Arrows Of Change (Book 1) (6 page)

Ash rubbed a hand over his face in a weary, frustrated
gesture. “Let’s go inside, get something hot to eat, and change into clean
clothes. I’ll call Ashlynn and have her meet us in our rooms.”

“Call?” Broden repeated blankly. Did the man mean to sound a
horn or some such?

“Magic.”

“Ah.” That was answer enough for him.

Turning, the wizard led the way through the gates. As he did
so, he picked up the gold amulet that hung about his neck and put it near his
lips. “Ashlynn? Yes, I’m home. I have a lot to tell you and two people to
introduce to you, so can you meet us in our rooms? Thanks. No, it’s all good
news. Right? For once, it’s all good news. Sure.”

Broden let these words flow past his ears without any real
notice as he took in the courtyard. Fancy-looking place. Lots of little stone
benches, water fountains, and pretty flowerbeds here and there. The whole lot
was covered in granite flagstone. He’d have no qualm eating a meal off the
stones, the place was kept so clean. Quite a feat to manage with all the chaos
outside.

Ash led them confidently across the courtyard and to a door
that was thick as a man’s arm, carved elaborately with a family crest. Edvard’s
family crest, belike. When they went through, the inside was filled with more
polished flagstone, flowers in vases on every surface, and arched ceilings
overhead. It felt like walking into a mountain cathedral, it did. The air felt
slightly cooler in here, damper, as if the sun could not warm the inside of
this house in spite of all the windows.

Riana seemed to find it pretty, judging from that look on
her face. He could only see all the places a good assassin could hide. Worse,
the place was near impossible to sneak through. Every footstep he made rang
like a dull bell.

They went directly up a flight of stairs without pausing,
then down a short hallway and to the last door, this one a thinner version of
the one downstairs. Ash pushed it open, saying as he did, “You’re welcome to
wait here for a moment. I’ll have someone send some food up. There’s a room
just through there,” he raised a hand to point, “if you want to wash up and
change.”

After three days on the road with no soap to wash with,
Broden admitted a chance to scrub up and change clothes would be a fine thing.

“Be back in a few moments,” Ash promised before scooting
past them and heading back downstairs.

This room did not look like the rest of the place. It felt
more homey and welcoming. There were worn-in chairs near a fireplace, soft rugs
on the floor, and even a whole bookshelf full of books, which was a rare sight.
Broden felt more relaxed here than anywhere else in Estole.

“Daughter?” he asked with a cock of the head toward the
inner door.

“Oh, if ye be offering, I will take it.” With a wink, she
slipped through the door and shut it behind her. Only a split second later, he
heard a moan of bliss and her voice floating through the wood, “Da, there be
hot water in here!”

He chuckled. “The man be a wizard, dearheart, what did ye
expect? For him to wash in cold?”

She ignored him, too wound-up in hot water, soap, and
privacy. Shaking his head and chuckling, he doffed his pack, bow, quiver, and
coat off to the side before sitting in a chair near the fireplace. Little more
than embers glowed in the hearth, but it felt good to sit on something padded.

He enjoyed the silence and privacy after having three days
of neither. Ah, it be a fine thing for a man to have space with his own
thoughts for a spell. If he had a tankard to balance on his knee and a fire
going, it would be even better.

So, that had been the new king, eh? He struck Broden as a
good sort, like Tennon—a man that would be a decent neighbor and friend. He was
not arrogant or self-important, but seemed kind, as Ash had described him. Of
course, Broden had sort of expected him to be. A man that could inspire
thousands of people to rebel against Iysh would have to be likeable.

The patter of light footsteps came from the other side of
the door. Broden’s ear cocked in that direction and he frowned. That was not
Ash returning. It could be the twin, or it could be someone else altogether.
Not one to be caught unawares, he got to his feet. Taking up quiver and bow, he
nocked an arrow and stood waiting as the door flung open.

