Brotherhood of the Strange (Kingship, Tales from the Aether Book 1) Read Online Free

so much else in the room, had been pushed back from the Temporal Accelerator’s entrance, though the globe itself seemed undamaged.
    “Yes, please,” came Degory’s reply. In truth Degory cared nothing about the drink, much less about sharing it with the lunatic who was pouring it for him. Degory was running out of time. His plan was to be in this office for no more than two minutes. He had planned his jump back to his study accordingly. As each minute passed, those painstakingly generated calculations were becoming less and less accurate, and he was no longer certain where he might end up. He was also almost positive his arrival would not go undetected. This floating upland isle that headquartered the Brotherhood of the Strange had all sorts of measures in place to keep intruders out and secrets in. As these measures were often products of arcane or occult knowledge, Degory was sure that the Accelerator had disrupted the ley line energies alerting Charles, the impossibly complex differential engine which practically ran the whole complex, that something was awry. It would only be a matter of minutes before armed guards, many of which he would probably know, would be making their way into the room. Further, Maxfield was never supposed to know the device was fully operational. All of his bluffing, his delays, his outright lies were now for naught. Maxfield would now find insidious reasons to use it, and would become a force Degory would not be in a position to undermine. If he was to rekindle a hope of exposing Maxfield and the Hand of Paris to the Brotherhood, he needed time, and Degory was about the only person in the world who could actually make it. It was necessary to act though Degory was not sure what to do. With his back turned as he poured a pair of drinks it would be a simple enough matter to run Maxfield through with his sword cane. However, Degory had never killed a man before and the goal was to discredit this madman, not martyr him. The blunt pommel of his cane would have to do.
    How Maxfield had anticipated Degory’s attack at the very last moment was bewildering to say the least, though in hindsight Degory suspected the will of whatever evil emanated from Pandora’s Box had a goal to preserve its foothold in the world, and that foothold was Maxfield. As Degory had attempted to knock him out with the pommel of his stick, Maxfield had turned flinging the alcoholic contents of his glass into Degory’s face. His eyes burned and snapped shut on reflex. He then felt Maxfield’s fist connect with his ribs, knocking much of the wind from him, unprepared as he was for the blow.
    “Degory, Degory, Degory,” came the chastening voice of Maxfield like a wounded father disappointed in a wayward child. “I thought you were one to be trusted. I see now that pride has claimed your heart. A pride that I’m sorry to say, makes you unfit to rule with your betters.”
    Degory struggled to regain his breath as he wiped away the fluid from his burning eyes. He saw Maxfield, now standing behind his desk, with a double barreled pistol trained upon him. His eyes showed a genuine sadness knowing that Degory was unwilling to be a part of his mad scheme. Somehow still clutching his sword cane, Degory tried to think of a way out of his present circumstance. While he was an expert fencer, Degory Priest was not often a man of martial action. He could think of no pithy quip to insult Maxfield, nor keep him guessing as to his next move. Instead, he quickly leaned over the control panel of the Temporal Accelerator and threw the switch that began the power up sequence. The nine concentric rings, which had almost stopped spinning during their conversation, surged anew. As he did Maxfield fired his weapon. Fortunately for Degory the machine sat between the two former colleagues and the first shot ricocheted off the brass and steel of the nine rings. Without pause, the now irritated Maxfield fired his second shot as Degory dove behind