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

while.
    He carefully went down the hidden stairs, through a short corridor, and came to a closed door with light pouring out from under it. He opened the door and stepped into a large room. 
    There were wall-to-wall bookcases in the room, but unlike upstairs, there were neither worktables nor books on the floor. In front of an empty fireplace was a nice rug, and on that, a comfortable-looking, worn couch and a disused, worn decorative chair and ottoman.
    Andre did a full tour, hunting again for a brass tube or plans. There was nothing—nothing but books, bookcases, a fireplace, furniture, and the rug.
    “So, is this room as simple as it seems? I doubt it. Why have the stairs painted so perfectly to look like a wall? Every time I take you for simple, Monsieur Klaus, you show me I’m wrong.”
    He examined a dozen books, one by one, and discarded each of them. He moved the furniture and rolled up the rug. There were some meaningless lines; clearly the hardwood flooring had been imperfectly done. 
    Then something dawned on him. There were no windows, no oil lamps, nor any candles—and yet the room was perfectly lit. Bewildered, Andre walked into the middle of the room and held out his arm to see where the shadow would be cast.
    “No shadows? Remarkable. So, this man is a genius. A master of hiding in plain sight, it seems.”
    “LeLoup!” came a faint shout from one of his horsemen outside. Andre ran out to join them.
    Two of his men were standing beside their horses. A yellow bundle was tied up beside them, on the ground.
    “Only two of you? Where’s the other one?” he demanded to know.
    “He didn’t make it,” said one of the horsemen.
    “What? Taken down by a girl in a yellow hood?” said LeLoup aghast.
    “Um, yes,” said the other horseman.
    “Well,” said LeLoup, “it seems that a Klaus of any age isn’t to be underestimated.”
    “We did catch her though!” said the first horseman, pointing at the yellow bundle.
    Andre rolled his eyes. “Yes. I can see that.” He couldn’t see her face, but didn’t care.
    “Excellent. Things are getting back on track,” said Andre. “Put her in the kitchen. Monsieur Klaus will come to us now.” He couldn’t help but grin.

CHAPTER SEVEN

What Big Ears
     
    Egelina-Marie’s mother had wanted her to have a different career—anything other than being one of the guards men . She wasn’t sure how she’d tell her friends that her only child, her lovely daughter, had become a town guard.
    “Egg-lean-na Mar-ie” her mother would say, drawing out her name, believing it would help her daughter change her mind. “What type of career is that for a woman? You could be a seamstress, or a nurse, or—”
    “A guardsman, Mama. I want to be a guardsman, like Papa,” Egelina-Marie would reply. 
    A couple of months ago, when her daughter had turned nineteen years old, she finally accepted the path her daughter had chosen. 
    She’d been coming to terms with it over time—ever since she’d first noticed her daughter sneaking off into the forest with an old rifle of her father’s. Sometimes she would secretly follow her daughter and watch her practice, amazed at her skill as she shot, from an incredible distance away, at rocks she’d lined up on a fallen tree. 
    Yesterday, as she’d watched her daughter up on stage with the other boot camp graduates, her heart had filled with pride. Egelina-Marie was the only woman among them, and from the reaction of the crowd, she wouldn’t be the last. Her mother admired her daughter’s determination—it reminded her so much of her husband.

    “You must remember,” said the overbearing sergeant to Egelina-Marie, “that even when you are marching for hours, you have to stay alert. It’s probably the most important lesson for day one. You never know when something is going to happen. You need to be ready for it.”
    Egelina-Marie rolled her eyes and kept walking. They had already talked about alertness and being ready