Steamsworn (Steamborn Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

outskirts of Dauschen. The guards had been somewhat suspicious, but apparently they’d had “defectors” from Bollwerk join their cause over the past weeks, given shelter in exchange for intel. Jacob was surprised at how fast they were waved through the gates.
    Jacob figured the other defectors had been the spies, which made him wonder just how many spies were out there. Not only from Bollwerk, but how many spies came from Ancora or even Belldorn? Using Archibald’s network as a gauge, the potential was insane. It was little wonder most cities put spies to death.
    “Keep your leg hidden,” Charles said as he glanced back at Jacob. “I won’t say it’s impossible for a Biomech to defect from Bollwerk, but it’s unlikely. There were some in the last group, so let’s not risk drawing attention to it.”
    Jacob nodded and checked the thick socks beneath his denim pants. They were plenty high to conceal the leg, even when he was sitting down. “It’s kind of annoying not being able to tell when your socks are falling down.”
    Charles smiled and pulled one of the trunks to the edge of the crawler. “You’ll get used to it. Everyone does.”
    “I need those clips to hold them up, like my dad used to wear.”
    “Sock garters?” Samuel asked as he snapped a saddlebag closed and tossed it over his shoulder.
    “Don’t laugh,” Jacob said. “That’s not very nice.”
    Samuel chuckled and shook his head. “No disrespect, kid. I’ve only ever seen old men like Charles with them.”
    “Are they not part of your uniform?” Drakkar asked. “I am quite certain the Spider Knights all wear them beneath their greaves.”
    “He’s got you there,” Charles said. “You’re looking older by the minute.”
    “That’s different.”
    “I’m quite sure it’s not,” Charles said as he cracked open one of the trunks. “Jacob, grab the rope , would you?”
    Cedar filled his nose, wafting from the trunk with the carefully folded leathers. Jacob nodded. He slid two of the thin coils over his shoulder. It wasn’t rope at all, he knew, it was a fuse they’d use to synchronize the bombs. Charles thought they could work on it a bit without raising suspicions. It was easy to hide the canisters in a saddlebag, and the coil looked like a thin rope from a distance. The blasting powder would be harder to explain away if anyone searched Drakkar’s saddlebag.
    “Is it safe to leave the crawler here?” Jacob asked.
    Drakkar held up a thick brass cog and smiled. “It will not move without this transfer. I doubt it will be scavenged for parts. I suspect thieves will be put to death without delay in the current climate.”
    Jacob made a mental note not to try pickpocketing anyone. If he was going to get killed, it was going to be for a better reason than that.
    “Let’s move,” Charles said, and they all followed him toward the back of the building, past the Walkers curled up in the far corner of the stables and out into a field of tents.
    “They’re huge,” Jacob said. He eyed the house-sized tents. Massive cables stretched across the field, leaving only a narrow road between the canvas shelters. At a glance, it looked to be four rows, each six tents deep. “You could fit the entire Square in one of those.”
    “Not quite,” Samuel said, “but they are big.”
    “There,” Charles said as they passed the second row. Jacob adjusted his backpack and the coils on his shoulder while he followed the old man.
    “It stinks,” Jacob said.
    “Probably the latrines,” Charles said. “They won’t have plumbing in the camp. You’ll get used to it.”
    Jacob frowned at the sharp, pungent odor and couldn’t imagine how anyone could get used to that.
    “Where are we heading?” Samuel asked.
    “The far tent,” Drakkar said. “Look at the red flag.”
    Jacob found it flapping above the soiled tan canvas amid a sea of flags. A black octagon framed in red snapped and rippled in the wind. “What is it?”
    Drakkar leaned