Read Online All The King's-Men (The Yellow Hoods, #3) by Adam Dreece - Free Book Online Page A

had always come down to his faith in the man.
    Nikolas closed his eyes and rubbed his bald head as he thought. He muttered to himself as he tried to determine how Marcus could have done such a thing. Finally, he opened his eyes, his hand over his mouth in surprise. “The old candlemaker, Alan Waxman. I remember noticing that the bylaws had been changed when he fell ill. That was you, yes?”
    Marcus’ steely eyes told Nikolas that it had gone much deeper than that.
    “But how did you do this so early?” asked Nikolas, leaning forward.
    Marcus waved at a barmaid as she rushed by before turning back to Nikolas, unsure how he wanted to answer.
    “Back in a second!” she yelled over her shoulder.
    Leaning forward on his elbows, Marcus glanced around to see who was listening, as if anyone could hear over the ruckus. “After I took control of the remains of the Fare by… means that were less than savory, I moved quickly to undermine the Tub. They were already highly dysfunctional. Their leadership was old, worn, and about to change hands. Successors were not obvious yet, so I acted quickly. 
    “As candidates came and went, I had new laws put on the books. I had the ethos changed. When you got involved, I knew it would be relatively harmless. Yes, there were some skirmishes here and there between the Tub and the Fare, but that was more often than not with remnants of the Fare that wouldn’t follow my lead, rather than with anything I was doing.
    “I couldn’t have the Tub undermining what needed to be done. They were supporting the status quo—a status quo that still allowed our kind to be killed or jailed without question.”
    Nikolas scratched his beard as he tried to remember his Tub history. “So this was all before Eleanor DeBoeuf took her role. How did you convince her? She—”
    “Everyone has a price, a weakness, or a blind spot. Except maybe Samuel Baker, you’ll be happy to know. He’s a different matter altogether. I have high respect for the man.”
    Nikolas rubbed his chin, thinking of Tee’s other grandfather. 
    Marcus smiled. “Those that you can’t attack directly…”
    “You render unable to harm you,” said Nikolas, quoting a popular saying in military history.
    Marcus nodded.
    Nikolas was impressed. “Very well-executed,” he said, in genuine appreciation of the complexities involved. “Anna was a dangerous wildcard, yes?”
    “To be honest, I never intended for her to take the role she did. I made a mistake; rare, I know. For a long time she was simply disruptive to DeBoeuf and Baker, and then when I took DeBoeuf out of the equation, it surprised me to find Anna Maucher taking the leadership reins of the Tub. It wasn’t long before I heard of the peace deal she wanted. My spies told me, however, that she had no real support from the factions that made up the Tub.”
     “What may I offer you gentlemen this evening?” asked the barmaid.
    Nikolas recognized her from earlier, when he’d been by the fireplace.
    “Alright, everyone!” boomed a decorated military man at the entrance. “Time to haul out. We leave at dawn and we’ve got a long march to camp. Let’s go!”
    Nikolas understood the words, but couldn’t place the language at first. “Karuptaf?” whispered Nikolas to Marcus.
    Marcus thought about it for a moment, then nodded. He leaned over the side of his chair and watched the soldiers drop their coins, collect their things, and start to head out. “I wouldn’t have thought them from Karupto,” said Marcus, thinking.
    “Does Abeland still write you letters every month?” asked Nikolas.
    Marcus eyed Nikolas suspiciously.
    “You always wear that expression when you’re worried about Abeland.”
    Marcus sighed, letting out a half-laugh. He’d been around geniuses and master inventors all his life, but there was no one like Nikolas.
    He paused for a moment before smiling at the barmaid, who had been standing there patiently. “I’m sorry, my dear.”
    “No