The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

promised.
    “Good. I’ll be
back shortly.” Sevana opened the glass door and stepped through. She wouldn’t
be getting much sleep in the coming days. This situation had changed from
interesting to very, very dangerous. It behooved her to solve the riddle before
something else disastrous happened.
    It took her
very little time to get everything she needed together, shove it all into a bag,
and then come back through the clock and into the palace. When she arrived,
Firuz was pacing back and forth in front of the clock, hands clasped behind his
back, obviously trying not to fidget and failing miserably at it. Sevana had a
twinge of sympathy for what the man was going through and didn’t call him on
it. Really, all things considered, he was holding up remarkably well.
    Most of what
was in the bag she wouldn’t need for the search of the area. It would be for
later, for the variety of tests that inevitably would need to be done. For now,
she grabbed her box lens and threw the bag into the room before gesturing for
Firuz to lead the way.
    He did so with
an audible sigh of relief.
    Sevana got
quite a few looks from the staff as they walked briskly through the hallways.
In this country of black hair and dark olive skin, she stood out like a sore
thumb. It was obvious at even a glance who she must be. The people they passed
gave a brief, startled blink at finding her right there in front of them, then
a flash of relief went across their faces before they gave an appropriate bow
to their king. After they passed, there was always a flurry of low voices
whispering to each other. Gossip certainly flew here.
    Firuz opened a
door that let out into a large square courtyard. There was very little in the
way of grass or plants of any sort, just a lot of flagstone and one fountain
that dominated the center of the area. The heat was intense enough to make the
air go wavy. Of all the places she had seen in the palace, this seemed the
least welcoming for a child.
    “People come
through here?”
    “It’s the
passage way for the Small Court. Anyone that has business to discuss, such as
paying taxes or settling a grievance, comes here.”
    Sevana gave the
area another sweep, becoming more baffled. “She liked to play here?”
    “The water
fountain was like a pool to her,” Firuz explained sadly. “She would play in it
with her friends.”
    Alright, it now
made more sense. The fountain really was large, very wide at the base and
filled with water. It would be the perfect thing for a child to play in without
risk of drowning. “Since this was a regular routine for her, that’s why you had
so many protective wards set about the place?”
    Firuz didn’t
seem surprised by her question. Some of them would be visible even to a
nonmagical person, so of course she saw it. “Yes, that’s why. Wards against
kidnapping or assassination. Weapons can’t be brought into the court anyway but
I didn’t want people thinking they could just cart her off either.”
    Wise of the
man. To the naked eye, these wards were intimidating. Not even a half-witted
fool would dare to try anything here. With all of these protections in place,
it made sense that her parents weren’t worried about her playing here. Sevana
would have done the same without thinking twice about it. Even if the wards
mysteriously failed, there were at least twenty guards all about that were sure
to take notice of something happening and act immediately.
    Knowing that
she wouldn’t be able to see what she needed to with just her naked eye, Sevana
lifted the box lens to her eye and started really looking in detail at the
place. She walked up and down the area, around the fountain several times,
sometimes crouching to peer at the water or flagstones, sometimes going up on
tiptoe and craning her neck to look at the top of the walls. But the effort was
in vain. Growling out a sigh, she let the lens drop to her side.
    “Firuz, this is
hopeless.”
    “You can’t pick
up any hints?” The