Art Reveal Democracy

Posted on by scott

It’s June 1, time for another art reveal! And it’s time to decide which of the fifty-something pieces of art in Goliath should be unveiled next. Which will have the perfect mix of mystery and appetite-whetting spoileriness?

It is up to you, the readers, to decide . . .

Will it be the enigmatic interior of illustration Number 1?

The extreme high angle of image Number 2?

Or the threatening weather vista of Number 3?

Leave your votes in the comment thread below. And don’t just vote. Debate! Squabble! Cajole! Enjoin others to your cause!

And enjoy.

Also check out this fanmade countdown timer to the Goliath release! (Man, that’s a long time from now.)

Update!

The splendid librarians of Seattle have launched Steampunk Summer, which means they’ve hidden copies of both Leviathan and Cherie Priest’s awesome Boneshaker in s3krit locations around the city. If you live in Seattle, check out the comments thread here for clues on how to find them!

Then read the book, initial the back, and pass it to a friend or re-hide it.

Then go back to the Steampunk Summer comments thread and leave clues where you hid the book (and where you found it, what you thought of it, etc.).

Then claim a free book at the Library as your prize!

This sounds like fun.

Update 2!

As usual, you have all voted early and often. I will close the balloting at 300, and then the art shall be revealed!

290 thoughts on “Art Reveal Democracy”

  1. All three!! 😉

    Aw, crap! I can’t pick from one and three…. I’ll have to mull this over a bit before I vote.

  3. I love number one just because of the saucy look on the face of that character. Love these illustrations. All three are great.

  4. Oh, how I wish I could vote for all three!
    my guesses:
    # 1 looks like Deryn’s pulling someone from a sleeping bag?
    #2 Leviathan is being attacked. by whom I wonder?
    #3 is a total mystery!

    However, I’d like to see #1. Which is from chapter 10? (If you hover the cursor over the pic it tells which chapter its from)

  6. Number 1.

    I almost went for number 2… But the look on Deryn’s face… I MUST KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON.

  9. I’m voting for number one because of the three it seems to be the only one with any focus on the characters rather than the scenery. While I love both I find the emotion in the character drawings to be more appetite-whetting at this point in time 😀

  10. One.

    One all the way.

    I’m always interested in whatever shady business Deryn’s tangled up in.

  14. Definitely number one. Deryn’s expression and, what’s that–that bit near the top? A person, perhaps? I’m not quite sure.

  16. Number 1! I always vote for the picture where I will for sure see the characters’ faces. Plus I want to know whose disembodied arm that is in the background.

    But OMG I bet Number 3 is of some crazy Tesla Weapon! How far away is September?

  17. I’m voting for number three! I love storms, and I need to see what’s behind that annoying block!

    Also, thanks so much for mentioning my countdown, Scott! That was really a happy surprise! <3

  19. You know, Scott, we already know it is a long wait for Goliath. We do not need you to rub it in our faces.

    I would like to vote for #1 since it is the only one with a character in it as far as I can tell.

  21. Hmmm I must say #1 intrigues but frightens me. #2 looks exciting but predictable, therefore #3 it is!!!

  24. OMG I SOOO TOTALLY VOTE FOR ONE CUZ DID U SEE DERYNS FACE IT’S LIKE GRRRRRRRRRR AND IT LOOKS LIKE SHE FIGHTING SOMEONE PLEASE LET IT BE ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  25. UPDATE: in #1, right above Deryn’s head, you can see an arm poking out of those bags.

  28. Wow! I was going to go with #2 but then I saw the mysterious arm in #1 and became obsessed with that arm. So #1! (Which I think will win anyway, very few people have voted for #2 or #3.)

  33. Three, please!

    Also, I am intensely jealous of Seattle now. I would go through the copy and draw little pictures in the margins and write notes like “JUST SNOG ALREADY” and “oh god, Sophie and Franz are the most tragic.”

  34. I think in the first picture, they’re sleeping, and Deryn is on some sort of mission. And someone is interrupting her…? I just want to know where they are!

    Number two: Is that the Habsburg seal of the double-headed eagle on the ship(?)?!?

    And I need to know more about that storm!!!

  35. One!!!

    I want to see what or who is Deryn pulling!! Because I see some arms that seem to come from sleeping people!

  38. i found this online what is it……
    Blisters!” Deryn swore, then stuck her bleeding thumb into her mouth, sucking at the new sharp pain. She realized she had stabbed herself with the sewing needle. Poking it through the tough leather of the jacket was hard work and she had poked it a little too hard and into her thumb by accident. After a few moments she checked to see if it was still bleeding, then continued to sew.

    Thank god she was almost done with the blasted jacket. It had been Alek’s, and he had gladly given it to her when she admitted the other day that she had no more dress clothes. He had simply pulled out his trunk, removing dozens of wealthy, princely outfits, and handed her a beautiful leather jacket with gold trim. When she refused to take it, he insisted, saying he had plenty.

    Awful difficult being a barking prince. She thought to herself. After a few more painful stitches she stood up put the coat on. It fit almost perfectly. Except when she tried to button it in the front, it was too tight.

    “Damn.” She swore again. Her breasts had doubled in size over the past month. They still were nothing huge, but it was enough to make her need to re-sew all her uniforms. On top of that, her monthly cycles had started for the first time. So, not only did she have to tie a tight cloth around her chest to hide unnecessary bulging, but she was also extra irritable and plagued with nasty tummy cramps. It was as if her body was destined to betray her secret after she had worked so hard to keep herself as a boy.

    Luckily no one had figured it out yet except Volger. And even having him knowing was too much. She swore to herself again, imagining how easy it was for him to blackmail her. Carefully she removed the coat and sat on the floor to continue her stitches.

    “Sewing again Mr. Sharp?” Someone asked from the doorway. Dr. Barlow had let herself in. She was dressed in her finest dress and her hat was adorned with a bright peacock feather. “It’s awful early to be working so hard.”

    Deryn jumped. “Aye ma’am,” she said, “but one needs to be ready, and I was too excited to sleep anyways.” The boffin smiled.

    “I can see that. But I would ask you to hurry and finish your work. We’re to be landing shortly, and we wouldn’t want to keep the ambassadors waiting.” With that she turned and clopped on her fancy heals back down the hallway to her own bed chambers.

    Deryn sighed. It had been two weeks since they left Istanbul, and finally, this afternoon they would be landing outside of Tokyo. She stood and put the jacket back on. It wasn’t much better, but it would have to do for now. She had to look presentable for assisting the lady boffin when she met with the ambassadors of Japan. Apparently there were three of them; one from Britain, another from France and surprisingly a man from Germany. Dr. Barlow planned on meeting with all three in order to discuss a new peace treaty, and Deryn was supposed to accompany her. After stuffing the sewing kit into her duffel bag, Deryn took the remainder of her sparse clothing and folded them in as well. She then headed down to the mess hall, hopeful to grab a bight to eat before the arrival.

    The ramp from the Leviathan to the ground was crowded with the majority of the ship’s crew. Everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of the ambassadors and hopeful of something as posh as the clanker contraptions that had welcomed them in Istanbul. But there were no lavish elephantes or tall walkers on the dock, only a simple horse drawn carriage with a few people walking along side it. Deryn shoved her way through the crowd to stand beside Alek who was waiting with the boffin and Volger at the bottom of the ramp.

    “Dylan,” He beamed, “It’s good to see that you have joined my family!”

    “What?” She sputtered. He giggled and pointed to her chest. There, beside the large gold buttons over her heart was a large Hapsburg crest embroidered into the leather. “How….?” She was speechless, how did she not notice the stupid barking emblem now blatantly stretched so close to her chest. Be it her to have something so large and obvious emphasizing her new disgusting boobs.

    “It’s alright.” Alek grinned. “We are visiting some old family friends today, I’m sure they will not care.”

    “I thought we were going to see the ambassadors?” She asked.

    “Make that just one ambassador.” Dr. Barlow suddenly interrupted. “The others refuse to meet if the German ambassador is present.” She looked very annoyed.

    “Just one!” Came a small squeaky voice. Bovril was perched on Alek’s shoulder looking quite delighted with the new setting. Volger gave a disgusted snort.

    “I doubt that the ambassador of Germany will even consider meeting with us if we keep carrying around godless monstrosities.”

    “Well, he’s already here, so we best make a good impression.” Barlow replied, scratching Bovril on the head. Beside her, Tazza gave an agreement with a chipper bark.

    Deryn moved her eyes back to the horse drawn buggy before them. The doors of the carriage were opened and a young woman, dressed in a beautiful pale pink gown gracefully discharged herself from the vehicle and walked over to them. She had lovely dark brown curls and porcelain skin, and when she moved closer, Deryn noticed that she had large crystal blue eyes. Also, to Dylan’s heartache, she noticed that Alek was blushing.

    “Lady Elsie!’ He grinned, “It is wonderful to see you again!”

    “As are you, Alek!” She curtsied and smiled back. Volger gave a polite bow.

    “I see that your father is not present, Miss Elsie?”

    “No, I’m afraid that the ambassador had another matter that he had to attend to. I’m here in his place to escort you to the manor.” She then said something in German, in which all of them, except Deryn, laughed at.

    Deryn looked angrily at Alek. “Who is she?” She muttered.

    “Oh, I’m sorry,” he flustered, “Elsie this is Dylan Sharp, a midshipman aboard the Leviathan, and Doctor Nora Barlow you have heard about.” The boffin gave a small nod and Alek continued. “Dylan, Miss Barlow, this is Lady Elsie Adaliz Eberhardt, and my err,….. betrothed.”

  39. and what about this……….

    Deryn’s jaw dropped. She looked at Alek and noticed that his face had turned a deep shade of scarlet and he was staring nervously at his feet. The boffin looked slightly shocked and Volger looked Deryn in the eye and gave an evil knowing smirk.

    “You’re barking ENGAGED?” She stammered. The girl next to them giggled.

    “I wouldn’t say that.” She replied for him. “We had a betrothal agreement between us written about four years ago, but nothing permanent as an engagement has been discussed in full,” She then looked at Alek with a wink, “as of yet.”

    Deryn couldn’t speak. She just kept looking between the two. Even if it wasn’t actually a bloody permanent engagement, it still sounded like a pretty serious commitment to her. No wonder Alek was so nonchalant about Lilit. Why should he care if a pretty girl in Istanbul didn’t fancy him when he had this gorgeous dame waiting for him in Japan? And not just some barking dame, but the daughter of the flipping German Ambassador as well.

    “Well, I think we had best be on our way.” Doctor Barlow stated, interrupting the long awkward pause. Soon, Lady Elsie had them all piled into her horse drawn buggy and trotting down a wide dirt road. Deryn was unfortunately sitting next to the new girl and therefore had ample view of her slender waist and perfect hourglass proportioned chest and hips. It made her gag.

    “Enlighten me,” Dr. Barlow said suddenly, giving Elsie a long hard stare while adjusting her bowler hat, “how is it that you, being a German, are not giving Alek up to the German government? I have to say, when the Count told me that the Hapsburgs were close with the German Ambassador, I was quite surprised.”

    Elsie flashed a sweet smile and replied “My family has known Alek’s forever. We were friends growing up back when I lived in Frankfurt. They made sure we visited at least every Christmas. You could say we are almost related.”

    “We are related.” Alek said grudgingly. He was still not making eye contact with anyone and currently was staring out the window at the passing scenery.

    “Very distantly,” She continued. “My Father and Alek’s were cousins.”

    Well that’s just barking gross. Deryn thought. She remembered back to her Darwinist lessons how genes could become messy when inbreeding was involved. If Alek did end up marrying this girl, then they could have flipper children, or so her mother used to say. She could tell that Doctor Barlow was also not too keen about the news.

    “I realize that traditions may be different in your families,” she said, “but my studies have found some nasty troubles can arise from keeping a small gene pool.”

    Volger gave the boffin a sneer. “Don’t go filling their minds with your godless filth.” He blurted. “The Hapsburgs come from a strong line of leaders directly descending from Roman Empire with blood ties dating back all the way to Christ himself. It is very important to keep the blood strong, and within a certain royal boundary.”

    Deryn snorted. Well that sounded like a load of blether. “So Alek has to marry his cousin so that his kids stay related to Jesus? I’m sorry, but didn’t Alek’s dad already mess that plan up when he went and married his Ma?” They all glared at her, even Alek pulled his eyes away from the window to give her a long angry stare. She realized then that she had said too much.

