Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (82 page)

Was
one
of
them
a
trained
archer?

Looking
up
at
the
tower,
and
glancing
back
at
the
Speaker being
helped
back
to
the
wagon,
Breaker
realized
just
how
phenomenal
that
bowshot
had
been.
It
had
been
either
fantastically
bad
luck
that
that
arrow
had
hit
anyone—or
magic.

Breaker
would
have
bet
his
money
on
magic.

Which
might
mean
that
the
arrow
had
hit
exactly
who
and where
it
was
intended
to
hit,
and
that
it
had
been
intended
to do
exactly
what
it
had
done—to
split
the
party
of
invaders without
killing
any
of
them.

He
really
didn't
like
that
idea.
He
picked
up
the
pace.

A
moment
later
the
three
men
were
at
the
keep
door— which
was
closed,
of
course.
It
wasn't
the
massive
barrier
Breaker
had
been
expecting,
though;
it
was
simply
a
rough
wooden
panel
set
in
an
ordinary
doorframe
in
the
rough
black
wall.

"This
is
where
the
Thief
would
have
earned
her
way,"
the Archer
muttered,
as
the
Leader
tugged
at
the
latch—and then,
to
everyone's
surprise,
something
clicked
and
the
door
swung
open.

T
don't
understand,"
Breaker
said.

"It's
a
trap,"
the
Archer
replied.

"Do
you
think
so?"

"It
must
be!"

"Then
what
should
we
do?"

"We
go
in
anyway,"
the
Leader
said.
"Really,
what
choice
do
we
have?
We've
come
this
far,
we
can
hardly
stop
now
because
the
door
opened!
Perhaps
one
of
the
maids
unbarred
it
to
help
us—surely,
they
must
know
their
master
is
mad,
and
isn't
everyone
in
Barokan
supposed
to
help
the
Chosen
in
their
mission?"

"Or
it
might
be
a
trap,"
the
Archer
said.

"Or
it
might
be
a
trap,"
the
Leader
admitted.
"But
we'll just
have
to
risk
that
possibility."
With
that
he
pushed
the door
wide
and
stepped
in.

Whatever
else
Breaker
might
think
of
the
Leader,
he
had to
admit
the
man
had
courage,
to
simply
walk
through
that
door
like
that.
Breaker
drew
his
sword
and
followed,
with
the
Archer
bringing
up
the
rear,
and
the
three
found
themselves
in
a
short,
narrow,
unlit
corridor.

There
was
no
choice
of
route;
they
moved
cautiously
forward,
then
paused
as
the
gloom
thickened.

"Wait
a
moment,"
the
Archer
said;
then
he
took
an
arrow from
the
quiver
on
his
shoulder
and
wedged
it
under
the door
to
hold
it
open—not
so
much
to
preserve
their
escape route
as
to
allow
some
daylight
into
the
shadowed
interior.

That
done,
the
trio
proceeded
down
the
passage
into
a
larger
chamber,
equally
unlit,
though
enough
daylight seeped
in
here
and
there
for
Breaker
to
see
a
central
spiral stair
and
several
doors.
The
stair
went
in
both
directions.