The Shadowhand Covenant by Brian Farrey Page A

clearly a link between the Sarosans and the Shadowhands. As long as we’re their hostages, we might as well make the most of it. Pay attention. Learn what we can. I don’t know what’s going to happen when the Dowager gets that ransom note, but one thing I know for sure: we find that link, we find your father.”

9
A Sinister Message
    â€œThe purse of a fool buys the sweetest happiness.”
    â€”Hulrick Grimjinx, coauthor of the Grimjinx/Aviard Peace Accords
    E merging from the tunnels to the surface, we were met by a dissonant tune, like the sound of a hundred flutes each playing a different melody. As the fresh air—cold and biting—filled our lungs, Maloch and I trudged along in ankle-deep snow through a dense forest with the rest of the Sarosan convoy. Instead of tall and straight, the mist-colored tree trunks coiled up from the ground like thick wooden springs. A light breeze passed through the natural, fist-sized holes that perforated the trunks, causing the trees to “sing.”
    â€œWhistlebirch,” I whispered to Maloch.
    â€œYeah?” he said. “So?”
    â€œSo, there are only two whistlebirch forests in the Provinces. Only one within a day or two of Vengekeep. At least now we’ve got a good idea where we are.”
    What we didn’t know was where we were headed. Before leaving the caves, Kolo had said we were going somewhere he deemed safe that was no more than a day’s journey. “We’ve created several safe havens across the Provinces,” he’d told me. “These are secure places we can hide from the Provincial Guard and the Palatinate.” I wondered what made these places “secure.”
    I looked up at the sun, dipping past its noon zenith. “We’re heading northwest, so that means—”
    I felt a sharp jab in my back. Glancing behind me, I found Reena wielding a long, thin reed—a blowgun—like a lance. Holm made a show of loading his blowgun with a small wooden dart.
    â€œNo talking,” she said, threatening to poke me again.
    Maloch and I walked at the heart of the long line of Sarosans, surrounded by the tallest, most muscled men and women in camp. You’d think that would be enough to ensurewe weren’t going anywhere. But Reena and Holm had taken it upon themselves to be our unofficial escorts. I like to think they knew just how wily a Grimjinx could be and couldn’t trust me not to pull something crafty in an attempt to escape.
    They clearly weren’t taking my extreme desire not to be shot with a blowgun into account.
    â€œYou know,” I said to Reena, “if you hadn’t noticed, I did save the Sarosans from having their faces eaten by vessapedes. I’m not asking for thanks—although I wouldn’t balk at any either—but maybe the least you could do is, I don’t know, smile?”
    Reena kept her chin up, her chilly gaze straightforward.
    I tried again. “I’m really sorry about your parents. If it makes you feel better, the Dowager disagrees with what her brother is doing. I’m sure that, even if you hadn’t kidnapped me, she would have eventually challenged him on his policies and gotten him to change his mind.”
    â€œâ€˜Eventually,’” she said. She didn’t sound angry like usual. Now she was just sad. “Next week? Next month? Next year? I don’t think my parents should suffer in Umbramore Tower even a minute for something they didn’t do. Eventually isn’t good enough.”
    I couldn’t argue with that.
    We traveled at a brisk pace the rest of the day, slowing only as dusk approached. As we crested a hill, I looked down to see a rocky cliff face not far ahead, just past a snow-covered clearing. The convoy banked hard to the left, taking us deeper into the forest.
    â€œNow that’s odd,” I said softly to Maloch.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWell, I’m guessing we’re headed