Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (27 page)

Ash leaned up against the same tree that Broden was
currently sitting in and whispered up to him, “Broden. Confess.”

Broden spared him a glance, but nothing more than that. He
was using his vantage to count how many bandits were currently in the Grey
Wolves’ camp. From what he could see, it was about half of their usual number,
which should mean they had everyone home today. After all, they had lost half
in Estole when they had attacked the settlement. “Confess what, lad?”

“The reason why you said we should take out the bandits
first was because you’re hoping that after we deal with them, Ashlynn will be
too tired to want to fight the village afterwards.”

Well, that was part of it. Wait. “Correct me if I be wrong,
lad, but ye be the one adamant about talking to them first. If talks go well,
yer sister will no’ have anyone to fight with.”

“You know as well as I do that talking to them probably
won’t do any good,” Ash responded, torn between resignation and determination.

Broden blinked. That was a very different stance than what
Ash had taken last night around the campfire. He dared to shift his position so
he could look down at Ash’s face. “If ye feel that way, then why be we planning
to talk to them?”

“Because that’s how law works,” Ash said simply. “In order for
it to be a law, then you have to give someone notice, give them the chance to
avoid becoming a criminal. It’s only after you’ve notified them, and they
disregard it, that you can punish them. If we don’t notify them, if we don’t
say something to them first, then
we
become the lawless ones.”

To others, this argument might sound ridiculous, but Broden
understood what made Ash say all of this. Cloud’s Rest didn’t really have laws.
One might argue that there were certain moral codes that should be observed no
matter what land or culture a man found himself in, but still, there were
‘common sense’ things in every land that did not carry over to another. Ash
knew that these mountains had not seen a true ruling hand in generations. There
were no laws in place here that anyone enforced. It was his sense of justice,
of right and wrong, that forced him to at least give the bandits here formal
notice before attacking.

Broden respected it even if he did not fully agree with it.
So he grunted an acknowledgement even as he went back to viewing the camp.
“From what I see here, there be about forty in the camp.”

Riana was in a different tree altogether, on the opposite
side, also getting a headcount.  It had been months since he used this signal,
and it felt a little rusty and familiar at the same time as he lifted his hands
to his mouth and gave a shrill whistle that sounded like birdsong.

What came back was the same whistle, only in four short
bursts before trailing off, mimicking a cardinal’s cry.

“You’re a scary good imitator,” Gerrard complimented him. “I
thought that actually was a bird for a moment.”

“It be a lifelong practice.” Broden hopped out of the tree
and reported, “Riana says there be forty or so. What say ye? Front gates?”

“Might as well.”

Bandit camps up here did not really have much of a formal
structure. In fact, they all rather looked alike, probably because they only
had limited supplies to use for building. The buildings were roughly
constructed, canvas being used to cover any gaps, and the ‘fence’ was nothing
more than branches nailed to trees to form a rough sort of oval shape. There
were few defensible locations up here that had access to running water, which
was partially why the bandits latched onto certain territories and did not let
go of them. The other part, of course, was that it would be impossible to
survive a winter in makeshift camps. They might make it alright in Estole but
not up here. The snow got deep indeed in Cloud’s Rest.

Broden had indeed counseled that they deal with the bandits
first but not for the reason that Ash said. The bandits were their priority and
Broden wanted them gone before they had the chance to leave and hit the
settlement again. Also, dealing with the villagers would be difficult enough
without the problem of the bandits hanging over their heads. Ash had readily
agreed but for entirely different reasons. Or so he suspected. The man had
spent most of the trip up here either asking questions or thinking.

Whatever Ash had planned out for Cloud’s Rest would have to wait.
They had bandits to deal with first.

Broden caught sight of a head of blond hair marching for the
front gate (if you could describe such a helter-skelter collection of logs as
such) and swore. “The lass be heading in.”

