First new fantasy series--with a quest problem.
On preorder now, releases Jan. 13, 2026. (yeah, yeah, that space between the paragraphs won't be there--just a Blogger thing ;).
Please note: still in edits ;).
Chapter One
I
crouched into the shrubs as I stalked my target. My green and brown hooded tunic,
leggings, and the vines covering my bow would blend into the trees behind me.
As long as I kept my rambunctious mass of red hair tucked under my hood. Some days
were worse than others, and today it had turned into a creature from the wild
woods. I kept saying one of these days I was going to cut it, but I liked it
when it did what it was supposed to.
I’d
chosen to ignore how rare that was.
The late afternoon sun also helped hide me as
long shadows filled the woods. But the most important part was holding still
until the exact moment my quarry crossed the targeted spot.
Being
still was not a natural occurrence for me, no matter how many times I did this.
I told myself I was getting better. At some point, I’d believe it.
I
froze as the sound of horses came down the tree-covered path below my
hiding spot. Three. My source had said there would be four. Had she been
mistaken, or was it simply that the fourth rider had too much to drink at the
Drunken Ox pub last night?
I held my breath as they moved closer, and my time of deciding to attack or not grew
slim. Skipping this job would be bad, very bad. Vuelo was paying good money for
a bag of rare coins. But without backup, there was no one to save me if I
guessed wrong.
Then
the riders crossed an open part of the trail. One of the guards was missing.
Which could mean he was coming up behind, had passed out somewhere, or was taking
a different route. I really needed this job, so I took the chance that he was
out of the picture completely.
The
remaining three people were where I needed them to be. Taking a steadying
breath, I released the string of my bow. The long arrow sliced through the rope
holding up the net, which covered the road, dropping it over the three riders. The
spells embedded in the rope knocked out riders and horses, but left them
standing. It wasn’t a cheap spell to buy, but worth every coin. Of course, it would
only last for about five minutes. I had some magic of my own, but I was new to
it, and something this touchy could take years of training.
I
slipped my bow and quiver into the sling over my shoulder and raced down to the
stunned group. I bypassed the two guards—the man looked like he’d been stunned while
getting ready to shout, the woman had her hand on the hilt of her sword, and
had already drawn it a few inches.
Neither
boded well, as it seemed they’d sensed me right before the net dropped. Which
should have been impossible.
Swearing
under my breath, I ran to the nobleman. Getting the pouch out without touching
the netting over him wouldn’t be easy. In theory, the heavy gloves I wore should
keep the spell on the net from my skin, but it still wasn’t a good chance to
take.
It
took longer than I’d practiced, but I got the heavy pouch free safely. I nodded
thanks to the nobleman for the coins, not that he could see anything, nor would
he see more than a plant-darkened face under a heavy hood, even if he hadn’t
been spelled. But it was nice to be polite.
Ha.
In her last letter, my foster sister Alia had bet me three half-pence I
couldn’t pull off a job without fighting someone. Nice to know my friendly
thief was wrong. And she owed me some coin.
“Hold
it right there.” The deep voice behind me wasn’t what I needed right now.
I
turned to the man, expecting it to be the missing guard, but he had been
described as a half-troll, and this one was human.
He
was also cloaked and hooded, not unlike me. And, uncommon to most rogues, he
was armed with a longbow. Also, like me. Yet his hood didn’t cover his face
well, and I could see he was about my age, with dark brown hair and deep hazel
eyes. Attractive, but not smart enough to completely hide his face. I was
certain he wasn’t local.
He
was someone I would remember.
I
kept my head up, watching the hooded man as I tucked the pouch into the vest
under my cloak. The one Alia swore could stop an arrow at close range when
she’d stolen it for me last year.
I
would rather not test her claim.
“I’ll
be taking the bag.” My opponent kept his bow steady as he lifted his chin
toward me.
Down
to two minutes before the stun spell on the net broke. I’d timed this to be on my
way out of here by this point. “I didn’t see you doing the work. I don’t think
you’ll be getting the reward. Besides, there are widows and children to feed.” I
added the last part as a lark. This was going into my pockets, those of Vuelo,
who gave me the job, and a large anonymous donation to schooling for the
youngsters of the Fae Workhouse. But I’d heard of some thief robbing and giving
to the poor halfway across the country, so I might as well play off it.
“Then
you won’t mind me taking it to them. I can’t see your face, but you sound like
a lovely young woman. One who shouldn’t be out where it’s dangerous.”
A
guaranteed way to get under my skin was to mock me as being a frail and
defenseless woman. And this idiot wasn’t even doing it based on my looks. At a
speed my elven ancestors would have approved of, I drew one of my throwing
blades and flung it at the archer.
