That wasn’t to say that Estole would be safer, though.
She looked again at her wizard-employer. Wizard Ashtian Fallbright was famous, even all the way out here. The king he served, one Edvard Knolton, had just this year declared his separation from Iysh. The country of Iysh had been facing civil wars and internal conflicts for the past two generations, but no one had expected someone to have the guts to split off from it entirely. The whole world had waited with bated breath to see what would happen next. Bets were made on how long Edvard Knolton would get by with his declaration.
The Iyshian king had immediately sent out his troops to subdue the rebel. Only, it hadn’t worked. Edvard Knolton had won in an astoundingly short amount of time, decimating the army sent to defeat him. Iysh sent another—and that army was defeated as well. A third army hadn’t been sent, although no one was quite sure why. There was speculation of all sorts going around, though, which ranged from the Iyshian king giving up on the small part of land Knolton owned, to him not having enough troops to challenge the rebel again.
Personally, Riana bet it was the lack of troops.
But all the rumors agreed on one thing: Knolton had won largely because of two very strong wizards that had fought with him. And one of those wizards was none other than Ashtian Fallbright.
Strange, he didn’t look that intimidating cutting down trees.
She glanced at her da. “Why be ye on me branch?”
“It be a nice branch.” He grinned but didn’t look at her.
“And how do ye know it can support both our weights?” Broden Ravenscroft was many things, but light wasn’t one of them.
Broden shot her a grin. “Now, daughter, I do no’ hear creaking noises. It be safe enough.”
“The last time ye said that, it creaked right afore we fell. Six feet. Onto no’ nice ground.”
He just chuckled, a low, rumbling sound.
Riana tossed a hand into the air, giving up. Fine, he could stay, but she wasn’t risking that again. As it happened, both of them had nearly broken bones because of that poor decision. With a slight huff, she strapped her arrows firmly into the belt quiver at her waist before she sprang off that branch and onto another, her gloved hands easily finding purchase on the rough bark. With a flex of the shoulders, she swung herself on top of it. Ancient trees in a virgin forest really did offer the best perches.
They’d been guarding for an hour now, eyes peeled for trouble. In that time, the wizard had felled nearly three dozen trees, all of them stacked neatly in piles.
“How much lumber did he say he wanted?” she asked slowly. Surely that was enough for whatever project the man had in mind. These weren’t normal trees, after all. One trunk could build three cottages without strain.
“I do no’ think he mentioned an amount. Man knows how to work; I give him that.”
She could see the patches of sweat under his arms and down his back from here. “But how does he plan to move all of that? He did no’ bring wagons or any teams to pull them with.”
“Man’s beat two armies we know of. I do no’ doubt he will win against trees, too.”
Good point.
Riana turned her head in a smooth, slow motion, eyes drinking in her surroundings, ears searching for anything out of place. Her da had trained her from the time she was knee-high how to read the moods around her. The way the branches swayed, the amount of sounds a body should hear while walking, the scents of the forest and what they meant—it all told a tale. Often, it wasn’t a noise that told her something was wrong; it was the absence of it altogether. The animals that lived here hid when there were strangers or trouble, taking all their chattering along with them.
The forest here was thick, trees so massive they could crush houses, their branches interweaved to block most of the sunlight, marking the forest floor with areas of twilight and shadow. The air carried the pungent smell of earth and vegetation, mixed in with the faint scent of running water. Because of this, she had to rely more on her nose and ears, rather than her eyes, to tell her if there was something amiss. Most of the time, this place had a stillness to it, an aura as if it were more ancient than she could ever guess. It seemed a little sacrilegious, somehow, to let anyone lumber here.
Even if it’d been her suggestion.
From the corner of her eye, she caught a color not found in nature, nothing more than a blur of blue. She turned her head sharply, trying to get a better look, but it was gone. Brows compressing, she flipped an arrow in her hand and notched it in a smooth motion, but didn’t raise the bow just yet.
