The Shadowhand Covenant (16 page)

“One man's treachery is another man's monthly wage.”

—Minaeris Grimjinx, founder of the Tarana Thieves Alliance

O
n the trip from the Sarosan camp to Redvalor Castle, I'd dreamed of sleeping peacefully in my own bed again. The previous night had been bliss. But this bliss was short-lived. Curled up in my nightclothes, under thick quilts, with warm embers glowing in the fireplace nearby . . . I should have been fast asleep but wasn't.

It may have had something to do with the crazy guy in my room.

At the foot of my bed, Maloch was pacing the floor,
throwing his arms up in the air and having a very loud argument with himself.

“This is completely naff-nut!” he said, shaking with rage. “The Shadowhands don't let just anyone join. They screen all candidates. If there's even a hint that you might turn on the Shadowhands, you'll never get in. It's impossible that there's a traitor. Impossible!”

Then he spun on his heel. “But that's the only explanation. Whoever hired the Shadowhands is trying to eliminate them. And the
only
way their employer could have learned the Shadowhands' true identities is if someone from within sold them out. That must be what my da figured out. He maybe even knew who the traitor was . . . and they got to him.”

“Why are you even here?” I asked, snuggling up to my quilts. “You've got your own room. Go stomp and shake your fist in there. I'm trying to sleep.”

“Jaxter!” Maloch said, whirling on me. “You should be just as worried as me. Your parents are trying to track down the remaining Shadowhands. I think whoever's hunting the Shadowhands will be just as happy to get anyone who's trying to warn them. Or even go after
former
Shadowhands as well.”

I groaned and pulled the quilts up over my head. I just wanted to sleep. By my calculations, I needed at least a full week of restful nights to make up for all the sleep I'd lost in the Sarosan camp and on the trip here. But I clearly wasn't going to get any tonight.

Maloch had a point.

And I hated him for it.

A traitor who could reveal the identity of the Shadowhands probably also knew of any former Shadowhands. Ma was in just as much danger as the people she was trying to warn.

Maloch pulled the quilt back, exposing my face. “
We
have to find the traitor.”

“I agree,” I said, propping myself up on one elbow. “But we have no clue how to do that. Right now, we should focus on helping Reena and Holm and the Sarosans. You want to help Reena, right?”

That caught him off guard. He stared at me blankly for a long time. Then he lifted his jaw. “If we find the traitor, we
are
helping the Sarosans. The traitor can lead us to whoever hired the Shadowhands. We can turn that person in to the High Laird, and he'll be forced to let the Sarosans go.”

My stomach churned. Why was it that I got physically ill
whenever Maloch made sense?

“Okay, fine,” I said, “but that brings us back to the simple fact that we have no idea how to find the traitor.”

Maloch got down on all fours and pulled my backpack from under the bed. “We
do
know how to find the traitor. In fact, the Shadowhands are going to lead us right to them.”

“What are you doing?” I asked as he dropped the backpack on my bed.

“Start packing,” he said, “and get dressed. We've got a long trip ahead of us, and we leave tonight.”

Before I could ask him what he meant, he ran from the room. Reluctantly, I started packing. How was I going to explain to the Dowager that we were leaving again so soon? I had a feeling the idea wouldn't sit well with her.

Once I was ready, I met Maloch outside his room. He had his own pack and was ready to go.

“We should get Reena and Holm,” I said, “and stop by the kitchen for some food. Oh, and I need to tell the Dowager—”

Maloch shook his head. “No. Just you and me. We're not Shadowhands, but right now, we're the next best thing. We don't get anyone else involved. It's too dangerous.”

I wasn't convinced. Was this about being the sons of Shadowhands . . . or keeping Reena out of danger?

“C'mon,” he said, tugging my elbow and leading me down the hall. When we got to the stairs, we found Reena and Holm, also packed and dressed for a long journey.

“My room shares a wall with you,” Holm said, pointing at me. “I heard what Maloch wants to do.”

“If you can clear our family's name,” Reena said, turning to Maloch, “then we're coming with you. And don't even try to argue.”

