In a quiet voice, she finally stated, “Your partner is a selfish one. She keeps you busy in a place that confuses you. You’re far more comfortable here.”
A gentle soul, this one, in spite of her violent ways. He grinned and patted her on the back of the head. “The madness will no’ last forever, lass. When things settle, I can come and go here as I like.”
She turned unfathomable eyes on him, expression closed. “You truly don’t regret it? Coming here? I know there’s been times when you’ve been beyond angry and frustrated.”
“Lass, life be frustration. It just how it be. In Estole, I have a safe place to lay my head, good food, and people that be friendly and welcoming. That be all that a man really wants in life.” Pausing, he studied her and realized that she was truly worried about this. Now, what had gotten this notion into her head? Had someone said something to her? “Well, if it be a complaint ye be looking for, I do have one.”
Ashlynn visibly braced herself. “What is it?”
“It be a hardship on a man when his partner be pretty.”
She rolled her eyes. “Broden, be serious.”
“I be!” he responded, doing his best to put a serious face on. “Lass, do ye no’ realize how much of my time be eaten up beating off the men? Do a man a favor, will ye? Try to be a little uglier on a day-to-day basis. It will save me considerable effort.”
Broden was teasing, yes, but Ashlynn saw through that and realized he was sincere. While he missed being able to just freely go around the forest, he did not miss it enough to trade it for the place he had carved for himself in Estole. He would not go back to it. Her tension relaxed and her expression softened. “As long as you don’t regret it.”
He patted her head again because he knew she liked those gentle, reassuring touches. Content again, she gave him a quick smile and then bounced back to ask her brother a question. As she went, he watched her and caught Gerrard’s eye in the process. The wizard master had a question on his face but Broden shook his head slightly, indicating nothing was wrong. And nothing was. The only constancy that Ashlynn had in her life when it came to relationships was her siblings and Gerrard. Everyone else had been transitory. It was only theory on his part, but he suspected that it was because of that she sometimes worried he would be the same: only temporary. It scared her even though she knew he could not easily leave, not with them magically connected like this. So she would come to him and voice some comment, although most of the time they were not that direct. He would give her the reassurance she needed and then she would go on her way again, confidence restored.
From what Riana said, Ash did something similar, although not with words. If he felt insecure for whatever reason, he would reach out and hold onto her. Broden might not have raised his daughter in the best environment, but the one thing that was always rock sure for her was the love and support of her parents. What had the twins’ mother been doing, that even as adults they were plagued with these insecurities?
Gerrard was not satisfied by that shake of the head and caught up enough so he could whisper, “What was that about?”
Broden gave him a level look, although he had to crane his neck up a little to do it. The other man was taller. “She be fine.”
“Ashlynn does not, in my experience, look insecure about anything. So what was that about?”
Oh? Had Gerrard never seen Ashlynn show a weaker side? Now that was interesting. “She gets a notion, now and again, that mayhap I regret coming to Estole. There be no truth in it, but I reassure it when it comes, and she be fine afterwards.”
“Ahhh, those moments.” Gerrard said this with perfect understanding. “She had those with me, when she first came to the academy. Of course, she was only a little girl then, I thought she’d grown out of them completely.”
“With ye, aye.” Curious, Broden could not help but ask, “How long did it take afore she grew confident with ye?”
“About a year, if I recall correctly.” Gerrard frowned at the ground, struggling to remember. “Ash took a little longer. Has Riana been experiencing the same things with him?”
“Aye, from time to time.”
“Odd, I thought a magical bond between all of you would have stopped that from happening.”
Broden shook his head. He was not surprised in the slightest. “Wounds to the heart do no’ heal that fast.”
“Or easily,” Gerrard sighed. “Really, considering how rocky their childhood was, it’s amazing how well they turned out.”
The words were sincere enough, but why did he feel… “Ye take credit for that.”
“Of course,” Gerrard responded, all innocent-like. “Who else can take the credit?”
Broden snorted. The man had enough confidence for three people. Maybe it did rub off on them. “Now that we have the time, I have a question for ye. Some of yer students be in their twenties but ye be teaching them basic things, I noticed.”
“That’s not a question, but I understand what you’re driving at. Yes, some of my students are far older than the others and still beginners. Iysh has a great many rules about learning magic, and unfortunately most wizarding schools cost an arm and a leg. When I stumble across someone with the talent, but not the money or social position for it, I snap them up and work out a deal with their parents so I can teach them. Frankly, having untrained wizards running about is stupid. They’re bound to cause accidents, for one, but it’s a waste of potential too.” Lowering his voice, he confided, “Technically, Ash and Ashlynn should not have been taught. The reason why they went to my school, aside from the fact that we have an excellent reputation, is that I would take them. Most of the other academies wouldn’t because of their origins.”
Broden considered for a moment what the world would have been like if those two had not been taught. Estole would never have been a country, he and Riana would still be up in the mountains fighting with bandits and eking out an existence in Cloud’s Rest. It would have been a much darker place. He shuddered, throwing off the mental image. “I do no’ care to think of what the world would be like if that had happened.”
