“Let’s go,” Torin said. “We can collect Boneen en route.”
“After you, partner.”
Lord Doval’s secretary had fetched him a mug of fruit juice while he was talking with the people from the Castle Guard. He gratefully took it as he sat down at the desk that had very briefly been his brother’s.
He couldn’t believe Blayk had been so stupid. The plan the two of them and their sister Juliana had worked out was a long-term plan. Yes, it would’ve taken years, but it would’ve worked. To go to the extreme of poisoning Father and trying to kill the king and queen and barreling into Cliff’s End like a troll in a china shop was absurd and doomed to fail. They’d told him that, but did he listen? No, he was the oldest, he knew best.
Idiot.
If their family was to rule all of Flingaria, they were going to need to be smart about it. The days of tyrants barging in and taking over were in the past, and needed to stay dead alongside the Elf Queen and Chalmraik the Foul. It was a new era, and it called for a subtler hand.
He grabbed a few slates off the desk that Blayk had left behind, with some figures compiled by Teffeth. At least, Blayk had the right idea about some things. These plans for strengthening the castle and the port were good ones, and would serve them well when the time came.
Doval sipped his fruit juice and got to work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This is the fifth book in Keith R.A. DeCandido’s “Precinct” series, following the novels Dragon Precinct, Unicorn Precinct, and Goblin Precinct and the short story collection Tales from Dragon Precinct. Look for Mermaid Precinct in 2014. Keith’s other recent and upcoming work includes the coffee-table book Star Trek: The Klingon Art of War, the novels Leverage: The Zoo Job, SCPD: The Case of the Claw, and Guilt in Innocence, the urban fantasy short story collection Ragnarok and Roll: Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet, short stories in the anthologies V-Wars, Out of Tune, Defending the Future: Best-Laid Plans, Tales from the House Band Volumes 1-2, Apocalypse 13, Bad-Ass Faeries: It’s Elemental, With Great Power, and Liar Liar, one of the adventures in the Firefly role-playing game, and much more. He also writes the twice-weekly Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch for Tor.com, having completed a similar rewatch for The Next Generation from 2011-2013. When he isn’t writing or freelance editing, Keith is the percussionist for the parody band Boogie Knights, teaches and trains in karate (he’s currently a second-degree black belt), podcasts (The Chronic Rift, HG World, Gypsy Cove, The Dome, and his own monthly ’cast Dead Kitchen Radio), and follows his beloved New York Yankees. Find out less at his cheerfully retro web site at DeCandido.net.
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