    “Second cousin.” Elsie Corrected her. Her smile was completely gone. “And we realize that Alek’s family history is not perfect. And that’s why he needs to marry me; to strengthen his bloodline in order for his children to be able to inherit the crown.”

    “Pardon me?” Alek finally spoke, “But I thought your father refused the marriage contract for the exact opposite reason, because our children would not be able to inherit anything. I’m the heir to nothing, remember?” He was furious. The redness had returned to his face and Deryn had heard a low commanding tone in his voice that was downright frightening.

    Elsie didn’t answer. She just shrugged and put on another smile.

    “I’m sorry, but you still didn’t answer my question.” Doctor Barlow interrupted, “You are still a German, Miss Elsie, and I’m quite certain that your father has loyalties to his country before his loyalties to Alek and his family. Surely you must have to turn him in?”

    Elsie shrugged again. “There are certain things that the German government cannot learn about when we are all the way over here in Japan. You forget that you are in a Darwinist country now, which has just declared war on Germany. My father and I are stuck in a country filled with enemies, we are like prisoners. If we say anything, or do anything that the Japanese people do not like, it could end in tragedy for us. So certain arrivals of Austrian Princes have to remain secret for our safety’s sake.”

    Dr. Barlow nodded. The group sat in silence for the remainder of the trip. Even Bovril was strangely quiet. Deryn allowed herself to examine the world outside her carriage window as they drove past. The buildings were strangely symmetrical, and built mainly out of wood and stone. They had odd flat roofs with points coming up in the corners and large gardens adorning the yards. They must have been in a very wealthy neighborhood, because all the buildings were immensely large. The yard work looked painstakingly cared for with elegantly groomed trees and ponds. She even saw garden workers trimming the trees with tiny clippers, carefully and slowly removing each uneven growing bud. Even though it was late spring it must have just snowed the night before, because she saw several workers brushing off fresh snow from the pathways and plants. Either than the workers there were very few people out and about and it seemed that the neighborhood was almost uninhabited.

    Eventually they stopped in front of a four story building with a tall spear shaped tower on top. Each floor was smaller than the last making the building resemble a large oriental wedding cake. A butler greeted them at the door and Deryn and the rest were ushered into a large sitting room with lavish couches. It was dark and drafty inside, but the butler offered them some hot tea and Deryn settled into a very soft armchair.

    They sat for a few minutes and discussed some things in German that she couldn’t understand. Alek still looked furious. He didn’t include himself in the conversation and didn’t touch his tea once. When Elsie finally asked him a question he slammed the cup onto the short table in front of him, spilling the contents on his sleeves.

    “NIEN!” he yelled. Then in English, “No, I am not alright, in fact I feel rather ill. If you will kindly excuse me, I think I need to lie down.” He then stood and hastily exited the room in a huff. Everyone stared after him for a moment before Elsie said,

    “Well, I think it best than if I show you to your rooms. You all must be tired from your trip. I will have the cook prepare us something for dinner and you can all freshen up a bit before that. Perhaps everyone will feel better after a good meal.” She then motioned for the butler who led Volger and Deryn the way Alek had left, while she stayed to talk to the boffin. They were led up two staircases and down a dusty cold hallway. The butler unlocked a large wooden door and ushered Deryn in. He then bowed and led Volger away without another word, closing the door behind them.

    Deryn was appalled by it all. She had never seen Alek so angry. Plus, Elsie seemed like a very odd young woman. Beautiful, yes, but she knew way too much and she was German.

    She allowed herself to forget about Alek and Elsie for a moment, and examined the room around her. It was very dark, even this early in the afternoon, so she had to light a small oil lamp that was situated on the desk which omitted a cozy warm glow. As much as she loved the Leviathan, the glowworm lamps were not nearly as nice as a simple flame. The room itself was large, larger than any bedroom on the ship. In the center was a huge four post double bed with a half dozen pillows and feather blankets. It was definitely European in style and so was most of the furniture in the room. Off in the corner was a smaller room, which on further discovery she realized was a personal bathroom. Not only was there a toilet, but the bath was connected to the wall in a way that she could turn a spout and instantly there was hot water flowing into it from the wall. She marveled at it in delight before throwing off her clothes and jumping into the marvelous warm water.

    It had been weeks since she had taken a proper bath, probably not since she was in London. The Leviathan had only small showers that you had to rinse off fast in because water was a precious commodity when on board. And they were never this lovely hot. She found some bath oils and salts on the edge of the tub that looked like they hadn’t been used in years. But they smelled wonderful when she opened them and she didn’t waste any time dumping some flowery oil into her hair and giving it a nice good scrub. She soaked for a good hour or so before finally getting out of the tub and drying off. It seemed foolish to put back on her dirty officer clothes, so she opened up her bag and pulled on some boys’ trunks and her cloth strap that she used to wrap up her breasts.

    She was too exhausted to put on more clothes, and it could be hours until dinner, so it seemed best to just take a nap for now. Besides, she had stayed up all last night sewing and deserved a good long nap. After blowing out the lamp she hopped into bed, pulling all the blankets on top of her. They smelled like old moth balls and dust, but she didn’t care. The moment she closed her eyes she had fallen into blissful sleep.

  40. That, Sky-la, is a fanfiction. By Sarasponda of Fanfiction.net, I believe. I assume she won’t be super happy about you posting it without permission, nor credit.

  41. and then this

    It was late and Alek finally decided that he couldn’t sit and pout in his room for the rest of the night. He was miserably hungry and Bovril was starting to get on his nerves. The Loris had torn apart his suitcase and was pointing to everything with a Hapsburg crest on it.

    “Family? Family, family, family…..family.” It muttered every time it found one of the emblems. Alek sighed and rose from his bed. The day had gone absolutely awful. He had been excited that morning when he learned that he would see Elsie again, but the actual meeting was much less then what he expected.

    Elsie had always been his favorite cousin. She was beautiful, charming and smart. When they were little she was always getting him into trouble, but he had adored her all the same. He had always looked up to her as a kind of role model since she was a few years older then him. They had a connection as well because Elsie also did not have a perfect family blood history. Her father had married a Polish princess, who was later discovered to have Jewish heritage. Luckily for them the Eberhardts were related to the Hapsburgs through a female aunt and they had only been able to produce daughters. Elsie and her sisters didn’t have to worry about their inheritance because, being women, they would gain whatever titles came with their husbands.

    When Alek was twelve and it came the time to look for possible brides, Elsie had been his first choice. His parents were delighted to set up the marriage, glad that their son would be able to marry someone he chose himself. Unfortunately, after the contract had been signed, Elsie’s father changed his mind, saying that he couldn’t let his daughter marry a man with no royal inheritance. It had been a personal blow to Alek’s father, and he had refused to meet with the Eberhardts ever again. Afterward, Elsie and her family had moved to Japan and Alek hadn’t heard from them since.

    He remembered bits and pieces of various Christmas celebrations he had shared with Elsie over his childhood. How she would talk him into stealing food from the kitchens, or taking his mother’s jewelry for her. There was always some mischief she insisted that Alek perform, and he had willingly obeyed her every time. He would of course be caught and punished, but it all seemed worth it in the end for a wink or a kiss on the cheek from his dazzling cousin.

    Hell, he was still falling for her, even now. Alek had gladly let her make a fool out of him today. She knew how to annoy him just enough to send him over the edge. This time she was going on about how she may even marry him this time.

    But there was no way he was going to fall for it again. He was fed up with the girl’s trickery, and he wasn’t going to let her win. Especially today, on this special day.

    He rose from the bed and stalked out of the room, leaving Bovril to continue over his clothes. At least he could have nice dinner and get to see Dylan. It would be good to see a friendly face, and the middie always had a way of cheering him up. However when he arrived in the dining room, there was no one else present except Elsie and a large assortment of fancy food.

    “Hello Alek.” She stood to greet him. God did she look lovely. She had changed into an elegant silver silk kimono and her hair tumbled down over her shoulders in long twisting ringlets. Alek found himself shamefully blushing again and his heart did a back flip.

    What’s wrong with you, you dummpkof. He thought to himself. This was ridiculous.

    “Where is everyone?” He asked her.

    “Doctor Barlow and the Count have already eaten; I sent them away so we could have a private dinner ourselves.” She walked closer to him. He could see the diamond earrings glimmering through her hair.

    “What about Dylan?” He asked. Elsie frowned.

    “Your friend never came down to eat. The Doctor said he had a long night so it was probably best to let him alone.” Alek groaned. Dylan wasn’t going to be there, which had been his entire reason for coming down. “Do sit down,” Elsie continued, “I had the cook make your favorites, being that it is a very important day for you.” She seated herself in the middle of the table, and gave Alek a mischievous grin. He felt his stomach give a ravenous grumble as he examined the food on the table. There were meat pies, Polish sausages and potatoes as well as some salmon and lobster. He couldn’t help but sit down opposite of her and begin to fill his plate.

    “Is there any Streuselkuchen?” He asked. That had always been his absolute favorite.

    “The peasant dessert?” Elsie asked, scrunching up her nose. “I would hope not. How about we have a drink before the meal?” She gestured to a servant who entered with a large open bottle of champagne. He filled Alek’s glass before he could reply. “A toast,” Elsie said, raising her own full glass of bubbly, “to our families.” They clinked the glasses together and Alek gladly drained his in an instant. As soon as he put it down, Elsie was filling it again herself. “You had the kindest family, Alek.” She said, “I am so sorry that they are no longer with us.”

    “Yes, me too.” He said, sipping the next glass of champagne.

    “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you when they were killed.”

    “It was very hard.” He said, putting the glass down and starting on his food.

    “Could you tell me what happened?” She suddenly asked.

    “Excuse me?”

    “I mean, how were they killed? I never got the full story, only pieces of gossip here and there.” She was looking at him sadly; her big blue eyes open as wide as they could go.

    “Well, their food was poisoned.” Alek said. He didn’t feel like going into all the specific details just now. “It was blamed on the Serbians, but we’re pretty sure that the Germans organized it to start the war.” He felt himself shaking. He hadn’t retold the story since he had told Dylan the night they were on egg duty together. It made him relive the moment he had heard about their deaths. He picked up his champagne and had a few more gulps.

    “How horrible for you.” She said softly. “Here, have another drink.” He realized then that he had finished his second glass and she had to refill it again.

    “Elsie, may I ask you a question?” He said.

    “Of course Alek, anything.”

    “Why did you tell them I had to marry you? Earlier today, in the carriage. You told everyone that I had to marry you for my children’s sake.” She was silent for a moment, thinking.

    “I don’t want to discuss it Alek. It will just make you upset.” He felt his anger purge into his face. Slowly he finished his third glass of champagne then looked Elsie directly in the eye.

    “I can’t marry you Elsie, remember, your father refused. I’m not good enough for you!” Even now, after four years, the pain of knowing she wouldn’t be his bride was coming back to him. And it wasn’t because he had loved her, but because she had betrayed him. Her family was just like the rest. They considered him as nothing more than the offspring of a backwards marriage.

    “If we had been married, your blood would have been enough and I could have been Archduke. But instead, I remained who I am now, and my parents are now dead for it.” He knew it didn’t make sense. But somehow, he had to find a reason that he caused his parents’ death, and the fact that he was just a prince and not an archduke seemed to be the most logical idea. “and now you have the nerve to tell me that you want to marry me again?” He was screaming now, and the servants had come out of the kitchen to watch. He gave them an angry glare, and stood. The room gave a nasty lurch to the side like he was standing on a tipping boat.

    “Alek, calm down, there’s no reason to get this upset.” She said sternly. “Sit down, eat your dinner, and we’ll discuss this nicely.”

    “I’m not hungry anymore.” He said then pushed himself away from the table.

    “That’s fine.” She said, “Why don’t we go upstairs and have Minny play us some piano? We could have a few drinks and…..”

    “NO!” Alek interrupted her. He turned and snatched the bottle of champagne off the table, and with a few unsteady steps started toward the door. “I think I will be having a few drinks by myself, thank you, and please don’t follow me Elsie, I have had a horrible day.” And with one last look, he marched out of the room and stumbled up a staircase away from fancy dinning room.

  42. this

    There was a large crash as something pushed through the door into the bedroom. Deryn immediately was awoken and sat straight up in her bed. Someone had stumbled into her room and had fallen onto the floor beside her.

    “WHa….GOD DAMMIT, WHO IS THAT?” She belted, pulling the covers up to her chin. The room was completely dark, so all she could see was a shadowy figure curled up on the ground.

