Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (4 page)

“Yes ma’am, it sure does.” Thorne didn’t sound happy as he
said this. “They haven’t come any closer than this, which is why I didn’t
report it sooner, as I knew you were coming to check in with me first thing
this morning. But I don’t give it good odds of them staying in place for much
longer. What do you want me to do?”

“Stay put,” she ordered. “I will call for reinforcements. Ye
sound that horn if they make even a step in this direction. But lad, mind me:
do
no’
engage. These be ruthless men and they will no’ hesitate to
overwhelm ye and slit yer throat.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She studied his face but he seemed to mean it. Satisfied,
she slithered back to a lower branch and hopped out of the tree before striding
straight for where she had seen Ash last. He had been making noises this
morning about getting the inn’s kitchen finished, so that’s where she headed.

Fortunately, he was exactly where he said he’d be, under the
sink and helping to install the pipes. All she could see at this angle was his
legs. “Ash.”

He contorted around so that he could see her, although he
stayed down on the ground. “Uh-oh. I know that look. What’s wrong?”

“The bandits be here.”

Ash scrambled to his feet so fast that he brained himself
against the bottom of the sink. Hissing, he held a protective hand to his
forehead even as he demanded, “Are they attacking?”

“No’ as of yet.” Riana grabbed a washcloth off the counter
and wet it. “Take yer hand away, let me look.”

“It just smarts, it’s fine, what do you mean they’re not
attacking yet?”

“No’ as yet. Thorne spotted their cooking fire off in the
woods and it looks like quite a number has gathered here. But they be no’
moving yet.” Getting a good grip on his hand, she yanked it down and saw that
he was right, it was just lightly bruising. She put the cloth to it anyway to
cool it down. She needed him to have a clear head later. “Call yer sister. We
will need every hand she can spare today.”

“You think they’ll attack today?” Ash lifted the caller to
his mouth and spoke clearly, “Ashlynn.”

“Belike today or tomorrow.”

“
Ash?”

“Sister dearest, we have bandits camping out in the woods.”

Ashlynn swore, the language vile enough to make a sailor
blush. “
How much time do I have to get help to you?”

“We don’t know,” Ash said sourly. “They’re not making a move
so far. Riana says there’s quite the gathering out there, though. We don’t have
the manpower here to fight them off.”

“I’ll get you every person I can spare and then some.
Just hang tight.”

Ash dropped the necklace, grabbed Riana’s hand, and headed
straight for the door. “I want to see this for myself. Should we gather people
in? No, of course we should, we can’t protect everyone spread out like this.”

Riana gently disengaged the hand he had on her and said, “Ye
check in with Thorne if ye must, but I need to have words with the other two.
Mayhap they be seeing something as well.”

“What?” Ash looked and felt panicked to her along their
bond. “No, you’re not going anywhere without me. I’ll go too. We’ll spread the
word as we go. I’d rather not tip the bandits off that we know they’re there
just yet by using the horns.”

“Good thought, that one.” Riana was all for keeping the
status as it was as long as they could. Tipping it either direction would lead
to a disaster until they had more fighters in place. “Then, come along.
Quiet-like.”

Broden and Ashlynn were not even out of the boat yet when
they demanded of Ash, “Still in the woods?”

“Still in the woods,” Ash assured them, extending a hand and
helping his sister up onto the docks. “I have no idea what they’re waiting for,
but the fact that they’re still waiting is making me nervous. Riana is now
hovering up in the tree and she refuses to move. I don’t think she’s getting down
until they either make a move or I put a ward up.”

When the call had come in this morning, Ashlynn had been
frantic about pulling every available person out and sending them to the
settlement. Estole was now operating under a skeletal crew. She had even called
in several retired guardsmen to fill in the holes, which they had been happy to
do, fortunately. Broden did not think they had left enough men behind to deal
with Estole’s usual problems, so he spent most of the boat ride over sending a
prayer toward the heavens that for once, Estole would have a peaceful day.

“Where be she?” Broden asked, already moving forward.

“Follow the main road all the way down,” Ash directed.
“She’s in that huge hickory tree.”

Broden followed his instructions precisely and even though
he roughly knew where his daughter was, he still could barely detect her up in
the tree. Actually, he saw the young guardsman, Thorne, first. “Ho, ye two,” he
called up softly.

“Da, come up.”

At this invitation, Broden grabbed a branch and hauled
himself up until he was a good twenty feet off the ground. There he found
Thorne and Riana, both perched on the same branch. As that did not leave any
room for him, he went to the next one over, sitting down comfortably. “What do
ye see?”

Riana pointed a finger straight ahead. He craned his neck,
strained his eyes, and saw what his daughter was watching. “Ho now. I do no’
like the look of that.”

“Me either,” she agreed grimly. “Da. I be counting a good
forty men over there. And there be more on the east side. What be the odds that
the Grey Wolves would send their whole gang here?”

“And leave their territory defenseless?” He scratched at his
chin before shaking his head slowly back and forth. “Daughter, I doubt that.
But I know they be no’ this big before we left.”

