Alutar: The Great Demon Read Online Free Page A

thoughts. You do realize that any spies in Herinak will not miss the amassing of twenty thousand lancers?”
    “Since when are you concerned about spies in Korocca?” retorted Garth. “You have always behaved as if it was impossible.”
    “I did,” the baron admitted with a sigh. “I guess I have been foolish in more ways than one. King Myer informed me that his Patriots discovered three Federation soldiers trading in their uniforms for the garb of merchants and boarding the monthly ferry from Ur. My men were waiting for them when they arrived. It took some doing, but each of them finally admitted their guilt. You are welcome to witness the execution in the morning if you wish.”
    Garth did not respond immediately, and when he did, it took the baron by surprise.
    “I would like one of the spies,” stated Garth. “Hopefully one of them whose body does not show the signs of a strong interrogation.”
    “You want his body?” balked the baron.
    “No, Baron,” Garth smiled tautly. “I want him alive, and I need a tailor if you can summon one.”
    “These men are spies,” retorted Baron Stikman. “They must be executed.”
    “The man you give to me will die,” Garth promised, “but I intend to make his death worthwhile to our cause.” Garth turned to Clint and grabbed his arm before he could leave. “I need the badger brooch that you carry. Do you have it with you?”
    Clint nodded as he reached into a pouch and carefully extracted the golden brooch. “Be careful with the pin,” he warned. “The poison kills quickly.”

Chapter 2
Mutilated Coins
    Lord Zachary smiled at Queen Samir and leaned back in his chair. He looked around the room casually one last time to make sure that there were no servants in the room. The queen of Spino had sent the guards away quite a while ago, leaving the two of them alone to discuss the upcoming wedding of Prince Samuel to the Vinafor nobleman’s daughter. Lord Zachary knew that the minor breech in security was because of the sensitive nature of their discussions. The queen didn’t want anyone to suspect that she was making Prince Samuel marry so that she could seize a large portion of the Vinaforan’s wealth. Her greed pleased Lord Zachary.
    “I think we have accomplished a great deal today,” stated Lord Zachary as he rose. “There is more that I wanted to cover, but I must not take up all of your time. I will leave you with a listing of the assets that I will be transferring to you on the day of the wedding. Please look it over so that we can finalize everything tomorrow.”
    The queen’s eyes grew large as Lord Zachary placed the papers on the table. The Alcean spymaster knew that the queen wanted to read the list immediately, and that is why he had saved it until it was time for him to leave. He suspected that Queen Samir would not recall her guards or call for servants until she had read the complete list and hidden it from prying eyes. Lord Zachary turned and left the small sitting room without further conversation.
    Just down the hall from the queen’s small sitting room was a waiting room. Its purpose was to allow visitors a place to sit comfortably while waiting for one of the many functionaries in the palace. It was seldom used, but the Alcean spymaster expected a particular sergeant to be in the room. Sergeant Batt had been instructed to stand in the waiting room and stare out the window every day at this time of day. Lord Zachary careful eased the door open and saw the back of the sergeant where he expected to find him. He looked around the small room to make sure that they were alone before entering and walking up behind the sergeant.
    “Do not turn around, Sergeant Batt,” Lord Zachary said softly to the sergeant.
    The Spinoan sergeant stiffened at the command, but he did as he was told. He continued to stare out the window.
    “The queen is alone in her small sitting room just down the hall,” the spymaster instructed. “She will remain alone for