Chronicles of Steele: Raven: Episode 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

“He always said you don’t have to be faster than a bullet, you just need to be smarter than the man holding the gun.”
    Raven’s smile disappeared as she continued, “While he made me wait in the woods, he hunted the men down who’d surrounded the house and killed them. There were eight who died.”
    “That’s a lot of lives he’d had to save after.”
    Raven laughed and winced as she grabbed her arm. “Yes, my father did a lot of heroic and charitable deeds afterward.”
    “So what happened to the other four?”
    Her voice cracked as she said, “They found me in the woods.”
    Darius sucked in his breath in surprise, causing the Great Dane to whine and tilt its head.
    Raven nodded and continued, “They found me in the woods and tied me to a tree. I guess they intended to use me as bait or hold me for ransom. It was near nightfall and the woods had grown dark. Three of the men hid nearby in the shadows while one stood with me in the open.
    “I couldn’t see or hear anything but the crickets chirping all around us. Then the man clenching my shoulder yelled, ‘Come out Timothy. Lay down your weapons and we’ll let your daughter live. We’ll lie to the duke and say we killed her. Your head is the only one we must bring back.’”
    “What did he do?” Darius’s blue eyes were wide under his mop of sand-colored hair.
    “He came out and laid his weapons down in the clearing and backed away. The man holding my shoulder released it and went forward to retrieve them. I could tell even then that my father knew where each of the other reapers was hidden. He turned in circles as he walked forward as if keeping an eye on all of them at once and called out. ‘Release my daughter, now. There is no need for her to see her father die.’
    “The man with all my father’s weapons laughed and said, ‘We don’t need her head. I didn’t lie about that, but the duke demanded we bring the scalps of both women. I’m sorry.’
    “I expected my father to get upset, but instead he had a peace about him that I couldn’t understand. He said, ‘Bryan, Sam, Jasper, and Monroe, I am giving you one last chance to change your mind. If you leave right now, I won’t have to make amends for killing you.’
    “The one at my side snorted and said, ‘I have all your weapons. I counted them. You may have been our captain, but there is no way you could kill us all if you’re unarmed.’
    “‘Think again,’ my father said. ‘I gave each of the others the same chance and none took it because their wives and children are imprisoned. But Jasper and Monroe, you have no family. Turn off now, and I’ll let you live. ONE. LAST. CHANCE.’
    “Again the woods were silent save the crickets. Then I heard a rustle to my right and saw the tension on my father’s face relax just a little. The man in front of me screamed into the shadows, ‘YOU COWARDS!’ And I saw the fear in his profile.
    “Then my father withdrew a kitchen knife from his boot and it hit the man in front of me with a blunt, wet thwack. He fell to the ground. My father rushed into the shadows faster than I’d ever seen a person move. Three gunshots exploded, and I started crying. I covered my eyes, but heard the whistle of a crossbow bolt, and then a man’s scream. After a short time, I felt a hand gently press on my head, and my father’s soft voice saying, ‘It’s all right.’”
    Darius eyes were full of unshed tears. “So you lost your mother?”
    Raven nodded but tried to show as little emotion as possible. The throbbing in her arm had dulled.
    “And your father killed all the reapers?”
    “Not quite. Jasper and Monroe didn’t return to New Haven but moved off to Currituck. They began training young men to become what they call ‘reapers,’ but they are more like mercenaries.” Raven crinkled her nose in distaste. “They’ve forgotten the reaper’s first law and have become ruthless instead of humble.”
    “Why did your father train you?”
    “I