Ash had no problem with their shields, however. He spoke a word, a word she recognized as the one he used to log trees, and two of the riders were abruptly cut out of their saddles, falling wordlessly to the ground. She winced at the sight of the carnage he inflicted. No wonder those battles still gave him nightmares.
“Grab your amulets!” one of the riders ordered, already rummaging around in his breast pocket.
Amulets? What for?
Ash didn’t share her confusion and started swearing out loud. “They’ve got amulets of protection on them! Macha’s sword, I didn’t expect that.” He quickly traced a spell in the air and spoke a word, firing off another shot, but it bounced uselessly off of the riders. “Arghhhhh.”
“They can deflect yer spells?!” Riana demanded incredulously. She lifted up in the saddle to get a more clear shot and took aim at one of the riders preoccupied with digging out his amulet.
As she released the arrow, Ash explained tersely, “Not all of them. But someone’s given them magical protection, and until I figure out what sort, I won’t be able to get past it. Keep firing, keep them off our backs, until I know what I’m dealing with.”
“Aye, will do.” She fired off another arrow, not meant to be fatal, but simply to distract as she had no clear shot for a vulnerable spot yet. With her knees, she guided the horse in a small circle, turning in slow degrees and firing at anyone that looked to be getting too close. If those amulets could deflect magic, could it get past Ash’s shield? Worrisome thought.
Turning, she glanced back to ask him, only to find that he was muttering spells and drawing out sigils in the air at high speeds. Best not to interrupt him. Instead, she assumed they could get into the shield, and did her level best to keep them out of it.
Riana fell into that strange place where nothing existed but drawing, aiming, and firing. It was quiet in her head, unnaturally so, as if the moans of the wounded and the grunt of the horses were nothing more than background noise to her. Her breath was overly loud in her ears, heart hammering in her chest, but that didn’t really touch her either. All of her senses were focused on nothing more than the next shot. One out of every third arrow she fired did no real damage, simply made the men shy away, but the other two she aimed for tender places. Some were fatal, some were not, but it dropped the raiders by half, their horses wandering aimlessly after losing their riders.
“Ha!” Ash crowed victoriously.
She wanted to look back at him but knew better than to do that. Instead her ears pricked in his direction. He’d solved the problem?
Ash did something—she had no idea what—and the next moment, all of the remaining raiders were dropping like flies. Riana had an arrow nocked and drawn, but with no target available anymore, she slowly released the tension on the string. “Ash. What did ye do?”
“Oh, I robbed them of all the air around their head. They literally had nothing to breathe.” He huffed out a breath. “That was trickier to do than I thought, as I was having to do it with four people at once. Their amulets wouldn’t let me harm them directly, so I had to figure out a sideways approach.”
He’d robbed them of their air? Riana’s eyes went round in her face. “Ye can do that?”
Ash spread his hands in a shrug. “Yes. I usually use it to put out fires. It’s just air manipulation, really. But the question now is, what do we do? I can’t just leave bodies lying about in my building site.”
No, that would stink the place up. “Bury them?”
“I guess we’ll have to.” Blowing out a sigh, he swung a leg over the saddlehorn and dropped heavily to the ground. “This was not on my to-do list today.”
“Ye have a spell to use to dig a grave?” Riana asked him, hoping the answer was yes. Neither of them had packed shovels.
Ash waved this concern away with a flick of the fingers, his free hand already working a spell into the air. It took him bare minutes to dig a dozen graves, lift the bodies up as if they were nothing more than logs, and put them all into it. With a sweep of the hand and another spoken word, the earth moved back to cover the bodies, leaving twelve neat mounds in the grassland. Finished, he asked rhetorically, “What do we do about the horses?”
“Take them back to the city, trade or sell them,” Riana answered promptly. “They be war booty, to me mind.”
