Deadly Designs (Design Series)

Deadly Designs (Design Series) Read Free

Book: Deadly Designs (Design Series) Read Free
Author: Dale Mayer
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to see. And even harder to accept. Now he just felt stupid. He'd spent his life respecting a man who deserved none of it. And adding to Eric's confusion was the realization he really didn't know this man.
    His father was a stranger. Eric hadn't seen much parental love in his life. In reality, he'd had little contact with him. Since he learned to walk, he'd had respect and obedience drummed into him for a man he was only just realizing didn't deserve it.
    How had the Council allowed this man to rule? What could his father have done to deserve their respect? And couldn't they see the man his father had become? Or had the changes happened so slowly that they hadn't been evident – until some major disaster when he'd shown his true self. Then again, he'd been the ruler for so long because there wasn't much to rule here. His decisions were mostly over little issues.
    Still, Eric wondered about the man inside. Was he driven by power? Needing blind obedience from all like a dictator? Something Eric hadn't considered his society could have.
    Storey's arrival had certainly thrown his father off balance. And had showed Eric a side of his father he'd never seen before.
    Paxton on the other hand…. He glanced over at his mentor. Tufts of his white hair stood straight up, only this time from running his hands through it in excitement. Paxton was still on a high from the success of the day. His cheeks were flushed, and he appeared to be…dancing?
    Eric continued to scan the partygoers. His people certainly were enjoying themselves. This mini war had restored pride they hadn't known was missing from their lives. They'd slipped into a passive type of existence. This had woken them up, stirred them to action. They wouldn't be quite so complacent about their lifestyle any longer. At least not for a while. And like them, Eric wanted to enjoy himself tonight. Celebrate today's success.
    But...
    Eric shook his head and spun around again to look at the spot where Storey had disappeared. He couldn't get the look on her face out of his mind. What could have caused it?
    Paxton walked toward him, a lilt to his step, a bright look on his face. Eric had to grin. Paxton looked like he'd dropped twenty years off his shoulders.
    "Eric! Still worrying about Storey? She'll be fine."
    Eric shook his head. "It doesn't feel like she's fine."
    Paxton narrowed his gaze. "Do you want to go after her? Make sure she arrived safely?"
    Eric contemplated his sense of something being wrong. Did he want to go after her? Heck yes. "I wouldn't have to be gone long." He studied his feet. Was there really something wrong? Or was he just missing her? Either way, he needed to know for sure. "I don't want to make a big thing out of this if everything is fine."
    "We could just ask her if she's home safe and sound." Paxton held up his stylus, a wide smirk on his ancient face.
    Perfect. Eric grinned widely, relief spreading throughout his body. "Perfect. Thanks."
    Paxton grabbed up a nearby pad of paper, his movements easy and carefree, as if knowing this was for naught but happy to play along. He quickly wrote out a note to Storey. Eric read the simple message. "Hello Storey, please confirm that you made it home safely."
    Lifting his head, Paxton beamed. "Amazing communication ability. I just love this. There's so much we can learn from these styluses."
    He sounded positively chatty. Eric struggled to reconcile this Paxton with the grim, stern version from before the war. Talk about polar opposites.
    "You know, my stylus knows all about the archives. Storey says they can access all the information from centuries ago. Do you understand how much we can learn from them?"
    Eric raised an eyebrow as he finally noted the rosy cheeks and the overly bright shine to Paxton's eyes. Had his old mentor and friend indulged in a little too much to drink? Surely not? Eric couldn't remember seeing the man ever take a drink of wine.
    But there was no doubt that he was under the influence of

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