“Nowhere near,” she confirmed. “So one of two things
happened.”

“Either they grew a lot in the past three months, or…”
Broden hated saying the words out loud, but they had to be said, “we be facing
two bandit gangs.”

“Da,” Riana said mildly, “I did no’ want to hear that.”

“Sorry,” he sighed. “I did no’ want to say it.”

She shifted but the branch was sturdy enough that it did not
even sway. “I could no’ get a headcount of the other bunch,” she admitted
sourly. “They be far enough out I barely could see them at all.”

That meant she had no idea how many they were really up
against. “We brought thirty men with us.”

“Thirty guardsmen, two wizards and two archers,” she summed
up. “Da, ye think we can fight them off with that?”

“They fought off a small army afore this,” he reminded her.
“I do no’ give even two bandit gangs good odds.”

Thorne grinned at them. “Besides, having the two of you tips
the balance in our favor.”

“Ah, listen to the lad,” Broden drawled with a wink at her,
“he makes an old man blush, he does.”

Thorne was one of the ones he helped train and he grinned at
his mentor. “I’ve been practicing religiously, sir. Can I fight alongside you?”

“It would be an honor, lad.” Broden would prefer that,
actually. The boy had skills but no experience and he would like to watch
Thorne’s back until he was a little less green. “For now, stay up here.
Daughter, we need to speak with Ashlynn and make a plan.”

“I’ll keep an eagle eye on them,” Thorne promised them both.

Riana was reluctant to turn her back on an unpredictable
enemy but she followed her father down the tree with the trust that Thorne
would be true to his word. Ashlynn and Ash were standing not far away, just on
the edge of the finished road, both of them with some sort of magical lens up
to their eyes. Broden had seen the lass use it a time or three before and knew
it to be like a spyglass. Only better, according to her.

Ashlynn came up to his side and lifted the lens to his eye.
“What do you see?”

Broden took a long, hard look, taking her wrist and
directing her so that he could pan the woods. With all of the trees and
shrubbery in the way, it was hard to make out details, but he saw enough to
make him want to swear. “Trouble, lass. Daughter, turns out it be the latter
option. We do no’ have one gang out there, but two.”

Riana did not break out in swearing or cry, but he could
tell she was tempted to do both. “Ye see enough to make it out?”

“They got Tree out there.”

“Tree?” the twins repeated, not following.

“Man belonging to the Crimson Tides,” Riana explained. “He
be unusually tall. They call him Tree.”

“Canno’ mistake him for anyone else, the man be a giant.”
Broden panned the area again, trying to gain more information, but it truly was
hard to catch anything solid except what he was catching through glimpses. “But
if Tree be here, then we got two gangs to contend with.”

“How big is each gang?” Ashlynn asked in worry.

“Well, now, they both be about the same size. Eighty or so
in each, I be reckoning. But they will no’ have sent every soul here. Can no’
afford to, what with needing to protect their own territories.” Broden finally
lowered her arm. “Thank ye, lass. I be reckoning mayhap about forty from each?”

“They can no’ send more than half of their force,” Riana
agreed. “No’ without risking losing their territories altogether.”

“So we have roughly eighty men out there.” Ashlynn frowned
into the woods. “Eighty men who are skilled at fighting in the woods and
ambushing.”

“That be the size of it,” Broden agreed heavily. “Even with
the force we have, it be no’ good odds. This will be quite the fight.”

“Will they put up a fight?” Ash sounded skeptical. “I mean,
that first attack, only about ten actually stood their ground.”

“If they brought this many with them, and partnered up with
another gang to boot, they will fight, lad.” Broden blew out a breath and drew
in the courage he needed to once again face the same old enemies that had
haunted his footsteps for so many years. “I do no’ like the fact that the past
be following us here.”

“Me neither,” Riana grumbled. “Da? Can we lure them in some?
Yer guardsmen do no’ have experience fighting in the woods. They be at a
disadvantage.”

Yes, and that disadvantage would get them killed. Fighting
in forests was entirely different than fighting in a city, which was what they
were used to. Broden had learned the hard way what those differences were and
he had had help from Ashlynn with that learning curve. “We need to think of a
way. We can no’ afford to lose even one soul here.”

“Truth,” Ashlynn agreed, nibbling at the edge of her thumb.
“Can we evacuate the people? It’ll be two-fold, getting them safely out of the
way and making it more tempting to the bandits.”

“We’ll have to be careful how we do that, if we choose to,”
Ash cautioned. “I swear to you that they’re just keeping an eye on the
settlement for now and watching our patterns before deciding how to approach.
If we do anything major, then it’s going to upset the status quo we’ve got
right now.”

“Removing the people will no’ go over well,” Broden
disagreed. “They like to take people for ransom.”

“Is that possibly why they’re waiting?” Ash looked disturbed
by this idea. “They’re picking their targets?”

