Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Author:Sarah Tolcser
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

“Stay back,” Markos warned. He grabbed my wrist, forcibly moving me behind him. “She may not be what she seems.”

“Let go of me.” I tried to wrestle out of his grip, but he held on.

“Only one manner of creature can completely hide itself like that.” He didn’t take his eyes off Kenté. “Caro, it’s a shadowman.”

“Don’t be stupid. That’s not a shadowman.” The idea was so ridiculous, I wanted to laugh. “That’s my cousin Kenté.”

“Is it? Then how did she get here?”

Kenté uncrossed her legs and stood, smoothing her skirts. She wore the same green-and-gold-striped dress from dinner last night. “Easy as peas and pie,” she said. “Perhaps I wished to know the secret of why my cousin was in such a hurry to slip away from Siscema.” She studied Markos. “I seem to have found you.”

He advanced on her, brandishing his blade. “I know an illusion when I see one. If you’re Cleandros, I’ll gut you right now, you traitor.”

She gulped, eyeing the sword. “I would greatly prefer that you not gut me.” She held up her hands. “Caro? A little help here?”

My mouth felt as dry as if I’d been chewing rope. Could a shadowman really mimic my cousin, right down to her twisted hair and upturned nose? He couldn’t possibly know what she looked like. I shuddered, a horrible image crawling over me like icy fingers. My cousins, laughing as they wandered innocently across the dark cobbled street on their way to the party … while the shadowman lurked, watching them.

I shoved my Akhaian dagger against Kenté’s throat—or the shadowman’s. “Where is she? What have you done with her?”

Her amber eyes widened. “This,” she said, “is an awful lot of blades. I’m Kenté, I swear!” She nodded toward Markos. “But he has the right of it. I’m also a shadowman.”

“What do you mean, you’re a shadowman?” I demanded.

“The god of the night has had her finger on me since I was a little girl,” she said. “How else do you think I know so many secrets?”

I almost believed her. Kenté was indeed sneaky—and besides, if this was Cleandros in disguise, come to murder Markos, why hadn’t he done it already? He might have stuck a knife in his back anytime today.

“When last we spoke,” I said, “you told me a story. What kind of creature was the story about?”

“That’s easy. A drakon. Though I never did get to that part.”

Satisfied, I put the dagger away. “It’s Kenté.” I raised my eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve got a nose for trouble.” She pushed Markos’s blade out of her face. “And you two seem to have a boatload of it. As for how I got on board, like I said, that was easy enough. I cloaked myself in an illusion and followed you to the docks. Then I stowed away in the cargo hold.” She brushed her dress. “Which, by the way, is very full of sawdust.”

I felt somehow lighter now that she was here. It might almost have been one of our childhood adventures.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.