The Shadowhand Covenant Read Online Free Page A

prestigious bank. He was a well-respected member of the community, whom many guessed would be named the next castellan if Jorn ever retired. He gave generously to charities and had absolutely no tolerance for crime, often making impassioned speeches to the town-state council in favor of harsher penalties for criminals. He was everything a Shadowhand wasn’t.
    Which, of course, was the perfect disguise for a Shadowhand.
    But I didn’t trust Maloch. I couldn’t. “I don’t believe him. This is a trick. We should just walk away—”
    â€œShut up, Jaxter,” Maloch said. “We can’t talk here. We have to—”
    â€œJust hold on, everyone,” Da said. He peered at Maloch as if trying to see into his little black heart. Then he turned to Ma and said, “Allia?”
    Ma straightened her back, looked Maloch in the eye, and said, “ Ker aminus sortinnel rev hil narjak? ”
    Ma’s ancient par-Goblin was perfectly accented, each word enunciated to avoid confusion. Not that there should be any confusion. I was convinced Maloch didn’t know anything but the handful of par-Goblin words I’d taught him years ago.
    Maloch stuck out his chin. “Shera tuo mer.”
    I fumed. His accent, perfect. His enunciation, clear as a bell. But his answer made no sense whatsoever, and I assumed he’d blown it.
    But Ma nodded at Da, and he nodded back.
    â€œWhere should we go?” Da asked quietly.
    â€œMaloch’s house,” Ma said. “Jaxter and I will go first. Maloch, you follow at a distance. No one will think it odd if you’re watching us from afar. Ona, you pick another route. We’ll all meet behind the house.”
    Maloch slid from his seat. Before I could protest, Ma clamped her arm around my shoulders and guided me out into the cold streets. We’d gotten only a few steps down the road when we heard the door to the inn close behind us. Maloch was now pretending to follow us.
    â€œOkay,” I said to Ma, “I get it. You trust him because heknew the answer to your question. What was all that about? You asked him, ‘Where does the solitary heart rest?’ He said, ‘In the eclipse.’ That doesn’t even make any sense.”
    Ma smiled and waved to people walking past and whispered through her smile, “It’s not supposed to make sense. It’s how Shadowhands recognize one another. Get the answer wrong and you’re liable to end up with a dagger in your gizzard.”
    Codes between thieves were common. I knew a few basic ones that simply identified me as a thief, meant to solicit help from other thieves when in a tight spot. So, naturally, the Shadowhands had developed their own special system. Sure, things like the lone red candle were general knowledge among thieves because it was to the Shadowhands’ advantage. But a code like this eclipse thing had to be the most secret of secrets in order to work and keep anyone—
    â€œHang on,” I said, maybe a bit too loudly. I lowered my voice and said, “How do you know the Shadowhand passcode?”
    Ma breathed loudly through her nose and peeked over her shoulder to make sure Maloch was still following at adiscreet distance. “Because, Jaxter,” she said plainly, “I was a Shadowhand.”
    I stopped in my tracks, but Ma gripped my arm tightly and kept me moving forward.
    â€œKeep going,” she whispered, a smile never leaving her lips. “If a Shadowhand is sending his son to collect us, there must be unimaginable danger involved. Someone might be watching. We can’t do anything suspicious. Just pretend we’re out for a stroll and act normally.”
    I plastered a fake smile on my face and pretended to point out a flock of birds flying overhead. “‘Act normally?’” I said through clenched teeth. “Someone I hate claims to be the son of a Shadowhand and suddenly you tell me that I’m one