The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch Page B

moved into a fighting stance. She bounced on the balls ofher feet a couple of times, then snapped forward to strike at Raim.
    He allowed himself to take the blow, absorbing the majority of the force on his left shoulder. Then, when she attacked again, he turned his body as if protecting his injured left side. He watched as Erdene’s nostrils flared, as if she could almost smell his weakness. Then she went in again for the kill, but he used his uninjured right to deflect the force of her attack against her and almost flipped her onto the ground. Except he didn’t let her complete the fall, catching her a few inches from the floor.
    They remained in that position for a moment. It was only a moment, but it was long enough for Raim to notice he could feel the strong muscles of her back through her coarse tunic where he’d caught her, long enough to notice her hair trailing on the ground over his sandals, tickling the skin of his toes. He lifted her up to her feet quickly, before he noticed anything else.
    Her face was hot and red with the exertion, but a wry smile crossed her face. ‘I see what you did. Feinting. Got it.’ She reached forward and Raim held his breath. She straightened his tunic by running her hands across his shoulders. ‘There. Better.’
    He smiled back, awkwardly.
    ‘So, Raim, where’s the Crown Prince? Aren’t you two always together at the moment? That’s what I heard . . . that you are close enough to be in line to be his Protector one day.’ She raisea proud young

7
    After he’d recovered from his encounter with Erdene enough to move again, Raim meandered his way back through the alleys in the vague direction he the other apprenticese was I a couple of times from the i thought Dharma and Loni would come looking for him. He was of sound mind enough to check for any sign of the crowd he had lost in the markets first before leaving the alley. But instead, he saw an even more unexpected sight: Khareh.
    ‘Ah, Raim, just the person I was looking for!’
    ‘Oh, hey, Khareh. I’m supposed to be meeting Loni . . .’
    ‘Whatever you need to do, it can wait; I have something far more exciting.’
    ‘But Loni and Dharma are going to help me choose a promise string. I need it before the Yun battle begins, and that could be any time . . .’
    ‘Think of it this way,’ said Khareh, always the negotiator. ‘You’ve already thwarted the gods of fate just bybumping into me. No going back now. You might as well give in and come with me.’
    Raim shrugged and gave in, encouraged by Khareh’s infectious excitement. ‘So where are we going?’
    ‘You remember that sage?’
    ‘As if I could forget!’
    ‘Well, I convinced Altan to give us a few minutes of alone time with the magician before he’s formally shipped off to prison and executed. They’re keeping him in a yurt outside the wall near the Rentai. We’re going to make him teach me how to make a carpet fly.’
    ‘My head.’ Raim covered the top of his closely-shaven head with his hands. ‘If I’m seen like this, I’ll be recognized right away.’ He thought back to the market square, the crowds.
    ‘I came prepared,’ said Khareh. He fumbled in the bag he was carrying and brought out a length of turban cloth and a small, dirty canvas sack. Raim wrapped the cloth around his head.
    ‘What’s that for?’ He eyed the sack.
    In response, Khareh dipped his hand into the bag and flung a handful of black ash from it into Raim’s face. Raim found himself with a mouthful of dust.
    Khareh started running.
    ‘If you weren’t the Prince, I’d kill you!’ Raim sped after him.
    ‘You could try!’
    They ran, weaving through the tumultuous Darhaniancrowd, ducking under baskets and avoiding the rotting fruit that littered the ground.
    ‘How can the sage teach you if he’s sentenced to death?’ Raim dropped his voice to a whisper as they got closer to the outer wall. ‘Surely you can’t learn magic just like that . . .’
    ‘There has to be