Clockworks and Corsets Read Online Free PDF Page A

new recruit.
    Not that she would take him up on such an offer.
    Well, not right away, but it would have been nice to at least have been asked.
    Click was valuable, true, yet even he could only do so much for the crew without an idea of where they were headed. That idea came in the form of a map, courtesy of the Madame. Where the owner of a bordello had gotten a hold of a map to a hidden laboratory on a nameless island was a question the captain wouldn’t answer. Jayne, on the other hand, insinuated that the Madame was well known for using her bedroom based talents to get whatever she wanted. Gabriella ended up with a flushed face before she decided not to ask for details.
    So, map in hand and native on their side, the women plunged into that heart of darkness in search of whatever it was they were in search of.
    “We really have no idea what we are looking for?” Gabriella asked again, for what she knew had to be the fortieth time.
    “No, Guppy,” the captain answered. “And if you make another sound, I’ll send you back to the ship with Dot.”
    Gabriella went silent. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck guarding the ship when the rest of the crew was out adventuring.
    What an adventure it was turning out to be.
    The island was a tropical paradise with its white sandy beaches, beautiful waterfalls, and tranquil lagoons. Yet, at the same time, it was a veritable death trap. The jungle grew thick, almost impenetrable in places. The passable areas lay rife with hungry wildlife. To make matters worse, the parts of the island not dominated by overgrowth seemed to be composed of nothing but quicksand.
    Gabriella quickly learned the key to survival in the stuff was not to struggle when sinking, despite the fact that all instincts screamed otherwise.
    Even with her bloomers full of sand, she was having the time of her life.
    “Captain!” Click shouted from a few feet ahead. “There’s something up here.”
    The captain sighed with a glance to the heavens, as if seeking help. Gabriella couldn’t blame her. The native had repeated the same line for almost four hours. Every misshapen rock, twisted tree, or rotting animal carcass was something to him. A series of portends to his warped, heathen mind.
    “I swear,” the captain said, “if that’s just another piece of indistinguishable jungle, I’m going to break him in two.”
    “If the map is correct, this should be it, sir,” Magpie said, folding the worn parchment.
    “Very well. Let’s see what he’s found this time.” The captain pushed past Magpie, tromping ahead to join Click with his latest discovery.
    Gabriella obediently fell into line to follow her captain. Whistles and gasps echoed through the underbrush. When she slipped between the vines into the clearing beyond, she saw what all the commotion was about. A great stone wall rose from the jungle floor, reaching high into the canopy of banyan trees, running end to end as far as the eye could see. Gabriella stood in awe of the thing, amazed at the impossible size of it. Jayne, however, caressed the obstruction with pale, trembling hands. The woman pawed at the wall, occasionally pausing to put her ear to it, listening for heaven knew what.
    “Wow,” Click said. His voice seemed a sudden intrusion on Jayne’s private moment. “What do you suppose is beyond?”
    The captain waved her hand at the cabin boy, flashing him a dirty look, silencing him as she turned to Magpie, who already had the unfolded parchment in hand. “Is this thing on the map?”
    Magpie held the parchment close to her face. “No. Must’ve been put up by someone since.
    Unfortunately our goal is just on the other side. I guess somehow we either need to get around it or over it.”

    “How do you suppose we get around it?” Jax asked.
    Gabriella wondered the same thing.
    “We’re not supposed to.” Jayne stepped back from the wall, turned to the crew with her hands parked on her hips. “Not around it. We’re supposed to