The Staff of the Winds (The Wizard of South Corner Book 1) by William Meighan Read Free Book Online

relaxing breath let it out and took aim. He was completely calm and free of emotion as he gauged the motion of his target, the distance and the light breeze on his left cheek. He was not aiming at the rider, but at a precise spot in the middle of the rider’s chest. From there he moved his aim slightly off center to the right and timed his release with the rise and fall of the horse’s motion.
    Taught by his father, Owen knew the details of the science of putting the arrow where you wanted it to go. He knew each of the many calculations and adjustments required; he knew that an archer did not aim at the target but at the bulls-eye, and that a skilled archer aimed not at the bulls-eye, but at a spot chosen in its center. He knew of the loft required to compensate for the fall of the arrow over distance, and the strange things that air movement could do to an arrow in the brief time of its flight. He knew all of these things, and had practiced taking them into account for so many years that now he made all of the calculations without conscious thought. He stood now waiting for the arrow’s release—not choosing, but rather allowing the arrow to fly at the instant in which all of the unthought calculations and adjustments would lead it inevitably to the point in space that he had chosen.  In the instant before the shot was made, Owen lowered his bow, stepped out from cover and called to Jack to hold his shot.
    The rider, startled by Owen’s sudden armed appearance hauled back on the reins and brought her horse to a stumbling walk.  Owen could see that the sorrel gelding was heavily lathered, and having some difficulty responding to her rider’s directions.  Sitting in the saddle, looking similarly exhausted but grinning widely was Marian.
    “Marian,” Owen called, “what the devil are you doing out here?  Does mom know where you are?”
    “Evan told us what happened,” Marian answered, ignoring Owen’s question as she climbed down from the saddle, “and I knew you and Jack ’d need some help, so I thought I’d better come join you.”
    “You mean mom let you come by yourself?” Owen asked, incredulous.
    “Well, not exactly,” Marian answered, “but I left a message so that she won’t worry.”
    By this time, Jack had walked up chuckling. “I wouldn’t want to be in your britches when your mom finally catches up with you.”
    Marian colored at this remark, but held her tongue. In truth, she had been thinking much the same sort of thing for the past several hours, once the initial excitement of setting off into the wilds on her own to track down her big brother had worn off.
    “Well,” Owen said, “you’re here now and it’s too late to send you back tonight.  We were about to make camp for the night under that ledge over there.  You can spend the night with us and head back in the morning.  Mom and Dad are probably worried sick about you.”
    “Don’t send me back, Owen, please. I’ve come all this way, and you need me. You know I’m as good as you when it comes to tracking, and three sets of eyes are much better than two.  I can help keep the two of you from getting caught.  Besides, I don’t want to ride all that long way back by myself tomorrow.  What if there are soldiers or gorn on the trail behind us?  I wouldn’t have a chance all by myself.  Just let me come along and help, then tomorrow or the next day when we find out where the bad guys are going, we can all go back together.  Please, Owen, please don’t send me back all alone.”
    Jack took all this in with a big grin on his face. He’d seen Marian work Owen in the past, and knew that Owen was clay in the hands of his little sister when she really wanted something from him. ‘ You had to admire a potter that was really good at her work, ’ he thought as his grin widened even more.
    “We’ll talk about it in the morning,” Owen said, “but you’ve got no business riding out here by yourself. You’d better pull some