    “Entschuldigung…” Came a mumble from the ground followed by a large amount of giggling.

    “Alek? Is that you? Blisters are you alright?” She hastily grabbed for the window blinds above the bed and pulled them open. To her surprise the sun was down and stars were already out. How long had she been asleep?

    The mumbling continued. “Mein kopf schmerzt. Ich glaube, ich bin betrunken. Giggle giggle, snort.” Deryn quickly lit the lamp beside the bed since the window was not helping light the room at all. Alek was lying on the floor, one hand over his forehead and the other holding a half empty bottle of champagne.

    “Bloody Hell Alek, what did you do?” She began to get out of bed, but quickly realized the scant amount of clothing she had on and that her bag of clothes was back in the bathroom. Alek sat up and began fiddling with the buckles on his boots.

    “Mir helfen… stiefel.”

    “Okay, you’re gonna have to stop with the Clanker talk, cause I can’t understand a word you just said.”

    “Hilfe!” He began to pull off his boots.

    “Yeah Alek, but….”

    “Ich bin betrunken! Mir helfen!” He raised his voice and glared at her.

    “STOP SPEAKING IN BLOODY GERMAN!” She yelped. He stared at her for a moment, looking like he was trying to remember how to speak English. Then hit himself in the forehead with his free hand.

    “I need help withen my bootsen.” He finally sputtered. Deryn would normally have helped him, but being in the undressed state that she was, she couldn’t.

    “Why do you need to take off your boots?”

    “Ummm… I don’t actually, I just, I don’t know…” He attempted to pull one off, got it about halfway, then tipped over while spilling the champagne and exploding into another fit of laughter. Blisters, he was pissed drunk. She was so shocked she almost laughed herself.

    “You really are a ninny. A drunk ninny. What on earth made you drink so much?”

    Another fit of giggles. “It’sth meine geburtsday.”

    “What? Seriously?”

    “Ya.” He looked a little sad now and took long pull from the bottle. “I turnen 16 today.”

    “Wow.” She paused, “Alek, I didn’t know. I wish you would have told me before.” He sat back up and looked at his feet.

    “I would halved, but… it justeth….I didn’ts swant to make a big deal.” Deryn looked at him sadly. Of course he didn’t want to celebrate his birthday, his parents had just died. “Usually I havet a partttty.” Alek continued. “There’s is music and danethicing. We even have a thfeater group come and durchführen manchmal. You would loooove it, Dylan, I bet you’ve never worden to ein ball.” He looked up at her with a grin.

    She snorted. “Sounds like a barking huge mess for just a birthday.” But she couldn’t help feeling touched that Alek would want to invite her.

    “It is.” He said, laughing a little. “I never likeden the fancyethen stuff all that much. My favorite part was when Muttether would make streuselkuchen in the morning. She wouldnotn’t let the servants helpfe her and made it alle auf ihr own.” He wiped his face with his sleeve then gazed into the distance for a moment. When he started to speak again it was strangely clear and unslurred for him being so drunk. “Father said he was going to get me a stormwalker of my own this year. I was so excited. I wanted him to give it to me earlier and didn’t want to wait until my actual birthday. And to think I actually got that wish, little did I know the price I would pay for an early birthday present. It’s actually kind of funny now that I mention it. ” He started laughing again.

    “Umm, I guess.” Deryn answered. She could tell that the laughter would be turning into tears soon. Poor boy. He took another swig, but this time it didn’t settle so well. The swallow turned into a gagging cough and with a nasty expression on his face, Alek turned and vomited all over the rug. He then crumpled into a ball and fell into the wall behind him.

    “ALEK! You dummpkof!” Without another thought Deryn jumped out of bed and ran over to him. He was still laughing but there was a sobbing hic up sound as well. “Oh Alek. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” She gave his arm a tug, but he wouldn’t budge. Instead he said something nasty in German and pulled away from her. “Well, fine then, lay in your own sick!” She said grumpily and then realized that she couldn’t let him stay on the floor like that. Grudgingly, she pulled at him again, but when he refused to move she decided she could at least move the newly stained rug. With a few more tugs and some bizarre German curses, Deryn was able to get the soiled rug up from underneath him. It looked like an expensive antique carpet, so she thought it best that she should clean it. With a groan she dragged it the bathroom, refilled the tub and dumped it into the water to soak. She could make Alek scrub it in the morning. The daft prince could make himself useful again once his hangover wore off.

    Looking at herself in the mirror to check for possible puke exposure, she realized yet again at the amount of skin she was showing. All she had on was her makeshift bra and some old boxers. Her legs, stomach and shoulders were all clearly exposed and way too revealing. She swore loudly then quickly grabbed some pants and threw her arms into the leather jacket she had been wearing earlier. Luckily both were on the bathroom floor and lucky again that Alek was so drunk that he probably hadn’t even noticed that she was undressed. However her luck soon changed when she came back into the bedroom and realized that Alek had removed his boots, trousers and shirt and was now passed out on her bed!

    “Alek! What are you doing?” There was no reply. He lay face down in her pillow, and had completely stretched out across the entire double bed. At least he is wearing his briefs. She thought. The sudden image of naked Alek in her bed made her flush and turn away for a minute.

    “I’m sssssorrryy Dyllaned.” He finally said, raising his head a bit to look at her. “I don’think I canth maked it tooth my owned rooooms.”

    “Well, where am I supposed to sleep, you ninny?” Alek crawled under the covers and rolled over to one side of the bed, then patted the spot next to him.

    “Share?” He asked, looking at her with a similar expression that Bovril used when trying to look cute. She grumbled under her breath, but crawled in next to him anyways. Honestly, it wouldn’t be too bad if she had to share a bed with Alek. Her heart did a skip. Godswounds she was a terrible solider.

    “You smell gut.” Alek suddenly uttered.

    “WHAT?”

    “I said you smell good. No that you smelled bad bevor, but you smell wie blumen…er …flowers.”

    “Umm…yes… I took a bath. You should go to sleep. You’re very drunk.”

    “Dankeschön, thank sie Dyaln.”

    “Are you thanking me?”

    “Yes.” He suddenly leaned over and gave her a big sloppy kiss on the cheek. “Sie have been very kind.” She didn’t know what to say to that. Instead she sat there in silence, listening to her heart double in speed.

    Alek turned back over and blew out the lamp. He then stretched out again with a sigh, pushing his feet up against her legs. Soon his legs were next to, if not, almost on top of her own. She would have pushed him away but she was too nervous. Plus, she kind of enjoyed the feeling of his warm skin through her thin cloth pants. It made her shiver, but Alek didn’t seem to notice. He had fallen asleep almost instantly and was softly snoring from the pillow beside her. Somehow, Deryn was able to close her eyes and relax. The comfort of Alek’s body beside hers and his breathing helped her drift into sleep.

  43. Number one!
    You can’t just show us a GLIMPSE of Deryn looking all angry like and expect us to not vote for it.
    In number two, you’ll most likely see her flying around whilst swinging on a rope.
    Number three… well I don’t know. Some battle on top of the Leviathan during a lightning storm or something.
    So number one it is!

  44. Alek woke up with the sun, as well as with a headache the size of Tokyo. He groaned and looked around for a moment, wondering how his bed had ended up on the other side of the room. Then he remembered he wasn’t in his room, but in Dylan’s. The other boy was still sleeping, obviously undisturbed by the glaring sunlight filtering in through the window. Alek sneered at him jealously, wishing he could be sleeping right now, while he started to pull the shades down. But something made him stop.

    He pushed himself closer to Dylan, examining the way his hair shown in the sunlight. It was a different color than before, almost a golden bronze. He recalled Dylan admitting that he had bathed the previous night. It was true that Dylan’s hair usually looked a dirty dish water color, and kind of greasy, but he had never imagined that it was such a brilliant color when it was clean. Even his skin looked better. It was a creamy peach that complemented his hair and his cheeks had a lovely rose to them. Alek gawked for a moment longer, realizing that he had never seen so much of Dylan before. The other boy had fallen asleep in the jacket Alek had given to him, but throughout the night, it had slipped down and was now revealing most of his shoulders and neck. The middie always had a shirt on all the way up to his chin, until now.

    It had never occurred to him before, but Dylan sure was a pretty boy. It was like the classic Greek and Italian paintings from the Renaissance, with the youthful men delicately modeling the beauty of the human body.

    Alek snorted, thinking of Dylan posing for a painting was an absurd idea. An image of Dylan in a toga, posing for Michelangelo while spitting and cursing swam into his head. It was hilarious, but Alek didn’t find himself laughing. Instead he was suddenly brushing his fingers through Dylan’s hair and down his cheek, amazed at the softness of his skin.

    “MMfgff.” Dylan muttered. He stirred from his sleep and gave Alek an angry look. Quickly, Alek pulled his hand away.

    “I’m…I’m sorry, there was something in your hair.” Alek lied. Dylan rose on eyebrow, confused. He yawned, mumbled something along the lines of a curse, turned over and went back to sleep.

    Alek continued to stare for a few more moments. Then shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the odd tingly feeling he had as well as the splitting headache. He decided he should get up and have a glass of water, but as soon as he lifted his legs over the side of the bed, a wave of nausea hit him.

    Bad idea. He thought, then lay back down. Maybe it would be best if he went back to sleep; after all, it was still pretty early. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, he felt someone standing over him.

    “It seems that someone had quite a rambunctious night.” Alek opened his eyes to see Volger staring down at him. “I hope you are feeling alright, your highness.”

    “Ummm, Count Volger…..what are you doing here?” He sputtered.

    “Wake up your bed fellow, I wish to talk to you,” the count replied, “both.” Alek wasted no time and gave Dylan a nervous shake of the shoulder.

    “Barking spiders, what now!” Dylan started to groan. When he realized that Volger was there, he shut right up.

    “Good morning Mr. Sharp. I may still call you that, may I? There haven’t been any…changes over the night that I should know about?” Volger crossed his arms, and stood as tall as he possibly could. He then gave Dylan a sharp, dirty glare.

    “Uhh, no sir.” Dylan answered, his voice suddenly much softer. “No…changes.”

    Alek looked between the two, completely bewildered as to what they were going on about.

    “I would hope that you have had enough sleep by now. It has been since yesterday afternoon since you have been up, has it not?” Volger continued on with Dylan.

    “Uhh, yes sir.”

    “Very well then. I have to say, given the circumstances, I am much happier that Alek stumbled into your bed instead of Lady Elsie’s.”

    “Okay, hold on a minute.” Alek interrupted. “What are you two talking about? You’re not suggesting that I would…with her?” Alek tried to picture the situation and shuddered.

    This time it was Dylan’s turn to look confused.

    “WHICH HER? I mean.. . who?” He looked absolutely terrified. Volger took a moment to clear his throat.

    “You can’t be that transparent, can you Aleksander? Well, I guess you could, seeing as that you almost did fall for her trickery. It seems that your cousin had means to intoxicate you so that you would sleep with her.”

    “WHAT!” Dylan stammered. His eyes were now the size of dinner plates.

    “Elsie would never….” Alek began, but after he thought for a moment, it did make some sort of sick sense. “No..” He slammed his face into his hands.

    “WHY?” Dylan mouthed.

    “I’m afraid you don’t know the Lady Elsie very well Mr. Sharp. She’s a tricky, nasty little Jew, much like her parents.”

    “Volger…that….that has nothing to do with anything!” Alek raised his voice. “Besides, her grandfather was Jewish, not her parents.”

    Volger snorted. “That is precisely the point Alek. Her blood is tainted with their ungodliness and you wouldn’t even be able to tell because her grandfather married into a normal family, the bastard, then corrupted the whole lot of them.” He sighed. “Listen Alek, Elsie’s father the ambassador is completely broke. He’s lost everything to the Japanese government. They truly hate him here and have him arrested in Tokyo for the time being. Now, tell me if you think it’s strange that she would start on you now? With her father out of the picture the greedy little witch wants to get you in bed with her so she can force a marriage on you without him knowing. She played at your heartstrings last night, convincing you to drink more than you should in hope that you might make some poor decisions on your part. If you were to have done as she had planned, then you would be stuck giving her your title and your inheritance!” He looked at Alek then with a sad, painful expression. He could tell that Volger desperately didn’t want this to be true. He was almost pitying Alek, like he wished that he could solve all his problems for him.