Maloch shot me a look. “Fine. But we're
not
telling the Dowager. She'll only try to stop us.”

“Indeed, Mr. Oxter.”

We turned to find the Dowager standing behind us, arms folded and looking very unhappy.

“For two sons of Shadowhands,” I said under my breath, “we're really lousy at sneaking out.”

“As Jaxter's mentor,” the Dowager said, the singsong in her voice replaced with real authority, “I am responsible for his safety. I cannot claim that about the rest of you. But I promise that if any of you try to leave before we've discussed all options, you'll see just how much power the
sister of the High Laird wields.”

It sounded impressive, but I knew she was bluffing.

At least, I
hoped
she was bluffing.

We sat in the Dowager's study. Oxric served singetea all around. Maloch stood near the tall, slender windows that overlooked the moonlit garden. He hadn't said a word since the Dowager caught us trying to sneak out. He just did what Maloch did best: glared.

Reena and Holm shared a chair so large Holm's feet didn't even reach the floor. I sat across from them and watched Reena steal glimpses at Maloch. Holm noticed too. He gave a careful nod at his sister, then at Maloch, then rolled his eyes. I laughed.

The Dowager, who had been stoking the fire, turned sharply. “Did I do something funny, Jaxter?” I really hated it when she became all adultlike.

“Sorry,” I said, looking down.

The Dowager strode over to the window near Maloch. “I gather you weren't just rallying your troops here to run off into the night without a purpose, Mr. Oxter. Perhaps you'd
like to tell me what you were planning.”

Maloch's lips fused shut. He leaned against the window frame and didn't say a word, stubborn as always.

So I volunteered. “Maloch thinks he knows a way to figure out who the Shadowhand traitor is.”

Maloch didn't even bother trying to kill me with a look. His hand, curled into a fist at his hip, grew deep red and trembled the tighter he squeezed it. A message that I was going to pay for talking once he got me alone.

The Dowager gently took Maloch's shoulders and turned him to face her. The serious, stern Dowager gave way to the kind, gentle one I knew best. “Maloch,” she said softly, “I know you're concerned about your father. There's a very real chance that he's still out there, hiding from whoever is hunting the Shadowhands. You have no idea where he is, and putting yourself in danger won't—”

“If he was in trouble, he would have gone to the Dagger!” Maloch blurted out, pulling away from the Dowager.

“The what?” I asked.

Maloch turned to look out the window again. He was silent for a long time. Then, he finally gave in and spoke.

“The Shadowhands have a hidden compound called the
Dagger. It's where they meet to plan their heists. It also doubles as a bunker they can hide in if things ever get too hot. I can't prove it, but I think my da was on his way there when he disappeared.”

“But,” I said carefully, “you don't know if he made it there.”

He fell silent again. I pulled the Dowager aside. “Listen,” I whispered, “I think Maloch knows more than he's saying. But he won't talk while you're here. He's afraid he'll betray the Shadowhands. Maybe if you left me to talk to him . . .”

The Dowager scanned the room. The windows were too narrow for us to fit through. The only way out of the study was through one door. She knew we couldn't leave. “I'll be right outside,” she said.

Once she left, Reena, Holm, and I went to Maloch.

“Okay,” I said, “so you were going to take us to the Dagger. Why?”

He took in a deep breath. “That's where the Shadowhands keep the Covenant. Every recruit has to sign it, and then they're magically bound to the Shadowhands. If you betray the group, all sorts of horrible things happen to you. It gets harder to breathe. You contract magical
illnesses. You get terrible headaches . . . and your name starts to glow on the Covenant itself.”

“So we go to the Dagger, get the Covenant, and expose the traitor,” Reena said.

Maloch nodded at the door to the study. “But the Dowager can't help. If the Dagger is compromised by the Provincial Guard, then it doesn't matter if we find the Shadowhands or not. It's all over.”

I guessed my own parents wouldn't approve of me leading the royal family to the secret Shadowhand bunker. Which meant I had to convince the Dowager to let us go on our own. “All right,” I said, “let me take care of this.”

