Chasing Shadows (4 page)

Climbing into the wagon seat beside her friend, Sarah inhaled a steadying breath, taking in the scent of pine and autumn forest with it. She had forgotten how good the air smelled here. “I promised I’d help, and I will.” She squared her shoulders. “Plus, I believe in you and know you’re right about Cadius. I’m not quitting this time . . . unless, of course, our lives are in imminent peril,” she was sure to add.

Karen’s small smile was filled with gratitude. “But I would understand.”

The corner of Sarah’s mouth tipped. “I know you would.”

With a nod of her head, Karen picked up the reins and urged the horses onto the road.

~Chapter 4~

Sarah was glad she’d thought to wear the cape; the air was crisp as they drove along the narrow road, and she resisted the urge to shiver against the freezing cold seat. They neared the edge of town, and she tried to keep her growing trepidation hidden. Karen would certainly ask her what was bothering her, and she didn’t want to go into detail about the questions she didn’t have answers for.

Maybe he won’t even be in town,
she told herself, trying to find comfort in the dismal words. How could she feel so conflicted about something that shouldn’t have mattered in the first place?

Karen pulled the horses to a stop just outside of town, and Sarah’s heart lurched anxiously at the sudden interruption. But Karen just slipped the oversized hood up to cover her striking red hair, tugging it down to shield her eyes. She seemed to move in painfully slow motion as she ensured her disguise was secure, taking her sweet time to tuck a few silken strands beneath the hood. Right knee bouncing and knuckles turning white as she clutched the edge of the bench seat, Sarah told her pulse to slow even as her anxiety mounted at the delay. She was desperate to keep moving and just get this afternoon
over
with.

Just as Sarah was getting ready to throw herself out of the wagon and run the rest of the way into town, Karen finally seemed content with her disguise and picked up the reins, urging the horses through the town gates. Letting out a pent-up breath, Sarah wriggled in her seat and told herself not to stress over events that might not even take place. But she couldn’t keep herself from wondering what his reaction would be when they saw each other for the first time in months, though it had only been mere weeks for her. He might yell at her and question why she had left their friendship behind like she had. Or maybe he would be overjoyed that she was back and take her in his arms . . .

Sarah sucked in a breath and tried to keep her thoughts from running away with her. Karen tended to keep to the shadows when she was in town, anyway, so she really had no reason to fear a surprise encounter.

The wagon stopped suddenly, and she glanced up. Catching sight of the sign for the livery, her heartbeat resumed its erratic pace. “Seriously?” she muttered dryly.

“Don’t you want to see him?” At the incredulity in her friend’s voice, she turned to look at Karen and caught the confusion in her eyes. Sarah swallowed hard.

“It’s just, um, we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The last time she had seen him, Will had practically spelled out his feelings for her by giving her the necklace she now had tucked into her dress. But she was unsure what the time apart had done to his opinion of her and was afraid to find out.

Karen’s face registered understanding. Her eyes softened. “I had forgotten that you didn’t tell him that you were leaving. But maybe that won’t matter to him because he will be so happy to see you and fall madly in love with you all over again.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, though she grinned at her friend’s attempt to encourage her. “I told you, we’re just friends.”

“Yeah, right. Or maybe you’re the Seth in his life and are completely unaware of the love burning inside of him.”

Though she said it lightheartedly, Sarah could sense her discouragement.

“Well,” Sarah began, sorry for the forlorn look on her friend’s face, “if he never comes around to see what a gem he has in you, then who needs him? And then we can put glue in his shampoo or burn his house down.”

Karen laughed outright at that. “That took an extreme turn.”

With an innocent shrug, Sarah said, “I saw it in a music video once.”

Smiling, Karen wrapped an arm around Sarah’s shoulders and squeezed her in an appreciative hug. “Thanks for that weirdly supportive pep-talk.” She pulled back and stared into Sarah’s face, her expression playfully stern. “And you, missy, need to take your own advice and march in there with your head held high. You’ll never know what’s going to happen unless you get out of this wagon.”

“But where are you going?”

