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Rogue Ranger

By Melinda Kucsera

Betrayed (Chapter 1)

Midnight Tomorrow

Snow crunched under her boots, but it was the only sound since the wind had calmed down to a breeze that stirred the bare branches overhead. Robin rounded yet another giant tree in the enchanted forest and stopped when undisturbed snow stretched on before her. “Shade? Where are you?” And where was Sarn?

I never should have let Shade carry him. I should have made a sled and dragged him behind me. But time was her enemy, and Shade had picked up the lean mage like he weighed nothing at all after Sarn blacked out from too much magicking. As much as it galled her to admit it, she couldn’t have done that.

“I’m where I should be, beside my angel.” Shade’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, and it gave the word ‘angel’ special emphasis.

Sarn was handsome and powerful, and his eyes glowed, but that wasn’t why Shade called him an angel. There was something about Sarn that made her want to wrap him in wool and stuff him into a vault where he’d be safe. I need to stop thinking about him like he’s a precious jewel that I need to guard.

Robin cursed. “He doesn’t belong to you. Sarn promised to help me find my daughter.” She pivoted but couldn’t spot Shade, even after baiting them. Where did Shade take Sarn? That enigma couldn’t hide him for long. Sarn had a lot of magic, and green light leaked out of his eyes even when he closed them, but there was no green glow above her. Sarn must be here somewhere.

I must find him. He could freeze to death since mages were just as susceptible to the cold as everyone else. Robin doubted Shade was doing anything to prevent that. I wish Sarn wasn’t so damned attractive. He was complicating what should be a straightforward rescue mission.

Worse still, that mage reminded Robin of her father. And that should have iced her attraction, but it just made her want to throw him over her shoulder, like a spoil of war, and carry him off. I could earn a good living with a mage on my arm. Robin tucked that thought away for later. After all, she still needed to earn a living after she saved her daughter. Magic might be illegal in the cities, but everywhere else in this country, people coveted it.

“You don’t deserve his help. I tried to stop him from volunteering, but my Angel has a big heart.” Shade’s voice definitely came from above. How could Shade climb a tree while carrying Sarn when the lowest branches were hundreds of feet above their heads? Who was Shade?

“But you failed, and he promised me.” Robin circled the tree where Shade’s voice came from. If there was a gray blob perched in its branches, she couldn’t tell in the dark. Shade’s clothing blended too well with the night. Just to be safe, she unslung her bow case and quietly unlatched it. Part of her mind was already calculating the speed and direction of the breeze stirring the cold, damp air.

Sarn’s warning about the forest echoed in her mind. “Remember their three rules. Start no fires. Carry no weapons. Do no harm.”

Robin closed the latches on her bow case. I won’t risk it. She couldn’t anger the forest, not when she didn’t know where Sarn was. The trees could harm him by accident since they covered the land so thickly here.

“I know, but I’m correcting that mistake,” Shade said, and their voice came from everywhere again, pulling her out of her scattered thoughts.

“Oh really? How’s that going for you?” Robin gripped her bow case. She could still swing it if Shade came at her. How will I fight the Wild Hunt to get my daughter back when the forest doesn’t allow any violence under their boughs?

A wolf howled, but she couldn’t tell how far away it was. Where were those change wolves? She hadn’t seen them since Sarn had started magicking, but he stopped shielding them when he passed out. Nothing stopped those wolves from attacking now. Robin glanced around. Where are those wolves?

Something whizzed past her ear. What was that? Robin found an arrow buried point first in the snow, and the tree next to it shifted like a dreamer. Where did that arrow come from?

Shade didn’t bring anything with them when they left Mount Eredren. Where could that arrow come from? Did a Ranger try to shoot her? I never got a look at the arrows the Rangers of Mount Eredren favor, so I don’t know if this is one of theirs. Robin stayed low in case a second arrow followed the first.

Where are you, Shade? Robin didn’t see or hear them moving about anymore. A flash of movement made her turn. Did she just see a green glow over there? Robin waited, but it didn’t appear again.

