Shadow Study

She swished her muddy tail and stepped away. Ghost.

Valek appeared next to me. His confusion turned to alarm as his gaze swept my blood-soaked shirt. “What happened?”

No energy for a detailed explanation, I filled him in on the basics and handed him the arrow.

All animation dropped from Valek’s angular face. Fury blazed in his sapphire-blue eyes as he examined the weapon. For a moment, I remembered our first meeting when he offered me the job of the food taster. Poisons had brought us together at that time, as well. But I’d never expected it to last. Then I’d wanted nothing more than to escape from him as quickly as possible.

Clear liquid dripped from the hollow shaft. He sniffed it. “Did you expel all the poison?”

“I think so.” Hard to tell for sure, but I wouldn’t add more fuel to his anger. Valek’s hard expression already promised murder.

He smoothed the hair from my cheek. “How bad is it?”

“Not as bad as it looks. Now go, before the assassin gets away.” I shooed.

“I’m not leaving you unprotected.”

Kiki huffed and flicked her tail, splattering mud on Valek’s black pants. I yanked my switchblade from its holder, triggering the blade. “I’m far from unprotected. Douse the light before you go.”

“All right. I’ll station Onyx outside the stable. Stay here.” Valek opened Onyx’s stall and the black horse trotted out. After he extinguished the lantern, Valek disappeared into the blackness.

I lay there listening for any sounds. My shoulder and left arm throbbed. Each inhalation caused a sharp stab of pain in my chest. To ease the discomfort, I pulled a thin thread of magic from the blanket of power that encompassed the world. A mental picture of the injury formed when I focused on the wound. My clavicle had been broken. The arrow had sliced through my muscles on impact, and the metal barbs in the arrow’s head had ripped chunks of skin when Kiki had yanked it out. Lovely. I used the ribbon of power to lessen the pain—a temporary measure.

Once more sending my awareness into the surrounding forest, I kept a light contact with the nocturnal creatures. Too bad my bat friend was hibernating over the cold season. His unique senses would have helped with finding the assassin in the dark. The wildlife conducted their nightly hunt of food and showed no signs of agitation—not even from Valek. His immunity to magic prevented me from keeping track of him. I hoped he stayed sharp.

As time passed without incident, I wondered who had attacked me. That line of thought didn’t go far as all I could deduce at this point was the person was a magician who had the power to form a null shield, who favored a bow and arrow, and who might have an affinity with animals. Either that or he/she was really quiet and had masked his/her smell.

Unfortunately, pondering why I was attacked generated a longer list. As the official Liaison between the Commander of the Territory of Ixia and the Sitian Council, I’d created at least a dozen political and criminal enemies in the past six years. As the heart mate of Valek, the infamous Ixian assassin, for the past eight years I’d been a target for anyone who hated Valek, which included most of Sitia and probably hundreds of Ixians. As a magician and Soulfinder, I made many people nervous, worrying that I’d turn rogue. These people were under the mistaken impression that I could create a soulless army when in fact all I did was find lost souls and guide them to either an eternity of peace in the sky or an eternity of suffering in the fire world, depending on their deeds while alive.

A slight squish jolted me from my thoughts. Careful of my injury, I sat up and swung my legs over the bales of straw. Then I slid off. Better to stand and fight than be caught lying down. The darkness outside was one hue lighter than inside due to the faint moonlight. It illuminated just enough to see shapes.

I kept alert for any movement, peering through the door. When Kiki stepped between me and the entrance, I startled. Even though she was sixteen hands high she could be really quiet. Her back was taller than me and she blocked my view. Granted, I reached only five feet four inches, but she was a big girl like most Sandseed horses.

A few more squishes set my heart to beat in double time. I tightened my grip on my switchblade.

Ghost, Kiki said, moving away.

I sagged against the bales. A Valek-shaped shadow strode into the stable. He lit the lantern. One look at his grim expression and I knew he’d lost the assassin’s trail.

“The guy’s a pro,” he said. “He used magic to erase his footprints. They just stopped. And without leaves on the bushes, it’s harder to track him, especially at night. I’ll go out again in the daylight.”

“He? How do you know?”

“Big boots, deep prints. We can discuss it later. Let’s go inside and take care of you.”

“Kiki first.” And before he could argue, “She saved my life. If she hadn’t moved, the arrow would have pierced my heart.”

Valek’s shoulders dropped. Knowing I wouldn’t leave, he worked fast. He removed her saddle and knocked the dried mud off her legs and stomach. After he cleaned out her hooves, she walked into her stall and munched on hay.

“Guess she’s happy enough,” Valek said, tossing the pick into a bucket. “Now, let’s get you warm and dry, love.”

I removed my muddy cloak and left it on the bales before I wrapped my right arm around Valek’s shoulders. He wanted to carry me, but I worried he might jar the broken bone out of alignment and I wouldn’t have enough strength to heal it.