Read The Dark Half of the Sun (The Young Ancients: Timon) for Free Online

that fast actually, so that there would be other people ready to work while he was in classes.
    The King cleared his throat.
    "I believe it was for three hundred gold?" There was a touch of humor to it at least, which was good to hear.
    "Oh, sure, but I'm upping the cost until Princess Karina agrees to marry me." He was joking, but everyone else looked at him like he'd just offered to wed a cow. Obviously he'd made a misstep there. It probably wasn't a good thing to tease about with the King then. "Or at least go to tea. I won't really charge you more, but don't tell her that. I want to see if it will work." Instead of ordering him into irons or even giving him a stern lecture the man... laughed.
    "Considered the message passed then. I wish you luck. You still only get three hundred per delegation. When do you think you can begin?"
    "In about five minutes. Or after Counselor Smythe and Sam are done, if I'm supposed to stay with them. I can be over directly. Flying in a silver cube."
    The King was silent for a few moments, with only a subtle hint of rustling to show that someone in the room was moving.
    "I'll have them waiting on the north side, by the door. Thank you Timon."
    He wanted to shrug, but didn't bother, since it wouldn't make a difference to the man.
    "Be there directly Sire. I'm certain they'll have this in hand quickly. Tor always spoke very highly of Counselor Smythe." It was true, but that got a rough chuckle as well from the device.
    "You do know that the man tried to kill your brother, don't you?"
    Timon actually did, since it was pretty common knowledge around the Kingdom. Tor had never mentioned that part himself. All he'd said was that the man was a good investigator and an honest person. Tor had never even claimed that he'd liked him.
    "And then they came and proved I didn't try to kill a bunch of people... together." Maria didn't say the words loud enough to be heard over the device, but Timon got it. She'd been saved by something his brother had done, and it made her like him. Probably Smythe too.
    He spoke louder then, losing a few beats, which had to sound strange.
    "Yes Sire, but he didn't succeed, and they made up and became friends. There are no debts between friends." It was a Two Bends thing, well, the surrounding area had it too, but it was a good tradition. You didn't count anything against a friend. Family either. Not for long at least. He was probably being less than observant of the idea, not making up with his mother, but that would have to wait. For one thing he wasn't really ready to try yet. For another...
    They had a thief to catch.
    That had to take point.

Chapter two
     
     
     
     
     
    The trip from his brother's giant place to the Palace should have taken him about ten seconds. It wasn't far at all, only about two miles if he traveled in a straight line, but he had to account for the very slow landing that the Royal Guards wanted for anyone coming in. They had a shield that they'd slap up if anyone tried to land too fast. It didn't seem like it helped anything real, going that slow, so it was probably just there to help them stay alert and on their toes. That made sense to him. That part was a known thing though. It was the rest of the people that really slowed him down.
    "We should come too." Maria Ward said, her eyes on her sister, as if Collette would be the one making the call as far as that went. He didn't want to have a problem with them, but it hadn't been what he'd expected really. Why would they want to be a part of an investigation they couldn't influence at all?
    Ali stood back and closed her eyes for a moment, her clothing changing and shifting on her body, turning into a plain black uniform that wasn't exactly military, but was close enough to fool a person at a distance. The material was even mimicked correctly. She had the collar wrong, hers going a little too deep and the sides of the tunic hugged her just a little too closely for a real uniform. It looked good on