“Daughter?”
“Something moved. Me left, just ahead.”
Broden immediately looked as well. “A few branches be swaying.”
“Opposite to how the wind be blowing,” she noted grimly. “We’ve got bandits.”
Broden grunted, holding his peace for a long moment before offering, “I spy two. They be closing in on our wizard. Down or up, daughter?”
Making a snap decision she said, “Down.” She couldn’t get any angle up here; too many leaves and branches and tree trunks blocked her line of sight. Maneuvering bow and arrow to her left hand, she hopped lightly from her perch, fell to the one below it in a crouch, then sprinted down its length three strides before taking another flying leap, this time using a branch closer to the ground as a springboard to halt her fall. She landed with catlike grace on the moss-covered ground, barely settling before taking off in a fast sprint toward Fallbright.
The man had stopped working, eyes following her as she moved toward him. Of course he’d noticed, the way she’d noisily and hastily descended to the forest floor. She paid scant attention to him, her eyes darting about, trying to spy the bandits her da had seen from above and any others that might be closing in. She swore softly as two of them dashed between the trees. They were closer than she’d thought.
“What—” Fallbright started to ask, his tenor voice harsher than usual.
“Do no’ move,” she ordered sharply. Skidding to a halt, she snapped the bow back up, drawing the line taut this time, fletching to her ear. Breathe in, hold, sight the target, release. The arrow whizzed past Fallbright’s head, barely two inches from his cheek. The bandit’s guttural scream sounded as her arrow found its mark unerringly. Before the first one had been fully released, she was yanking the tie around her quiver free and reaching for four arrows to hold in her hand.
The wizard froze, eyes glued to her, as she downed the second bandit in the time it took for him to finish his sentence “—is wrong?”
“Bandits,” she supplied shortly.
Fallbright’s hands were already weaving in the air, leaving behind trails of light in strange patterns. He fell into a fighter’s stance, which looked odd, as he held no weapon. “Stand at my back,” he ordered tersely. “But stay two feet away; don’t come within my shield.”
As Riana had no inclination to be in front of whatever magical fury he unleashed, she promptly obeyed, leaving enough distance between them to do as commanded.
From above, she could hear the whistle of arrows being released, one after another. Her da must have a better vantage point up there than she’d had. Then again, he had stolen her spot.
Her eyes searched for movement, instincts rattling. There. Years of experience let her sense the direction the wind was flowing, judge the speed of her target, and know where to aim. She took in a breath as she notched the arrow between two gloved fingers, then held it to keep her aim steady. Release. Her target tripped and hit the ground with a gurgle.
Riana’s attention only stayed on him long enough to assure he was down before she searched for any other threats. She swung an arrow free from the three she still clutched and up to the right of the bow. Notch, pull, release.
Again.
The once still air clamored with the thwang of bowstrings, the whistling of arrows, the meaty thunks of the injured, and the strange humming sounds of Fallbright’s magical attacks. It sounded like a swarm of angry hummi
ngbirds. That was the closest she could come to describing the way the magic slashed through the air. It looked pretty, though, from the glimpses she got of it. The air around him glowed like he was standing in a cloud of fireflies.
She pivoted in place, drawing and releasing her longbow in an almost hypnotic rhythm. At all times, Riana kept the wizard at her back, making sure that no one could sneak up on him. He, in turn, guarded hers as faithfully as her da would have. Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was a good fighter and a decent partner in a skirmish.
In minutes, they all stopped attacking and waited with bated breath. Nothing. Had they taken all of them out?
From her position in the middle of the clearing, whole armies could be hiding behind the trees and she wouldn’t see them. She called to her da, “I will guard him if ye want to poke about!”
A low, mournful whistle sounded in the air, signaling his agreement.
Fallbright turned to her with an admiring look. “Your eyesight is excellent. I would not have noticed them until it was far too late.”
“I be used to this terrain,” she denied, although her cheeks flushed at the praise. “But thank ye.”
