Icarus was wondering where his brother was going with this – when he heard a clatter and crash. A crewman had fallen off his chair, and was lying pale and still, his breath bubbling in the mess of mushroom sauce around his mouth. But then the froth became still.
There was a ripple of anxiety around the tables as the crewmen reacted to their fallen ship-mate:
Some spoke out in alarm – but their speech was slurred.
Some pushed their chairs back and tried to stand – but they staggered and stumbled.
Icarus saw the sickly green pallor on their faces…
Another crewman collapsed, his meal spilling over his chest…
And then they dropped like flies, plates and forks spinning, mushroom sauce spattering, faces green from the Devil’s Deathcap that Gus had stirred into their dinners, falling and sprawling, and at last lying still in death. And Icarus witnessed the bizarre spectacle of the poisoned dead still farting and burping, long after they had ceased to breathe…
Only Victor, Gus and Icarus remained.
Victor returned to the radio desk and donned a headset. He listened, frowned, pursed his lips – then beamed at Icarus.
“We’re winning! Just about every centre of media power – the radio and TV stations, the print presses, are in Royalist hands. New London has fallen to us – and it seems we hold the upper hand in Neufundland too. Gus, most of the Army has joined your forces! You have laid the ground so well, my friend!”
And they listened to the radio, and watched the television, and it became increasingly clear that the balance had tipped in their favour. The critical mass of the people’s will was shifting decisively in favour of the Twin Kings.
Victor looked Icarus in the eye.
“You do understand, don’t you, brother? You do understand we had to do this? Use the carrot and stick to guide the people into doing the right thing? The only thing? And that we must – we MUST – keep it a secret that we don’t have a stick?
“I’m so sorry about our friends here. For truly they were the friends of the Kings – strong and steadfast and true. But – they knew too much. Only one of them had to let it slip, whispering to a loved one in his sleep, or mumbling to a mate in the pub – and the secret on which our peace depends would be shattered, like that. Brother, we had to safeguard their silence. They will be buried as heroes, heroes all, of the new Twin Kingdoms. And our secret will be buried with them…”
Victor and Gus rose from their chairs, and slowly they walked past their pale, still comrades.
“What a view!” said Victor. “No-one has ever seen the like before, and no-one will ever see its equal again…”
They walked to the lip of the ledge and gazed out, at a Cave filled with Atomic afterdust, sparkling like silver spores. Gazed at the distant ruins of a world, piled now as rubble in the swirling froth of the Acid Sea. Gazed at the foaming tsunami-waves crashing below, as the death spasms of Columna Proxima caused landslides that triggered more shock-waves in the Sea. Gazed back at their crewmen, the little men who had done their duty to the Kings, in life and death.
Gazed at Icarus, coming at them with the shroom-shooter in his hands…
Icarus had loaded with strangle-spores. He shot Gus, who went down in a tangling mass, close to the edge. Icarus reloaded quickly. This wasn’t his own shooter, not linked to his mind, so it was clumsier to use – but he knew that if he got close enough to his target it wouldn’t matter. He advanced on his brother, lowering the shooter, firing so that the strangle-spores engulfed his lower body, his legs. So that, while Victor lay helpless on the ground, the two brothers could talk…
“Murderer”, said Icarus, in a quiet, calm voice. “You cold-blooded murderer. This ends here. The people must know what you have done.”
Victor just laughed.
“What ends here, dear Brother? So you kill me, is that it? Push me over the ledge? Then what?
Brother, look! Look around you! Look at the TV footage! Listen to the radio! Our peoples are coming together – based on the rule of the Twin Kings!
Brother, for the first time in generations we have peace. But this fragile peace depends on two things…
It depends on belief in a Bomb.
And it depends on the Twin Kings: two of us, my brother, who can unite the worlds Above and Below in a bond of blood…
“My brother, you hold the peace of our worlds in your hands. Only you can spoil it. Only you can ruin it.
Are you prepared to do that? Condemn our world again to war and death?
Brother, you – have – no – choice…
Life or death? Peace or war? To be a King – or to be nothing? To be just another mote of dust in the darkness?
You decide, brother, you decide…”
And Icarus Dwight Earthstar, son of Willard Dwight Earthstar, but now King Vespasian Zwilling Königsland Hohenzollern V, stood there on the roof of the world.
Standing beneath the Bomb that was not a Bomb.
Standing over the King who was his brother.
