Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) by B. Throwsnaill Read Free Book Online

wouldn’t even be kept alive long enough for torture and interrogation were she captured.
    But she sensed an opportunity in the idea that perhaps the automaton had emotions like a real person did .  She even considered the possibility that maybe it had once been a person .  And she felt, instinctively, that she needed its help.
    "My masters do hurt people– I’ve seen it before ," observed the Gnome sullenly , breaking the silence brought on by Hemlock’s contemplation .
    " Merit, do you think you can help me to help my neighborhood? " she asked , thinking back to a certain woman that Hemlock had always admired for seeming matriarchal , and trying to emulate her manner of speech .
    " Well… " the Gnome said and then hesitated.  "I can try– but what if they hurt me? "
    " We’ll arrange it so they will never find out , Merit. "
    …
    Safreon had been mock furious when she’d told him that Megan was really a pseudonym , and that she was the thief known as Hemlock.  She knew that her minor celebrity within the Warrens would elicit a reaction from him.
    " You’re Hemlock? " he had responded , first with disbelief and then with theatrical rage . " YOU ARE HEMLOCK? "
    He sat down then and actually chuckled.  He always grasped for the hair at the front of his head (that hadn’t yet succumbed to baldness) when he laughed.  She found it to be an endearing habit .
    " I’ve followed your career for many years now," h e stated seriously.  " You were greedy and sometimes you were cruel.  But then the word was that you had changed and I started to hear t hat you were losing your edge– that you were sparing your victims who were weak or poor or who pleaded with you sincerely.  It was then that my heart knew hope that maybe this …Hemlock… mig ht be someone of real substance, s omeone who might take up the cause that I work toward. "
    " Safreon, have you been lonely all of these years? " Hemlock asked soberly , changing the subject.  "Haven’t you found any other companions besides me? "
    " There have been others ," he sighed heavily, but seemed to catch himself before elaborating. "B ut none that could commit to the life of one s such as we.  There is little glory or profit in it. "
    " I cannot believe that in the whole of the Warrens that there are no others who feel as we do and have the str ength to fight for their ideals," she said, her eyes burning with indignation.
    " Spoken like a true idealist ," he responded, smiling .  " I’ve found that many people’s hearts are in the right place.  B ut we need leaders and people of action, because we are trying to lead the Warrens to a place where it hasn’t been before .  Most people just aren’t ready to accept change , let alone cham pion it!" H e had finished the final sentence with a comic heroic flourish and had hit his head on a low ceiling beam in the process.
    Hemlock laughed as he rubbed his head and glared at her, muttering some mild curses under his breath , though he wore a rueful smile on his face as he uttered them .
    …
    Hemlock believed that she was close to getting the Gnome to reveal the layout of the Wizard Tower to her .
    " Oh yes , Miss Megan, I have seen the thing that makes the lights in the evening.  It is in the atrium on the seventh floor.  That’s where all of the most powerful wizards work .  The y are called the Seventh Circle," Merit commented with some unmistakable pride in his voice.
    " And do each of the other floors have a ‘circle’ of wizards as well? " asked Hemlock , scratching nervously at her scalp through her hair.
    " Yes , Miss Megan ."
    Merit had started calling her Miss Megan at some point in the conversation , which she hadn’t noticed immediately .  She took it as a term of endearment and a reassuring sign.  She felt sure that she was the only being that had been kind and attentive to Merit in many , many years ,   and s he planned to use this to her advantage.
    " Why does it matter what circle the