“Aye, belike that be part of it.” Broden knew from
experience who they would choose, too. Children first, as they were the easiest
to control, women second, and then anyone that came along as the last choice.
If those louts figured out that they had high-ranking officials in the camp,
they would head directly for them. Fortunately, neither Ash nor Ashlynn ever
wore anything eye-catching. Especially these days, while they were doing
rough-and-ready work, they chose tough and plain clothing. If they had actually
looked like wizards, the bandits would already be on them.

Broden moved in a slow circle, looking around him at all
angles. There were only a few buildings that had real walls up, and of those,
only one had a roof on it. Considering its size and layout—that had to be the
inn. “Ash. Can ye fit everyone into that building yonder?”

“If we don’t include some of the builders, I think so.
They’ve been adamant about fighting with us to get rid of the bandits anyway,
there’s no way they’d agree to hiding out. Why?”

“I think ye should put all of the people ye can into the
building, set up a ward to protect them. Then mayhap an ‘official’ should come
over.”

Riana caught onto the plan in a flat second and let out a
whistle of admiration. “Smart, Da. Dress someone up fancy-like, have them come
in and put on airs, the bandits be thinking finally they have someone worth
ransoming. It might bring them rushing in.”

“Exactly so.”

“And then when they do come in, create a kill-box and trap
them inside?” Ashlynn shared a speaking look with her brother. “It’s better
than being reactive to whatever plans they have. Who can we dress up?”

“Someone that’s a good fighter. Someone that you can spare.”

“I brought every good fighter that I could spare with me,”
Ashlynn responded with considerable asperity. “Unless you want me to play the
part.”

“Already seen yer face,” Broden disagreed. “They like as no’
have spyglasses aimed at us even now. We need someone else.”

“Marissa? Amber?” Ash suggested. “Have them borrow one of
your fancier dresses before coming over here.”

“If that’s the case, it’ll have to be Amber. Marissa and I
are different sizes.” Casting about, she looked around before asking, “Once we
draw them in, then what? Attack?”

“Bandits do no’ have strategy aside from ambushing,” Broden
observed. “Trying to think of one to combat them be pointless. Hide some men to
ambush them without being obvious about it. Use what walls that are up to yer
best advantage.”

“We’ve been acting like nothing’s really wrong all day, just
going around building.” Ash canted his head toward the guardsmen that were
still waiting at the docks. “If we act like they’re just here to help us build,
we can slip them in without raising any real alarms.”

Broden was not as sure about that, but it was worth a try
anyway. “Then call Amber. It be early in the day yet and if we can get them to
attack now, so much the better.”

“Go back to building,” Ashlynn ordered her brother, “and
spread the word for everyone to go to the inn for lunch as naturally as
possible. I’ll have a ward set up and ready to go by that time.”

“Right.” Ash moved off, Riana like a second shadow.

Broden followed Ashlynn into the inn, where she paused and
made the call to Amber, explaining the plan and what the other woman needed to
do. Amber, bless the woman, readily agreed and promised she would be there
within the hour.

When that call ended, Ashlynn went to every door and corner
of the inn, laying down the groundwork for the ward. Broden kept track of her
by ear as she went about but chose instead to duck into the kitchen and get an
early lunch. A man did not fight on an empty stomach if he had any choice about
it.

Nicole Sadler greeted him with a worried frown. “Master
Broden, how are things outside?”

Grim. He did not say that aloud but put on a smile for her.
“Ah, lass, do no’ ye worry about it. We have seen far worse than this. If ye
can, spare a man a plate of food. Make up one for yon lass as well. We will no’
be able to join ye all for lunch.”

“Of course,” she assured him, already reaching for one of
the wrapped sandwiches. “I have apples too, if you want me to slice you up
some?”

“Bless ye, that sounds fine.” Broden leaned his back up
against the counter and ate steadily as food was passed to him. He gave the
cooks praises, which they appreciated, but he could tell that they knew it was
a bad situation.

Ashlynn came in while he was eating on the apple. He passed
a sandwich to her without a word and she sensibly started eating without an
argument. “I’ve prepared a ward to go up around this building,” she informed
the women in between bites. “If something does happen, run here and either I or
my brother will activate the ward.”

Violet put a hand to her heart as she breathed out in
relief, “Thank you for that. Are we expecting an attack soon?”

“We’re going to try to trigger an attack soon,” Ashlynn
corrected. “It’ll give us the advantage. So for lunch, there’s going to be a
lot of people stuck in here for a while.”

The women exchanged worried looks but nodded in
understanding.

Ashlynn polished off the last of her sandwich. “It’s been
close to an hour. Let’s go to the docks. I bet Amber will arrive soon.”

Broden fell into step with her as they walked that
direction. Keeping his voice down to a confidential level, he admitted to
Ashlynn, “There be a chance that they will no’ take the bait. What do we do
then, lass?”

“Figure out something else. We know they’re going to attack;
sooner or later they’re going to lose patience and rush in, so all we have to
do is stay vigilant and wait for them.” Ashlynn spoiled this confident reply by
adding, “I just hope that they do take the bait. We’re going to be put at a
disadvantage otherwise. Reaction is always harder in battle than action.”

That was truth. Broden prayed their scheme would work.