“Edvard has four sisters, you see,” Ash sought to explain. “When his father passed on, he tried to legalize them so that he could protect them and provide proper dowries. But the church and the court blocked his every effort. It made him truly question the Bindings for the first time. It enraged him as well, that he was prevented from doing the good and proper thing. I helped him research, even helped him petition, but after several months of fruitless effort, he gave up. That’s when he came up with the idea of breaking off from Iysh completely.”
Riana’s eyes crossed. “Lovenanty, be that no’ a bit extreme?”
“Very,” Ash responded dryly. “I felt so too, at first. Then he started pointing out all the flaws in the government, the corruption, and how many people were suffering under Iysh’s rule. He was very persuasive about it. He had Ashlynn convinced before I even knew what was happening. I must admit that Iysh’s rule is very…fractured at the moment.”
“Rebellions do that,” Broden noted laconically.
“Granted, but it was fractured before that,” Ash refuted. “The old king is ailing, and he won’t pick one of his sons to succeed him, so there’s a power struggle among the family. The rest of the officials are taking advantage of their preoccupation and using it ruthlessly to their own ends. That’s what made it so easy for us to break away from them. They can’t even agree on how to subdue us.”
“How do ye break away from a kingdom?” Riana asked, fascinated by this thought. She hadn’t questioned it before, but really, how would one do that? Just write a simple declaration?
Ash shook his head in exasperation. “I was all for writing a declaration of intent and sending it to Kremser Palace. But Edvard has a taste for the dramatics, and that wasn’t enough for him. Instead, he had Ashlynn and me guard him as we strode right into the throne room. He was wearing armor, of all things, as if prepared to go to war on the spot. He declared right to the king’s face that he’d had enough of this foolishness and the king had two choices: he could overturn the Bindings and replace them with something more moral and sensible, or Edvard would take Estole and break away from Iysh’s rule completely.”
Broden leaned forward, spellbound, eyes huge in his face. “He said that to the king himself? Glory. That must have been a sight.”
“What did the king say?” Riana pressed, just as enthralled, trying to imagine in her mind’s eye how it’d all played out.
“Not much, at first. He was too busy choking, so astounded anyone would say something like that to him that he couldn’t catch his breath. Then he started bellowing, outraged and unwilling to listen to anything Edvard had to say. He started shouting for someone to throw us all in prison.” Ash rubbed his hands together in a slow, circular motion, eyes lost in memory. “We had a fine time escaping from the palace, let me tell you.”
She bet they had!
“That wasn’t the end of it, of course, not by half,” Ash continued ruefully. “We returned to Estole easily enough, but we barely had two weeks before an army came knocking on our doors. The whole estate was behind Edvard, as they’d had enough of Iysh’s rule as well, but we weren’t very large in number. Not in comparison to a whole country, at least. Edvard assembled people as he could, arranging the ranks to meet the army, but the bulk of his defense rested on my and Ashlynn’s shoulders.”
So the rumors had been right. The main reason that Estole was free really was because of the wizards.
Ash lifted one hand and stared at it for a long moment. “The spells that I use for everyday tasks, I discovered, work just as well for fighting. I can cut down trees and men with equal ease.”
Seeing what he’d done to trees, well, that idea made her a trifle squeamish.
Shaking his head, he came back to the present. “The first army sent wasn’t particularly large. We fought them off without any true danger, and they were routed within a day. King Zelman sent a much larger army the second time. We were better prepared after that first battle, with armaments and caltrops and the like set up around the estate. Still, it was a miserable three days of pure fighting before we forced them into a retreat. Zelman hasn’t dared to send another army after us. He’s so low on troops now that he barely has enough to maintain the rest of his kingdom.”
Riana slapped a hand against her leg. “So I be right! Zelman did no’ try again because he be short on troops.”
Ash blinked at her. “Is that what you thought? Then, yes, you’re quite correct. Our spies reported that to us. At any rate, after the last battle, we did nothing but bury the dead and reinforce our defenses, just in case we have to fight again. Part of the lumber that I’m bringing with me will be used to build a defensive wall around the estate.”
