But he was not alone.
Just ahead, a solitary figure stepped out from between the trees. Her cloak was green, but so dark as to appear almost black. Its hood obscured her face. She had an arrow nocked in her bow, and she was aiming it right at him.
“Devourer,” she said. “We meet at last.”
Shane skidded to a stop.
“I’ll bet you thought you’d escaped for good,” the woman said. “Once from Greenhaven and then from the ship that pursued you. I’ll admit, it was an interesting chase. But I saw you fall from the eagle.”
“This boy needs a healer,” Shane said sternly.
“That boy is a shield to you.” She pulled her bowstring taut. “Put him down. Die with some dignity.”
Shane ground his teeth. “I get it. You don’t like me much. But I’m telling you, if this boy doesn’t get to a healer right now, what happens is on your head.”
The woman took a step forward, and Shane saw her face beneath the hood. Her tan skin and accent marked her as a native of southern Zhong. For all the malice in her voice, her features were expressionless, her eyes flat. She had flecks of gray in her black hair and a tattoo on her arm, a white tiger, but it was faded away almost to nothing.
“You use the talismans well,” she said.
“Thanks,” Shane said. “I’d curtsy, but my hands are full.”
“The lion’s roar. The leopard’s grace,” she continued. “Tell me, if you’re so concerned for the child’s life, why not call on the panda?”
Shane cursed himself. It hadn’t even occurred to him. Not that it would have been a very strategic choice with a man-eating cat bearing down on him.
“You care only for yourself.” The woman seethed, her stony exterior flaring hot now. “My name is Lishay. I lost my brother to your pet monsters. I lost my spirit animal. And I lost the man I — a good man. Tarik.”
“I haven’t killed anyone,” Shane growled.
“So talented a liar,” Lishay said. “You can even lie to yourself.”
“I’m not —”
“You may not have held the greatsword that struck Tarik down. Nor the knife that took my kin. But make no mistake — you are responsible for their deaths and more. Your crocodile killed the greatest general in Zhong. You unleashed this madness upon Erdas.”
“I’ve lost people too!” Shane shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. “You think you’re special? I’m doing this because you’re the monsters. Greencloaks! You left Stetriol to rot!” Shane spit into the dirt. “So high and mighty. Not against sending an assassin after me, though, are they?”
“Put the boy down,” she said. “Last chance.” And Shane caught her glimpsing over his shoulder.
“Grahv!” he called, and he rolled to the side just as the great black cat lunged from behind him. It was a tiger, he saw now, its stripes almost lost entirely against its dark fur.
The crocodile appeared in a flash and met the tiger mid-lunge, allowing Shane to bring his attention back to Lishay just as she let the arrow fly. With Uraza’s speed, he was able to dodge it, but only barely. He needed to end this fight quickly.
He dropped Achi to the ground, pivoted, and pulled his saber as he closed the distance.
She met him with a parry, catching his sword on her bow and pushing it aside even as she drew a curved blade with her free hand.
Shane leaped back, dodging the slash she aimed at his belly. He brought his sword around for a slash of his own, and metal met metal.
For the moment, it was a stalemate. Their eyes met, and if a look of hate were a physical thing, Shane would have been knocked off his feet.
They were too evenly matched. Shane needed an advantage.
He withdrew, walking backward but keeping his sword before him. Then he leaped into a tree, out of Lishay’s reach.
She sheathed her sword, and Shane knew he had mere moments before she let an arrow fly. He acted quickly, and replaced the Amber Leopard with Kovo’s Obsidian Ape.
Shane could see an old injury in the woman’s wrist, a fresh scrape on her cheek, and little else he could exploit while her guard was up.
But the black tiger lit up like a beacon. Shane knew she must love the animal fiercely — Kovo’s pendant had flagged it as her weakness. Could he help Grahv get the upper hand? He turned to look at the tiger, and that’s when he noticed something that nearly stunned him right out of the tree: Achi was lit up as well.
Despite her earlier bluster, the woman didn’t want harm to come to the child.
And that was something Shane could use.
