Griffin's Shadow Read Online Free PDF

along the grassy verge some distance ahead. There, it waited.
    A short time elapsed before the horse passed beneath the tree in a jingling, creaking rush. The bird’s keen eyesight caught a glimpse of the rider’s face—sun-bronzed skin, a melding of human and elven features—topped by a wild mane of dark, coiled hair.
    The raven cawed—a harsh, brazen sound—and launched itself skyward. A compulsion to follow spurred it on, and it could not resist. Like a black arrow, it shot after the rider, maintaining a discreet distance so that it would not be noticed. The bird had no instinct left for self-preservation; for many days, it had gone without food, water, or rest. Relentlessly, inevitably, the force that drove it also drained its life energy in the process.
    When at last it fell from the sky, another bird sprang aloft and took up the chase.
     

Chapter 4
    Sendai
    "There it is, my love. Sendai Castle.” Ashinji pointed toward the west.
    Jelena held her hand up to shade her eyes, but could see only what appeared to be a large, forested hill against the glare of the horizon.
    “I can’t see the castle…only trees.” She squinted in a vain attempt to discern the outlines of the fortress.
    “It sits at the top of the hill. You can just see the highest roofs from here. They’re covered in blue tiles.”
    Jelena shook her head, frustrated that she seemed to lack her elven sire’s sharper-than-human eyesight. “Where is the city?” she asked, abandoning the search for the castle.
    “You’ll see,” Ashinji replied. He flashed a wicked grin, as if keeping some particularly astounding secret. “Sendai will amaze you, I promise.”
    They had been on the road for ten days and had another half-day of travel yet before them. The party had paused to rest at a crossroads. Some of the Kerala guards stood at relaxed, yet watchful, attention, while others took their ease on the soft grass. Amara and her daughters had abandoned their carriage and now rested in the shade of a horse chestnut tree. Just beyond the intersection, the road mounted a small hill. Ashinji and Jelena stood at the summit, gazing ahead toward their destination.
    Ashinji slipped his arm around Jelena’s waist, drawing her close in a companionable embrace. His eyes sparkled with anticipation, but she sensed that it had nothing to do with her.
    “What are you thinking about, Ashi?” she asked.
    “How good it will be to see the Peregrines again. I’ve never been away from my company for so long.” Ashinji had spoken many times of his fondness and respect for the men and women of Peregrine Company. He derived strength from their camaraderie and professionalism, and they made his life as a captain in the king’s army more bearable.
    “Will your people be shocked when you return with a wife?” she asked, playfully tweaking his nose.
    He grinned and tweaked hers in kind. “Perhaps, but they will be pleased for me as well.”
    “Yes, but how do you think they will react to me?” She couldn’t stop the note of worry that crept, unbidden, into her voice.
    Ashinji turned her by the shoulders to face him. “I know you are afraid of how you will be treated, and I can’t promise that there won’t be any problems, but Sendai does have a sizable hikui community. After we get settled, I’ll take you to Jokimichi, the district where most of the hikui live. You can finally meet other people who look like you.”
    With a small shock, Jelena realized that Ashinji had pointed out to her a startling fact; in all her months of residing among the elves of Kerala, she had not once seen another hikui. Aneko hardly counted; the First Sergeant of the Kerala Guard lived as okui, despite her own admission. Jelena’s heart beat a little faster with excitement. What would the hikui of Sendai be like? Her mind buzzed with questions that would have to wait until she reached the city.
    “Ho there, children! Come to admire the view, eh?”
    Ashinji and Jelena turned as one