up on one of the tables. “He was very hard to build, probably my most difficult creation,” he answered. “I still haven’t got all the bugs out of him just yet, have I, Sheridan?”
The machine held out its arms and wiggled three segmented fingers and a thumb on each hand. “My hands still seem to get a bit stiff when it’s going to rain,” he said thoughtfully, “but other than that, I get by just fine.”
Leander chuckled heartily, a low rumbling laugh deep in his chest as he shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not surehow many more surprises I can stand in one day,” he said. The welcome sound of his laughter proved contagious, for Timothy chuckled as well.
Their laughter trailed off and the uncomfortable silence returned until Leander’s stomach suddenly rumbled.
“Oh, my,” the mage said, embarrassed, laying a hand upon his growling belly. “Please excuse me.”
“What’ve you got, Dire Wolves under that robe?” Edgar asked, flying up from the table to land again upon the boy’s shoulder. “Shouldn’t really be teasing the mage,” the bird chided himself in a whisper that everyone could hear. “I’m hungry too. Is there anything to eat?”
There was no glass in the windows of the workshop, though Leander did not doubt that had he desired to do so, Timothy could have found a way to create a translucent material that would take the place of the transparency spell magicians used. Given the island’s tropical climate, the windows were simply open, though there were shutters that Leander imagined the boy closed in case of high winds or a severe rainstorm. Now, however, at the mention of food, Timothy glanced out a window and noticed that the sun had set and the island was peaceful in twilight.
“How rude of me,” the boy said, hopping down from his seat on the table. “It’s way past suppertime. Please forgive me. My father is the only guest I’ve ever had, and he never failed to remind me when it was time for a meal.”
The boy strode across the workshop to a crank that jutted from the wall. It was very similar in design to the oneon his pole, but larger and made of metal. Timothy turned the crank and gazed upward at an opening in the ceiling, from which a ladder began to descend. When he had lowered it fully, he gestured up the ladder toward the opening. “Follow me upstairs and I’ll see if I can’t put supper together.” And the boy started to climb.
“Very nice meeting you, Master Maddox,” Sheridan said with a wave of his hand. “I’ve some tidying up to do in the workshop, but hopefully I will see you again before you depart.” A blast of steam shot from the side of his head in a whistling blast as he hefted the cart of stone and wheeled it farther into the back of the workshop.
“It was a pleasure to meet you as well,” Leander said, still in awe of the mechanical man. Then he began to climb the ladder from the workshop up to Timothy’s dwelling. It was certainly an evening of surprises, and the mage could only wonder what marvels were yet to come.
Edgar fluttered through the opening first and Leander followed, squeezing his large form through the narrow hole into the boy’s living quarters. It was quaint, furnished with simple, practical pieces of dark wood. A large black pot hung over a fire in a hearth, and a delicious aroma that made his mouth water filled the air. Yes, it was similar to a dwelling back home, but looking carefully, he could see the things that made this place different. Yaquis fronds covered the walls, and a peek out the windows showed a strange world, where an ice-blue moon was surrounded by four smaller moons, all of them hanging weightlessly in the night sky above an undulating alien sea.
“Welcome to my home,” Timothy said, a warm smile on his sun-darkened features. Despite his grief, he seemed to be enjoying this rare contact with an outsider.
How lonely it must have been for him to grow up here, with only rare visits from his
The machine held out its arms and wiggled three segmented fingers and a thumb on each hand. “My hands still seem to get a bit stiff when it’s going to rain,” he said thoughtfully, “but other than that, I get by just fine.”
Leander chuckled heartily, a low rumbling laugh deep in his chest as he shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not surehow many more surprises I can stand in one day,” he said. The welcome sound of his laughter proved contagious, for Timothy chuckled as well.
Their laughter trailed off and the uncomfortable silence returned until Leander’s stomach suddenly rumbled.
“Oh, my,” the mage said, embarrassed, laying a hand upon his growling belly. “Please excuse me.”
“What’ve you got, Dire Wolves under that robe?” Edgar asked, flying up from the table to land again upon the boy’s shoulder. “Shouldn’t really be teasing the mage,” the bird chided himself in a whisper that everyone could hear. “I’m hungry too. Is there anything to eat?”
There was no glass in the windows of the workshop, though Leander did not doubt that had he desired to do so, Timothy could have found a way to create a translucent material that would take the place of the transparency spell magicians used. Given the island’s tropical climate, the windows were simply open, though there were shutters that Leander imagined the boy closed in case of high winds or a severe rainstorm. Now, however, at the mention of food, Timothy glanced out a window and noticed that the sun had set and the island was peaceful in twilight.
“How rude of me,” the boy said, hopping down from his seat on the table. “It’s way past suppertime. Please forgive me. My father is the only guest I’ve ever had, and he never failed to remind me when it was time for a meal.”
The boy strode across the workshop to a crank that jutted from the wall. It was very similar in design to the oneon his pole, but larger and made of metal. Timothy turned the crank and gazed upward at an opening in the ceiling, from which a ladder began to descend. When he had lowered it fully, he gestured up the ladder toward the opening. “Follow me upstairs and I’ll see if I can’t put supper together.” And the boy started to climb.
“Very nice meeting you, Master Maddox,” Sheridan said with a wave of his hand. “I’ve some tidying up to do in the workshop, but hopefully I will see you again before you depart.” A blast of steam shot from the side of his head in a whistling blast as he hefted the cart of stone and wheeled it farther into the back of the workshop.
“It was a pleasure to meet you as well,” Leander said, still in awe of the mechanical man. Then he began to climb the ladder from the workshop up to Timothy’s dwelling. It was certainly an evening of surprises, and the mage could only wonder what marvels were yet to come.
Edgar fluttered through the opening first and Leander followed, squeezing his large form through the narrow hole into the boy’s living quarters. It was quaint, furnished with simple, practical pieces of dark wood. A large black pot hung over a fire in a hearth, and a delicious aroma that made his mouth water filled the air. Yes, it was similar to a dwelling back home, but looking carefully, he could see the things that made this place different. Yaquis fronds covered the walls, and a peek out the windows showed a strange world, where an ice-blue moon was surrounded by four smaller moons, all of them hanging weightlessly in the night sky above an undulating alien sea.
“Welcome to my home,” Timothy said, a warm smile on his sun-darkened features. Despite his grief, he seemed to be enjoying this rare contact with an outsider.
How lonely it must have been for him to grow up here, with only rare visits from his
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