Free Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

someone in this town,’ said Da’ru. ‘A girl. I have sensed her.’
     
    ‘If so, then you can be sure she will be found,’ said Silas. ‘My men are scouring every street and the town gates are locked. No one will get out.’
     
    Da’ru’s voice fell quiet, and Kate had to strain to hear her words. ‘This is the closest we have ever been, Silas,’ she said, her words dark and dangerous. ‘I am certain the book is hidden somewhere in Fume. We will find it soon and with a Winters to use it … I do not have to tell you what that would mean. The book is mine . That girl’s family stole it from me and if it takes the rest of my life, I will discover its secrets. Do not leave this town until your men are certain there are no Skilled left. Check empty houses, cellars, everything. I want that girl, Silas. Find her for me.’
     
    Kate backed slowly into the attic room, lifting up the silver chain so it did not scrape across the floor. Even if she could remove it somehow, Silas was right, there was nowhere to go - and as much as she feared him, instinct told her that she should fear that woman even more.
     
    Kate locked herself in the attic room and pushed the key back under the door where Silas would find it. There was nothing she could do to help herself, not with so many people in the house. She stood in the shadows at the side of the attic window, forcing herself to concentrate upon anything other than the woman downstairs. From her viewpoint just above the rooftops, Morvane looked large enough to hide anyone. Anyone except her. She had been careless. After everything Artemis had taught her, she had allowed herself to get caught.
     
    Thin pillars of smoke rose up from faraway buildings that had fallen prey to the wardens’ flames, and somewhere in the distance a crow was circling in the grey, snow-filled sky.
     
    ‘Edgar,’ she whispered. ‘Where are you?’
     
     
    Two streets to the south of the boarding house, Edgar was lost. He had seen the carriage pass outside his hiding place and, just like the crow, he too had recognised it at once. Da’ru was in town. And if she was there, so was someone else who might be able to help both him and Kate.
     
    He trudged through the snow, checking every street sign and house name, wearing a pair of stolen gloves and a stolen hat to keep him warm. Three years of living in Morvane had taught him enough to stay away from the Western Quarter. But with news of the wardens’ arrival travelling fast, the streets were empty, and there was no one around to ask for directions.
     
    The Black Fox Boarding House. He knew the name well enough. The owner was known to be a whisperer - an information monger - willing to share any secret for a price. Most whisperers were loyal to their towns and refused to have dealings with wardens and their kind, but this one was known to be both reliable and indiscriminate in his choice of contacts, some of whom came from as far away as Fume. If anything important was happening in Morvane, the owner of the Black Fox knew about it. Da’ru was sure to stop there for information, if she had not been and gone already. But where was it?
     
    At last, he spotted something familiar.
     
    A gap between the houses gave Edgar a glimpse of a tall building with a circular window on its top floor. He squeezed down a narrow path and ran straight out in front of two grey carriage horses standing in the middle of the street.
     
    He had found it.
     
    He ducked back so the driver did not see him and spotted a boy a few years younger than him sitting alone on the boarding-house step, hugging himself against the wind with a holey blanket pulled tight around his shoulders. Edgar crept up to him. ‘Tom!’ he whispered.
     
    The boy looked up, his face brightening at once. ‘Ed?’
     
    Edgar dared to take a few steps closer.
     
    ‘Ed! What are you doing here?’ The boy scrabbled to his feet, still clutching his freezing hands beneath the