The Shadow of Malabron Read Online Free PDF

again, and together she and Will approached the fire, drawn by its light and warmth. The girl took a ladle that hung by the pot, spooned up some of the steaming broth and blew upon it.
    “Don’t we have to ask?” Will whispered.
    “Ask who?” the girl shrugged. She sipped the broth, smacked her lips and smiled to herself. Will took a good look at her. Her face was thin and pale, but something in the way she stood, and the steadiness of her slender hand, gave him the feeling that she was stronger than she looked. Under her dark brows her green eyes glittered in the firelight.
    There were clay bowls and spoons on the mantel above the fire. The girl reached for two of the bowls and filled them with broth. She handed one to Will. He took it hesitantly, raised a spoonful to his lips, and tried the briefest of sips. It was tasty. Very tasty. He looked up at the girl, trying not to smile.
    “I’m Rowen,” she said. “Rowen of Blue Hill.”
    Caught off guard, Will stammered his name. Hungrily he took a bigger mouthful of the broth, and dipped the spoon for another, then paused.
    “You’re right, I am from far away,” he said. “Before I crashed the motorcycle we were…”
    He stopped when he saw the girl’s brow wrinkle.
    “Motorcycle,” she echoed. “That sounds like one of the Steam Guild’s inventions. What does it do?”
    “It … well, it carries you,” Will said. “From one place to another. I was trying to get to the Perilous Realm but then—”
    “You did.”
    “What?”
    “You did get to the Perilous Realm. You’re in it.”
    “No, that’s not right. It can’t be. I saw the sign by the road. But when I came back it was … different, and then I crashed the bike and when I woke up there wasn’t…”
    He broke off, overwhelmed by all the strange things that had happened to him since he had taken off on the motorcycle. Could all of this really be the amusement park? If this girl was acting a part, she was doing it very well.
    She studied him intently, as if he might be the one playing a role.
    “When we get home we’ll talk to my grandfather,” she said. “He’ll explain things better than I can.”
    She began to eat, and so did Will. After hours without food, he thought he had never tasted anything so delicious. The soup was made of potatoes and carrots and grains, as far as Will could tell, but the hot, peppery broth went a long way towards warming the chill and even some of the fear out of him. He finished quickly and reached for the ladle to pour himself another bowlful. Then he stopped and looked round the room.
    “So we just … take whatever we want.”
    “Yes.”
    “But there must be a lot of people using these snugs.”
    “Only those who know how to find them.”
    “What happens if someone else comes here tonight?”
    “In that case,” said a voice behind them, “you’ll have to fill another bowl.”
    Will and Rowen whirled round. There in the doorway stood a tall figure in black.
    “Moth?” Rowen said.

In one of the forsaken realms stands a forest of bones. In this forest of bones is a lake. In the middle of this lake is a hollow stone. Within this hollow stone lives a creature that guards a shadow. And this shadow hides a secret that the creature has forgotten: that the stone is a palace, and the lake is gold, and the forest of bones is a garden
.
    — The Kantar
    T HE FIGURE STEPPED FROM THE SHADOWS into the flickering firelight. Will saw that it was a man, dressed all in worn-looking garments, his long hair as sleek and dark as a crow’s wing. He carried a short curving bow and a leather quiver of grey-feathered arrows over his shoulder. His eyes glittered in his dusky face. Will’s first thought was that he was a performer from the amusement park but he quickly banished that idea. There was something unusual about the man’s look and manner, something that held Will’s attention. There was a sense of purpose about this stranger, as if now that he was here, he