I called for the Dowager, and she joined us in the study.

“I need you to trust me,” I said carefully. The Dowager immediately stiffened, so I rushed to add, “I appreciate you taking us all in and making sure we're safe. We'd still be dodging bloodreavers if it weren't for the charms around Redvalor. We know you only want to help, but this is something we have to do ourselves.”

“Jaxter, I have the resources to get you anywhere you need to go in the Provinces much faster than—” She stopped and tilted her head. She stared into space for
several seconds as if trying to figure something out. “Wait a moment. What charms around Redvalor?”

“You know,” I said. “When I started as your apprentice, you told me about the charms cast by the Palatinate to protect the castle from magical incursion.”

The Dowager chuckled. “I forgot about that. Well, I wasn't exactly telling the truth. I told you that because I wasn't quite sure I could trust you. I didn't want you to get any sneaky ideas.”

My arms went limp. “So . . . we're not protected here?”

Reena put her hand on Holm's shoulder. “But that means—”

And right on cue, we heard the unmistakable howl of a bloodreaver. We looked out the window and saw several of the creatures scaling the walls of the castle.

“Oh, zoc,” I said.

A taloned fist smashed through the window, sending us all diving for cover. A bloodreaver reached into the study, snatching at empty air as we cowered from its grasp. It tipped its head back and screamed. A moment later, four distinct screams answered back.

As we jumped to our feet, the door to the study flew open,
and Neron, the captain of the Provincial Guard, charged in.

“Your Majesty,” he said, sword drawn, “the castle is under siege.”

“We figured that out,” I said.

Pop!
A cloud of smoke appeared in the study, and a bloodreaver leaped out at us.

Neron swung his sword at the creature, driving it back. “Everyone out!” he said, and we ran from the study, slamming the door shut behind us.

“Captain Neron,” the Dowager said, “gather the guards and mount a defense!” The captain saluted and ran to the staircase to raise the alarm. The Dowager turned to us. “The rest of you will be safe if we go—”

“No,” I said. “This is our chance. We have to go now.”

The Dowager stood her ground. “You cannot go outside while those creatures—”

“If the guards distract them, we can escape unnoticed.” I turned to the others. “Get our things.” Reena, Holm, and Maloch ran to get the backpacks.

Before the Dowager could protest, I said, “You can't be seen harboring us. You said so yourself. If we're found
here by the bloodreavers, there's nothing you can say to save yourself. We need you free to tell your brother what we've learned. Ask him to call off the bloodreavers. Tell him the Sarosans are innocent.”

She shook her head. “He won't listen to me.”

“Make him!” I said as the others returned. Reena handed me my backpack.

The Dowager looked unconvinced, but she finally nodded. “Come with me.” She led us down the stairs to the foyer, where a dozen heavily armed members of the Provincial Guard, as well as Oxric and the Dowager's entire staff—bearing frying pans, brooms, and other makeshift weapons—waited to defend the castle.

She walked to a nearby table and retrieved Tree Bag. I had lent her the bag with Kolo's notes before we went to bed. “Read page fourteen. It's important.”

I nodded and slung Tree Bag over my shoulder.

“Captain,” the Dowager said to Neron, “you and your men are to engage the creatures. Keep them as far away from the main entrance as possible.” Upstairs, we heard the study door smash and the pops of more bloodreavers appearing.

The Dowager ushered us to the main door as the guards ran upstairs. “You'll only have a few minutes at most to get away.”

“We may not look like much,” I said, referring to our motley group, “but we're fast.”

The Dowager reached up to her throat and touched the pendant that hung around her neck. A small, star-shaped jewel sat inside a flat, silver triangle. She plucked the red gem from the triangle and placed it in my hand. “You and I will be able to communicate with this, in case you get in trouble. When you need to speak to me, just tap the gem three times.”

I repeated, “Three times.”

Above, we could hear the guards engage the bloodreavers. The creatures screamed as the soldiers swore and called them names that made Oxric blush.

“Let's move!” Maloch said, throwing open the main door. Reena, Holm, and I stormed out and the four of us ran into the freezing night.