Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings Book 1) (52 page)

A knock sounded from the front entry, and Steward Narus
shuffled past the open doorway to answer. Rezkin said, “That would be Captain
Jimson. He is coming by to discuss our travel plans. Since you seem to have
some of your own ideas, I suppose you had better join us. If you are not
already aware of it, Mistress Reaylin has joined us this afternoon, as well.”

General Marcum stepped back into the hall, and Rezkin
followed at a comfortable distance. Tam and Reaylin were already greeting
Jimson when they arrived. Tam introduced Reaylin to the general who found the
young woman to be eccentric and rather uncouth. Marcum invited the group into
the study where they usually spent the evenings, and a maid served them tea and
small cakes.

Tam shifted continuously. He had come to hate being in the
same room with both the general and Rezkin, and he never particularly enjoyed
Reaylin’s company. Jimson also felt awkward. As a lowly lieutenant he had never
dreamed he would be spending so much time in the presence of his general, and
his friendship with the general’s newest unofficial enemy complicated the
issue. It did not help that Reaylin was shamelessly flirting and batting her
eyes at Rezkin. She had apparently taken the general’s rejection of Rezkin’s
proposal as a sign that it was time to up her game.

General Marcum took the opportunity to start the
conversation. “I was just telling Rezkin that I have decided to allow Frisha to
travel to the tournament with you all; however, there are some stipulations.”
Tam and Jimson glanced at each other and then at Rezkin as the general
continued. “As you know, for propriety’s sake, I cannot allow a young woman
like Frisha to travel such a distance without a proper escort.” General Marcum
directed a pointed look at Reaylin to show his derision for her own traveling
choices.

“I have found a suitable solution,” Marcum announced. “My
brother, the Count of Glasbury, has two sons who have expressed an interest in
participating in the tournament. As blood relations, they will serve as
suitable escorts for Frisha.” The general sighed and said, “I believe my
nephews intend to bring a friend along, as well. All the talk of Frisha going
to the tournament has drawn the interest of their sister, and now she also
wishes to attend.”

Redirecting his attention to Captain Jimson, the general
said, “I am retracting the approval for your leave.” Jimson startled but
settled as Marcum continued, “Your assignment is to provide escort for my
nephews and nieces to and from the tournament. During the tournament, you are
free to do as you please. I will assign you a couple of additional men, and
Simeon will be sending a few of his own guard, as well.”

Jimson quickly stood and saluted saying, “Yes, sir, as you
command,” before reseating himself.

The general’s mouth pulled into a smirk. “You should be
pleased, Captain. This means you will get paid for taking the journey you would
have taken otherwise, and I do not really expect you to run into much trouble
on the Tremadel. It is too large to blockade in the manner you encountered on
the Straei.” General Marcum redirected his gaze to take in Tam, Reaylin, and
Rezkin. “How the rest of you travel is up to you, although, if Rezkin is
serious in his desire to protect Frisha, I expect he will wish to escort her,
as well.

Rezkin narrowed his eyes at the general as he said, “I did
not see you resorting to extortion, General Marcum.”

“Extortion? What are you going on about?” Marcum huffed.

“Considering the amount of trouble we encountered on the
journey here, do you really expect me to believe you are willing to place the
safety of
two
of your nieces and both of your nephews, the count’s
heirs, in the hands of a few soldiers and House guard?” Rezkin questioned. “You
expect
me
to escort this party, and you expect me to do so out of my
desire to protect Frisha, despite the fact that you have already rejected my
proposal.”

“You think I am incapable of keeping my family safe without
you?” the general sputtered. “Your arrogance knows no bounds.”

“Not arrogance, General.
Reality
. If I refuse to
provide escort for this party of yours, then how will your plans change? Would
you not add at least a half dozen more men to the guard? Or would you simply
deny your nieces the opportunity to travel altogether?” Rezkin inquired with
accusation. “No, General, you are counting on me choosing to provide escort
once again with no benefit to myself.”

“Ah, now we see your true colors. No longer the selfless
protector, are we? Very well, Rezkin what is it you want? How much?” Marcum
spat.

