Arrows Of Change (Book 1) (22 page)

He was halfway down when the whole building rattled and
shook, like a giant had playfully punched the abbey in the side. It sent his
feet to skittering, too, and it was only desperately clinging to the wall that
saved him from going down the stairs bottom first.

There was a general cry of alarm and panic as the whole
abbey woke up. Some were convinced lightning had struck the place, others
thought that an earthquake had hit them, but regardless—they were all awake
now.

So much for a quiet raid on the place.

Shaking himself back into motion, he managed to get all the
way to the ground before he found himself facing two half-dressed guardsmen,
neither of them particularly pleased to see him. He hadn’t drawn any more
arrows from his quiver while on top, and so was caught a bit short. Instead, he
used his bow like a staff and whirled it about, hitting them in the throats and
up the side of the head, knocking them both unconscious. Trying to avoid a
similar fight, he ducked to the side and under the small overhang, guarding the
door that would lead to the horses. There he stayed perfectly still, knowing
that it was motion that caught a man’s eye faster than any other thing.

As he stood there, he fretted about his near empty quiver.
He had another on his horse that was stock full, but he did not dare try to go
and fetch it now. They could come through any minute, after all, and some
arrows were better than none at all.

It seemed an eternity, but finally his group broke through
to the courtyard. Broden used the last three arrows in his quiver to cover them
as they raced past and through the open doorway. He stayed just long enough to
make sure that everyone was out, and then he followed.

Ashlynn spelled the door shut as he raced for his horse.
Then there was a percussive sound, like a drum had been slapped hard. He
glanced over his shoulder to see that she had broken a part of the wall so that
it covered the door, making it impossible for anyone to follow them. Through
that door, at least.

With a voice loud enough to put any army commander to shame,
the wizard bellowed, “RIDE!”

Of course, they did not have a clean escape. In fact, they
barely got out of the city and into the southern end of the foothills before
the enemy caught up.

“Ashlynn!” Broden jerked a thumb over his shoulder to
indicate the men hot on their trail.

She nodded back grimly. She’d seen them already, eh? But she
did not slow her pace, so he had no idea what the lass was planning. Did she
want to stop in a particular spot on the road? He could not make sense of that,
as every part of the highway was like every other part. There was not enough
difference to make a man sit up and take notice. Surely her plan was not to get
all the way to the boat.

Ashlynn lifted the necklace on her throat and spoke into it,
her voice clear as a bell in his ear. “Everyone take a sharp right at this bend
in the road and get off the highway. I want to have as much distance between us
and the foothills as we can before they catch up with us.”

He saw sense in the order as she spoke. They had no
guarantee that there was not another party in the foothills waiting to ambush
them. If the Iyshian king knew enough about their plans to send several squads
to waylay them, then would he not be able to at least guess which route they’d
take on their way back?

Of course, they would not be able to get too far, as the
Trilakes would bar them in. Still, Broden preferred to have the lake at his
back rather than the foothills. Unless Iyshian soldiers had learned how to grow
gills, the water was a safer bet.

With three wounded women doubling up, they did not have the
speed of mounted cavalry. The soldiers caught up quicker than he cared for,
leaving them close to the lake’s beach but not on it. Ashlynn gave the sharp
command of, “Guard my sisters!” before she spun her horse around in a tight
circle and then pulled it to a halt, hooves sliding in the loose mud.

Broden ignored the order—it did not apply to him. He turned
and followed her, stopping just behind and off to the left, giving her room to
fight and him to shoot.

Ashlynn stood in her stirrups and spoke a sharp command, the
air glowing and humming right in front of her. It grew like a wall, but one
without a sharp outline, as tall as a man on horseback, and as long as a felled
log. While Broden agreed a shield would be a fine thing to have at the moment,
he had to wonder why she did not put up something that would cover them all.
Was it just too large a thing for her to make? Or…he glanced behind as the
thought occurred that mayhap there were people in the group with no tolerance
for magic. Could be she would hurt or drive mad one of her own by putting a
shield above their heads.

Either way, it was obviously his job to watch her back and
make sure that nothing got past that wall she’d put up.

Looking forward, he grimly started counting heads. One, two,
three…five…three back there—looked like a dozen altogether. Not a bad response
time on the city’s part. Or the abbot’s, if these men were his.

The enemy commander skidded to a stop, his horse almost
sitting on its haunches in its effort to go from a run to an abrupt halt. He
looked near in age to Broden, grey hair plastered to his scalp because of the
rain. “Return them!” he shouted, his voice like a thunderclap. “Return them,
and we will let you return to your country!”

