Tinker's War (The Tinkerer's Daughter Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

down, I slipped down the face of the wall and waited patiently for him at the bottom. When his boots touched the ground, he stepped back and looked up, expecting to see me at the top. I tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped back, reaching for his sword. I couldn’t help smiling even though he was as noisy as a heard of stampeding cattle.
    “Don’t do that!” he whispered angrily. I shushed him, and then slid into the shadows.
    It wasn’t long before we got a good look at the invaders. Slipping through the dark alleys and back streets, we made our way through the outskirts of the city. On the main streets, we hid out of sight as patrols of invaders passed us by. Even Robie wondered at the invaders’ massive size. They weren’t as tall as the giant Kanters, but these were men, not giants. As far as I could tell they were human, but they were massive. They had arms and legs like tree trunks, bulging with muscles.
    They had light skin, even lighter than the humans of Avenston, and many of them were decorated with tattoos. They were dressed mostly in furs and wore jewelry made from animal bones and beads. They wore swords and axes slung over their broad shoulders. Many of these weapons were taller than I was. Most of the invaders wore their beards and hair long, and some of them wore it braided. I noted that many of them had blonde or red hair. Features like that were rare among the humans of Astatia. Redheads were nearly unheard of. Among the invaders, these features appeared to be quite common.
    Robie and I avoided these patrols entirely as I guided him through the back allies and dark streets of Silverspire, making my way towards the palace. I had an advantage over him, having spent much time in the city while visiting my family and learning about my mother’s culture. For Robie, the place was little more than a maze.
    At one point, I heard an approaching patrol and we stepped through the broken-down doorway of a winemaker’s shop. We watched in silence from the shadows as a handful of the invaders marched down the street, their eyes scanning the shadows and alleys for Tal’mar who might have evaded them. As they passed, I felt Robie’s touch on my shoulder. He motioned for me to follow, and then led me across the room, to a large window.
    From this vantage, we were able to see the ruins of the palace. Silverspire was so named because of the smooth, silvery polish on the palace towers that reflect light almost like a mirror. The silvery walls of the towers lay scattered about the ground now, reflecting firelight back into the sky. The walls of the palace were in a shambles, little more than ruins left standing amidst the rubble. I pulled back, unable to look any longer, my stomach churning.
    “What now?” Robie whispered.
    I shook my head, staring at the floor. “We have to do something.”
    “Do what?” he said. “We’re outnumbered by hundreds, maybe even thousands. Those… creatures are everywhere. We’d be lucky to fight one of them, much less an entire army!”
    “I understand that,” I said. “I know we can’t fight them. I can’t just leave, though.”
    “Breeze, what are you saying? There’s nothing here to fight for. We can’t help these people. They’re Tal’mar, let them fight their own battles.”
    I shot him an angry glare. “I’m Tal’mar, Robie. Do you forget so quickly?”
    “Of course not, but what allegiance do you have to these people? Breeze, your family is gone. They’re dead.”
    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “They may be that,” I said, “but these are still my people. They may not look like you or live like you, but does that mean you will let them suffer and die?”
    He looked away shamefully. “Of course not. But there’s nothing we can do, Breeze. Maybe if we could raise an army, we could come back-”
    “Raise an army?” I said. “Where? Riverfork? Anora? What do you think is left of those cities? Who do you think will be able to fight?”
    He