A pretty blonde woman around the age of his Riana took a
step inside the room before she abruptly halted, blue eyes flaring wide. She
dropped into a fighter’s stance—with glowing hands. This must be Ash’s twin.
The resemblance between the two was uncanny.

“Who are you?” she demanded, voice light and smooth even
though she clearly meant to sound threatening.

“Broden Ravenscroft, I be. Be I speaking to Ashlynn
Fallbright?”

“You are,” she answered, suspicions not eased a whit.

“Ah, that be fine, then.” He lowered the bow and restored
the arrow to the quiver. “Yer brother brought us here, me daughter and me.”

She took him in from head to toe, eyes lingering on the bow
still in his hands. “Is that right. And why would he do that?”

“He has a notion or two about us being partners for ye
both.”

Her mouth fell open. “Partners?!”

“Aye. Me and me daughter, we stood within his shield without
flinching. Felt nice, actually. After he saw that, he dragged us here, taking
nothing but ‘aye’ for an answer.”

Her eyes darted to his forehead. “I see two marks on you.
Come here, let me take them off. I want to test this for myself.”

Amiable, he crossed over to her. “Be yer magic so different
from his, then?”

“Well, not really. But that’s because we’re twins. Most
wizards’ magic is different from wielder to wielder. Which is why not all
partners can change to a different wizard.”

Made sense. No two men were just alike, after all.

With nothing more than a flick of the fingers and a muttered
word, Ashlynn removed both marks that Ash had set. Then she raised her shield
with him still standing almost nose-to-nose with her. He blinked at the speed
of it, but it did not feel any different from the last shield he’d been inside.

Ashlynn stared up at him in wonder. “Storm and winds, I see
why he dragged you here! You really don’t think anything of it. Amazing. I’ve
never seen a man better suited to being a partner than you. And you say your daughter
is just like you?”

“Aye. She be the first one to test it.”

Something that could have been tears welled in Ashlynn’s
clear blue eyes. She blinked and stepped back, her shield dissipating. “It’s a
relief to meet you, Broden Ravenscroft. I cannot tell you how much. I assume
that Ash has tested you and you’ve proven to be a good fighter?”

“Aye. Saved him from a dozen bandits.”

“That’s proof enough,” she agreed with a dry smile. “Well.
Will you partner with him, then?”

“We have no’ decided on partners yet,” he cautioned her.
“But yer king requested I go with ye at first. He said I could scare people in
line by just standing next to ye.”

“Oh.” Ashlynn gave him another sweep of the eyes. “It’s true;
you look perfectly capable of breaking bones. I certainly wouldn’t choose to
cross you. People don’t tend to take me seriously until I start breaking
buildings.”

The casual way she said that sent a chill up his spine.
Break
buildings
?

“So you met Edvard already? Good. Before we go out, I’d like
to meet your daughter, perhaps spar with both of you to get a feel for how you
move. Then I’ll explain the situation as best I can before we go back out
again. Is that fine with you?”

“At least give the man enough time to eat a decent meal and
clean up, sis,” Ash scolded her gently from the doorway. “We’ve only just
arrived.”

“Ash.” Ashlynn spun like a dancer before launching herself
at her twin, hugging the man tightly around the neck. “You wonderful man! I
need to send you out for things more often; you always come back with more than
you’re supposed to.”

“These two were a fluke,” Ash protested, trying to breathe
while his sister half-strangled him. He was smiling as he tried to win free.

“It always is, with you. I want your luck.” Bouncing back,
she beamed at him. “So? Where’s this daughter-partner?”

“Cleaning up.” Ash jerked a thumb to indicate the closed
door.

“Was it such a rough trip here?” Ashlynn darted a look at
Broden. “I mean, if you greeted me at the door with a drawn bow, then—”

“You did what?!” Ash demanded incredulously.

“Did no’ recognize the footsteps,” Broden explained without
apology. “Keep yer hair on, lad. I would no’ have shot her till I knew she be
foe and no’ friend.”

