Page 8 of A Tempest of Shadows

However, I didn’t put it past the King or the aristocrats to force me into a binding commitment with one of them if they ever learned the truth of my abilities. There was a price to pay for being the only weather elemental man or woman ever to wield all five, and I refused to pay it. If I were a man, I’d be a powerful force in this realm, but as a woman, I’d be nothing more than a tool for a wealthy man.

Either that, or they’d fear me and kill me because of it.

I shoved those concerns back into the dark recesses of my mind, where they belonged. I’d made it this far without exposing my abilities, and I would make sure it stayed that way.

There were far more important things to focus on… like hiding this money. We had to ensure no one found it before we got it into the hands of those who deserved it most.

From somewhere to my right, a twig snapped. Lifting my bow from the ground, I removed an arrow from where Scarlet had dropped my quiver and nocked it as Scarlet’s eyes, locked over my right shoulder, widened.

Gritting my teeth, I stayed low as I spun, took aim at where the sound came from, and spotted the karadu. The creature, the size of a small bear, had a long snout and bristly, patchy brown hair all over its compact body.

Tusks protruded from beside its snout, and two sharp teeth rose from its bottom jaw to stick into the air. Its claws churned the earth as it stalked toward us with its red eyes blazing.

Its rotund belly swayed with every step, but I didn’t kid myself into thinking it would slow this creature down. The karadu was full and weighted down, but these things killed for pleasure, and if it succeeded in slaughtering one of us, it would gladly store our bodies to eat them later.

I wasn’t about to let that happen. With a squeal, the creature burst into motion and barreled toward us with the current occupant of its belly sloshing back and forth.

The karadu was fifteen feet away when I released my arrow. It whistled as it shot through the air and straight into one of its beady red eyes.

The karadu squealed as its legs shot out, and it plowed into the ground. Dirt and debris kicked out from underneath it as it skidded to a halt a few feet away.

It released a chuff of breath before going completely still. Rising, I planted my foot against the creature’s head and tore the arrow free. I examined the bolt to ensure it was still useable before sliding it back into my quiver.

“Let’s go,” I said to Scarlet.

Together, we lifted the chest and carried it to a nearby tree we often used to hide things. At the tree’s base was a small door that Scarlet opened.

It had been a while since I’d seen a pixie in Tempest. I didn’t know why they’d left, but the abandoned pixie home was my favorite hiding spot and big enough to slide the chest inside.

I closed and locked the door before resting my hand against it. I hated leaving such a treasure trove behind, but we’d used this spot before and never lost any of our treasures.

“Now what?” Scarlet asked.

“Now, we change and head to The Hollows. We have to figure out the best way to disperse it without getting caught.”

Usually, we left bags of money scattered throughout the town, but there was too much inside the chest for us to do that. Or maybe not; maybe we could disperse it in our normal way, but it would take more time.

And the longer it took, the more likely someone could stumble across the chest and take it. Also, the contents of the chest could fill hundreds of the satchels we normally used, and we didn’t have hundreds of them.

We would figure it out, but until then, we had to get out of these woods.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ryker

I stopped at the edge of the first huts on the road to Nottingshire. It had been a couple of years since I was last in this part of the realm, and things had changed.

When I was younger, I would come here for fun, adventure, gambling, drinks, women, and to escape my father. Later, I came to release some pressure from training in Leo’s military.

Then, Nottingshire had smelled of excitement and freedom. Now, all I detected was dirt, body odor, animals, and desperation.

This had always been where those who had little resided, and now, they had less than before. Nottingshire had gone from an atmosphere of revelry to a subdued place for those struggling and failing to survive.

The poor masses huddled around booths, scampered through the streets, and shouted their wares as horses clomped up and down the urine-and-feces-riddled roads. Here, the streets consisted of mud that was supposed to be hard-packed dirt, but spring’s rainy season had changed that.

As if determined to make the streets worse, dark clouds gathered on the horizon as a storm rolled across the land. Lightning flashed in the distance, but it would be a while before the storm made it this far.

It was almost impossible to step anywhere that didn’t have animal shit, but I’d walked in far worse during the Ghoul War and while in Doomed Valley. Still, I loathed the sloshing sound of the mud sucking at my boots; it reminded me too much of the blood-drenched fields of a war that had taken far too much from Tempest, its residents, and me.