Beneath the Canyons Read online

  Nothing.

  A sudden creaking sound came from the branches above them. He glanced sharply upwards. "Look!" Lainie gasped.

  A knapsack dangled from an upper branch of the Onetree, swinging gently even though the breeze had died away. Silas could have sworn the knapsack hadn't been there before. Had he just missed it, or was he dealing with another mage whose shields he was unable to detect, who was able to come and go unheard and unseen? He didn't like being caught unawares like this. "Wonder if it's Bissom's," he said, trying not to show how much the knapsack's appearance had unsettled him. For Lainie's sake, he had to at least appear calm no matter how he felt inside.

  "I'd lay money on it," Lainie said.

  Silas climbed the rough-barked tree to where the knapsack hung. He reached for it, then stopped. It was too convenient... Thoroughly and carefully, he probed for any magical traps that might have been set on the pack, and found none. Gingerly, in case he had missed anything, he unhooked the pack from the branch and climbed down. He wanted to go through it right, to see if he could find any more clues to what had happened to Bissom or information about how to contact Bissom's family. It was an unwritten rule among mage hunters that, if at all possible, no man's family would be left wondering why they never heard from him again. But Silas didn't want to spend one more moment out here in the open than he had to. Someone had put that knapsack in the tree, and that someone had to still be close by even though Silas couldn't find him. The contents of Bissom's knapsack could wait until he and Lainie had the safety of walls around them.

  He strapped the knapsack behind Abenar's saddle. Then, with a silent nod to each other -- neither of them seemed to want to speak out loud -- he and Lainie mounted up and rode on southwest along the endless, empty trail towards the slowly-sinking sun.

  Bad Hunting

  Daughter of the Wildings Book 2

  Now Available

  Books in the

  Daughter of the Wildings series

  Book 1: Beneath the Canyons

  Book 2: Bad Hunting

  Book 3: The Rancher’s Daughter

  Book 4: To the Gap

  Book 5: City of Mages

  Book 6: For the Wildings

  For more information on the Daughter of the Wildings series, visit http://www.kyrahalland.com/daughter-of-the-wildings.html

  More Tales of Fantasy, Heroism, and Romance

  from Kyra Halland

  Urdaisunia

  In Urdaisunia, a land torn by war and drought and abandoned by the gods, a widowed rebel and a prince walk intertwining paths of danger, love, and war to save the land they both love.

  Now Available

  A Cure for Nel, and Other Stories

  Three short fantasy stories about love, family, greed, ambition, and the desires of the human heart.

  Now Available

  Chosen of Azara

  In a quest that spans centuries, Sevry, the last king of the land of Savaru, searches for the woman who holds the secret to bringing his destroyed homeland back to life.

  Now Available

  The Warrior and The Holy Man

  Haveshi, a young wife and mother betrayed by her clan, sets out on a path to regain what she has lost. Latan, a lowly clerk in a magical order, finds himself on a path of unexpected danger and self-discovery, guided by the warrior named Haveshi Yellowcrow. Two fantasy stories set in the same magical world as Chosen of Azara.

  Now Available

  The Lost Book of Anggird

  Stodgy Professor Roric Rossony has been asked to find a way to stop the deterioration of the powerful magica, and hires Perarre Tabrano to translate books for his research. Caught up in their unexpected romance and by the most important work of his life, he goes too far in his research. Magical disaster strikes, and he and Perarre must flee in search of the secret of the magica's origins.

  Now Available

  Sarya’s Song

  In a world where music is magic, disgraced musician Sarya dyr-Rusac hears strange and powerful new music on the wind. Torn between the man who loves her, whom she can never have, and a beautiful man in chains who appears in her dreams, begging her to sing him free, she must discover the meaning of the mysterious music she heard before the world itself is torn apart.

  Now Available

  For complete catalog and availability,

  please visit http://www.kyrahalland.com/books.html

  Acknowledgements

  Many thanks to my wonderful test readers, for helping to make this a better book: Steph, Jill, Jeremy, Kellie, Elizabeth, and Amy.

  Also thanks to Mominur Rahman, for bringing Silas and Lainie to life on the cover.

  And, most of all, many many thanks to my husband for his patience and support.

  About the Author

  Kyra Halland has always loved fantasy. She has also always loved a good love story. Years ago, as a new stay-at-home mom, she decided to combine those two loves - like chocolate and peanut butter! - by writing the kinds of romantic fantasy novels she wanted to read.

  Complicated, honorable heroes; strong, smart, feminine heroines; magic, romance, and adventure; deep emotion mixed with a dash of offbeat humor - all of these make up Kyra Halland's worlds. She loves sharing those worlds with readers and hopes they will enjoy her stories and characters as much as she does.

  Kyra Halland lives in southern Arizona. She has a very patient husband, two less-patient cats, two young adult sons, a lovely daughter-in-law, and an adorable granddaughter. Besides writing, she enjoys scrapbooking and anime, and she wants to be a crazy cat lady when she grows up.

  Learn more about Kyra Halland’s books at

  http://www.kyrahalland.com