Swords of Fire (The Shaman's Sword Series Book 6) by Robert Ryan

Author:Robert Ryan [Ryan, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trotting Fox Press
Published: 2023-07-20T23:00:00+00:00

15. As a Shadow

Shulu pulled away the chair that had blocked her door overnight. It was a simple thing, but effective. Magic was not the only way of doing things, nor, often, the best.

It was still very early in the morning. There was no sign of anyone in the corridor outside. For that matter, as she walked through the mansion, there was no one anywhere. It was still too early. Whatever activity there would be, was happening down below in the kitchens.

She did not go that way though. It was a good chance, while no one was around, to investigate the mansion as best she could. She did not expect to hear the shamans again, and even if she did she could not risk lingering in the corridor. The sun was coming up, and though still shadowy in the corridors, she could too easily be seen.

It was a chance though to see if the shamans kept any routine. If she discovered that, it might come in handy at another time when she was more willing to risk discovery.

Briskly she moved along the hallways, and she got to know her way around well. That might be useful one day should she ever be discovered and have to flee. She found all the concealed doors and narrow staircases that the servants used, and discovered many exits from the building apart from the well-used back and front doorways.

She also passed along the same corridor that she had crept through last night. The wards were gone. Even the door to the room was open. She thought of going inside, but there was small chance of discovering anything useful there. What she needed was information, and the shamans were unlikely to write that down, especially if it were important.

It might be a trap, too. She walked on briskly, so that if she were seen she could not be suspected of anything other than being a little lost in such a large mansion.

The household was beginning to stir now, and from time to time she was not alone in the corridors. She curtsied to anyone who looked senior to her, which was most, and acted haughty to those who were beneath her. It was not her way, but it was the manner of witch-women, and that was what she must appear to be at all costs.

Downstairs and in the back yard that served as an open training ground, there was little activity yet. That would change swiftly. If nothing else, the nazram here were trained diligently, and they were left little idle time to themselves.

Not all the back yard was devoted to a sanded training area. Like the mansion, it was very large. To the left, a row of flowering shrubs bordered the boundary. And yet the mansion extended beyond that. There must be more there that she had not discovered yet, if only a garden.

The shrubs were not in flower now, for winter was biting hard. They looked a bit tattered, but she did not doubt, come spring, they would be well manicured and lush with flowers.

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