Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2)

by Honor Raconteur

  Broden put his back to her right side, close enough to protect, out enough to give them both the elbow room they needed. The others formed up a rough circle, all keeping their backs to each other, so that they had a defensive ring to fight from. Really, even a strategic novice knew better than to fight like this. It was sheer power on their side that kept them from being overwhelmed.

  The fight was dirty, confusing, but at no point were they in danger of being overwhelmed. Ash and Ashlynn, battle hardened as they were, had spells flying out that took multiple enemies down at once. Gerrard and Kirsty were not quite as comfortable with it, still reaching for spells instead of being able to rattle them off, but they more than held their own. In the space of fifteen minutes, every bandit was down and all that remained was a silence like a graveyard, peppered with their hard breathing.

  Broden had known, intellectually, what the fighting prowess of a wizard was. He had heard that it was Ash and Ashlynn that had kept Estole from being conquered by Iysh. But seeing it with his own eyes was a different matter entirely. The Grey Wolves had been a thorn in his backside ever since he was a toddler. To see them suddenly gone like this, so quickly, felt surreal.

  “Ash.” Riana’s voice sounded almost jarring. “Ye fought better here than in Estole.”

  “I didn’t have to worry about damaging anything or accidentally hitting an ally here,” he observed calmly. “Hmm. That didn’t go well.”

  “It went swimmingly,” his twin denied, satisfied. “I do so enjoy it when justice is served. Broden, you mentioned last night that we should take something with us so we can prove it to the villagers later we did this. What should we take?”

  Broden pointed with his chin to the glaringly bright sign that hung near the front gate. “That.”

  Gerrard strode over and yanked it off, taking the nail with the board. “Is that it?”

  “That’s it.” Ashlynn rubbed her hands together. “Alright, where’s the next one?”

  “Closest one be The Black Seals, I think.” Broden turned in that direction automatically. “More to the east and ye have Crimson Tides.”

  “Black Seals it is.” Ashlynn gestured for him to lead on.

  Broden did but with a sort of resignation. Ash would insist on trying to talk to them, again, and it would end up in a massacre, again. These were hardened criminals, even if they did agree to talk or even made promises, they were not to be trusted. Ashlynn and Gerrard understood that. It was Ash, gentle soul that he was, that could not seem to accept it.

  The Black Seals camp was identical in all ways except that someone had tried to actually paint the buildings at some point in time. The paint was in different hues and now peeling, so it actually made the place look worse. The guards on the gate did not wait for someone to speak but started blowing frantically on a horn. Bandits poured out from every possible crevice and nook, although it took a moment for the boss to arrive. This time it was a woman, who was neither plain nor beautiful. She might have been pretty once, before time had taken its toll on her, and the harsh life she led stripped her of any good humor. Now she had the stare of a basilisk and it raked over the group without any show of mercy. “Some fine victims have wandered in.”

  Ash cleared his throat. “We’re from Estole. We’d like to speak—”

  The boss jerked a thumb across her neck in a cutthroat gesture. “Kill ‘em.”

  Broden shook his head, not surprised. Ash certainly was, that the woman would not even hear him out, but the Black Seals had always been the more ruthless and merciless of the gangs. They killed first and then forgot to send flowers later.

  Once again, they were swarmed, and once again they formed a defensive ring with their backs to each other and fought ferociously to keep from being overwhelmed. This time the fight was a little tougher as they had more opponents to deal with. Broden did not know quite how much time had passed, but it was not more than a half hour before the last body hit the ground. Again, not a soul aside from themselves were left standing. He had a suspicion that a few of the smarter ones had run for it, though. He had caught glimpses of something fleeing east but who and how many were anyone’s guess.

  Gerrard, without prompting, went and yanked off the sign from near the front gate. He tucked it under his arm with the other one. Sweat dewed his skin but he did not seem tired, just a little winded from the exertion. “How many gangs are up here again?”

  “Five,” Riana supplied. “Three, now.”

