Blood of Innocents by Mitchell Hogan

Author:Mitchell Hogan [Hogan, Mitchell]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Sorcery Ascendant Sequence, Science Fiction
Goodreads: 18658407
Publisher: Mitchell Hogan
Published: 2014-05-31T12:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

With Joachim recuperating, Caldan decided to leave him be and found a few journeymen to question. The journeymen were always short of coin and they’d likely have spare craftings he could purchase. True enough, the journeymen did, and they handed over their craftings for a few ducats. Caldan took only those he thought were of good quality, and deflected the journeymen’s questions on what he needed them for with noncommittal answers and brief smiles. Just as with the Protectors in Anasoma, there was an illicit trade in craftings. Especially among the journeymen who needed hard coin to buy materials for work which might not pass the masters’ quality inspection, which would then have to be destroyed or melted down for reuse.

His time on the run had left him itching to continue the work he had become in Anasoma, especially after his automaton and wristband had been destroyed. They had both saved his life and he felt their loss deeply, the results of his hard work and experimentation crushed in an instant.

This is it, thought Caldan, a small cloth sack in his hand. A few minutes’ walk from the Protectors’ to a traders’ square, the business he was looking for had a nondescript door, but above that was a sign displaying two gears.

When he pushed the door open, a metal chime tinkled, and he entered a room not unlike the clockmaker’s shop in Anasoma. He was disappointed at the devices on display. They were obviously of lesser quality, and a thin layer of dust covered many of the pieces, which didn’t shine as they had in the other shop. On one, he even noted a spot of rust. There were no crafted sorcerous globes, only a couple of lamps in addition to windows letting in light.

He closed the door behind him and a young woman appeared as if out of nowhere. Caldan realized she must have been bending over behind the counter where he couldn’t see her. She had on a pair of spectacles similar to the clockmaker’s in Anasoma, and she looked over the top of them to see him properly. He realized the glasses were not to correct her eyesight but were magnifying lenses, an aid for the tiny mechanisms she worked with.

“Hello, young sir,” she said, eyes flicking to his sword and the trinket on his finger. “I don’t see many Protectors in here; I usually deal with the Sorcerers’ Guild. Or was it something else you’re after? Perhaps a gift?” Her eyes lit up.

Business wasn’t doing so well, surmised Caldan. The woman’s obvious interest in selling him something, and the state of the shop, were clear indications. She was a smart one, having deduced he was a Protector from his appearance, so perhaps they’d be able to come to an agreement beneficial to both of them.

Caldan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I’m not after a gift. Perhaps another time…”

The woman’s gaze fell to the floor, and Caldan took pity on her, deciding to get to the point of his visit.

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