“Scares the light right out of me,” Gerrard admitted. “And you didn’t see them as children. They were already figuring things out and making magical sparks happen. Worse, they were doing it in tandem. It would have been magical mayhem unleashed if I hadn’t accepted them. The duke was adamant about me taking them immediately and I understood why after I saw them.” Frankly, he added, “I think he also liked the idea of having two wizards all to himself that he didn’t have to jump through hoops to get.”
That was as likely as the other, from what Broden knew of the man.
They walked in silence for a while. Broden could hear a lively discussion going on behind him about building a highway. Riana was describing what they would come across, the lake and the river, and the shallow fords that a bridge could be built over. The three wizards were conferring with each other about gradients and how much effort it would take to clear a path, building materials they would need, and so forth. Broden only followed about half of it. The way they spoke, excited and focused, said to him that they thought it would be an easy task, which was encouraging.
“Broden.” Gerrard formed his words carefully before voicing them. “Neither you nor Riana seem very…enthused about going home. Ashlynn made a comment before to me that suggests you weren’t well treated there. What are we walking into?”
True, in the time they had known the man, no one had really told him the Ravenscroft family history. And considering where they were going, it was best to fill him in. “I will tell ye, but best we tell Kirsty too.” Turning his head, he called her. “Kirsty! Come a moment, I need to speak with ye.”
The wizard cocked her head, questioning, but went into a lope long enough to catch up on his right side. “What is it?”
“Has me daughter explained what Cloud’s Rest be like?”
“She focused on telling us more about the bandits. She didn’t say much about the vil
lage itself. Why?”
Right then. Broden filled them in on everything he thought was pertinent although he spared them the nitty gritty details. It took the better part of an hour before he stopped.
Kirsty’s mouth hung open in indignation and surprise. “They’re really like that? That’s insane! How is everything your family’s fault?”
“Scapegoats, that’s what you were.” Gerrard shook his head in sympathy. “Now I understand why you’re not keen on going back. Does Ashlynn know all of this?”
“Bare bones of it, aye.”
“You realize, that if we walk into that village and they start treating you like they were, my former students are going to lose their tempers completely. They absolutely adore both of you and they’re not going to take any insult to you well.”
Broden managed a smile although it felt more like a grimace. “Gerrard, I trust ye to stop them before they level the place.”
“Me?” Gerrard objected in a near squawk. “How about you stop them?”
“I don’t think you should stop them at all,” Kirsty declared, her own temper rising. “I think they deserve what’s coming to them.”
Surprised by this ferocity, he cocked an eyebrow at Kirsty. Now, when had he developed such close ties to the lass that she would feel so?
Seeing his reaction, Kirsty softened enough to explain. “Broden, you have been an unfailing friend and, well, almost a mentor since I came into Estole. Whenever something happened, you were right there to help me through it. I know you only did it because you needed my help and I am Ashlynn’s friend, but it was still very kind of you. Riana has been just as kind ever since I met her. Is it strange I feel defensive?”
He had felt before that he liked the lass, but hearing her declaration firmed his opinion. “No, lass. No’ at all. I rather feel the same.” She blushed and did not seem to quite know how to respond to it. So, more teasingly, he added, “But try to rein it in, eh? It be hard enough to stop Ashlynn when she gets a mad on.”
“I heard that!” Ashlynn called from behind him. “And I’ll have you know I only use violence as an appropriate response!”
Ash doubled over in a belly laugh. Gerrard chuckled openly too. Broden had to bite his lips to keep from joining them.
“You three will pay for laughing,” she warned direly, shaking a fist.
Broden turned enough to walk backwards a few steps, objecting, “I be no’ laughing.”
She glared back, jaw set. “I can feel your amusement clearly, don’t give me that innocent, wide-eyed look of yours.”
There were drawbacks to magical bonds, apparently. It could get a man in trouble.
“Really!” Ashlynn grumbled to herself. “You’d think I was a rampaging monster, the way they carry on.”
“No,” Ash denied around laughs, “you’re scarier.”
For that, his sister punched him in the arm.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ash leaned up against the same tree that Broden was currently sitting in and whispered up to him, “Broden. Confess.”
Broden spared him a glance, but nothing more than that. He was using his vantage to count how many bandits were currently in the Grey Wolves’ camp. From what he could see, it was about half of their usual number, which should mean they had everyone home today. After all, they had lost half in Estole when they had attacked the settlement. “Confess what, lad?”
“The reason why you said we should take out the bandits first was because you’re hoping that after we deal with them, Ashlynn will be too tired to want to fight the village afterwards.”
Well, that was part of it. Wait. “Correct me if I be wrong, lad, but ye be the one adamant about talking to them first. If talks go well, yer sister will no’ have anyone to fight with.”
“You know as well as I do that talking to them probably won’t do any good,” Ash responded, torn between resignation and determination.
Broden blinked. That was a very different stance than what Ash had taken last night around the campfire. He dared to shift his position so he could look down at Ash’s face. “If ye feel that way, then why be we planning to talk to them?”