  “Three more? If they’re all this easy, it should be fine. Lead the way.”

  Riana did so although she took a slightly different trail in than Broden would have chosen, one that brought them to the edge of the camp and did not dump them into plain view of the gates. She paused on the outskirts of the tree line and looked to Ash, a question on her face.

  It was his twin who asked, tone sardonic, “Ash, want to try talking to them again?”

  Her twin blew out a resigned breath. “No, just go.”

  Crimson Tide was as easy to fight with as the Grey Wolves had been. It was over in minutes and their sign was added to the collection under Gerrard’s arm. Broden led them to the Jade Devils’ camp next. They had purposely hit the three largest gangs first and in comparison, the Jade Devils did not even put up much of a fight. The same was true of The Horns. It all happened so quickly that within the course of six hours, the five gangs that had been a threat to Cloud’s Rest—a threat that had lasted longer than living memory—were abruptly destroyed.

  Broden reeled from the shock of it. Even though he had been there for each fight, seeing the camps leveled with his own eyes, it was still unreal to him. It felt like he was in a dream.

  “That was really it?” Kirsty asked as they made their way toward the village. “I mean, I feel like I’ve been gearing up for a fight and then missed it somehow.”

  “Ye no’ be the only one.” Riana shook her head slowly, over and over, as if she could not believe it all either. “I never thought it would take so little time to deal with them all. They have been a plague to Cloud’s Rest for years and now? In the space of a day they be gone.”

  “I be just as shocked, daughter.” Pleasantly so, though. “Wizards be scary beasts when angered.”

  All four wizards grinned at him, pleased with the compliment.

  “You were equally scary,” Ashlynn informed him. “I swear your hands were a blur.”

  “They must have been,” he drawled. “I have an empty quiver.”

  Ashlynn actually had a bounce in her stride as they walked along the twisting trail. “So. Bandits are all gone. Ash, you insisted on being the spokesperson for the village, but do you know what you’re going to say?”

  “More or less.”

  “You are going to warn them to be nice to Broden and Riana?” Ashlynn’s expression became fierce and tight all over again. “Because fighting most of the day hasn’t cooled my temper any. If they are insulted, I won’t sit still.”

  Ash lifted a hand to stall her. “I’ll warn them,” he promised. “From everything that the two of you have told me, though, and based on my own experience here last time, I don’t think this conversation is going to go smoothly. In fact, I expect our whole visit here to be rocky. Dealing with the bandits might well be the easiest part of this whole trip.”

  Broden groaned even as the village walls came within sight. “I would lay odds ye be right on that, lad. Anyone want to bet?”

  “No takers,” Ashlynn denied. She was already tensing up in anticipation of how poorly it would go. Still, she threw her shoulders back and marched ahead. “Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible and then go home.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Ravenscroft. I thought we’d seen the last of ye.” To Riana’s ears, Ombudsman Eden sounded ever so slightly relieved that he was wrong. But then, with both Ravenscrofts gone, there wouldn’t be anyone handy to deal with the bandits. Eden couldn’t kick a life-long habit however and this relief was fleeting. “What be
ye doing back?” he demanded.

  Ash cut in before Broden could say a word, stepping in front of him like a living shield. There was a smile on his face that didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you remember me, Ombudsman? I came up here early this spring to cut down trees.”

  “Aye, I remember ye fine, Wizard. Ye need more lumber?” Eden asked, but he was looking at the rest of the group and obviously wondering what was going on.

  “No. I came up here for entirely different reasons. I would like to discuss those reasons with you and the rest of your village.”

  Eden dipped his head slowly in agreement. “We will hear ye out, Wizard.”

  Ash’s smile became set, like it was carved into a mask. “Before we get to business, I need to address something else first. Ombudsman, when I left, I took Broden and Riana with me. They became wizard-partners in Estole, Riana to me, Broden to my sister there.”

