Heart of Ash (The Dark Arcane Series: Book 1)

Chapter Twenty Two

The night at the all welcome inn had been tense. Ashyn had barely slept a wink from the combined paranoia of being amongst strangers and being in an unfamiliar establishment.

She had shared the room with Sariem. Something about the quiet spoken and cautious woman had won a kernel of her trust, as opposed to the bold and feisty Nala, who she had yet to make her mind up about. But even if Sariem had presented herself of low threat, Ashyn was not going to take anything for granted; looks can be deceiving. Meredith's small stature was a testament to that.

Earlier, Conan had come bashing on their door like a war drum. He shouted they were leaving soon, and within the half hour they were all dressed and sitting upon their tacked horses.

She reached down and checked her horse's girth, as Conan explained the plans, looking all too pleased to be giving the instructions, "We'll be leaving the city today, and reaching the plains of the north if we're lucky. The plains are bandit territory so we stay together, no straying from the path or each other. Keep a sharp eye out."

They set off at a brisk trot, and held that pace for so long she began to dread the two-beat rhythm under her. The broad horse had a decent enough stride but the saddle was cheap and her arse was beginning to pay for it. Or maybe it had just simply been longer than she thought since she had last been in a saddle.

The plains were a vast landscape of long pale grass and randomly placed trees. She liked it a lot better than the city.

A clicking sound in front of her stole her attention. It was Nala, who had turned around to face them, loading her crossbow and aiming it at her.

She tensed, ready to unhook her feet from the stirrups lest she needed to duck—but no, Nala tilted the crossbow higher towards the sky. Several pounding heartbeats passed before she pulled the trigger and released the arrow. There was a low thud behind them.

Everyones heads snapped backwards to catch a glimpse of what she had been aiming at.

Kade wheeled his piebald gelding towards the black dot that had fallen, and when he returned, he carried an awfully familiar—and now dead—bird in one hand.

"Oh, the poor thing," Sariem cooed sadly.

"It's been following us since we left the city, I'm sure of it," Nala explained, as she tucked away her crossbow.

"How can you be sure?" Conan smarted as he folded his thick arms.

Ashyn tried to get a better look. Even with a broken wing and an arrow impaling its chest, the bedraggled feathers and spindly claws confirmed it. It was Allvitende. That miserable little shit always turned up when not wanted.

She cursed. Meredith was going to be so mad.

Kade threw it down on the ground.

"Who would know to track us? Nobody knows we left apart from a few Shadows," he said.

Conan disagreed, "It doesn't look like a tracking bird. Maybe you just shot down an innocent bird, Nala."

She sent him a withering state in return.

The Ender leapt off his horse and crouched beside Allvitende. To her surprise he pulled off his glove and touched the bird for several moments.

The chills down her neck, which she had begun to associate with his presence, intensified, to the point where she was sure ice was forming. Whatever was happening, the others had seen it before and fell silent—even the argumentative Conan held his tongue, a feat in itself.

When he pulled back his hand, he immediately put his glove back on. A frown was on his face if his conflicted tone was anything to go by. "Somethings wrong about this. False. I can't explain it but the bird is a lie."