“Not exactly,” my father said, beaming a wide smile.
That brought Talyen’s attention to me. She smiled, but not with her usual confidence. Something was amiss. “With your permission, your father and I would like to get married,” she said.
I blinked. In a lot of ways, I couldn’t say I didn’t see it coming, but I didn’t expect to be consulted on the matter. “Of course. It’s your choice—”
“Talyen’s much younger than I, and she’s looking forward to a ground-bound post as well. We’re hoping to have more children, Zaira.”
“And so I’ve promoted Captain Talyen von Cravat to Commodore of the Grand Rislandian Air Force,” King Malaky said with a nod. “She’s too valuable, and I believe her best place would be in my strategy room.”
“Air Force? That means there’ll be more airships than just the Liliana?”
“We plan to oversee the construction of a new fleet. Airships are so effective, I believe returning to our original scope of five of them would be a good long-term strategy,” Talyen said.
“I agree with her recommendation,” King Malky said.
“What of the Liliana then?” I asked.
“If you don’t sign it back over, you would be legally contesting that your father has a right to its ownership,” Mr. du Gearsmith said. He stroked his chin.
“Mr. du Gearsmith, I plead no contest. Miss von Monocle certainly has earned the ship in her own right,” my father said, his tone one of wry amusement.
“Very well then,” Mr. du Gearsmith said.
King Malaky rapped his fingers on the table. “We can’t let the airship fall into a civilian’s hands, however. Zaira has no lands, no title.”
“The crew calls her the Baronette,” James said.
“That’s not a real word, Knight.” King Malaky gave James a placating smile, and then pondered for a moment. “Ah, I know the solution. Miss von Monocle?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?” I couldn’t help but be lifted by everyone else’s jovial attitudes. They’d had one over on me, and the amusement was clear on all their faces. Even with that, all of this held far too good to be true. I could hardly believe it.
“I, King Malaky the Sixteenth of the Rislandian Kingdom, hereby bestow upon you the rank of baroness, true owner of the airship Liliana with all the duties and privileges thereby.”
My heart nearly leapt from its chest. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to be able to keep the airship! Then I frowned as I thought about the logistics.
“What’s wrong? Did you not want this?” my father asked.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…with Talyen being promoted to commodore, who’s going to help with the operations of the ship?”
“Well that would be up to you,” my father said. “You’re the baroness.”
“I think I’m going to go with baron. Baroness sounds funny, and that way people might think they’re still dealing with you.”
“Wise,” King Malaky said. “An intimidation factor.”
I sat there stunned for a long moment. My face was as hot as it ever had been, and I felt as if I could float on air without the Liliana’s help. “Thank you all. I don’t know what to say.”
My father raised his glass in toast to me, and everyone else followed. “Don’t worry about it, Baron von Monocle. There’ll be plenty of time to figure it out.”
Jon Del Arroz began his writing career in high school, providing book reviews and the occasional article for the local news magazine, The Valley Citizen. From there, he went on to write a weekly web comic, Flying Sparks, which has been hailed by Comic Book Resources as “the kind of stuff that made me fall in love with early Marvel comics.” He has several published short stories, most recently providing flash fiction for AEG’s weird west card game, Doomtown: Reloaded, and a micro-setting for the Tiny Frontiers RPG. His debut novel, Star Realms: Rescue Run went on to become a top-10 bestselling Amazon Space Opera. He’s been called “the Dean Martin of Science Fiction.” For Steam And Country marks his first foray into fantasy. You can find Jon attending conventions in full steampunk attire throughout 2017. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two sons.
You can find Jon’s thoughts on the world on his blog at www.delarroz.com . Follow him on Twitter (@jondelarroz) and Gab.ai (@otomo)
You are not supposed to read this book. You are not supposed to think about reading this book. In fact, just plain thinking at all is unacceptable. You have been warned.... From hilarious to horrifying to dangerously insightful, a selection of stories that must not be told, for they slaughter the sacred cows of our age. Do you dare read them? Stories by Nick Cole, John C. Wright, Sarah A. Hoyt, Brad R. Torgersen, Vox Day and more…
Non-fiction articles by Tom Kratman and Larry Corriea
Get from Amazon in Ebook and Paperback
The Product will change your life. It will give you joy and confidence, make you more aware of the world around you. You will find new friends. You might even fall in love. Few people know its name. Fewer still dare say it. It is, after all, illegal. Users are jailed. Dealers meet an ugly death. Yet the temptation is irresistible. Kevin is a dealer. And he is about to get caught.
"This is a well-paced, descriptive offering ... I find it to be something of a blessing, insofar as it accomplishes its goals and doesn't overlylinger in an attempt to do too much. I recommend it to anyone, and Ispecifically recommend it to anyone who is looking for fiction from theSuperversive movement" ~ Tangent Online
"There is a hardness to the setting and the ideas here that is reminiscent of Ayn Rand" ~ Castalia House Blog
Get from Amazon in Print and Ebook
Everyone says it was better in the Good Old Days. Before the Dark Lord covered the land in His Second Darkness.
As far as I can tell, it wasn't that much better. Even then, everyone cheered the heroes who rode unicorns into combat against dragons, but no one ever remembered who treated the unicorns' phosphine burns afterward. Of course, that was when dragons were something to be killed. Today I have to save one. Know what fewmets are? No? Then make a sacrifice of thanks right now to whatever gods you worship, because today I have to figure a way to get them flowing back out of the Dark Lord's favorite dragon. Yeah, from the other end. And that's just my most illustrious client. I've got orcs and trolls who might eat me and dark elf barons who might sue me if their bloodhawks and chimeras don't pull through. And that doesn't even consider the possibility that the old bag with the basilisk might show up. The only thing that's gone right this evening is finding Harriet to be my veterinary assistant. She's almost a witch, which just might save us both. If we don't get each other killed first.
Get from Amazon in Print and Ebook
I want to thank everyone involved in making For Steam And Country Happen. Editor Tim Marquitz did a killer job, as did Ben Zywacky with copy edits. Shawn King made the most beautiful cover possible. Thank you to all at Superversive Press for believing in the book.
The kind folk who helped me along on early reads: Stephanie Caporusso , Katie Cord, Setsu Uzume, Karen Junker, Stephanie Bissette-Roark, Fred Wan, Herma Lichtenstein, Tim W. Long, Todd McCaffrey, and Dario Ciriello.
Big thanks to The Grand Rislandian Army, the friends via my email list and Facebook group who helped out with the promotion: Declan Finn, Marina Fontaine, Corey McCleerey, Genie Garcia, Morgan Tysor, Stephanie Sounders, Paul Clithero, Joshua Kanapkey, Julian Thompson – couldn’t have done it without you.
More thanks and love to Peter Grant, Vox Day, L. Jagi Lamplighter-Wright, Laurie Forest, Nick Cole, everyone in the CLFA, the #PulpRevolution, and at the Castalia House blog. Your faith in me has kept me going and it means more to me than you know!
If I missed you – I’ll get you in the next book. But know I love you all the same!
Finally, thanks to my wife and kids for being patient while I spend late nights immersed in the world of Rislandia!
r Steam and Country: Book One of the Adventures of Baron Von Monocle
For Steam and Country: Book One of the Adventures of Baron Von Monocle Page 29
