The Golden Spider (The Elemental Web Chronicles Book 1) by Anne Renwick Page B

suffering when the acousticotransmitter is installed.”
    “The acousticotransmitter is implanted directly into an agent’s ear?” she asked. To drill into the skull…‌ Her stomach flipped. General anesthesia followed by effective pain management would be essential.
    Henri nodded. “An artificial ear of sorts, one undetectable to the enemy, that both enhances the range of human hearing and can transmit sound to a receiver, allowing a second agent to listen.”
    “I’m afraid I must impose upon you, Henri,” Thornton said, preventing Amanda from asking further questions.
    “ Oui ?”
    “While the acoustico work must continue apace, Lady Amanda’s project must take equal priority. Please orient her to the laboratory and its resources. Introduce her to our technicians, Samuel and Robert.”
    Thornton didn’t look at her as he spoke. He barely acknowledged her physical presence. From the way he shifted away, it was clear he wished to be elsewhere.
    Despite his earlier compliments, disappointment and self-doubt flooded her. She’d been under the impression that Thornton himself would mentor her, assist her in redesigning the neurachnid. Instead, he was foisting her upon another, interested only in her ability to help solve the mystery of the tortured and executed gypsies, a goal to which she felt equal commitment. It seemed she was nothing more to him than a tool to accomplish that end.
    Henri smiled at her. “It will be a pleasure and an inspiration.”
    “Well, then.” Thornton nodded, not meeting her eyes. “I’ll leave you to it.” He turned and limped to a door in the far wall. Amanda watched as he pressed his entire hand into a depression, and the door swung open.
    “Another laboratory?” she asked, attempting to hide her disappointment.
    “ Oui . One that only he and Lady Huntley may enter. A top-level clearance research project that is, of late, making Thornton rather…‌ tense.”
    Did the research conducted within have any particular connection to the recent gypsy deaths? Or perhaps the tension in his shoulders came from the sheer number of demands upon his time. Multiple research projects, teaching, a new student research assistant and, of course, the pressure brought by the Queen to assist in solving the gypsy murders.
    Not to mention his pronounced limp.
    “It seems his leg causes him considerable pain.” She was careful not to phrase it as a question. “I understand airship pirates were involved.” Would Henri tell the story to a new laboratory member?
    Henri sighed. “A tale of bravery and heroism. Exciting and thrilling but for Lord Huntley’s resulting death.”
    “Will you‌—‌can you tell it?”
    “Truthfully, there is not much to tell. Thornton and Lord Huntley were traveling to a neurotech conference in Brussels via airship. Ropes appeared, seemingly from the clouds, and pirates dropped onto the deck.” Henri glanced at the door behind which Thornton had disappeared. “The two men were caught in the middle of the attack. They attempted to escape, but as they jumped onto an evacuation glider, a cutlass caught Thornton’s leg and Lord Huntley’s throat. By the time they touched down, it was too late for Lord Huntley.”
    With the slice of a blade, Lady Huntley became a widow.
    A moment of silence hung between them as Henri allowed the information to sink in. He continued, “This is how I met Thornton. They brought him to me, the only doctor able to concoct a potion to counteract the poison coating the pirate’s cutlass. He was grateful and brought me here, a foreign physician, to work in this great laboratory.” Henri began to clear the surface of a workbench. “I am most fortunate.”
    Poison-coated cutlasses? Amanda’s eyes were wide. She wanted to pry, to inquire about the specifics of Thornton’s injury, but she’d already overstepped her place. His leg was not her affair. If she wished to help, focusing on her assigned task was the best route. She would work,