The Gospel According to Verdu (a Steampunk Novel) (The Brofman Series) (41 page)
Read The Gospel According to Verdu (a Steampunk Novel) (The Brofman Series) Online
Authors: Emilie P. Bush
Ahy-Me shouted with joy as she touched Verdu’s chest.
Fenimore shook his head to clear away the cobwebs, and there was a faint shuddering in the ground—a small earthquake.
Chenda held her breath, a suspicion forming in her mind.
Transferred
, the gods had said. She turned to Candice, who was struggling to pull her wits together.
“Those where the gods?” she snapped, and a potted plant beside her burst into flames.
Chenda called on her power of water, asking it to fall from the sky to douse the burning shrub, but nothing came. She was horrified and pleased at the same time. She attempted to bring water from the garden’s bubbling fountain to wet the flames—nothing.
She tried a third time, focusing on the power of earth to suffocate the fire with soil. Again nothing happened. Finally she lashed out at the flames with the power of air, banishing all oxygen from around the fire. To her surprise, the flames went out.
“Air,” she said as she looked at her hands. “It’s all gone but the air.”
She turned to Pranav Erato, who pointed to Fenimore. “Did you feel that tremor? Earth.”
Chenda blanched. “Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! This can’t be.”
Candice was struggling to get off the ground. “Fire! I get
fire
?” She shook her fist at the sky, sending sparks heavenward.
“I’m a geologist, you dopes!”
She stomped around the garden, muttering, “Sure, give the earth power to the flyboy,” and setting things aflame.
Verdu sat quietly, resting against Ahy-Me’s arm while she laughed though her sobs. As each tear rolled down her cheek, Verdu whisked it away with a thought.
“Water,” Chenda said as she watched.
She buried her face in her hands. Leave it to the gods to have a sense of humor. She had gotten exactly what she agreed to.
“This is never going to work,” she said to the pranav. “The elements need to work together. This is going to be a disaster. We are going to have to be
very
together—all the time now. Forever.”
Pranav Erato said, “Don’t be so dire. Look around you. Your companions are now on a par with you. You are not alone.”
A tear rolled down Chenda’s cheek. “They just ripped it from me,” she said. “I hated that power sometimes, it writhed within me and fought me, but didn’t realize how much it had become…
me
.”
Pranav Erato stroked her hair, “I understand. This will take you some time to adjust. But your friends need you now.” He smiled and said, “You see? Verdu is already enjoying himself, and it seems the gods have taken care to heal him—a kindness that. I can’t begin to imagine how long a wound like that would take to heal if they have been given the longevity I suspect we all have now. No, everyone seems well, and only Candice is a little put out.”
“I think she’ll get over it,” Chenda said, drying her eyes. “This gift suits her personality. I think, however, the gods may regret their choice someday.”
“Or Max Endicott will,” Pranav Erato said. The thought made Chenda laugh.
Fenimore sat down by her side. “I feel like myself, but I can feel the power within me, too. Is this how it was for you?”
“Oh, no,” Chenda said, checking the remaining gift within her— the power over air. “This is better. I can feel it, but it’s not struggling to get out like it was before. I think maybe the elements were fighting one another. They couldn’t live in peace inside one person. The gods fixed their mistake.”
“You made them fix their mistake,” Pranav Erato said.
Verdu spoke up. “And now it’s time for us to fix the mistakes of men here in Tugrulia. We have a lot to do.”
“And we’ll do it together,” Chenda said. “It seems we will have a lot of time to work on getting it right.”
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Acknowledgments
Many people need to be thanked for helping me to create this second volume of Chenda’s adventures and who helped
Chenda and the Airship Brofman
become a success. I doubt I can fully express my gratitude, but let’s give it a try.
As always, I thank Patricia Nolde for inviting Henrietta Hoppingood. She may not have joined the adventure this time, but she
is
the founder of the feast. Along with the other Patricia, and I am so happy you are alive,
you two make for a valuable set of beta readers.
My husband and children love and support me no matter how badly the plotting is going or how cranky I get during the rewrites. Tony, I love you, babe, and that’s forever. Elly and Sara – I thank God every day that I was lucky enough to be your mommy. Now, go clean your rooms.
There are several people who have helped me on the Science Fiction Convention circuit. They have been generous in the extreme, and they have supported my writing in more ways than I knew were possible. I owe these guys big time: Herb and Melody McCalla, Doctor Q, Deadline Dan at the
Steampunk Chronicle
, Kathryn and Arthur Hinds, Charlie Crickenberger, William and Cindy MacLeod, Diana Pho and the gang at
Beyond Victoriana
, The Women of Broad Universe and
Chris Horne and the Crossroads Writers Conference.
My editor, Kathryn Hinds, is awesome. Not once did she make fun of my really stoopid mistakes. You made the book, and me, better.
Lori Polk Newbury - thanks for your eagle eyes.
Never underestimate the power of a good librarian. I especially want to thank my parents, both librarians, who brought me up in the shadow of great books, and to Barry Reese of the Twin Lakes Library System, who was the first to catalog
Chenda and the Airship Brofman
.
That was huge.
The cover model for the book is one Tony Ballard-Smoot. Ain’t he the bomb? Keep Ohio steamy, dude.
Thank YOU for reading my book. You can really make a difference in the life of this novel by reviewing it at AMAZON.com or at Amazon.co.uk. Join me on Facebook and at my website CoalCitySteam.com.
There will be more adventures with Chenda, but I have another novel in me that is asking to come out. Stay tuned.