Stained Glass Monsters Read Free Page A

I'd
never enjoy that black glare again." Ma Lippon reached out and
tousled Kendall's hair in the way Kendall particularly hated. As if
she was some toothless babe, some puppy too stupid to take care of
itself.
    "When did it happen?" Kendall asked,
stepping out of reach.
    "Just on dawn. Where were you, girl? One
of the Sentene went in and checked for your body, and no-one knew
what to make of it when he couldn't find you. Thought you'd been
swallowed up by the Devourer himself."
    "Morebly. Just a delivery." Kendall
shrugged irritably, trying to think what she could do now. Get her
stuff, yes, but what then? She wouldn't let Ma Lippon take her
over, like she'd been itching to do these past two years. She– "Did
you say Sentene?"
    "Three of them," Harry said, with a
glance at the crowd gathering around his mother. "They arrived
yesterday afternoon."
    That must have been who was in the
coach. Sentene were monster hunters, special soldiers whose job it
was to get rid of the nastiest of the Night Roamers. They were said
to be all mages or sword-masters or both, and for three of them to
come see the White Lady meant she must be particularly – what? A
monster?
    Kendall glared at the centre of the
Green. Nothing good, anyway. Not from where Kendall was standing.
Snorting, she went as close as she could to the remains of her
shed. Her savings were hidden by the remains of Gran's house, but
she wanted her clothes, and the few precious things she'd salvaged
from the fire.
    It wasn't an easy thing. Even taking one
step into the heaviness was enough to put Kendall on her knees, and
holding out a rake to try and claw some of the debris out of the
circle was even harder. But she found herself with many helpers,
and it turned into a competition between the strongest men of the
village and the visitors to see who could cross a few feet of
wood-spattered grass and pick up a piece of clothing. Showing off,
but she had to be glad of them.
    Soon enough she had a battered
collection, and retreated away from the crowds to the back wall of
Gran's ruined house to sort out what was still of any use. She set
herself right next to a certain brick and, double-checking that
no-one was near, dug in the dirt beneath until she found a small
tin. Normally she wouldn't risk carrying her savings about, but
things were too strange right now, so she quickly stuffed the tin
into her big carry-bag.
    Kendall had just picked up the tattered
remains of her favourite shirt when a step right behind her made
her start. Someone had been watching–? She turned hurriedly and
found herself eye-to-eye with the hem of a long black coat. Staring
upwards, her eyes widened as she found curling lines of red and
gold tracing their way up to the instantly recognisable image of a
golden bird, small and elegant, head looking back over its shoulder
at the great flaming tail pouring down the coat's front. The
Phoenix of the Montjustes, the symbol only worn by the Queens'
men.
    There wasn't much else she could see.
The coat was all-enveloping, covering even the hands, with an
outsized round collar so high and wide Kendall couldn't even
glimpse the face from this angle. It was like the coat itself had
walked up behind her.
    "Do you have time for a few words?"
    The voice was a woman's, reassuringly
ordinary, and Kendall nodded, feeling a little less like she was
about to be turned into a frog or something. When the Sentene
turned and walked away it took her a moment to realise she was
expected to follow. Pausing to grab up her bag left Kendall far
enough behind so that she could see the top of the woman's head.
Carroty-red hair, not at all the proper colour for a soldier who
hunted Night Roamers.
    Conscious of the interest of the crowds,
Kendall trailed the Sentene to Micajah's Hostelry. The coach she'd
seen the previous evening was sitting out front, and one of the
outriders, dressed in dark brown and burnt orange, stood by the
door so that everyone would know who was inside.
    The