Free Splinter (Whisper Walker Series) by London Cole

His finger was up against the concrete wall, and he was painting shapes on it while he talked. Shapes colored in red. I stared for a second, realization sinking in – he was using his fingertip as a writing utensil. He was wearing the tip of it off, drawing on the wall in his own blood.
    I sucked in a breath then leaned back behind the statue. I listened closely now.
    “…yes, the Magistrate is proceeding as directed. The guard is being halved and the Hunters are being sent on treks from which they won’t return…”
    My heart nearly stopped in my chest. Ackspecs being sent on trips they wouldn’t come back from? That meant Drake…I couldn’t think it. I had to get back and tell Drake before he left on one of these trips. Wait, unless… Maybe the man wasn’t Sven. Maybe he was Briln. If only I could get a look at his face.
    “…you’re sure that he’s here?” the soft voice asked, quivering.
    “Yes. I can feel him. The Whisper Walker is here, in your Guild. I must control him for me to pursue future plans,” the forceful voice confirmed.
    “Isn’t there a way to get him without destroying the Sven?”
    “DON’T QUESTION ME!”
    “S-S-Sorry,” the fragile voice stuttered.
    I peeked back around the statue, leaning out as far as I dared. The man dropped his hand from the wall, staring for a moment at his bloody, mangled fingertip. He dropped his hand to his side and turned around.
    Well, so much for him being Briln. I knew this man. Indirectly. Drake knew him well. I think his name was Josh or James or Jonathan or something like that.
    He walked out the door on the other side of the square. I waited, counting to thirty before I got up and headed back the way I had come. I stopped at the door to retrieve my ill-gotten squirrel. Only, it wasn’t there. There were some scattered chunks of fur, and blood was splattered on the ground. Too distracted to really care, I made my way back to town.

    With a “humph,” I stared up at the wall. Normally, I used a vine that was hanging down from this tree to get to another tree that allowed me to get over the wall. Only, I guess I forgot to swing the vine back over here after the last time I’d used it because I could see it snagged on a branch over the wall. In other words, where it would be of no use to me.
    The wall was mostly smooth, other than porous indentions that would do little to sustain my weight. There was honestly no way to climb it. Even if I did somehow manage to climb it, I’d have a hard time getting past all of the sharp glass and ceramic stuck into the top to keep people from doing what I needed to do.
    From all of my circuits around the Guild, I knew that there weren’t any other trees that were closer to the wall than this big one. Left with no other option besides walking up to the Gate and hoping I didn’t get in too much trouble, I started climbing the tree.
    The lowest branch that extended towards the wall, still a daunting six meters up, got nowhere near close enough for me to swing to the wall. I had to try it anyway. I really didn’t want to go through the Gate.
    I slipped over the edge of the branch, shimmying out hand over hand as far as the branch could support me. I started swinging side to side, awkwardly, since the branch pointed at the wall, instead of running parallel to it. When I felt that I had as much momentum as I was going to get, I released towards the wall, bracing for impact. I’d hoped to at least catch my fingers on the edge that was clear of sharp objects. Turned out not to be my lucky day.
    I could see myself falling far short of my mark. A small scream escaped my lips as I plummeted towards the ground. My forward momentum was still enough that I slammed into the wall a meter up and slid to the ground like a bird hitting a window. My hands were scraped up from trying to keep my face from smashing into the wall or ground. I laid in the dirt at the base of the wall in a fetal position for a few minutes while I