  “Wizard-partners?” Eden repeated as if the words themselves were foreign, as well they might be. Riana had needed Ash to explain it to her as she had never heard of it before he came.

  “I can explain in further depth, if you need me to, but what you must understand in this moment is that the two of them are very precious to us. They are as vital to Estole as we are and are well known and respected in my country.” Here the smile died entirely. “If anyone here offers insult to them, we will not take it kindly or with any tolerance.”

  This confused Eden more, not less. The villagers, looking on, started murmuring to each other in loud whispers and their tones said they were just as confused and a little incredulous that anyone would think to stand up for the archers. Riana hadn’t expected anything different. This attitude of theirs had been passed down from generation to generation. It wouldn’t disappear just because Ash said so. It would take something far more impactful than that.

  But she was also aware that Ash and Ashlynn both were ready to thump the first person that offered them an insult. It was why she watched the pair so carefully. She was ready to catch them before they could lunge at someone.

  Ash cleared his throat, evening out his expression. “I’ve come here as a messenger from the King of Estole. He wishes to establish trade relations with you. Will you hear me?”

  “Now hold on,” Eden objected, “even up here, we heard what be going on. Estole rebelled against Iysh. Ye think ye can offer us trade?”

  “Iysh has sent two armies against us and failed. Iysh hasn’t had anything to do with you in living memory. Why do you care what Iysh wants?” Ash parried neatly.

  Riana eyed him sideways. True, she had given an opinion of how the village would react to the offer, but that response of his was too smooth. He must have been rehearsing this in his head on the walk up here.

  Eden fumbled, rocked back on his heels, and stared at Ash hard. He wasn’t the brightest of men so it took him more than a moment to think of how to respond. “Why offer it to us?”

  “Two reasons. First, we need more food. We’ve had so many people come to Estole that we’re having trouble feeding them all. This mountain has rich soil and people that know how to farm it. You’re a resource we need.”

  The village nodded almost as a whole in agreement. They were satisfied with that answer as it made sense to them.

  “Second,” Ash continued, “the bandits that were here in Cloud’s Rest have taken advantage of the relative isolation of this place for too long. They thought they could use it to their advantage and they attacked us more than once. We feel that if we have an open relationship with you, you can tell us when other bandits try to move into this area, and we can prevent them from building up in force again.”

  “Were here?” Eden repeated, eyes narrowing. “Ye talk as if they were no’ here now.”

  “They aren’t.” Ash gave him a merciless baring of the teeth. “We wiped them out today.”

  Eden choked, spluttered, and threw up his hands in agitation and disbelief. “There be five gangs of them in this area alone!”

  “Not anymore. They dared to attack our country three different times. We got tired of it and came up to deal with it personally.”

  Riana wondered if Ash realized what a formidable picture he presented just then. The bandits were the monster under the bed for Cloud’s Rest. It was the reason why no one wanted to step outside alone, the reason why the Ravenscroft family had been tolerated, not to mention why no one braved the road to Senn without a full escort. To casually say that a group of six people went in and decimated all five gangs was like declaring they could destroy darkness itself.

  Gerrard had been quiet up until this point but when the dumbfounded silence stretched to an uncomfortable length, he stepped forward and spread casually onto the ground the rough signs that each bandit gang had posted to mark their territory. They made a very loud clattering sound as they hit the packed dirt. It shocked a few people enough that they jumped.

  The physical proof in front of their eyes convinced them when nothing else could have.

  It took two clearings of his throat, but Eden finally regained his voice enough to croak, “All gone? Ye sure?”

  “Dead certain.” Ash didn’t smile, which made the macabre pun more nerve-racking. “Well? Knowing that you have nothing more to fear from these five gangs, are you more inclined to talk to us now?”

  Eden straightened his shirt and vest, drew up his shoulders, and tried to look more confident. The effort didn’t quite work as intended. “I can hear ye out. Wife! Bring out some chairs! This way, Wizard.”

