Honor Among Thieves by Elaine Cunningham Page B

thief stepped forward and dipped into a low bow.
“A thousand pardons, my lord. I left your cloak in Muldonny’s
workroom.”
    “Fetch it immediately.” Avidan looked to Muldonny.
“With your permission?”
    As Fox expected, Muldonny turned to the clockwork
knight.
    “See Master Insa’amid’s man to the workroom and
return with him.”
    Fox bowed low to each alchemist in turn, and he left
with the adept’s globe of solvent tucked into his sleeve. It was,
if he did say so himself, a pretty bit of pocket-mining.
    He retrieved Avidan’s cloak from the floor of the
workroom and patted it down. The lining held several pockets.
Avidan had tucked into them four small ivory vials, all of them
carved from dragon’s teeth Fox had liberated from several private
collections.
    He grimaced at the sight of the scrimshaw carvings on
one of the teeth. The vial would be too easily traced. He tucked it
into his pocket.
    The clockwork servant gestured to the door. “Return
now.”
    Fox jumped, startled by the hollow, metallic voice.
“These things are talking now?”
    “Talking now.”
    “Empty night,” Fox muttered. “The adepts are getting
too good at their work.”
    “Return now,” the construct said.
    “If you’re in a hurry, feel free to go on without me.
In fact, if you would take these vials to my master, I’d appreciate
it.”
    “Take vials.”
    “That’s right,” Fox said. He held out two of the
dragon tooth vials.
    The clockwork servant stood motionless. Apparently it
took instructions from no one but Muldonny.
    Another idea came to Fox. He wandered over to the
worktable and picked up a handful of tiny gears.
    “Thief take clockwork!”
    “No, just exploring your ability to assess
situations.” He dropped the handful of metal onto the table. “Out
of curiosity, what would you do if I did steal something
from the workshop?”
    The clockwork servant spun toward the alcove where
the vats of solvent stood. On the floor just in front was a round
metal grate. The construct bent down and lifted the cover with
about as much effort as Fox might require to pick up his boots.
    “Thief disappears.”
    “That’s what I thought.” Fox hefted Muldonny’s globe
of solvent. “You go first.”
    He hurled the little sphere at the construct. Glass
shattered against its plate-armor chest.
    Fetid steam surrounded the clockwork knight. When it
cleared, no more than three heartbeats later, Fox could see the
solvent vats through a gaping hole in the construct’s chest.
    The clockwork servant stumbled forward and fell into
the shaft.
    Several moments passed before a distant clatter and
thud sounded from below.
    No splash.
    A triumphant smile spread across Fox’s face. He might
not be able to make the dagger switch today, but at least he’d
found a way into Muldonny’s manor.
    Now, to find a way to get himself and Avidan out .
    He shoved the grate back into place and looked around
for some sort of disguise.
    His gaze fell on the half-finished servant on the
worktable. The shell really did look like a suit of armor.
    He went over for a closer look. The torso was empty
except for a few handfuls of tightly assembled machinery. Fox
pulled them out and fed them to the vat of metal solvent.
    Fox climbed onto the table and worked his way into
the armor suit. He swung his legs over the side of the table and
found the metal was surprisingly light. Gripping the edge of the
table, he pulled himself upright.
    So far, so good.
    The helmet was another concern. To his relief he
could see through the hard silver substance covering the eye
sockets. He worked his hands into the articulated gloves, flexed
his fingers several times. He hopped off the table and took an
experimental step. The armor was a little too big, but it felt well
balanced. After two circuits of the workroom, he figured he was as
ready as he was likely to get. He clanked down the narrow stairs
leading to the courtyard.
    His heart quickened at the sight of Rhendish