CITY OF MIRTH AND MALICE (ORDER AND CHAOS #2) BY ALEXIS L. MENARD – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Alexis L. Menard
- Language: English
- Genre: Fantasy
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 4 MB
- Price: Free
NICOLAI
The air stilled.
Two Attanos in a room full of natives.
My remnant tugged at the collective hold of their breaths, my skin
the weight of their stares. These people of power were my last hope to bring
my wife home—and get her brothers the hells out my guesthouse. Yet we
were nothing but a nuisance, the way they regarded us. Like snakes in their
gardens.
They weren’t entirely wrong.
The gathering was located along the back of the High Overseer’s
mansion, overlooking the grounds and sprawling gardens behind the estate.
The rest of the OIC of Lynchaven sat around a long table, falling silent as
my cousin and I showed our faces.
Neal Caldwell, the newly appointed inspector, led the meeting, seated at
the head of the table to the right of Theodore Hartsong. The rest were
commanders, donors, and wealthy business owners that paid to have a say
in the workings of the city. Just a collection of old, native men and women
that wouldn’t live long enough to see the full consequences of the decisions
they made in this room.
“Mr. Attano.” Hartsong broke the stunned silence first. “I didn’t know
you were joining us today.”
“Why wouldn’t I be here?” I made a show of adjusting the lapels of my
suit jacket, where the golden eagle sigil of the OIC had allowed me to pass
the Watch standing guard outside. Theo had given it to me as a gift of good
faith should I need anything after all I’d done to get him that seat over the
city. He must have conveniently forgotten. “I represent the best interest of
the Row, and I was under the impression when we spoke recently that you
wanted to improve relations with your neighbors north of the river. Is that
no longer the case?”
A muscle flickered along his jaw. Theodore had become the High
Overseer by default, since the last one poisoned himself and left the seat
open. Neal had been appointed in the week that followed, as the prior
inspector had been arrested and thrown into the native prison thanks to my
collaboration with Hartsong and his daughter. He wouldn’t have long until
the next election, a year tops, and I had challenged his loyalties to my
family and to my side of the city in front of his incomparably precious
voters.
“Of course it is, Mr. Attano. Why don’t you and your guest have a seat,
and we will give you the floor after the inspector has discussed his public
safety plan. Might I ask who you’ve brought with you?”
“Luther Attano.” My cousin bowed too low to be sincere. “At your
service, Overseer Hartsong.”
Theo’s smile was tight. “Always a pleasure to meet more of the family.”
We took the seats in the center of the room, near the aisle.
“Where were we?” Neal said with a crisp nod. “Oh, right. The drains.
The Moselys filed a report, claiming the last freeze had caused some issues
with the sewage backing up—”
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