Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (best interesting books to read txt) 📕

that’s all it was. I was sent to learn about you. The nature of your Talent. I didn’t understand it myself at first. I was simply satisfying an assignment. As I learned more, I realized I had been sent to determine whether you were a threat to Cooper. Tonight I am here because he is a threat to you. If I hadn’t arranged this meeting, I’d give it a couple months at most, and you’d be dead.” Iona turned to Cooper, “Truly?” Cooper shrugged, “Possibly. It depends on where your current loyalties lie. You were present when the Spymaster died but I’m not certain how closely you remain affiliated with the University. You did deliver my letter to the Prince; that much is obvious. He seems the honorable sort, but we took measures to insure he held to his end of the agreement.”

Iona nodded, “It’s my opinion that he’s noble by more than birth. He accepted your terms despite the Lord General’s fervent protests.” Cooper let a corner of his mouth curl up as he looked a Felis. Felis chuckled and gave him a nod of deference, “Well played.” Cooper turned his gaze back to Iona, “I wouldn’t have killed you, and still won’t, as long as you also abide by that accord. I’ve heard of others referring to this as a ‘live and let live’ understanding.” He raised an eyebrow and Iona nodded in reply. Cooper smiled, “Then this makes twice, perhaps three times you have avoided a Guild blade. Grief could’ve, and perhaps should’ve, ended your life on the waterfront. He was later imprisoned by those you now work alongside.”

Iona blurted, “Yes. We met again. In the prison. There wasn’t much I could do for him then, but I did try.” Cooper nodded and smiled, “I can ask him about that soon enough. He’s just outside.” Iona’s eyes grew wide, “He’s here? But the prison…!” She glanced at Felis but returned her gaze to Cooper, “You’ve broken him out?!” Cooper turned to Felis, who answered, “She doesn’t know. I started putting pieces together a few days ago, but I haven’t explained anything to her.” He took a quick breath and nodded toward the door, “You’d better start bringing them in. It’s only going to get brighter outside.” Iona looked confused as Cooper nodded and stepped to the door to wave the rest of them to come in. He’d prefer that Felis explain whatever he knew to her anyway. He needed to check on Kolrem.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was inside the house and Kolrem had confirmed Iona’s attempt to make his incarceration less torturous. Cooper returned to the corner where Felis and Iona had remained. They were the subjects of many suspicious glares, along with a few suppressed cries of surprise at seeing Felis there. Iona was still sorting through the notion that the Guild has successfully conducted a prison break. Cooper interrupted their discussion, “I think Grief considers you ‘even’. I’d have killed you right after the Spymaster, if not for the lightning.” Felis interjected, “Lightning?” Felis looked at Iona. She shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. Getting no answer he turned to Cooper, who explained, “I was drawing the Spymaster out so I could kill him. He must've figured out who I was and thought he was hunting me. We each thought we had the upper hand. In a way, we were both right. He brought mages and one of them managed to throw lightning. It was incredible. If I hadn’t thought I was going to die, I’d have been more appreciative of that display of power. It wasn’t clean, but I lived. He didn’t.”

Iona was left feeling very uncomfortable. She had a lot of new information to process all at once, and much of it conflicted with what she’d previously accepted as “true”. Though in honesty, she’d recently begun to question the validity of reports and research done by the University. She turned to Felis, “Are we done here? If it’s all the same to you, I need to return to the Palace. My absence will be noticed.” She turned to Cooper with raised eyebrows, “Especially following a prison break.” Cooper voiced a veiled threat, directed at Felis, “She knows where we are, and of your involvement…” Felis asked Iona, “Live and let live?” She paused, mentally wrestling with all the new information, and the emotions that were connected to them. She sighed and nodded her agreement. Felis seemed to accept her response but Cooper pressed, asking Felis, “You’re vouching for her?” Felis took another glance at her then answered, “Yes. I am.” He asked Iona, “Would you wait for me at the door? Two minutes or less, I promise.” She didn’t respond except to walk to the door. Felis leaned down and spoke quickly and quietly, “The Library survived. During the raid, Master Darius fled to the library and disabled the counterweights, sealing himself inside. I went in a couple days later to assess the damage and tried to get into the library. Together he and I got the passage open again. By that time he was nearly mad with thirst. Over the following weeks we transported the library a sack load or cart load at a time.” Cooper had waited for Felis to finish his tale, then asked, “Where?” Felis smiled, “Jarell’s old house in the Grid. The Guild still owns it, after all.” Felis left Cooper in stunned silence as he walked to join Iona, and led her outside to see the first sliver of the sun as it peeked over the horizon.

Cooper turned his attention to getting everyone settled. It felt almost like a repeat of the activities following the raid of the quarry, except that everyone here was committed to the Guild. He spoke briefly to the Journeymen, “There's no reason to assume the Guard or Army would conduct a house-to-house. The prisoners were obviously put aboard ships, and as far as anyone knows, those ships