With a shroom-shooter in his hand, and the dust of a distant world’s end choking his throat.
And he thought of Biff and Arla. Of Biff’s mother, packing his laundry. Of little Anne, playing with the toy soldiers, making them have tea rather than kill each other.
And suddenly it was all so clear. Icarus Earthstar knew what he had to do…
To Be Continued in Book Two…
Map of New London
About the Author
‘Andrew Murray’ doesn’t exist. He is the pseudonym of Vic ‘Lucky Strike’ Stryker, who also officially doesn’t exist. As far as the Government of New London will admit, Vic didn’t serve for fourteen years with the elite, top secret Special Drop Service (SDS), and didn’t reach the rank of Regimental Drop Sergeant.
Vic definitely didn’t play a key role in a number of operations that are now the stuff of legend. These don’t include Operation Deathcap, the daring rescue of a group of senior New London scientists held captive deep within the Enemy’s Rock – for which Vic wasn’t awarded the Distinguished Drop Medal with Gold Shroom Clusters. Nor was Vic wounded in Operation Destroying Angel, to sabotage a Neufundland radar station and steal vital technology and blueprints – during which, in the act of rescuing a comrade, Vic received serious burns from an SDS Incendi-Shroom, and was awarded the Purple Woundshroom and mentioned in dispatches.
Since retiring from the SDS, Vic Stryker has in no way acted as a consultant on film and television productions, nor has he founded his own personal security firm, Lucky Strike Solutions.
He is not 6’ 0”, with eyes that are frequently referred to as ‘laser beam blue’.
He does not have a burn on his face, which pulls his lips into a permanent, enigmatic half-smile.
He has not been tasked with performing surveillance on you.
He has not been watching you, 24/7.
He does not know about that thing you did last week.
He is definitely not behind you, right now…
Reviews and Links
Reviews greatly help readers and authors alike. If you could leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads, or on your own blog and social media pages, it would be a big help in spreading the word.
You can follow Andrew at
Website
www.andrewmurray.info
Blog
www.andrewmurray.info/blog
Facebook
www.facebook.com/AndrewMurrayAuthor
Amazon
www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-Murray/e/B001HOTNEW
Goodreads
www.goodreads.com/author/show/4447480.Andrew_Murray
YouTube
www.youtube.com/c/AndrewMurrayAuthor
Sherlock: Prisoner 221B
When villains rule the world, sometimes prison is the safest place to hide…
Do you ever wish that you knew a world-class hero?
Do you ever fear that you know a world-class villain?
Holiga Darkly know
s both, but she’s not always sure which one is which…
When Sherlock Holmes is found guilty, on YouTube for all the world to see, of raiding the Crown Jewels, he has to be the villain – right? And when Billionaire Bizz Kid Moriarty restores the Jewels and saves the day, he has to be the hero – right?
But in a world watched over by Moriarty’s all-seeing eye, not everything is what it seems. Sometimes a dead man can win the London Marathon... Sometimes a reflection can be the face of a stranger... Sometimes a prison can be a fortress... Sometimes the cyber-hunter can become the hunted… And sometimes the greatest hero is the one you discover within yourself…
Sherlock – Prisoner 221B is the first book in the Sherlock Darkly detective series for middle grade readers aged 9-12. Whether you're already a fan of Sherlock Holmes, or love crime and mystery tales, Sherlock bids you join him on his dark, dark adventures. The game is afoot!
“Sherlock Prisoner 221B is a darkly woven mystery in book one of Andrew Murray’s new Sherlock Darkly series. It’s a skilfully crafted and compelling story of high-stakes deception in which Sherlock Holmes becomes a prisoner in Cell 221B of the Baker Street Young Offenders’ Institution, while his arch enemy Bizz Kid Moriarty is feted as a national hero. Framed for an audacious heist, Sherlock teams up with comic book creator Holiga Darkly to clear his name. With convincing characters, wonderful writing, and a twisty plot, this is a story that grips you from the get-go and never lets up.”
Amazon
Download it for free at https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/5ad75158-fc3c-11e9-924d-5fd28268168f
Seven Heavens
What would mighty Thor do if he were stripped of his godly powers? And what if the same happened to Loki, and to every other god of the Seven Heavens?
In an empty Hall, on a bare floor, there lies a Box. A very small Box.
