Into the Shadows by Jason D. Morrow Read Free Book Online Page B

short and is skinny almost to the point of frailty, but in a born-that-way sort of look, not from starvation. Ray has them sit at the end of the table together. I can’t help but stiffen when they walk past, unable to understand how Ray and Nancy can be so trusting—how the entire village can be so trusting. Gabe reaches over and inconspicuously squeezes my arm to show that he understands what I’m feeling. The presence of these strangers baffles him too, though he doesn’t share in my paranoia.  
    In this moment, I’m actually grateful that Ray talks too much about nothing. It means I’m not forced to make conversation with these two, and instead I can watch them and try to determine what kind of people they are. I know Gabe thinks I’m crazy, but I swear these guys work for Shadowface.
    Nancy finally brings out baked chicken with asparagus—the inside of the breast is still slightly pink and the asparagus feels like it was warmed about an hour ago, but it’s better than starving.  
    I watch as Scott and Derek cut into the chicken, hesitating to eat it. I dig in as I usually do, but they take small bites and frequent sips of water to get it down.
    “Where did you two say you were from?” I ask, shoving half a stalk of asparagus into my mouth.  
    “A place called Sudyka, originally,” Scott answers. “Far from here.”
    “Never heard of it,” I say. “Why are you so far from home?”
    Scott looks at Derek and shrugs. “Just traveling. Looking for the right place to settle.”
    I can feel my eyes narrow before I can think to stop them. Derek seems to take notice, so I look down at my plate and pretend it didn’t happen. “You probably don’t want to settle in an area like this,” I say.  
    “Now, why would that be?” Nancy asks from the other end of the table. “I think Orick is quite nice.”
    “It’s nothing against Orick,” I say. “It’s just that around these parts there are a lot of dangers. And I don’t mean greyskins.”
    “What do you mean then?” Scott asks. “Raiders?”
    “Sure, there are raiders, but there are people worse than raiders.”
    I can hear Gabe shift in his seat next to me. He wants me to shut up, but that’s not going to happen.
    “Have you two ever heard of someone named Shadowface?” I ask.  
    Scott nearly drops his fork, but Derek remains stone faced.
    “Remi, I don’t think we need to talk about that,” Gabe says.  
    “Shadowface?” Ray says. “What’s a Shadowface?”
    I look at Ray. “Just the most vile human being on the face of the earth. I would equate her to the devil, but she hasn’t quite reached that level of fame yet.” My eyes flit to Derek and Scott, both of which don’t dare look up at me as they pick at their chicken.  
    “Why is this Shadowface like the devil?” Nancy asks.  
    “She’s a murderer,” I say. “She likes to take villages like this and become the leader—tell everybody what to do. But when a place doesn’t comply, she wipes them out. Last month she wiped out an entire town. A place called Elkhorn.”
    “I know Elkhorn,” Ray says. “The epicenter of the outbreak, right?”
    “That’s right,” I nod. “But there were good people there. They just didn’t want to ally with Shadowface. So, she destroyed them.”
    It was only a half truth. First, I don’t know if Elkhorn was destroyed or not. Second, I also know that the reason Shadowface attacked Elkhorn in the first place was because of the vial of Starborn blood that she wanted. I wonder if she ever got a hold of it.  
    “That’s not what I heard,” Scott says.  
    “Oh, you’ve heard something?” I ask, turning my head.  
    Scott nods, his skinny face turning slightly pink. “I heard about a fight in Elkhorn. We were passing by there at the time. We heard that in the middle of it all, the fight just stopped. There are still people there.”
    I feel my eyebrows scrunch together when he speaks. “What do you mean? How long were you