The Shadowhand Covenant by Brian Farrey Page A

forest. “Any idea where to go?”
    â€œWe should head for the village of Orand.” I pointed my thumb to several sets of footprints to our right. “It must be close. Warras just returned from there.”
    Maloch led the way while I cast nervous looks over my shoulder, wondering when our head start would run out. We trudged on silently.
    The trees grew thicker the farther we went, and the moonlight became scarce. The growing darkness meant I spent almost as much time tripping and picking myself up as I did running. Possibly even more time.
    When we hit a patch of bright moonlight, I looked down and realized we’d strayed from the path Warras and his team had laid. The footprints headed off to the right, curving around the large clearing we’d avoided on our way to the cliff face. Maloch was headed straight through the clearing.
    â€œStop!” I said, looking around. “The path is this way.”
    Maloch refused to stop. “This is faster. Look, we meet up with the path just ahead. It’s more direct.”
    Then why had the Sarosans gone the long way . . . ?
    â€œMaloch, freeze!”
    He did as told, his leg suspended in mid-stomp. I ran up behind him and studied the smooth snow on the clearing. It seemed a little too smooth. I picked up three rocks. I tossed the first one just ahead of us. Nothing. I tossed the second rock farther. Still nothing.
    When the third rock struck the ground just past the second, a large section of snow suddenly dropped away, revealing a square hole. A metallic twang rang out. An iron door with criss-cross bars dropped down from the trees above and slammed down over the hole. Looking down, we saw a cage buried deep in the ground. If Maloch had taken one more step, he would have fallen in.
    Maloch stared at me with wide eyes, and I pointed to the Sarosans’ trail. “That’s what Kolo meant when he said this area was secure. They set these traps the last time they hid here. That’s why they walked around.”
    â€œRight,” he said, taking a step back. “Good eye. Let’s . . . let’s be careful.”
    We returned to the Sarosan trail and continued. Minutes passed into hours and I knew that, by now, the Sarosans were looking for us. But that wasn’t even the worst of our problems.
    My stomach began to cramp, my head ached, and when I stood perfectly still, my knees quivered. Both my feet suddenly felt like bricks. I would have complained to Maloch that I couldn’t keep up, but I noticed he’d slowed down too.
    â€œYou feel it too, right?” I asked. “Sick.”
    Maloch pointed to our left. The horizon glowed red and purple, heralding the rising sun. With just a bit more light, it became easier to see our surroundings. The trees were growing thinner, and a rocky embankment had sprung up along our right.
    â€œIt’s morning,” he said. “We always feel awful in the morning. Ever since we were taken by the Sarosans.”
    â€œYeah. Why is that?”
    Maloch snorted. “You tell me. You’re the one who studies nature.”
    I pulled out the wineskin containing the only water we had and took a swig. “It’s because we’re dehydrated. Think about it. The pain always goes away once we drink at First Rise.” I offered him the water. “Drink up.”
    But half an hour later, the throbbing in my head was worse than ever. Why hadn’t drinking worked this time?
    We continued on the trail provided by Warras as it dipped south. Each step became harder and harder until I needed to help myself along by gripping each bush and boulder we passed. A stinging pain had set up shop directly behind myright eye. I clenched my teeth to ward off the headache.
    â€œCan we maybe rest a minute?” I asked, rubbing my temples. “Just to catch—”
    Maloch made a slashing motion across his throat and shoved me up against a tree.
    â€œWe’re being