And on the Box is written, in several languages, the words:
DO NOT OPEN ME
What would you do? Would you open the Box, and risk the dangers that lie within?
But perhaps it contains a marvellous treasure?
Would you walk away, and spend the rest of your life wondering: “What was in it? Did I escape a deadly danger? Or miss out on something wonderful?”
Would you cheat? Try to work one side of the Box open, and catch a glimpse of what’s inside?
No, it’s not that kind of Box. This Box is firmly closed.
Would you ask a friend’s advice?
No. There are no friends here. This great Hall is empty. There is only you. And the Box. And the words:
DO NOT OPEN ME
So… what would you do?
Seven Heavens is the first book in the Loki and Thor Saga. Hades, the High Lord of Hell, is waging a war against the Gods of the Seven Heavens, and they will have to stiffen every sinew of Godly strength, and summon every strategy of Godly wisdom, if the Seven Heavens are to be saved from Hellfire and destruction…
“Rollicking adventure with two of my favorite Norse gods. I enjoyed every minute.”
Amazon
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Fear Rescue
Clowns are coming to CLOWN YOU UP!
Clown nightmares are no laughing matter when you own a circus, and Buckminster Bandersnatch needs help. But who can he turn to? That’s when he sees the ad:
You can’t dial 999 when you feel afraid...
But we know it’s an emergency for YOU!
So visit FEAR RESCUE now: With our unique fear technique, We can help you rescue YOURSELF!
Fear Rescue are fear-readers, with the power to enter your mind and journey deep into your dreams and desires to discover the root of your darkest fears. And Sinister Darkly is an expert in the fear of clowns. Why? Because he’s terrified of clowns himself…
“Fear Rescue, by Andrew Murray, is the first in what promises to be an extremely exciting series. Although it’s aimed at 7 - 9 year olds, nonetheless as a somewhat more mature reader, I was gripped from the first page. As a child, it’s the sort of story I would have loved - scary enough to make me tingle, short, snappy chapters that would keep me page turning and with colourful characters that would definitely make me impatient for the next book in the series.
It’s a clever concept - a common phobia wrapped in a fast-paced and thrilling story, with strands that will lead us, I’m sure, into exploring many different fears in the future.
Murray’s style is clear and flowing. I very much applaud the way he doesn’t stint on more challenging vocabulary; it’s very refreshing to find engaging writing that offers children a skilled model to learn from. All in all, a great read and thoroughly recommended.”
Amazon
Download it for free at https://storyoriginapp.com/giveaways/cb5426c8-a551-11e9-bfb7-ef68df6747f5
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Sifu Dan Soule for showing this grasshopper the Way of the Indie Author. Thanks too to Ross Jeffery and the gang at storgykids.com for their energy and enthusiasm, to Joanna Devereux, Deakin Brook, Luke Redfern, Emma Brown, Russell Horsfield and David Chadwick.
Thank you too to a generation the same as any other, yet set apart – the ‘greatest generation’, who were hurled into the greatest event in history and changed everything forever. This story was born of Band of Brothers, the book and the television series, beginning with the simple question – how would paratroopers work in a world without aircraft?
As that generation fades away, and as the monsters we thought we had buried forever re-emerge from the dark places of the Earth, their lessons are as vital as they have ever been. New London is wartime Britain, and there are two ways of perceiving wartime Britain now. One looks backwards in every sense, seeking a retreat into a selective past that is parochial, tribal, fearful of change and fearful of difference. The other is to understand that what made Britain great in those dark days was the looking forwards – forwards to brilliant technical innovations such as radar, the jet engine and the first modern computer; and looking forwards in its marshalling of contributions from every nationality, skin colour, religion, political hue barring fascism, gender and sexual orientation. One reason why the liberal democracies prevailed was in their embrace of talents that the fascist regimes would have sidelined, imprisoned or murdered.
And finally my thanks to my family. To Lauren, who is a climber, and I hope she will scale peaks as yet unknown, and that this will make her happy. To Robert, who is a chuckler, and I hope tomorrow’s world will give him cause to laugh. And to Ivy, who is a tireless striver, and I hope tomorrow will bring her green gardens of rest.
Copyright
Words and pictures copyright © 2020 by Andrew Murray
All rights reserved. Andrew Murray asserts the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.
For information send request to [email protected]
Website: www.andrewmurray.info
Cover art and design by Khairul Anam
NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used for fictional purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the
permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorised electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
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