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

the doorway and glanced inside. “Well, I say, that is a rather … unconventional mess — I mean, arrangement — you have.”
    “It … it’s not a mess,” Arthur replied. “It’s … wonderful. Hey, Morgan!”
    “I’m busy, moron.”
    “Morgan, you have t o see this.”
    She sighed dramatically as she walked toward him. “Fine. But this had better be good. You’re interrupting important — oh — wow.” She had stepped up beside him. “Well, get moving, moron. We can hardly see anything from here.”
    His chambers were so wonderful he didn’t even mind being called a moron (he was starting to get used to it anyway.) He stepped in, and the others followed.
    Arthur had expected a large bedroom with an attached bathroom, but there wasn’t even a bed in here. Directly across from the door hung the biggest TV he had ever seen. A plump, cozy looking, red-plaid couch sat facing it. He wandered over, the others trailing behind. All kinds of video game systems waited in cabinets built into the wall under the TV.
    The wall to his left looked like a used bookshop he'd seen in a movie once, with narrow shelves all the way up to the ceiling and a metal ladder that rolled from one end of the wall to the other. And every shelf was crammed full of books. He checked the titles. All his favorite pulp thriller and sci-fi novels were there, including what had to be the entire run of Doc Savage. There were whole shelves of authors he only had one or two books by at home. There were even shelves of manga and graphic novels and how-to-draw books.
    A door that Arthur assumed led to the Grand Hallway was on the wall opposite his personal library. But the space between it and the door to the Paladin’s Office was clearly an art studio. Two different types of drafting tables took up the corner. A long counter with an enormous metal sink stretched along the Office side of the area and, on the side closest to the Grand Hallway, were storage cabinets. Arthur peeked in one and discovered they were stuffed with art supplies: every sort of brush, pen, pencil, paint, and paper he could ever dream of using. He didn’t even know what half of the supplies were for. One of the drafting tables was made of pale, glossy wood and had a lamp hanging right over it. The other seemed to be made of glass and didn’t have an overhead light. He touched the smooth surface, and suddenly it came to life. It was a giant computer screen, like the one on the Paladin’s desk, except the operating system seemed specifically tailored to be used for drawing.
    “Morgan, you’re going to want to see this. It’s like a giant iPad just for art.”
    She glanced up, saw the lit up screen, and rushed over, abandoning her search on the opposite side of the room.
    “This is so cool.” She opened a drawer underneath the table. “Look, dozens of styluses. I love it.” She leaned down and hugged the screen; Arthur laughed.
    “I’ve never done any digital art. Obviously, since I don’t have a computer. I barely have pencils and paper.”
    “I prefer digital.”
    “Of course you do.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Just, you know, you get along well with computers. And I bet you don’t like to get your hands dirty with paint and ink and all that anyway.”
    “Hah! As a matter of fact, I … yeah, you know, I can’t even say it to spite you. I hate getting my hands dirty.”
    “Knew it.”
    “Shut up.” With a stylus, she drew a few strokes on the tablet and nodded. “I didn’t know you liked to draw so much, Arthur. I mean, I’ve seen you doodling in class, and you’re pretty good when you’re focusing.”
    His cheeks flushed a bit. “Thanks. I draw a lot at home.”
    “And read?” she asked, glancing over at the bookcases.
    “I don’t do much else.” He pointed at the television and the array of video game consoles connected to it. “Don’t know where that came from. I hardly ever watch TV, and I don’t get to play video games