Thief’s Magic Read Online Free PDF Page B

value than gold and silver,” Gowel told him. “I make more money from my books and lectures than from treasure these days, even if the Academy calls me a liar. Perhaps because they do.” His gaze shifted from Miko to Neel and then Tyen. “Don’t let the venerable institution narrow your minds, boys. Get out there and decide for yourself what is folklore and what is truth.”
    “It’s all very well for wealthy men like you, Gowel,” Kilraker said. “But most of us can’t afford to come home empty-handed. We need to justify the Academy financing our expeditions by adding to the venerable institution’s wisdom or wealth. Preferably wealth.”
    “And we don’t want to get ourselves thrown out of the Academy, as you were,” Neel added, giving the older man the sort of challenging stare that only those from his class would dare. Kilraker chuckled.
    Gowel stared back at the boy. “Contrary to what the gossip papers say, I wasn’t thrown out: I resigned from my position.”
    Neel frowned. “Why would you do a thing like that?”
    The adventurer’s smile was grim. “I once found a marvel – an object of little monetary value but great magical potential that might have benefited thousands – and they locked it away where nobody but they could see and use it.”
    Tyen felt his heart skip a beat.
Is that what they will do to Vella? Lock her away where nobody would touch her? She would hate that.
But surely, once the Academy realised how useful she could be, she would be held and read all the time. By men with greater knowledge and intelligence than his. How could he deny her that when it was what she’d been made for?
    “I should have kept it.” Gowel scowled, and Tyen was surprised to see Kilraker nodding. “From what Vals tells me, it’s sitting unused and forgotten in the vault. The Academy is greedy and selfish. Knowledge and the wonders of the world should be available to all, so that anybody can improve themselves if they wish to,” Gowel continued. “My dream is to build a great library in Belton that people may come to free of charge, to learn of the world and its wonders.”
    It was an admirable dream, and Tyen felt a stab of guilt at his wish to keep Vella. To do so would be selfish. Others should benefit from her, too. But if the Academy treated her the same as the object Gowel had found, would anyone benefit from her? And while Kilraker’s words about justifying their expeditions had reminded him of the other reason he should hand her over to the Academy, wouldn’t doing so simply to gain higher grading be just as selfish?
    Whatever he did, he ought to update the information she contained first. And work out if she did always tell the truth. It would increase the likelihood of the Academy seeing her as a valuable object worth using, and it was what she would want, since her purpose was to gather knowledge. It would also give him time to decide what to do.
    The longer he kept her the worse it would look when he finally did, so he’d have to work quickly, taking every opportunity to teach her. It was clear telling her that she was wrong about something wasn’t enough to change the information she held. She had resisted when he’d tried to correct her on the relationship between creativity and magic. He needed proof to convince her of her error. And by the time he handed her over to the Academy he must be able to demonstrate that her knowledge could be corrected.
    He looked around, wishing he could start now. It would draw premature attention to Vella if he took her out and started reading in the inn, but if he went back to the hotel it would be hours before the others returned. Miko and Neel would be amazed he was willing to miss out on Gowel’s tales – not to mention free dusky – but it had been a long, exciting day and he’d spent a large part of it driving the cart, so they’d believe him if he said he was tired. He drained his glass, set it down and yawned.
    “Forgive me,” he said.