    “I wish I could have realized it sooner. I would have stopped her if I had known. It didn’t occur to me until this morning when the servants were going on about what a fool you had been last night. I am so sorry Alek.” Alek felt that he may need to clean his ears out. Was the Wildcount apologizing to him? That was a first.

    “It’s alright sir.” Alek replied. “It is partially my fault too. I did have a little too much to drink and…”

    “Don’t think for a moment that I am not blaming you, Alek. I am still furious with your behavior. You were a total imbecile to have drunk so much and to let yourself lose control like that. I am utterly ashamed with you. Your father would have been deeply disappointed.” Volger’s face changed immediately back to a scowl. Alek felt his heart droop in embarrassment.

    “I never drink! She tricked me, you just said!”

    “She may have Alek, but I would think that after all these years I would have got some amount of knowledge into that thick skull of yours!”

    “Now hang on a squick!” Dylan barked. “It was his birthday, and he was barking upset.” Alek had forgotten for a moment that Dylan had been listening. When he looked over, the other boy’s face had turned pink with anger. “All he wanted was for his ma to make him some streussomething, and she can’t cuz she ain’t here. And neither’s his da, in case you haven’t realized. Now I can’t say much for tricky Lady princesses, but I know that when my da died I drank myself silly several times!” He gave the count a cold, hard, mean look.

    “And for the record, Alek is not sleeping with his cousin, cuz that’s just bleeding disgusting, and he was smart enough to come up here instead!” Dylan’s voice had raised nearly an octave, and his jaw was chattering. Meanwhile, Volger looked like he had swallowed Tazza. Surprisingly though, he gave a bit of a smile.

    “You’re right Dylan. It is good that Alek is here instead, and it seems that I have reason to thank you. It’s nice that Alek has a friend he can come to when he needs someone to talk to. I’m thankful that it is you instead of Elsie.”

    Dylan opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish.

    “Now if you please Mr. Sharp, would you be willing to go downstairs and get Alek something to eat. With his demeanor last night, I don’t think it likely that he will be able to leave the bedroom for a while. And since I had forgotten that it was his birthday, maybe you could find a way to get some Streuselkuchen?”

    The look Dylan gave the count could have curdled milk.

    “You forgot his birthday.” It wasn’t a question.

    Volger at least had the shame to look a tad embarrassed. But it quickly vanished.

    “I do need to speak with Alek privately, so if you could make yourself useful…”

    “What is it?”

    “I beg your pardon?”

    “Streus cooken? What is that?”

    “Ah, it’s an apple crumb cake, very simple and quite dull if you ask me, but Alek has always been quite fond of it. I’m sure the cooks will know what it is and….”

    “I’ll make it.” Dylan cut him off.

    “But Dylan,” Alek interrupted, “you don’t even know what it is.”

    “I’ll figure it out.” He started to get out of the bed.

    “How very…domestic of you Mr. Sharp. To think that you can cook, that really is quite amusing.” Volger suddenly looked very pleased with himself.

    “Shut it, count. I’m quite through with you.”

    “Yes, but before you leave, you may want to put your jacket back on. We wouldn’t want you wandering about the house half dressed, now would we?”

    Dylan quickly snatched up the jacket that had fallen beneath the covers and shrugged it over his arms before buttoning it all the way up to his chin. Once again, Dylan’s neck and shoulders were completely covered.

    “Dylan, you really don’t have to..”

    “Don’t worry about it!” He grinned. “I’m not that bad of a cook. Ma used to force me and my brothers to help so she didn’t have to do all the work. Besides, you’re going to have to clean the carpet.” He pointed to the bathroom where Alek saw the familiar rug soaking in the tub. His stomach gave an awful twist when he remembered how it had looked the night before. Dylan gave another grin and with a bounce he jumped off the bed and padded out of the room barefoot, not giving the count another look.

    “Well then,” Volger said, switching to German as soon as Dylan was gone. “I wanted to discuss some things with you. It appears that the marriage contract between you and Elsie is completely unnecessary, what with her behavior and her father’s refusal in the first place. I have to say, I am quite glad that that finally went sour.”

    “You seemed okay with it yesterday in the carriage.” Alek answered blankly.

    “That’s only because I was disagreeing with that preposterous young doctor and her insults to your family lineage.” Alek rolled his eyes, but the Count either didn’t notice or refused to respond. ” Now, about the doctor. She has told me that we will be meeting with the Emperor tomorrow.”

    “The WHAT?”

    “Emperor Taisho, the emperor of Japan. Surely you remember hearing about him. The German ambassador Derek Eberhardt will obviously not be attending, but the ambassadors from Britain and France, will be. From what I hear they have direct orders from Winston Churchill to discuss what should be done with you. Right now you are a prisoner of war under the command of the British Empire, but things could easily change. Emperor Taisho is a sickly man, and will probably do whatever his advisers suggest. So we must be careful about what we say and do. If we do not please the Japanese assembly and the Darwinist Ambassadors, we may end up in worse shape than we are now.”

    Alek sighed. So much for a peaceful birthday.

    “Now, I would suggest you be in tip top shape tomorrow. Get plenty of rest today, and do get over your drinking spell soon. I wouldn’t want the assembly to think you’re a drunkard.” He gave Alek a reassuring pat on the shoulder, if Count Volger could be reassuring. “By the way, I’m sorry that your birthday was not what you are used to, but we are in a war right now, and I’m afraid things are never the same during war time. And for once I’m glad you have Dylan. He will be a true friend to you Alek.”

    “I know.” Alek said. Then he smiled for the first time that morning.

  45. Elsie’s kitchen was enormous. Deryn assumed it was even bigger than the kitchen for the entire Leviathan. She remembered the Count saying something about Elsie’s family being broke. If the Japanese had taken all her father’s money, it didn’t make sense that she would have such a big house with such a gigantic flipping kitchen. But as she began to dig through the pots and pans, Deryn realized how old and warn everything was. The pots were dirty and rusted and when she looked in the cupboards most of the china was cracked. Even the wooden counters were rotting in places. The rest of the house was the same. Deryn remembered how her room had stunk of dust and the carpets in the parlor and hallways were all threadbare. Everything looked expensive, or at least had been expensive at one time, but now they were all sad and warn.

    Even Elsie’s servants looked warn and tired. Most of them were German, but a few had Japanese faces. All of them looked at Deryn with exhausted expressions, and didn’t bother to help her with her cooking. In fact, they barely seemed to notice she was there. When Deryn found the cook and asked about Stroose El Cooken, the woman pointed at a cupboard of old cook books without even bothering to speak.

    The books were in even worse shape then the kitchen. The pages were moth-eaten and dog-eared and many had old food stains. Deryn picked up the ones that looked the sturdiest, and paged through them looking for recipes in English. That proved to be easier said than done. Everything was either German or Japanese or even French. Occasionally, even though she was being very gentle, the pages would fall out as she turned them.

    Eventually she gave up and walked to the cellar to look for the food goods. At least Elsie seemed to have enough money to buy some nice food. Deryn made her way to an ice box and dug out some eggs, butter and milk. In the dry goods area of the cellar, she found some flour and sugar. Unfortunately, apples were nonexistent, but she did happen upon some interesting looking orange fruit that looked like apricots. She made her way back up to the kitchen and dumped all her ingredients near the wash basin. This one had running water just like the bathtub in her room. Delighted with the discovery, she hastily began to rinse off the fruit, then cut them into smaller pieces on the counter.

    She was contemplating how she was going to pull off the German dessert when she heard someone walk up beside her.

    “I hear you’re making your own breakfast. Not the normal behavior of most guests. The cook is quite impressed with you.”

    Deryn turned around and saw that Lady Elsie was standing over her shoulder. She gave the German woman a cold glare, remembering what she must have done to Alek last night.

    “Dylan, is it?” The girl asked, “I could get someone to make that for you.”

    “Not necessary.” Deryn said, returning to her work. Although she didn’t have a recipe, and she wasn’t an amazing cook, she hadn’t destroyed the dessert yet. She also felt that it was the least she could do for Alek on his birthday. His mother wasn’t here to make it for him, but she could try to make up for that a little.

    “What are you making?” Elsie asked. She moved a tad bit closer to get a better look.

    Deryn didn’t want to answer. She continued slicing up the fruit and removing the pits when she had to. Hopefully Elsie would leave if she didn’t talk to her.

    But the other girl stayed put, and to Deryn’s surprise she picked up a knife herself and began cutting a few of the apricots.

    “I have to say I kind of envy you common people. I always wish that I could have learned how to cook.” She was struggling with the fruit, cutting very slowly and awkwardly. It looked like she was holding a thorny twig instead of a kitchen knife. When Deryn didn’t reply to her she continued. “I realize that you must have talked with Alek this morning. I hope he is feeling alright. He had quite a bit of champagne and barely ate anything to go with it. I’m sure that wasn’t too good for his stomach.I should have told him to be more careful.”

    Uhuh, sure you would have. Deryn thought. She highly doubted that Elsie would have stopped Alek’s drinking binge at all, but she wasn’t going to say so out loud. They stood in silence for a few more minutes. Deryn thought she saw the servants staring at them from their own work. They must have looked an odd pair, a stunning German noble lady and a common midshipman slaving over a pile of fruit. Deryn looked over at Elsie to see that she had started placing the fruit into a bowl.

    “I have to say Dylan, I happen to like your hair a lot. My younger sister had a very similar color.”

    “Excuse me?” Deryn finally spoke. If she had just heard right Elsie was comparing her to a girl.

    “Your hair. It’s very colorful.”

    “Aye, it is that I suppose.” She quickly looked away and pulled the pits out of the remainder of the apricots before tossing them into a pot and walking over to the stove. “Did you say you had a sister?” She hadn’t seen any other people that lived in the house besides Elsie and the servants.

    “Two sisters.” Elsie said. “Stella is married to a lordling in Russia, I hardly ever see her. Leslie died when she was seven.”

    Deryn stopped what she was doing and looked at the other girl. Elsie’s expression had looked exactly the same as it did before, and she was rinsing her hands off in the wash bin without a second glance at Deryn.

    “I’m sorry.” Deryn muttered, it was the only thing she could think to say.

    Elsie shrugged.

    “It happened a long time ago and she was very sick. I just think it’s funny that she had such similar hair to yours.”

    Deryn gave a sympathetic smile.

    “Aye, sharp hair. We are very sharply colored us Sharps.” It was a joke that her brothers used to repeat to anyone who would listen. But Elsie didn’t seem to find it very funny. She just sadly grinned at Deryn.

    “I’m guessing that you’re making this for Alek. He always had a soft spot for homemade sweets. In that case I think I should let you continue on your own. I’d probably ruin whatever else you need to do seeing as that I have no idea how to cook.” She made for the door but Deryn stopped her.

    “Elsie, is it true that your father is in jail?” After she had blurted it out, she instantly regretted it. Elsie’s face looked even sadder than before.

    “Yes, it’s true.” Elsie mumbled. She didn’t go into further detail. “Well, I trust you will have a good afternoon then.” And without waiting for an answer, the ambassador’s daughter walked out of the room.

    Even if Elsie was as tricky as the Count had said, Deryn couldn’t help but feeling bad for her. She couldn’t imagine living in this huge house all by herself with only grumpy servants for company.

    Deryn stirred the orange fruit together with the sugar on the stove. They were a bit sour and not quite ripe yet so she figured she could make a sort of jammy stew filling. While letting that simmer, she poured the flour, butter eggs and the rest of the sugar into a bowl and began to cut it like a pie crust. She didn’t know exactly how to make Alek’s Stroose El Cooken, but she figured it must be similar to an apple pie. She didn’t have apples, but she was confidant that it would still taste alright with the mysterious Japanese fruit. Eventually she had a thick enough dough to mold with her fingers and used it to create a pie shell before starting the gas oven.

    The oven was definitely a clanker contraption, and she wasn’t having much luck with it. It was barking old and most of the knobs were stuck or didn’t do anything. With a sigh, she walked into the other room in search of the cook.

    “Oye, miss cook? Are you there? You think you can turn on the blasted oven? HELLOO?” She walked down a narrow hallway where she had seen the servants dawdling around. It got darker as she walked and soon she was walking up a staircase she hadn’t seen before. At the top she could hear hushed voices behind a closed door.

    “…..indeed one of the first of its kind. It’s very destructive, of course, and the consequences can be disastrous. But I think the Emperor will agree with me that this is a necessary development to prevent more war.”

    Deryn instantly recognized the voice as belonging to the boffin. She pressed her ear against the door, wondering who she could have been talking to.

