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and full of discord. “Otherwise, I shall give you to the Shadowgrims.”

CHAPTER FOUR
EDGE AND DROP
    I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold window above me. I stood still as a deer, not daring to move, except to run my fingertips over the scar on my arm—the scar that would betray my Chantress nature if they found me. Would I, too, be sent to the Shadowgrims, whoever or whatever they were? The very sound of the word made me want to retch.
    A matter of a few yards, that was all that lay between me and discovery. A few yards and the flick of the draperies, and I would stand there exposed.
    Pulse racing, I trained my ears on the man Giles and his friend. They were falling over themselves to prove their loyalty.
    “No need to resort to the Shadowgrims, my lord.”
    “We will report only to you, Lord Scargrave. You have our word.”
    “Our solemn word.”
    “Our sacred word.”
    “I will hold you to it.” The harshness in Scargrave’s voice had given way to something like pleasure again. “We must each go about our business now. If you serve me well, you shall be rewarded. But remember: I depend on your vigilance and your discretion. And I have little tolerance for error—either of fact or of judgment.”
    “We understand, my lord.”
    “Yes, indeed, my lord.”
    Silence followed—a searching silence that made me wish I could disappear into the stones of the wall behind me.
    “Then I bid you good evening,” Scargrave said at last. “But do not forget: I will be watching.”
    Heavy footsteps crossed the floor again, and the library door heaved open and shut. Behind the curtain, I felt my fear lift a little, and I guessed that Scargrave was gone.
    In the quiet, Giles asked, “What do you think he means by ‘rewarded’?”
    “For the right information, he pays even gutter brats in gold,” his friend said. “And he has the power to raise gentlemen in both title and estate. Who knows? We may soon be calling each other baron or viscount, if only we supply him with what he needs.”
    “And if we find him a Chantress?”
    His friend laughed. “We may call the King himself our cousin. Truly, Giles, our fortunes would be made.”
    “Then let’s hope we find one soon.”
    “It’s not likely. But we may still be able to better ourselves in small ways, simply by reporting on disloyalty among our owncrowd. Speaking of which, it’s time we found them again, or they’ll wonder where we are.”
    A chair scraped, and before me the curtains stirred ever so slightly. Had I given myself away? Please God, no.
    To my relief, no one came running. Perhaps they hadn’t been looking—or perhaps it was I who had been shaking, and not the curtains. I steeled myself into absolute stillness, as their voices grew fainter.
    “Do you think I could borrow one of these books?” Giles said. “Something that would help me track a Chantress down, I mean to say.”
    “Honestly, Giles! You’re such a dunderhead sometimes. This is Lord Scargrave’s private library. No one takes books from it without his permission. That’s why he posts guards outside the door: to search us when we go.”
    “They’re going to search us? Our persons, you mean? I say, you might have warned me!”
    If Giles was upset, I was even more so. How could I escape this room, let alone the house, if there were guards outside the door—guards who would know I hadn’t entered the normal way, who would see my scar if they searched me, who would know me for a Chantress?
    As I tried to steady myself, I found the gap in the curtains again, just in time to see the backs of Giles and his friend as they passed out of the room.
    No sooner had they left than the thief sprinted out of hiding. I caught my breath; I had half forgotten he was there. Making forthe fireplace, he touched the wall beside it with a practiced hand. When the hidden panel sprang out, he ducked down and pulled it shut behind him.
    Where did he go? was my first thought.
    And then: Can