Shadow on the Sun (28 page)

CHAPTER ∞

Prometheus Basin

South Pole, Mars

ANNOS MARTIS
229. 2. 19. 13:13

 

 

Vienne and I stand on the precipice of Prometheus Basin. In the makeshift camp behind us, cobbled together from bits and pieces from shacks, debris, and, in large part, the power sled that brought them here, Fuse, Áine, and Maeve are celebrating the birth of the first child born to these parts in a generation. Jenkins, who donated his overcoat to keep the infant snug, doesn't seem as thrilled, but I think he's warming to the idea of a playmate. Every time it cries, the baby reminds us that Mars does have a future.

About the other miners and the Brothers Koumanov, we haven't heard yet. We remain hopeful. Vienne says that Nikolai and his brothers are slippery enough to survive a nuclear blast. I agree about the slippery part.

Vienne runs her fingers through her hair, removing the last of the black ribbons. She gathers them in her bandaged left hand and then tosses them into the wind.

“One eye,” I whisper, and kiss her temple. “One hand,” I say, and hold her left hand in mine.

“One heart,” she says, and rests her head against mine.

“One more sickly sweet word,” Mimi says, “and I swear, I am going to hurl.”

“You can't hurl,” I say, “you've got no stomach.”

“Not for this mushy stuff.”

“Is this better?” I say to Mimi. And then say aloud, “ ‘One equal temper of heroic hearts, / made weak by time and fate, but strong in will / To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.' ”

“Is that Tennyson?” Vienne asks.

“That it is,” I say. “From
Ulysses
.”

“Finally! You remembered!” Mimi says. “I recited that poem to you a hundred times!”

“Seventy-three times, to be precise,” I say, kissing Vienne on the cheek. “But no one is counting anymore.”

Once upon a time, as Regulators, the best that Vienne and I could hope for was Beautiful Death. That, too, has changed. With Vienne's head on my shoulder, my arm around her waist, our hands locked together, I can look across the plains where the clouds are breaking and see a future for Mars. It's not the one that my father planned for me, but it's one I can live with.

About the Author

DAVID MACINNIS GILL
is a former high school teacher. In a starred review,
Kirkus
called his first novel,
Soul Enchilada
, an “action-packed power-punch of a debut.” www.davidmacinnisgill.com

 

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Credits

Cover art © 2013 by Cliff Nielsen

Cover design by Paul Zakris

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.

 

Shadow on the Sun

Copyright © 2013 by David Macinnis Gill

 

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

 

ISBN 978-0-06-207335-8 (trade ed.)

EPUB Edition FEBRUARY 2013 ISBN 9780062073372

 

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FIRST EDITION