Read Online The Unwilling Aviator (Book 4) by Heidi Willard - Free Book Online

teenagers. "Ya haven't even tried the stuff and ya already say it's bad. Give it a chance before ya start complaining." He marched down the hall after Ned.
    "I think he is right," Ruth softly agreed.
    Pat pursed her lips, but nodded. "He may be right. Let's at least try the food before we make any final judgments."
    "And hope the final judgment isn't our final judgment," Percy joked.
    The four of them walked downstairs and found Canto and Ned at a large table against the wall to the right of the stairs. There were two dozen other tables, and three-quarters of them were full. People played cards and made shady deals over plates of steaming food, and Pat admitted, but only to herself, that the food didn't smell half bad. More torches were lit along the walls to keep back the coming darkness outside as the sun dropped below the horizon created by the cliffs. The table easily fit the six of them, and the noise of the room ensured they wouldn't easily be overheard.
    Ti bounced over to them with a smile on her lips and three trays balanced on one arm against her ample anchors. "What can I get for you?" she asked them.
    "The cheapest the house has to offer, and some information on him," Ned replied. He nodded to a fellow a few tables away. The man wore a stained jacket with a tight-rimmed hat, and he was downing a half-gallon glass of drink that wasn't lemonade. "Is he an aviator?" he asked Ti.
    She glanced at where his gaze lay and sighed. "He is, but somebody would be doing him a favor if they would keep him out of the skies. His name's Crash Enburn. He's signed up for the tournament, but in that condition he's bound to hurt more than himself. Hugh and I are resting our hopes on him not finding a squire in time so he'll be disqualified."
    "Aviators have squires to carry their equipment?" Pat wondered.
    Ti laughed. "No, they do that themselves. It's a tradition for the aviators to carry their kites up the long stairway to the cliffs as a show of their trials and perseverance. What squires do is go up in the air with them and give the kites balance and a second pilot in case something goes wrong with the aviator," she told them.
    "Is this flying very dangerous?" Ruth asked her.
    Ti pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes. Hardly a year goes by where someone isn't injured or killed, but the aviators know the risks and go up there knowing the winds will do with them what it wills."
    "Ti, our kegs!" one of the tables shouted.
    Ti reached into her pocket and dropped a small menu onto the table. "I'll be right back," she promised, and bounced away to deliver one of the three trays. Pat picked up the menu while the mens' attention was on the woman.
    Percy watched her go with appreciation that went beyond her ability to juggle trays. "She has her brother's balance," he commented.
    Pat set down the menu and looked around the table. "Where is Sins?" she wondered.
    Canto jerked his head toward one of the darker corners. A dark figure sat in the shadows at one of the tables. "He's been brooding there watching his sister since we came down."
    "He's very kind to watch over his sister," Ruth defended him. More than one man in the room cast rueful glances at the cloaked assassin, and no one made a physical pass at Ti.
    "Aye, like a mother hen watching her chick," Canto chuckled.
    Ti returned with two fewer trays and a smile on her face. "Now what'll it be? We have one of the best cooks in the city and a ready supply of food from the region."
    Pat raised an eyebrow. "How did this place manage to get one of the best cooks in the city?"
    "Hugh is fond of good food and he's willing to pay well for a good meal," she replied.
    "Before we get started, there is something I would dearly like to know that I believe only you can answer," Percy told Ti.
    Ti smiled and shook her head. "If it's about my brother then I can only answer so much. He's made me promise not to speak too much about him," she warned him.
    "Not even why he decided to become an assassin? He seems