Karen’s arm fell from her shoulders. She sighed heavily and hopped down from the wagon, coming around to Sarah’s side and waiting for her to step down before answering. “I’m going to see if I can spot the professor from the castle gate or near the back entrance. He might be able to give us some information that we can use.”

“Isn’t it dangerous for you to be wandering around outside the castle?” Sarah asked. She was sure her eyes reflected the concern she felt.

But Karen was already shaking her head. “My only real threat is Gabriel Dunlivey, but he had to step down from his position as captain of the guard now that Captain Quinn is back; no one has seen Dunlivey for a while, so hopefully he’s too far under the radar to notice me.” Karen tugged on her hood reassuringly. “And these days there’s too much fear going around for people to look a stranger in the eyes for too long. I’ll try to keep a low profile, though, just to be safe. When I find out anything, I’ll come and get you and the horses. Maybe you can ask Will if he’s heard anything?”

Sarah nodded, knowing that it was time for them to go their separate ways. Sucking in a breath, she walked toward the front door of the large building, silently humming the death march. Karen called her name, and she glanced over her shoulder.

“I dare him to stay mad with you looking like an ice princess,” Karen said mischievously. Sarah smiled halfheartedly for her friend’s sake.

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t think I’m made of ice,” she said under her breath as she walked into the livery, pausing in the doorway as she took in the large, L-shaped room. No one appeared to be inside, and she took a hesitant step forward, and then another as she scanned her surroundings. Except for the horses that stared curiously at her from their stalls at the opposite end, life seemed to be nonexistent.

Sarah sighed, though she wasn’t sure if it was in relief or disappointment.

She walked slowly through the building, letting her eyes drift over the ancient tools hanging on walls and resting on benches. A worn saddle with cracking leather had been slung over a wooden post that was anchored into the floor, and above it hung horseshoes and bridles. Blacksmith’s tools—hammers, pliers, and also a shooing hook for the horses—littered the long table near the fire, which was situated under the chimney in the left corner of the room. She stepped past these things in the large room and passed by the many pens boarding horses at the back, unaware of her destination until she rounded the corner of the stalls and stood before a single one at the back of the livery.

The coal-black stallion stared at her from within, and she could see in its eyes a keen intelligence as she stared back. She didn’t reach out to touch the large animal, feeling a little bit uneasy around it without anyone else nearby. The horse walked slowly up to the gate and stood just behind it, watching her. Sarah glanced around, at the line of occupied stalls behind her, wondering why no one was there to watch the horses. Had he hired someone else after what happened to Allan?

Despite the warmth of the building, a small shiver snaked up her spine at the sudden thought of Will’s former assistant. She grimaced as her scar began to itch madly, and she scratched at the back of her hand. But the phantom sensation was nothing like the pain she’d felt when Allan dragged the blade across her skin, leaking the poison into her body that had burned like fire as it made its way through her veins, nearly killing her. 

Just before that, Allan had trapped the two of them inside an abandoned shack in the forest and attempted to burn them alive—the poison had only been an insurance policy in the event she survived. He would have succeeded had it not been for Will’s quick thinking, both in escaping the fire and getting Sarah to his uncle’s house for medical help. Though the scar on Sarah’s hand reminded her of the horrors of that day, and the venom-induced sleep in the days that followed, it also served as a reminder of how lucky they had been; they’d escaped an awful fate, and Sarah had fought against and survived the poison that should have claimed her life in mere hours.

The only one who died that day had been Allan, shot from a distance by whoever hired him to silence Sarah and the Shadow.

It took great effort to stave off the memory of Allan lying in the grass, an arrow lodged between his shoulder blades, rain pooling in his eye sockets as his unseeing gaze watched her. While there were instances from that day that didn’t cause her pain—like Will’s heroism and her discovery that he was Serimone’s elusive vigilante—the vision of Allan’s broken body and blank stare served no purpose in Sarah’s memory, except to cause her great sadness for someone she wanted to hate. She’d rather forget him altogether.

