Free A Threat of Shadows by JA Andrews Page B

walls. Even from back where Alaric stood, waves of heat rolled off the building.
    Alaric doubted there was anything salvageable, but something white caught his eye. He stepped up next to Brandson and found a light-colored rock leaning against the base of a burned wall. Chiseled into the stone was a symbol, or two symbols, one over the other.
    “What’s that?” he asked Brandson.
    The blacksmith looked at the rock blankly.
    “That wasn’t there when we left,” Ayda said, squinting down at it. “The top symbol looks like an axe. I can’t tell what the bottom part is.”
    Alaric crept toward the rock, the heat burning against the exposed skin of his face. He knelt and wiped wet ashes off of it, using the bunched corner of his robe. Then he stepped back quickly, and the three of them peered at the rock, trying to decipher the shape.
    “What did you find?” Gustav demanded. “Move over. Let me see.”
    “It’s a dwarf,” Douglon said from behind them.
    “It doesn’t look like a dwarf,” said Ayda. “It looks like a lizard.”
    “It is a dwarf, lying dead, smited by the axe,” Douglon said dully.
    “How do you know?” Alaric asked. Ayda’s description was more accurate.
    Douglon stepped up beside them, glowering at the white rock. “Because it’s Patlon’s symbol.”
    ***
    Brandson stared into the bottom of his empty ale tankard. He hadn’t moved since collapsing into a chair in the tavern. His expression had gone from depressed to bleary. Alaric, returning from making sure that Beast and the carthorse were stabled behind the tavern, joined the rest of them at a table in the corner of the empty dining hall. The entire building was stuffy and smelled of onions.
    “Are you sure that was Patlon’s symbol?” Alaric asked Douglon.
    The dwarf nodded. “We invented it as children. He claimed that he needed a warning to scare his enemies. I never thought that would mean me.”
    “It might not,” Ayda said. “Patlon didn’t hurt anything of yours. But he did destroy every single thing Brandson owned. Even though Brandson is guilty of nothing but generosity and goodness.”
    Douglon looked stricken. “I’ll rebuild the entire smithy,” he said to Brandson. “Twice as big. With diamonds for windows.”
    Brandson grunted and everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence.
    “So…”Alaric said to Douglon, “Patlon just let you have the map?”
    “I told him I was taking it, and he said nothing.” The dwarf shifted in his chair. “Course he was passed out at the time.”
    Brandson dropped his tankard to the table with a thunk and turned to the dwarf. “You didn’t think to tell us that you’d stolen the map and a fire-wielding dwarf was going to come burn down my home?”
    “I didn’t think he’d find me! It took me months to figure out that the mountains and rock formations the map was talking about were here. I have no idea how he found me.”
    “He has a point,” Ayda said, and Douglon looked at her gratefully. “Who would have expected a dwarf to be that clever?”
    Douglon’s smile turned to a glare.
    She brightened. “I know! His purple elf helped him!”
    Alaric let out a laugh at that, and even Brandson allowed a small smile before dropping his face into his hands. Ayda wrapped her arm around his shoulders.
    “If Patlon found the smithy, why isn’t he still here?” asked Alaric.
    “I’m sure he is, somewhere,” said Douglon. “He prides himself on his hunting ability. Claims he can wait for a week without food or water or sleep if he’s tracking his prey.”
    “I doubt he can go that long,” Alaric said, “but if that fire was just set this morning, I’m sure he saw us come into town.”
    Brandson groaned. “What are we going to do?”
    “There are five of us and only one of him. He’s not much of a threat if we stick together,” Alaric answered. “We need to find a way to talk to him.”
    “Brandson might need to sleep off all the ale before we plan anything,” Ayda