Lew's eyes found themselves looking at a furious woman who burst through the door. As soon as he saw her face he glanced down, happy that he didn't know her. She jerked to a stop in the doorway. No one said a word. Then she was off down the tunnel, grumbling, and the uncomfortable moment was gone. Lew sighed.
Had she looked familiar, though? Best not to wonder.
In the doorway stood a small, solemn girl who beckoned Lew inside. He got up to follow her into the chamber of the Clockwork Book. As they approached the Book her eyes were fixed straight ahead, but she explained: "Sometimes the stories people ask for aren't the stories they want."
Lew nodded. He had no idea what she'd just said. His eyes were full of the Book.
The Clockwork Book was large enough to fill most of the room: in some way it may have been the room, since its mechanism spread out from the Book's rigid face into all of the room's dark corners, where gears great and small revolved and interlocked and meshed while they drove long rods and pistons into patterns that couldn't be deciphered. Most of the machinery turned quietly but here and there a reluctant squeak told Lew that keeping the Book running smoothly was probably a full time job.The mechanism that was the Book extended overhead and back behind the Book's platter of a face where rods moved through their slots in the bricks and stone of the chamber walls. It looked as though there was a lot more Book back there, out of sight.
The Book's eyes glowed evenly as Lew stepped in front of it. Its eyelids scraped half-shut, only to iris open again.
Lew was determined not to hurry this. He looked around, taking in the damp walls and floor that seemed... quite old, really. But there were other things that looked like they'd been added recently even though they were not new: a heavy carpet draped over the steps in front of the Book, and chipped pots of colorful mushrooms that must have been the underground equivalent of flowers. Some pillows were thrown around just in front of the Book's dais. He glanced at the little girl, who stood stiffly at attention. There was a lonely, valiant quality about the room's decorations that made Lew think of soldiers holding their ground in a doomed fortress.
He looked up at the Book's impassive face. "So I've read your Terms of Service," he said. "I suppose that there are rules?
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February 22nd, 2011 at 9:04 am
So far, so good, but its gonna kill me reading one page at a time two days a week…
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:16 am
Oh, well, if it doesn’t kill you it might make you… stranger. Or something. I get confused about that one.
February 22nd, 2011 at 7:51 pm
I am a Kickstarter supporter and I am like Andy above- waiting is KILLING me. I love this- but I almost want to wait so I can read a bunch at once.
Well done so far!
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Well! As a Kickstarter supporter you also know that piecing this story out over months is buying me time to finish another story, behind the scenes :).
February 24th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Of course I do- hahahaha doesn’t mean I like to wait! (typical consumer)
BTW- would you be interested n being interviewed for my site (www.flyovergeeks.com)? Could drive you some more readers and I think its a cool idea that would make a good article
