Page 1 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
Chapter One
Harrow hurried down the narrow path between colorful caravans. Lifting a hand to her chest, she curled her fingers into the fabric of her warm cloak, feeling her heart race beneath her grip. She forced herself to maintain a walking pace when what she really wanted to do was run.
Across the fairgrounds, friendly chatter brightened the morning. The laborers were already busy setting up the big top, pounding pegs into the earth with heavy mallets. Encircling the bustling grounds and the surrounding town of Beirstad, snow-capped mountains framed the clear sky. Though the air was cool, the sun’s rays brought a welcome warmth.
Harrow stayed huddled in her cloak, however. Inside, her blood ran cold.
In just a few days, the setup would be complete, and the extravagance of Salizar’s Incredible Elemental Circus would come fully alive. The enchanted lights would glow in the big top and down the rows of caravans and tents where mysterious, hidden side attractions awaited—Harrow’s fortune-telling booth included. The humans would come in droves to gape and indulge, and Salizar would ensure he wrung them dry of every coin they could spare.
As soon as Harrow saw her destination ahead, she quickened her pace.
Outside a red and blue caravan, a woman with midnight skin and long braids reclined in a chair in the sun, a peaceful smile on her face. She heard Harrow’s approach before she had a chance to announce herself, and her amber eyes popped open.
“Morning, Harrow!” she called, stretching her arms wide. They were toned with muscle from years of training. “The Amazing Malaikah” had worked harder than anyone to earn her place as the star acrobat of their show. “How nice is this sunshine? I was beginning to think it was always cold in the North, but—” She broke off and her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
Harrow and Malaikah had been close friends for decades, and she wasn’t surprised Malaikah had sensed something was amiss with a single glance.
“I woke up with this terrible feeling, Mal,” Harrow said without preamble, “and I think there might be trouble coming. But when I did my scrying ritual, I didn’t see any—”
Malaikah stood suddenly, glancing around to check they were alone. “Why don’t we go inside to talk?”
If Harrow had been thinking clearer, she would have done the same before speaking. She knew she shouldn’t talk openly about her gifts where there was a risk of being overheard. She couldn’t afford to let anything slip about her true nature.
With a gentle hand, Mal led her toward the narrow door of her caravan. Inside, there was a bed at the far end with curtains, a tiny wood stove and counter, and a wardrobe stuffed full of sparkling costumes. They took a seat at the small table opposite the stove.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Mal said when they were settled, her tail flicking with subtle tension. Malaikah was a black panther Hybrid, one of the species variants of the Earth Queen’s Elementals. Like all Hybrids, she displayed certain features of her animal in appearance and ability—for Mal, a sinewy tail, catlike ears, and sharp canines.
Harrow twisted her hands on the table in front of her. “Since waking this morning, I’ve had this feeling that something is coming, but I can’t decipher it beyond a general sense of dread. I feel like there’s someone who needs my help, and if they don’t get it, something terrible will happen. But I don’t know who it is or how to find them.”
Malaikah frowned. “Is it the Water telling you this?”
“It’s always the Water.” The Water was the elemental source ofall her visions and premonitions. She was the conduit through which the powerful force spoke its wisdom.
“I did my morning scrying ritual,” Harrow continued, “but it didn’t give me any answers. All I saw when I looked into the bowl of water was an image of flames, and then perhaps some kind of shadow streaking across a full moon? Which makes no sense to me.”
“Hm.” Mal slumped in her seat. “The moon thing doesn’t mean anything to me either, but thanks to Queen Furie, I think we all have a healthy fear of anything fire related.”
“I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something I’m supposed to be doing. Maybe I need to go search for someone. But where?” Harrow dragged her hands over her mane of curly hair in frustration. “Or maybe I’m misinterpreting it, and this is a warning that the circus is in danger. I just don’t know.”
“If you think there’s potential danger, we should take it seriously. Maybe you could tell Salizar?”
“Why would he believe me?” She traced the edge of the folded headband she wore every day to hide her pointed ears. “He thinks I’m human. He’ll want to know why I think there’s a threat, and he has no cause to trust my instincts. If I try to convince him, it’ll only give him more reason to suspect what I am.”
“I keep telling you, I think Salizar already knows. Why else would he have taken you in?”
“Because I was a ten-year-old orphan who’d witnessed a massacre. Human or Elemental, I was still a child. He helped Loren, too, didn’t he?”
Harrow didn’t want Salizar to know who she was. There wasn’t much that got past him, but being in control of her secret was important to her. And she certainly didn’t want people prying into what she remembered of that night, especially since it was nothing at all.
Well, mostly nothing.Blood on her hands. A warm body growing cold beside her.But this wasn’t the time to dredge up that old pain.
“It doesn’t matter right now anyway,” she said, waving a hand. “Something bad is coming, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
Malaikah stood decisively, her posture tense. Among her other tumultuous emotions, Harrow felt a twinge of regret for getting her friend worked up only a few days before opening night. “If there’s really danger, we have to warn people,” Mal said. “Why don’t I go talk to Salizar for you? I’ll just tell him I have reason to believe there’s—”
She broke off suddenly and stiffened. Twisting toward the open window over the bed, she tilted her head, her ears twitching.
“What is it?” Harrow whispered. As a Hybrid, Malaikah’s hearing was far better than hers, but Harrow had a terrible suspicion she already knew what Mal was going to say.