Ashlynn sighed dreamily. “A man after my own heart. Maybe
Edvard’s right and we really should be partners instead of you being my
brother’s.”

“The fact that you two think alike frankly scares me,” Ash
said in a thin voice.

Ashlynn Fallbright was a firebrand. It took Riana all of a
minute to realize it. The woman was sweet to look at, with an angelic face and
voice, but she was the sort to throw a curse first and apologize later. She was
so different from Ash, who approached life with more caution, that if not for
the fact they looked akin to each other, Riana wouldn’t have believed they were
kin at all.

Ash gave his sister a brief accounting of how he’d met them
and what their abilities were, and she listened intently without trying to ask
a single question. Only after he’d subsided did she turn those clear blue eyes
to Riana. “So. You’re an archer of good skill like your father, eh? Are you
better?”

“Depends,” she answered promptly, not at all flustered by
the question. “Me eyes be sharper, so over long distances, I be the better. But
if it be speed ye want, then Da be the one.”

“Just practice,” Broden stated with a simple shrug. “Give yerself
another ten years or so, daughter, and ye will be just as quick.”

Taking this in, Ashlynn next asked the question that
everyone usually wanted to ask. “So, how many arrows can you get in the air at
once?”

“Now, lass, that depends.” Her da’s eyes got that twinkle
that said he found the question amusing instead of irritating. “It be no’ a
matter of quickness of hand, y’see. It be more a matter of distance. If ye give
me enough distance, I can have three in the air at once.”

“I can only manage two at the moment,” Riana put in as an
aside.

Ash’s eyes crossed. “
Three
? Well. If it were my
choice, I’d prefer to take a few hours and spar with you, get a good feel for
how you move. But honestly, I probably shouldn’t have sat down at all. Things
are that hectic in the city.”

“Ashlynn.” Riana leaned forward, arms braced on her knees.
“What be we up against?”

“Madness.” Ashlynn’s mouth twisted into a grim line. “You
both have to understand, this was
not
what we intended when Edvard
decided to claim independence of Iysh. We wanted to overturn the Bindings,
certainly, but not all of them! Not all at once, anyway. After all, we had
nothing to replace them with. Edvard and I went through the laws and struck out
the ones that we felt were too heinous or unneeded, but some of them were
sound. We were planning to modify the laws rather than come up with a whole new
system.”

Broden grunted in understanding. “I hear a
but
hovering about in yer tone.”

“But,” she started dryly, “that wasn’t what everyone else
expected. When we started getting people in, they all thought there
were
no rules. Some of them felt they could do whatever they wanted. When we tried
to apply any of the old rules, they rebelled completely, and it was all we
could do to subdue them.”

“Edvard has about five hundred guardsmen in place,” Ash
picked up with tired resignation, “and they’ve been run ragged trying to keep
everything peaceful. But even then, the situation only gets worse with each
batch of people that comes in. Right now we’re working under a martial law that
Edvard invoked, but that can’t last forever.”

No, it couldn’t. Riana could see both sides of the problem,
and it troubled her. “Be Edvard writing laws now?”

“He’s trying to come up with something, yes,” Ash affirmed.
“So far, though, he hasn’t had a spare hour to really turn his mind to it. Between
Iysh’s attacks and the estate’s upheaval, he’s been running around like us,
putting out fires. Some days we’re so busy we’d borrow a cat’s paw if someone
offered it.”

“Which is why Edvard appointed me temporary Sheriff.”
Ashlynn smiled like a gambler with a winning hand. “And no doubt, Broden, why
he assigned you to me. Our job is to crack down on the lawbreakers so hard that
no one dares to cause any trouble.”

“Aye, lass, that might work short-term. Long-term, though,
it be asking for trouble.”

“Short-term is all we need,” she informed him smugly.
“Edvard’s asked for two weeks of breathing space so he can at least come up
with new laws to put in place. He feels sure that with solid rules to follow,
people will fall more in line again, and that will give him the breathing room
necessary to come up with a government.”

