The Armor of Light by Karen E. Hoover

Author:Karen E. Hoover
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, fantasy, magic, wolves, young adult, dragons, music, battles, shapeshifting
Publisher: Karen E. Hoover

Chapter Twenty-Two

The box car was in the same place it had been the night before, and Hadril and Graylin were already doing a steady business. Everyone from the group was there, including the boy, Jayden, who seemed to have gotten over his anger. He helped the brothers by taking orders for Hadril, and depositing items to be repaired around the back of the wagon for Graylin. They must have been up before daylight to beat her. That, or they hadn’t eaten breakfast. At the moment, she didn’t care. She tried to ignore Brant and Niefusu, who both stared at her, and instead she climbed into the back of the wagon and went to speak to the two peddlers.

“Do you have a minute?” she asked when there was a break in the crowd.

Graylin turned around, his hip against the counter, and said, “Sure. Go ahead.” Hadril unconsciously took same stance as his brother.

“Have you ever heard of the Shadow Weavers?” she asked, leaning against the shelves opposite them, her bag digging into her side.

The brothers looked at one another, then nodded. “We’ve heard rumors, but we thought that’s all they were. Every community has some boogeyman or another,” Hadril answered for the both of them. Graylin nodded.

Kayla gnawed at the inside of her cheek. “I was just in the dining room and I overheard some soldiers talking about the Shadow Weavers. One of them claims that a magicked charm that had been his grandmother’s was turned to dust, leaving only the setting and leather behind. That doesn’t sound made-up to me,” she said, adjusting her bag to swing around front.

Hadril shrugged and turned to a new customer asking for something for her joint pain. Graylin answered instead. “True or not, there’s not much we can do about them, but we appreciate the warning. We’ll take it more seriously, now that you’ve said something.” He looked her over and cocked his head. “Something else is wrong. What is it?”

She told him about the intruder who had come into her room during the night. Graylin laughed when he heard about the flute defending itself and throwing the thief out the window, but when she was finished, he was serious.

“Are you all right?” he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and staring into her eyes. She nodded, unable to look away for a moment. “I’m fine,” she said, breaking the connection between them. “He didn’t even know I was awake.”

“And you’re sure it was a man?” he asked. “I know plenty of women who would steal that instrument just for the beauty of its tones, never mind what it is.”

She shook her head. “It was a man. He was thick in the shoulders. Athletic. I’m not sure how tall he was, but he definitely didn’t have a womanly figure.” Kayla blushed when she said that, but how else was she supposed to tell him it was not a woman? It didn’t seem to bother Graylin.

“Hmmmm,” he said, crossing back to the counter and stroking his short beard.

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