Holmberg, D K - The Book of Maladies 02 - Broken by Holmberg D K

Author:Holmberg, D K [Holmberg, D K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2018-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

19

An Apprenticeship

“Where’s my gold?” Sam asked.

Bastan looked at the box and said nothing.

“You said you’d pay in gold coins.” She needed that money to buy her way out of this section. The longer she was here, the more certain of that she was.

“I did. I don’t intend to stiff you, Samara.”

Sam glanced around his office and noticed yet another painting. This one was strange, with smears of dark colors, almost a burnt orange, in a shape she didn’t recognize.

How many paintings could he want? There always seemed to be something new with Bastan, and though she didn’t understand, at least he hadn’t asked her to be the one to find it this time.

Bastan reached into a drawer at his desk and pulled out a small coin purse. He withdrew three gold coins and stacked them on the table. “You get the third if you can honestly tell me you took nothing else from the warehouse.”

Sam glared at him. “Why would I have taken anything else?”

“I will know if you aren’t being honest with me, Samara.”

“And why would I need to lie to you about this?” she said.

Bastan grunted. “I suppose you wouldn’t.”

He ran his hands along the side of the box. Sam had taken time to examine it on the long walk back to Caster. She had made certain that no one was following her as she went, and when she was content that she wasn’t followed, she took a moment to see whether or not she could break into the box, and whether she could determine what was inside that was so valuable to Bastan.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to figure out a way that would go undetected by Bastan. Whatever it was that he valued inside the box remained a mystery. It was sealed up tight. Not only was it nailed together, but there was some way the wood came together that created a seal, making it almost impossible for her to pry open without destroying it entirely. Until she knew what was inside, she wasn’t willing to risk that.

Bastan, on the other hand, might.

“What’s in it?”

“It is of little matter,” he said.

“What’s in the rest of the warehouse?” she asked.

He looked up and chuckled. “That annoys you, doesn’t it? Seeing all of those crates, wondering how much wealth might be present there, and thinking that someone has something more than you?”

Sam glared at him. “That’s not what I was saying.” She threw herself down in the chair across the table from him, looking at Bastan. Behind him hung a painting with the canals depicted on it. As she’d discovered when she’d snuck into his office a few days before, there was something behind the painting, though she doubted it was the easar paper. Maybe that really was gone. Sold. Had she only known what he hid back there, she would have kept it for herself.

“That’s always what you’re saying, Samara. You’re always worried about what other people have, and you rarely take the time to be thankful for everything that you have.

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