Free The Unwilling Accomplice (Book 5) by Heidi Willard Page B

the weak light. "Is that familiar to you? I'm sure you have the one that belonged to your father," the captain commented. Percy smirked and pulled out the ring he had pulled from his father's severed hand after the battle at Tramadore. He gripped it tightly in his hand, and the captain chuckled. "There's little use holding onto it as anything other than a memento. The power is gone, destroyed with the army beneath Tramadore," he told the young man.
    Percy sneered at the worthless trinket and tossed the ring. It clattered beside the captain's ring and he leaned forward. "So I may safely assume your master is-" The captain clapped his hand over the young man's mouth and scowled at him.
    "Don't speak his name so easily, boy," the captain warned him. He slid his hand off and the smile slipped back onto his face. "But as for your question, he is my master, and yours, if you hope to find your answers."
    "And what are my questions?" Percy wondered.
    "You want to know if those stones still have power, and if that power can still be used," the captain mused. Percy's lips turned down, and the captain chuckled. "You're a simple book to read like your father. The Master saw through him easily enough."
    "I am not my father. I will succeed in my plans to rule the southern regions," Percy objected.
    The captain smirked. "Not without those stones, and nobody can tell you how to work them except the Master. That is, unless you're going to ask your friends. I'm sure Edwin would be interested to know you've been keeping secrets from him, and does your moralistic assassin know of your deceit?"
    Percy frowned. "He suspects, but he won't act until he's confident something is amiss." His eyes brushed over the captain's smiling face, and he leaned forward. "But what of the stones? I have read in books that magical items retain at least a small portion of their magic after they are broken, and the elves suspect as much themselves. Are these an exception?"
    "Show me one," the captain demanded. Percy cautiously pulled the piece of the Caston Region Stone from his pocket and handed it to his companion. The captain turned the rock over in his hands and smirked. "This is no exception. On the contrary, the elves have every reason to fear these stones. There is quite a bit of magic left in it, though with such original power that isn't surprising." As though to prove his point the stone glowed softly in his hand, but the light was quickly extinguished to avoid attracting attention. "See? It reacts to what little magic I contain."
    "But can it be used in any way by a person with no castoring abilities?" Percy asked him.
    "Yes, with the right skill and incantations," the captain replied. He handed back the stone and Percy discreetly pocketed the item.
    Percy smirked. "I may have just the book with the incantations, but do you care to share the secret of the skill?" he wondered.
    The captain laid his arms on the table and grinned at the eager young man. "Yes, for a price."
    Percy raised an eyebrow. "What is this price?"
    "A distraction, and your fealty to my Master," the captain told him.
    Percy frowned, leaned back and shook his head. "No, I will not swear loyalty to anyone but myself. My father gave his loyalty to your Master and he now lies crushed beneath several tons of stone."
    The captain chuckled and leaned back. "Then what you have in your pocket will remain a rock, and you will end your days as nothing more than an outcast, the cursed son of a traitor. Despised by your enemies and pitied by your friends."
    "I have no friends, only those with whom I travel," Percy sneered.
    "All the more pitiable, but it does not get you any closer to your dreams of power," the captain commented.
    Percy narrowed his eyes. "What assurance do I have that I can trust your Master's favor?" he wondered.
    The captain smiled and held out his hand. "May I see that stone once more?" he requested. Percy hesitated, but handed over one of the stones. Lee set the stone in the