    “Still Dr. Barlow, do you really think that the Goliath is our only choice. Surely there are better, more humane ways to end the war.” This voice was unfamiliar to Deryn and sounded very muffled and distant.

    “I know it may seem rash Dr. Higginz, but the Japanese do make a good point. If we don’t do something soon…. One moment please,”

    There was a moment of silence before the door began to open. Deryn tried to escape, but Dr. Barlow had seen her and had pulled her inside.

    “I’m afraid we’ll have to talk later Higginz, I have someone else I need to talk to.” She said.

    “Very well, Miss Barlow, but don’t make any certain decisions without me.”

    There was a click, and Deryn looked to see a radio transmitter set up on an old ragged desk. The Lady Boffin must have been talking to someone over the radio.

    “Mr. Sharp,” She said, pulling Deryn’s attention away from the transmitter. “I think that the army frowns upon eavesdropping. Lucky for you I needed to discuss this matter with you anyways. I would have called for you later in the morning, but since you are up now and have found your way to my room, it can be settled presently.”

    She sat down next to the desk and motioned for Deryn to take a seat at a chair opposite her.

    “I’m very sorry ma’am. I was just looking for the…”

    “No need to worry Dylan, although you should be more careful in the future. Tazza noticed right away that you were outside my door.”

    Sure enough, Tazza was bouncing up and down on his hind legs in the door way, looking smug with himself.

    “We need to discuss our plans for tomorrow.” She pointed to her desk where there was a large set of confusing blueprints and mathematical equations. It looked like the outline of some complicated machine. “As you may have heard, we are to be meeting with the Emperor of Japan tomorrow as well as his assembly.”

    Deryn had not heard that before. She looked up at the boffin with a shocked expression.

    “I thought we were only meeting with the ambassadors.” She muttered.

    “Yes, but plans have changed. I have received some important information from Dr. Higginz, the British Ambassador of Japan. The Japanese have built an amazing new invention, and I believe that it may be the cure for this disgusting war.” She made direct eye contact with Deryn. A grin stretched the boffin’s face that seemed to make her glow and she looked so delighted that Deryn thought she might cry. “They call it the Goliath.”

    Deryn stared back for a moment then at the blueprints. Was this the plans for the invention? What was it anyways? Deryn felt a little scared but excited as well.

    “What is the Goliath?” Deryn asked. Barlow only smiled.

  46. They arrived at the palace in the evening. It was an extravagant building flanked by fountains and large trees. As they walked to the doorway, Deryn saw that the path was framed by two small rivers on each side. They were man made and had thousands of tiny goldfish swimming up and down the waterway. When she looked closer she realized that they must have been glowing. The fish illuminated the pathway and Deryn figured they were some sort of fabrication related to glowworms. She pointed this out to Alek who gave her a very disgusted expression.

    “Glowing fish? They couldn’t have used regular lanterns like everybody else?” But his eyes were glued to the water in amazement. “They are very pretty though.” He admitted.

    The giant door was opened for them and they were led inside by a very formally dressed Japanese man. He bowed to them, and they bowed back. Then, with the flourish of an arm, he introduced himself in perfect English.

    “I am Magistrate Kadashi and I will be your host this evening.” He gave them all a weary look, his eyes pausing when they passed over Bovril who was perched on Alek’s shoulder. He then faced Deryn and bowed again. “You must be the Prince, it is a pleasure to meet you. If you need anything during your visit, please do not feel pressured to ask.”

    “Umm, actually that would be him.” Deryn muttered and pointed to Alek. The Magistrate looked at her confused. He was nearly a head shorter than her and rather bald. The hair he had left was combed over his large bald spot to look like he had more than he did. When he opened his mouth again to speak, Deryn thought she saw the hint of a golden tooth.

    “I apologize. I didn’t expect that the Austrian Prince would have a Darwinist Fabrication.” Kadashi said while looking at Bovril with interest.

    “If you don’t mind sir, we do have an obligation with the Emperor.” Dr. Barlow said. She and Volger were standing behind Alek with annoyed expressions on both their faces. Obviously the Magistrate was talking more than they would have liked.

    “Right.” Kadashi said. And with another arm flourish he led them toward another set of doors. They walked down several hallways with marble floors and walls. Eventually they emerged up a staircase into a wooden corridor with flimsy walls and doors that looked to be made of paper and bamboo. Deryn could see through them slightly and thought she could see the outlines of people and beasties. Kadashi stopped them in front of the largest paper door and slid it open to reveal a small room furnished with a low table and cushions.

    “If you would be so kind as to remove your shoes and have a seat, the Emperor will be with you shortly.” With another shove of the sliding door, he was gone.

    Deryn kicked off her boots situated herself in a large silk pillow next to Alek. The two of them sat on one side facing Barlow and Volger. The Lady Boffin didn’t waste any time and quickly pulled out the blueprints for the Goliath and spread them out in front of her. From Alek and the Count’s faces, Deryn could tell that they had never seen the papers before.

    “What is this?” Volger asked her.

    “Blueprints.” She responded.

    “I can see that, but what are the blueprints of?”

    She gave him a wicked little smile before pulling out a blue pen and scratching something down.

    “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about that once we meet with the Emperor. Speaking of which, do you know why he is meeting with us here? I would have thought we would be talking to the entire assembly as well.”

    “As did I.” Volger said. Deryn suddenly noticed that he was sweating profusely even though the room was rather chilly. She watched him pull a handkerchief out of his front pocket and dab his forehead.

    “What’s the matter?” Alek asked, noticing Volger’s obvious discomfort as well.

    “Nothing we can’t handle your highness. It just seems that the Emperor may be plotting something himself.”

    Alek opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by the door opening again. Magistrate Kadashi was back with several other people. Behind him was a child on a litter that had to be carried into the room by two others. When Deryn looked a little closer, she realized it wasn’t a child, but a tiny man with bone thin arms and legs and a thick bulgy torso. He was dressed in an ornate blue silk robe with flowery designs and he smelled like baby powder. It didn’t seem that he could move much on his own because the two other men that had carried him in had to arrange him on the pillows so that he was fully supported by them. She continued to stare when she saw that his torso wasn’t fully his own. A beastie resembling a mix between a spider and a monkey was hooked to his back. She could see its scrunchy face peering out at her from behind the man’s neck.

    “Aleksander Ferdinand von Hohenberg, I introduce you to his royal highness Emperor Taisho of Japan.” Kadashi announced. Deryn looked over to see that Alek was staring as well. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow causing him to jump.

    “Ah yes…” He squeaked. “That is, it’s good to meet you, your highness.” Alek gave a slight bow of the head in the direction of the small man.

    This can’t be the Emperor. Deryn thought. Yet she watched the others sit on opposite sides of the man and place a few royal documents in front of him. The little man blinked at Alek and gave a hoarse, long, clattery breath that moved his entire torso. She watched in horror as the spider beastie moved the man’s head with its own hairy legs and fingers so that he was now making eye contact with Alek.

    “And it is nice to finally talk to you face to face young sire.” The Emperor said. But he wasn’t saying it directly. Instead, the beastie behind him was mouthing the words with the man’s voice. Deryn felt Alek shudder beside her. She couldn’t imagine how he must feel about this, seeing as that he was a clanker and all. The beasties always made Alek a little queasy, not to mention that this man was hooked up to a barking fabrication. It was even a little too much for Deryn who had been raised with Darwinist creations her entire life.

    “We appreciate you meeting with us,” Volger said. Deryn noticed that he was sweating more than before, but he didn’t show any nervousness in his expression. In fact, besides the occasional dab of the forehead, Volger looked completely calm and peaceful. “I believe we need to discuss Alek’s future connections with Japan.”

    “I agree,” Came the eerie voice from the beastie. “But first, I have heard that you have some interesting news for me, Miss Barlow.” The beastie turned his head so that he was facing the boffin.

    “Indeed.” She answered, without a hint of alteration in her voice. “Dr. Higginz and I have been over the plans of your new invention.” She smiled.

    “It really is very…..stunning.” Said one of the men who had carried the Emperor in. Deryn noticed at once that he had a British accent, even though his face was strongly Japanese.

    “I find it deliciously diabolical, don’t you?” Deryn thought she saw the Emperor’s lips curl into a very small smile.

    The Japanese man with the British accent, who must have been Dr. Higginz, gave a nervous shiver.

    “My Lord,” He muttered. “Please, I wish you would reconsider this idea. It’s so barbaric.”

    “It’s the only way to stop the Germans.” A hairy spider arm lifted a small bony one and delicately arranged the fingers so he was pointing at the blueprints. “If you would be so kind Dr. Barlow, would you explain the plan to our Austrian friends?”

    “Gladly,” She beamed. “Here is a sketch of the beast.”

    Deryn finally looked at the blueprints completely for the first time. The majority of the paper was filled with the side view of a dolphin. As she looked closer she got the impression of the scale of the beast and her eyes widened. The dolphin was drawn next to a scale drawing of the Leviathan and was nearly three times the length of the hydrogen breather. She also noticed that the dolphin was equipped with large engines and propellers that looked like replicas of the other ship’s, but three times bigger. Beneath the beast’s stomach was another beastie about half the size of the gondola positioned next to it. It had the tough shell of a nasty insect and was curled tightly into a ball with its legs and antennae stuffed inside.

    “Thanks to new Japanese technology, we have discovered how to make the breathers spurt Helium instead of Hydrogen. Although this requires for the beastie to be nearly twice as big do to the fact that Helium is twice as heavy. However the benefits are that we no longer have to fill the intestines with a flammable gas making air travel much safer.”

    “Barking spiders!” Deryn interrupted. “You didn’t tell me the thing could fly!” She pulled the sketches out of Dr. Barlow’s hands to better inspect the drawing.

    “The Goliath will not only fly, but fly faster!” Said the Emperor. “Thanks to Dr. Barlow’s work on Leviathan we now know how to build Clanker engines that will support the large air beast better than anything created before”

    “Beg your pardon.” Alek suddenly said. He was also looking at the blue ink sketches that Deryn was holding, but he didn’t look nearly as excited. “But those engines were not Dr. Barlow’s work. They came from our stormwalker.”

    “And we couldn’t thank you for that more, Alek. Since those engines have been on board, I have been taking special note of how they work and Dr. Higginz and I have found ways to attach them to another beastie.” She nodded toward the nervous Japanese man who wouldn’t make eye contact with Alek.

    “But that’s… that’s just stealing! We didn’t give you those engines to build more of your war fabrications; they were only supposed to help the Leviathan!” Alek cried. He looked flabbergasted. Volger, who was fuming on the other side of the table, didn’t seem to have anything to say. He only glared at Dr. Barlow and seethed.

    “I know it may seem that way, Alek, but you haven’t heard the entire story yet.” She took the sketches back and pointed to the strange insect beastie below the Goliath’s posterior region. “This is the true heart of the Goliath. When this beastie is dropped from the sky it can destroy an entire city in seconds.” She pulled out a drawing from beneath the first which was a black and white map of China and the surrounding areas. A red dotted line marked a path from Tokyo to another city in China. “This is Tsingtau.” She continued. “A port city in China that has been a German settlement since 1898. We plan on attacking the city.”

    She was dead serious, Deryn could tell. All smiles were gone from the boffin’s face and were replaced by a knowing stare. “It’s a small settlement, with barely over five thousand inhabitants, most of whom are German Soldiers that are stationed there.”

    “When the Goliath is positioned over the town, the Demon will be dropped, exploding itself on immediate contact with the ground. Before the Germans have time to retaliate, the Golialth will be gone. It’s super powered engines already pushing it halfway back to Japan.” Deryn thought she heard the tiny man laugh.

    “The Demon.” She mumbled to herself, then looked at the large insect again with a new awe.

    “May I ask why we are bombing this town?” Volger piped up. He still looked severely angry. “It’s not in Germany.”

    “Once the Germans surrender, Tsingtau will be given over to us. It’s a valuable port that will allow Japan to have direct trade routes with China.”

    “You expect the German’s to surrender?” Alek asked.

    “They will have to.” Dr. Higginz spoke up. His voice was quiet and sad. “The Germans will have no way to build something as large and destructive to combat the Goliath. They do not have the knowledge to blend Darwinist and Clanker inventions. If they do not surrender, we will continue to build bigger and stronger air beasts that will eventually destroy their entire country.”

    “You could consider the Goliath’s attack on Tsingtau as a warning.” Said Dr. Barlow. “The destruction of the small town is just the beginning of what our fabrications can do.”

