Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings Book 1) (57 page)

“They have been hoping for a pact for many years, but we
have never been able to come to agreement,” he answered not even attempting to hide
his frustration. “They do not approve of our ways, nor do we care to live by
theirs. I cannot speak to their specific purpose for this visit. We did not
have the opportunity to discuss the details before your arrival.”

           
“The two groups possess conflicting dogmas. I find it odd that they would seek
a pact at all,” The Raven commented.

           
“You seem quite familiar with the elusive Adana’Ro,” the Grandmaster commented.
The Raven gave no response.

           
After discussing all of their other business, Rezkin finally said, “There is
one last issue we must discuss, and this is most important.”

           
“What is that, Riel’gesh?” asked the Grandmaster.

           
“Marcum Jebai, General of the Army of Ashai,” the Riel’gesh replied.

The sun had finally completed its daily quest across the
heavens, and Rezkin only hoped he had been as successful. The assassins upheld
their strange version of honor, but they were still assassins. He truly hoped
he would not have to return to the Hall and make his point again any time soon.
He hated redundancy, especially when it was for the sake of wounded pride.
Rezkin left Rom at the entrance to the city. The big man was sullen, and the
warrior knew he was upset over what he deemed the
loss
of the small-men.
The thief simply could not see the truth of the matter. Rezkin wanted the
small-men to become successful big-men,
grown
men, and in order to do
that, they needed to learn the
Skills
.

Rezkin had already washed his body and belongings in the
river and changed into acceptable garb when he finally entered the Marcum
estate. The young warrior followed the sounds of chatter and laughter to the
dining room. The general and Lady Adelina sat in their usual places and were
joined by Frisha and Tam, as expected. Captain Jimson sat to the lady’s right,
and interestingly, Reaylin was on Jimson’s other side. The young blonde had
been awkwardly stuffed into a gown that did not quite fit properly on her
petite but curvy frame. Her face flamed scarlet when she spied Rezkin in the
doorway. Jimson noticed the young woman’s reaction and followed her eyes to the
source. His smile fell just a bit when he realized what had flustered his love
interest, but his greeting was friendly and genuine.

“Rezkin! It is good to see you,” Jimson exclaimed. He was
met with similar greetings from Tam, Frisha, and Reaylin. Marcum was
unsurprisingly silent as he narrowed his eyes at the young warrior.

“Oh, my dear,” said Lady Adelina. “I am afraid we just
finished our desert, but I am sure there is more in the kitchen if you like.
Narus did inform us that you would not be here for dinner. I do hope you were
able to finish all of your arrangements.”

Rezkin bowed slightly to the Lady of the House and said, “My
thanks, Lady Adelina, but I could not possibly eat another bite. And, yes, I
believe everything is in order so that we may travel without concern on the
morrow.”

“Did you find out anything about that friend of yours…er…I
mean
comrade
,” Frisha asked with a sweet smile.

General Marcum and Captain Jimson visibly tensed at the
reference to the elusive Striker Farson. Only they knew that Rezkin was hunting
the man with intents on interrogation and possibly execution. Rezkin smiled
cordially and said, “No, Frisha, I am afraid there has been no progress on that
front. I am glad to see you are feeling better, though.” The young woman
blushed slightly and graced him with a smile.

“Well,” Marcum barked as he wadded his napkin and tossed it
on the table. He stood and said, “Now that you are here, we have some important
business to discuss before you leave.”

“Just you and Rezkin?” the lady asked with more than a hint
of anxiety. Most likely everyone was just waiting for the moment when the
hostile truce would collapse and the two men would attempt to send each other
to the Hells.

Marcum scowled at the implication that he could not have a
civil conversation with the young man but replied, “No, this concerns all of
our young travelers. Let us retire to the study.”

           
When they entered the study, Lady Adelina took her seat in her regular chair,
and Tam immediately claimed the only other lone chair besides Marcum’s. Frisha
resumed her usual seat on one of the couches, and then Marcum, in his infinite
obstinacy, politely asked the Captain to have a seat next to his niece. This
left Rezkin to sit beside Reaylin whose arms had disappeared into the too-long
sleeves of the gown, while her generous bosom was practically spilling into his
lap as she turned and leaned closer to him. She was a strange contradiction, as
she appeared to be trying to hide the fact that she was wearing a dress and
emphasize her exposed assets at the same time. Jimson, who felt both cursed and
blessed to be included in the General’s personal sphere for the time being, kept
his eyes on the floor and refused to watch Reaylin’s shameless flirting.

Frisha, on the other hand, did not reserve her glares only
for Reaylin. For some reason, Rezkin received a fair share of his own, and he
could not fathom the reason. It would have been obvious to a blind man that
Frisha was jealous, but Rezkin had not encouraged Reaylin in any way. In fact,
the abundance of cleavage the young woman was displaying only put Rezkin on
edge. In his experience, women used such assets to distract men from the
women’s true purposes – like drawing a weapon or poisoning his drink or
leading him into an ambush.

The young man had no idea why Lady Adelina had insisted
Reaylin wear the dress to dinner, and he was certain it
was
Adelina’s
influence. He wondered if the lady regretted her decision now that she could
see the mounting tension between the companions. A glance in her direction told
Rezkin that,
no
, she was not regretting it, and she seemed to find the
entire scenario to be quite amusing.
Of course
. Reaylin might be
oblivious to the ulterior motive, but the lady was definitely using the young
woman’s assets for a purpose. Rezkin wondered what she planned.

