gave a slight bow. “Forgive my rather theatrical introduction, sir, but how can I help you presently?”
    Aladdin understood the thing. It was speaking in a perfectly civilized manner. He however was having problems. “What— what—what…”
    “And there is the stutter,” the creature muttered, shaking his head. “Let me try this again.” He looked around and then gave a quick little nod at seeing a large, golden column; it would have been used as a pedestal for a small statue, or as a centerpiece in a court square. Apparently, this thing was using it as a walking stick. A free metallic hand reached up and tipped the lid on its fiery head. “Sir, many thanks for freeing me from the land. You may call me Giles.”
    That was when Aladdin saw it. The lid was no longer a lid. It was a bowler as the infidels wore—but made of brass. “Giles?” he finally stammered. “Giles the