Hearts of Smoke and Steam Read Free

Chadwick. And yes, a man needs more than fancy gadgets to win a fight. But it isn't his fists that turn the tide—it takes bravery and nerves of steel.”
    He could see the man's brows knitting underneath his mask. “Are you accusing me of something, sir?” His nervousness has been replaced by an air of indignation.
    “No need to get angry.” Alexander gave him a quick smile. “And it's good to see that you're capable of defending yourself when challenged. I think you have great potential.” He paused for a moment before continuing. He actually liked the man on some level, but the Paragons were supposed to be the best of the best. They couldn't take just anyone, and this man seemed only half baked…
    “I think we've seen enough for today, Mister Prescott. You've given us a great deal to think about.” Alexander nodded at the door. “Thank you very much for showing us what you can do. We'll let you know our decision as soon as possible.”
    The Hydraulic-man nodded his head. “Thank you all very much,” he said as he left, but the tone in his voice wasn't a happy one.
    As soon as the door had closed, Nathaniel spoke. “I'm not sure, but I'm getting the sense that William didn't like him.”
    Alexander grimaced. “Is that what it was, Bill?”
    Hughes clanked his way back over to the table, then lifted his head. “I think we're learning that the game is changing.” The look in his eyes was terrifying, as if he was holding back an avalanche with sheer force of will. “Since the death of Darby, this has become a war. You've fought in a war, Stanton, you know what that means.” Again he started to suck on his teeth, and then let out a click. It was an annoying habit that seemed to have come with his new persona.
    “I do, Bill. But our goal has always been to prevent destruction. Even if we are at war, it's still our duty to protect the innocent.”
    “First you have to protect your own.” He turned to face Nathaniel. “Isn't that right, Turbine?”
    The young Paragon reached up to touch the back of his head where the battle with the Automaton had left a permanent scar, but said nothing.
    Instead, Grüsser broke the silence in his usual clumsy way. “Vell, if anyone cares to know vat I zink, I liked him.”
    “I like him as well, Grüsser, but this isn't a popularity contest.” Alexander turned to the other men at the table. “The man clearly needs more time to come into his own. We can put it to a vote once we've seen all the candidates…Let's take a moment to gather our thoughts and then we'll see King Jupiter.”
    He turned and pointed to the still-burning shrubbery. “And can we get someone to please put that out?”

 
    W hen she had first undertaken to run away from her life as a young lady of society, Sarah had steeled herself to the fact that however challenging she imagined the world outside of the Stanton mansion might be, the reality would be worse. And yet no amount of preparation had managed to stop Sarah from still finding herself regularly driven to the verge of tears by the random cruelties that the world seemed determined to inflict on her.
    It wasn't that anything in particular was more difficult than she had expected. In the case of work, for instance, Sarah had never been one to shy away from hard labor. It was that simply everything seemed to be more complicated than she could have ever imagined: cooking, cleaning, shopping, working, and even simply getting around town, were an endless cycle of effort and time—made all the more difficult by the fact that every penny needed to be counted before it was spent.
    But this morning she had made a vow to stop the tears, and today it seemed something had changed; from the glorious sunrise to the golden hue of the early evening, this fine spring day had conspired to show her that life could occasionally offer possibilities beyond toil and failure. Perhaps the world wasn't always as full of doom, gloom, and strife as she had begun to