Tam and Reaylin were both confused. They knew Rezkin was a
good fighter, but surely he could not be worth more than another soldier, or
maybe two if you considered the value of his healing skills.

Rezkin’s voice dropped and came out cold and unnerving, “I
do not want your money, Marcum. I want you to reconsider my proposal.” The
warrior intentionally left off the general’s title.

General Marcum clenched his jaw, “Are you giving me an
order, Rezkin?”

“Do I need to?” Rezkin replied with a previously unseen
hardness in his icy glare.

Tam and Reaylin looked at each other in confusion. Why would
Rezkin be giving the general orders? They both turned questioning eyes on the
captain begging for silent answers, but Jimson was entirely focused on the rug
at his feet. The two decided it was probably in their best interest to remain
as unobtrusive as possible.

Marcum countered, “And, what of you respecting my decision?
Have you reneged on your word?”

Rezkin stood abruptly, his hand clenching his hilt in a
clear sign of warning. The motion was quickly followed by General Marcum rising
to his own feet. “I have reached the end of my patience with you questioning my
honor and motives, Marcum. I have done nothing deserving of your derision, and
your choices regarding Frisha are based on your own mental slander against my
character, a preconception that is completely unfounded in the scope of reality.
If you had a valid reason for your rejection, I would accept it, but as it is,
you have none.”

“And still, my decision stands,” Marcum stated stubbornly as
he wondered if Rezkin would hold to his word not to do him harm.

Rezkin released his grip and completely changed his
demeanor. He went from frightful and menacing to blasé and unconcerned in the
space of a breath. Casually, he asked, “Have you considered, General, that
Frisha may no longer wish to attend the tournament? The woman does not even
wish to come down for supper. It seems unlikely she would desire to travel all
the way to Skutton.”

“You think she only wanted to go to the tournament for
you
?”
Marcum snapped.

“I think Frisha is an independent young woman with desires
of her own. You might want to truly consider those before you go about making
important decisions for her,” Rezkin replied.

“Captain,” Rezkin barked without taking his eyes off the
general.

“Yes, sir!” Captain Jimson replied as he rose to attention without
thinking.

“A passenger ship, the
Luna Mara
, has been
requisitioned in the general’s name,” Rezkin said just as the general
interrupted him.

“I made no such arrangements!” Marcum asserted.

“It will be leaving two days hence,” Rezkin continued. “A
passenger manifest has already been filed, which you will find includes: you
and your comrades, Sergeant Millins and Second Lieutenant Drascon; four of the
Jebai House Guard – Ferrel, Guent, Maris, and Jeyet; the general’s
nephews, Lords Malcius and Palis; their friend, Lord Brandt of House Gerrand;
the general’s nieces, Lady Frisha and Lady Shiela; Lady Shiela’s maid, Mistress
Tami; Master Tamarin; Mistress Reaylin; and of course, myself – plus one
battle charger.”

General Marcum’s face was pale, and his jaw sagged. How
could Rezkin already know all of his plans? He had only made out the order to
his men a few hours ago. Rezkin had somehow not only learned of his plans but
had also taken the initiative to make arrangements. How did Rezkin make
arrangements in Marcum’s name to begin with? And, how did he get the names of
the Jebai House Guards? Marcum did not even have that information, yet. He had
only spoken to Simeon last night, and it had not even been confirmed that the
Gerrand boy was attending.

Rezkin gave the general’s mind a moment to catch up.
“Arrangements have been made for lodging in Skutton. Four rooms have been
reserved at the Coral Cove Inn and another three at the Sun Coast Inn. The inns
are located directly across from one another. You will find that space is
limited due to the influx of travelers for the tournament.

“I am impressed you were able to get that,” Jimson mumbled
under his breath.

“You cannot possibly have made arrangements already. It is
ridiculous. How would you have gotten word to Skutton, much less received a
confirmation?” General Marcum scoffed.

Rezkin cocked his head and replied, “I used the Mage Relay,
of course.”

“What!? How did you get access to the Mage Relay?” Marcum
shouted.

