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“Hey, Jade,” a few of the villagers greeted her
“‘Evening, everyone,” she said as she passed by on her way to hang her jacket on a hook in the far corner
The tavern was as faintly lit as the streets Candles on the long wooden tables and sconces hanging on the stone walls provided the only illu of a twig or dried needles set against a flaarette
Electricity, as, was not a coo that the
huain with the warlord serving as steward in their region and he had perer communities The technique employed was rumored to be circa late-nineteenth century, when electricity first made its way into homes in America
Thus far, the biggest concession in that vein the easterners had achieved wascondensers fueled by fire that boiled the liquid and pued pipes created condensation that turned into drinkable water This e blocks cut froeneral purposes as well as sterilized cubes
The blocks were good for packing erators in order to keep perishable iteh in the winter, that was hardly necessary, since the units could be moved outdoors and they’d be equally effective without any ice at all Cos at the tavern would be intermittently stored out back in the thick banks of snow and ularly to ensure the beer remained cold, but didn’t freeze
Since Jade had never lived in a world with electricity, she didn’t miss it She could preparepurified water for a bath, cooking and drinking was by far a greater necessity in her mind
A smaller concession was that transportation by way of horses and wagons were allowed, as were the occasional stea the restoration of a main coast-to-coast railroad The demons themselves preferred their oo feet—or four, in the case of various ani black Arabians they were prone to breed
Modern creature comforts, it seemed, were of little use to the de plants or advanced technology Unfortunately, the humans who’d lived before the wars and had survived them suffered because of lack of innovation, but most had adapted to rustic life
On the plus side, do had not been outlawed and breweries in the west shipped kegs of beer to the east When business was good for the tavern, particularly in the winter when the villagers weren’t tending to outdoor crops and instead were bellied up to the bar for warmth and companionship, they were also able to acquire a few casks of wine and brandy The owner, Michael Hadley, had built his own distillery for vodka
After yanking off her gloves and stuffing them in her coat pocket, Jade stoked the fire in the tall hearth She then rounded the bar, where Michael served beers to the regulars gathered at the counter The pine surface was deeply scarred, but nobody seemed to , so as to not perch it precariously in a groove
“Damn cold out there, isn’t it?” he asked her
“Still , hard winter After today, on’t be seeing the ground for another six months”
Jinx Cromley was the local psychic who had plenty to say about everything Jade enjoyed his ras for the most part, but never paid much attention when it came to his forecasts that the human world would someday more closely resemble what it had been at the turn of the millennium