Spycraft Academy by B. Miles (little readers .txt) 📕

‘pretty girls.’ They were his family, not dolls to be played with. He didn’t care if Apelles was a spymaster or not, Sam wouldn’t allow somebody to talk about his crew like that.

“Stop that immediately,” Apelles snarled. “You are a man, not a bratty teenager, and I am not your father, I am your instructor. You will not speak to me in that tone.”

Sam snapped his mouth shut and straightened his expression. Apelles was right, Sam had to remember where he was, who he was talking to, and who he was. Apelles was a spymaster. Sam was only a student.

He took a calming breath and spoke in a measured tone, “Delcan attacked me for going into his room. I went into his room because I believe something is going on with him in connection to the thief. I saw June, his crew member, walking in the forest not that long ago. She lifted a rock and ate something from underneath it.”

When Apelles cocked an eyebrow, Sam quickly added, “I know that sounds ridiculous. But it’s a feeling I can’t shake. Something was incredibly off about her behavior, and I couldn’t think of anything else nefarious that they could be involved with besides the thief. I was hoping that by searching Delcan’s rooms, I might figure out whether my hunch was correct, or perhaps something else was afoot.”

“Why wasn’t this in your report?” Apelles asked, his voice much calmer now as well.

“It wasn’t while I was on watch.”

“Sam,” Apelles sighed. “Look, I get it. I came from the slums in Yort. You get used to keeping your problems to yourself, but I told you before and I’ll tell you again: you are no longer alone. And the more you keep to yourself, the more danger you put upon the rest of us. You see something after your watch, then you report it verbally. I cannot trust you to work with me if you don’t actually work with me.”

Sam knew that on a logical level, and he didn’t mean to keep things from Apelles, it was just that it was so habitual at this point that it honestly didn’t cross his mind to tell the spymaster. At the time, it had seemed like a personal problem…oh.

Sam frowned and looked at the ground. It had seemed like a personal problem because he thought Delcan was involved, and when Sam tried to find evidence, it had been an almost desperate attempt. Maybe he wanted an excuse to get Delcan expelled…or worse. Maybe he wanted to believe that Delcan was evil by nature, because knowing that the hatred the blonde felt toward him was random meant that there was no reason. Sam needed there to be a reason. Any other option meant chaos. He didn’t like chaos, not the kind he couldn’t create and control.

“I understand,” Sam said. “I don’t mean to keep things to myself, I apologize, and since we’re on the subject, I think it’s pertinent to tell you about something else I saw before that incident. I didn’t think it was related to the thief, but I was worried anyway…and I didn’t think to tell you because…well, I don’t know. It simply didn’t cross my mind...”

Sam trailed off. He didn’t want Apelles chasing down Franklin or watching him, it wasn’t the old guy’s fault he was dealing with awful people. But Apelles was absolutely right. Sam would have been furious if one of his crewmembers had hidden things like this from him; accident or not.

“Mattie and I overheard a woman and Franklin late at night. Months ago. The woman was asking him for something, and he didn’t want to give it to her…or something like that, I can’t remember. She threatened him, though, and said that she wouldn’t give him another chance, that he was on thin ice. He seems fine and everything now, but I wouldn’t be so sure that the woman he spoke to isn’t hanging around.”

Apelles clasped his pointed chin in his fingers and studied Sam for a handful of silent moments. Sam looked straight ahead, just like he’d seen the guards do back home. It was a sign of attention and respect. He was pretty sure that’s what it meant, anyway.

“Thank you for telling me.” Apelles clasped Sam on the shoulder. Instead of the tight grip from earlier, it was warm and familiar. “I will look into it and keep an eye on Franklin. He’s always been a bit helpless, ever since we were in the Academy ourselves. I hate to think that he’s still being pushed around and taken advantage of as an adult.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sam said. He thought that Apelles, satisfied with the tongue lashing he’d given Sam, would dismiss him immediately. Instead, the spymaster’s voice dropped an octave and thinned into a whisper.

“There’s been a lot of activity around the admin building these past few nights.”

Sam repressed a frustrated sigh because that meant the thief had slipped right by him.

“Don’t look so glum, he got past me as well. I picked up some tracks and disturbed foliage three days before, and the tracks have been consistent since. I have a feeling that our thief is going to make a big move very soon, and I don’t think it will be in the admin building this time.”

“Sir?”

Apelles rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you do any research on the Cipher?”

“No, I’m sorry. I haven’t had time.”

“Find the time, preferably tonight. You’ll find out eventually, but I would rather you know now when it’s pertinent to the situation.”

Sam gave him a confused stare, but Apelles shook his head and gestured down the hall they came from. “Hurry to Hilda. No doubt she’s about to come looking for you.”

“Yes sir.”

Sam almost said, ‘bye,’ but that sounded too casual and familiar in his head, so he just gave the spymaster a stiff nod and walked away, his thoughts pulling in a million different directions. He supposed he could think about each one while he suffered under Hilda’s