Oh? That explained why he needed so much of it, then. Riana imagined it’d take a lot of wood to build a wall around a mansion.
“A part of me now believes that declaring independence to a king and fighting off two armies is the easy part of building a kingdom,” Ash bemoaned, not at all joking. “Don’t mistake me, throwing off the Bindings was a wonderful thing to do, but Edvard didn’t have anything to replace them with. He got so caught up in the enthusiasm of the idea that he failed to plan very far ahead. We’re now being swarmed with immigrants from the other estates and countries, all of them hoping for new and better lives, but without any true rules to govern them with. Trying to apply the old rules in any form makes them rebel against us. They’ve had enough of those laws, even if they were good ones. So we’ve had to throw out the old system completely and come up with something new, something that people will accept. We’re scrambling now to create laws and put together a team of people to enforce them.”
That wasn’t well thought out. Wouldn’t it have been better to make the new laws and have a guard in place afore declaring independence? Well, belike they hadn’t expected a flood of people to come in.
“I imagine,” Broden said slowly, “that it be no’ just good folks coming in. Ruffians of all sorts would like a place where there be no Bindings.”
“And that’s a problem as well,” Ash acknowledged with a wave of the hand at him. “Crime is rapidly increasing. When I left, my sister and Edvard had their heads together, pouring over the history books for any hint of the old laws. I expect by the time we reach Estole that they will have at least a rough set of laws to present people with. But you see now why I’m so desperate to keep you. Good people with fighting skills will be dearly welcome in Estole.”
After that story, Riana had no doubt of it.
Broden rubbed at the stubble along his jaw, studying Ash through narrowed eyes. “So, Edvard Knolton be behind this whole thing, eh? Anyone else know about this?”
“I imagine anyone who’s heard the story would. Edvard wasn’t shy about explaining his motivations.”
“Be that right.” Broden nodded to himself, as if having had something confirmed. “Now I ken. Daughter, best brace yerself and keep a wary eye about ye. It be about to get hairy.”
Hairy? Why would it…oh. Oh. She smacked herself on the forehead, feeling like an idiot for not connecting things quicker.
Ash’s eyes darted between the two of them, brows drawn together in confusion. “I feel like I’ve missed something.”
“Ye said the Iyshian king sent two armies that failed.” Broden shrugged, palm splayed. “If I be him, I would no’ send a third. I would send assassins.”
Ash’s mouth fell open, stunned, then he groaned. “Storm and winds! Why didn’t I think of that?!”
“I would no’ send ‘em after just the new king, either,” Broden continued with a pointed look at the wizard.
“A wise man would take out the wizards that helped him defeat those two armies,” Riana stated the obvious conclusion out loud. “Ash, I think it be a blessing that ye found us when ye did. Da be right, it be about to get hairy.”
Ash grimaced. “Well, that part I’d sort of reckoned and braced myself for. But…why would this be the first thing you think of?”
; “Oh, the bandits up here be no’ strays. They be in gangs or clans of their own most of the time. We get wars up here all the time atwixt them. If they rush into a fight against each other and it does no’ work out, the next thing they do be send assassins.” Broden scowled. “We learned quick-like to keep an eye on the lot of them so as to know when to be on the other side of the mountain when they got it in their heads to fight over territory.”
“Ahhh, makes sense. So, in essence, you’ve seen fights of dominance between kings before, just on a smaller scale.”
“Much smaller,” Broden agreed, eyes twinkling.
Riana’s mind was already skipping ahead, thinking from every angle. “Ash, did ye make any secret about coming out here for lumber?”
“Ah…no? Quite a few people knew where I was going.”
“I think ye’d best put that ward up,” she advised grimly. Her skin felt like something was crawling along it even as she spoke the words. The air was getting colder, the light failing as night settled in, which limited her vision even further in these crowded woods. A whole platoon of soldiers could hide in the brush, and she wouldn’t have a notion they were there. Never mind how well an assassin could make out.
