City of Lifestone by Tom Huddleston

Author:Tom Huddleston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-07T11:26:39+00:00

The hooded lady had crossed to the counter, where more bottles were arranged beneath a pane of glass. ‘Can I interest you in something?’ she asked. ‘A salve for your bruises? Perfume to attract a special young man? A herbal charm to ward off bad spirits?’

Kiri leaned closer. She felt oddly distant, as if she were having a strange but not unpleasant dream.

‘He took my son, you know,’ the hooded lady said, her face suddenly serious. ‘The Shadowcaster. Vertigan. He took my boy. Such a lively boy, so kind and gentle. His name was Kaspar.’

‘I’ve seen him,’ Kiri told her. ‘He lives up there now. At the Arbour.’

‘I’ve seen him too,’ the hooded lady admitted. ‘He doesn’t laugh any more. Now he steals, and he fights, and when I try to speak to him he doesn’t know me. Vertigan put a spell on him.’

‘He tried to use magic to hold me prisoner,’ Kiri told her. ‘But I got out anyway.’

The lady smiled. ‘You must be very strong to have resisted him.’ Then she lifted her head and Kiri saw pale eyes glinting beneath the shadow of her hood. ‘Will you use that strength to help me get my son back?’

‘Of course,’ Kiri nodded eagerly. ‘If I can.’

The lady gestured to the counter. Lying on it was a small four-sided pyramid of black stone, with a hole bored in it. Something bone-white was encased inside; Kiri couldn’t make it out.

‘That pendant belonged to Kaspar,’ the hooded lady explained. ‘I feel like if he could see it again, if he could hold it, he might remember who he used to be. He might come back to me. Will you give it to him?’

Kiri bit her lip. ‘I only just escaped. I don’t want to go back there.’

‘But you’re so strong,’ the hooded lady insisted. ‘You fled once, surely you could do it again. And I can make sure you get out of the city. Look, I’ll give you a map. You’ll never be lost again.’

Beside the pyramid lay a sheet of folded paper with the words ‘City of Lifestone’ inscribed on the cover. Kiri hadn’t noticed it before. She reached for it, then drew her hand back.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I have to leave this place. I promised myself.’

‘But how will you find your way without a map?’ the lady asked softly. ‘You’ve tried several times, haven’t you?’

‘I’ll just have to try harder,’ Kiri said, the hairs on her neck beginning to prickle. She heard a strange rattling all around her and looked up to see the glass in the mirrors trembling. The room seemed darker, as though a veil had fallen. ‘I should go, I really…’

‘Stay where you are,’ the lady said in a voice hard as ice, and Kiri felt her bones freeze. ‘You’ll do as you’re told. And I’m telling you to take that charm.’

Sensing movement, Kiri looked down. Her hand was moving towards the table, entirely of its own volition. Panic bloomed in her chest as her fingers grasped the black pyramid, slipping it into her pocket.

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