Read Online Honor Bound by Elaine Cunningham - Free Book Online
Authors: Elaine Cunningham
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away
clean, but there was another found on the shore by the keep,
trussed up like a roasted goose."
"So the first man must have killed
Tymion before he escaped."
"That's what people will think, my
lord, not knowing what we know."
Rhendish did not care for the
conspiratorial gleam in the messenger's eyes. "And what, exactly,
do 'we' know?"
"One of Tymion's own clockwork
guards did for him."
Rhendish resisted the urge to
massage his aching temples. This was a most unwelcome development.
The adept of Kronhus had been an astronomer, not an artificer, and
he had little interest in clockwork. His few clockwork guards had
come from Rhendish's workshops.
"You sound very sure of that. I
wonder why."
In response, the young man held out
a round metal box.
Rhendish snatched it from his hand
and held it up to the light. Yes, the device was his, designed to
seize control of a clockwork device.
"Where did you get this?" he
snarled.
The youth shifted from one foot to
another, but he managed to hold Rhendish's gaze. "I was told to
clean the room. This had rolled under the astrolabe table. The
metal's bright and new-looking, not like the rest of the
guard."
"What makes you think it was part of
the guard?"
"I never thought it was," he said.
"That's my whole point. I wouldn't have put the two together but
for the sap on the back of it. When I was hauling off the metal
guard, I found more of that sap on one side of its helmet. That got
me to thinking. I pried open the box and found gears within. Small,
fine work, the likes of which come only from Heartstone. So I hid
it away, not wanting anyone to wonder where it came from . . . or
what it was meant to do."
Rhendish glanced at Volgo. The
captain gave an almost imperceptible nod and took several silent
steps toward the servant.
"And what did you hope to gain from
this act of discretion?"
The youth squared his shoulders.
"For near on two years now, I've been your eyes and ears in
Tymion's keep. The money's good, but I'm a servant for all that. If
a man's to move up in Sevrin, really move up, alchemy's the path to
take. I'm willing to start as an apprentice."
Behind him, Volgo cast his eyes
skyward and shook his head in disbelief.
"My apprentices are well schooled
before they enter my employ. They must pass rigorous tests before
they are even considered for acceptance." Rhendish lifted one brow.
"Then there's the not inconsiderable matter of an apprentice
fee."
"I proved myself in different ways,"
the servant said stubbornly, "and what I know has got to be worth
an apprentice fee and more."
Rhendish nodded, but not to the
servant.
Volgo reached over the youth's
shoulder and seized his chin. A quick twist, a crack of bone, and
the would-be blackmailer died before his smug little grin could
fade.
The captain let the body drop to the
carpet. "Too clever to live, that boy."
"Don't be an idiot," Rhendish
snapped. " Think ,
man! How many times have you seen a clockwork warrior shoot a
crossbow?"
"Not once. They're not built for
it." His brow furrowed. "A crossbow? Why do you think it was a
crossbow?"
"Never mind that. It was a man, not
a machine, that shot Tymion. If he could breach the adept's
defenses and get close enough to shoot, why bother turning a
clockwork guard against him?"
"If you'd ever crossed swords with
one of those things, you wouldn't ask," Volgo said. "I'd rather
fight beside one than against it."
Rhendish conceded the point with an
impatient shrug. "There's more to it than that. The battalion of
imitation Foxes was a diversion. A deliberately clumsy diversion
designed to make people look around for something more. The use of
clockwork was meant to incriminate me. Whoever killed Tymion meant
to destroy not one adept, but two."
The captain gazed off into the
distance for a long moment. "If that's true, there may be other
attempts. I'll double the guard. It wouldn't hurt to round up the
reds, either."
"Do it. The fools who invaded
Kronhus might have been used in
clean, but there was another found on the shore by the keep,
trussed up like a roasted goose."
"So the first man must have killed
Tymion before he escaped."
"That's what people will think, my
lord, not knowing what we know."
Rhendish did not care for the
conspiratorial gleam in the messenger's eyes. "And what, exactly,
do 'we' know?"
"One of Tymion's own clockwork
guards did for him."
Rhendish resisted the urge to
massage his aching temples. This was a most unwelcome development.
The adept of Kronhus had been an astronomer, not an artificer, and
he had little interest in clockwork. His few clockwork guards had
come from Rhendish's workshops.
"You sound very sure of that. I
wonder why."
In response, the young man held out
a round metal box.
Rhendish snatched it from his hand
and held it up to the light. Yes, the device was his, designed to
seize control of a clockwork device.
"Where did you get this?" he
snarled.
The youth shifted from one foot to
another, but he managed to hold Rhendish's gaze. "I was told to
clean the room. This had rolled under the astrolabe table. The
metal's bright and new-looking, not like the rest of the
guard."
"What makes you think it was part of
the guard?"
"I never thought it was," he said.
"That's my whole point. I wouldn't have put the two together but
for the sap on the back of it. When I was hauling off the metal
guard, I found more of that sap on one side of its helmet. That got
me to thinking. I pried open the box and found gears within. Small,
fine work, the likes of which come only from Heartstone. So I hid
it away, not wanting anyone to wonder where it came from . . . or
what it was meant to do."
Rhendish glanced at Volgo. The
captain gave an almost imperceptible nod and took several silent
steps toward the servant.
"And what did you hope to gain from
this act of discretion?"
The youth squared his shoulders.
"For near on two years now, I've been your eyes and ears in
Tymion's keep. The money's good, but I'm a servant for all that. If
a man's to move up in Sevrin, really move up, alchemy's the path to
take. I'm willing to start as an apprentice."
Behind him, Volgo cast his eyes
skyward and shook his head in disbelief.
"My apprentices are well schooled
before they enter my employ. They must pass rigorous tests before
they are even considered for acceptance." Rhendish lifted one brow.
"Then there's the not inconsiderable matter of an apprentice
fee."
"I proved myself in different ways,"
the servant said stubbornly, "and what I know has got to be worth
an apprentice fee and more."
Rhendish nodded, but not to the
servant.
Volgo reached over the youth's
shoulder and seized his chin. A quick twist, a crack of bone, and
the would-be blackmailer died before his smug little grin could
fade.
The captain let the body drop to the
carpet. "Too clever to live, that boy."
"Don't be an idiot," Rhendish
snapped. " Think ,
man! How many times have you seen a clockwork warrior shoot a
crossbow?"
"Not once. They're not built for
it." His brow furrowed. "A crossbow? Why do you think it was a
crossbow?"
"Never mind that. It was a man, not
a machine, that shot Tymion. If he could breach the adept's
defenses and get close enough to shoot, why bother turning a
clockwork guard against him?"
"If you'd ever crossed swords with
one of those things, you wouldn't ask," Volgo said. "I'd rather
fight beside one than against it."
Rhendish conceded the point with an
impatient shrug. "There's more to it than that. The battalion of
imitation Foxes was a diversion. A deliberately clumsy diversion
designed to make people look around for something more. The use of
clockwork was meant to incriminate me. Whoever killed Tymion meant
to destroy not one adept, but two."
The captain gazed off into the
distance for a long moment. "If that's true, there may be other
attempts. I'll double the guard. It wouldn't hurt to round up the
reds, either."
"Do it. The fools who invaded
Kronhus might have been used in
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