Eye of the Truth by Cassie Sweet

Author:Cassie Sweet [Sweet, Cassie]
Language: eng
Format: epub

THE RIDE back up the mountain was quiet. Oberon and Finelli did not offer advice or condolences. The laws of the alchemists were clear: betrayal met with ostracism. There was nothing other than honor to stop the former headmaster from selling the secrets. But he’d lost that when he’d tried to make a clandestine deal with the clerics.

They rode through the gates of the school and dismounted from their horses as the two young boys came to grab the reins. One of them was the lying little stable lad from the day before.

Nico held the reins of his horse when the boy tried to take them. He looked down with a menacing frown. “You have much to explain, young man.”

“Master?”

“I want the name of the person who beat you, and I want no lies or misinformation.”

The boy tried to grab the reins again to attempt an escape. “I said who. It was the thief.”

Nico shook his head. “No. It was not. My apprentice assures me he had nothing to do with your injuries, and I have no reason to doubt his word.”

“Master Rhone will believe me.” The boy puffed out his thin chest as if issuing a challenge.

“And Master Rhone, though the under-headmaster, has no authority higher than mine.”

The boy looked temporarily confused.

Master Oberon crouched down to be more on a level with the lad. “Tell Master Nico the truth or risk being turned out of the school. It is no place for a lad your size to wander the streets, looking for work and food.”

The boy swallowed. His eyes rounded. “I can’t tell you. I will be punished if I do. Worse than being turned out.”

Nico and Oberon exchanged glances. “Someone threatened you if you did not stick to your story?”

The child realized his mistake and broke out into gales of tears. “I don’t want to leave the school. I love the barn and the smell of the horses. They’re my friends.”

Nico’s heart broke for the lad. “Listen, there are people who want to see our school fall. They want to take away everything my ancestors struggled to create. Your silence ensures they win.”

“But… but….” The boy’s lip trembled. “He said it would fall if I didn’t keep my mouth shut.”

Nico released the reins. “Put the horse away and make sure Ambrosia here gets an extra good brushing.”

The boy nodded. He petted the horse’s muzzle and spoke softly to it in a language unfamiliar to Nico. He frowned and turned to Oberon when the boy guided the horse away.

“Where does he hail from?”

“He’s a foundling. As a matter of fact, he showed up sleeping in the stables one morning. We aren’t really sure how he got in there, or up the mountain and onto the property for that matter.” Oberon started toward the front steps. “You don’t think he was brought here as the spy, do you?”

“There is a possibility. But who would he report to and when?” One small boy going down the mountain alone and without the aid of a horse or other beast to carry him was going to be noticed by the guards.

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