The Castrofax Read Online Free PDF Page A

become.”
    “Archery, Gabriel? That is soldier’s
work.”
    “Thank you, Professor Magin.” That silenced
her.
    Leading her out into the night, she followed
him to a spot behind the stables where the moonlight illuminated
the space in silver. The night was heavy with the scent of horses
and grass.
    “Do you know how to string a bow?” he asked.
She gave him a look that likened him to an idiot. Gabriel shrugged
with a knowing sigh and showed her how to loop the string on one
tip, pull the other tight with his legs, and then loop the
other.
    “Hold the bow in your left hand, and place
the arrow like so, or you’ll sheer off the fletching. Notch it, yes
just like that, draw, aim, and shoot.” He took several steps back
and motioned her to shoot. “Aim for that tree.”
    A primitive feeling seeped through her with
the challenge of the mundane task. This was a weapon used by the
ill-educated to kill in battle or in hunger, not something
princesses thought of. She lowered the bow, yet a new sensation of
rebellion surfaced. With a weapon in her knowledge, she would not
have to rely on any man to protect her. She raised the bow
again.
    She missed, and failure sank through her; a
new sensation. Angry, she grabbed another arrow, set it just right,
and shot it into the darkness. It missed again, but she was
learning the feel of the bow. Gabriel stepped forward to help, but
Robyn interjected. “No, stay there. I can do this without
assistance.”
    “Shoot a little higher than your intended
target. Arrows have a habit of arching in long flight.”
    She took his advice, and this time shot in
the intended direction. The pull of the bow was strenuous on her
little figure, but with each draw she understood more.
    “Go get more arrows,” she finally stated, her
quiver exhausted.
    He pointed to the dark trees. “You have to go
find them.”
    Anger flared in her eyes. “I cannot
possibly—”
    “If I’m someday to be your protector, there
is one thing we must get straight: I am not a servant. We fend for
ourselves in the world outside the palace, which is where you are
now. I don’t take orders.”
    She sunk the end of the bow into the loam,
her mind searching for a cutting riposte but finding an impasse.
“Would you help me then?”
    “I would be glad to,” he said with a bow of
his head and sauntered off into the trees. She went in the other
direction. Her pupils widened as they searched for the red-tipped
fletching. They returned with all but one.
    “I am finished for the evening.”
    He chuckled and shouldered the quiver. “You
aren’t used to picking up after yourself.”
    “Next time I will shoot into the stable
wall,” she said with a snide grin. “That way the arrows cannot go
far.”
    “It’s a good thing my father is fond of you,
then,” Gabriel shrugged.
    “I would like to speak with him about the
Mage Wars.”
    “I can tell you about them,” Gabriel replied
and slowed his stride. “What do you want to know?”
    “It seems the destruction of your race began
with them,” she said, and Gabriel stopped her with a hard look.
“Can I put it more gently? Why were they started?”
    “What are all battles fought over?” he asked
to the night sky.
    “Love, money, power,” Robyn answered
quickly.
    He gave her a surprised look. “That is…your
tutors are doing a good job. The Mage Wars started with Arch Mage
Ryker Slade. He wished to marry a non-Mage, but the law back then
said Mages could only marry Mages in order to keep the bloodlines
pure. Many people sided with Ryker Slade, and Castle Jaden divided,
and the war began.” He resumed his languorous walk, stepping into
the garden that was better lit.
    “It just began ? That sounds
hasty.”
    “It is said Ryker was a mastermind with a
slick tongue that drew peoples’ attention like a thunderclap. As a
gifted speaker he wound up the masses to his cause and made them
believe his problems were theirs. The war lasted four years, and by
the end the