The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom Read Online Free Page A

bed, retrieving his
vest and coat from the bedpost where he’d hung them, then shoving his feet into
his boots.
    Piles of scavenged items littered the floor: books, plastic
bags, dolls’ feet, wire, juice boxes, sweaters, broken cups, and so on. Kostya swiftly went from one pile to the next, stuffing
things into a large leather backpack. He paused, smiling at the first
explosion, and then gathered more things: another sweater, a handful of tools, and
four long straws. He knew better than to think the fairies would stop. He had
to leave, and for a long while, too. The last time the fairies had attacked his
home, it had taken three years before they’d gotten distracted enough that he
could return. He had no idea what had riled them this time. One of the deep
tunnels had blown a few days before—he wondered if he’d killed someone
important. He hadn’t expected such swift retaliation.
    A second, then third explosion echoed through the tunnels.
The fairies were getting too close. One or two fairies Kostya may be able to take on, though he wasn’t much of a fighter. A war party would
overrun him like water down a hill. Damn fairies didn’t look like
much—all scrawny and thin—but they were tough. Only way Kostya knew to kill one was to cut off its head. Even
though fairies couldn’t swim, drowning them only sometimes worked. He’d seen a
warrior with her arm or wing torn off still come for him.
    The fourth explosion came from the side, to the south, not
to the east where the others had sounded. More than one group was after Kostya . They’d hoped to trap him. Kostya abandoned packing his bag and ran to the wall containing a shelf of radios all
wired together. A piece of modern machinery stood at the far end. Kostya flipped a switch, then started cranking. The radios
began singing static, one by one. The sudden buzz of electricity danced across Kostya’s skin. The dwarf could stand to be around electronics
longer than the fairies, but he didn’t like it; it made him feel as though ants
crawled across his skin.
    Kostya finished setting his trap.
The radios would draw the attention of the fairies, distracting them from the
bomb. He picked up his bag and looked around one last time. He wished he could
take more. It would take a long, long time to make his next place feel as homey
as this, with its piles of knickknacks and random collectables. It was one of
the reasons why he hated the fairies: Their kingdom was so damn sterile. Queen
Adele and her order—just unnatural, it was.
    Kostya pulled up one edge of the
rug on his floor, then opened the trap door. He grunted as he stepped into
it—he’d gained girth recently and escape route fit more snugly than it
should. He forced himself down the stairs, scraping his thighs and hips against
the rough-cut walls. Stupid, stupid fairies. He didn’t take much time to booby-trap
the escape hatch. He’d be gone by the time the fairies got to his room.
    At the bottom of the stairs, Kostya trotted along the natural tunnel, heading toward the ocean. He twisted his
knotted bracelet as he went, invoking his strongest protection against his
enemy: his ability to see through glamours and
illusions. No fairy lay in wait for him and no scouts glided through the air.
Maybe they didn’t realize this was Kostya’s main
escape route. He couldn’t fly as they did, and the tunnel did end abruptly in midair.
    Kostya could, however, swim. After
checking the sky again, he retraced his steps, then ran full speed out of the
tunnel, launching himself into the air. He wrapped his arms around his knees,
making himself as small a ball as he could, and landed with an explosive
splash.
    The shock of the cold water took Kostya’s breath away. He kicked for the surface, his boots, clothes, and bag weighing
him down. A strong current pulled him further down. He refused to give up and
struggled harder, pushing through the water with his arms now. Finally his head
broke the surface, only to find that