(Books by Authors Who Never Existed:  A Steampunk Hybrid story)

By the author of BARD: Owner of the Gemstone

Chief Shabuni excuses himself from Mrs. Claws house.  The Clockmaker will be arriving soon, and Inspecter Harper and Campbell, along with Mr. TLC, will keep watch over Mrs. Claws, and on The Book Stealer.  He needs to do something else in the meantime.

He keeps thinking about the four thieves dressed as ninjas.  There wasn’t time to process what he saw before but now he realizes they all had womanly figures.  Lady Iris comes to mind but he won’t go near her.  Some call her a witch, while others, a sorceress.  Whatever, she is, she sees him as a source of magic, and that terrifies him.  Where he came from, albino children were often captured.  A limb or their entire bodies amputated.  Their bones dried and ground into dust to make tonics believed to contain powerful magic.  That leaves three others to visit.  Lady Elsewhere, the owner of the Krystal Jewellery store; Lady Evelyn Oolong, the Vintage Tea store owner; and Lady Marina Steamsail, the boat supplier.

He walks down Main Street, nodding down at passersby’s, as he turns left onto Cauldron Street.  A short time later he sees the river Thamesmar and a large steepled building made of cedar wood.  He steps up the marble stairs to an arched alcove.  Two oak doors greet him.  He takes a bronze handle in the shape of a dragon’s head, and knocks.

The door opens and he sees Lady Steamsail standing by a grandfather clock.  “Come in Chief,” she says with a charming smile full of venom.

As he enters the spacious hallway, he notices shark teeth, and helms wheels, decorating the walls between large, oil paintings of famous sailing ships.  He takes off his stovepipe hat, and asks in a weary voice, “I need to ask you where you were the other night?”

“Don’t you want to disarm me before questioning?” Lady Steamsail asks, proffering her very ornate knife.”

He immediately notices the knife’s handle is in the shape of a necrotic motorcycle, with the twisted body of a dragon.  He gazes up her pink skin to her charming, yet deadly smirk, to her engulfing, blue eyes.  Then he stares for a long moment, at the skeleton key earring, that hangs from left ear.  A tiny, tanzanite crystal glimmers from the centre of the earring’s head.  “That won’t be necessary,” he answers.

***

One of the goals for these writing experiments is to include makers, and models of Steampunk.  Ben Lanzenstein of Switzerland creates Steampunk vehicles, weapons, and more.  I will be posting a short interview with Ben in very near future.  Meanwhile, you can see his work at:  ben_lanzenstein

Unwoman.com

Joanne Gosling (as Lady Marina Steamsail):  Jgosling@calclosets.com

Fireandsteel.ca Dragonrider Folding Knife

GRACEART Unisex Steampunk Top Hat with Goggles

Alivila.Y Fashion: Women’s Faux Leather Steampunk Corset Victorian Bustier Top

Tags: Science Fiction, story blog