  They all followed along, of course, wanting to hear how this would pan out and be able to jump in if they needed to. Eden led them directly to the bakery, the only place in town that had two outside tables, and gestured them into the chairs. The wizards found places readily enough but there weren’t enough chairs for everyone to sit.

  Riana was sure that it was reflex on Ascha’s part. Eden’s wife was the more intolerant out of the villagers and was always the first to chase them away. It wouldn’t occur to her to bring them out chairs as well, even a crude stool. Broden saw the problem immediately and tried to circumvent it by going into the bakery himself to find a pair of chairs.

  Ascha met him in the door and shook an outraged finger at him. “There be no call for the likes of ye to come in here. Ye can stand.”

  Riana’s skin tingled as Ashlynn’s magic roared to life. It came off her in visible waves, bright enough to hurt a person’s eyes.

  “What did you just say to him?” she demanded in a flat voice, magic sparking in arcs.

  Ascha squeaked like a mouse and backpedaled straight into the doorframe, eyes wide as saucers. “I-I—”

  “What. Did. You. Just. Say.” Ashlynn descended in her direction like a fury.

  Broden swore under his breath and grabbed her around the waist, dragging his partner back. “Easy, lass, easy.”

  “I will not stand for any insult against you,” she snarled, trying to get free of his grip without actually hurting him. “Let go!”

  “Lass, breathe,” he urged her patiently, grip like iron. “Habits can no’ change in a day. Hearts take longer than that.”

  “Habit or not, Ash just warned everyone to not insult you. Obviously I have to engrave that on her skin to get it through her head.” Ashlynn squirmed even harder, to no avail. “Let go.”

  Broden grabbed her by the side of her face and forced her head to turn toward his. “Ashlynn.”

  Hearing her name, so rarely used out of his mouth, stopped her dead. Her eyes locked with his, lips parted.

  “Ashlynn,” he repeated, this time gently. “Ye scared the light out of her already. Call it even and let it go.”

  She stared at him a moment more, as if wanting to be stubborn about it, but her magic was already fading around her, a visible sign that she was regaining her lost temper. Finally, she pursed her lips in a pout. “It’s really unfair when you do that. You know that, right?”

  “Aye, lass, I know.” He grinned down at her and let go so t
hat she could find her own center again.

  Not willing to let it completely side, Ashlynn pointed a stern finger at the woman. “We were not jesting earlier. Your behavior toward my archers has been abominable and there was not one good reason for it. It stops now. You don’t have to agree with what I’m saying but you will be courteous.”

  No one dared to ask what the consequence would be if this demand wasn’t met.

  It was Crobin, standing off on the sidelines, that fetched two more chairs and silently placed them nearby. Riana thanked him quietly and dragged them a little closer, making sure that one of them was near Ashlynn so her father could sit on her. She sat next to Ash for the same reason. He hadn’t reacted physically when Ascha spoke, but the spike of anger through their bond had been strong enough to light a bonfire with. Ashlynn had simply beaten him to it, that was all.

  Riana sat slowly, her eyes scanning the village as she did so. It was then that she realized how wise it had been of Ash to have them take care of the gangs first. Because of that, the village was willing to hear them out in spite of the demands they were giving. If not for that, then they would have made no headway.

  Ash cleared his throat. “Ombudsman, we realize that you are rather cut off from the world up here. You only have one road leading up here and it is…patchy in places. I remember it well. We are offering to build a highway that directly connects you to Estole’s settlement. It will give you direct access to the channel, giving you more trade opportunities, and a clear route that is guaranteed to be protected by us all year round.”

  They had the ombudsman’s full attention now. He leaned in a little closer, eyes locked on Ash. “Even winter?”

  “Even then, although granted you probably won’t be getting nearly as much traffic. You will also have access to the wizards that live in Estole and be able to request things of them.” Ash added in a deliberately casual manner, “We have a wizarding school that is being built even as we speak. In a few years, we will have over twenty wizards available for hire.”