Arrows Of Change (Book 1) (17 page)

Broden tapped the rectangular necklace on his neck that was
akin to the one Ashlynn wore. “Aye, lass, we all have them.”

“These are limited,” she admitted sourly. “Outside of a
mile’s range, I won’t be able to hear you. They’ll also only last about a day
at a time before I need to re-do the spell. So keep track of that. Now, here’s
the plan. I don’t want to chance the foothills more than I have to, so we’ll go
through Dahl and around the foothills until we connect to the Eastern Highway.
Pray that we don’t run into Iysh soldiers as we ride. We have a very limited
time frame to get my sisters out of there before Iysh figures out that we know
where they are.”

Konrath cleared his throat. “Do we know where they are?”

“Lorand,” Broden supplied.

“Yes, but where in the city? That’s not a small place.”

Ashlynn’s mouth flattened into a humorless smile. “I know
it. The spy that sent us the message could only afford to send a few words. I’m
hoping that when we get down there, we can meet with him and he’ll tell us
more. For now, we ride hard and get there as quickly as we can.” She stood in
her stirrups to get a better view of all of them. “Are we all ready?”

A chorus of assents answered her.

“Good. Let’s ride.”

They did not stop riding until the sun was practically set.
Ashlynn made up for the loss of light by throwing up several ‘mage lights,’ or
so she called them. They were nothing more than glowing orbs that hung about in
the air, like detached lanterns. It gave them plenty of light to see by as they
set up a rough camp in a shallow depression off the road. Broden blessed the
fact they were still in the warm season, as it would be a bitterly cold camp
otherwise.

There was not much cover here. They had not yet reached the
foothills, but the low rises could be seen easily in the distance. Right now,
they were still in Dahl, getting close to the Trenena border. The land was all
flat, grassland or farmland, and long stretches of empty highway. It was not a
cold night, but the wind had nothing to stop it, so it cut right through to the
bones and made a man glad he had a jacket.

Someone—likely Miss Hayley—had packed them some good travel
food so they did not try to cook that night. They still got a fire going,
though, for warmth and hot tea. Broden saw to his horse, rolled out his
bedding, and then creaked into a comfortable seat near the fire. Lovenanty!
Eight straight hours in a saddle took a toll on a man. But they had not left
until mid-day, which meant that on the morrow, they would no doubt be riding
twelve hours instead. If eight hours was making him creak about like an old man,
then tomorrow would not be a bit pleasant.

Ashlynn dropped down heavily right next to him, a sandwich
in one hand and a steaming mug of tea in the other. She did not say a word as
she devoured the food in quick bites. He glanced at her as he ate, slower than
she. It was nerves, he judged, that made her rush through everything.

“Pace yerself, lass.”

She paused with the mug hovering in front of her mouth, and
her eyes cut sideways to look at him. “What?”

“Pace yerself,” he repeated patiently. “This nervous energy
ye have be making ye jump about, but it will no’ do ye a lick of good in the
end. Conserve that energy so that it be there when ye have need of it.”

For a moment, he did not think that she would listen to him.
She finished the last bite of her dinner before washing it down with the whole
mug in one quick gulp. But then she stopped dead, so still that a statue looked
livelier. “Broden.”

“Eh?”

“Riana said that you have seen hostage situations before.”

“Oh, aye. A half-dozen or so. Bandits think ransoming be
easy money.”

Ashlynn twisted to face him directly, completely focusing on
him with such intensity it started to alarm him. “She also said that the girls
would be safe if we could get to them quickly enough. That if Zelman were a
truly evil man, he would have killed one of the girls already to prove what he
would do to the others if we don’t cooperate.”

It was not a point that he himself would have told either of
the twins. It seemed a harsh thing to say to people already near crazy with
worry. Broden wondered at his daughter for sharing that information. But maybe
she had done so to prove to them that it was not the worst-case scenario.
“Aye,” he finally admitted.

“Do you believe she’s right?”

“Lass,” he said gently, “I would no’ have come otherwise. It
would be a fool’s errand if I came when I did no’ think we could save them.”

Her eyes shut with abject relief. “We’ve never had this
happen before. I have no experience with it. But if you think there’s a good
chance…” she trailed off, not needing to finish that sentence.

