Free Dragonsbane (Book 3) by Shae Ford Page A

getting to that. Be patient, young man.”
    Kael shut his mouth.
    “They were the souls of seven men and seven mages — heroes who’d proven themselves worthy during their lives in the Westlands, but had perished before their time. To the seven men, Fate gave great strength and long lives. They would clear the land of monsters so that their offspring might grow in peace. They would protect the people of the Wildlands. And so the seven men became known as knights .
    “To the seven mages, Fate revealed all the secrets of the earth. The mages forgot their language of spells and instead learned the groaning tongue of the wilds. They were to be intercessors, voices that would speak for the land and protect its secrets from the children of the knights — who might unwittingly destroy them. The seven mages each received a token from Fate, a token of dark and terrible power: they would forsake their human souls and become like animals. So they were called barbarians —”
    “Shapechangers.” Kael didn’t remember standing up. He was vaguely aware of how his fists were clenched. His nails dug into his palms, but the fire that filled his head numbed the pain. “They’re shapechangers — not barbarians.”
    Baird’s head lifted again, his bandaged face tilted in Kael’s direction. “No, they’re … friends of yours?”
    When he didn’t reply, Baird smiled triumphantly.
    “Your words came from somewhere very deep — bursting as if they rode the last wind of a long journey. But still potent, despite their climb. Such a powerful stand against one small word could only mean friendship.” He leaned against the wall as if he’d uncovered a great secret.
    But Kael had uncovered a secret as well. He smiled back and said simply: “You’re a whisperer.”

Chapter 7
    The Huntsman
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Baird’s mouth went slack. “I … how did you know?”
    “I have my ways,” Kael replied.
    It was the only explanation. Even Roland with his growling voice had never told a story that sounded so alive. If a whisperer could command others by the power of his words, then surely he could entrance them.
    “You’re a craftsman.”
    Baird slumped against the walls. “Oh Fate, I’ve failed you! He’s going to turn me over to the King. Now I shall never reach the mountains —!”
    “I’m not going to turn you over to anybody,” Kael said quickly, before he could work himself into wails. “I just thought …”
    He caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. A shadow stood outside their shelter, hanging near the edge of the trees. Kael was still trying to figure out what it was when the shadow slipped away.
    “Wait here.”
    He grabbed his bow and slung the quiver across his shoulder. The rain had stopped, but the air was still damp. His boots pressed carefully into the soggy earth as he inched towards the tree line. His eyes swept across the brambles; his thumb traced the fletching of a nocked arrow. He was prepared to draw back at the first sign of danger.
    A long moment passed and the shadow never reappeared. Kael wondered if he’d only been imagining it. He was about to turn back for the shelter when the snap of a twig drew his gaze to the left.
    Two glowing eyes watched him from the brambles, and Kael recognized their haughty light immediately. “Silas?”
    The halfcat didn’t reply.
    “How did you find us? When did you …?” Then he remembered how the door had slammed open the night they left Frome’s Refuge, and how rations kept disappearing from the merchant’s vessel. He suddenly figured it out. “You stowed away and followed us to the Grandforest. Why didn’t you just —?”
    A low, rumbling growl came from Silas’s hairy throat and the glow of his eyes dimmed as he slunk half a pace back into the shadows.
    “You want me to follow you?” Kael guessed.
    Silas blinked.
    “Why? Is something wr —?”
    “Kael? Oh, Kaaael?”
    He turned — and was alarmed to see Baird stumbling