She had been inside for a quarter of an hour and was growing restless. She considered sitting down and making herself comfortable until Karen came for her, but she didn’t want to give the impression that she was waiting for the proprietor to return. Not wanting to seem overeager in case he came back, she left the penned horses and stepped into the doorway. A form moved into her line of vision, and she started, lurching back a step to avoid colliding with the man.

“Whoah, there.” He swiped a hand through his mop of blond hair and smiled, showcasing rows of perfect white teeth. Adjusting the bridle on his shoulder, he asked, “Something I can help you with, miss?”

Sarah pulled her head back in surprise. “You work here?”

He nodded and stuck out his free hand, steadying the bridle with the other. She shook it hesitantly and then quickly freed her own hand, though he seemed unaffected by her aversion to him. “My name is Robert, Mr. Taylor’s assistant. Can I help you search for something?” His face was open, and his crystal-clear blue eyes were friendly as he fiddled with the gold chain hanging from his pocket. He seemed nice enough, though she was still wary of blacksmiths’ assistants after Allan tried to burn her and Will alive.

She shifted around him and backed up a step. “Uh, no, that’s okay. I was just looking for someone, but I should really go now.”

Robert looked puzzled by her behavior. “All right, then,” he said slowly. “Have a pleasant evening.” He moved inside with a glance over his shoulder at her, probably wondering if she had robbed them and was trying to make a quick break for it.      

Neck heating, Sarah ducked her head and quickly moved down the street. The wind immediately whipped her hair around her face, preventing her from seeing anything. The temperature had dropped several degrees, and she gathered her tangled tresses together and held them back from her eyes as she peered around the corner of the livery. She was able to see the castle gate from her hiding place, but there was no sign of Karen out front. Frowning, Sarah debated her next move. Should she go back inside and wait? But that would mean being alone with that assistant, Robert, and that seemed rather awkward after the way she acted.

She looked around her. Hardly any townsfolk remained in the street, most already having sought out shelter from the biting wind. Sarah had been unable to explore the town the last time she’d come and wondered if now would be a good time to give herself a tour. Karen had recommended that she keep a low profile while they were here, and since there was a serious lack of townsfolk in the square, Sarah figured that there was no better time than the present and jogged down a narrow side street. The wind skipped over the opening between the stretch of buildings, providing the shelter she sought.

Sarah pulled the hood on her cape over her head, hoping that the occasional passerby would assume that she merely wanted to keep warm and not disguise her appearance. She made her way leisurely through the empty street, glad that she could let her guard down for a few minutes. Most of the shops had dark shades drawn from inside, preventing anyone on the street from seeing into the buildings; they didn’t have signs hanging over the street boasting the wares that they were selling. Sarah wondered if she was strolling down a neighborhood before she saw the signs nailed to the front of some of the buildings. A few of them had writing on them that she couldn’t decipher, but most had painted symbols that looked a lot like graffiti to her.

She moved past a narrow one-story and thought one of the shutters might have cracked open an inch, giving her the feeling that she was being watched. Sarah began to feel uneasy and wished that a friendly face would suddenly appear in the street. Her feet moved a little faster as her eyes roamed nervously over the seemingly lifeless buildings.

Two guards suddenly appeared at the opposite end of the street and began walking toward her, though neither one seemed to have spotted her yet. Though she had no reason to hide, Sarah dashed into the nearest doorway on instinct and pressed herself against the frame, heart pounding against her ribcage.

“If Cadius continues to scare away maids,” one of them was saying, “then he’s going to put us to work cleaning out ash from the fireplace and cooking in the kitchen.”

The other one laughed heartily. “Can you imagine us, covered in flour? No, we’ll have to convince the staff to keep on the lookout for new maids to take over at the castle, but they’ll have to make due with what we’ve got until then. And this new lot will have to not scare easily—the last three obviously had no backbone.”

They came into view then, and Sarah pressed herself against the wood in an attempt to make herself as invisible as possible. She needn’t have worried, though: The guards paid no attention to her as they passed. She slowly emerged from her hiding place and was relieved to see the street empty once more.