Page 5 - Mad Shadows II

quite right. She carved familiar lines and circles and whorls into
the tabletop. That’s when I noticed the cat’s claws were
attached to five human-like fingers. As I’ve already stated, this
was no ordinary cat. When she was finished, the cat sat upright
and stared at me again, quite pleased with her clawmanship.

The carvings began to glow with a soft, lavender light, a
glow like the last burning embers of a hearth fire. To my
amazement, I saw that these were letters forming a message —
a message meant for my eyes only.

No sooner had I read the message when the lavender glow
dimmed and winked out — leaving the table without nick,
scratch or mark of any kind. The cat, whose name was
obviously Crystal, continued to stare at me, waiting for my
answer. I stared back.

This Valuta Jefoor had mentioned Lisera Icari, an old friend
who lived in the nearby village of Chattamoor. She was a noted
Sahlyra, a spellbreaker and healer whom I’d known and worked
with for years. The question was, do I accept this strange offer
or do I refuse? One hundred crowns was a handsome sum, and
fifty in advance would settle a few debts, square the account
with my landlord and clear the slate with Kortono. Widow’s

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