Read Online Twiceborn Endgame (The Proving Book 3) by Marina Finlayson - Free Book Online
Authors: Marina Finlayson
Ads: Link
yet if it wanted to be a beard. There was a sharp intake of breath from the goblin, still seated on the stone coping of the fountain. Now he was sitting up straight, looking almost eager.
“This is Ken Thomas,” said Ben. “He’s an old friend.”
The herald went down on one knee and offered me the usual thick beige envelope. I glanced again at Blue. What was his problem? He’d had such a look of anticipation on his face for a moment there, as if waiting for a show to start. He stared back, now all butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth.
Had Ken hunted him down for a job he didn’t want to perform, just as Ben had? But that smile had a gloating quality to it, as if he knew something I didn’t.
I turned back to Ken and studied him for a moment. His herald’s charm, a tiny silver representation of Hermes, messenger of the gods, hung in full view on his chest. As far as I could tell, it was genuine, but Ben would have checked that.
Besides, Ben knew him. I met Ben’s gaze, unaccountably troubled by that look on the goblin’s face and his involuntary gasp. It was fairly safe to assume at this point that anything that would please the goblin probably wasn’t good news for me. I wasn’t exactly his favourite person at the moment.
“How old a friend? Like Nada?”
He frowned. Nada had been no friend of ours. But she had worn a goblin seeming to the Presentation Ball. Fortunately Ben was smart enough to make the connection.
“I haven’t seen Sarah in ages,” he said to the man still patiently kneeling at my feet. “I hope she’s well?”
Ken’s eyes flicked to the side. Chitchat in the middle of a delivery was an odd departure from the usual routine.
“Fine, thanks,” he said after a moment.
In reply, Ben launched himself and drove the herald to the ground. I leapt back, nearly landing on Blue’s lap. The man wriggled like a fish on a hook beneath Ben. I saw something flash silver in the sunlight as his hand came up, but then Steve and Garth joined the fray, and he was no match for their combined muscle.
Ben climbed to his feet and brushed grass off his clothes. “You okay?”
“Fine.” It hadn’t been me rolling around on the grass. His face was pale. He’d probably hurt his bad arm with that little manoeuvre. At this rate it was never going to heal properly. “Who’s our visitor?”
Garth had the man flat on his face, his arms pulled back at a painful angle, with one of the big werewolf’s knees in his back. Steve’s gun was out, aimed directly at his head. The herald—or whoever he was—lay still. Sensible guy.
“I don’t know, but it’s not Ken. I’m sorry, he had me fooled. I should never have let him in.”
“Who’s Sarah?”
“Ken’s wife. She’s been dead for years.”
“Oh.” So someone had had the same idea as me—a goblin seeming. Jason had probably called in the real Ken on some pretext and managed to swipe a hair. “Is he armed?”
Ben gave me a reproachful look. “We searched him before we brought him out.”
“Search again,” I said to Garth. What was that flash I’d seen?
To my surprise—and to Garth’s—the man began to struggle. Garth punched him in the side of the head and he lay still again. Garth didn’t believe in pulling his punches. When he punched someone, they stayed punched.
“He’s clean. Just a ring.” He pulled a black signet ring from the man’s unresisting hand.
“Give me that,” said Luce.
I cocked an eyebrow at Blue, who’d lost that anticipatory smile. “Well? You saw something, didn’t you? How could you tell he wasn’t the real deal?”
Blue had probably just saved my life. He’d be kicking himself later.
He pushed his glasses nervously up to the bridge of his nose. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Liar. I could tell by the way his gaze shifted away. On an impulse, I reached out and snatched those annoying glasses off his face.
“Hey!”
I put them on and looked down at our captive. My turn to
“This is Ken Thomas,” said Ben. “He’s an old friend.”
The herald went down on one knee and offered me the usual thick beige envelope. I glanced again at Blue. What was his problem? He’d had such a look of anticipation on his face for a moment there, as if waiting for a show to start. He stared back, now all butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth.
Had Ken hunted him down for a job he didn’t want to perform, just as Ben had? But that smile had a gloating quality to it, as if he knew something I didn’t.
I turned back to Ken and studied him for a moment. His herald’s charm, a tiny silver representation of Hermes, messenger of the gods, hung in full view on his chest. As far as I could tell, it was genuine, but Ben would have checked that.
Besides, Ben knew him. I met Ben’s gaze, unaccountably troubled by that look on the goblin’s face and his involuntary gasp. It was fairly safe to assume at this point that anything that would please the goblin probably wasn’t good news for me. I wasn’t exactly his favourite person at the moment.
“How old a friend? Like Nada?”
He frowned. Nada had been no friend of ours. But she had worn a goblin seeming to the Presentation Ball. Fortunately Ben was smart enough to make the connection.
“I haven’t seen Sarah in ages,” he said to the man still patiently kneeling at my feet. “I hope she’s well?”
Ken’s eyes flicked to the side. Chitchat in the middle of a delivery was an odd departure from the usual routine.
“Fine, thanks,” he said after a moment.
In reply, Ben launched himself and drove the herald to the ground. I leapt back, nearly landing on Blue’s lap. The man wriggled like a fish on a hook beneath Ben. I saw something flash silver in the sunlight as his hand came up, but then Steve and Garth joined the fray, and he was no match for their combined muscle.
Ben climbed to his feet and brushed grass off his clothes. “You okay?”
“Fine.” It hadn’t been me rolling around on the grass. His face was pale. He’d probably hurt his bad arm with that little manoeuvre. At this rate it was never going to heal properly. “Who’s our visitor?”
Garth had the man flat on his face, his arms pulled back at a painful angle, with one of the big werewolf’s knees in his back. Steve’s gun was out, aimed directly at his head. The herald—or whoever he was—lay still. Sensible guy.
“I don’t know, but it’s not Ken. I’m sorry, he had me fooled. I should never have let him in.”
“Who’s Sarah?”
“Ken’s wife. She’s been dead for years.”
“Oh.” So someone had had the same idea as me—a goblin seeming. Jason had probably called in the real Ken on some pretext and managed to swipe a hair. “Is he armed?”
Ben gave me a reproachful look. “We searched him before we brought him out.”
“Search again,” I said to Garth. What was that flash I’d seen?
To my surprise—and to Garth’s—the man began to struggle. Garth punched him in the side of the head and he lay still again. Garth didn’t believe in pulling his punches. When he punched someone, they stayed punched.
“He’s clean. Just a ring.” He pulled a black signet ring from the man’s unresisting hand.
“Give me that,” said Luce.
I cocked an eyebrow at Blue, who’d lost that anticipatory smile. “Well? You saw something, didn’t you? How could you tell he wasn’t the real deal?”
Blue had probably just saved my life. He’d be kicking himself later.
He pushed his glasses nervously up to the bridge of his nose. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Liar. I could tell by the way his gaze shifted away. On an impulse, I reached out and snatched those annoying glasses off his face.
“Hey!”
I put them on and looked down at our captive. My turn to
Similar Books