    Alek still looked disgruntled, but the rest looked at her and nodded agreement.

    The rest of the evening went by calmly. Deryn didn’t pay much attention to the remainder of the conversations. The Emperor discussed that he had no intention of keeping Alek and his men as prisoners in Japan and that the British Empire had full custody over them. Later, a young Japanese woman also dressed in silk with a white painted face brought them green tea , soup and some sort of fish. They ate silently as the woman sang for them and played a strange looking harp. Afterward, Emperor Taisho excused them and Kadashi led them back through the winding halls and out of the palace.

    They headed to a hotel in town since they had outdid there stay at Elsie’s. When Deryn had finally climbed up to the hotel room she was going to have to share with Alek, she walked over to the window and remarked at the beauty of Tokyo in the evening.

    “It looks like a dream almost.” She said.

    “Yes, a very strange dream.” Alek commented. They watched the oddly shaped buildings for awhile and delighted over the millions of paper lamps that lit up the streets. Deryn could see a river flowing slowly to the north with large barges lazily drifting by. People walked through the streets in bizarre lengthy robes and dresses. Everyone had long hair, even the men, who tied it up in elegant knots on top of their heads. Across the road a woman was shouting out the prices of her wares as she stood behind the counter of a small shop. The Japanese words were strangely melodic, and fit well with the odd beauty of the city.

    Alek stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He moved over to one of the two beds and sunk into it. It was more of a mat than a bed. It looked like a mattress that had been laid out on the floor with a few blankets and sheets. The room didn’t have much more to it besides the two beds and a rug beneath them. The walls were made of the same paper that was at the palace. Deryn yawned as well and plopped down on the bed next to his.

    “Do you really think the Germans will surrender?” Alek asked. She could tell that the idea of the Golaith was still bothering him. She shrugged.

    “I think that it’s our best move against them.” She replied.

    “I guess.” Alek mumbled. He slipped out of his jacket and pants and climbed under the covers. Deryn of course would have to sleep in her clothes, but she didn’t mind. She was growing to like sleeping in the same room as Alek.

    “Mr. Sharp.” Came a voice from Alek’s bed, “but fly faster.” Bovril said in the Emperor’s disturbing voice.

    “Go to sleep beastie.” Alek growled. Deryn smiled to herself thinking how Darwinist Alek sounded when he said that.

  47. When Alek came downstairs for breakfast, Dylan was already there. The other boy had his face stuffed in a large medical book and barely acknowledged Alek when he sat down. Alek didn’t feel like bothering him, so he focused on his food instead. It was fish.

    Normally Alek liked fish, just not for breakfast and preferably not raw. But, he didn’t want to be rude, so he managed to pick a small piece up with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. It didn’t taste bad, but the texture and sliminess of it made it difficult to swallow. He looked over to see that Dylan had neither touched his fish nor his chopsticks and was slowly eating rice with his fingers. His eyes were practically attached to the book, causing him to pause between bites, his mouth open, while holding the rice midway between his lips and the plate.

    “What are you reading?” Alek asked, wondering what could possibly be so fascinating. Dylan grinned and put the book down so Alek could see.

    “Dr. Barlow gave it to me, amazing isn’t it?”

    Alek looked at the page the book was opened to and rubbed his eyes. On the left side was a picture of a disfigured naked boy. His limbs were bent at odd angles and his head looked too large for his body. On the other side was the same boy, just with his back cut open so Alek could see a grotesque amount of muscle and tendons.

    “And it get’s even better!” Dylan exclaimed. He turned the page to show a group of doctors placing what looked like a small animal inside the boy’s back. Alek turned away in horror and realized that there was no way he would be able to take another bite of his fish without being sick.

    “NO, I do not think that’s amazing, I think it’s disgusting.”

    Dylan looked a little shocked and offended, but he laughed as well.

    “I forgot that Clankers are scared of modern medicine. Especially new and advanced discoveries that are barking medical miracles”

    “Medical miracle? That? It looks more like human torture.” Alek plainly stated. He closed the book so he didn’t have to look at the photographs any more.

    Dylan rolled his eyes.

    “These are records of Emperor Taisho’s surgery. He was born with a severe spinal disorder and was surgically attached to a fabrication when he was seven. The beastie was hooked to his nervous system so as the boy grew, the fab and him would have the same brain and nerve connections so he could control the beastie with his own mind. It’s brilliant! And it saved his life.”

    Dylan had reopened the book and was showing Alek more disgusting photographs and diagrams. Alek was about ready to pull it out of his hands and throw it across the room in terror, but luckily he was saved by the entrance of Dr. Barlow.

    “I hope you two have enjoyed your breakfast. Now hurry and finish up or we’ll be late.” She said, and before either of them could ask what they would be late for, she had turned and left the room.

    “Blister’s she’s odd.” Dylan said.

    “You’re one to talk.” Alek responded while pointing to the open book. Dylan gave him a nasty glare.

    Alek didn’t figure out where they were going until they arrived at a large fortress later that morning. It was an immense stone brick structure that looked centuries old. The fortress hung over a rushing river a few kilometers upstream from Tokyo and looked even more formidable due to the weather. It was pouring and Alek counted at least three thunderclaps within a five minute period. Luckily, Dr. Barlow had suggested he wear his piloting jacket and cap. The water didn’t penetrate through the coat and he wasn’t as cold as he could be. Dylan, on the other hand, was not so fortunate. He was shivering beside Alek in a cotton shirt, his wet hair plastered to his scalp.

    “Blisters, it’s freezing! Wish I hadn’t have left my gear on the Leviathan.”

    Alek gave his friend a sad smile.

    “You know, you could have worn that jacket I gave you. It’s leather.”

    “And its way too barking fancy to be wearing in this weather. I wouldn’t want to ruin it, what with it being a gift and all. It’s the best piece of clothing I got.”

    Alek was a bit taken by that statement. He hadn’t realized how much Dylan had appreciated the coat. To Alek, it had just been another piece of clothing to lug around. He had been happy to get rid of it and therefore have more room in his suitcase.

    Alek looked at his friend’s face. Dylan’s lips were blue and his teeth were chattering. He had wrapped his arms tightly around him, trying to warm his slender waist. A sudden urge hit Alek and he took off his piloting jacket and draped it over Dylan’s shivering form. He then pulled Dylan toward him and put an arm around his shoulders.

    “What in the blazes are you doing that for?” Dylan shouted at him.

    Alek bit his lip, pulled his arm back and looked at his feet in embarrassment.

    “I thought…you looked really cold.”

    “Aye, and so do you.” Dylan replied. He took Alek’s jacket off and tried to give it back, but Alek shook his head.

    “No, you need it more than I do.” It was true. Alek had another layer of warm fleece on, and Dylan was obviously underdressed.

    The poor thing barely has any clothing. Alek thought. He wondered if Dylan had any warm clothes besides the jacket he had given him and a bit of gear for his duties as an airman.

    Dylan paused for a moment, then with a shrug put the jacket on. It fit him strangely, slightly snug in the front and too loose in the shoulders, but the boy seemed truly delighted with it and gave Alek a huge grin. He was still shivering though so Alek put his arm around him again and this time Dylan didn’t push him off.

    “Is he alright?” Alek heard someone ask in German. He turned around to see that Otto Klopp was behind them and giving Dylan a worried look. “He’s so skinny I thought he might blow away in this nasty rain.”

    “I’m fine!” Dylan responded in crude German. He could understand enough to know they were concerned about him.

    “You really should eat more.” Klopp said while motioning to his stomach. “Once you build up like me, no silly little rain storm can cut you down.” He patted his belly and Dylan gave him an angry look. Obviously he wasn’t too happy with them mothering him, but it was hard not to since he looked so pale and miserable.

    “Klopp, what are you doing here?” Alek continued in German.

    “The Lady Boffin says she needs my assistance with something. It sounded like engine problems, but she wasn’t specific.”

    “Engine problems?” Alek asked. “But we aren’t anywhere near the Leviathan. Unless she needs help with…oh no.” He peered through the downpour toward the river. A large wooden pole, almost like a small bridge, was stretched across it. From this hung several ropes and pulleys that were holding what looked like a large cockroach.

    “Alek, I can’t….breath.” Dylan muttered. Alek realized he had been squeezing the other boy too tightly. He let go with a mumbled apology and then pointed at the giant creature, no, giant thing hanging from the ropes.

    “Aye, that must be the Demon,” Dylan said, rubbing his sides with a groan. “Enormous, ain’t it. Should we go get a closer look?” And before Alek could stop him, Dylan ran over to the edge of the wooden pole. With a sigh, Alek and Klopp hurried after him.

    Enormous wasn’t even close to describing how big the insect was. Most of it was submerged in the rushing river, which was doing nothing in the way of moving it. Only its head was above the water, and Alek saw two black eyes the size of small horses staring at him through tough grey insect armor.

    Dr. Barlow suddenly appeared next to him.

    “Marvelous isn’t she?” The boffin said to him.

    “I wouldn’t call it that.” Alek grumbled.

    “We have to keep it submerged in water so it can stay warm. The air temperature is too cold for the creature to survive while it’s still in pupae form, and anything too warm would be dangerous. You see, the liquid inside the fabrication’s stomach will explode once it comes in contact with the gas inside the creature’s lungs. If the liquid were to reach anything above 30 degrees centigrade, it could evaporate into a gaseous state and then mix with the contents in the lungs. The complications could be quite disastrous. We don’t want the two mixing until we drop the creature over Tsingtau.”

    Alek swore in German.

    “Watch your tongue your highness.” She said in German back. “And if you and Mr. Klopp would follow me, I have something that may interest you.”

    She led them behind the fortress and past several large European looking mansions.

    “Do people live here?” Dylan piped up from behind.

    “They did, but do to the dangerous properties of the Demon we had to evacuate the area. This area, as well as the fortress, are owned by the British Embassy, whose members live in these homes.”

    They followed her behind one of the large abandoned homes into a long clear meadow. On the ground before them was a gigantic body of a Dolphin. The Goliath was slightly deflated but still incredibly terrifying. Unlike the Leviathan which had a certain beauty and charm, this fabrication was complete weaponry.

    Industrious looking canons and missiles were everywhere. To Alek’s horror they seemed to be made entirely out of the beastie’s skin. Other contraptions included thousands of tiny catapults, which the boffin showed them up close. The catapults shot long, sharp arrows that stuck out of the beaks of humming birds. When the birds were released they could fly up to forty kilometers per hour and continue to chase an enemy target for nearly thirty minutes. Dylan was amazed with the birds and insisted on drawing one of the abominations, even in the pouring rain. They let him at it while the boffin hurried Alek and Klopp to the stern of the ship where the engines were kept.

    “As you can see we are nearly through with them.” She yelled over the rain. “I would just feel more comfortable if you could check them over one last time before we start our mission.”

    Klopp frowned. “And when will that be?” He glared at her.

    “Probably in a week’s time. We only have to wait for the Demon to be fully grown, and that should be any day now.”

    Alek shuddered. Only a week. Did the people of Tsingtau know that their lives would be ending so soon?

    “Doctor, are you sure there is no other way?” He blurted.

    “I have discussed this multiple times with the entire assembly, Alek. I wish we didn’t have to do this, but we have no other choice.” She gave a heavy sigh. “So if you’d please, I would appreciate you got to work on the engines soon so we don’t have to stay out too long in this miserable rain.”

    She made to walk away but Alek grabbed her arm to stop her.

    “I can’t.” He said.

    “I beg your pardon?” She asked.

    “I can’t help you with the engines, Miss Barlow, I don’t want to be part of your disgusting plan.”

    She stared at him, surprised for a moment before changing to a look of anger.

    “You don’t understand Alek, this is necessary for the war to end.”

    “How do you know that? Are you certain that the Germans will surrender? What if they don’t? What if after you destroy their city, they continue to fight? Is it worth it to kill all those people when the plan might not work!” He was shaking now, and not just from the cold.

    “It’s only a few thousand people,” She replied, her face inches from his. “Compared to the millions who are perishing in France and Serbia, it is a very small sacrifice to make.”

    Alek felt his face flush. “Those few thousand people are still people, Doctor Barlow, and not just some random commoners, but soldiers who are fighting with honor and pride for their country!”

    “Aye, and we wouldn’t give a donkey’s arse about those random commoners now would we?” Came a high pitched sarcastic voice from behind him. Alek turned around and saw Dylan glaring at him. He wondered how long the boy had been standing there, listening.

