Arrows Of Change (Book 1) (26 page)

“Stone,” Edvard said firmly. “I want it out of stone. I
admit, finding a place to quarry that much stone will be something of a
challenge.”

“Brick, maybe?” Ashlynn offered, chewing on the edge of her
thumb thoughtfully. “Although that takes a while to set.”

“Stone,” Ash repeated, concurring with Edvard. “I can get a
lot of stone quarried from Senn, and then have them ship it across the lake to
us. It’ll cost us a pretty penny, though.”

Edvard frowned at that. “Figure up the costs. The wall is
necessary, but I’m going to have to figure out how to pay for it without
bankrupting us. We might have to make our own bricks after all, just to save on
costs. Wait. How do you even make bricks?”

Seeing that no one knew, Broden sighed and responded, “Ye
make a batter of clay and straw, then mold it into shape. After that, ye let it
set in the sun for several days, turning it over once so both sides be dry.
When it be set, put it in a kiln and bake it several days to get all the air
out. It takes about nine days to make, all in all.”

“Nine days?” Edvard frowned and muttered to himself,
calculating at high speeds. “I think it would take longer than that to get
stone from Senn. How many bricks can you make at once?”

Broden blinked at him. “Depends on the hands ye have to form
them, and how many kilns ye have. Hundreds or thousands, if ye have the right
set up.”

“Thousands?” Edvard repeated, intrigued. “Ash, how many
bricks would you need to build the wall?”

“Millions, likely.”

“Oh.” Losing his enthusiasm, Edvard complained, “But I like
bricks! They’re not expensive for me to buy!”

“Use river stone,” Riana suggested. “If Ash can go up and
haul away huge logs, I can no’ see why he can no’ harvest river stones and
bring ‘em back to use.”

Edvard snapped his fingers. “Genius. Riana, I love how your
mind works. Is there enough river stone from Cloud’s Rest to do the job?”

“Lad, there be no need to go traipsing all the way over
there,” Broden objected. “Ye got a sea channel and a lake nearby, do ye no’? Go
there first!”

Ashlynn inclined her head toward him. “He’s right, Edvard.
Let’s use the materials we can find close at hand first, and then go out
further only when we have to.”

“Point taken.” Edvard steepled his hands in front of his
face again before asking, “Ash, is there anything you can do to stop the raids
while you go hunting for stone?”

“No, not without affecting the people.” Ash spread his hands
helplessly.

“Then I’ll ask for Tierone to lend me some guards while we
build the wall.”  Knocking his knuckles against the table’s surface, he
motioned to Ashlynn. “Help me send him a message.”

Ashlynn glanced out the window. “Best be quick about it. I’m
losing daylight.”

“Then quickly get over here,” Edvard teased, waggling his
eyebrows at her.

Rolling her eyes, she did as bid.

Ash and Riana left early in the morning, but not empty
handed. Ash had a very large stack of lumber trailing in their wake, which got
odd looks from the people on the road. He had some trouble navigating it out of
the new northwest gate, but he managed to squeeze it through.

The lumber puzzled Riana for a moment until she remembered
that the new wall would have checkpoints built at certain intervals and that
there would need to be guard houses and barracks to house the soldiers on duty
there. Of course they would need the lumber to build them with.

Since they were going some distance out, more than could be
considered a day trip, they both mounted horses in order to move. Riana didn’t
have a lot of experience with the beasts—they’d had little cause to have them
in Cloud’s Rest—so was glad that the stable master had given her a placid
gelding. She sat semi-confidently in the saddle as they headed straight for the
channel to harvest rocks from the shoreline.

It was a clear, warm morning, although the wind was just
strong enough to make it feel cool at times. Riana lifted her face to the sun
and smiled. Estole was home now, and she was fine with that, but being bound by
walls all the time felt odd to her. She was more comfortable outside of them
like she was now.

“Let’s drop the lumber off first,” Ash suggested. “It’s not
much of a detour for us, and it’ll let me carry more stones on the way back.”

“Fine, fine.” She looked about her, but could not tell where
Estole’s lands ended. “How do ye know where we be exactly?”

He flashed her a smile. “I know this land like the back of
my hand. I grew up here, after all. Just like you know Cloud’s Rest.”

Well, when he put it that way…she flipped a hand, conceding
the point. Something strange, like a cold feeling, tingled at the base of her
spine. But it felt strangely alien. What was that sensation?

“Riana…” Ash’s voice fell to the point that she could barely
hear him. “Do you…regret, coming here?”

Her head snapped around and she stared at him in
astonishment. Was it him that the feeling was coming from? “Regret? Why?”

“I know that Cloud’s Rest is a dangerous place to live, but
I doubt that you had riots or fires being set all the time, so it has to be
safer than Estole is right now. Your father wanted to come here to have a
better place for the two of you to live, and I feel like Estole is actually worse
in some ways. I’m afraid that you’ve come to feel like you got the rawer end of
the bargain.”

