The Book of Shane: Complete Collection (Spirit Animals: Special Edition) by Nick Eliopulos

Author:Nick Eliopulos [Eliopulos, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2015-10-26T23:00:00+00:00

The space was cramped and dark, and its smell was unlike anything Shane had encountered before — or perhaps more accurately, its smell was like everything he’d encountered before, all at once. There was incense and the reek of newly flowering plants, scented reeds, and cooking herbs, and the musk of unseen animals. Dried plants hung from the rafters, with living specimens springing up from pots placed on shelves and along the baseboards and even in the middle of the slanted wooden floor. But what drew Shane’s eye were the frogs. There were dozens of them interspersed among the plants, all huddled in glass containers and grouped by color.

And what colors! Red and silver, blue and yellow, bright pink, and a green the shade of a Niloan oasis. They gleamed like jewels in the gloom of the shop.

Among the dazzling array, one frog stood out — a solitary golden specimen, alone in its jar upon a low shelf. It had one glossy black eye fixed on Shane and remained perfectly still aside from its throat, which moved rhythmically in time with its breathing. Shane tapped at the glass with his finger.

“Very deadly, that one,” said a voice, and Shane whirled to see that a woman had appeared from behind a curtained doorway. Her face was lined with age but gave no hint of emotion.

“Deadly?” Shane echoed. “A frog?”

“Dangerous things can come in small packages, child,” she said, lifting an eyebrow. “Present company included, I think. Or am I to believe you stumbled upon my shop by accident?”

“Not by accident, no,” he answered, puffing out his chest a bit. “But I’m not here for a pet.”

Shane kept his gaze upon the woman’s face as he withdrew an item from his cloak pocket: a small vial of amber-colored liquid.

He saw the flash of recognition in her eyes. “You know what this is,” he said. Not a question.

“It’s nothing,” she spat. “Useless. Get out of my shop.”

“Peace, madam,” he said, holding up his hand. “I suspect we have an enemy in common.”

She regarded him coolly. “Go on.”

“I’m tracking a woman. She’s old, and she’s crafty. She was last seen boarding a ship to Clarobo with little but the clothes on her back — and several vials of this liquid. I thought she might try to sell it when she docked.”

“She didn’t sell it, but she made a trade,” the woman said. “She claimed this liquid was the secret to the Conquerors’ success.” She frowned. “Mind you, this was before word reached us that the Conquerors weren’t very successful in the end.”

“They came close, though,” Shane said, fighting to keep his voice steady.

“Of course they did. They say every man and woman in their army had a spirit animal. Can you imagine? Too many of them to be a coincidence. And I don’t much believe in fate. Which leaves one other possibility.”

Shane allowed her a dramatic pause.

“I think perhaps someone found a way to change the rules.” She took the vial from his hand. “We’ve all heard the rumors here.

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