Ghost Hunter Read Online Free PDF

courage. But the hunter who had spoken grabbed Fin-Kedinn's arm. "Come with us, Fin-Kedinn. We need you. You can't leave us now."

    "Others can lead," said Fin-Kedinn. "I must seek the one who can bring down the Soul-Eater. The one who knows the dark places under the earth."

    "Who? Where are you going?"

    "North" was all Fin-Kedinn would say.

    Before they could ask more, he was on his way. Time was against him. And to find the one he sought, he must rely on knowledge many winters old.

    He hadn't gone far when the boy came racing after him. "My father says to give you this," he panted, holding out a squirrel.

    Fin-Kedinn thanked him and told him to keep it. The boy glanced up at him shyly. "Can I go with you? I know the land to the north--I could help you find your way."

    The Raven Leader bit back a smile. He'd hunted in this part of the Forest since before this boy was born.

    He was about twelve summers old, with loose limbs and a sharp, intelligent face; a little like Torak at that age. "They say you've journeyed farther than anyone," he ventured. "To the Far North and the Seal Islands and the High Mountains. Can't I come too?"

    "No," said Fin-Kedinn. "Go back to your father."

    As he watched the boy plodding off, Fin-Kedinn

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    became suddenly alert. The crunch of the boy's boots had an odd, brittle sound, which rang too sharply through the trees. And the snow looked wrong. It had an almost greenish tinge.

    Fin-Kedinn's hand tightened on his staff. No wonder the Forest was bracing itself.

    "Tell your father to hurry," he shouted to the boy. "Get back to camp, quick as you can!"

    The boy turned. "I know! Snowstorm on the way!"

    "No! Ice storm! Much worse! Tell your father! Run!"

    Fin-Kedinn watched till the boy was safely back with the others. Then he started looking for a place to build a shelter. As he did so, he prayed to the World Spirit that Torak and Renn--wherever they were--had seen the signs too, and gotten under cover.

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    [Image: Fa's arrow.]

    EIGHT

    A sense of foreboding had been growing on Renn . since she woke up. It was cold. Too cold for snow. The night before, there'd been a ring around the moon. Tanugeak the White Fox Mage had once told her that this meant the moon was pulling the ruff of her parka closer around her face, because bad weather was coming.

    And to make matters worse, Renn had heard Wolf howling in the night. She'd never heard him howl like that before.

    The River Horseleap was beginning to freeze, the shallows congealing in fragile, pale-green swirls. In an inlet, Renn found splintered ice and a trace of a paw

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    print; farther on, boot prints, unmistakeably Torak's. She was puzzled. He'd headed downstream, then backtracked. Why?

    Soon after, she drew level with the resting place on the other side of the river, and craned her neck at the cliff. She howled, but no wolves peered over the edge. She told herself they must have taken the cubs exploring. But her uneasiness grew.

    Her spirits rose when she found the pine trunk where Torak had crossed the river. His trail was fresher than she'd dared hope, and he'd been walking with his usual long strides, so he must be all right, which meant that Wolf couldn't have been howling for him.

    She followed the trail into the gully of the Fastwater. She didn't know it well, except from Torak's description of where he'd first met Wolf, but halfway up, she spotted an arrow, tied to a birch tree and pointing east. This was baffling. Torak must have put it there as a sign for her. But if he wanted her to follow, why not just wait?

    For some reason, she passed the arrow without examining it, and hurried on. But to her dismay, she found no more tracks. Torak hadn't come this way.

    She went back to the birch tree, and came to a dead stop. The arrow had been tied in place with nightshade: a deadly plant, beloved of the Soul-Eaters--especially Seshru, her mother. Torak would never have used it. This wasn't his sign. It wasn't his