Ahhh, well, she could see how he would think that. Ashlynn was
right, her brother had a very gentle soul to worry about Riana so. Shaking her
head, she sought to reassure him. “Ash, I grant ye it be dangerous now, but
that will change. Cloud’s Rest never will. They be set in their ways, and there
be no man there that will take charge of the place and lead them as Edvard does
here. I do no’ worry about it. I be used to danger, so while it saddens me to
see it, it does no’ scare me.” Somewhat reluctantly she added, “And even if it
never gets better, I still prefer Estole over Cloud’s Rest.”

His eyes roved over her face, studying her expression for a
long moment. “Because here you aren’t outcast.”

She simply nodded, throat tight enough that she felt she
couldn’t manage words. Having never known acceptance by anyone but her da, she
had no idea what it was like to be admired and respected by people until she
came here. But now she could walk through the streets without people shunning
her, or trying to run her back out of town. Here, she spoke and people listened.
Here, she was wanted, and her heart was addicted to the feeling. She’d fight
the rest of her life to keep it.

Ash reached out and grasped her hand briefly, comforting. He
shook his head, brows drawn up in a perplexed manner. “I still don’t understand
that prejudice of theirs. I mean, you’re beautiful, and sweet, and amazing at
archery. Your father is a good man and just as incredible with a bow. Who
wouldn’t want you there? I would think, with the way that mountain is overrun
with criminals, that they’d want to depend on your skills rather than try to
chase you away. Prejudices are ridiculously stupid.”

“Aye,” she agreed curtly. Just remembering how she was
treated in her hometown made her angry now that she had something to compare it
to. Shaking it off, she returned the grip briefly and let go, then went to a
different subject. “Now that we be on the border like this, do ye expect
raiding parties to come at us?”

“I certainly do.” Ash ran a hand roughshod through his hair
and looked tired for a moment. “Which means you’ll actually be earning your pay
this time. Last wall I built, you didn’t have anything to shoot at. This time,
I think you’ll have plenty of targets.”

“Well, at least I will no’ be bored,” she responded with a
tight smile. Not that she preferred shooting people over standing about and
looking decorative, but the men that came hunting for them would meet their
end. There was no doubt in her when it came to fighting. She would not allow
anyone to harm Ash.

The wizard grimaced. “Things will likely be a little safer
when Tierone’s men show up. I’m glad he agreed to send them.”

“Yes, speaking of that,” she cocked her head in question, “I
do no’ know the man, so I be curious on this score. He says he be willing to
join in the rebellion, but will he give control to Edvard? Or no’?”

“I’m not actually sure what he’s planning.” Ash frowned as
if he hadn’t thought of this before. “Tierone isn’t one to seek for power, but
he’s not the type to give it up either once he’s got it. I think he’ll maintain
his lands, but will simply rebel as we did against Iysh.”

“So, another new country, eh?” Well, that made sense to her.

“I imagine that he and Edvard will help each other out
regularly, like he’s doing now, though. They always have, so I don’t expect the
pattern to change just because their titles do.” Ash seemed caught by some
vision in his mind’s eye, and he grinned evilly. “But can you imagine the look
on Zelman’s face when he realizes that not one duke but
two
have
rebelled and cut themselves off from him in the same year? Oh, I’d give good
money to see his expression when he hears the news.”

She snapped her fingers. “I near forgot. You met Zelman
once.”

“Twice, actually. All new wizards are introduced to him when
they receive his official blessing to serve in Iysh. I didn’t like him the
first time I met him, and my opinion didn’t improve the second time I saw him.
He’s an enormously fat man with scraggly, wiry hair sticking out of his head,”
Ash’s hands rose to illustrate, “and the most annoying voice you’ve ever heard.
I feel sorry for any court official that has to be around him for hours at a
time. Although I imagine that they’ve gotten used to it by now.”

“He’s no’ a likeable man, then?” Somehow that didn’t
surprise her much. “Makes sense now why people so readily switched to Edvard.”

Ash canted his head in question. “How’s that?”

“Oh, people prefer a well-looking man as king over an ugly
one.” She nodded at her own wisdom. “It always be the case. A good-looking
person is always listened to and respected over an ugly one. Have you no’
noticed that?”

Ash’s eyes crossed. “I feel like I should disagree with you,
but considering how many times I’ve seen a handsome person get by with
something a plain person wouldn’t…ha! Great gods, you’re right! Now why didn’t
I realize that sooner?” Chuckling to himself, he turned off the road and onto
the grass. “Well, I guess we should send a prayer of thanks that Edvard is a
handsome man, then, otherwise our rebellion might not have succeeded.”

Riana smiled, enjoying the fact that she had gotten him to
chuckle. It was a rare sight, these days, what with all of the pressure her
poor wizard was under.  

Ash abruptly reined in, and with a wave of his hand, directed
the floating lumber to come and rest on the grass. “There, that should be a
good spot to leave it in. Should I put a ward around it?”

“I would,” she urged. “The raiders may no’ want to cart it
off, but if they guessed what it be for, they for sure will torch it.”

