Martin King and the Prison of Ice (Martin King Series) by James McGovern, Science Fiction, Teen Books, Paranormal, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Books on Sale, YA Fantasy, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Science Fiction Romance, aliens, cyberpunk, teen
Authors: James McGovern, Science Fiction, Teen Books, Paranormal, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Books on Sale, YA Fantasy, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Science Fiction Romance, aliens, cyberpunk, teen
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couldn’t have been happier.
Slater pressed
a switch on his pocket watch and an invisible shield appeared around their
small camp.
“That should
keep out the insects,” said Slater.
They split the
night into three watches. Slater took the first, Martin took the second, and
Darcy took the third. When it came to his turn, Martin was still awake. He
hadn’t been able to sleep. Instead, he had been talking to Slater in a low
voice, as the nocturnal jungle animals made strange noises.
Slater glanced
at his gold pocket watch. “Well, my time’s up.”
The Axis Lord
got into his bed and closed his eyes. “Good night, Martin.”
“Good night,
sir.”
“Michael.”
“Good night…
Michael. That still sounds weird to say.”
Michael Slater
laughed, and Martin quietly got out of the bed without disturbing Darcy. He
stood listening to the ambience of the planet Wormwood.
*
Martin was still awake when the
first streaks of sunlight pierced the trees. He hadn’t wanted to wake Darcy, so
he had taken the last shift himself. He wouldn’t have been able to sleep
anyway. Slater had disappeared inside Valiant Star to make some coffee.
Darcy opened her eyes as the light touched her eyelids.
“Morning,” said
Martin gently.
She smiled.
“Good morning.” Her eyes were wide and alert. “God, I feel great! I’m not
usually a morning person, but I feel really awake.”
Martin wasn’t a
morning person either, and he hadn’t slept at all during the night. And yet, he
felt wide awake, too. More than that, he felt brimming with energy.
“Intriguing,
isn’t it?” said Slater, coming out of Valiant Star . “I have read the
Colonisation Report. All of the Axis workers on Wormwood reported the same
thing. A sense of well-being, a vital energy.” He placed his pocket watch
against his wrist. “I usually have a slightly irregular heartbeat, but on this
planet my heart is running like clockwork.”
Michael Slater
handed Darcy and Martin a cup of coffee each, and they began to sip it.
“What causes
it?” said Darcy. “The feeling of wellness, I mean.”
“Who knows?
Could be a number of things. Higher than normal oxygen, lower than normal
gravity, a bombardment of negative ions… anyway, are you both hungry?”
They nodded,
and Mr Slater pulled down an armful of purple vines.
“Wormwood vines
are very flammable,” he said, making a bundle of them on the ground in the
middle of the clearing.
Slater turned
to Darcy. “Would you do the honours?”
He stepped
back, and Darcy thrust her hand towards the pile of vines. A flame shot from
her fingertips, igniting the vines. Mr Slater took a plastic packet from his
pocket and ripped it open. It was a packet of bacon.
“Wow, bacon?”
said Darcy, who was feeling very hungry.
Slater nodded.
“Did you buy
that on some alien planet?” said Martin.
“No,” said
Slater. “Sainsbury’s.”
Slater
fashioned a sort of grill out of long sticks on a platform and propped it up
over the fire.
“The sticks
won’t burn,” he explained. “These twigs are actually living creatures, and
they’ve evolved over the centuries to become resistant to heat.”
“Oh, lovely,”
said Darcy, giving the sticks a suspicious glance.
The smell of
cooking bacon soon filled the clearing.
“Doesn’t
cooking outside put us in danger?” said Martin. “What if some wild animal
smells the bacon and ends up eating us instead?”
“That could
happen,” agreed Slater, nodding. “And we could have cooked in Valiant Star ,
of course. In fact, I have a Sustenance Machine in there. But this is more
fun.”
“Yeah, I
suppose it is,” said Martin.
As soon as they
had eaten breakfast, Slater pressed a button on his pocket watch and a hologram
appeared. It was a map.