He
ducked but stayed on his horse as I ran around the still-frozen, but not for
much longer, nobleman tableau and vanished up the hill into the deep bushes and
trees. It was the wrong direction from where I left my horse, Moose, but I’d
come back to get him if he didn’t come down on his own.
He
was too ornery to let anyone else take him.
Swearing
followed me as the spell on the nets expired, the noblemen and guards woke up,
and the archer who’d tried to rob me tore off in the opposite direction. At
least that was what it sounded like. I had excellent hearing and wasn’t about
to risk being caught by turning around to check.
“I’ve
been robbed! Follow him!” The noble’s voice was high-pitched and whiny.
I
almost felt bad for the archer, but if he was as woods-smart as he’d appeared,
he should have no trouble getting away. If not, then maybe he’d learn not to
rob people. I chuckled. I’d need to tell Alia and Wynne my joke when I next saw
them.
I
thought I was far enough away from the ambush, so I slowed down. Luckily, I
hadn’t pushed back my hood as a large form crashed through the shrubs behind me.
I’d
forgotten about the missing half-troll guard.
I
wasn’t tiny; those elven ancestors gave me height, but this guard was a good
two feet taller than I.
And
from the massive arms, long tusks, and heavy brow, I’d say he was more than
just half-troll.
“Stay
still.” The guard’s face was brutish and he looked extremely confused. “What
did you do?”
He
chased me, but wasn’t certain what I’d done? I might need to give some of my
pilfered coins back to the nobleman so he could hire a better class of guards.
“I
was coming down the path when I heard yelling, and I am now returning home.
It’s dangerous for a lady to be out.” I tried to hold myself regally, but the
cloak and hood made it difficult.
“With
the gunk on your face? Push back yer hood.” The half-troll held a short sword,
but rather ineffectively. If I charged him, there was a better than average
chance I could knock it out of his hand. Of course, that would put me within
his reach. He might not be used to a sword, but his arm muscles indicated he
knew how to squish things. Or people.
Or
feisty human-elf hybrids with a tendency toward robbery.
“This
gunk, as you called it, is the newest skin treatment from the capital. It uses
the power of nature to bring forth our inner beauty.” I gave a haughty sniff as
I took a step away from him.
He
scratched his head. “You don’t look like a noble. And you have a bow?” His
forehead crashed down over his eyes. “You’re hunting.”
His
slow nod prompted another two steps back by me.
“I
have been out communing with the natural world. Of course, I have a bow. Would you
expect a noble lady to use a sword?” Three more steps back.
“I
think you needs to come with me. Now.” His face scrunched up further. Luckily,
he indicated his intended direction toward me early enough that I was able to dodge
and run.
My
mentor, Jeliac, had always said to never fight what could be outrun. And if I
couldn’t outrun a lumbering half-troll, then my elven ancestors could rise from
the beyond and smite me.
I
glanced around as the guard crashed along after me. I wasn’t one to believe in
the afterlife or spirits, but my other foster sister, Wynne, did, and some of
it must have rubbed off. I sent whatever beings were out there a request for
help.
Keeping
my swearing under my breath, I smiled as a clearing opened up ahead of me. A
familiar one. There was an open-ended cave system on the other side of the deep
grass. I could run through and be safe and settled in my front room before the
troll blundered his way out.
The
sound of an approaching horse at a good pace wasn’t welcome.
The
archer from before cut into the clearing and lifted an impressive sword. “Get
behind me! I’ll protect you!” He threw back his hood. Even more attractive than
I’d originally thought, with warm brown hair drifting past his collar, hazel
eyes glinting in the late afternoon sun, and dimples even a serious frown
couldn’t erase. But dropping his hood wasn’t a great idea if he didn’t want to
be identified by the guard he was now threatening. However, I would take any
distraction at this point. Even a heroic, handsome, but not bright, one.
“Thanks,
but I’m fine.” I ducked around him and his horse, but only to scramble into the
cave mouth. I hadn’t been there since I was a girl, and it was narrower than I
recalled. To be truthful, I doubted the half-troll guard could have made it past
the entrance.
I
watched as the guard charged the archer. Then I ran into the cave. The sounds
of fighting faded away as I made my way through the twisty tunnels. I had a few
false turns, but eventually came out on a hill overlooking the town I called
home, Dialitlyn. It wasn’t much, but it was a sight to see after the events of
the last few minutes. Peering out of the cave, I made sure no one was nearby,
then raced out of the cave and down the hill. The borrowed spell on my hood
kept it from flying back, but Wynne had warned me it wouldn’t last long.
Another bit of magic on my long list of spells to learn.
I
didn’t feel safe until I’d unlocked my massively oversized front door, checked
for attempts of break-ins, gone inside, relocked, and spelled the door. Then I listened
carefully for sounds of pursuit.