“Oh.” Ash looked disturbed by this. “I hadn’t thought of
that, but good point.” He twisted in his saddle to face the woodpile more
directly and started weaving a spell into the air, a familiar symbol that she
had seen him use several times before.

Come to think of it, she had no notion how long these wards
of his lasted. She opened her mouth to ask, only to pause as her ears caught
the faintest sound of thundering hoof beats off in the distance. She stood in
her stirrups and peered in the direction of the sound. The sun was at just the
right angle to blind her so she lifted a hand to shield her face, narrowing her
eyes in an effort to see better.

Ash caught her movement and finished the spell quickly.
“Ward’s set. You see something?”

“Party of riders,” she answered slowly, straining her eyes.
“Can no’ make out how many. I’d say a dozen or so. They be riding hard and
fast, though.”

“Coming our way?”

“No, do no’ think they…” she trailed off as the riders
abruptly changed directions. “Now they be. Ash, I do no’ like the look of this.
Put yer shield up.”

He promptly did so, the shield rising to cover both of them.
Shielding his own eyes, he stood in the stirrups and looked in the same
direction she was. “I see them. You’re right, that doesn’t look good. I bet
they’re a raiding party.”

So, her gut instincts were right on that score, eh? Curses,
she’d prefer they were wrong. “Ash, which shield ye have up?”

“Weapons shield. Don’t worry, I’ve set it so you can shoot
out of it.”

That was exactly the question that she was going to ask
next. Terrible thing to shoot an arrow only to have it reflected back at you.
She unlaced the top of her quiver and pulled out four arrows. They were just
out of range of her bow, but they’d be close enough in a moment, at the speed
they were going. She nocked an arrow and sat still, waiting.

The raiders, of course, had no idea who they were. To their
eyes, they were simply a young couple on the border of Estole and, therefore,
were fair game. The man in front of the pack called out in a thunderously loud
voice, “Deny Edvard Knolton as your king and you will be spared!”

Riana lifted her bow and fired.

He ducked just in time, but the man behind him didn’t, and
one rider went down.

The riders had been coming toward the sun, which had
apparently blinded them, because it was not until they were close enough to be
hit did they realize there were two glowing spells up. Swearing viciously all
around, they grabbed the round shields strapped to their backs and swung them
around, gaining protection from Riana’s arrows. Well, some protection, at
least. Their helmets protected their foreheads, but not their throats or arms.
Hitting a man in those vulnerable spots while he was riding at full speed was
tricky but not impossible. It just took the right timing.

Ash had no problem with their shields, however. He spoke a
word, a word she recognized as the one he used to log trees, and two of the
riders were abruptly cut out of their saddles, falling wordlessly to the
ground. She winced at the sight of the carnage he inflicted. No wonder those
battles still gave him nightmares.

“Grab your amulets!” one of the riders ordered, already
rummaging around in his breast pocket.

Amulets? What for?

Ash didn’t share her confusion and started swearing out
loud. “They’ve got amulets of protection on them! Macha’s sword, I didn’t
expect that.” He quickly traced a spell in the air and spoke a word, firing off
another shot, but it bounced uselessly off of the riders. “
Arghhhhh
.”

“They can deflect yer spells?!” Riana demanded
incredulously. She lifted up in the saddle to get a more clear shot and took
aim at one of the riders preoccupied with digging out his amulet.

As she released the arrow, Ash explained tersely, “Not all
of them. But someone’s given them magical protection, and until I figure out
what sort, I won’t be able to get past it. Keep firing, keep them off our
backs, until I know what I’m dealing with.”

“Aye, will do.” She fired off another arrow, not meant to be
fatal, but simply to distract as she had no clear shot for a vulnerable spot
yet. With her knees, she guided the horse in a small circle, turning in slow
degrees and firing at anyone that looked to be getting too close. If those
amulets could deflect magic, could it get past Ash’s shield? Worrisome thought.

Turning, she glanced back to ask him, only to find that he
was muttering spells and drawing out sigils in the air at high speeds. Best not
to interrupt him. Instead, she assumed they could get into the shield, and did
her level best to keep them out of it.

Riana fell into that strange place where nothing existed but
drawing, aiming, and firing. It was quiet in her head, unnaturally so, as if
the moans of the wounded and the grunt of the horses were nothing more than
background noise to her. Her breath was overly loud in her ears, heart
hammering in her chest, but that didn’t really touch her either. All of her
senses were focused on nothing more than the next shot. One out of every third
arrow she fired did no real damage, simply made the men shy away, but the other
two she aimed for tender places. Some were fatal, some were not, but it dropped
the raiders by half, their horses wandering aimlessly after losing their
riders.

“Ha!” Ash crowed victoriously.

She wanted to look back at him but knew better than to do
that. Instead her ears pricked in his direction. He’d solved the problem?

Ash did something—she had no idea what—and the next moment,
all of the remaining raiders were dropping like flies. Riana had an arrow
nocked and drawn, but with no target available anymore, she slowly released the
tension on the string. “Ash. What did ye do?”