“Very well,” said Rinka. “He’s…”
Alison noticed the blush on Rinka’s grey cheek as she turned to look at him.
“It’s just for the summer,” said Rinka, sounding as though she was trying to convince herself as much as Alison. “But I’m having a wonderful time.”
“I’m so glad to hear it,” said Alison.
Keir and Idris approached them once more. “It’s time for the demonstration,” said Keir. “Is everything ready?”
“I hope so,” said Alison. She hoped the korrigans would come through.
A crowd had gathered on the opposite side of the drive from the main celebration. There was a narrow stream there that met the river south of town, and a dam had been constructed across it from concrete, widening the stream behind it into a pond.
“The future of Herot’s Hollow, if we’re unsuccessful,” said Gwenla as she walked over to join them.
The dam allowed a small amount of water through an opening at the top, which sent it streaming into the low creek bed beyond like a fountain. There was also a blocked opening at the bottom in front of a round pillar which was currently stationary.
On the other side, they had set up a table with a music-player on top of it. It was the kind that ran on ‘lectrics in Arcas Dyrne, with a great box beneath it for amplifying the sound. A long cord ran to a box near the top of the pillar.
The king approached, flanked by Lord Ainsley and a pair of dwarves. Keir gripped Alison’s hand when he saw his father.
“I should have spoken with him before you found Charlotte,” he said. “I’m not sure I can do it now without resorting to violence.”
“There’s no rush,” said Alison. “I imagine he’s so preoccupied with cozying up to the king, he won’t even notice you here.”
She was right—Lord Ainsley did not appear to spot his son in the crowd.
“Your majesty,” he began with a bow. “Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for gathering here today to witness a most extraordinary sight. I bring you the future of Wilderise—plentiful ‘lectric power for all, generated for free from our own natural resources. Andsaz, if you please.”
“Andsaz? Of Andsaz Industries?” asked Alison. “That’s my former employer.” Alison had known her employer was involved in construction works among their many other ventures, but it had not occurred to her that they might be involved in the Wilderise modernization scheme.
“He must have driven that other one off. Or the vine did, I suppose,” said Gwenla. This was indeed a different dwarf than the one Lord Ainsley had brought to town a few months prior.
Andsaz went over to the demonstration dam and moved a lever on the side. The water ceased flowing from the top and began to flow at the bottom instead. As the water reached the pillar, it began to turn. Then there was a whirring of gears followed by a crackle of sound from the music-player.
The slow, distorted sound of a brass band playing a march began. The tune shifted in and out of pitch before finally settling into the recognizable tune of Loegria’s national anthem.
“Bravo!” shouted the king. The crowd echoed the cheer.
Alison looked at Gwenla nervously. “Any minute now…”
As the song continued, it began to speed up. Andsaz fumbled with the lever and the gears before running over to the music-player, trying to understand what could be going wrong.
“Just a little bit too lively there,” he yelled to the crowd over the music, which was climbing higher and higher in pitch. “Just bear with me a moment…”
Alison saw what was happening. The water coming through the base of the dam was rushing far too fast. The pillar was spinning wildly, looking like a top about to go flying off a table.
“That’s it!” said Gwenla. “Look—”
Andsaz shouted as the music-player made a loud booming sound, smoke rising from the box below. Then there was a series of loud cracks, almost like the sound of the royal family shifting form, but the king had not changed. He was backing away from the dam, his livid eyes on Lord Ainsley, who leapt over the creek bed to help Andsaz in a panic.
Moments after his jump, water began to shoot through the cracks which were now visible in the dam wall. “It won’t hold,” yelled Idris. “Run!”
The crowd ran in a panic, stumbling up the bank as the dam burst behind them. Alison turned back to look as a surprising amount of water—an unnatural amount—rushed forth in its collapse, tipping over the music-player and sweeping Lord Ainsley and Andsaz off their feet.
And then just as quickly, it was over. The water receded, leaving Lord Ainsley and Andsaz drenched but unharmed on the ground among the chunks of broken concrete and shattered ‘lectrics from the music-player.
“They came through!” said Gwenla and then caught herself before anyone heard her speaking of the korrigans, who had undoubtedly been responsible for the sudden surge in water level. “The duke and the industrialist,” she clarified. “Everyone is alright.”
