Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw Read Free Book Online Page A

every sound. Seeing him there, it was hard to imagine how they could have gotten so close to him in the tunnels and survived. Out in the open, he looked more vicious than ever.
    Edgar stood up quickly against the shop wall, hiding himself in one of the curtains, and Kalen raised his head, sniffing the air like a dog. It was hard to tell exactly where he was looking. He was just standing there, waiting, his fingers playing upon the handle of a dagger at his side.
    â€œFilthy rats,” Kalen grumbled to himself, scraping his tongue under his nose to taste the dried clots of his own blood. “I’ll find ya. Don’t you worry. Kalen’s comin’.”
    Something moved at the end of the alley, and Kalen stood up straight and alert, his dagger raised ready to strike.
    â€œNo!” he snarled. “Not you. Get back!”
    â€œLower your blade, Kalen, before I drive it through your throat.” Kate heard the order before she could see who had given it.
    Silas strode into sight, his gray eyes fixed upon the old man. Edgar tensed behind the curtain, and Kalen shuffled from foot to foot, looking back over his shoulder, planning his escape.
    â€œYou won’t be able to run from me this time.” Silas walked right up to Kalen until he was close enough for Kalen to stab him if he tried. Kate waited for the older man to make his move, but he just stood there, hands quivering, looking down at the ground.
    Silas’s dark shadow swallowed Kalen as he stood over him like a predator. Kalen swiped his dagger in front of him, trying to force Silas away, but the weapon might as well have been made of wood for all the attention Silas gave it. He kept walking, making Kalen retreat instead. Then his hand shot out, clutching the old man’s throat, raising him off the ground and slamming him against the alley wall.
    â€œSsssilasss!” Kalen’s voice came out as a hiss.
    â€œWhere is she?”
    Kalen grinned beneath a mustache of clotting blood. “Why would I tell you? It’s ’cos of you I’m stuck in this rotten place. Argh!”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œShe’s a strong one,” said Kalen. “Oh yes. Maybe I’ll just claim ’er for myself, eh?”
    Silas held Kalen firmly with one hand and drew a long sword from his belt with the other. The blade was so blue it was almost black, shining like a forged night sky. Kalen squirmed, trying to slash out again with his own blade, but he did not have the strength to land a good strike.
    â€œWhat exactly is your plan?” said Silas. “Do you plan to kill me, Kalen? Many have tried, one of them even succeeded. But as you can see, it was not as permanent a predicament as some would have liked. You told me the girl would be in the bookshop. Tell me where she really is.”
    Silas loosened his grip enough for Kalen to wheeze in a thin breath. “You’ll . . . kill me anyway,” he said, chuckling horribly with each word.
    Silas rested his blade upon Kalen’s shoulder. “And with good reason,” he said. “Who was it who stood by while the High Council allowed one of the Skilled into their midst? Who was it who knew what that woman planned to do and yet said nothing— nothing— about it to me? If you had warned me about her, I never would have allowed her to get close. So do not dare to blame me for what has happened in your life when you had a hand in destroying mine.”
    â€œWhat can I say? The gold was good.” Kalen grinned, showing off rows of loose cracked teeth. “’Course, that’s all spent and gone now. Worth it, though. Ah, yes. It’s not my fault ya walked right into ’er trap.”
    Silas’s eyes flashed with anger. “You are the same traitor you have always been,” he said. “The council stopped looking for you years ago because they thought you were dead. I should have told them where to find you, but instead you went free.