Free Deception's Pawn (Princesses of Myth) by Esther Friesner Page B

tomorrow. You’ll need a bow of your own and I’m the fool who’ll have to find one for you.”
    “Can’t I use yours?”
    “You’re not strong enough to pull it. Trust me on that. Butwait a moment—” He fished in the pouch at his belt and produced a piece of leather with two thongs attached. “I could teach you how to use the sling instead.”
    I felt a cold wind rush through me. I was at the crannog again, watching Master Íobar use just such a weapon to slaughter the animals Odran and I had nursed so carefully. Once again I saw a slingstone strike my Ea in midflight and send her plummeting to the earth.
    “No, not that.” I held my hands up, palms forward, pushing away the very idea of touching such an accursed thing. “Never.”
    “Why not?” Kian was honestly perplexed. “It’s small, handy, and effective.”
    I know , I thought bitterly. “I’d rather learn how to use the bow,” I said. My voice came out as hoarse as a raven’s croak.
    “Suit yourself. But if that’s what you want, it’ll take time for me to find or make one you can handle; maybe too much time. We’re on the brink of losing many days from these meetings. Samhain will soon be here and I’ll be called away to oversee the cattle. You girls will have more duties as well, working on our winter food supplies. If we lose more days while I get you a bow—” His lips twisted into a look of resignation. “Perhaps we should just admit we’re done with this until next spring.” He began to put the sling away.
    I hadn’t come so far from home to sink into being just another one of Dún Beithe’s fosterlings. I had no clear vision of who I was going to become. I didn’t know what I was going to do to make my life into something more than what everyone else presumed it had to be. I was only certain of where I didn’t want to end up, and that wasn’t good enough to carry me to the destination I would want to reach.
    If I let the sorrows of my past rule me, they’d bind my wings. If I allowed cruel memories of Master Íobar’s crime to limit my choices now, he’d always hold my future hostage.
    I seized Kian’s wrist with all my power. “Teach me.”

C HAPTER S IX

    Samhain Shadows
    I DID WELL that first day of sling lessons, so well that Kian wound up scratching his head as he asked, “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”
    “What are you talking about, Lord Kian?” I asked. “I haven’t hit the mark even once.” I waved across the field at the target he’d chosen, one of the oldest, broadest oaks at the woodland’s edge.
    “No, but you have launched your shot every time,” he said. “When I was starting out, I’d cradle the stone in the strap, twirl it by the thongs, and hear the other lads laughing at me for spinning an empty sling. It took days before I ‘improved.’ ” His wry face matched the sarcasm in his voice. “I managed to keep the stone spinning in the sling long enough for it to drop out and knock me on the head.”
    I couldn’t help it: I snickered.
    Kian pretended I’d devastated him. “That’s right, make fun of the poor boy who lost his brains in a slingstone accident.”
    “Several times,” I reminded him blithely.
    “Hmph. And lucky for you. Only a man with a scrambled brain would’ve let the time slip away like this.”
    “What?” He was right: I’d been concentrating so hard on acquiring this new skill and he’d been so fascinated by my flair for using the sling that we hadn’t noticed the dimming daylight.
    He mistook my surprise for panic. “Don’t worry, Lady Maeve, I’ll make sure you get back to Dún Beithe safely.” He fetched Ea from the tree where he’d tethered her.
    I picked up my still-empty basket. “I was supposed to be picking berries but there’s no time now. Tongues will wag over this when we’re seen coming home together.”
    “I’ll let you reach the gate alone once Dún Beithe’s in view,” Kian offered. “And if you’ll carry the