Thieves' Quarry (The Thieftaker Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF

the bespectacled man emerge from their section of the tavern and make his way to the door. He watched out of the corner of his eye as once again the man surveyed the room, perhaps hoping that his unseen observer would reveal himself with another spell. Reaching the door, he glanced back one last time, his spectacles flashing in the lamplight. Then he slipped out into the night. Shortly after, the big man left as well, lumbering to the door without so much as a backward glance.
    Still Ethan didn’t release the spell, for fear that the stranger lurked outside the Dowser, waiting for him to do just that.
    But he faced Diver again. “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I had cast a spell and was listening to their conversation.”
    “Whose conversation?” Diver demanded. Ethan could tell that he had pushed his friend to the limits of his patience.
    “I didn’t catch either of their names. I told you, I saw one of them with Tanner; the other I had never seen before. But he started to say something about Sephira. I’m sure of it. The other man cut him off before he could say more.”
    “What were they talking about?”
    Ethan repeated their cryptic references to the ship.
    “Do you think any of this is important?”
    “I don’t know,” Ethan admitted. “But there was something else about the one who knows Tanner: He felt my conjuring.”
    Diver’s brow furrowed. “You think he—” He stopped, his mouth dropping open and his eyes going wide. “You mean,” he whispered, “you think he’s a speller, too?”
    “Aye. And if he is—and if he’s working on something with Sephira—then this could be very important.”
    “So what do we do?”
    Ethan managed not to laugh. “I’m not sure that ‘we’ do anything. I don’t know that it’s a good idea for you to help me with this.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because it can be dangerous meddling in Sephira Pryce’s affairs. And because you’re not exactly the most reliable person I could choose as a partner.”
    Diver’s cheeks colored. “I told you I wouldn’t discuss your business with anyone else,” he said, with an earnestness Ethan had never seen in him before. “And I meant it. I don’t blame you for not trusting me. But I can help you with this.”
    Ethan felt his resolve weakening.
    Diver grinned. “Come on. Give me another chance. I lost money tonight, too, and I wouldn’t mind getting back at Sephira just a little bit.”
    “All right,” Ethan said, knowing that if Kannice were listening, she would call him a fool and worse. “You’re working the wharves tomorrow, right?”
    “Aye, but I can skip it if you need me to.”
    “No, I need you there.” Diver’s face fell, but Ethan pressed on. “Where will you be?”
    “Thornton’s Shipyard,” Diver said, his voice flat. “Or maybe Greenough’s.”
    “Good. In that case you can be responsible for watching the North End wharves for Sephira or this friend of hers.”
    “How can I do that? You didn’t even let me look at him!”
    Ethan described the man and his companion. “Don’t say anything to them. Don’t even go near them. Just watch what they do and report back to me.”
    Diver frowned. Ethan could see that he was disappointed by his instructions. “All right. What are you going to do?”
    “I’ll be watching the wharves in the South End and Cornhill.” He couldn’t possibly watch all the wharves, of course. Boston’s waterfront was as active as any in New England and was nearly a match for those in New York and Philadelphia, even with the hard times that had befallen the city in recent years. But he hoped that if he could stay near Long Wharf, the busiest in the city, he might learn something of value.
    “Are you sure there isn’t something else you want me to do?” Diver asked. “Maybe follow Spectacles, or his big friend?”
    “I’m sure,” Ethan said.
    “Right.” Diver drank the rest of his ale and stood. “Best be heading off then. I have an exciting day at