Free 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 Page B

in the corner of his eye. He turned his head. A small boy—he could
only have been eight or nine—was running past them over the sand. He was
wearing strange clothes: a velvet jacket and a waistcoat, along with a pocket
watch chain.
    “He’s human,”
said Laser Wolf, frowning. “I wonder how he got here…”
    Tommy had
already started after the boy; his legs were much longer and he quickly caught
him up.
    “Stop!” said
Tommy. “I’m trying to help you.”
    The boy stopped
running. He turned to Tommy, confused, ready to run again.
    “It’s OK,” said
Tommy gently. “I just want to help. Now, how did you get here?”
    The boy
suddenly began to cry. “I was… I was… playing with my friends and I suddenly
appeared here,” he managed, between sobs.
    Tommy frowned
at the boy. His clothes were very old-fashioned.
    “What year are
you from?” said Tommy.
    “Pardon, sir?”
said the boy.
    “I mean… what
year do you think it is?”
    “1850, of
course,” said the boy, blinking at Tommy with tearful eyes.
    “1850,”
repeated Tommy blankly. “Right, OK. Well, what’s your name?”
    “Arthur, sir.”
    “OK, Arthur.
Let’s find out what’s going on.”
    Tommy led the
little boy across the beach back towards Laser Wolf and Fire Opal. Tommy
explained what had happened, and Laser Wolf frowned.
    “Do you
remember where you appeared on the beach—the exact spot?”
    The boy nodded
faintly.
    “Show me.”
    Arthur led the
three of them across the beach towards the waves, where the sand was damp.
There was a small rock pool on the beach, filled with shrimps and other sea
creatures.
    “About here,”
said Arthur.
    Laser Wolf took
his pocket watch out from his pocket to scan the area. He flicked a tiny switch
and the air shimmered; there was some sort of portal right next to the rock
pool.
    “What’s that?”
breathed Tommy.
    “A time fissure
of some sort,” said Laser Wolf, “a fracture in reality.”
    The Axis Lord
put a hand through the portal, and then his entire head.
    “Look,” he
said.
    Tommy put his
head through the portal. On the other side, he could see a Victorian street. It
looked like a wealthy area. A horse and cart was riding past and young
well-dressed boys were playing by the side of the road.
    “Looks like
your friends are waiting for you,” said Tommy.
    The boy stared
suspiciously at the portal. “Through there ?” he said.
    Laser Wolf
nodded. “It’s perfectly safe, I promise. You stepped through a rip in the
fabric of time. Back through that tear is your home.”
    The boy still
looked reluctant. Laser Wolf took his hand.
    “Come on, I’ll
go with you.”
    The boy nodded.
Laser Wolf led Arthur through the gap, and a few seconds later returned alone.
    “He’s safe
now,” said Laser Wolf, fiddling with his pocket watch. “Let me see if I can…”
    The portal
began to shrink, until it had vanished completely.
    “There,” said
Laser Wolf. “I closed it.”
    “But I wonder
what opened it,” said Fire Opal.
    At that moment,
a man came striding along the beach, panting breathlessly. He was wearing a
black suit jacket; his hair was white and his eyes were purple.
    “Ah, you’ve
closed it,” he said. “Good, good. Did you check where the portal had opened
this time?”
    Laser Wolf
frowned. “This planet, London, 1850.”
    The other Axis
Lord sighed. “Always this planet… always this damned planet… sorry, I’m
forgetting my manners. My name is Agamon.”
    Tommy
recognised the name, and suddenly realised that he recognised the man, too. He
had met Agamon when he was travelling with Martin and Darcy to, supposedly,
save the Axis Lords. But it had been a trap, and they had ended up being
captured by pirates. Agamon clearly recognised Tommy as well.
    “Oh, it’s you !”
he said, and shook Tommy’s hand. “Good to see you again.”
    “Good to see
me? Last time we met you tricked us into being captured!”
    “No, no.”
Agamon shook his head. “The Wheelmaster had