The Chair Read Online Free PDF Page A

modern; it seemed a mishmash of the old with the new. Everyone I passed in the streets seemed to be pleasant and friendly, all dressed in clothes similar to the ones Ara had brought for me. Most men seemed to be wearing some type of linen pullover shirt tucked into wool trousers usually with a vest and boots. Women were wearing full ankle length one piece dresses of wool or cotton, and those working had aprons in the streets or shops.
    We walked into what looked to be a pub of some sort and Ara motioned to the keeper as we sat down at one of the tables outside. A man came speedily up to take our order.
     “Hello Joseph, we’ll both be having some of your lentil soup with bread, cheese, and some slices of that beef. Would you like a glass of beer or wine Richard?”
    “You have beer and wine?” I asked discretely.
    She laughed under her breath and looked at me as if I were a novice of some kind. “Of course we have beer and wine. This island produces everything we need in our outlying farming communities. We’ll have two glasses of wine”
     “Very good madam and we will bring you out some water as well.”
     
    Taking a sip of wine her face took on a more serious expression. “I’ve told you about the master chair that you arrived in and how it is with the power to transport you anywhere in the world.”
    Just then, the keeper brought the rest of our order and set it down at the table.
    She continued, “As to exactly how the chair gets its properties, we don’t know, but it was made with two others, similar to it but smaller, all three being a set.”
    I took a sip of wine and set the glass down. “ Three chairs that can go anywhere in the world, eh?”
    “No Richard, only one chair; the two smaller ones we call trackers. They can only follow it on any given trip; if the chair goes to London the trackers can only follow it there and return to the conduit.
    “So these other two trackers can either go where the chair goes and they can return to the conduit.”
    “Yes exactly.”
    “Where are these trackers now?”
    “They’re both gone and we know who took them.”
    “Don’t tell me, Anders and Paxton?”
     She stood up looking at me half unbelieving. “How did you know about those two?”
    “When I was thrown in the tank I overheard your two men mentioning their names and wondering if I had anything to do with them. Who exactly are these two winners anyway?”
    She sat back down calmly raising her eyebrows in a conceding and helpless manner. “They are two escaped criminals we were holding here.”
    I had a feeling she was going to say that, but it hadn’t come to me as to just why they decided to take the trackers, so I just bloody well asked, hoping Ara would be honest with me.
    “What type of crimes did these two commit?”
    “She took a bite of bread. “Let’s just say they’re after power and money any way they can get it. They once held high positions on our ruling council; at that time it was decided the chair would be used only in research and development for our island. My father was selected by a majority to be the sole operative. The trackers would then be used on a rotating basis by different council members depending on the need.”
    The picture was all still a bit hazy. I sat back, sipped some more wine and cut off a piece of cheese. “What were they used for, the trackers?”
    “They were only to be used to follow the master chair and be of any service to my father, whatever the task.”
    “So Anders and Paxton were designated at one point to use them, is that it?”
    Ara took another sip of wine and rested her elbows on the table. “That’s right, and when they both followed my father, helping him on an assignment, they also knocked out a guard and took some valuable items from that location. They were later found out and our security put both of them in the tank.”
    “The tank, that’s where―”
    “Uh huh, that’s where you went when you first arrived.”
    The tank. I