    “Dylan, I didn’t mean it like that, you know what I mean.” He fumbled.

    “Sure I do.” Dylan’s voice was still high and shrill with anger. “The millions of commoners in France don’t mean nothin’ to you, but if a few German Soldiers are getting bombed you get your princely feathers all ruffled. For the record, my brother’s in an airship over France right now, and he’s just as bloody common as I am! But what do you care, you’re a barking prince!”

    Alek tried to apologize, but to his surprise Dylan spit at him then threw his jacket at his face. When he pulled it away, Dylan was already running back toward the fortress. He looked at Dr. Barlow, hoping for some sympathy, but she just watched him blankly.

    “I’m afraid you don’t have much choice in the matter, Prince Aleksander. You are a prisoner of war under the command of the British Empire. If I ask you to check the engines, it isn’t a request, but a command.” She pointed at one of the British soldiers that had been listening from behind her. “These men don’t speak German, so I need you to communicate between them and Klopp about clanker parts, since I am not an expert on the subject.”

    Alek suddenly closed his mouth, realizing that he had had it wide open for several moments. He made to answer her, but she didn’t stay to listen. Instead she walked away without giving Alek another glance.

    Working on the mechanics was almost impossible in the rain, but Alek continued without any more complaints. Occasionally he would have to yell a question or comment between Klopp and the British Engineer, but otherwise the work was pretty straightforward. If it hadn’t been such a terrible situation, he may have actually enjoyed himself. The engines were fabulously made, the largest he had ever seen up close, even if they were Japanese constructions.

    Ideas fluttered into his mind about how he could sabotage the circumstance. He could easily throw a wrench in gears, or leave a bolt unscrewed. But the British Engineer was watching him like a hawk, and Alek couldn’t afford to make anyone else angry. He felt horrible enough about how he had insulted Dylan and didn’t want to have to face the boffin again after their conversation.

    But Alek still couldn’t get the idea out of his head that what they were doing was wrong. He was going to have to think of something. Even if it might cost him his alliance with the British Army, he had to stop the Goliath. He gulped, remembering the anger and betrayal he had seen on Dylan’s face.

    It doesn’t matter. He tried to tell himself. One friendship is nothing compared to the lives of all those people.

    Alek sighed and wiped the grease on his fingers off on his pants. Something had to be done, and he was going to have to be the one to do it.

  51. @SKY-LA: that is someone’s fanfic (I’ve read those), and I do not think you should be posting them here without permission from the author.

  52. Almost went for number three, but there is just something about number one. Soooooo, I vote #1! 🙂

  54. I vote for number 3. I can pretty much tell what’s going on in number 1, and number 2 is just plain confusing. Number 3 is more of a mystery.

    And you think 110 days is a lot? I still remember when my countdown said 300 days! Why must September be so far away?

  55. Ditto to what Ashleylr said. I write fanfic for Leviathan, and I’d be annoyed enough if someone reposted it somewhere else without a smidgen of credit, let along on the blog of person who’s series I wrote it for. I know I personally am not very comfortable with the idea of Scott reading my writing, ahha.
    …And being unprepared for that? Dear god, no. ahhaha

  56. #1 please!

    And @Sky-la, please don’t post random fanfic….we all know where to go to find Leviathan fics if we need them.

    And Scott-la: I’m so excited for your panel at LeakyCon!!! I’m overwhelmed by the amount of panels there will be that day and don’t know how I’m going to choose between them, but I’ll definitely be at yours!

  57. @Moonie: Ah, but Moonie your fanfic is amazing! I love reading them! It’s PhoenixAshes, by the way. <3

  58. Definitely #1. Something is being snuck out of there, and I’d like to know what! (I thought at first that it was a hatchery of giant grubs, but a second glance proved that assumption wrong.)

    Also, may I add my voice to the chorus requesting a cease-and-desist on the irritatingly long chunks of uncited fanfiction? Beyond the obvious probable annoyance of the author, they’re a pain to scroll past. : [ Scott, is there a way to delete those comments?

  65. Did anyone notice the ARM BY DERYN’S HEAD IN PHOTO NUMBER ONE!?!?!?

    Sorry, just noticed it. 😀

  66. Number 1!!!
    We MUST know what Deryn is doing that has an arm in the background…It looks like she’s trying to wake or pull somebody up from a bed roll.

  67. I think, in #1, Deryn’s in some sort of bunk filled with sleeping men, hence the random arm by the head 🙂

    But I want to see what’s going on there!!! So, er, #1. NO! #3! That’s intriguingly mysterious. A storm, on a zeppelin sorta thing…? NO, WAIT! #2 – it looks to be an exciting scene of epic proportions – in the air!!!!

    NO. NEVER MIND. I’ll just vote #1. I hope there aren’t any regrets!!! 😀

  68. Ummm, this is amazingly difficult you know. Ummm, number 1. It’s the only one that already shows a person in it.

  69. They all look so epic!

    The first one must be Deryn and someone else carrying something precious or very dangerous to a new location. Look at all the bodies!

    #2 & 3 are probably both action scenes! I’m gonna have to go wiiiiiith #3 I choose #3

  71. OOOOOOOOO Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Happy dance* OOOOOOOOO
    In #1 they seem to be in some sort of sleeping quarters (if you look on the bottom left corner of the grey box you see a head/hair thing, and the rest of the picture kind of makes sense if you see everyone sleeping…)

    In #2 there seems to be a big bird thing? Idk I see feathers. Smoke. And an airship with the Hapsburg crest…

    And in #3… There’s lightning. I’m not sure if they’re on the Leviathan or not… the ship (or whatever it is) looks really… not curvy, but… sectioned, when you look into the background.. If ya catch my drift…

  73. 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

    i would like it to be one btw

  74. Frankly, number one. I would like it because of the face that Deryn is making and would like to see what she is holding/carrying. Oh, and Scott-la? Thanks for making the release date of Goliath my birthday, you literally made me jump up and down like a little girl. So excited!

  82. Hmm, hmm. So difficult!! But I must go with. . .

    *drumroll*

    Number One!

    Looking closely at it, I think the room is full of sleeping men. Perhaps their quarters. . ? And if you look at the top of the grey box there is a rounded bit that looks like the top of a head, perhaps?

  84. Wooooh, I’m choosing number 1!
    And I wish I was in Seattle…. :_D I’d love to be on the street and just find a Leviathan book there! *^*

  85. Number 3!
    I can’t tell at all what that picture is, but the title sounds amazing and it’s from chapter 19 so that just makes me want to know what it is even more! >:D

  87. Dude, i have to know what’s going on in number 1! everyone’s right, Deryn does have a weird look on her face 😛

  89. #1 #1 !!!!! :3 That one looks amazingly amazing, I’m super curious about what’s happening there.

  99. Gah! Hard decisions!!!!

    I gotta go with number 1! First of all, I c deryn in it, and she must b pulling a suspicious object! And I rlly wanna know wat that object is!!!!! Ahhhh!

  102. Number one looks interesting… But I think I already know what’s happening in that… So I’ll have to vote Number 2!

  104. Gah!!! Why do you have to make it so DIFFICULT?!?!?!?!?!?! I can’t decide!!! Ok, I’m going to close my eyes and hit a number. Ready? 1. Alright, I guess I’m voting for number one!

  108. Damn i love all of them………..
    I’ll have to go with 3 maybe 1 but i like 3 sounds interesting!

  109. Hmmm, I see another landslide win in the future… Except this time my picture won’t be winning. Argh! I need this book now!!

  112. i sent him a book idea about a few months ago and NO respond non SO I SENT IT AGAIN

  114. Well i want number 1 or 2 and just cause everyone is picking 1 i pick number 2!!!!!!! 🙂

  115. I vote #2. In #1 we can already see a lot of what’s going on, and if #3 is revealed it’ll probably be a sky or landscape scene with not much in it, but with #2 it’s hard to tell, and will probably contain a hint to the plot. Plus, AIRSHIPS ARE COOL.

  117. #1 please it looks interesting
    by the way can’t wait for the areonautics (I don’t think I spelled that right, sorry) book

  120. I’m going with #1 because it has at least one main character in it. I like the ones with the characters. As my grandmother would say “Put some people in those pictures!” Plust I see a bit of dark hair right where the picture is cut out. I’m guessing Alek, but who knows.

    Althought I think #3 would be my second pick. Maybe for the July picture reveal???

  125. Scottla says we must squabble for this. SO SQUABBLE I WILL!!!!
    First, in one, deryn is holding something, SO WHAT? She does her fair share of heavy lifting all the time. And the title is just something about extraction. What ever, Sciency stuff…
    Second one- an impressive border, probably even an exciting scene, but it’s a vague angle. If that one wins we’ll see maybe a couple heads and that’s about it,
    NOW THREE- the title, the border, THE TITLE?! ‘a coming storm’? You know what that means, right? It’s a metaphor for the characters’ relationship AND a freakingawesomesauce chapter! I’d say the picture is RIGHT before the climax, and I want to know what it is.

    3333333333333333333333

  130. @ Julia: YES!!

    I’ll admit, I want to see all three (who doesn’t?), but number three is by far the most mysterious and eluding picture!

    With the first picture, we know Deryn is on some sort of mission and doing something sneaky. But even if we see the full picture, we’re not really going to know what is going on without the dialogue (just like Secrets in the Rookery)!

    The second picture is obviously an intense, action-filled one. I’ll admit the feathery(?) thing has me the most intrigued, but like Julia said, we’ll probably only see a head or two. And again, we’ll have no way of knowing what’s going on without the words!

    But the third! Oho, the third picture is the only one REALLY hiding something, and that something could be a huge plot point of the story!! Don’t you want to know what it is that’s so threatening in the skies? Don’t you want to know what is looming over Alek and Deryn? I DO! I mean, come on! How can you not want to know what “The Coming Storm” is? The title just screams of a profound twist in the story! it’s the Rising Action, people! Vote for number three!!

    Anyone want to campaign for a different picture? Bring it on! Let’s get some more thoughts here on the comments thread!

  131. One, three, one, three, one, three, one, three…..They both look so interesting…..one, three…oh look a turtle! Haha! =P

    NUMBER THREE!!!!!! (Duh duh duh…)

  132. its so hard to decide!
    in number three it looks like whatever that thing is isnt the leviathan… it looks too long to me, therefore I want to figure out what it actually is…

    in number one it looks like Deryn is trying to pull someone or something away, Deryn’s face looks awesome and I’m curious as to what exactly she’s doing

    this is a hard decision to make but…I wanna see number 1!

  133. number 1, just ‘cuz it looks like there’s a dead person in the background xD but i’d like to see number 2 also;)

  135. (May I just explain my name with the two after it as being because someone else who has my name already posted? You on the forum know me as Skye Redlin)
    NUMBER 1!!!!!
    Becuase Deryn’s fighting. Oooooh, I hope it’s with Alek (though I doubt it!).
    Number 2 also intruiges me, becuase of the possible Hapsburg seal on one of the ships.
    Number 3 is okay, I guess….
    AHHHH! The wait is killing me!
    and I have to say, I really wish I lived in Seattle. Nobody does anything that fun where I live…

  141. Hmmmm. It was between one and three.

    But the hand in that image of number one sealed it. I need to know what that image has.

    So. NUMERO UNO!!! #1~~~

  145. Number one, because that caption is just amazing. Also, the rope on number 2 looks like someone might be doing another sliding escape…

  147. Is it possible that the round thing on top of the gray box in #1, could be Dr. Barlow’s hat?

  148. You know, I find it interesting that people mostly vote for the pictures where you see the characters. The way I feel, you don’t get much suspense for the PLOT. You see a lot of their emotion and any of what their thinking by facial expressions and body language, but you don’t get much essence of the plot. UNLESS they are in a great big action scene that is like the CLIMAX of the story. And usually the pictures for that include multiple characters, explosions, an epic backdrop, and some great facial expressions that, instead of giving us a window into their minds, are trying to communicate to their fellow characters.

    Personally, I am stuck between 2 and 3. Number two is entitled “Firefight in the Air” I believe. So that may include the formula for a suspenceful piece of spoilery. I am willing to bet that this would be because of A) a hydrogen leak, or B) a Clanker-Darwin smackdown in the middle of their quest to wherever they are going.