Rezkin raised a brow and deadpanned, “Really?”

General Marcum scowled. “I want to know exactly how you got
your information. Some of what you know is only a few hours old.”

“No, General, you really do not,” Rezkin mused before
striding out of the room.

The previous night, after following the general to his
brother’s home, and before going to the Diamond Claw Guild and the Assassin’s
Guild, Rezkin had spent a few hours sneaking into Houses Jebai and Gerrand to
retrieve as much information as could about their inhabitants. Both Houses had
decent guards for what they were, and he had been unfamiliar with the layouts
of the estates.

Slipping through the palace and accessing the general’s
office after he had left the healer’s sanctuary had been less difficult. People
were expected to be roaming the halls of the palace at that time, and Rezkin
was
intimately
familiar with the layout. The interior of the northern
fortress in which he grew up was an exact replica of the interior of the
palace. It was a fact of which Rezkin had been aware, but until today had not
really considered to be of interest. Now, he had to wonder why that was.

The general’s office was secured with a mage lock, but
Rezkin knew ways around those. The key was not to break the locks, but to
simply bypass them altogether. Rezkin had read the general’s correspondence
prior to its delivery and then confirmed the participation of the young Lord
Brandt. After corroborating the list of individuals with whom he would be
journeying, Rezkin had gone to the river to make arrangements for the ship. It took
little effort once he got there since he had already forged the documents in
the general’s hand.

Rezkin ducked into the Mage District after leaving the docks
to deliver the second set of forged documents to the Mage Relay Station. Once
he received confirmation of the reservations, Rezkin found himself back at the
Marcum estate in time to train with Tam and exercise Pride before Reaylin’s
visit. It was surprising how quickly arrangements could be made when people
received instructions from the General of the Army of Ashai.

Rezkin wanted the general to know that he would always be a
step ahead of the man, but he had made all of the arrangements only in part to
make his point. By making the arrangements himself, Rezkin had the power to
select the vessel, personnel and accommodations of his choosing. Over the last
few days, Rezkin had already been researching the various vessels and their
captains and personnel, so he was already prepared when the time came to make
arrangements. The final reason was simply because Rezkin was tired of waiting.
He wanted to be gone from the general’s home, and his
other
business was
almost concluded.

“Captain Jimson, confirm those reservations,” the general
ordered distractedly. General Marcum was once again furious with the presumptuous
young man who was staying as a guest in his home. How Rezkin had gotten his
information in such a short amount of time was beyond him. The fact that all of
the reservations had already been made was nothing short of sorcery.

Marcum now knew exactly what he must do. He would find out
who Rezkin truly was, and if he was really Bordran’s man. Marcum would make
contact with his source while the young man was away at the tournament and
hopefully have some answers by the time of his return. It was perhaps the
riskiest venture in the general’s long career to involve this particular
source. If the source turned out to be opposed to Rezkin, it would be like two
wildfires meeting with Ashai in the center. They may snuff each other out, but
everyone and everything caught between them would be destroyed. Maker forbid
the two find common ground and become one.

“Yes, sir,” the captain said as he marched from the room.
Jimson was certain the reservations would be exactly as Rezkin said they would
be. He did not doubt the young warrior’s abilities or, surprisingly, his
truthfulness. If Rezkin said he did something, then it was a sure thing that he
had. While Rezkin kept many secrets, what did come out of his mouth seemed to
be the truth.

Rezkin had once said that he could pull off any role he
chose, so the captain knew the man was capable of lying; but Rezkin had also
assured them that he was playing no role at this time. Jimson frowned at his
own logic. Could you ever really trust someone who claimed to be able to lie
and play a false role like a Master Performer? Perhaps everything that Rezkin
had said and done was a performance in itself. The thought did not sit well
with the army captain, and he realized that despite Rezkin’s admission of fraud
mastery, Jimson still trusted his friend.

Rezkin, General Marcum, and Captain Jimson had all departed
from the sitting room, which left Tam and Reaylin sitting in wonder and
confusion. They both sat still for several moments in stunned silence.