All The King's-Men (The Yellow Hoods, #3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Because this is a matter of life and death.”
    Tee glared at Elly. “What are you talking about?”
    Christina yelled, “Stop it! Look, we’re all scared, so let’s focus on getting out of here.”
    Elly shook her fists and then stopped, fingers flaring out. “Never mind! You said you’ve never been here before, so you’ve never been here before. Though somehow, you knew exactly where the exit was and that there’s another panel we need to find.”
    “Everyone, look for something with a picture of spring or coil that has two lines through it. That’s going to be the other thing we need to unlock the secret door.”
    “No,” said Franklin, playfully folding his arms.
    Christina drooped. “Look, Franklin. We all need to—”
    Franklin smiled smugly and pointed to the wall behind them. “It’s right there. Behind you.”
    Tee pushed part of the picture around the shield in, then twisted the embossed shield to the right. She then ran over and pulled out the other panel a few inches.
    “Listen!” said Mounira happily.
    The sound of chains moving and clanking filled the room, and then a wall down the hall slid away, revealing a dark corridor. The cool, spring night air washed over them. 
    “Okay, wait here. Tee, crank a lantern,” said Christina, pointing to one on a hook.
    “Anyone else find it eerie how the light from the lab extends up to here and then just ends?” asked Mounira, standing where the wall had opened.
    Elly and Franklin nodded.
    Tee took the lantern, and after a moment of examining it, found the lever she needed to bring it to life. Its blue glow was similar to that of the study and lab. 
    As Christina returned, resettling her full backpack, she took the lantern from Tee. “Let’s go.”
    They descended the mountain path in silence, until something caught Elly’s attention and she stopped to look back. 
    “The house is on fire!” screamed Elly, spinning to Tee. To her astonishment, Tee was staring at the ground, her face hidden by her yellow hood. “Tee, your Grandpapa’s house is on fire! Doesn’t that mean something to you?” Elly grabbed Tee by the shoulders angrily, trying to shake her back to normal.
    Tee reluctantly met Elly’s gaze. She knew what this was doing to Elly, but her instructions from her parents had been clear. “What do you want me to say? If we stay here, we’re going to get killed. There’s no point crying over things we can’t control,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. She couldn’t bear to watch the flames destroy the home of her favorite childhood memories.

CHAPTER THREE

All the King's-Men
     
    “Abominator was an excellent term to label our kind with, really. It’s astounding to think that a hundred years ago, with one word and one night of horrific actions, King Falson turned every inventor, scientist, and engineer, every simply gifted person, into the target of everything that illed his realm. Imagine what it was like in those first days: friend turning on friend, neighbor turning on neighbor.
    “I wonder if he’ll ever be recognized for how brilliant that was. I still find it hard to imagine what it was like to be in his presence in that first hour of him being on the throne. The new king surprising everyone with a vengeful royal edict, and then going with his closest guards room by room, executing King’s-Men, including my grandfather. It showed a savage level of conviction,” said Marcus Pieman, staring out the window of his carriage as the beautiful Frelish landscape raced by.
    He turned to Nikolas Klaus. “I’ve read the accounts, over the years,” continued Marcus. “How they broke down the doors of my grandfather’s royal suite and beheaded him in front of his family. They killed all of the King’s-Men that night. Loyalty, years of service, strategic advantage for the kingdom didn’t mean a thing. Falson wanted to ensure that everyone understood he had supreme authority over all matters. And thus, a dark age was