Jay by Greg Farshtey

Author:Greg Farshtey [Farshtey, Greg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Jay and Soon went to sit on a bench and talk. Kai excused himself, saying he was going to find Lu and ask him some questions of his own. Jay noted that Soon seemed uncomfortable, but having skeletons planning a raid on your village will do that. “What do you want to know?”

“You said Lee ‘gave’ you swords and shields so your men could defend the town,” said Jay.

“Not really ‘gave,’” Soon said, looking down at the ground. “More like ‘sold,’ for quite a bit of money. Our whole treasury … we’re ruined, you see. But it was that or face the skeletons with no weapons but shovels and hammers.”

“And he only sold you a dozen swords and shields?” asked Jay.

“That’s right.”

But he had way more than that, thought Jay. Swords, shields, armor, he bought all of that, but had no record of selling it. A little went to the village — where did the rest go?

An unsettling thought struck Jay. “Sir, have you had skeleton raids on your village before?”

Soon thought for a moment. “No, I can’t say we have. Oh, they’ve been seen in the woods from time to time, but they’ve never attacked. We don’t have much worth stealing.”

“Or anything they needed to steal,” said Jay.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No,” said Jay, frowning. “It’s not.”

“At least the skeletons have gone,” said Soon. “That’s something.”

“Gone? No, they’re still out there. They’re waiting until dark,” said Jay. “That’s not what my friend Kai would do — he would charge right in, regardless of the opposition. Zane would analyze the situation and maybe take action next week. And Cole would spend the whole night planning for an attack tomorrow. Me? I’d do just what the skeletons are going to do: sneak in. I’m a ninja. We’re good at sneaking.”

Suddenly, Mrs. Park came running towards the men, waving her arms and shouting. She was followed by Kai and Lu.

“In all my years working at the inn, I have never seen such a thing!” she yelled. “Right in broad daylight, too! And where were the village ‘defenders’? Playing in the woods!”

“What happened?” Kai asked Mrs. Park.

“It’s Din. He was just returning to the inn when three skeleton warriors grabbed him and dragged him off into the woods. He tried to defend himself, but … Well, we found this on the ground.”

Lu handed Kai the dagger Din had been holding earlier. He turned it over in his hands, paying particular attention to the blade. As a blacksmith, Kai had seen many swords and daggers before and had a good eye for their shape and quality. “Can I keep this?” he asked.

“Will it help find Din?” asked Lu. He turned to Jay for an answer.

“Oh, he’ll be found before tomorrow, don’t worry,” Jay replied. “I promise, and I always keep my promises. Just ask my friend Cole. Well, no, maybe you better not ask him; I still owe him money. Ask Zane — I never made him any promises, so I haven’t broken any.”

“Lu, you said there were stories you couldn’t share,” said Kai.

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