“Because that’s how law works,” Ash said simply. “In order for it to be a law, then you have to give someone notice, give them the chance to avoid becoming a criminal. It’s only after you’ve notified them, and they disregard it, that you can punish them. If we don’t notify them, if we don’t say something to them first, then we become the lawless ones.”
To others, this argument might sound ridiculous, but Broden understood what made Ash say all of this. Cloud’s Rest didn’t really have laws. One might argue that there were certain moral codes that should be observed no matter what land or culture a man found himself in, but still, there were ‘common sense’ things in every land that did not carry over to another. Ash knew that these mountains had not seen a true ruling hand in generations. There were no laws in place here that anyone enforced. It was his sense of justice, of right and wrong, that forced him to at least give the bandits here formal notice before attacking.
Broden respected it even if he did not fully agree with it. So he grunted an acknowledgement even as he went back to viewing the camp. “From what I see here, there be about forty in the camp.”
Riana was in a different tree altogether, on the opposite side, also getting a headcount. It had been months since he used this signal, and it felt a little rusty and familiar at the same time as he lifted his hands to his mouth and gave a shrill whistle that sounded like birdsong.
What came back was the same whistle, only in four short bursts before trailing off, mimicking a cardinal’s cry.
“You’re a scary good imitator,” Gerrard complimented him. “I thought that actually was a bird for a moment.”
“It be a lifelong practice.” Broden hopped out of the tree and reported, “Riana says there be forty or so. What say ye? Front gates?”
“Might as well.”
Bandit camps up here did not really have much of a formal structure. In fact, they all rather looked alike, probably because they only had limited supplies to use for building. The buildings were roughly constructed, canvas being used to cover any gaps, and the ‘fence’ was nothing more than branches nailed to trees to form a rough sort of oval shape. There were few defensible locations up here that had access to running water, which was partially why the bandits latched onto certain territories and did not let go of them. The other part, of course, was that it would be impossible to survive a winter in makeshift camps. They might make it alright in Estole but not up here. The snow got deep indeed in Cloud’s Rest.
Broden had indeed counseled that they deal with the bandits first but not for the reason that Ash said. The bandits were their priority and Broden wanted them gone before they had the chance to leave and hit the settlement again. Also, dealing with the villagers would be difficult enough without the problem of the bandits hanging over their heads. Ash had readily agreed but for entirely different reasons. Or so he suspected. The man had spent most of the trip up here either asking questions or thinking.
Whatever Ash had planned out for Cloud’s Rest would have to wait. They had bandits to deal with first.
Broden caught sight of a head of blond hair marching for the front gate (if you could describe such a helter-skelter collection of logs as such) and swore. “The lass be heading in.”
Ash and Gerrard both joined him for a brief second before dropping any pretense of lurking in the trees and scrambling down the short hill after her. Broden was quick to do likewise, although he stopped long enough to make sure he knew where Riana was. She had, thankfully, chosen to follow after Ashlynn, and of course Kirsty was right on her heels. He would rather have them all within sight instead of out here alone, vulnerable to being ambushed from behind.
They caught up ten feet from the gate. The two men standing guard were staring at the women like they were sure someone was playing tricks on them.
Ashlynn stopped dead, cr
ossing her arms over her chest, and glared at them impatiently. “Who is your leader? Bring him out so I can talk with him.”
Leaning in, Ash whispered fiercely to her, “You were supposed to wait!”
“On what?” she hissed back from the side of her mouth. “There’s only forty of them. If four wizards and two archers can’t handle this, we shouldn’t have come to begin with.”
The man on the right, looking rather shabby if robust, turned his head enough to holler, “Hey boss!”
“What?” a sour voice called back.
“We got a woman out here who wants to talk with ye!”
There was a muted, “Huh?” of disbelief and then someone lumbered out of his seat and toward the gate.
Broden recognized the man instantly, having crossed paths with him multiple times before, but did not know his name. There was a flash of recognition in a pair of brown eyes as the bandit boss looked them over, but he focused on Riana, being someone that he knew and had chances of intimidating. “Be it ye that called me out?”
Ashlynn took a step forward, chin lifted. “I called you out. My name is Ashlynn Fallbright. I’m a wizard from Estole. Your gang recently attacked us.”
“Estole, eh.” The boss’s eyes narrowed, jaw working. “Aye, we did. Come to repay the favor?”
Trying to stall the inevitable, Ash cut in. “They paid for their mistake with their lives. We’re here to negotiate with you. We have terms. You negotiate with us, we leave each other alone in peace, and there won’t be any problem.”
The boss threw his head back and roared with laughter. Broden had more or less predicted this reaction and started stealthily reaching for arrows. In about twenty seconds, he would need them.
Still laughing, the boss lifted a horn that was hanging off his belt and blew on it. That signaled every man within range and they came pouring out of the camp like rats escaping a sinking ship.
Ashlynn let out a whoop. “Let’s take down some bandits!”
Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) Page 23