She needed something else to think about. “Tell me about
them,” Broden suggested, not entirely to distract her. “How be they related to
you?”

“Well, they aren’t,” she admitted. “Not directly. We’re
related through Edvard—that’s usually the case. But two of them, Bria and Catriona,
I grew up with. They lived on the same street as I did. We were regular
playmates until we all hit our teens. Then Bria went to Honora with her family,
and Catriona went to Senn when her grandparents started ailing. I haven’t seen
either of them face to face in about four years.”

Sitting back, some of the tension bled out of her face and
voice as she talked. “Darisa I’ve only met once, about six months ago. She’s
lived in Kremser with her mother her entire life. Unlike the rest of the girls,
she did not take after Edvard’s father in looks. She’s as fair as I am. I only
got to spend the day with her, but I liked her. She was sweet natured, and
spunky.” Her voice fell as she recounted, “Ever since Edvard turned sixteen, he
would spend one month of the year visiting them. He would go to each of their
homes and stay a few days, making sure they were alright and had everything
they needed. He did that right before he broke away from Iysh, too, as he
wasn’t sure how long it would be before he could see them again. If he had
possessed any idea of what Zelman would do to them…”

“It be the curse of hindsight.” Broden looked up at the
starlit sky. Well, that was one question answered for him: How had Zelman
gotten hold of these girls? Simple. They were not in Estole. They were in
different parts of Iysh. All he had to do was send his soldiers out for them,
and no citizen of his country would have dared to refuse handing them over.

“Broden.” Ashlynn also stared up at the stars as she asked,
“What exactly is your experience? You’ve told me bits and pieces, but I have no
idea what you’ve seen, or what work you’ve done.”

It was a question he had not been asked before, at least not
by Ashlynn. Understanding her need to know, he dropped his head down to look at
her as he answered. “As to that, I been guarding caravans up and down the
mountain every two years or so. We never got further than the river, though. In
my younger days, I went further than that, all the way to Senn.” Now that
meager distance seemed a ridiculously short trip. “Hmm, I went all over the
Land Northward, of course. Hunting, mostly. I’d trade furs and the like with
the caravans when they came up. Made decent money at it. As for fighting
experience, well, there be bandit gangs and one pirate town up near Cloud’s
Rest.”

“Pirates?” Ashlynn said in surprise.

“Oh, further on the coast, ye ken,” he explained with a
simple shrug. “During the winter months, they hole up there. There not be much
to the place, and it be little larger than Cloud’s Rest. I went there a time or
three in me younger days to help people get back hostages.” Riana he hadn’t let
anywhere near it. “But the bandits be thick up there, thick as trees. There be
five gangs last I counted, all with a good fifty men in each. They pick on
caravans, travelers, miners, loggers, but mostly each other. We had territory
wars break out now and again, and when that happened, no man stepped outside of
the village without hiring guards.” Which is mostly how he and Riana had
survived up there. Even though the villagers hated them, when those gang wars
broke out, the archers were in high demand for escorts.

She ticked things off on her fingers. “So you’ve fought with
bandits, pirates, and the like. You’ve guarded everything from small groups to
large caravans. You have experience in hostage situations and hunting in the
wilderness. Does that cover it?”

“Aye, in a nutshell.”

“Hmmm.” A slight smile grew on her face. “So really, the
thing that you have the least experience with is cities. No wonder you were so
lost the first few weeks in Estole.”

He grunted sourly and didn’t respond.

Everyone in the group had more or less picked up on
Ashlynn’s mood during the course of the day’s ride. Most had given her a wide
berth, and Broden did not blame them for it. But Marissa proved to be of
sterner making, and when she saw the two of them conversing quietly by the
fire, she dared to come and join them, a mug in her hand that she nursed with
quick sips.

“Ashlynn? We’ve all got a few questions we need answered.”

Ashlynn looked up, eyes taking in the crowd of silent faces
and blew out a long breath before nodding. “Yes. Sorry, we took off so quickly
I didn’t give any of you a proper idea of what to expect, did I? Actually,” she
turned to Broden. “You might have a better idea of what we’ll run into than I
at this point.”

Marissa’s eyes traveled to him, and from the way she
regarded him, it was clear she did not know what to think of this unknown
archer. “Is that so.”

