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Chelsea Handler Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (epub
Brit Brinson [Dia of the Dead Dia of the Dead (epub)
Cody Goodfellow [Radiant Dawn Radiant Dawn (epub)
Cate Tiernan [Immortal Belove Immortal Beloved (epub)
Drew Hayes [Super Powereds 02 Super Powereds Year 2 (epub) i
Beth Harbison [Shoe Addict 02 Secrets of a Shoe Addict (epub)
Cara Lynn Shultz [Dark World The Dark World (retail) (epub)
C M Kars [Never Been Kissed Never Been Kissed (epub)
Desiree A Cox [Lust, Desire a Twisted by Desire [MF] (epub) i
Antologia SF Stalo sie jutro Sindbad na RQM 57

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.’‘T-twelve thousand years?’ Becky spluttered.‘Wow,’ Joe gushed.‘Wow, indeed, Joe,’ Uncle Percy said, grabbing his backpack.‘Welcome to the last Ice Age - the Pleistocene epoch, to be precise.’ He opened the door and stepped onto the soft, damp turf.Sliding Bertha’s door open, he said, ‘Now, whatever you do, no wandering off.’‘Err, why?’ Becky’s eyes flicked suspiciously to the undergrowth.‘It’s not dangerous, is it?’‘No, but it is we who are out of our time.You just have to be careful.’‘Careful of what?’‘Well, it is a forest.Forests have animals.But don’t worry - ’‘What kind of animals?’‘Mostly the very cuddly kind, but -’Becky was getting alarmed now.‘- But?’‘But you may get the odd snake, wild boar, grizzly bear and …’ - his voice dropped to something of a mumble - ‘… Sabre-tooth tiger.’‘SABRE-TOOTH TIGER?’‘It’s the Ice Age, what do you expect?’ Uncle Percy shrugged.‘Don’t worry, you’ve met Milly and - ’‘But Milly’s your pet! She’s tame, and -’ Becky’s voice rose to fever pitch.‘- AND THIS IS THE WILD….’‘Stop being such a wuss,’ Joe said, earning himself a twanged ear.‘Wild and wonderful!’ Uncle Percy said.Suddenly, Becky wasn’t so sure what was so wonderful about it.*The moment Bertha left the Time Room, a bitter and unusually heavy wind swept the shingled path to the right hand side of Bowen Hall.A violent explosion of swirling scarlet light cut the air and a huge coal-black Daimler car appeared.Four heavily built men sat in it, each wearing a finely-tailored suit and floor-length, leather trench coat, their emotionless faces masked behind steel-rimmed sunglasses.Otto Kruger stepped out of the time machine with surprising elegance for a man of his size.Standing six foot five inches tall, with cropped flaxen hair and icy green eyes he was perhaps the most fearsome looking man to ever step foot in the grounds of Bowen Hall.Kruger surveyed the lawns.The information he’d received had been correct: the groundsman and the cat were in the outermost field.Good.If truth be told, he wasn’t sure why his employer had warned him about the groundsman, no matter whom he claimed to be.There wasn’t a man, woman or child he couldn’t kill if he wanted to.And he’d had plenty of practice.Still, he had his orders and killing the groundsman wasn’t one of them.It would therefore not happen.Not today, anyway.And that was precisely why his employer had sought him out and recruited him.Otto Kruger always followed orders.Kruger felt pleased with himself.The plan was finally moving forward.Furthermore, for the second time in his life, his orders came from a man he truly respected.And the rewards when the plan was complete - well, they were more than he could have dared imagine.And if the artifact was here, at Bowen Hall, he would certainly find it.*‘But, Jacob, they are but children,’ Maria said, angrily jabbing a feather duster at a rather fragile looking vase.‘This is too much danger for them.They are too young.’Jacob winced.The vase was over a thousand years old.But he also knew that there was no point enraging his wife further.‘And they are babies, just babies,’ Maria continued.‘And this silly travelling may get them killed.’‘The master would never let them come to any harm,’ Jacob said.‘He is the wisest of men.He knows what he is doing.’‘Pah!’ Maria huffed.Then she noticed something in the corner of her eye.She stopped dead in her tracks, her insides ablaze as if doused in boiling oil.‘Hello.’ Otto Kruger smiled cruelly.‘We meet again, so I believe.Now, you will tell me where the children sleep.’At once, Maria turned pale, then deathly white.She was staring at the devil himself.Kruger’s smile widened and he pointed a pistol at Jacob’s head.*‘Let me show you the real reason we’re here,’ Uncle Percy said.Becky looked at Joe and shrugged.They had been walking through dense jungle for ages and seen nothing vaguely interesting.‘Just through here,’ Uncle Percy said, disappearing through a gap in the trees.Becky followed.At once, sunlight blinded her.When her eyes adjusted, she found herself on the top of a cliff overlooking a vast canyon at the base of which were thousands of large animals, covered with long, shaggy, dusty-brown hair and huge curved tusks.‘Are they woolly mammoths?’ Joe asked.‘They are indeed.I call it Mammoth Gorge.Do you like it?’‘It’s amazing,’ Joe replied.‘Isn’t it, Becky?’Becky said nothing.‘Are you all right, Becky?’ Uncle Percy asked.She remained silent.‘Becky?’ For a moment, Uncle Percy felt anxious until he saw her eyes were damp with tears.He gave a knowing smile.He’d reacted the same way when he first saw it.*‘I trust everyone’s hungry?’ Uncle Percy said, spreading a picnic blanket on the ground.They launched into the picnic, and then lay on their backs, watching condors weave the velvet blue sky.Soon, the only sound that could be heard was the soft, rhythmic purr of Joe sleeping.Becky saw this as the ideal opportunity to raise something that had been bothering her.‘Who’s Bernard Preston?’Uncle Percy sat up sharply.‘What?’‘The traveller last night mentioned something about Bernard Preston’s murder and a manuscript.I was wondering who he was.It’s just… I’m sure I’ve heard that name before.’Uncle Percy’s expression became unreadable.‘Well, it’s a common name, but it’s unlikely you’ll know this Bernard Preston.Remember when I said that at Oxford, Professor Locket told my class about the existence of time travel?’‘Yes.’‘Bernard Preston was one of that group.’ Uncle Percy arched his eyebrows, welcoming the opportunity to reminisce.‘There were nine of us in total: myself, Bernard, Mary Blyton, Emerson Drake, Ricardo Nero, Stef Calloway, Malcolm Everidge, Ian Cuthbertson, and Sally Everard.We called ourselves The Otters.The Oxford Time Travel Exploration and Research Society.’‘And are they all time travellers?’‘They certainly were.Malcolm, Ian and Sally are still active.Unfortunately, Emerson Drake was killed in a aeroplane crash.Stef passed away some time ago.Ricardo died last year, and Mary stopped travelling when her children were born.And then, of course, there was Bernard …’‘And how was he…’ Becky hesitated, ‘killed?’Uncle Percy fell silent.‘He was shot in the back.’‘And you’re trying to find out who shot him?’‘Something like that.’‘So how does the manuscript fit in?’‘It’s related to something I believe he was working on.’‘And what was that?’Uncle Percy mouth curled into a bemused smile.‘You really are an inquisitive young lady, aren’t you?’‘Mum reckons I’m just plain nosey.And that I get it from my dad.’Uncle Percy nodded.‘Yes.I believe you do.Bernard was searching for something … searching through time.’‘What?’Uncle Percy hesitated.‘A relic.A very old, very important relic.’‘What relic?’Uncle Percy tilted forwards, his eyes locking on hers.‘The Golden Fleece.’Becky had to suppress a laugh [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]