Page 124 of An Archer's Redemption

Atikus nodded. “We will need to get this right when the time comes. If we can keep her contained and throwing her magic around long enough, she will wear her body out. It should be like watching a flame flutter and go out. We should then be able to banish her without her power resisting us.”

“We just have to survive her attacks long enough while keeping her contained somehow. Sounds easy enough.” I tried not to roll my eyes again. And failed.

“This was never going to be easy, but that is the best idea I have at the moment. You are welcome to come up with a better plan.”

“Oh, no. I’m a Ranger, not a tactician. I’ll be the hammer; you be the brains.”

Atikus laughed. “Finally, you recognize my mental prowess and your . . . well . . .otherabilities.”

“Thanks a lot, I think.” I smirked. “Let’s go see the Sheriff.”

We made it a dozen paces out of the candle shop before a uniformed officer approached with a message from Sheriff Cribbs asking us to join him at the Palace. There were developments, and the Queen wanted us to be part of his briefing. After a short walk, we passed through the golden doorsof the audience chamber and were greeted by Jess, Keelan, Cribbs, and Marks, who were all seated around the Council table.

Heavily armed guards stood everywhere.

One towered quietly along the wall behind the throne, ten paces from the next.

Four additional guards stood near the Council table, two on either side of Jess’s chair.

Keelan noticed my eyes widen as I scanned the room.

“There was an incident here at the Palace. Security has increased,” he said without explanation. His eyes were hard, and his mouth was set in a grim line.

Jess stood and greeted us, then motioned to empty seats.

“Sheriff, we should hear from Declan and Atikus. You can brief everyone on the Oliver situation after,” Jess said.

Atikus took the lead, bringing everyone up to speed on our actions at the two candle shops. I remained silent until he cocked a bushy brow, his not-so-subtle indication for me to help to fill in details. As we concluded, Atikus withdrew the flyer from his robe and handed it to Cribbs.

“This is all we have to go on at the moment. We are not even sure it is connected to anything,” Atikus said.

Cribbs glanced at the parchment and handed it to Jess.

“These are all over town, Majesty. Nothing unusual there,” Marks said, leaning over the table before settling back into his seat.

Jess set the flyer down and turned to Cribbs. “If there is nothing else there, Sheriff, it is your turn.”

“We received a bird from the constabulary in Oliver. Unfortunately, the scrolls are tiny, so our information is limited. I’ll just read it to you.”

Another murder. Witness saw large brown bear maul victim. Witness watched bear don mask and change into man following killing. Man wore brown robes. – FL

Cribbs tossed the scroll onto the table. “Majesty, without speaking with my officer or the witness, I have no way of affirming the veracity of the claim. This could be a drunk who saw nothing, or something far more troublesome.”

“He’s right. The message doesn’t give us enough to go on,” Keelan said, clearly in his element discussing a criminal investigation.

“We have—” I started.

Keelan cut me off. “What wedohave is a pattern. First, the Order shows up trying to strong-arm the Queen. Then murders begin, but only one in each city or town, each committed by an animal.

“Has anyone here ever heard of such a wave of murderous beasts within such a brief window?”

I watched as everyone considered his words.

“Then the Queen is attacked by a horse who shifted into a man after he was killed—a man wearing brown robes,” he continued. “Now, another animal attack, this time with a witness who saw the live assailant shift back into his human form and walk away from the scene—again, wearing brown robes.

“Your Majesty,” he said, turning to Jess. “We cannot act on supposition, but it should guide the next steps in our investigation.”

She stared at him for a long moment. “Go on. What are you proposing?”

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