Proxy: An Avalon Novella Read Online Free PDF

minutes to go. He wanted to ask if Shady and Flynn were in place—they’d better be soon, or they’d miss their only chance at disguising the noise of the explosion as they blew a hole through the grate into the sewer beneath the palace—but Jeth resisted the temptation. As with the issue with the relay, there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
    Jeth looked back at Celeste, wondering what was taking so long. Any minute now the party hosts would start herding the guests outside for the fireworks display set to signal the official arrival of the princess’s sixteenth birthday. Celeste’s eyes locked on his once more, but this time she glared at him.
    Jeth arched an eyebrow, not understanding. In answer, Celeste raised her hand to her mouth. Jeth shook his head, still not getting it. Then he looked down at the nearly full drink in his hand and realization dawned. She couldn’t very well offer to take his glass for him if it wasn’t empty.
    Grimacing at his blunder, Jeth raised the glass to his lips and drank the rest of the champagne in one gulp. The liquid burned and bubbled down his throat and into his belly. Thank goodness he’d eaten.
    As he wiped the back of his mouth, Celeste finally reached him. “Take that for you, sir?”
    “Yes, thank you.” Jeth set his glass on the tray beside two other empties.
    “You’re welcome.” As she spoke, Celeste’s grip on the tray slipped and it crashed to the ground, the clatter muffled by the music and noise of the crowd. Fortunately, all the glasses were shatterproof.
    Jeth and Celeste both knelt at the same time, their actions well rehearsed. As Celeste moved to pick up the tray with one hand, she reached inside her right boot with the other, pulling out the small, collapsible wrench she’d smuggled inside. Jeth took it from her and slid it inside his own boot with one fluid motion as he picked up the nearest fallen glass. Celeste grabbed the other two, and they both stood up.
    “Let’s try that again.” He set the glass on the tray once more.
    Celeste pursed her lips but didn’t respond. Subservience went against her nature.
    A moment later, the music ended and an amplified voice began to speak, politely asking the guests to move out onto the terrace. Jeth and Celeste exchanged a look, then both turned and headed in that direction, walking slowly.
    Jeth pressed the comm again. “Is the relay fixed?”
    “We put a bandage on it,” Lizzie said, and this time her voice was weirdly distant and tinny, although thankfully free of the static. Jeth didn’t bother asking for an explanation—he wasn’t likely to understand it.
    Instead he asked, “Are Joyrider and Blaze in place?”
    “Yep. All ready to go.”
    Jeth imagined Shady was raring to go. The explosive he was about to use was one of his all-time-favorite tools of destruction, even if the explosion was going to be smaller than he would’ve preferred.
    “Perfect,” Jeth said.
    By the time they entered the hallway leading to the terrace, they were nearly the last of the crowd. Celeste walked ahead of Jeth, but they both took it slow, letting as many people pass them as possible. Jeth spotted his destination a short way ahead, a doorway barely discernible in the wood-paneled wall. He knew it was there only because of the picture hanging just to the right of it.
    Two stragglers trailed behind Jeth and, looking for a diversion, he pulled the invitation out of his pocket. He pretended to examine it, then let it slip from his hands. As he stooped to pick it up, the stragglers finally passed him by.
    Jeth looked up and saw Celeste disappear around the corner. She would keep the coast clear for him. He pressed his finger to the comm. “I’m here. Are you ready?”
    Lizzie answered at once, “Ready in three, two, one. Go.”
    Jeth approached the door and pressed his hand against the pressure handle, and it slid open with a faint click. Hestepped inside, and it closed behind him, automatically. The hallway