“Huh.” Ash scratched at his cheek thoughtfully. “I suppose they are, at that. For now, I suppose we can just hobble them and keep them in the area. We’re not far from the channel, so it won’t take us long to get some rocks and come back. They won’t be able to venture far in that amount of time.”
Riana was less optimistic about this plan, but they had no other option except rounding them up now and heading back to the city. Shrugging, she dismounted and went about hobbling the horses’ front legs.
Ash joined her, and in a short amount of time, they had the horses more or less situated. As he climbed back into the saddle, she heard him mutter to himself, “I hope Ashlynn and Broden are having a better morning than we are.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
“The next person I catch trying to set fire to this city, I personally will set ablaze!” Ashlynn snarled between clenched teeth. She leaned into the man’s face, nearly vibrating with the desire to carry out her threat. “Do you understand me? I don’t care what your reason is, I don’t care how justified you think it might be, if you set one thing on fire that isn’t in a furnace or fire pit, you will be the next thing burning. Am. I. Clear.”
The man bobbed a nervous nod, too terrified to speak, and Broden didn’t blame him. He’d seen the lass have glowing hands as she worked her magic, but never before had he seen her magic explode out so that she shone from head to toe. At that moment, she looked to be on fire herself, shining bright enough to be a second sun. Even Mark, who was holding the man’s arms, looked ready to bolt.
Not satisfied, Ashlynn took a half step back and shouted at the watching crowd, “And that goes for the rest of you as well! DO NOT SET FIRE TO MY CITY! If you do, I’ll burn you next, and I don’t care if that’s illegal or not!”
Judging from the white expressions on their faces, there was not a single person who doubted she would do just that.
Broden was afraid that she was so irate she would go past just threatening and do it. He put his hands on her arms and stroked up and down, gently, comforting. “Steady, lass. Steady. They ken just fine.”
She took in a breath and let it out, sounding like a tea kettle going off.
With a jerk of the head, he urged Mark to take the man off, which he did with alacrity. In fact, it was hard to judge who was urging the other to move faster, the criminal or the guard. The crowd just as quickly skittered away, not wanting to be anywhere near an angry wizard.
He did not blame the lass for her ire, not a bit. In the day they’d been home, they’d put out two fires, and from the reports they had gotten from the other guardsmen, the frequency was increasing. Broden had no doubt that when they interrogated the man, he would confess to be either a supporter of Iysh or an agent of it.
What worried him was that under the anger he saw hurt. Concerned, he put an arm around her shoulders and snugged her in against his chest. “Here, now, lass. Ye be on the brink of tears.”
She opened her mouth as if to automatically deny this, but one look at his face stopped the words before they came. Instead she stared up at him, eyes shining too brightly, for a long moment. “Broden.”
“Aye, lass,” he encouraged gently.
“Why would they burn their own city?” she whispered, truly bewildered.
In those clear blue eyes, he saw what the true problem was. Ashlynn had been under tremendous stress for well over a year now trying to create a country from scratch. She’d fought in two battles, and then spent the rest of her days from morning till sunset running about dealing with criminals. She had worked herself to the bone building this place, all so that it would be safe for her family—all families—to live in. The responsibi
lity for doing so did not rest solely on her shoulders, but still, the weight she bore was enormous. She had been under too much strain too long.
And now there were people here who were deliberately trying to destroy everything that she had worked so hard to build. The cruelty of it broke her heart. It was not that she could not understand it, but that her mind refused to.
He hugged her a little harder even as he tried to answer. “Some men can no’ respect anything, me dear. Especially when it be given freely, they can put no value on it, and so think nothing of trampling it. Some of these men be agents of Iysh, and be simply following orders. But the rest be nothing but knaves and scoundrels. It be best if ye do no’ understand how they think.”
Nodding, she sniffed a few times, but the tears did not fall. Instead, she seemed to gather strength from Broden’s patience. With a few deep breaths, she regained her center and straightened. He let his arm fall away but kept a close eye on her face, waiting until he was satisfied that she was truly ready to face the world again.
