Along Came a Wolf (The Yellow Hoods, #1): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale by Adam Dreece Read Free Book Online Page A

had he found nothing regarding a steam engine, he hadn’t found anything that could serve as a potential substitute to appease St. Malo.
    He started to wonder if this guy really was the famous, inventive genius behind the Tub? Maybe he was a fraud? Klaus’ life seemed too simple and mundane. To LeLoup, it was almost offensive.
    He decided he needed a break—to make a cup of tea, and reflect. At least he could appreciate Klaus’ selection of tea. After making a cup, he sat down and gazed around the small kitchen. It was so… common that it was almost painful to look at.
    LeLoup was one of the whispered names in the western kingdoms. He was known to get you what you wanted—whether a message delivered, or an item acquired. He avoided assassination work; it lacked a certain amount of class, in his opinion.
    He wasn’t yet the most infamous ‘messenger’ in the profession, but he wanted to be. He had only ever failed once, and though it had happened very early in his twenty-year career, it still haunted him. If he didn’t return with what St. Malo had asked for, or better, his career would be over.
    Simon St. Malo had offered him three times his usual fee—a great amount of money—to get some drawings from an old man. That amount had made Andre suspicious, so he had done some research on Klaus and St. Malo. He’d learned about a rivalry that stretched back decades. St. Malo seemed to make it his business to take and twist whatever Klaus invented. Though St. Malo was also an inventor, he was nothing compared to Klaus. In fact, St. Malo seemed to be insanely jealous of the man’s pure genius.
    LeLoup picked up and played with the long shocking rod, but couldn’t get it to work. He cast it aside, deciding it was not worth bringing to St. Malo. How could it possibly compare with something called a steam engine ? St. Malo had made it clear: The steam engine would radically change the movement of people, soldiers, and weapons. A stick wasn’t going to satisfy him.
    Andre’s eyes wandered up to the kitchen ceiling. He appreciated quality woodworking, and noticed the intricate crown molding. The five-inch tall strip of wood had the most detailed set of engraved symbols and shapes he’d ever seen.
    As Andre relaxed, he started to wonder if it wasn’t just for decoration. He slowly got up and toured the other rooms. As he exited each room, he became more and more convinced that the kitchen’s moldings were indeed out of place.
    “You, my curious woodwork, are only in here. Why is that? I’m certain Klaus likes to sit here, as I do, sipping his tea. Which means—you must be hiding a story. Are you related to the plans, I wonder? Maybe something better?” he pondered aloud.
    Andre stood up on a chair to get a better view. “What are you trying to say, hmm? My ears can almost hear your story. My nose can smell the importance. But, I can’t see you properly, my curious woodwork. There isn’t enough light,” he said. 
    He paused for a moment, letting a thought from the depths of his mind bubble up. “Enough light,” he muttered to himself.
    He hopped off the chair and went back to the entrance of the home. He looked at the stairs leading from the entranceway landing up to the kitchen, and the walls on either side. Something didn’t seem quite right.
    Opening the front door, he looked again at the stairs and the walls on either side. Picking up a shoe, he threw it to the left of the stairs and watched it bounce off the wall. Then he threw a shoe to the right of it, and watched it go through what looked like a wall and land on an unseen floor below. The house was a split-level.
    “Ah—a trompe-l’oeil ,” he said, smiling from ear to ear. “Smart, Klaus. An illusion painted so perfectly, you can’t see the stairs that go down. You didn’t account for the lighting at this exact time of day, did you? No—how could even you account for everything?” said LeLoup, feeling superior for the first time in a