Ash’s eyes darted around, making the same consideration she’d just made, and took her point. “I’ll do that. When I’m done, I’ll put a temporary hold on both of you so that you have some magical protection.”
She blinked. “Be there assassin-wizards, then?”
“More than I care to think about, yes. They’re always in the employ of some important, powerful person with a good cause in their pocket, but that doesn’t make a difference if you’re their target.”
Good point.
Ash put a hand on his knee, preparing to rise, before pausing and saying, “If anyone wants a privy break, take it now. You won’t be able to leave the ward later.”
Taking that as a prudent suggestion, Riana did just that, leaving the ring of firelight behind for a few moments. By the time she made it back, Ash had made several preparations already. Her da was already seated, dishing himself up some of the stew and dipping his bread into it with a smile of relish.
Ash glanced her direction, making sure she was close enough, then he turned back to the tree he had a hand against. He drew something complicated into the air, spoke a word in that strange singsong language, and the sigil he’d drawn embedded itself into the trunk of the tree. It stayed in the bark, glowing mutely, like a ring of controlled fire. When it was there, it connected to several other trees, and a dome of glowing firelight weaved its way around their camp and above their heads. Riana’s eyes tracked its progress even as she smiled. It was a thing of beauty, this ward of his. It wasn’t solid like she’d assumed it would be. Instead, ever-moving lines curled and about like they were living things.
Sidling up beside her, he cautioned, “Unlike my shield, this won’t feel good if you touch it, so don’t try that.”
“I ken,” she promised him, not looking away. “Be magic always so pretty?”
“No,” he denied in amusement. “But most of the time, it is. At least, I think it is.”
“It be pretty enough,” Broden acknowledged slowly. “But what can get through it?”
“Air,” Ash answered dryly.
Riana blinked up at him, astounded. “No’ even rain?”
“I prefer not to be rained on when I’m sleeping outside, so mine are waterproof.” He shrugged, as if what he’d just said wasn’t anything remarkable.
Riana found it very remarkable. Despite the fact that she could see right through it, this thing was as solid as a house? Lovenanty! Was there any limit to what magic could do?
Oh, right, there was. Which was why Ash so desperately wanted them. She’d almost forgotten that for a moment.
Tearing her eyes away, Riana forced herself to sit down and drag her bowl out of her pack, eating dinner while it was still hot. Cold rabbit stew wasn’t her favorite thing to eat.
For a few moments, that’s all everyone did—eat dinner and enjoy not being on their feet for a while. She saw her da take several peeks at Ash, as if wanting to ask something, but not sure of either the timing or the wording. Since the beginning, her da had been a little cautious around Ash. She understood why—they knew little about him—but her gut said that Ash could be trusted. Da must’ve thought the same, as he’d agreed to go to Estole with him.
“These temporary magical protections of yers,” Broden finally asked, “what do they protect us from?”
“Unfortunately, not much,” Ash responded with a helpless shrug. “If you were true partners with me, I could bind you to my magic, and my own shield would activate around you at the barest hint of danger. But because these are temporary, I’m having to give you your own shield, independent of mine, and that limits what I can do. After all, you’re not a magician—you have no magic to feed into these shields to keep them active. So there’s only so much it can do. It’ll protect you from any fire-based spell, at least.”
Broden, his mouth full of bread, waved a hand to encourage Ash to continue.
“Most attack spells are fire-based,” Ash explained, stirring his stew to let it cool a little as he spoke. “They’re more fluid, easier to manipulate over a distance, so it’s the perfect element to attack with. Not all of them, you understand, but a good majority of them are. The spell I used to log the trees is fire-based.”
Riana thought about this, comparing it with the little she knew about magic, and asked slowly, “This shield ye will give us, will it clash with yers? The one that ye use to protect yerself?”
“Yes,” Ash sighed. “Unfortunately. My personal shields are wind-based, as they’re more resilient and work better against all magic.”
