Deadly Flowers by Sarah L. Thomson

Author:Sarah L. Thomson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press

And that was why, the next night, I lay flat on my face in sparse grass, most of the way up a mountain.

I’d been waiting here while the sun slid down the western sky. Now the remaining light was dim and shadowy enough that I dared ease myself forward to peer over the edge of a steep drop.

Below me was the mouth of a cave, with a small plateau before it. Beyond the flat area, the land dropped again down to a ravine with an icy creek tumbling along its bottom. Downstream, the ravine gradually widened and flattened until it reached a valley where the shoulders of two mountains leaned together. Between those shoulders was the pass that led into Lord Yoshisane’s territory.

Travelers who wanted to reach that pass would be in full view of anyone watching from the mouth of the cave. Which was why the bandits had chosen it to live in.

Perhaps thirty feet below me, one of the bandits was crouched, keeping an eye on everything below him. Fortunately, he did not think of looking up, and I was careful to give him no reason to, letting the stillness of the stones around me soak into my muscles and bones. I kept my ears alert, though, and not only for sounds from the cave. How many bakemono did this mountain hide, buried in deep caves, lurking in hidden pools, drifting without form or shape in the cold mists that clung to the highest peaks? How many of them might be stirred to wakefulness and hunger by the pearl in my pocket? The white fox had said she could offer us some protection, as long as we were on this side of the pass. But could she save us from every demon? Could I even count on her to try?

Trust no ally for more than you’ve paid him. Or, in this case, her.

And demons were not the only threats. Where was Willow? And was she the only ninja on our trail? I had to hope so, which meant I had to hope that Raku had drowned. It was obviously better to have one shadow warrior tracking us than two.

So it was odd, that little flutter of hope that dwelled inside my ribcage. I hadn’t seen Raku’s body, after all. Maybe she was injured, but not dead. Maybe she’d crawled out of the water far enough downstream to be no real threat to us as long as we kept moving. Maybe …

Maybe I should keep my mind on my mission.

At the moment, at least, my ears heard no sound of pursuit, human or otherwise. The man outside the cave stood, shifted his weight from foot to foot, and turned his head, letting his gaze move steadily back and forth over the terrain.

Then something new came to my ears, faint and distant: running feet, sandals slapping on stone. The bandit on guard snatched a bow from his shoulder, pulling a bamboo arrow from a quiver and fitting it quickly and expertly into place.

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