A shadow rushed out of the darkness to her left and leaped at her. Robin threw her arm up to cover her head, and the wolf collided with it in a brilliant green flash that sent it flying into the darkness. A thread darkened and disintegrated as it fell from her wrist, but there was a dark thread lying on the ground near her foot. At last, a lead! Robin crouched to examine it.

The last time Shade had used their strange powers, they’d left behind black threads, just like the one squirming away from her in the snow. Are you returning to your master? Robin extended her gloved hand toward it, and it crawled away from her. What power do you hold? Was it enough to disappear like Shade did?

“What are you doing?” Shade appeared next to her, but their arms were empty.

“Where’s Sarn?” Robin let her hand hover over the dark thread, inching toward Shade.

“Somewhere safe.” Shade raised their hands.

Can I believe that? Probably not, but Robin retracted her hand. The dark thread had merged with Shade’s boot. “He’d better be. I promised to watch out for him.”

“No need. I won’t let anyone harm him.” Shade stuffed their hands into their pockets, and that should have made them less unnerving, not more so.

“Does that include you?” Just the thought of someone trying to hurt Sarn made her blood boil. I need to calm down. I don’t own him. But damn it, Robin wanted to. She’d never met anyone like him before and gold coins kept dancing at the edge of her vision every time she thought of him and what people would pay for one of his spells. When did I become this mercenary? Robin tried to put all thoughts of the mage out of her mind.

“Are you sure about that? I see it in your eyes. You want him for his magic. You’re like everyone else. You don’t see his true worth.” Shade pointed an accusatory finger at her.

“And you do? I’ve seen the way you look at him. You covet his magic too. Would you protect him even from yourself?” Robin blinked when a snowflake landed in her eyes. When she opened them, Shade had vanished again. Where did they go this time? “Shade?”

No answer. Why should they speak to her? Another arrow shot through the darkness. This time, it struck the ground inches from her boot, and the tree next to her shook, raining snow on her. Robin was on her own. Shade didn’t care if she survived this encounter. At least I know where I stand.

Robin touched the latches on her bow case, then stopped. The forest hadn’t reacted when she’d used the magic threads to shove the wolf away. But it had reacted to the arrows. Maybe she should leave her bow in its case for now. Besides, the arrow hadn’t hit her. Was it a warning shot?

Where are you? Robin scanned the darkness beneath the boughs.

“He’s mine,” Shade said from behind her.

Pain crashed into her head when she turned. Shade dropped something hard. It was probably a rock. Shayari had too many lying around. Robin collapsed on the snow as more snow fell on her.

Above her head, branches rustled and swayed like dreamers stretching after a long nap, but they didn’t stab the earth in search of Shade to punish them for breaking their rules. “Why did you hit me? We had an agreement.”

“No, you had one with my angel, but your quest hurts him, and I can’t allow that. He’s precious to me.” Ice-covered snow crunched nearby as Shade strode away.

“His son is missing too.” Robin shouldn’t have needed to point that out, not to Shade since they claimed they cared about Sarn. Darkness hovered in her peripheral vision. She blinked to clear her winnowing sight, but that didn’t help.

“Is the boy his? She played so many games. I don’t believe the boy is his. I hope you find your daughter. It’s better if you find her without my angel. He won’t fight, and you’ll have to fight to get her back.”

“What about his son?” Robin fought the darkness overtaking her. She must stay conscious. This might be the most important conversation in her life.

“Yes, it’s better if you go after your daughter alone. My angel gave you a direction,” Shade said, then silence blanketed the forest again as their footsteps faded.

The enchanted trees would get him. She just needed to wait.

Where was the archer? Robin listened but heard nothing, not even the wind stirred the bare branches above. As the pain swept her into that starless darkness, she thought she heard the crunch of boots on snow and the creak of branches as they stabbed downward. I hope they kill Shade for breaking their rules.

Someone was coming. Was Shade returning to finish her off?

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