Arrows Of Change (Book 1) Read Free Page A

the sunlight, marking the
forest floor with areas of twilight and shadow. The air carried the pungent smell
of earth and vegetation, mixed in with the faint scent of running water. Because
of this, she had to rely more on her nose and ears, rather than her eyes, to
tell her if there was something amiss. Most of the time, this place had a
stillness to it, an aura as if it were more ancient than she could ever guess.
It seemed a little sacrilegious, somehow, to let anyone lumber here.
    Even if it’d been her suggestion.
    From the corner of her eye, she caught a color not found in
nature, nothing more than a blur of blue. She turned her head sharply, trying
to get a better look, but it was gone. Brows compressing, she flipped an arrow
in her hand and notched it in a smooth motion, but didn’t raise the bow just
yet.
    “Daughter?”
    “Something moved. Me left, just ahead.”
    Broden immediately looked as well. “A few branches be
swaying.”
    “Opposite to how the wind be blowing,” she noted grimly. “We’ve
got bandits.”
    Broden grunted, holding his peace for a long moment before
offering, “I spy two. They be closing in on our wizard. Down or up, daughter?”
    Making a snap decision she said, “Down.” She couldn’t get
any angle up here; too many leaves and branches and tree trunks blocked her
line of sight. Maneuvering bow and arrow to her left hand, she hopped lightly
from her perch, fell to the one below it in a crouch, then sprinted down its
length three strides before taking another flying leap, this time using a
branch closer to the ground as a springboard to halt her fall. She landed with
catlike grace on the moss-covered ground, barely settling before taking off in
a fast sprint toward Fallbright.
    The man had stopped working, eyes following her as she moved
toward him. Of course he’d noticed, the way she’d noisily and hastily descended
to the forest floor. She paid scant attention to him, her eyes darting about,
trying to spy the bandits her da had seen from above and any others that might
be closing in. She swore softly as two of them dashed between the trees. They
were closer than she’d thought.
    “What—” Fallbright started to ask, his tenor voice harsher
than usual.
    “Do no’ move,” she ordered sharply. Skidding to a halt, she
snapped the bow back up, drawing the line taut this time, fletching to her ear.
Breathe in, hold, sight the target, release. The arrow whizzed past
Fallbright’s head, barely two inches from his cheek. The bandit’s guttural
scream sounded as her arrow found its mark unerringly. Before the first one had
been fully released, she was yanking the tie around her quiver free and
reaching for four arrows to hold in her hand.
    The wizard froze, eyes glued to her, as she downed the
second bandit in the time it took for him to finish his sentence “—is wrong?”
    “Bandits,” she supplied shortly.
    Fallbright’s hands were already weaving in the air, leaving
behind trails of light in strange patterns. He fell into a fighter’s stance,
which looked odd, as he held no weapon. “Stand at my back,” he ordered tersely.
“But stay two feet away; don’t come within my shield.”
    As Riana had no inclination to be in front of whatever
magical fury he unleashed, she promptly obeyed, leaving enough distance between
them to do as commanded.
    From above, she could hear the whistle of arrows being
released, one after another. Her da must have a better vantage point up there
than she’d had. Then again, he had stolen her spot.
    Her eyes searched for movement, instincts rattling. There .
Years of experience let her sense the direction the wind was flowing, judge the
speed of her target, and know where to aim. She took in a breath as she notched
the arrow between two gloved fingers, then held it to keep her aim steady.
Release. Her target tripped and hit the ground with a gurgle.
    Riana’s attention only stayed on him long enough to assure
he was down before she