Silver Linings Page 2

  Malko was silent.

  “Do you know what happens, when you let several tons of solid silver fall seven-thousand feet to the ground? I do. I’ve seen it. The capital city was obliterated, Malko. You have heard descriptions, but you cannot imagine. Nothing remained but a smoking hole. The noise was deafening. The plume of dust rose so high, I could almost reach out and touch it from the deck of the Avenging Crow.”

  “It is a potent weapon,” Malko said. “And it served its purpose—Carolignia surrendered unconditionally.”

  “It was an abomination. An abomination my generals were eager to see used again and again. Especially Iorek, who wants to rule the whole of the world.” I shook my head. “Never again. Not by our people. I will not allow it. And while my brother could poi son me in the palace, he cannot so easily remove me when I am loose in the world.”

  “How long will you run?” Malko asked.

  I shrugged. “Until I’ve invented a device that can knock cloudboats out of the sky from the ground. Until I’ve built prototypes and placed them in the hands of every government I’ve ever heard of. My pack is filled with sketches, some quite promising. I will come back, Malko. When I’ve neutralized the threat we’ve become.”

  “I suppose I understand,” Malko said. “The business of kings is not my business.” He paused. “But I must ask—why did you hide on a cloudmining vessel? You despise such outlaws, you always called them scavengers of the sky, and had them hung when they were apprehended inside our borders.”

  “They are horrible people,” I agreed. “But every scrap of silver I remove from the sky is a scrap of silver that can’t be dropped as a weapon on the people below. Drought is a terrible thing… but there are worse ends, Malko.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “Good-bye, old friend.”

  “Where will you go?”

  “If I don’t tell you, no one can make you say. But I promise I’ll send the occasional letter, if only to let Iorek know I’m alive, and still king. Now—where’s that horse? I think I’m ready to spend some time traveling a bit closer to the ground.”

  Copyright © 2009 Tim Pratt

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  Blood Engines

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