“So I can no’ step inside yer shield while mine be up?” she pressed, making sure she understood.
“Right.”
Riana frowned. She didn’t like that answer one bit. “Can ye no’ give me a shield like yers, then?”
“Unfortunately, no. It takes too much magical power to activate. It’s something only a wizard can use.”
Well, that wasn’t the answer she wanted.
“We will take what we can get for now,” Broden said with a long look at her. “Daughter, do no’ fret about this. We’ve done well up till now and did no’ have a thing to shield us from harm. We will be fine.”
They also hadn’t been up against any wizards, or had the threat of magical assassins dodging their footsteps. Right now, it was simply a possibility and she didn’t have a shred of proof to back it up with, but she couldn’t help but feel that danger was very close to them. This reassurance from her da failed to comfort her.
But Da was right in the fact that they couldn’t do much about it at the moment, not without creating a more permanent link with Ash. Which neither of them was prepared to do. For now, the temporary shield would have to do. So she subsided and didn’t argue the point.
Ash, sensing that they wouldn’t ask any more questions, set his bowl aside. “Let’s get these done, then, and settle in for the night. We have a lot of walking to do tomorrow.”
Chapter Five
Estole did not look a thing like he’d imagined.
Granted, Broden did not have much knowledge of towns or such. Still, when a man hears the words “new kingdom” he thinks of a small gathering of people and maybe one major building standing with tents and such gathered about it. This place had “age” written all over it. The town nestled near the channel water, with solid buildings and businesses all lined up along cobblestone streets. In the center of it, like a spider in its web, sat a large building that bordered on being a castle. It was made of that light grey stone he’d seen in the mountains, with two turrets, battlements, and enough space to house the whole town without much strain.
There were tents—he had not gotten that part wrong—and they were clustered in every available space in and around the town. They were of every size, every color, and people could be seen
coming in and out of them, their cook fires blazing. He watched it all for a moment as they traveled down the slight slope leading into a shallow valley. “Ash.”
“Hmm?”
“How many people did ye say abide here?”
“Five thousand at last count.” Ash paused on the roadway, his trail of logs pausing with him, and he stared with judicious eyes. “I’d say they’ve gained another five hundred since I was last here. Place is growing faster than we can manage, I swear.”
Five hundred in the five days he’d been gone? That was an average of a hundred a day! No wonder the man was desperate for help. “Yer king, he plan to conquer any land? Mayhap move up toward the northern territory?”
“He hasn’t mentioned it,” Ash denied, a puzzled expression on his face. “Why?”
“Ye’d best encourage him to, then.” Broden jerked his chin to indicate the valley spread out below them. “Growing like this, soon ye will no’ have land enough to support them all.”
Ash’s mouth opened, paused, then closed thoughtfully. “You might be right. I’ll talk to him about it.”
They set off again, winding their way down and into the town’s main street. Neither he nor Riana had ever seen a proper town before, and their eyes darted hither and thither, trying to take it all in. He fancied he did a better job of not gawking than his daughter. Her head was like to fall off, it turned about so.
He had a notion that the first few weeks would be brutal to his senses. Cloud’s Rest did good to have three streets to its name, so he had no experience with finding his way in a place like this, where one street crossed another at random, alleys poked their heads out here and there, and the whole place looked to be a copy of some other part of town. It was like to make a man’s head spin, it was. And that did not take into account the sheer noise of the place, like a gathering of angry magpies all fighting over the same shiny thread.
From the way that Riana flinched now and again, hand half-up to her ear, she was not faring any better than he.
Ash did not try to take the logs all the way into the town. Instead, he found a clear patch in a woodworker’s lumber yard on the outskirts and deposited it all there. The place had obviously been built for more than just lumber, as Broden could smell that peculiar scent of metal being forged, but he could not see much through all the logs. As Ash sat them neatly in piles, he called out, “Ho, Tennon!”
Arrows Of Change (Book 1) Page 4