Free The Greenwood Shadow by Sara Ansted Page B

deals and escape plans. That's it. Boring as dust."
    "Escape plans?"
    "To look for Robin Hood," he explained. "My dad isn't nearly as understanding as your uncle about my disappearances. He sends people to track me down, and they always catch me. At least, they did until last time, when I met you."
    "He seriously hunts you down?"
    Her fingers itched for her bowstring as she asked. She barely knew Isaiah, and yet she would come to his defense without a moment's hesitation.
    "I guess I can understand it," he said. "I mean, if your kid was missing, you'd want to find them, right?"
    "Yeah," Evey grudgingly admitted. She knew without having to think that she'd be the sort of mother who'd take on whole armies just to protect her child. And woe betide those armies.
    Isaiah sighed. "It's just that he knows by now that I haven't been kidnapped or killed or anything. He finds me so that he can "direct my future into a proper course", even if it's not what I want. I've tried to talk to him, and he just doesn't listen."
    "I know a few people like that," Evey muttered.
    "He's a good man, my dad. I know that. But he's also painfully frustrating. I wish I could do something to make him see."
    Evey's hand had closed around her bow. She picked it up and said, "Maybe you can."
    Isaiah wrinkled his forehead. "I'm not going to shoot him."
    She dropped her bow in shock. "What? No! No. That's not... I would never..."
    "I'm sorry!" he said, just as awkwardly. "I know you wouldn't. Just the way you were holding the bow, and everything. Please, forgive me for thinking that of you."
    Evey waved the apology away. "What I meant was that there is a way to make sure he doesn't keep catching you. I am something of a specialist, after all."
    Isaiah grinned widely.
    "Know anything about shooting?" she asked.
    "The basics. We all have to learn them. But beyond that, knights don't go in for archery much."
    She grinned back. "Then we've got a lot of work to do. Can you find your way back to this tree?"
    Isaiah looked around as if trying to memorize the place. "I think so, now you've helped me a few times."
    "Good. We'll meet here in one week, around noon."
    "I'll be here."
    He surprised Evey by clasping her wrist. Not only had he just made a deal with a girl, but they'd closed it as equals. This young man was definitely something beyond the average.

CHAPTER TEN
     
    For weeks they taught each other. Evey showed Isaiah everything she knew about shooting a bow and making arrows. She taught him several hunting, navigating, and silent movement skills. In return, Isaiah helped Evey with basic sword-fighting.
    In those weeks, he became a fair shot. Never as fast or accurate as Evey, which would take years longer. But he could pull off a halfway decent shot, in a pinch. He was a good hunter, an alright navigator, and got to be exceptionally skilled at slipping silently though the landscape. What a change. He went from a lumbering elephant to a whisper through the trees.
    Evey didn't pick up the sword skills quite so well. She had never even held a sword before. Though they practiced with sticks, she was so clumsy that she gave Isaiah a number of heavy bruises. It took eight weeks before she could defend herself properly, and twelve before she could put up any sort of decent attack routine.
    That was just as well. She preferred the comfort of her bow. When she used it, she felt like she was one with the weapon. It responded to her like nothing else.
    Together, they raided the tax men with abandon. Cart after cart fell prey to their teamwork. After the tax season ended, they turned to the king's personal convoys. The king had never lost so much gold and silver. As a result, the Robin Hood stories flared into infamy. They couldn't go anywhere, in any village, without hearing whispers of Robin's most recent exploits.
    Isaiah was an intelligent guy, but Evey wondered at the fact that he had never connected their raids with the stories. It was so obvious. But then again,