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

turned away from me and walked to the counter. He stared at the rows of wine bottles on the wall. “All right,” he said. “If that’s what you want, then we’ll stay here long enough to find out what’s what. We’ll help, if we can. Otherwise, we make for the bridge and try to get to the mainland while we still have a chance. Will you agree to that?”
    I nodded. “Of course. But you must agree to one thing first.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Wait for me here.”
    He narrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? I’m not letting you go out there alone.”
    “Trust me,” I said. “I can move more quickly and quietly on my own. I’ll scout out the city and find out what’s happening to the captives. I’ll try to find the queen, if she’s still alive. Give me an hour.”
    “No,” he said. “I won’t do it. I won’t let you go out there alone, not with those creatures out there.”
    I stepped close, staring up into his face. He looked away angrily. I took his hand in mine, pleading with my eyes. “Robie, don’t take this the wrong way, but if you go with me, you’ll get us both killed. I know you’re strong. I trust you, I honestly do, but to the Tal’mar your heavy weapons and clothing sound like the rumble of thunder when you walk down the street. I can move through the city like a shadow. The invaders won’t even guess I’m here. For a little while, you must trust me.”
    That was enough to convince him. He sighed heavily. “I will be here,” he said. “One hour. No more.”
    “Agreed.”
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
     
    I was certain that Robie would be safe in the wine shop, at least for the time being. The invaders were everywhere but the pillaging wouldn’t begin in earnest until daylight. By then, I planned to be long gone.
    I slipped back outside and made my way towards the palace grounds, stopping several times to let the patrols pass by. I melted into the shadows. Often, the tall foreigners passed by so close that I could have reached out and slid a dagger across their throats before they even noticed. They never even suspected that I was there. It was probably in my own best interest that I had no weapons, otherwise I might have been foolish enough to try.
    I quickly made it to the palace courtyard and skirted through the rubble, making my way into the building. There was nothing to see here, or perhaps I should say there was nothing I wanted to see. The place had been decimated. It was little more than a giant smoking crater. The crumbling stone walls were black and scorched, the charred furniture smashed and covered in ash. Passages between various sections of the palace were blocked by massive heaps of rubble and collapsed walls.
    I saw a few Tal’mar bodies here and there among the rubble, but they had been burned beyond recognition. Those who had been in the palace during the attack must have died  almost instantly. Those outside may have made an escape, but most of them probably ran straight into the waiting patrols. That explained how the invaders managed to capture so many citizens and clear the city so quickly. I shook my head, wondering again at the efficiency of our new enemies, and my heart sank into deep despair. I knew then that our losses had just begun. We were like children against this enemy. We were infants screaming in futility against the night, and they were hungry wolves ready to pounce.
    I left the area, my heart heavy with grief.
    Outside the palace walls, I took a few minutes to pull myself together. I grappled with mourning and loss, and with fear of this terrifying new enemy. I knew now that my Tal’mar family had died. My mother, my grandmother, even the many friends I had made during my visits to the city. If any of them survived, then they had already been taken as prisoners.
    Desperately reaching for hope, I convinced myself that there was a chance I could rescue some of the captured Tal’mar. If they had been taken as prisoners, then