Read Online Target Of The Orders (Book 3) by Ron Collins - Free Book Online Page A

shared. He remembered the panic he felt as he cradled her bleeding head, the look of horror on her face when she saw what he'd done.
    Arianna may never want to see him again, but he was drawn to her.
    He wanted to see her one last time.
    Will lolled in the saddle. His legs gave an involuntary dream jerk.
    And even if Arianna wouldn’t see him, perhaps Arianna’s father would take the boy in. He could always use another hand in the fields, or maybe Will would be better at dealing with the alchemy of the smithy shop.
    Garrick smiled despite himself.
    If nothing else, the wood should be a safe place for the boy to sleep tonight.

    It wasn’t until later, as they picked their way through the streets of Dorfort and into the dense trees, and as Will’s head lolled back against his chest, that Garrick realized he had never even asked the man who had saved them for his name.

Chapter 14

    Elman grinned coldly as he watched Garrick and the boy ride through the woods. He was right! Garrick had come to the girl’s home. The thought brought him more than joy. He
needed
to be right this time. To have been wrong would have been unthinkable.
    He sat on his horse, waiting.
    The wooded air was cool and smelled of earth and damp wood. A half-moon hung high in the cloudless sky. The call of insects grew louder. It was a shame the boy had to be involved. But that was not his doing.
    He cast a brief spell to send word to the others.
    No prisoners.

    As expected, Arianna’s house was dark and draped in the shadow of trees. Hickory smoke wafted from the chimney, reminding him of simpler times when Arianna’s family had accepted him as one of their own.
    Garrick framed the boy with his arms, and felt his head roll with the horse’s motions.
    “Are you all right, Garrick?” Will said in a sleepy voice.
    “Yes. I’m fine,” he said.
    And he was.
    Coming here had been the right thing to do. If he hadn’t come here he would always wonder about her, always have doubts. But just seeing the place was enough. He didn’t belong here anymore. He had changed, and it was time to turn the page. He would return tomorrow, though. He would return to see about leaving Will in such a proper place to grow up.
    The idea made him happy.
    As he finished the thought, a sharp crack rang out, and his life force became suddenly alert.
    Will twisted in the saddle, peering into darkness. “What—”
    “Shh,” Garrick hissed, setting his gates.
    A dark form moved in the woods, dropping under cover before Garrick could identify it. He guided Kalomar away from the house and toward the forest.
    His senses stretched out and he felt life—humans. Lectodinians. First five, then ten, then twenty, and more, all mages and all armed. Leaves rustled as the Lectodinians moved as one.
    Garrick spoke magic, and his magelight illuminated Elman’s face.
    The Lectodinian was casting, his lips moving, his hands cupped and crossed. He gave a sharp motion, and every mage in the clearing cast their sorcery at once.
    Garrick funneled life force into a quick barrier that clashed with the barrage and sent a shower of sparks across the night. The Lectodinians poured more magic upon him, but Garrick’s barrier was strong and they soon found themselves in a stalemate, a steady stream of Lectodinian sorcery flowing over the Torean’s impervious shield.
    “Hoping to make one more dash into your lover’s arms?” Elman called.
    Garrick ignored the taunt. “Hold tight,” he said to Will as he spurred Kalomar.
    The horse lowered his head and surged forward.
    Garrick gritted his teeth and pushed his spell before him like a battering ram. A stream of Lectodinian flames flowed off the shield, searing the ground until Kalomar pulled to an abrupt halt.
    Lectodinian magic still rained over his shield, but a gap emerged in their positions. Garrick angled for it, a path that took him toward Arianna’s house.
    A light came on inside.
    No!
    A bolt struck the tree next to them, and the trunk