The Shadow of Malabron Read Online Free PDF Page A

to lure his prey. He could walk in the dreams of those who had looked into the shards. He could search for them within their own desires and fears.
    In moments the cloven tree was free of the mirror shards and stood alone in the clearing, gazed upon only by the stars.
    The girl hurried on and Will struggled to keep up with her. The wind had risen and branches whipped into his face as he plodded on. Finally, to his immense relief, the girl stopped. She still held the lantern before her, but now it had begun to glow, giving off a pale blue light.
    Will turned in a circle. The woods looked the same as they did everywhere else, shadowy and cheerless.
    “There’s nothing here,” he said, close to her ear. And then, as soon as he said it, he turned once more and peered into the darkness. A faint blue light glimmered in the dark, so faintly that he wasn’t sure it was really there.
    Will nudged the girl and pointed.
    “That’s it,” she nodded. “Every snug has its own waylight. It glows only when another one draws near. Come on. There will be shelter, and food.”
    She started off in the direction of the light. The word
food
made Will aware how hungry he was. Despite the strange things the girl was saying, the thought of a roof over his head and a meal was enough to spur him on.
    They hurried as quickly as they could, and the light grew stronger and flickered less, until at last they came to a sort of bower formed by many intertwined branches, like a huge bare wreath. In the midst of this cave-like hollow, almost invisible in the shadows, stood what appeared to be the gnarled trunk of a tree, until Will saw a polished wooden handle and realized it was a door. A small wicker lantern hung above it, and as Will and the girl approached, its light shone out even brighter, then dimmed to a faint pulsing glimmer and went out.
    The girl turned the handle and pushed the door gently, opening it only a little way. Warm yellow firelight spilled out through the gap. She ducked her head inside and back out again.
    “Come on,” she said to Will, and he followed quickly, not wanting to be left outside alone even for a moment. He slipped sideways through the door as she had, and stepped into the snug.
    Inside there was no one to be seen, but everything looked as though it had just been prepared for their arrival. Burning logs snapped and crackled invitingly in the stone fireplace at the far side of the small round room, and a large iron pot of something that smelled delicious bubbled and steamed on the hearth. A ladder against the wall rose through an open trapdoor to a loft where Will guessed there would be beds. Everything was polished and tidy, and true to the name, looked snug. Even the keening of the wind outside seemed pleasing from inside this warm, cosy space.
    The girl quickly shut the door behind them. She set the waylight on a chair by the door, took off her cloak, slid the ring from her long red hair and shook it out.
    “What if those … things find this place?” Will asked.
    “Let’s hope they don’t,” the girl said, glancing at the door. “But anyhow it’s better being in here than out there.”
    He wanted to ask what the pale figures were, and why they looked like his family, but he had the feeling he wouldn’t like the answer any more than her other explanations.
    “Something drove them away,” he said. “It sounded like people singing. Sort of.”
    The girl grinned. From a pouch at her side she drew a small wooden object on a string. It looked something like a narrow spinning top. The girl spun it swiftly round on the string and the eerie voices started up, like a warning siren beginning to wail. The girl caught the thing with her hand and the voices stopped.
    “My grandfather made this,” she said. “It mimics the sound of something even ghosts are afraid of. I wasn’t sure if it would trick those things, but it seems to work. I’ll have to tell Grandfather, when we get home.”
    She tucked the top away