Book 1 - Shadow Games Read Online Free PDF Page A

thoughtful. I knew he was
recalling something I thought he had put out of mind.
    We were never certain that the forvalaka which killed Tom-Tom
was the forvalaka that paid the price. Because in those days the
Taken Soulcatcher worked closely with another Taken called
Shapeshifter and there was evidence to suggest Shifter might have
been in Beryl that night. And using the forvalaka shape to assure
the destruction of the ruling family so the empire could take over
on the cheap.
    If One-Eye had not avenged Tom-Tom on the right creature it was
far too late for tears. Shifter was another of the victims of the
Battle at Charm.
    “I’m thinking about Limper,” I admitted.
“I killed him at that inn, One-Eye. I killed him good. And if
he hadn’t turned up again, I’d never have doubted that
he was gone.”
    “And no doubts about these?”
    “Some.”
    “You want to sneak out after dark and dig one of them
up?”
    “What’s the point? There’ll be somebody in the
grave, and no way to prove it isn’t who it’s supposed
to be.”
    “They were killed by other Taken and by members of the
Circle. That’s a little different than getting worked on by a
no-talent like you.”
    He meant no talent for sorcery. “I know. That’s what
keeps me from getting obsessed with the whole mess. Knowing that
those who supposedly killed them really had the power to do them
in.”
    One-Eye stared at the ground where once a cross stood with the
forvalaka nailed upon it. After a while he shivered and came back
to now. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. It was long ago,
if not very far away. And far away is where we’ll be if we
ever get out of here.” He pulled his floppy black hat forward
to keep the sun out of his eyes, looked up at the Tower. We were
being watched.
    “Why does she want to go with us? That’s the one I
keep coming back to. What’s in this for her?”
    One-Eye looked at me with the oddest expression. He pushed his
hat back, put his hands on his hips, cocked his head a moment, then
shook it slowly. “Croaker. Sometimes you’re too much to
be believed. Why are you hanging around here waiting for her
instead of heading out, putting miles behind?”
    It was a good question and one I shied off anytime I tried to
examine it. “Well, I guess I kind of like her and think she
deserves a shot at some kind of regular life. She’s all
right. Really.”
    I caught a transient smirk as he turned to the unmarked grave.
“Life wouldn’t be half fun without you in it, Croaker.
Watching you bumble through is an education in itself. How soon can
we get moving? I don’t like this place.”
    “I don’t know. A few more days. There’re
things she has to wrap up first.”
    “That’s what
you said—”
    I am afraid I got snappish.
“I’ll let you know when.”
    When seemed never to come. Days passed. Lady remained ensnared
in the web of the administrative spider.
    Then the messages began pouring in from the provinces, in
response to edicts from the Tower. Each one demanded immediate
attention.
    We had been closed up in that dread place for two weeks.
    “Get us the hell out of here, Croaker,” One-Eye
demanded. “My nerves can’t take this place
anymore.”
    “Look, there’s stuff she’s got to
do.”
    “There’s stuff we’ve got to do, according to
you. Who says what we got to do has to wait on what she’s got
to do?”
    And Goblin jumped on me. With both feet. “We put up with
your infatuation for about twenty years, Croaker,” he
exaggerated. “Because it was amusing. Something to ride you
about when times got boring. But it ain’t nothing I mean to
get killed over, I absodamnlutely guarantee. Even if she makes us
all field marshals.”
    I warded a flash of anger. It was hard, but Goblin was right. I
had no business hanging around there, keeping everyone at maximum
risk. The longer we waited, the more certain it was that something
would go sour. We were having enough trouble getting along with the
Tower Guards, who