Revolutionary Magic (with Bonus Content) Read Online Free Page A

do receive appears written by madmen, though given the strange occurrences around here, it might be this plague of magic has a stronger hold in Russia."
    A cold and bony hand seized around my heart. My son Pavel was a member of the emperor's court, and I had not received a letter from him in a few months. It'd been a heavy winter and letters might have been delayed, but they should have arrived by now. This news and the absence of communication from my son left me with dark thoughts.
    Suddenly, Ben was beside me, while Smith left the room, glancing ominously in my direction before he disappeared through a door. Ben placed a warm hand on my forearm, giving it a little squeeze. He smelled like pine needles and hearth fires. I wanted to lean against him.
    "I know this comes as troubling news," said Ben. "And I'm afraid I must impinge upon your wounded heart once again. Until the source of the recent events can be resolved, you cannot stay at the estate. There are other secrets you are not privy to, and your presence in the house will make it impossible to keep them from you."
    The bony hand around my heart cinched tighter. "Then where am I to live?"
    "I own a house on the south side of Market Street. The previous resident and I had a disagreement so she no longer lives there and I haven't been able or wanted to rent it out since then. It's a wonderful place. You'll love the bath, it has no equal in the known world," he said.
    "I don't care for baths," I said.
    "I'm sorry, Kat. It has to be this way right now. While we sort this out, which will happen sooner rather than later, I've taken the liberty of setting up the printing shop. It's only a few blocks from here," he said, patting my hand like a father with his wayward child. "I hired some porters to move your things to the new place. You should find everything you need."
    He handed me an envelope with his seal stamped into the red wax. On the outside in a patient script was the address.
    "I am to be cast out of the Society?"
    He shook his head, features cast into an appropriately sympathetic frown. "A momentary delay."
    "Well, then," I said, shivering despite the warmth of the room.
    "Kat, I know you can still help us. Use that prodigious mind of yours and help us figure out this mystery. It'll go a long way towards assuaging the doubts of the Society," he said.
    I pulled away, thoughts whirling through my head like a windstorm.
    "I must take a walk to clear my head," I said, marching towards the front door.
    "When you return, I'll give you a tour of your new business and home," said Ben with a hopeful smile.
    The door closed harder than I wanted, the abrupt bang like a gunshot, leaving me to cringe. I didn't want Ben to get the impression that I wasn't appreciative of his defense and the lodging. Truthfully, I had much to be thankful for in the house of Ben Franklin. I could scarcely complain about the treatment I'd received from Ben, especially given the circumstances.
    It wasn't the banishment from the estate that had left me deep in my thoughts. It was what had been said before, about Russia and the blooming of magic in my birthplace. The implications were varied and wide, and gave me great worries for the safety of my son.
    But more importantly, this news troubled me for one simple fact.
    I was a Russian spy .

Chapter Three
    It'd never been my intention to become a spy for the emperor of Russia. I'd thought my existence in Philadelphia a secret until a month ago.
    While visiting the Camden yards across the Delaware River to watch the military airships take flight over the ocean in the predawn sky, I'd been standing along the stacked stone wall that kept the river behind me at bay. A man had strolled up and though I'd been aware of him, I had expected him to pass without comment.
    When he said my full name, the one they announced at court, I knew I'd been found. He made it known that he carried a repeating pistol and that if I didn't nod in all the right places, he would