Seemed like a sound enough plan. Whether the two of them
could pull it off, well, that would soon be seen. “Ash? What be the plan for
us?”

“We’re building.” Ash smiled as he said this, a light of
excitement in his eyes. “The reason why I have all that lumber is to build a
defensive wall, after all. Ashlynn will come get us if she needs help subduing
any trouble, but right now, our main focus is that wall.”

“And me to guard yer back while ye work, eh? Fine, fine.”

“Sounds like ye’ve been given the easier task, daughter.”
Broden sounded slightly relieved, and she knew he hadn’t wanted her dealing
with criminals at all. Half his desire to leave Cloud’s Rest was to find a
safer place for her to live.

So she flashed him a smile. “Aye, it does. Have fun knocking
skulls together.”

“But first,” Ashlynn rose to her feet, gesturing them out the
door, “sparring.”

Ashlynn led the way to a small, enclosed courtyard to the
side of the castle that she called a training ground. It seemed a nice enough
place to spar in, although half of the things Broden had no notion what they
were meant for. The paving stones were flat and smooth, giving a man solid
footwork, but what were those wooden poles sticking out of the ground meant
for? They were set at intervals along the walls, perhaps a dozen of them
altogether.

As they entered, several people looked up and called out
welcomes. Most of the faces were young, of an age with Riana, but not all. One
face looked worn in, like his own, hair greying a tinge at the temples, but he
wore a sharp grey uniform that looked almost new.

“Bragdon!” Ashlynn called, waving the man over.

He came to them with a quick, ground-eating stride and
offered a duck of the head in greeting. “Ash, Ashlynn, who’s this?”

“Broden and Riana Ravenscroft,” Ash introduced, a mile-wide
smile on his face. “Our partners.”

Bragdon blinked, mouth dropping open slightly. “You’re
jesting.”

“I’m not.” Ash turned and gestured toward the man. “This is Jim
Bragdon, Captain of the Guard here. He’s also primarily in charge of training
new recruits.”

“Mostly because I’m the most seasoned man in the guard,”
Bragdon explained wryly. “Miss Ravenscroft, Master Ravenscroft, I greet you.”

“Harmony find ye, Captain.” Broden studied the man
curiously. Truly, he looked the solid, dependable sort.

“Ash has fought alongside these two before,” Ashlynn
explained to him, “but I haven’t. And I want to get a feel for what they’re
truly capable of before I go into the city with Broden. Can you clear the field
for a few minutes while we spar?”

Bragdon’s eyes took them in, noting that the only weapon
either sported was a bow, and his eyebrows climbed as he answered slowly,
“Certainly. I can do that. Give me a moment.”

The man turned and trotted back to the younger men, who had
stopped waving their swords about when their commander got distracted. Broden
kept an eye on them, watching as they retreated to a roofed-off area, even as
he asked, “So, how do ye want to do this sparring business?”

Ash glanced between the two archers. “Actually, I’m really
curious of how you two would fare if you were pitted against each other. You kept
saying things like ‘I’m better at this, but she’s better at that’ the entire
way here. Can we have you two compete with each other for a while?”

Riana shrugged acceptance. “If ye’d like.”

“Hmm, but targets….” Ash looked about until he spied
something on the far wall. “Oh. That’ll work. Hold on a moment.” He trotted
over to a post that was lying on the ground and knelt next to it. With a spell
and a motion of his hand, the post promptly fell apart into dozens of disks.
Picking one up, he tossed it to Riana. “Will these work?”

She caught it handily before flipping it this way and that,
looking it over. It seemed to be no more than a quarter-inch thick, as big as
her hand, and the perfect size for throwing. “Aye, it should be.”

“Good.” He picked up a whole stack and carted them over.
“Now, what shall we do first?”

Broden knew exactly where to start. “I told the lass earlier
that I can put three arrows into the air at once. Best I prove that here and
now. We’ve got enough distance, I think.”