Ashlynn stayed standing in the stirrups as she snarled back,
“You kidnapped my sisters and held them captive, and you think I’ll meekly turn
them over?!”

“Those women are kin to Edvard Knolton, the Betrayer of Iysh!”

Ho? Edvard be having some fancy title now. Borden made a
note to pass it along—he was sure his new king would get a kick out of it—even
as he drew two arrows and readied his bow, prepared to fire at a moment’s
notice.

His wizard looked ready to take a few heads off. Her eyes
narrowed to mere slits, mouth in a straight line. Broden made note of that look
for future reference—if his lass ever looked at him like that, he’d run for the
hills.

In an eerily calm voice she announced, “I am Ashlynn
Fallbright, Court Wizard of Estole and blood sibling to Edvard Knolton.”

The other side stirred restlessly, and more than one man
looked ready to bolt when he realized just who it was that he was facing. Oh,
they probably did not know the lass’s reputation just from her name, but any
fool could figure it out by the title she tacked on at the end. Broden started
hoping that cowardice would prevail and they’d have second thoughts about
tangling with this group. There’d been enough blood shed already coming down.
They did not need more on their hands.

“I repeat,” Ashlynn raised one hand and let it glow, bright
enough to put a torch to shame. “Retreat back to your city. Allow my party to
pass. I will not show you leniency a second time.”

The commander’s reply was lost on Broden. Something else
caught his attention instead.  Ashlynn had her eyes locked on the enemy
commander, but Broden never looked at just one man. His eyes caught a movement
from the very back, and saw that two men were hiding behind their fellows and
drawing crossbows.

In that moment, he realized that the commander was talking
to simply distract her. As soon as she dropped that shield, they’d fire, and
there would not be a thing anyone could do to save her after that. Grimly, he rose
up in his stirrups as well, drew his bow in a smooth motion and fired in an arc
over the front row of riders. He fired in quick succession, aiming for the two
he knew were ready to cause trouble.

Because he wasn’t sure what type of shield Ashlynn had
raised, his arrows arced over it as well, smoothly gliding through the air with
a piercing whistle before it found its mark in the men’s shoulders. They
screamed in near unison as the arrows hit and the crossbows dropped to the
ground with heavy
thunks
.

Ashlynn did not ask any questions but simply changed her
shield’s length, widening it so that the other side could not get around it at
all. Then with a flick of her fingers, she sent it toward the group.

No man could outrun it, the shield moved so quickly. As it
hit them, the enemy soldiers either flinched, or they became violently sick,
some even shuddering and dropping out of their saddles to retch on the ground.
Those Broden ignored, as a sick man offered no real threat. He shot the three
men who only flinched and tried to charge forward, his arrows finding quick
homes in the shoulders or chests.

The commander was one that took an arrow in the chest, near
the right breast pocket, and he clutched at it with one hand as he gasped with
pain. Behind gritted teeth, he accused Ashlynn, “You signaled your man to
attack us while you distracted me, thinking that we could negotiate!”

“No, that was your tactic, I think.” Ashlynn shot a
questioning look toward Broden, who nodded in grim confirmation. “Fortunately
for me, my partner is a paranoid man and not one to fall for tricks like that.
Now, sir, your choice. Do I kill the rest of your men, or do you pick up your
sick and wounded and retreat peacefully back to the city? Be forewarned that
I’m inclined to kill you. I’m in a bad mood. I think I’d feel better if I took
my anger and frustrations out on you.”

From that look in her eye, she wasn’t kidding. The commander
seemed to realize that as he lifted a hand and swore, “By Macha’s Sword, I will
not try to attack you or anyone in your party. You are free to return home.”

No man would make such an oath with the intent to break it.
Macha was the god of horsemanship, battle, and sovereignty, and not a god that
took being mocked well. Satisfied, Ashlynn motioned to her people and said,
“Go.”

They went, Konrath taking lead as he had more knowledge of
this area of the country than anyone else did. They rode for perhaps another
mile or so, until the ship came in sight. There was no real beach, just gravel
and rock, and apparently the water was deep enough for the boat to anchor in. A
gangplank was already extended, and the crew was lined up along the railing,
obviously waiting on them.

“Wounded on board first.” Ashlynn reined to a stop and slid
off her horse while snapping out commands. “Marissa, Seth, set a quick
perimeter. Broden, take a lookout position. I need about twenty minutes to heal
them properly, and it has to be done right. Otherwise we’ll have very sick
people two days from now. Tant, get me clean water. Everyone else, help get the
horses on board.”

Broden went back to where they had come, taking up a
position that allowed him to see the road while giving him a little cover
behind a small rise, just in case. Seth joined him a moment later and asked in
an undertone, “Were they really trying to distract her and then attack us?”

