The Golden Spider (The Elemental Web Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

determination. The great Lord Thornton had tipped his hand. He saw something in her project. She must be close.
    Rufus settled in his favorite corner, on alert for cheeky mice, as Amanda lit an oil lamp and pulled a stool forward. She spread a soft cloth across the workbench and arranged her tools.
    She would dissect the neurachnid, spread each gear, each pin, each spring across her workbench. She would study its mechanisms with a critical eye and then make improvements.
    Her gold threads did not work in the same manner as biological neurons. They weren’t designed to. They made direct contact with both the spinal cord and the muscle in order to transmit electrical impulses, but as the muscle fibers contracted, the threads inevitably pulled free. Rare earth metals would cement the connection, at least in theory, but were also hard to come by‌—‌and expensive.
    For Ned, she’d find a way.
    She reached for the neurachnid stored on the shelf above, but her hand met nothing but air. She looked up. Had Rufus knocked it down? She scanned the empty space, then dropped her gaze to the surface of the workbench, searching.
    Her heart beating faster by the second, Amanda lifted rags. Shifted bottles and tin canisters, looked under notes and papers, hunted behind her microscope.
    It was…‌ gone.
    She leapt to her feet and spun around, searching the small room for any signs of intrusion and found nothing. Everything was exactly as it had been when she left.
    Someone had stolen her spider.
    Though no one had the combination, her security was minimal, designed more to discourage nosy children, curious family members and cleaning staff. Until this moment, she’d never considered medical espionage.
    Amanda pressed a palm to her chest, willing her heart to stop pounding. She needed to think. And clearly.
    Five years she’d poured into that neurachnid. Could she rebuild it? Certainly. But many fine parts were special order or handcrafted. It could take her months to construct another. Longer, if someone had also appropriated her designs.
    With two long steps, she crossed to a metal cabinet in the corner. Twisting the dial first one direction, then another, and back again, she spun the combination. With a click, the lock released, and she yanked out a drawer.
    She heaved a sigh of relief. All her notes, all her schematics were still there. She gathered them up and pressed them to her chest. Her laboratory was no longer secure.
    Only one person she knew possessed the motivation and the mentality, the will, and the resources to infiltrate her laboratory.
    Lord Thornton.

Chapter Five

    A MANDA MARCHED DOWN the empty hallway past numerous doors, her back ramrod straight. She’d spent the last twenty minutes tracking down his inconvenient location. The man seemed to have deliberately removed his name and location from all directories.
    If a student managed to locate Lord Thornton’s office in the meager half hour he grudgingly allotted to office hours each week, he‌—‌or she‌—‌would have but mere minutes to pose a question. Perhaps that was the earl’s goal. On this point, at least, he did not discriminate; he hated all students equally. She came to a halt, stopping before an enormous iron door at the end of the hallway. Its lock defined security.
    She stared in amazement, studying the mechanism. Several large gears would‌—‌with the right combination‌—‌pull the thick iron teeth from their sockets in the iron doorjamb. An ominous red light glowed steadily from a box that also housed a screecher. Anyone who attempted to guess at the code would deeply regret their actions. She glanced upward, half-expecting to find a portcullis installed to trap the offender.
    “ This can’t be his office,” she murmured, her voice hushed in amazement.
    “No, Lady Amanda. That is my laboratory.”
    She’d recognize that voice anywhere. It ruffled her feathers. She turned on a heel to glare at him. It figured the man would work