The
noble and his people weren’t from Dialitlyn, so there wasn’t much fear they’d
know who I was. Not to mention, neither the half-troll nor the archer had seen
more than my cloak and my gloved hands.
I
quickly scrubbed the spell mud from my face; it was already starting to itch.
Had my hood fallen off, I still would have been almost impossible to identify
with the gloopy mess on my face.
Now,
to see what was in this pouch that Vuelo was willing to pay three sovereigns
for me to retrieve. That was a healthy amount of gold.
I
carried the pouch over to my favorite chair, ignoring the two empty ones near
it, and dumped the contents out on the small table next to my chair.
It
had felt like coins, but thanks to the archer, I hadn’t had time to check. I
wasn’t expecting the dozen small, cut, and polished gems that tumbled out. I
let out a whistle. Without even knowing what these were, they were about a
hundred times more valuable than three sovereigns. What was Vuelo’s game? She
was a mostly honest leader of the criminal world, or at least the edges of it
in Dialitlyn and the villages nearby. I did simple, low-level jobs for a few coins.
Why would she have sent me after a major haul? Vuelo had said it was a pouch of
rare coins. Did I grab the wrong thing? The pouch looked as Vuelo had described
it, and there had been nothing else in the nobleman’s top pocket, which was
where Vuelo promised they would be.
I
grabbed a writing stick to turn the gems around without touching them. Not only
were gems valuable for just being themselves, but they could also be used to
hold dangerous spells. The less contact, the better.
These
looked as if they might have the remains of extremely faint gold jewelry settings
on them. Whoever took them had been careful about making certain they were
clean. Another advantage of my eleven ancestors, exceptionally good eyesight.
Luckily, for me, aside from my height and slenderness, I didn’t look elvish. My
ears and light green eyes were rounded and human. Not that being an elf was a
bad thing, but they weren’t common in this part of the kingdom. Not to mention,
my exceptional aim with a bow, which brought in much-needed prize money from
time to time, would be questioned if it were known I had elven blood.
I
pushed the gems around some more, but they weren’t giving me any answers. I
could possibly use my low-level magic to get a response, but I’d promised
Jeliac I wouldn’t try to use magic in the house until I received more training.
All my life, I’d wanted to be magical, like my two foster sisters. Then,
suddenly, a year ago, magic smacked me upside the head.
And
I’d almost blown the roof off my second favorite pub.
Luckily,
Jeliac, Alia, and Wynne had all still been in town at the time and shut me
down. Alia had sleight of hand magic, low-level but enough to recognize when my
magic flared to life. Same with Wynne, although her magics were from the seas.
Jeliac was a former royal wizard of a distant and unnamed kingdom. He was the
most concerned. He taught me some low-level magics, but admonished me not to
play with magic, then vanished eight months ago.
Alia
left for Tuctown four months ago, and Wynne went back to the high seas two
months ago. The house Wynne, Alia, and I shared felt cold and empty now. Even
more so when I’d just escaped from being captured and had some extremely odd
gems to deal with.
Grumbling
to myself, I used the writing stick to push the gems back into their bag. I was
supposed to bring the bag and its contents to Vuelo first thing in the morning.
Normally, I didn’t have a problem handing over what I lifted off unscrupulous rich
travelers. Jobs for Vuelo were usually clean and easy. And allowed me to keep
living in this house. Plus, helping out the orphans in the Fae Workhouse with
donations made me feel good. Anonymously, of course.
I
washed my face again, the spell mud still felt as if it was lingering, changed my
clothes, and had a nice stew simmering when a sharp knock rattled the front
door.
It
was full night now. Proper people wouldn’t be calling. Dialitlyn was a
relatively safe town, but still, chances shouldn’t be taken. I grabbed one of my
daggers and kept it behind the door as I cracked it open. Jeliac had been after
us for years to get a spyhole installed. I now regretted that we had ignored
him.
I
had a magically powered torch outside my house, one Jeliac had installed to
come on at dark, so I could see the face of the person facing me as I cracked
open the door.
I
almost slammed the door in his face. “What do you want, Xial?” Vuelo was mostly
upstanding. Many of the people working for her were not. Xial was one whom I
would count myself lucky if he died a sudden and horrific death.
The
scar running down his face from eye to chin, and a second, fainter one across
his throat, pointed out that I wasn’t the only one to feel that way.
Unfortunately,
nothing had killed him yet.
He
shoved his way into the room. I was fast, but he’d taken some sort of
spell-drug as he not only shoved me back, but he shut and locked the door
before I could get my dagger up. He also pulled out a nasty-looking short
sword. “I’ll take the bag Vuelo sent you after. You can give it to me, or die,
and I'll take it anyway.”
