Through the Flames
Read Through the Flames Online
Authors: Ryne Billings
Table of Contents
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by
Ryne
Billings.
Cover Art by Amanda
Yandell
.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
First of
all, I’d like to thank my good friend Amanda
for her assistance. Without her, I hate to imagine what the cover would look like. To be honest, it would probably just be a piece of stock art with a title and my name slapped onto it. Needless to say, her art is leaps and bounds over anything I can do.
Second of all, I’d like to thank Amy. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be. She’s always there for me when I get stuck or need a boost.
Thirdly, I’d like to thank the great people at Kindle Boards. They’re a great group of people, and they can be supportive when needed. They can be pretty critical when needed too, which is something that makes them so useful.
I’d also like to thank my family. In particular, I’d like to thank my parents. My parents have been very supportive through this entire ordeal. They’ve never once thought less of my decision to self-publish instead of seeking out legacy publishing, and that’s something that I’ve truly appreciated.
Lastly, I’d like to thank my Uncle Scott. He may not have directly helped with this work, but it was he who gave me motivation to continue writing after I let him read a much earlier work of mine.
Cain Fell drummed his fingers on the table before him as his eyes were trained on the piece of parchment that sat centered upon it.
His dark gray eyes took in the subtle penmanship of the words. A great deal could be learned about a man from studying the way he wrote.
He shuddered as he came to the conclusion that he did.
Word from him is never good, even when it sounds like it… like this.
Cain’s eyes rose from the parchment and scanned the contents of his large canvas tent. Everything seemed to be in place. His bed and the wooden chest next to it were untouched, as always.
Satisfied that there was no one hiding in the tent, his eyes returned to the parchment and he stroked his dark brown goatee. “So he finally wants to make his move, does he?”
The thought was not displeasing, though annoyance began to creep up.
I should’ve known he wouldn’t do it himself. He always hated getting his hands dirty.
He shook his head at his associate’s letter. He truly could not find it in him to be surprised by it, even a little. It was just his associate’s nature.
“Very well then,” Cain mused as he began to roll the parchment up. “The Black Crows will do your dirty work.”
I can’t say I know why you want us to go after such a backwoods little village, but that’s not a surprise. You always liked keeping secrets. Nonetheless, Kirakath will fall.
With that, Cain slid the rolled up parchment into his tunic and made his way to speak with his men.
Caleb walked along the dry, rocky trail that had been carved through the dense woods south of the village of Kirakath. His left hand held his yew longbow firmly where black leather had been wrapped around it to form a grip. His right hand was steadied on the wooden shafts of the arrows that stuck out of the brown leather quiver that hung behind him from his waist.
As he walked, the sun shone through the trees to the west, casting light upon his short dark blond hair and his face. The youth of sixteen years removed his right hand from his quiver and used it to block the sunlight from his eyes.
The subtle sound of footsteps brought his attention to the trail ahead of him immediately. Peering forward, he could see a young man no more than two years older than him approaching.
Caleb knew who the person approaching was on sight. With his gray tunic, black leather boots, black leggings, and black gloves, the young man fit the description of only a single person that he had ever met. It was Gabriel Silver, his best friend.
Caleb’s blue eyes met Gabriel’s green ones as the raven haired young man walked up to him with a smile on his face.
“Your father told me you were out here practicing again,” Gabriel said when he was about ten yards away from the younger boy. “Walk with me. I received some news today.”
A curious look appeared on Caleb’s face at that, but he nodded his head without any hesitation. There was no one he trusted more than Gabriel.
Gabriel walked towards Caleb once again and placed his right hand on the younger boy’s shoulder briefly. Without saying a word, he continued to walk past his friend.
Immediately understanding, Caleb turned around and followed after his friend. Because of his friend’s slow pace, it did not take him long to catch up to the older boy.
Silence reigned between the pair as they walked to the basic archery range that Caleb had set up about a mile south of Kirakath. From Caleb’s perspective, it seemed that Gabriel did not actually wish to talk, which puzzled him to no end.
Why would he tell me to walk with him if he isn’t going to say anything?
His inquisitive mind could not contain itself at his friend’s unusual behavior. They were generally very open with each other, after all, and Gabriel had said that he had news.
When they reached the clearing where the archery range had been set up, Gabriel looked around at Caleb’s handy work. It was a grassy clearing with a single tree in the center of it. Crude targets were cut into the various trees around the clearing by the blade of a dagger. The tree in the center, in addition to bearing less autumn leaves than any of the other trees around, did not have any of the marks of the crudely carved targets. It did have ordinary targets that were nailed to it, however.
“It looks like you’ve added more targets,” Gabriel commented.
“No, I haven’t,” Caleb said dryly. “You just haven’t been here since I first set this place up.”
Gabriel shrugged. It was no secret that he found archery boring and had avoided Caleb’s practice range. It was also no secret that he always had a good excuse for avoiding it. After all, he was far from perfect at his craft, so there were better uses of his time.
“What did you want to talk about?” Caleb asked, seeing that Gabriel was making no attempt to start the conversation.
“Let’s talk under your tree. It’s a bit warm today,” Gabriel said with a ghost of a frown upon his face as he pointed to the tree in the center of the clearing. He then glanced at Caleb’s weapon of choice that was still in his left hand. “There’s no need for you to continue holding that bow of yours either. I’m sure it’s uncomfortable to carry it in your hand for so long.”
