Free The Shadow’s Curse by Amy McCulloch

low, barely a whisper. ‘No. Not if he unleashes the shadows.’
    The thought sent shivers up and down Wadi’s spine. Although she hadn’t grown up in the North – where the stigma against oathbreakers was strongest – she could still vividly remember the Chauk she had travelled with in the desert, and how terrible their shadows had seemed to her.
    She could imagine the terror of the people of Samar when they saw an army of haunts bearing down on them. Khareh would seem invincible.
    She thought of the Camp of Shadows, and what Khareh had asked of those people. ‘All those broken oaths. How can you follow him?’
    ‘He has all these plans. He rants and raves all night about everything that’s wrong with Darhan. The fact that our cities are so small – but who needs big cities when we are travelling all the time? He hates that no one can read and write. He hates that about me, you know that? He hates that I am Yun-trained, skilled with sword and bow-and-arrow, but I can’t read any of his damn papers. That’s probably why he likes you best.’ At that, Wadi grimaced. Erdene rolled her eyes. ‘Well, why he prefers your company. He says even the savages teach their youth to read – what does that say about us?’
    ‘You don’t agree with him?’
    ‘I don’t see what’s wrong with our society. It’s been functioning fine for so long. The Baril preserve our history. That is enough for me.’
    ‘You have to admit, some of the Darhanian traditions are more than a little strange. What about this Seer-Queen stuff? Are you a seer?’
    Erdene studied Wadi for a moment. Then, there was a moment – a crack in Erdene’s veneer. ‘You are a savage,’ she said. Wadi was about to protest, but Erdene continued without noting the other girl’s shock. ‘So I suppose that means I can tell you. I don’t know what a seer is. I thought they were legends. There hasn’t been a true seer for an age. If there has ever been one . . . a person who can see the future? It’s impossible.’
    ‘Although they said the same thing about sages,’ said Wadi, filled with caution.
    Erdene paused, mulling that thought over in her mind. ‘That they did.’ She let out a long breath. ‘Well, if there are seers out there, I’m not one of them. But I’m strong in other ways. I can help Khareh. He will see that in time. He never used to be like this, you know? Raim’s betrayal broke him. Changed him. He became . . .’ She didn’t finish the sentence, but her eyes passed over Wadi’s form, and turned hard.
    The slight warming Wadi was beginning to feel towards the girl froze in an instant. Now, there was ice between them. For a person born and bred of the desert, it was not a pleasant sensation. ‘Khareh is a monster.’ Wadi shuddered.
    ‘Yes,’ said Erdene. She dragged the tip over her tongue over her top lip. ‘But he is my monster.’

11
RAIM
    He was on his knees on a hard wooden floor. The man who stood over him had a nose like a beak, and a flattened forehead so pronounced he could have balanced an entire tea set without spilling a drop.
    ‘Is this the oathbreaker?’ the man said.
    Raim recognized him. Even through the sting of the bruises that were rising all over his body from the handling of the monks, his mind was clear. This was Qatir-bar, the head of the Baril, the man who had married Tarik to his wife, Solongal, so long ago, before Raim’s exile. All around him, other Baril monks were gathered to watch the spectacle.
    Tarik rushed forward and prostrated himself at the man’s feet, bowing as low as he could without burying his head in the floor.
    ‘Oh, great and wondrous Qatir-bar. This is the one, Raim, who possesses the shadow. In my previous lowly life, he was my brother under Loni, my guardian in the Moloti tribe. As soon as I saw him, I knew to bring him to you.’
    Qatir raised an eyebrow. ‘And who are you?’
    ‘Tarik, my lord. One of your humble novices.’ He spoke into the ground, still not