Shane ducked and weaved through the branches, hoping she didn’t have a bead on him yet, but unable to take his eyes away from his hands and feet for fear of falling. “Grahv!” he shouted. “The boy!”
Their mental link sparked, and Shane could feel it as the crocodile rallied, knocking the tiger aside with his massive tail and turning on Achi. In a burst of speed, the crocodile had Achi in his open mouth.
“I’m coming down!” Shane said. “Lower your bow if you value the boy’s life.”
Shane clambered down the tree to find Lishay standing stock-still. The only weapon she had now was hatred, which she radiated at him.
“Call off the tiger,” Shane said, drawing his sword.
She hesitated, but held out her arm. In a flash of light, the black tiger appeared as a tattoo alongside its white cousin.
Black and white. Precisely how the Greencloaks saw the world.
“You’re a monster,” she spat. “And you’ll pay. If not at my hands, then at another’s.”
“I’ve paid in advance,” Shane said. “Now it’s time I collect my due.”
With Kovo’s sight to guide him, he smashed the pommel of his sword into the base of her skull. She dropped to the ground, instantly unconscious.
But the jungle wasn’t quiet. Shane heard the sound of crying, and turned to see that Achi was awake. Awake, and terrified.
“Achi, it’s okay,” Shane said quickly. “Grahv won’t hurt you.”
In a flash, the crocodile disappeared.
But the fear in Achi’s eyes remained.
Shane staggered into the village as the dawn sky flared amber and violet, as if Uraza’s colors still flew over Nilo.
But Nilo had fallen to the Conquerors, and in this village, Uraza’s flags had been replaced.
A dozen Conquerors leveled their weapons at him as he stepped forward. A dozen spirit animals bared their teeth. Shane wondered if they’d really attack him while he held an injured boy in his arms, then decided he’d rather not know the answer.
Grahv appeared growling beside him, and soldiers and animals alike recoiled.
“Send out your captain,” he commanded. “And the elder from the village you destroyed. Now!”
The captain appeared in the doorway of the nearest hut, the medals of his station gleaming in the early light. He hastened over, eyes on the crocodile. “On your knees, dogs!” he shouted at his men. “You are in the presence of royalty.” He removed his iron helm and bowed his head. “Forgive them, my liege, but we were not expecting you.”
“Achi!” called a man, and Shane looked up to see a middle-aged Niloan man approaching. He held a staff much like the one Achi cherished. Shane hadn’t even thought to retrieve it when the boy had fallen.
The man paid no heed to Grahv, nor the soldiers. He walked right up to Shane, worry etched across his brow. “Achi, are you all right? What happened?”
“Answer your father, Achi,” Shane prompted.
Achi glared at Shane. His eyes had gone stony again. Shane had given him Jhi’s talisman and carried him all the way here despite the ache in his limbs. But Achi had refused to speak the entire way.
Shane handed him over to his father, careful to reclaim the bamboo pendant first. “He got caught in the middle of a fight. A Greencloak ambushed us in the woods. But he’ll be okay.”
Shane turned to the captain. “You’re responsible for the wrecked village west of h
ere?”
“Yes, my king,” the captain said. “We met resistance there, but we overcame it.” There was pride in his voice.
Shane slapped him across the face.
“Idiot,” he seethed. “Those were innocent people.” The soldiers all around him fidgeted uncomfortably. “Captain, you will return to the village — alone — and you will dig proper graves for those people.” The man stood at attention, acknowledging the order in stunned silence. “And I’d suggest you hurry. You really want to finish before dark.”
As the captain trotted off, Shane turned to Achi and winked, but the boy seemed unmoved.
Achi’s father cleared his throat. “Achi. This great man saved you. Carried you to safety. You should show gratitude. He is a hero!”
Achi scowled. “Sometimes bad people do good things,” he said icily. “It doesn’t mean they’re good people.”
Shane said nothing, just watched as Achi was carried away.
He tried to grasp at a fleeting sensation of victory, but it slipped through his fingers and was gone.
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First edition, April 2015
e-ISBN 978-0-545-81263-4
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