The Dawn of Ocaña by Jessica Kemery EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Jessica Kemery
- Language: English
- Genre: Gaslamp Fantasy
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
DARK AND DEEP
Edmond Rizza grunted as the pick ax came down on the stone wall. He felt
the vibrations through his arms as the soft coal fell to his feet.
He was a Prince of Vale, a prince of coal and dust, sweat and tears. For
generations, his family had wrestled coal and flonium out of the mountain,
building their wealth and reaching far beyond these deep caves.
And the Rizzas weren’t above the people they ruled. They labored beside
them, broke their own bones, and breathed the same dust. One day, he would
lead them like his father, but for now, it was his job to learn everything he
could. It was his sole purpose in life.
His father, hale and strong, walked through the workers, eyeing their
technique and examining a fine line of coal that may lead to a rich vein of
flonium, the rare mineral that was necessary to manufacture the fuel cells.
With the glowing rock, anything could be powered, from lights to
steamships. King Rizza shouted, “Day’s done, boys!” His voice echoed
through the caves, and the sound of steel on rock stopped.
His father appeared from around the corner, a tall man; he had to stoop to
walk through this section. King Rizza’s brown eyes, hard and tough, looked
over the half-full mining cart nearby and the coal at his feet.
“That’s it?” his father said gruffly, his voice hard. “You’re slacking?”
“No, Father. I filled a cart right before lunchtime,” Edmond said softly.
“Hmmm. Well, you must have been slacking this afternoon, then. Your cart
should be full. Why isn’t this shoveled in?”
“Sorry, Father. I’ll do it before I come up top today,” Edmond said, picking
up the shovel stuck in the coal pile. So intent had he been on meeting the
quota that he had forgotten to fill the dang car. He began working quickly,
filling the cart as fast as possible. But it was a big pile. Soon, sweat was
pouring off him, and he was panting from exertion.
The men who had been working farther down passed them on their way out,
teasing him good-naturedly. “Edmond, still at work? Pick up the pace, boy!”
Without a word, his father turned and walked out with the group, leaving his
only son and heir working in the gloom.
Soon, it was only the sound of his shovel in the coal, and the tiny light of his
headlamp, lighting up the darkness.
Feeling resentful, he gripped his shovel until his knuckles were white, and
worked faster as he mumbled to himself. “Always pushing me. Any other
man would have left with the others. I should have told him I would finish
this tomorrow.”
Rarely was a man in the mines alone. He knew the foreman would be at the
top, waiting for him, so he hurried to finish. It was spooky down here, and
when he stopped shoveling, he could hear little noises in the dark. The drip
of water, a cascade of stones, and were those footsteps?
He froze, with his last shovelful of coal heavy in his hands. His eyes strained
in the darkness. “Who’s there?” he asked, wondering if someone else was
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