She seemed to be, at least. Assured, he took a half-step back and asked, “What next?”
“Well, no one else has called me with an emergency while we were gone, so I think we should go to East Gate. I haven’t been over in that direction since well before we left, and that worries me.”
“Fine, fine.”
The rest of the day happened without mishap. Well, serious mishap. Broden’s sense of danger had changed remarkably since coming to Estole. It used to be that he considered murder, kidnapping, and theft to be bad. Now if it did not reach a riot level, he did not panic about it too much.
They all had a quiet dinner in their suite of rooms before he and Riana split from their wizards and went to Edvard’s study.
Riana knocked on the door and Edvard called, “Enter!”
Stepping inside, they found Edvard nearly buried in papers, maps, and books. Not an inch of space could be seen on either his table or desk. The king’s usually immaculately combed hair was standing straight up, reminding Broden of an irate rooster. To see this normally collected man at his wit’s end alarmed him. “Edvard? What be the matter with ye?”
“There’s a long list,” Edvard groused. “But in short, I’m trying to set up the structure of the government before Tierone gets here.”
Riana asked the obvious question. “Why?”
“He wants to co-rule with me.”
Broden blinked, dumbfounded. “I thought…”
“What?” Edvard asked, momentarily relaxing into a dry smile. “That he would simply rebel like I did, but keep the power and position of leader in his own lands? Yes, I thought he would do that as well. We both thought wrong. I just received a message from him this morning that he doesn’t want to try this by himself, and he feels that if we combine our countries, we’ll have a better chance fighting Iysh off.”
Well, in terms of manpower, he likely was right. But still… “Two kings?” Broden objected, mind spinning. “How will ye manage that?”
“Excellent question,” Edvard growled. “I wish I had a simple answer to give. That outline for a government that we discussed before will no longer quite work. I’m having to modify it, but doing that is taking considerable planning on my part. And I’m not even sure that Tierone will agree to it.”
“Edvard, I think it best ye wait until Tierone gets here,” Riana counseled, eyes taking in the ridiculous amount of research their king had already done. “This sort of thing be best to figure out together, when the two of ye be in the same room.”
“I agree,” Broden put in.
“I want to at least have an idea to present to him with when he gets here,” Edvard maintained stubbornly. “But, yes, you’re right, I shouldn’t go into exhaustive detail just yet. Especially when there’s other problems to be solved. Now.” He stopped, staring at the two of them blankly. “I know I called you here after dinner for a reason…what was it?”
Broden let out a sigh. It be official. The man had overextended himself. “Ye had a notion of sending us into the city and working with yer spies.”
Edvard snapped his fingers in recognition. “Yes, that was it! Thank you. I won’t need you to do much today, no more than two hours or so I think. I have spoken with my main intelligence officer and he’s expecting to meet you.”
“Edvard,” Riana said patiently. “What do ye want us to do exactly?”
“Don’t readily admit who you are,” Edvard instructed. “Right now, there’s a very mixed opinion about you two. You showed up out of nowhere, and yet have a hand in making the laws of this new land. Worse, you’re from a sketchy place—Cloud’s Rest. Some people are convinced you’re con-artists here to take advantage of a naïve king. Others think you’re just conniving and have managed to worm your way into the wizards’ trust. Some, of course, have met you while you went about helping to build and protect the city, so they know those rumors are false. Still, others have no idea who you are because they have just arrived. To the people that recognize you, they’ll believe any rumor you start, because you’re in a position to know. To the people that don’t know you, they’ll tell you things readily because they won’t believe you’re in a powerful position.”
Broden and Riana shared a look. “And you be needing us to do what, exactly?”
