A Study in Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

don’t do that sort of thing unless you’re ready for a fight.”
    A bomb?
Imogen froze in place, her eyes going wide. She’d been expecting bedroom scandal or maybe chat of a shady business deal, but this was serious. Eavesdropping had suddenly gone beyond an entertaining diversion.
    “Perhaps he is. Maybe that’s the whole point. In any event, he’s planning some sort of splashy statement, and somewhere in your territory.” The other voice was deep—Imogen thought she knew it but couldn’t call up a face or name. “That’s why I came to you. If one of us makes a move to stop him, it will be a long, messy affair—death, property damage, and bad press all around. With two of us, it could be quick and neat. No point in letting rebels take advantage of any lapse in security.”
    “You’re still on about that Baskerville affair.”
    “So what if I am?” said the deep voice. “I’m still correct. Whoever takes up arms against us—rebels, aristocratic or otherwise—will never succeed as long as the rest of the Steam Council is united.”
    The Steam Council? That was what the men and women who ruled the great utility companies called themselves. Jasper Keating, one of the key members, was called the Gold King after the yellow-tinted globes he used to mark all the gaslights his company supplied. The steam barons all indicated their territories like that—the Blue King, the Violet Queen, and the rest. At sunset, the multicolored globes turned London into a patchwork glory of light. It was a beautiful sight, even though it was evidence of the stranglehold the council had on London and all the Empire. But the peace that held the council together and the rebels at bay was every bit as fragile as those colored globes.
    Now Imogen’s blood was fizzing with alarm, making her movements quick and clumsy. As Keating was one of the key members, it made sense that any rebel intrigue would be brought to his attention. But to whom was he talking? Imogen nudged the window open another inch and rose up on her knees to peer out. The angle was wrong, and all she could see was grass.
    The Gold King dropped his voice until it was just above a murmur. “What are you proposing? An alliance?”
    “Why not? I’ll help you take care of this business.”
    Curiosity was driving Imogen wild. She gripped the edge of the casement and gathered her courage. Then she poked her head out, long braid swinging, feeling rather like a jack-in-the-box. It was the only way to look straight down at the men below. Then she ducked back inside, pulling the window with her so that it was all but shut again.
    Holy blazing hat ribbons!
The other man was William Reading, the Scarlet King, another one of the Steam Council, and one with his fingers deep into the military might of the Empire.
Two rival steam barons teaming up against a third? Is that what’s going on?
And what about the bomb? Who or what was the target?
    “And in return for your help?” Gold asked Scarlet.
    “We have other interests in common. You, I’ve heard, had your hands on the only example of an intelligent navigation device. You know, the magic machine called Athena’s Casket.”
    Imogen sucked in her breath, wondering where this twist in the conversation would lead. Even she knew that intelligent navigation was the holy grail of warship design. It combined an air deva with navigational equipment, essentially giving the ship extraordinary lift and a mind of its own, with all the quickness and maneuverability that implied.
    Keating made an angry noise. “Only to destroy it. I don’t hold with using magic. It’s not legal in the Empire.”
    “Of course,” Scarlet replied, though he sounded skeptical. “I understand your position completely. Dodgy stuff, all those glowy orbs and whatnot.”
    More to the point, machines that used something besides steam power would eventually put the utility magnates on the trash heap. And that was why the steam barons had made hunting down