Ash and Gerrard both joined him for a brief second before
dropping any pretense of lurking in the trees and scrambling down the short
hill after her. Broden was quick to do likewise, although he stopped long
enough to make sure he knew where Riana was. She had, thankfully, chosen to follow
after Ashlynn, and of course Kirsty was right on her heels. He would rather
have them all within sight instead of out here alone, vulnerable to being
ambushed from behind.

They caught up ten feet from the gate. The two men standing
guard were staring at the women like they were sure someone was playing tricks
on them.

Ashlynn stopped dead, crossing her arms over her chest, and
glared at them impatiently. “Who is your leader? Bring him out so I can talk
with him.”

Leaning in, Ash whispered fiercely to her, “You were
supposed to wait!”

“On what?” she hissed back from the side of her mouth.
“There’s only forty of them. If four wizards and two archers can’t handle this,
we shouldn’t have come to begin with.”

The man on the right, looking rather shabby if robust,
turned his head enough to holler, “Hey boss!”

“What?” a sour voice called back.

“We got a woman out here who wants to talk with ye!”

There was a muted, “Huh?” of disbelief and then someone
lumbered out of his seat and toward the gate.

Broden recognized the man instantly, having crossed paths
with him multiple times before, but did not know his name. There was a flash of
recognition in a pair of brown eyes as the bandit boss looked them over, but he
focused on Riana, being someone that he knew and had chances of intimidating.
“Be it ye that called me out?”

Ashlynn took a step forward, chin lifted. “
I
called
you out. My name is Ashlynn Fallbright. I’m a wizard from Estole. Your gang
recently attacked us.”

“Estole, eh.” The boss’s eyes narrowed, jaw working. “Aye,
we did. Come to repay the favor?”

Trying to stall the inevitable, Ash cut in. “They paid for
their mistake with their lives. We’re here to negotiate with you. We have
terms. You negotiate with us, we leave each other alone in peace, and there
won’t be any problem.”

The boss threw his head back and roared with laughter.
Broden had more or less predicted this reaction and started stealthily reaching
for arrows. In about twenty seconds, he would need them.

Still laughing, the boss lifted a horn that was hanging off
his belt and blew on it. That signaled every man within range and they came
pouring out of the camp like rats escaping a sinking ship.

Ashlynn let out a whoop. “Let’s take down some bandits!”

Broden put his back to her right side, close enough to
protect, out enough to give them both the elbow room they needed. The others
formed up a rough circle, all keeping their backs to each other, so that they
had a defensive ring to fight from. Really, even a strategic novice knew better
than to fight like this. It was sheer power on their side that kept them from
being overwhelmed.

The fight was dirty, confusing, but at no point were they in
danger of being overwhelmed. Ash and Ashlynn, battle hardened as they were, had
spells flying out that took multiple enemies down at once. Gerrard and Kirsty
were not quite as comfortable with it, still reaching for spells instead of
being able to rattle them off, but they more than held their own. In the space
of fifteen minutes, every bandit was down and all that remained was a silence
like a graveyard, peppered with their hard breathing.

Broden had known, intellectually, what the fighting prowess
of a wizard was. He had heard that it was Ash and Ashlynn that had kept Estole
from being conquered by Iysh. But seeing it with his own eyes was a different
matter entirely. The Grey Wolves had been a thorn in his backside ever since he
was a toddler. To see them suddenly gone like this, so quickly, felt surreal.

“Ash.” Riana’s voice sounded almost jarring. “Ye fought
better here than in Estole.”

“I didn’t have to worry about damaging anything or
accidentally hitting an ally here,” he observed calmly. “Hmm. That didn’t go
well.”

“It went swimmingly,” his twin denied, satisfied. “I do so
enjoy it when justice is served. Broden, you mentioned last night that we
should take something with us so we can prove it to the villagers later we did
this. What should we take?”

Broden pointed with his chin to the glaringly bright sign
that hung near the front gate. “That.”

Gerrard strode over and yanked it off, taking the nail with
the board. “Is that it?”

“That’s it.” Ashlynn rubbed her hands together. “Alright,
where’s the next one?”

