Martin King and the Prison of Ice (Martin King Series) Read Free Page A

as a joke.”
    The historian
gestured to two spades leaning against the wall.
    “I’ll make a
bargain with you. If you dig it up, you can keep it. It’s not too deep, don’t
worry.”
    “But what’s
under there?” said Darcy.
    “Wait and see.
You won’t be disappointed, trust me.”
    Martin and
Darcy took the spades and started to dig. The soil was soft and dry, and they
soon began to make progress.
    “What the devil
is going on? Why are you digging up the lawn?”
    A grey-haired
man in a suit was staring at Martin and Darcy with a horrified expression.
    “Oh, good
morning,” said Dr Ackerman. “These people are contractors—the porter called
them in to do something about all the four-leaf clovers.”
    “But…
contractors… children?” the man spluttered.
    “That’s right,”
said Dr Ackerman, trying not to smile. “If you have a problem, I suggest you
talk to one of the porters. I’m just standing here.”
    “Well, well, I
think I will!”
    The man marched
off, looking shocked.
    “Don’t worry,”
said Dr Ackerman, “that was just the Physics professor. I imagine he’ll forget
all about it before he reaches the porters.”
    Eventually,
Martin’s spade hit something hard. He reached into the soil and pulled out a
large wooden box. Martin opened the crate. Inside, there was a small brass cube
covered with strange spiral patterns.
    “That,” said Dr
Ackerman, “is a Coincidence Machine. It is an Axis Lord invention designed to
manipulate chance to increase positive outcomes.”
    “And what does
that mean?” said Darcy.
    “Essentially, it
gives you good luck. But Coincidence Machines are very erratic; they cannot
really be controlled. Probability is a complex thing. They tend to activate at
random intervals and can influence events in unforeseen ways. They were banned
on Hope eventually, but not before I had a great deal of fun with it!”
    “So we can keep
it?” said Martin.
    “Certainly.”
The historian glanced at Darcy. “Although I don’t think you really need it for
the same reason I did.”
    He shook their
hands again.
    “I must leave
you now—I’m supposed to be lecturing in a few minutes. But thank you for
agreeing to see Howell. Here’s my card, and here’s Howell’s address—don’t
hesitate to contact me if you’re ever in trouble.”
    Martin and
Darcy said goodbye and left Xavier College—Darcy was holding on to the
Coincidence Machine. As they walked down the street, the machine suddenly made
a clicking sound. Darcy looked down and noticed something.
    “Look,” she
said. “Look what I found!”
    It was a £20
note. Darcy put it in her pocket.
    “That’s
amazing,’ she said. ‘I love the machine already. Although I suppose it’s not
like I need any more money.”
    At that moment,
the machine clicked again. Martin noticed something in the sky. It was some
kind of burning object falling to Earth. Suddenly, it landed, leaving a small
crater in the pavement. Darcy peered into the smoking hole, frowning.
    “It’s a watch,”
muttered Darcy.
    Martin reached
into the crater and picked up the watch. Then he dropped it again with a cry of
pain.
    “It’s hot!” he
said. “It’s burning hot.”
    As soon as the
watch had cooled, Martin picked it up and held it next to the watch on his
wrist. They were identical—grey strap and silver face with a digital timestamp.
    “That’s weird,”
said Darcy. “It’s exactly the same as the one I bought you.”
    For Martin’s
birthday, Darcy had bought him a so-called indestructible watch from a
website—it was a little joke of hers because he had a habit of accidentally
breaking wristwatches.
    “Yeah, it is,”
said Martin. “Huh, I guess these things really are indestructible… that’s
weird.” He dropped the second watch into his pocket, and looked up at the clear
sky. “I wonder where it could have fallen from…”

CHAPTER 2: FIRE OPAL
     
    Tommy was sitting on a plane,
thinking about Fire Opal. He had met her