The Warlock's Gambit by David Alastair Hayden, Pepper Thorn Read Free Book Online Page A

records are going to make a comeback, along with typewriters and handwritten letters, once people realize computers are a waste of money and time.”
    “She must be ancient!” Morgan said. “Those things are all cool, but they are never coming back.”
    “She's old, but not that old. She's … I don't know, weird about some things. Especially things she doesn't understand.”
    “Well, I’ll have this figured out in no time.”
    “Not just a pretty face,” Arthur said lightly.
    Morgan actually turned away from the computer. She spun her chair around and gazed at him with eyes like laser beams. Instinctively, he took a step back.
    “You think I’m pretty, Arthur?”
    “Uh, well …” His cheeks flushed. “Yeah.”
    She cocked her head and chewed at her lip as if confused … as if it wasn’t obvious how attractive she was.
    “Morgan, everyone thinks you’re pretty.”
    “Everyone is not someone, Arthur.”
    “Huh? What the heck does that mean?”
    “Those people … the ones who think I’m kind of cute or whatever —”
    “Beautiful,” Arthur said, flushing to what he was certain was a deep crimson. He couldn’t believe he was telling her this. “You’re like the prettiest girl in the whole school.”
    Her eyes glinted for a moment, and her cheeks flushed. “Well … I mean … thanks. But … but my point is … those people don’t count.”
    “Why?”
    “Because they don’t know me. You do.”
    Arthur wasn't sure he'd claim to know Morgan, but if she thought so, he wasn't going to argue with her. “So because I know you, and still like you, my opinion matters?”
    “Of course.” She went back to the computer as if the conversation had never happened.
    He started to say something more, uncomfortable with leaving it there, but she stopped him.
    “Shh. Listen.”
    “Can’t hear anything,” he whispered after several moments. The screen was showing Maid cleaning in the Smoking Lounge.
    “Oh, wait. I see how the volume is controlled now. This setup is simple and intuitive, but definitely not like any operating system from Earth.”
    “Doesn’t look simple.”
    She did something, and the sound of Maid’s dust mop got louder.
    “So if we press the mouth symbol …”
    “We should be able to talk to someone in the room we’re looking at,” Arthur said.
    “Exactly.”
    Arthur expected her to give it a try, but she didn’t. She started dragging some of the display windows around through touch, and then she started playing with some of the panels that weren't showing video of the rooms. It really was like one big tablet computer.
    “Luckily, I can read all these strange characters,” Morgan said. “I just don't recognize some of the symbols that would be common to whoever designed this operating system. I don't know what most of these applications do, either. One is for writing documents and another for recording voice, but the rest … I suspect they control different aspects of the Manse or something like that. I'm just going to have to sit here and play with it.”
    She started digging through menus, opening and closing windows. Arthur stood admiring the space outside, until he became restless, then he scanned the bookshelves. There were titles like Space Tactics of the Androzi, How to Conquer Planets and Subjugate Their Populations, and Infiltration for the Faint of Heart. These were probably all books Arthur should have been reading instead of Seventh Grade Literature and To Kill a Mockingbird .
    Arthur reached the door to his bedroom. “I’m going to check out my room, okay?”
    Morgan suddenly said, “Oh, Arthur … thanks.”
    “For what?”
    “For saying I’m pretty.”
    “You’re … you’re welcome.”

Chapter Five
    Arthur’s Sweet Suite
    A rthur opened the door from the Paladin’s Office to the Paladin's Chambers … his chambers … and froze.
    “Oh —”
    Lexi rushed over. “Something wrong, dearie?”
    He shook his head, dumbfounded.
    Vassalus joined them in