Page 69 of An Archer's Reckoning

“What’s the message, son?” he asked.

I told him about the attack on our signal outpost, then the Kingdom archers in the woods as I returned to Grove’s Pass. I handed him the letter from Captain Whitman detailing the Ranger commander’s fears of an imminent attack and preparations his men were making to defend against it.

Vre folded the parchment, tossed it behind him onto a tall stack on his desk, then stared into the tabletop as though a snake might emerge and strike. He scratched his goatee as he thought.

I waited.

He stood and paced the length of the desk, then sat and resumed his reflection into the table’s grainy wood.

I couldn’t stop from fidgeting.

Vre’s head came up slowly, as though he’d forgotten I still stood before him. “Go get something to eat . . . and get some rest. My clerk will find you a bunk.”

“Yes, sir. Will you need me to take a message back to the Captain?”

Vre shook his head slowly, his voice strangely soft. “No. That won’t be necessary.”

The General’s change in tone bothered me—and how he just stared into the tabletop. I was sure that gaze said more than any words ever could, but I couldn’t figure out what language the General was speaking.

“Go on, son. I need to think.”

“Yessir. Sorry, sir. I’ll go now, sir,” I rambled.

When I was halfway down the hallway, I heard General Vre poke his head out his door and say to his clerk, “Get word to the Triad. I need a meeting at the Eye in an hour. Highest priority.”

Chapter 24

Declan

Órla landed on the ground beside where I sat. I hadn’t moved or spoken for a long while. The small boy that lay before me, no more than four, stared blindly at the sky. In one hand, he clutched a wooden toy, a carved Ranger. Its bow was raised above its head in triumph.

There would be no triumph this day.

“Declan,we can’t stay here.”

Silence.

“Declan.”

“I know.” My hollow eyes lifted to meet her gaze. “We need to go, but I don’t knowwherewe should go. Where can we go?”

I ran fingers through my disheveled hair. “We came here to get orders from Captain Whitman, but he’s gone. I’d say we should go after whoever did all this, but I wouldn’t even know where to start. Any tracks they left were buried by the snow days ago. They could’ve faded back into the trees or headed on to theirnext objective. Besides, the vision showed us the attack itself, but only flashes. We don’t really know what happened.”

“You could find out,” she said.

“Find out? Everyone here has been dead for days.”

“Have you forgotten your Gifts already?”

I stared at the snow, at nothing.

“We never made that Gift work before, but I guess it’s worth a try.”

I scanned the bodies, searching for one who might offer the most insight.

“Wish I could talk to Captain Whitman.” My shoulders slumped at the thought.

Whitman had become something of a mentor. The idea of the bold man, so full of life, reduced to ashes beneath the rubble of the headquarters made my stomach churn.

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