“I created this
map based on the data in the official reports,” said Slater. “I had very little
to go on, but no Axis Lords have visited Wormwood for over two centuries.”
Slater had
prepared
Slater pressed
a switch on his pocket watch and an invisible shield appeared around their
small camp.
“That should
keep out the insects,” said Slater.
They split the
night into three watches. Slater took the first, Martin took the second, and
Darcy took the third. When it came to his turn, Martin was still awake. He
hadn’t been able to sleep. Instead, he had been talking to Slater in a low
voice, as the nocturnal jungle animals made strange noises.
Slater glanced
at his gold pocket watch. “Well, my time’s up.”
The Axis Lord
got into his bed and closed his eyes. “Good night, Martin.”
“Good night,
sir.”
“Michael.”
“Good night…
Michael. That still sounds weird to say.”
Michael Slater
laughed, and Martin quietly got out of the bed without disturbing Darcy. He
stood listening to the ambience of the planet Wormwood.
*
Martin was still awake when the
first streaks of sunlight pierced the trees. He hadn’t wanted to wake Darcy, so
he had taken the last shift himself. He wouldn’t have been able to sleep
anyway. Slater had disappeared inside Valiant Star to make some coffee.
Darcy opened her eyes as the light touched her eyelids.
“Morning,” said
Martin gently.
She smiled.
“Good morning.” Her eyes were wide and alert. “God, I feel great! I’m not
usually a morning person, but I feel really awake.”
Martin wasn’t a
morning person either, and he hadn’t slept at all during the night. And yet, he
felt wide awake, too. More than that, he felt brimming with energy.
“Intriguing,
isn’t it?” said Slater, coming out of Valiant Star . “I have read the
Colonisation Report. All of the Axis workers on Wormwood reported the same
thing. A sense of well-being, a vital energy.” He placed his pocket watch
against his wrist. “I usually have a slightly irregular heartbeat, but on this
planet my heart is running like clockwork.”
Michael Slater
handed Darcy and Martin a cup of coffee each, and they began to sip it.
“What causes
it?” said Darcy. “The feeling of wellness, I mean.”
“Who knows?
Could be a number of things. Higher than normal oxygen, lower than normal
gravity, a bombardment of negative ions… anyway, are you both hungry?”
They nodded,
and Mr Slater pulled down an armful of purple vines.
“Wormwood vines
are very flammable,” he said, making a bundle of them on the ground in the
middle of the clearing.
Slater turned
to Darcy. “Would you do the honours?”
He stepped
back, and Darcy thrust her hand towards the pile of vines. A flame shot from
her fingertips, igniting the vines. Mr Slater took a plastic packet from his
pocket and ripped it open. It was a packet of bacon.
“Wow, bacon?”
said Darcy, who was feeling very hungry.
Slater nodded.
“Did you buy
that on some alien planet?” said Martin.
“No,” said
Slater. “Sainsbury’s.”
Slater
fashioned a sort of grill out of long sticks on a platform and propped it up
over the fire.
“The sticks
won’t burn,” he explained. “These twigs are actually living creatures, and
they’ve evolved over the centuries to become resistant to heat.”
“Oh, lovely,”
said Darcy, giving the sticks a suspicious glance.
The smell of
cooking bacon soon filled the clearing.
“Doesn’t
cooking outside put us in danger?” said Martin. “What if some wild animal
smells the bacon and ends up eating us instead?”
“That could
happen,” agreed Slater, nodding. “And we could have cooked in Valiant Star ,
of course. In fact, I have a Sustenance Machine in there. But this is more
fun.”
“Yeah, I
suppose it is,” said Martin.
As soon as they
had eaten breakfast, Slater pressed a button on his pocket watch and a hologram
appeared. It was a map.
“I created this
map based on the data in the official reports,” said Slater. “I had very little
to go on, but no Axis Lords have visited Wormwood for over two centuries.”
Slater had
prepared
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