“I be somewhat experienced in getting people back from the
clutches of evil men,” he answered dryly. “All of ye gather. I will tell ye
what little I know, and a few guesses.” It took mere moments for them to come
in closer, some sitting cross-legged in front of him, others choosing to stand.
Satisfied, he began, “First, assume the girls be safe and dry, as they belike be.
If Zelman meant them harm, he would have proved that with his message, and no’
be sending along locks of hair.”

There were more than a few covert exhales in the group,
which Broden chose to ignore. It seemed some had assumed this to be a fool’s
errand and were glad to hear they were wrong to assume such.

“Now, it be no stretch of the imagination why Zelman took
them to begin with. Our guess be this: he’s set at least one trap and be
waiting for us to fall into it. If we make it all the way to Lorand without
stumbling into an ambush, I will be pleasantly surprised. Belike we will run
into several. Zelman likely knows that Edvard would either go for his sisters himself—”

“Or send one of his wizard-siblings in his stead,” Konrath
finished quietly. “Yes, you’re quite right on all accounts. If nothing else,
it’s a prime opportunity to take away part of Edvard’s fighting force.”

“Aye,” Broden agreed simply. “He like as no’ will try to
attack while one of the wizards be away, or at least, in his shoes I would. So
fast and snell we go, so that we can come back quick-like afore real trouble
hits.”

“We found them too quickly, too easily,” Ashlynn added
solemnly, eyes clouded with worries. “I’m afraid that they’re obvious bait. But
even if they are, we can’t leave them there. So we’re going. But like Broden
said, we’re going to go as quickly as we can and return before Estole gets hit
with any sudden attacks. Now, despite the fact that we found them easily, I
don’t expect it to be easy getting them out again. If Zelman has any sense
whatsoever, the place he put them will have a great many magical wards and
traps around it. I’ll be responsible for those, but I can’t have anyone doing
reconnaissance until I’ve found a way around them. So I don’t want anyone
playing hero, got it?”

Getting a general assent, she continued, “Also, we do this
as covertly as possible. We’re going into a foreign land where we have no
support in, and few friends. I don’t want to make any trouble we’re
ill-equipped to deal with. So keep yourselves close to the group, don’t drink,
and don’t provoke any fights.”

Seth cleared his throat to get her attention. “If you had a
guess, where will they be?”

“Somewhere easily fortified. A place that the girls can be
kept separate from everyone else without rousing any suspicions or questions. I
wouldn’t think they would be in the center of town, but somewhere just outside
of it. Possibly on the outskirts.” She looked to Broden. “Am I right?”

“Aye, lass, I think so. One thing more—we can no’ just
charge in, snatch up the girls, and go. We be needing information to be quick
and quiet. So I will need to teach ye a few things about the culture, so ye
know how to approach people right. We be needing help when we get there.”

“I know that you said Cloud’s Rest was formed by Trenenians
several generations ago,” Tant said, clearly confused, “but hasn’t the culture
changed here in Trenena since then?”

“Well, as to that, aye. It belike has. In many a way, in
fact. But I will keep me ears open as we go in and see if certain things still
be the same. At least, when it comes to asking a man for a favor, it belike has
no’ changed.”

Ashlynn frowned at her partner. “But we have a spy in the
city—”

Broden shook his head, cutting her off. “No, lass. Do no’
depend on one man to know all. That be a recipe for disaster. We need to spend
a day, at least, talking to the people and knowing what they know. Greet a man,
he will smile at you. Win a man’s trust, he will complain to you, and it be the
complaints we need to hear. They will tell us more than the spy can.”

Amber snorted. “You know, he makes a good point. And
Ashlynn, I’d personally feel better if we spent a day gathering intel before we
tried to break into a heavily defended fortress. Especially since there’s only
seven of us.”

“Seven people that have not worked together before,” Konrath
added in an undertone that everyone clearly heard.

Surrendering, Ashlynn raised her hands in the air. “Fine.
You all make a good point. We need to pace ourselves, eh.” She shot a look at
Broden, who shrugged back unrepentantly. “Then we’ll plan to spend a day in the
city once we reach Lorand. For now, sleep. We’re up at dawn’s light to ride.”