“Two men cranked up crossbows.”

“Oh.” Seth pondered that for a moment. “Why did you shoot
over her shield?”

“Lass has two different types of shields. One for magic, one
for weapons. I had no way of knowing which she’d put up back there.”

“And you were afraid that if it was the weapon’s shield,
your arrow wouldn’t go through?” Seth hazarded.

“Aye.”

“Alright, come on board!” Tant called to them.

Well, that had been quick work. Broden was surprised they
got the horses on board and sorted that fast. Still with a weather eye on the
foothills, he obediently walked the gangplank and onto the ship.

In all his born days, Broden had never been on a ship
before. Oh, he’d seen them a time or two—but they had not been anything
compared to this. Amber (she being the one that found the captain and bartered
their passage) had called it a
schooner
, whatever that be. All Broden
could tell was that it was large, long enough to fit seven horses and eighteen
people, although it was a bit tight. There were three masts and a half dozen
sails altogether, but the ship seemed sound and waterproof under his feet. The
way the crew scrambled around each other and their passengers, getting the
anchor up and the gangplank drawn back in, spoke of experience. They did not
call out to each other, or ask questions, just simply did the job. Their
efficiency put many of his doubts to rest, but he couldn’t shake his unease off
completely. The experience of having nothing but water and wood under him was
too new for him to really relax.

Finding himself in the way, he tried different areas of the
deck, but always seemed to be in the wrong place and tripping over other
people. Finally, he ended up on the upper section of the decking and behind the
helmsman, who was also their captain. The man was short and stout, greying
beard but dark haired, face lined by age and sun. He spoke in a growl or a
shout, but never with unkind words. Broden had a good feeling about the man,
but did not try to speak to him, just watched him and the shoreline, an eye out
for potential trouble.

They left the land behind, sailing for the center of the
lake. Broden could see the far shoreline, barely, in the strong moonlight. If
he remembered his geography right, Overa was on the other side of the lake, but
they had no cause to leave Trenena. At least, not yet. That might change,
depending on how things played out.

The wind picked up, the sails snapped taut, and the boat
picked up speed to where a trotting horse would barely be able to keep up.
Broden relaxed a hair when he realized that no one from Lorand was trying to
catch up with them. There was not a flicker of movement from the shore, and
they were too far out for anyone to pursue them now.

The captain too, had fallen silent, and was simply steering
now. This might be the right time to ask a question. “Ye be a fine man for
helping us out of a tight spot.”

Glancing over his shoulder, the captain’s beard twitched
upwards, as if under all of that hair he was smiling. “That pretty brunette
lass said ye were rescuing the blonde lass’s sisters. Be that truth?”

“Aye. Although how they came to be held in an abbey of all
places, I can no’ ken.”

“Oh, that abbot be a corrupt soul. Everyone in town knows
it, too. It be no surprise to me the man would hold young lasses captive. How
the man holds his position,
that
be what I can no’ ken.” With a sad
shake of the head, the captain dismissed this. “Gause, Captain of the
West
Wind.
Pleasure to have ye on board.”

Broden gave him a duck of the head. “Broden Ravenscroft. May
harmony find ye, Captain Gause.”

Gause seemed pleased by Broden’s polite response. “Good
people, yer lot. Always a kind word from all of ye. Bit worried I be, at first,
when yer lass came to me. But seems I be doing a good service after all. She
could no’ tell me where ye be headed, though. Right now, we be sailing for Lakepoint?”

Spreading his hands, Broden responded, “We be no’ sure what
our options be once we reach Lakepoint. It depends on what be there. If we can,
it be best to take a flatboat to The Grove, and then go home across land from
there. But if there be no flatboats that can take us…”

“Then ye either cut across land on horseback, or go by sea?”
Gause hazarded. Stroking his beard thoughtfully, he offered, “This time of
year, odds be good that ye can catch a flatboat. But no flatboat can take on
all of ye and the horses. Like as no’, ye will need two—one for the horses, one
for the people.”

Broden had even less experience with flatboats than he did
with ships, so had to take Gause’s word for it. But surely the man would know,
as this was his business. “Eh, then can ye guess what it would cost a man to
hire two?”

“Oh, depends on the captain. A young one will no’ charge ye
as much, as he be still making a name for himself, y’see. He be willing to take
any work that came his way. An older man, well, he might charge ye more, as he
be more in demand. But this be the time of the year when the river be fullest,
and the flatboats can load up heavy without worrying about dragging bottom.
Like as no’, ye can find two to hire.”