“At first I was uncertain about hiring you and your father as escorts—I don’t have much experience working with archers, you see—but I’m now very glad I did. You just proved to be worth every deneres I’m paying you. You were right earlier about me being a good target for thieves.”
“No’ just that,” she responded in amusement. “Wizard Fallbright, do ye no’ know how famous ye be? Even up here, we know ye.”
He blinked, those clear blue eyes surprised. “Truly? Well, that’s certainly food for thought. So, they had ransom on their minds?”
“Belike.”
Fallbright shook his head, mouth quirked wryly. “They’d have been sorely disappointed, then. New kingdoms are rather short on money, I’m afraid. Besides, Edvard and Ashlynn don’t take kindly to things like that. If they’d tried to ransom me, they’d have just as likely been massacred for their trouble.”
To her right, Broden strode out of the woods and into the clearing. Fallbright immediately whirled in that direction, hand raised, prepared to shoot off another spell, but he halted straightaway when he saw who it was.
Broden lifted a hand and drawled, “I’d rather no’ be attacked by me employer, if it be all the same to ye.”
“My apologies,” Fallbright responded, lowering his hand. “After being in two battles, it’s become automatic for me to raise shields and attack…first….” He suddenly went taut, head snapping around to stare at Riana in wonderment.
She blinked up at him, not understanding why he was wearing that expression. “Eh?”
“I…had my shield up.”
Wasn’t that just common sense? To put up a shield when you sensed danger? He’d snapped it up so quickly that she’d barely realized what he was doing before it was gone again. “And?” she prompted after he stumbled into slack-jawed silence.
“No, you don’t understand,” he denied, hand slashing through the air. “Urgh, how to explain?” This was muttered more to himself. “How much do you know about wizards?”
“No’ a great deal,” Riana admitted frankly. “We never had cause to work with them. I think me village called them in about fifteen years ago for some sort of help in finding a cure to an epidemic, but I do no’ remember much of it.” Considering she’d been just shy of five at the time, that was understandable.
Fallbright leaned in closer, eyes and voice becoming intense. “Then, the basics. As formidable as magic is, we have many weaknesses too. We can’t do multiple spells at the same time—not spells of different types, at least. For instance, I can’t use a fire-based spell with a water-based spell because they’ll cancel each other out. So always I have to choose which spell I want to use, then figure out what I can partner it with, otherwise I risk destroying my own efforts.”
“I think I follow.”
“Now, there are multiple shields that wizards can use to protect themselves, but we can’t use them all at the same time. So if I’m fighting another wizard, or at risk of being hit by a magical backlash, then I must use a power shield. But doing that leaves me vulnerable to ordinary, weapon-based attacks. Someone could skewer me with a sword, and I wouldn’t be able to shield against it.”
She blinked. “That be…”
“Dangerous?” he finished for her with a wry smile. More of a grimace, really. “I’m well aware. Most wizards don’t care for leaving ourselves so vulnerable, so we partner with someone who’s a good fighter. A soldier, warrior, etc. Someone that we can trust to watch our backs as we work.”
“Makes sense,” she allowed. “So, where be the problem?”
“Not many people can tolerate being within a wizard’s shield. The reactions vary, but I’ve seen everything from people screaming in pain to simply flinching away from it. Finding someone that can be within the shield who’s also competent at fighting is,” he let out a long sigh, “difficult.”
“That be a kind way of stating things,” her da said with a pensive frown. “I would say the odds of that be slim.”
“Very. So, when we do find someone,” his eyes went back to her with that fervent light, “you can imagine our delight and greed. And then there’s you. Someone who doesn’t just tolerate it, but don’t even seem to notice it!”
She hadn’t, actually.
Grabbing up both of her hands, he pleaded, “Please. Please be my partner.”
