The Bygone Archive by Joseph Lallo

Author:Joseph Lallo [Lallo, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Martin pulled the final plate from the final compartment of the final contraption he’d not yet searched. Despite his growing certainty that Wick was at the root of their spy problem, he continued his search. In part, it was because he still harbored some hope that he was wrong. Wick was a profoundly useful contraption, and Martin had come to think of him as not only a friend but also a member of the family. If he was now a liability, and a traitor…

“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing but cogs, disks, and axles. No hidden contraptions. Nothing that could explain… what I already explained.”

He pushed the dismantled contraption aside and cradled his head. Finding something besides Wick to explain the leaking information wasn’t the only goal of the continuing search. In the Masker family, the task always came first. It was a family trait and a family tradition, taught to children and practiced like a ritual. When there was a job to do, the job was the only thing. Martin could throw his entire mind into any task, and he could stay focused upon it regardless of whatever else was happening, or wasn’t happening, or might happen. But the very moment he dismissed this final contraption, the floodgates opened and he was forced to confront his looming uncertainties: that he had no clue where his daughter was or if she was safe; that his son was in a place that precious few adventurers had ever returned from, doing business with mystic creatures that could kill him with a flick of their tail. And though the kids had made their own decisions, it didn’t change anything. He and his wife had willingly sent them off to these tasks.

He gritted his teeth and turned. There must be something else to search. He’d pulled up floorboards and checked the spaces between joists. He’d punched holes in plaster to search within. He’d even pulled the coals and dust out of the stove that normally heated his workshop. Nothing. In fact, the replacement of the vigorous, sweaty work of tearing apart the house with the meticulous work of disassembling the last of the contraptions had given him a bit of a chill without the oven smoldering. He grabbed a log and his sparker, but something in his head clicked.

Martin took Wick’s lit lantern, its flickering flame indicating the sentry’s absence, and held it up to the emptied and cleaned stove. He peered inside and ran his fingers along the base plate. It hadn’t been this clean in years. Immediately, something felt wrong about it. It was quite smooth. Everywhere else on the thing had the rough texture of a casting. But this felt hammered. Flattened. Worked.

He knocked on the side of the stove. A dull thunk and a painful knuckle were the result. He knocked on the bottom. A tinny ring. He’d heard the sound a thousand times when adding fresh wood into the oven. He stuck his head inside and ran his fingers around the edge.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.