    Number three is entitled “The Coming Storm.” This sounds particullarly entriguing because, in my personal experience, storms/natural disasters/any-other-epic-bad-thing are used to punctuate a particullarly significant event. Whether to interrupt it, make it even more “GASP!” or to make it completely hectic, followed by a nice touchy-feely moment. So, you all can fill in which of these puncuations this could be (or possibly a combonation?) and what it could POSSIBLY be punctuating.

    I suppose I have to vote for number 3! It seems to me that not only would it be a beautiful scenic picture (kinda), but it will also leave a lot more to the imagination on the spoilery-ness of it all!!!

    I VOTE NUMBER 3!!!!!!

  149. Also, I would like to retract, my vote for #1, and vote #3 instead. #3 is very mysterious.

  155. Hmmm. I just looked at the results of the last art reveal voting thingy and these were the results

    Chapter 1 . . . 27 votes!

    Chapter 2 . . . 165 votes!

    Chapter 3 . . . 47 votes!

    It seems to me that most people either all like the same thing, or they look at what everyone else likes and votes the same! 😛
    So from the looks of it, #1 may win after all! :/

  159. I’m going to go with one. I want to know who the disembodied arm belongs to and what Deryn could possibly be extracting carefully. A person perhaps…

  160. …this is really hard. Well #2 is REALLY tempting cause it looks like its got some weird flying beast in it(?) and that ships got aleks family crest on it. but my vote would have to go to #1. gotta love Deryn!!

  161. I wouldn’t vote for number one because it looks like Deryn is carrying a box or something, and you can pretty much tell whats going on in the picture. I also doubt that that’s a random arm, it looks like a sleeping quarters.
    I vote number three because it looks the most confusing! There must be something super important about it.

  162. Number 1! I want to know what Deryn is “extracting”. Is it another mission for Dr. Barlow? I can’t wait!

  165. Guys, don’t forget about “Secrets in the Rookery”! Remember? Even though it was a totally awesome picture, it still told us nothing about the secret itself. We need dialogue, too! I have a feeling that “A Careful Extraction” will be more or less the same.

    Unless Scott is willing to give us some dialogue with the winning picture. How about that Scott-la? Hmmm? Treat us to a quote or two? Yes? No? YES?? You know you want to! XD

  166. I want number 1! Deryn’s face is telling a perticular story that I despretly need to see! Chapter ten must be AWESOME!

  169. I would also enjoy #1 because Deryn kind of looks like a creeper. Ha ha. But two would also be exciting because I have a bloodthirsty love of battle scenes.
    I agree with *Ashleylr*….just because you love us with such a deep love, you should give us dialogue. You said yourself that the Goliath release was a long time from now…what do you think that’s doing to us?

  170. Now that I think about it, I REALLY want to see #1 or #3. 1 because of what they could possibly be carrying and 3 because the background shows lightning and I BELIEVE I see the ocean in the background. Hmm… What to do what to do….. I already voted, so yeah… But I can’t wait to see whichever one wins!!! 🙂

  171. Why are so many people freaking out about the arm above Deryn’s head? It just looks like a random sleeping guy’s arm to me. And I don’t really think she’s fighting anyone, unless you mean fighting to get someone out of their sleeping bag because they won’t get up. Unless there’s something else higher up in the picture that we can’t see, I don’t think having number 1 revealed will show us more than we already know.

  177. Number one! They all look SUPERB but in number one I can see Deryn, and well, that’s just too hard to pass up. 🙂

  180. number one. Simply because Deryn if obviously yanking on something, and I want to know if it’s Alek!

  182. cant u plz just show us all the pics? plz plz plz
    but if not just show me #2 i love battles and stuff
    in pic 1 it just looks like deryn is pulling someone out of a sleeping bag and wat is that gonna tell us about the plot?
    Pic 3 looks pretty interesting but i dont really see how we could gain much out of it

  183. If Scott gave us a choice between “Surreptitious in a Room Full of Messengers” on page 82 of Behemoth, or the picture of the Tesla cannon on page 29, we would probably pick the former, because with the gray box somebody would think ‘Oh, two characters alone. It must be Alek and Deryn sharing romantic thoughts.’ It wasn’t. We wouldn’t even be able to know what they were saying. If we had chosen the Tesla picture, we would learn a bit about the plot. But no, the first thought to enter someone’s mind would be, ‘Aerial battle. Yawn.’ It’s the same with these pictures. Everyone’s picking #1 because it shows Deryn with a strange facial expression pulling on something. Oh yeah, there’s also a mysterious hand. There will probably be nothing interesting in the box. But with #2 or #3, most of the action is in the center, and if one of those two is picked, we may learn something spoilery about the plot.

  189. @Winston Churchill: Exactly!! The first picture may be interesting, but it wouldn’t reveal much of anything about the plot!

    Somewhere earlier in the comments, somebody said that the third picture was probably just a landscape piece. Are you insane? Since when were we ever given a TITLED piece that was just of a landscape?! There is something big happening behind that block! Something, as I’ve said earlier, that probably reveals a huge plot point! Something that really adds to the story!

    A lot of you are picking the first picture because you can see Deryn; because you KNOW she’s there. But just because we can’t see anyone in the second or third, doesn’t mean no one’s there! I honestly cannot think of a single titled picture that does not have Deryn or Alek in it. So you know they’re there!

    I still think the third picture would reveal more about the story and about what’s going on. Chapter 19 would be in the rising action; when things start to get intense before the climax. I want to know what that is! Vote for number three!!

  196. I agree that we’d see more of the plot in 2 or 3(I highly doubt they’re landscapes), but I’m really just interested in pretty pictures :3 So I pick number one!

  197. @Dudley: You prefer “a bunch of people sleeping in sleeping bags” to Firefight in the Sky or the Coming Storm? Where’s your sense of adventure?

  198. Oh gosh, I agree with Winston Churchill…but the pained/determined face of our dear Missssster Sharp in picture 1 breaks my heart…
    I’ll vote for picture 1. *Headbang*
    (Psst Mr. Westerfeld, here’s a good idea. In celebration of the start of summer break here in America, why don’t you release all three pictures? 😀 )

  199. OMG!!! Can’t wait for art reveal friday!!! I choose definetly #1 cuz there’s something fishy going on there!!! I wonder what…
    AAAAAHHHH!! *has seizure* I got to have Goliath!!! (thankfully there’s only 3 months left!) ^____^

  200. @Rachel-wa: I don’t think he should release all three because then what would we have to wait for in the next months until Goliath comes out???
    I say we ought to wait each month for all three… That’s my opinion

  201. Can we see all of them instead?…

    Blegh, alright… I choose: Number 2!

    I want to say 1, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that one anyway by the look of the votes.

    :]

  207. I say, that instead of voting and fighting amongst ourselves over which picture should be revealed, we should instead rally together and DEMAND Scott show us all three! Who is with me?

  208. ok ok….to stop with all of the madness of everyone choosing #1 i choose #3. i mean come on!!!! it’s gonna reveal the most spoilers!!!!

  209. just to be one of the wining side
    No 1…
    beter know the steat of the book and not the REALY important part… so the begining please…

  210. okay, not ur best spoilery pics Scottsters…… but #1 by FARR-
    111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

  216. NUMBER 3.

    We already know that Deryn’s secret will be revealed in the middle of a storm…so I’m most interested in that. And it’s a freaking battle scene, so who DOESN’T like that? 😀

    (Plus number one just seems like Deryn trying to get the Dummkopf to wake up.)

  217. Has anyone noticed the strange rounded object poking out of the top of the box in #1? Lots of people say that it’s probably only Deryn dragging someone out of a sleeping bag, but look at the mysterious object! No sleeping person could be that tall! Maybe it’s a new beastie! I think I’ll vote #1.

  219. PS I still say we gang up on Scott and make him post all three. There are more of us than there is of him!

  221. oh by the way Mr.Scott the counter is very depressing. I mean like very very depressing and it is making me wish my life away…*sigh*…

  223. Ah….I think I’ll have to vote for number one….because it looks like Deryn is pulling someone out of a sleeping bag, and like the title says, very carefully…..and there’s a random arm draped over something in the back…..and for some reason the pic reminds me of a morgue…..like, Deryn is steeling a dead body or something….

    So number 1.

    Because I mostly want to make sure that isn’t a dead body she’s pulling out…

  224. Why would you want to see something too spoilery? It would only make waiting for the book even harder!
    I chose number one because I feel that it will be entertaining and probably won’t leave me thinking too hard afterwards about what is going to happen.
    Still….why can’t the book come out NOW???? gahhh!!!

  227. Number 1 just because there’s a random arm in the background. Yup, that’s my way of thinking.

    Actually, not that’s not really it. At all. I’m just going to be strange here and say it’s just probably the least revealing of the plot. I know your probably like “What’s this? A fan not trying to figure out the plot of the book?” But what’s the point of being excited about reading a book if you already know everything that happens? Personally, I like to figure things out as i read the book, not by poking the author so he’ll tell us everything before it come out. (other fans: please don’t kill me for saying that)

  228. number one!
    did you see that random person’s arm in the background? He’s out cold! K.O
    I don’t know who that is or what deryn did, but I sure don’t mind finding out!

  229. @Winston Churchill

    I didn’t quite say I preferred the first one because there were people in sleeping bags. I just pointed out an observation about that picture.
    Anyway, I do prefer pictures with characters rather than action pictures. The expressions the characters have tell something interesting. And action is more exciting when you read it. 🙂

  230. Ya’ know…….
    I guess I’ll have to go with # . . . . 1!

    I figure that the 2nd one has Deryn on it, and the 3rd. . . . I’ll get back to ya’ on that one.
    😀

  231. OMFG, NUMBER ONE!!! btw, I totally wish I lived near the steam punk thingy 🙁 so sad I can’t participate

  232. I can’t deside! Both one and three look sooooo interesting. But in picture three it could just be some machine or something.

    So I choose 1!

  234. 1- for most of the reasons already stated, and because that looks like it might give the most hints on the plot.

  236. I feel like number 3 has a lot more to reveal than the other ones, there seems to be some sort of kite tail on the side. So I’m going to go with number 3, but decide soon so we can all see it ’cause they all look so good!

  238. It’s National Show Your Fans Your Appreciation Week…can’t you be generous and unveil all three?

    You’d have some seriously happy people.

  239. I vote for #1 ’cause it’s Deryn! I love Deryn! I also love Choco which is what you HAVE TO NAME THE OTHER LORUS. Please. I also wouldn’t complain if you just decided to reveal all three pictures at once…but then again, what would you do if you revealed all the art by september? There is only 108 days, something something hours and something something minutes and something something seconds left!!!!

    *Please don’t have a bad ending — that would make me sad. And you only my 2nd favorite author* 🙁

  240. #1… Specifically because it sounds and looks the least exciting imo. We should save the best for the book’s release!

  244. I vote for number 1! I’m really curious to see what Deryn’s doing, even if it doesn’t look the most “exciting.” I wanna save the most action-packed ones for the book, where they can accompany the text and really wow us.

    And I just want to take a moment to say thank you and tell you how much I utterly adore the Leviathan series. You inspire me. <3

  246. Number one all the way, mostly because Deryn’s face is visible already and I want to know what he’s doing. He looks like he’s angrily pulling a sack of flour, perhaps.

  251. I say #1! Hope this one wins! (I haven’t read the comments yet…yay…in the top 300 🙂

  259. #1
    I’m picking this one because there is a person off to the side, meaning that the character is interacting with something/someone. So there is more tension and the focus isn’t on an object.

  263. I bet there is something really awesome going on behind the blackout on #3, so that’s my vote

  266. #1 obviously has Deryn, doing something or other; #2 has a firefight from a cool angle; #3 has another beautifully done cloudscape by Mr. Keith Thompson. A challenging decision, no doubt.

    I think #1, but I like action, and I like storms.

  269. TWO OR THREE. I can’t decide! I want to see some action! Two looks super cool – like the leviathan is in a battle and three just looks gorgeous! I guess my vote goes to #2. I want to know what’s going on in that picture! But one has so many votes already… 🙁

  272. Numero uno! Nummer einer! La première! ??????? ????! ?1! Aantal! Nùmero um! ????! umm. NUMBER ONE! 😀

  279. Update to my last comment: Is that the Hasburg Crest on the left of the gray box on the ship thingy in number 2?

  280. What is with the strange facscination with #1? I vote #2, but I’m also really interested in #3.

  283. NUMBER 1! Its the most interesting.
    But thats just cause im a sucker for details. Plus there arnt enough interior pictures to begin with.

  285. Number 3! It looks to have the most blocked out so it might be more interesting to see.

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