“Meet Troi in the city. He’ll give you precise instructions on what to do. Right now, know that I need both of you simply because of the unique position that you’re in. You’re too new to be known by everyone, so can be confided in, but also able to influence the people that do recognize you. It’s like deploying four people into the city instead of two.” Edvard rubbed his hands together in open glee. “I do love economy. Anyway, meet Troi. He’ll be on Tavern Row, the Morning Sun to be exact. Hair streaked with grey, brown eyes, plump build, and he’ll wear a yellow scarf around his neck. Don’t worry about finding him, though, he’ll find you.”
Fervently hoping that Edvard knew what he was doing sending them out into the street, Broden nodded and said, “Aye. Then, off we go.”
The Morning Sun seemed to be the place to go in the evenings. Riana stood on the street and stared at it for a second, amazed at how packed the place was. Why, there were people sitting in windowsills, they were that wanting for space! The building seemed solid enough, made of seastone and rough wooden beams, standing a full three stories tall. It was surely her imagination that made it look as if it bulged at the seams.
Broden took her by the hand and served as a trailblazer as he rammed his way through the door. Riana just tried to stay as close to his back as she could.
She had no idea how he managed it, but even with this incredible crowd, her da managed to find a clear table. It was on the smaller side, only able to seat three, and was in the far corner. But it gave them a little room to breathe, so she wasn’t about to complain.
They were supposed to meet the master of spies here? Would he be able to find them in this madhouse?
At first she sat nervously, constantly on the lookout for a man wearing a yellow scarf, but when several moments passed and no one even walked in their direction, she slowly relaxed. Maybe the man was late. Or maybe he was finding it hard to find them in this overly crowded place. Either way, she might as well relax. This looked as if it would take a while.
Besides, this was a rare opportunity. She had her da alone (more or less) and could ask him a question that she didn’t want their wizards overhearing. In the din of overlapping conversations, a man could likely shout a secret and not worry about it being overheard. She couldn’t imagine a more perfect spot to talk to him. Riana stared at her da from the corner of her eye for a long moment, debating on whether to ask or not. It was not really her business, but at the same time, she was itching with curiosity.
“Aye, daughter?”
Oops, caught. With an internal shrug of resignation, she finally just spit it out. “Have ye decided to be a father for Ashlynn, then?”
Broden choked on the mulled cider he
was sipping, almost spewing it out over the counter. “Wh-what?!”
Pounding him on the back, she gave him a second to regain his air before repeating, “Have ye decided to be a father for Ashlynn?”
His eyes nearly crossed. “Daughter. What ye be saying?”
“No?” Canting her head to the side, she studied that poleaxed expression. No, he truly had not a clue on what she was asking. “But that be what she said earlier.”
Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, Broden requested with strained patience. “From the beginning, dearheart.”
“Alright, then.” Sitting back, she started to explain more thoroughly. “Ashlynn said that while in Lorand, she played the part of yer daughter. She said that ever since, ye been acting more and more like a father to her instead of a partner. She said it be very akin to how ye treat me.”
Broden looked set to argue this point, but nothing came out of his mouth. Instead he froze, jaw hanging, before he shut it slowly, realization dawning in his eyes.
“Ah, I thought so.” Riana nodded wisely. “Ye did no’ even realize it, did ye.”
“She reminds me strongly of ye,” Broden responded carefully, as if tasting each word before releasing it. “It be why we get along so well, I think. But I never once thought of her as another daughter. I…do no’ think I have, at least….”
Riana took a swig from her tankard before responding mildly, “She be thinking otherwise.”
Rubbing at his chin, Broden thought about this for a long moment. “It be no’ such a bad thing, I suppose. Do ye know that she and Ash grew up without a father?”
“Aye, Ash told me the story.”
“I do no’ think the lass has ever had a man to depend upon aside from her brothers. And even then, she protects them as much as they protect her. Marissa said in Lorand that she be needing a father, and after the time I have spent with the lass, I be inclined to agree.” Broden stared into his mug, steadfastly refusing to look her in the eyes as he asked hesitantly, “Does she mind it?”
Arrows Of Change (Book 1) Page 25