Riana froze, unable to look away from those penetrating eyes. He was sincere in his desire to be partners with her, which was a sensation that she wasn’t accustomed to. To have someone actively want her was a foreign feeling. It lit her blood like quicksilver, making her flush and stutter, unsure of how to respond.
“Hey, now!” her da protested. “We did no’ agree to that.”
“I can’t leave her be,” Fallbright returned, those hypnotic blue eyes never breaking contact with hers. “I’ve spent the past decade trying to find a partner. And here your daughter is with all the skills I need, and on top of all that, she’s an easy woman to get along with. She’s a godsend! I do not exaggerate.”
Her? A wizard’s partner? It’d never been an aspiration of hers to tie herself to just one person, but then, she’d never thought of it as an option before, either. To top it off, it wasn’t just anyone asking her—a king’s wizard himself was literally begging.
Her da hadn’t raised her to be a fool. Before deciding, she needed to ask some questions. So she swallowed hard and somehow found her tongue long enough to request, “Raise yer shield for me again.”
He blinked, head slanting slightly. “Why?”
“I did no’ truly see it afore,” she admitted. “But it might have just been because I focused on the bandits. I want to feel it properly.”
“Oh.” Fallbright nodded, silently agreeing that was a good point. Releasing one of her hands, he traced a symbol into the air. A perfect circle of light surrounded them in the next moment, looking like sparkling fairy dust hovering about them.
She turned her head this way and that, taking it all in. How pretty. Her lips parted in delight.
“It really doesn’t bother you,” Fallbright said softly, eyes glued to her face.
“It feels nice, actually,” she responded absently. “Like standing in a sunny spot on a cool day.” Tearing her eyes away from it, she beckoned to her da. “Da, try it.”
With a wary look on his face, Broden gingerly stuck one hand inside. Then he blinked. “She be right. This does no’ feel odd at all.”
The wizard’s eyes snapped to the older man. “How does it feel to you?”
“Rather like sunlight on a cool day,” her da agreed in bemusement. “This bothers people, ye say?”
“Yes.” Those clear blue eyes shot wide. “Both of you are potential partners. Ye gods!” His free hand reached out and snagged her da’s arm. “Broden. Please. Both of you are too valuable to the mag
ical community to do just this one job and return to your home. Won’t you at least consider staying?”
Broden’s eyes met hers and she knew exactly what her da was thinking. What they had left behind—and more importantly, what they hadn’t. It was why they’d offered to escort the wizard to begin with.
Searching their expressions, Fallbright pressed forward, “As partners of wizards, you’d be granted automatic citizenship rights, a monthly stipend, and considerable esteem by everyone. Wizards themselves would pay a small ransom just to have you, I promise. Especially in Estole. We’re so short on wizards right now, so short on manpower, that the king is very welcoming to anyone willing to work to protect the new country. He’s outlawed most of the usual Bindings as well.”
Riana’s eyes went huge. He’d outlawed the Bindings? Holy heavens, that was cause enough right there to go along.
Broden got that twinkle in his eyes that she knew well. “Be part of building a new kingdom, eh? Well, I admit, that be an offer a man does no’ get every day. This new king—ye know him?”
“Very well,” Fallbright admitted, excitement growing. “We’re blood brothers.”
“Good man?”
“The best. Well, he has a bad habit of teasing people, but other than that….”
To her da, that’d be a point in the man’s favor. “What say ye, daughter?”
“We came looking for work. I say this fits the bill.” Frowning, she added, “I just do no’ ken how this will work exactly. Will both of us partner with ye? Or should we split up somehow?”
“I’m really hoping that one of you will partner with my sister,” he said optimistically. “She’s my twin, actually. We share the position of Court Wizard.”
Twin wizards? Their poor parents. The apprenticeship fees must’ve beggared them. “Da?”
Broden frowned, thinking hard. “This partnership thing, it works best if one person be dedicated to one wizard?”
“Yes. We form magical ties to them, you see, so that they’re automatically under magical protection.”
Arrows Of Change (Book 1) Page 2