Read Online Heroes' Reward by Moira J. Moore - Free Book Online Page B

his practice of violating customs and laws, the council felt we had no
choice but to add a new focus to our own activities.”
    He opened the
door. “We must get going. It takes me a while to shift anywhere these days.
Grab your things. You’ll be staying at the Arena from now on.”
    “Surely you have
more important things to do,” Taro objected.
    “Aye.”
Saint-Gerard grinned. “But I had to take this opportunity to see you. I’m still
at the Source Academy, and we’re both going to be too busy for casual visits. I
don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again, if this all goes as dark as it
looks it might.”
    Saint-Gerard led
us through the back of the building, across a lush green lawn, and to a high
stone wall. I could hear on the other side some kind of shouting. Not constant,
not screaming. I couldn’t determine the exact nature of it, and I couldn’t
properly hear the words.
    We stepped
through an iron door onto another stretch of grass, several acres large. In the
dead centre of the field were six long buildings, three stories high.
Surrounding them, chaos. People riding horses in tight circles and jumping over
high obstacles. People sparring by hand and with staves and other objects
grabbed up from the area. To one side, a large collection of people were moving
around in unison, marching in lines.
    “Is he reading
out of a book?” Taro demanded incredulously, pointing at a man who was
organizing the marching and who did indeed appear to be reading the orders from
a text.
    Saint-Gerard
shrugged. “No one really knows how to organize military manoeuvres anymore. At
least, none of those who’ve come here do.”
    This was just
crazy. “And the others, the subordinates, they just accept that level of
incompetence? Are they suicidal?”
    “They’re paid,”
Saint-Gerard responded. “Twice as much as they were given by the Crown. And
they’re supplied with shelter and food. Many of them feel they’re rolling in
wealth and it’s bought us their loyalty.”
    “Where do you
get the coin?” Taro asked.
    “From the
Crown.”
    “They give you
money to lure their own people away?”
    “They don’t know
that’s where the money is going. It’s possible the council has been reporting
slightly higher expenses than we had. For a few years.”
    Why did I
suspect that slightly was actually massively and a few years actually meant decades ?
    One of the
marching individuals fell. I couldn’t see what she’d tripped on. Perhaps her
own feet. “And how did you lure in the Runners?”
    “The same way.
With coin.”
    “And they know
what this is about?”
    “They know
enough. Gifford has been interfering with the management of the Runners, as
well. From what I understand, the assignment of duties, promotions, and
punishments among the ranks of the Runners have begun making even less sense
than usual, and this has created a great deal of animosity.”
    As we walked
closer to those marching people, I recognized someone I’d never expected to see
again, and I was surprised into exclaiming, “Risa!”
    Risa Demaris had
been a Runner in High Scape. I’d met her during an investigation when Taro had
been abducted, and she had been the only one to forgive me when I was the one
to actually find him. Sort of accidentally.
    Risa had been
friendly and kind, and she had broken Runner protocol and regulations whenever
she felt Taro and I needed to be warned of dangerous forces moving about the
city. She had also been underpaid and bitter about it. This combined with very
expensive tastes meant she had been in debt the whole time I’d known her.
    Alerted by my
shout, she stepped back from her position to see who was calling her. She
grinned and nonchalantly broke formation, ignoring the admonishments of her
commanding officer – or whatever he was – to trot over to me.
    She gave me an
enthusiastic hug, then tugged on a lock of Taro’s hair. “Karish!” And then, all
of a sudden, her manner shifted to one of