Shadow of the Shapeshifter by David Lee Stone

Author:David Lee Stone [Stone, David Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781739777616
Publisher: Kingsbrook Publishing

The palace was practically deserted when Dwellings arrived, dishevelled and miserable, in the front courtyard. He hadn’t managed to find a single stable open and, worse still, he didn’t like the look of the weather.

Wheredad raised a hand in greeting when he saw Dwellings approach.

Parsnip Daily was already crouched down beside the cart tracks, staring hard at the muddy imprint.

‘How’s he doing?’ Dwellings whispered, creeping up to his assistant.

‘All right,’ Wheredad conceded. ‘I bought him two pints at the Ferret and, funnily enough, it seemed to help clear up his memory problem. After that we went to the yard and studied the wheel-tread on the vegetable cart, then we came straight here.’

Time passed, and the duo waited patiently for the tracker to make an announcement of some sort.

A crow landed nearby, and Wheredad aimed a kick at it.

Time passed...

Parsnip pursed his lips and squinted at the ground, then looked up at the darkening sky and, finally, back to the cartwheel imprint.

‘Well,’ said Dwellings, exasperated by the prolonged silence. ‘Do you recognise it?’

Parsnip nodded.

‘Oh yeah, not a doubt in my mind...that’s a cart track, all right.’

‘Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Your skill simply takes my breath away. OF COURSE IT’S A BLOODY CART TRACK. I told YOU that, remember?’

‘Yeah, but I’m saying that it’s a cart, as opposed to a coach, see? The tracks are different.’

‘I see. Well, that’s very impressive, Mr Daily, but it doesn’t help us much, does it?’

‘Oh, right. So, what do you want to know, then?’

Dwellings prayed to the gods for strength.

‘I want to know if you see the same tread that you saw on the wheels of the vegetable cart a while ago...and, if you do, I want you to track it,’ he said, trying not to look at Wheredad’s amused expression.

Parsnip stared at the tracks he’d been studying.

‘That’s ‘em over there: third from the left.’

‘And you can follow them?’

‘No problem,’ said Parsnip, merrily. ‘You can track anything. Or, at least, I can. Mind you, it’ll cost ya.’

‘Money’s no object.’

Parsnip nodded.

‘Right you are, then. We’ll call it a hundred and fifty crowns.’

‘Done,’ said Dwellings, before his assistant had time to argue.

The two men shook on the deal.

‘Okey-dokey,’ Parsnip said, clapping his hands with sudden enthusiasm. ‘What’re we trackin’, a cart or a coach?’

‘You can’t be serious,’ Wheredad muttered, eyeing the tracker with disbelief.

‘Oh, I assure you, he is,’ said Dwellings, dejectedly. He turned back to Parsnip. ‘OK, Mr Daily, now listen up: I’m going to make things much simpler for you. I don’t want you to talk, I don’t want you to think, all I want, MISTER DAILY, is for you to follow those cart tracks, third from the end...or I will kill you. Do you understand that, MISTER DAILY?’

‘Yeah.’

‘How about now?’

‘Still understand.’

‘Very good. Then if I were you, I’d move myself...’

The tracker nodded and buttoned his coat, then put his head down and began to walk against the wind. Dwellings quickly followed after him and motioned for Wheredad to do the same.

Surprisingly enough, Parsnip Daily didn’t wander

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