Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series by Jeffrey Quyle Read Free Book Online Page B

held riches he hadn’t dreamed of seeing.
    “ Where did this come from?” Menard asked. “Where’s the rest of it? This was the earl’s own money; it’s the treasury that was stolen!”
    “ I can’t get it all, but I’ll bring a great deal more back if you pledge to use it to pay the army and hire the soldiers you need to fight the Conglomerate,” Alec promised. “How I got it is a mystery we don’t need to address today.”
    Menard looked at Alec with a long, hard stare. “How much can you bring, and how fast?”
    “ Will you use it for the army?” Alec pressed.
    “ What else is there?” Menard asked.
    “ I don’t know, but you didn’t answer my question,” Alec suddenly felt a strange sense that the major domo could not be trusted.
    “ Your insolence is going to have you imprisoned until you return our money to us,” Menard replied, rising to his feet. “It appears that you are the thief who stole the money, and you are going to suffer consequences.”
    Alec used his Spiritual energy to sense the emotion of the man who stood across from him. Menard radiated greed and treachery, and suddenly Alec had a flash of intuition. “You were the one who tried to steal it in the first place! And now you’re going to steal it again. You’ll sell the Countess out to make yourself rich and powerful!”
    “ That’s enough,” Menard shouted back. “Guards!” he yelled loudly, then yelled again.
    “ Who else is in this conspiracy with you?” Alec asked. He heard boots in the hallway. “Who was helping you rob the Earl?”
    “ This man must go to the prison cells immediately,” Menard told the guards who entered the office. “He’s a thief!”
    “ Take a look at the money on his desk,” Alec told the guards. “All of that is meant to be used to pay the back wages you are owed. If you don’t receive your pay, tell everyone who had it last,” he said. He had decided to go along with imprisonment briefly, to see what he could arrange before he resorted to using his powers.
    “ Take him to the cells, then report directly back here,” Menard ordered.
    Alec was silently taken deep under the castle, where a jailer locked him in a cell as the two escorts left the dungeon. “I want to see Major Perry,” Alec told the jailer.
    “ Good luck,” the jailer responded. “You’ll see who you see if anyone comes down to see you.”
    “ Send for Hankins or Moines,” Alec said. “It’s important that I see someone. I think Menard is going to steal the gold that’s meant for your payroll.”
    “ You can rest your feet, and your jaws. I’m not sending for anyone. So be quiet,” the jailer replied, annoyed.
    “ If that’s the way you want it,” Alec told him, ready to take further steps.
    “ That’s the way I want it,” the jailer affirmed.
    Alec trans-located himself out of the cell and into the open room where the jailer sat. “What should we do now?” Alec asked. “Should I lock you in a cell, or leave you out here?”
    The man astonished by Alec’s inexplicable appearance protested. “You can’t do that.”
    Alec turned his back to the man, then trans-located away from the dungeon up to the hall outside Major Perry’s office. “Gallatin, I have to see the major,” Alec spoke hurriedly. “It’s urgent.”
    “ He’s on a tour of the castle. I don’t expect him back for an hour,” the corporal replied.
    “ How does he get along with Menard?” Alec probed, fearful that Perry might be in cahoots with the major domo.
    “ Between you and me, he doesn’t say a bad word about him,” Gallatin answered. “But he doesn’t go out of his way to talk to the man either.”
    “ Where’s my best chance to catch him?” Alec asked.
    “ Always count on high odds at the armory,” Gallatin. “He’s likely to stop there if he stops anywhere.”
    No longer concerned about discretion, Alec trans-located to the armory, where he found Perry sparring with Harbin. “Major, I need to talk to