“Closest one be The Black Seals, I think.” Broden turned in
that direction automatically. “More to the east and ye have Crimson Tides.”

“Black Seals it is.” Ashlynn gestured for him to lead on.

Broden did but with a sort of resignation. Ash would insist
on trying to talk to them, again, and it would end up in a massacre, again.
These were hardened criminals, even if they did agree to talk or even made
promises, they were not to be trusted. Ashlynn and Gerrard understood that. It
was Ash, gentle soul that he was, that could not seem to accept it.

The Black Seals camp was identical in all ways except that
someone had tried to actually paint the buildings at some point in time. The
paint was in different hues and now peeling, so it actually made the place look
worse. The guards on the gate did not wait for someone to speak but started
blowing frantically on a horn. Bandits poured out from every possible crevice
and nook, although it took a moment for the boss to arrive. This time it was a
woman, who was neither plain nor beautiful. She might have been pretty once,
before time had taken its toll on her, and the harsh life she led stripped her
of any good humor. Now she had the stare of a basilisk and it raked over the
group without any show of mercy. “Some fine victims have wandered in.”

Ash cleared his throat. “We’re from Estole. We’d like to
speak—”

The boss jerked a thumb across her neck in a cutthroat
gesture. “Kill ‘em.”

Broden shook his head, not surprised. Ash certainly was,
that the woman would not even hear him out, but the Black Seals had always been
the more ruthless and merciless of the gangs. They killed first and then forgot
to send flowers later.

Once again, they were swarmed, and once again they formed a
defensive ring with their backs to each other and fought ferociously to keep
from being overwhelmed. This time the fight was a little tougher as they had
more opponents to deal with. Broden did not know quite how much time had passed,
but it was not more than a half hour before the last body hit the ground.
Again, not a soul aside from themselves were left standing. He had a suspicion
that a few of the smarter ones had run for it, though. He had caught glimpses
of something fleeing east but who and how many were anyone’s guess.

Gerrard, without prompting, went and yanked off the sign
from near the front gate. He tucked it under his arm with the other one. Sweat
dewed his skin but he did not seem tired, just a little winded from the
exertion. “How many gangs are up here again?”

“Five,” Riana supplied. “Three, now.”

“Three more? If they’re all this easy, it should be fine.
Lead the way.”

Riana did so although she took a slightly different trail in
than Broden would have chosen, one that brought them to the edge of the camp
and did not dump them into plain view of the gates. She paused on the outskirts
of the tree line and looked to Ash, a question on her face.

It was his twin who asked, tone sardonic, “Ash, want to try
talking to them again?”

Her twin blew out a resigned breath. “No, just go.”

Crimson Tide was as easy to fight with as the Grey Wolves
had been. It was over in minutes and their sign was added to the collection
under Gerrard’s arm. Broden led them to the Jade Devils’ camp next. They had
purposely hit the three largest gangs first and in comparison, the Jade Devils
did not even put up much of a fight. The same was true of The Horns. It all
happened so quickly that within the course of six hours, the five gangs that
had been a threat to Cloud’s Rest—a threat that had lasted longer than living
memory—were abruptly destroyed.

Broden reeled from the shock of it. Even though he had been
there for each fight, seeing the camps leveled with his own eyes, it was still
unreal to him. It felt like he was in a dream.

“That was really it?” Kirsty asked as they made their way
toward the village. “I mean, I feel like I’ve been gearing up for a fight and
then missed it somehow.”

“Ye no’ be the only one.” Riana shook her head slowly, over
and over, as if she could not believe it all either. “I never thought it would
take so little time to deal with them all. They have been a plague to Cloud’s
Rest for years and now? In the space of a day they be gone.”

“I be just as shocked, daughter.” Pleasantly so, though. “Wizards
be scary beasts when angered.”

All four wizards grinned at him, pleased with the
compliment.

“You were equally scary,” Ashlynn informed him. “I swear
your hands were a blur.”

“They must have been,” he drawled. “I have an empty quiver.”