Shadow Hunt by Anne Logston

Author:Anne Logston [Logston, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, General, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy - General, Epic, Fantasy - Epic, Fiction - Fantasy, Fantasy - Series, Fiction-Fantasy - Series
ISBN: 9781594261640
Publisher: Mundania Press LLC
Published: 1992-10-14T23:00:00+00:00

"You can't be serious," Shadow protested. "Why in the world should the two of us take the risks of riding back to Allanmere alone when we could travel together?"

Blade turned a cold eye to her companion.

"If I do not succeed in killing Baloran," she said, "you would be ill advised to seek my company. Blackfell begins to hunger."

Shadow shuddered, her eyes darting involuntarily to the dagger. "Well, we'll succeed," she said quickly. "So then you won't need to travel alone."

"And you are, of course, assuming that we will both live to return to Allanmere."

"True enough," Shadow said cheerfully, though through chattering teeth. "But if I assume we won't, there's no point in going on, is there?"

"Ah, so now we can add hope to your many other needs," Blade said indifferently. "What a number of things you require simply to keep you going!"

"Well, you can add greed to the list, if you like," Shadow laughed. "But what keeps you going, if not hope?"

"You may say revenge, if you like," Blade said indifferently. "But the truth is that the alternative to going on is worse."

"Oh." Shadow had no ready answer to that. It occurred to her that even having Blade constantly annoyed with her was preferable to this gloomy mood, and the easiest way to annoy Blade was to ask her a question.

"Among the elves, when we're cold and wet and tired, we sing and dance to warm ourselves," Shadow said reminiscently. "Didn't your folk ever sing and dance?"

"Music," Blade said sourly. "We neither sang nor played. We had never heard music, nor heard of it, and as well. It is only-noise to my ears. We had drums, yes, and we danced—"

"What, danced to just drums?" Shadow asked skeptically.

"Or nothing." Blade shrugged. "We danced from here"— tapping her heart—"not here," tapping her ear.

Shadow sniffed dubiously but said nothing, grinning inwardly.

Blade shrugged and drew her dagger.

"Blackfell," she said.

The dagger vanished. In her hands were two small drums, fastened together in the middle. Blade held the drums between her knees. She glanced briefly at Shadow through the fire, then pulled off her gloves.

Shadow's brow wrinkled. There was something odd about Blade's hands, but she could not see clearly through the dancing flames.

Blade struck the drums lightly with her open palms in an odd, irregular rhythm that seemed no rhythm at all until Shadow began to detect a subtle pattern that wound through it. Blade began to vary her strokes, using palms, fingertips, the heels of her hands, and even her knuckles to produce different sounds and patterns. Shadow almost ignored the emergence of the increasingly complex patterns for the spectacle of Blade's hands, now moving so quickly and gracefully that they seemed to be dancing themselves. Blade's face was blank, peaceful.

"Continue," Blade said, startling Shadow. She set the black drums down on the ground, but the intricate rhythms continued. Blade drew on her black gloves again and rose to her feet, drawing two daggers from their sheaths in her boots.

She stepped precisely—toe, pause, then

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