Page 31 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Ellery

At first, all the amsirah’s attention was overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Once Tucker handed me a bow and a quiver full of arrows, my anxiety eased as he gave me something familiar to focus on.

Amsirah brought out torches and placed them in the ground around the targets near the woods line. The flickering glow of the flames illuminated the targets and brought an air of coziness to a forest that was anything but inviting.

A jovial air, that the screams of the creatures hunting the Revenant Woods couldn’t douse, seized the establishment. Someone brought drinks forth, and those who weren’t setting up to train with me celebrated while they consumed the alcohol.

At some point, Farley and a couple of other poltergeists drifted into the clearing. They floated amongst the crowd, surveying the action as some slapped sticks against their palms. Close to their bodies, their arms were shorter than they’d been in life, and their hands smaller.

Though they held weapons, they didn’t wield them against the amsirah. Despite this, some residents shied away from the ugly, see-through blobs with burning red eyes.

Having died in the Revenant Woods, the poltergeists were trapped here and loved nothing more than to scare and terrorize any who entered the woods. I’d never seen them in Tucker’s encampment before, but I spent far less time here than the amsirah who lived here.

“Do the poltergeists often come here?” I asked Ianto.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen them here.”

I frowned at his response as Farley glided along the backs of the amsirah shooting at their targets.

“What are you doing here, Farley?” I asked when he floated closer.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend, Ellery?” he retorted. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

While that was true, and Farley and I were surprisingly friendly, considering he was a poltergeist, I didn’t trust him. He still liked to pull pranks, and while he’d given up on trying to get me, his friends hadn’t.

And they had many possible victims in this encampment if they unleashed some of their wrath. Usually, it was best to ignore poltergeists until they grew bored and left, but Farley and I had interacted enough over the years that it was impossible to pretend I didn’t know him.

He rubbed his chin as he studied the archers. I doubted he felt it as his hand kept going through him, but it must be a habit left over from his living days.

“How about we turn this round of archery into a competition,” Farley suggested.

A cheer ran through the crowd. As drinks were raised, alcohol sloshed out of tankards, and the excitement in the air became almost palpable.

It could be fun to hold a competition, but… “Why are you suggesting such a thing?” I asked Farley.

He shrugged his blobby shoulders the best he could as his red eyes glittered with amusement. “We’re bored. Entertain us.”

I lifted an eyebrow at his command and the flippant way he waved his hand. I questioned his reasoning but couldn’t see the harm in adding some fun competition to the night.

So, with Ryker and Tucker’s help, we organized all those who offered to participate into a row of archers. They all stood on their marks as they lifted their bows and fired.

The competition progressed swiftly, and in the end, a man with dark brown hair bowed to the crowd after he took the title. The crowd cheered, and his competitors slapped him on the shoulder before going to get drinks.

I smiled as I watched them all laughing and talking. They had a tough life in these woods, but they’d found a home and family beneath the trees. One day, most likely soon, I’d join them here.

“What about you, Lery? Aren’t you going to compete?” Farley inquired. “Maybe you could take on the general over there. He’s supposedly one of the best.”

Ryker scowled as Farley thrust a finger at him.

“Oh yes, we know who you are, Scourge,” Farley said.

“What are you doing, Farley?” I inquired.

“I think they should all see.”

“See what?”

“How good you are.”

“Farley—”

“I think he’s right,” Ryker said, looking astonished to agree with a poltergeist. “They should see. Besides, I’m in the mood to get my ass kicked tonight.”

Farley chuckled while the other poltergeists looked doubtful. None of them had said a word since arriving, but the ravenous gleam in their eyes as they watched everything made me nervous.