Amanda Lynn's Arc

Chapter 1 of 14

Amanda Lynn could outrun any courier in the land, but she couldn't find one date. The grand tournament crowned the fastest runner alive, and she had trained three years for it. Now she stood in the market square with a torn poster in her fist. It named the tournament but not when registration opened or where. Miss the sign-up window, and all her running meant nothing. She smoothed the poster against her knee. The bottom corner had been ripped away. Someone had torn off the very lines she needed. She asked a fruit seller. He shrugged. She asked a water carrier. The carrier laughed and turned away. Amanda Lynn pressed her palms to her eyes. Every hour she waited, another runner might already be signing their name. Then she remembered the birds. Couriers who couldn't run fast enough sent messages by wing. The fastest carrier bird in the region roosted in a keeper's loft at the edge of the square. If any creature knew where official notices flew, it was that bird. She ran. The loft smelled of straw and feathers. On a high perch sat a sleek dark swift, its pointed wings folded, its tail sharp as a blade. The keeper was gone, but a wooden crate rested below the perch. Carved feathers curved along its sides. She lifted the lid. Inside lay a stack of undelivered notices. Amanda Lynn dug through them with shaking hands. Bills. Debts. A wedding invitation. Then a folded page stamped with the tournament seal. She unfolded it. Registration opened tomorrow at dawn. It closed at noon the same day. The site was the guild hall two towns over—a half day's run. Amanda Lynn's chest tightened. Tomorrow at dawn. She could reach the guild hall in time only if she left tonight and ran through the dark. The swift shifted on its perch and watched her. She met its black eyes. "You found it faster than I could," she said. "Now I have to be faster than you." She set the notice back in the crate and closed the lid. The keeper would want it delivered. But she had already read what she needed. Outside, the market lamps were lighting. Amanda Lynn checked the straps on her worn shoes. One heel was splitting. She had no coin for new ones and no time to mend them. She faced the road that led out of town. Half a day of running lay ahead, in the dark, over ground she didn't know. If she stopped to rest, she would arrive after noon and be turned away. Amanda Lynn took one breath and started running.