Picking out three arrows from his quiver, he flipped one
around in his hand so that he could nock it. Aiming for the far post in the
training yard, he let it fly. Before the bow had even fully released, he was
twirling another one about in his hand so that he could nock that one as well.
Within two seconds, he had all three in the air, although barely. The first one
he’d fired hit the post just as he got the last one airborne.

Captain Bragdon came to stand at his elbow, letting out a
low whistle. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen an archer good enough to do
that.”

With a shrug, Riana also took three arrows from her quiver,
holding them in her hand and flicking each one about as she needed it. She
aimed for a spot just higher than her da’s on the same post, firing with quick
precision. Broden could not fault her technique—she was perfect in the way she
drew and released, it was just speed and practice she lacked. The first arrow
hit the post a second before she could get the third one in the air.

“You were right; you can’t get more than two in the air at
once,” Ash agreed. “But you’re very, very close to managing it. Well done, both
of you.”

Broden saw his daughter openly beam at this praise and felt
his own cheeks flush a bit, too. Archery was not something praised in Cloud’s
Rest, no matter how good an archer might be.

“Now, moving targets.” Ashlynn shifted so that they faced a
wall that no one was nearby to before taking a good dozen of the wooden disks
from Ash. “Who’s going first?”

“Just toss them,” Riana and Broden said in unison. Then they
glanced at each other, sharing a smile.

Ashlynn’s eyebrows rose at this. “How fast?”

“Fast as ye can manage, lass.”

“Alright then,” Ashlynn agreed slowly, clearly thinking that
they were biting off more than they could chew. With a slight shrug, she picked
one off the top and slung it into the air so it provided a good, flat profile
against the sky.

Broden and Riana fired at nearly the same time, his arrow hitting
a split second before hers. Ashlynn took them at their word and threw the
second one up as soon as she had the first in the air. Broden hit that one too,
but Riana got the next before he could get an arrow into it.

They hit all fourteen that Ashlynn threw, not one touching
the ground that did not have at least one arrow in it. Most had two.

Ashlynn actually clapped. “I shouldn’t have doubted you, not
with the way Ash was singing your praises. Now, what
else
can you do?
Run and fire?”

“Be more challenging than that,” Riana chided her, eyes
crinkled up at the corners. “Da, shall we have a little game of catch?”

Broden knew exactly what she was asking, and felt it was the
best way to showcase what they could really do. “Aye, that be a fine idea.
Right or left, daughter?”

“Right be fine by me.”

 “Fine, fine.” He took a single arrow from his quiver and
nocked it, but did not draw it fully, waiting for her to go to the other side
of the yard. Looking at the wizards and the captain, he cautioned, “It’d be
best if ye stood against that far wall. Riana and I have done this afore, many
a time, but there still be moments when an arrow escapes us.”

With quick nods of understanding, they scampered to the far
side and put their backs to the wall, standing alongside the spellbound
trainees.

Riana stood in profile to him, knees bent, bow in her left
hand. “Ready, Da?”

“Ready!” So saying, he raised the bow and fired at her.

He heard someone gasp on the far end but paid it no heed. He
knew the arrow would never land.

Riana caught it handily, then she started moving, going at a
slow jog. She raised her bow and fired at him in turn, never stopping.

Broden was in motion as well, running at the pace she’d set,
and he caught the arrow aimed at his chest with a quick snap of the hand.
Flipping it about in his fingers, he raised it again and fired back at her. As
soon as the arrow left his fingers, he tossed the bow into his opposite hand.

Catching the arrow with her left hand this time, she flipped
it about and fired before tossing the bow from right to left.

They did this two more times, firing at each other, catching
the arrow, and then tossing the bow into the opposite hand, fully displaying
that they could not only catch an enemy’s arrow in flight, but could fire with
either hand without a problem. Eventually, they ran out of room and stopped before
they could run into a wall. It was only then that Broden dared to look at his
audience.