The Wrath of Silver Wolf Read Online Free Page B

many words out fast. 'I'm a freelance agent,
but I run messages for the order, so I know the
trust-codes.'
    'Two butterflies tied by impossible dreams,'
Moonshadow said quickly.
    'Are like the cold water,' the spy panted, 'that
can't brew fragrant tea.'
    Again Moon and Snowhawk exchanged
glances. 'Test him again,' she snarled.
    Moonshadow nodded. 'At the festival of the
dead, a paper lantern bursts –'
    'And goblins and shape-shifters scurry out,' the
man replied without pause.
    'Forgive me.' Snowhawk pulled the shuriken
away from the fellow's neck, slid her foot off his
hand and stood up. 'By all the gods,' she muttered,
looking at Moon. 'What has happened to me?
I almost murdered one of our own.'
    Moonshadow offered his hand to the stranger,
leaning backwards hard to offset the big man's
weight as he helped him regain the roof.
    'Our apologies, Sir. We . . .' He fired a sideways
look at Snowhawk. 'We were startled. Your
presence was unexpected.'
    The large spy sat down heavily on the tiles. 'No
harm done.' He blew out a long breath. 'That kind
of reception greets us freelance despatch runners
from time to time. All shinobi are wary while
on the job.' He rubbed his wrist. 'Which is as it
should be. I tried to utter a trust-code on arrival –'
he half-grinned, nursing his jaw – 'but your skilled
blow numbed me awhile, neh?'
    Moonshadow hung his head. 'I was impulsive.
Please excuse me.'
    'Not at all.' The freelance agent waved a hand.
'Resources are stretched thin, out-of-town faces
like me have been brought in to help . . . it all
makes people jumpy.' He thumbed over his
shoulder at the Edo skyline. 'The Grey Light
has been steadily forced to deploy so many of its
senior agents to distant provinces. And why? To
investigate these infernal conspiracies! Rumours
of new plots against the Shogun appear with each
passing week –'
    Snowhawk and Moonshadow looked at one
another thoughfully. Moon shook his head. No
wonder they were getting so many of these eavesdropping
missions! By the sound of it, everybody
who served the Order was out lifting tiles on lords
and merchants' roofs across the length and breadth
of the land.
    Something very big and very dangerous was in the wind. Was one man behind it all, Akechi's friend from the west ? Moon scowled. Fushimi,
the lair of Silver Wolf, lay to the west. Who
else's ambitions could send such far-flung ripples
through the nation's pond?
    It seemed that the need to closely monitor
those ripples had now made everything riskier. So
a wide web of conspirators was tying up agents to
the point where independent spies-for-hire had
to make up the manpower shortage. Such things
had happened before, from time to time, but never
on the scale this man spoke of.
    Moonshadow sighed. Brother Eagle, the wise
and diplomatic, had ties to certain Iga ninja
masters and was highly respected among most
of the Clan Koga families. But if those shadow
houses were now sending Eagle hirelings that
he didn't personally know, could all of them be
trusted?
    That was the hazard with freelancers; the
more of them you had to use, the greater the risk
that one would turn out to be an infiltrator . . . a
double agent, in this case, perhaps actually serving
the conspirators – or worse, the Order's ancient
enemy, the House of Fuma.
    The agent seemed to read Moonshadow's
thoughts. 'These are doubly uncertain times.' He
shrugged. 'But every warrior class has its mercenaries,
neh? I can be relied upon. I bought
my independence from my clan because I wished
to marry a non-shinobi. But I honour the furube
sutra daily, and live by stringent oaths of service
to whomever hires me. Master Eagle can vouch
for my character.' His black eyes flicked over the
pair. 'And I know who you are. Master Eagle sent
me in all haste. I bring word.'
    ' Master Eagle?' Moon grinned. He hadn't called
Eagle that for a long time.
    'His formal title, bestowed by the Iga as a mark
of respect.' The agent laughed softly. 'But of course,
I see you well