Clockwork Goddess (The Lesbia Chronicles) by Loki Renard Read Free Book Online Page B

said, extending an elegant hand to pat Liz on her braided head. "I'm afraid it takes a very specific sort of power to summon the mother of witches."
     
    "Specifically, it takes power," Vix deadpanned from her hiding place behind Kira's tent where she and Moon peeked out, keeping an eye on the goings on.
     
    It was no surprise Liz didn't hear her. She was too busy being pleased with herself. The fact that she had not summoned Ariadne was of no concern. She had summoned something. Something with an interest in decorating.
     
    Having greeted Liz, Adrianne set to floating about the camp. Wherever she went flowers sprang up, covering military tents in trailing blooms. The once austere camp was soon transformed into a floral glade, rich with greenery and blooms.
     
    Kira was not at all impressed, nor was Aeron. Their expressions were similarly horrified as everything precise and neat turned to riotous color, leaves and vines entwining in weapon racks, covering the bars of prison cages and spreading over everything as far as the eye could see.
     
    Whatever the being was, she seemed to have just one purpose - and she soon fulfilled it. Having turned the military camp into a riotous garden, Adrianne stepped back into the sun and was gone.
     
    "Prayers of all and any kinds are banned from here on out," Kira said crossly, her voice gruff with irritation. "Aeron, gather a party to clean this place up. I want it in shape within the hour, or it will be your hide."
     
    Aeron shot her commander a confused look. "Why not Liz? This is her doing."
     
    "Less questions, more action," Kira snapped.
     
    "Fewer questions," Vix corrected quietly in the background. She was ignored yet again, for Kira was too busy glaring daggers at Aeron.
     
    Sensing a real threat to the continued comfort of her flesh, Aeron soon moved to do Kira's bidding leaving Liz beaming between Kira and Ayla, inordinately proud of the mess she had made.
     
    "I summoned a goddess," she said in hushed, awed tones which reflected not on the majesty of Adrianne, but how impressed she was with herself. "I must be a summoner."
     

 
    Chapter Eight
     
    Retreating behind the tent, Vix rolled her eyes at Moon. "Can you believe this? The fool thinks she is a summoner. She's not a summoner's fart."
     
    Moon giggled, holding her pipe in her teeth as she struck a fresh light. "Let her have her fun. She's an excellent distraction."
     
    "I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with this," Vix muttered. "That Liz is completely insufferable. She's stupid, that's what she is. So stupid she doesn't even know she's stupid..."
     
    "We have a long way to go, so you better find a way," Moon puffed on her pipe, then offered it to Vix. "Want some?"
     
    "No thank you," Vix said. "Messes up my concentration."
     
    Out in the camp, Aeron had six soldiers dragging flowers and vines out of weapon racks and tents. Kira had returned to her tent, whilst Liz first excitedly proclaimed her powers to Ayla, then remembered that she hated her and wandered off, looking for someone else to tell.
     
    Moon and Vix shuffled further back into their little lair behind Kira's tent, away from the others where they would not be noticed. Smoking and whittling, they passed the time as Aeron's growling and cursing floated through the camp.
     
    There was much work to be done. Moon blended various herbs and smoked them whilst Vix began assembling a contraption. She was soon at a particularly delicate stage of her hengineering, several bits and pieces of carefully carved wood stacked together, interlocking levers and gears turning round and round.
     
    "What are you two doing?" Ayla's smooth tones interrupted their industry. Vix panicked, swept the entire mechanism into her knapsack and sat on it. Across the way, Moon let tendrils of smoke escape her nostrils in a display of perfect unconcern.
     
    "Nothing," Vix said, her mouth dry.
     
    "It doesn't feel like nothing," Ayla said, locking eyes with Vix. "It