Lumière (The Illumination Paradox) by Jacqueline E. Garlick Page A

me. To try and put an end to this madness that plagues me. To save me from a life locked up in an asylum.
    The one he sold,
    Before he bothered to fix me.
    Then died,
    And left me here,
    Still defective.
    To fight this demon,
    All alone.
    The smoke in my mind turns from grey to black, the world around me erasing...slowly…
    I wish you’d never invented it,
    Never sought a solution—
    Never let me believe there was hope…
    I wish I’d never been born defective,
    I wish I’d never been born at all…
    I wish I could reverse everything—
    Everything, that’s happened…
     

 
     

    P ART T WO

     
     

 
     
     
    F ive
     
    Urlick
     
    I squint, guiding the carriage through the dark, dank, criminal woods, drifting through fog as thick as pudding in spots. Nothing but the clomp of Clementine’s hooves and the jingle of her tack to keep me company. Not so much as a whimper out of the stowaway cargo in back.
    I hope she’s still alive.
    I look over my shoulder, at the silent carriage bobbing along behind, seeing the girl’s face as she clung to the roof—the sheer grit and determination in her eyes. What kind of a girl acts like that? Forcing her way up onto the property of a total stranger, hiking up her skirts and running at the speed of a broke rhythm racehorse? Better still, what kind of a girl dares to wander the markets of Gears without a chaperone? Clearly, one that doesn’t know any better.
    I wonder where she’s from. Certainly not Gears. It has to be Brethren, there’s no other choice. What could she be running from, a waif like that? What could she possibly have done to drive her to flee the safety of her world for the likes of this one? I look around. No one in his or her right mind would intentionally do that.
    “Oh, good, Lord,” I gasp. “Please don’t tell me.” Clementine whinnies. “I haven’t just kidnapped a girl, have I?”
    Clementine swings her long sad face around and sighs heavily.
    “You’re right,” I say. “She came of her own volition, didn’t she? Didn’t she? You’ll vouch for me, won’t you old girl?”
    Clementine snorts.
    “Good, as long as we’re in agreement.” I pull on the reins, bringing her to a stop in front of the barn outside the house, feeling the rush of worried heat subside from my cheeks. I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to be home. Then it dawns on me. What am I going to do with the girl now? I can’t possibly let her in the house.
    I swing down from the coachbox into a pool of swirling fog, patting Clementine on the haunches. Evening mist hangs thick from her nostrils. Vapours crowd the summit of the escarpment on the horizon.
    “It won’t be long now before they spill down over the hillside, eh girl?” I stare up at the swirling clouds, willing them away. “Wretched things, contaminating everything in their path.” I tug at her laces. “Blasted Vapours. And their deathly tentacles.”
    Clementine snorts again.
    My eyes drift onto the handle of the carriage. “You don’t suppose she’s died back there? She hasn’t made a sound in clicks.” Clementine whinnies, stretching her lips back toward the door. “I know, I know. I’ll let her out, don’t worry”—I pull on a strap—“as soon as I figure out the best way to go about it.”
    The stowaway stirs inside the carriage, sending me shuffling backward, my spine slapping up against Clementine’s withers. My heart rattles like a bag full of snakes. Never in all my life have I been this nervous.
    What’s the matter with me? What do I care what this stranger thinks? Besides, it’s not like she’s in any position to judge. She’s the one who forced her way into my carriage, I’ve not invited her here. I tug at the tails of my waistcoat. And why my carriage? There were plenty of carriages parked in the square. What made her gravitate to this old square box?
    Clementine reaches around, nudges me with her muzzle. “Don’t push me,” I shove her off, “I’m getting to