Marcum turned to speak to his niece but immediately noted
the young woman’s flushed cheeks, furrowed brow and pursed lips, along with the
furious glare she was directing at the young woman on the other couch. He
turned his attention to the distasteful blonde and saw that she sat moon eyed
halfway into Rezkin’s lap. Rezkin, to his credit, leaned far from the young
woman, and his attention was on the general’s own wife. It was not an
appreciative gaze, but one of calculation.

Marcum repressed a shiver and looked to see what was so
interesting about his wife to the young man. Adelina was watching the captain
with a small satisfied smile, and Jimson kept his eyes uncomfortably focused on
the rug; although, Marcum did catch the man’s involuntary glace at the blonde
woman and the subsequent clenching of the jaw as his eyes returned to
studiously examining the pattern of the carpet. Tamarin was the only one not
caught in the web, and he looked as though he was ready to bolt from his chair
to stop Frisha from doing something rash.

What a mess,
and half of it is of your own making
,
Marcum thought to himself. Clearing his throat loudly, Marcum abruptly asked,
“Rezkin, would you mind pouring us some wine?”

The young man raised a questioning brow and then practically
leapt from his seat. “Of course, General.” The agile young man skillfully
maneuvered so that he did not have to make physical contact with the fawning
woman, but she shamelessly watched his backside as he crossed the room. At
least Frisha had been distracted by the sudden, almost cordial exchange between
the young man and the general.

Rezkin poured wine into goblets and passed them around the
room. The general’s niece was so preoccupied with watching Rezkin’s graceful
stride and notable physique that she failed to notice the petite blonde doing
the same. Jimson continued to shift uncomfortably, but he smiled and thanked
Rezkin for his glass. The captain did not seem to hold it against Rezkin that
the young woman he fancied was infatuated with the enigmatic warrior. Truly,
Jimson seemed like a good man. Marcum wondered if he could redirect the
captain’s interest to Frisha. The general glanced back at the menacing Sword
Bearer and reconsidered that notion. Such an endeavor probably would not be
good for the captain’s health.

Rezkin handed a goblet to the general and then took up position
standing at Frisha’s side, his hand resting on the back of the sofa. His
fingers barely brushed her exposed neck, and she settled with a smug look in
Reaylin’s direction. Reaylin shrugged and leaned forward ever so slightly. Now
that Rezkin was facing her from across the room, he would have a better
look…and so did everyone else. Marcum lifted the goblet to his lips and then
paused. Gazing into the glass, he subtly sniffed, but his actions did not go
unnoticed.

“Really, Marcum, do you think I would stoop to poisoning
you, and in front of your family, no less? A Swordmaster of your accomplishment
should at least have the honor of dying on a blade, should he not?” Rezkin
asked as though in jest, but his eyes spoke a darker meaning.

Marcum cleared his throat uncomfortably. The seemingly
benign questions were both a promise and a threat. It was a promise that should
Rezkin decide to challenge the general, he would do so with honor, face-to-face
in combat. It was also a reminder that should that happen, the younger man
would probably win.

Frisha laughed. “Oh, Uncle, that’s absurd. You know Rezkin
would never do something like that, and why should he? I know you two don’t get
along, but I’m confident you can resolve your differences,” she said with
pleading eyes. “Besides, where would Rezkin get poison anyway?”

Everyone just stared at the young woman, including Rezkin.
At this point, even Marcum could not believe that his niece could be so
oblivious. Everything about Rezkin said danger, darkness, and death. All Frisha
saw was an honorable knight in shining armor.

The answer came from Reaylin of all places. “Oh,
please
,
Frisha. Even
I
could get poison. Besides, Rezkin has healing skills. He
probably knows how to make one himself.”

“Oh,” Frisha said. “I hadn’t thought of that.” She was
embarrassed to have that pointed out, especially by Reaylin of all people. She
shrugged and brushed it off saying, “Well, he wouldn’t do that anyway. He’s not
a
murderer
.” The young woman gave her uncle a pointed look as if to challenge
him to claim otherwise.

Marcum scowled but did not take the bait. He knew Frisha
wanted to know more about the secrets he held in confidence. “That is not why I
called you all here. What I have to tell you is very serious.” That caught
everyone’s attention. “For the past few weeks, reports have been flooding in
from all over northern Ashai. As you know, trouble was brewing with the local
thieves’ guilds in Justain while you were there. Apparently, they were
overtaken by a new criminal overlord.”

Captain Jimson leaned forward at the general’s pause. “Which
guilds?”

Marcum captured Jimson with a pointed look and said, “All of
them.” Sighing loudly, he continued, “Apparently, he took the first two in the
span of a single day and then used them to destroy the third. You may remember
the news of bodies lined up along the riverbank.” Frisha, Tam and Jimson all
nodded acknowledgement, but this was news to Reaylin who had not joined them
until Lorelis. “Well, that was just the first wave. The madness did not stop in
Justain. It has spread to all of the larger cities in the north: Caradon,
Drennil, Umbrell. There are even whispers of his name as far East as Krellis.”

That was news to Rezkin. He had not specifically ordered
anyone to Krellis. Actually, the general’s news was much more up-to-date than
what he had gathered, since Marcum received the most recent news through the
Mage Relay. While Rezkin could gain access and make use of the Mage Relay, his
contacts could not, so he depended on messengers and information attained by
his new spies in official channels.

“Cheswick?” Tam asked anxiously.

Marcum nodded, “Cheswick, too. Reports claim there was some
resistance in Caradon, but now any who live swear loyalty to The Raven.”

“The Raven?” Frisha asked with wide eyes. “He sounds
ominous,” she said with a shiver. Rezkin idly squeezed her shoulder for
comfort, and she reached up to stroke his fingers with her daintier ones.

“It is, Frisha. It most certainly is. He has even made his
presence known here in Kaibain. I have received multiple reports today that the
Kaibainian thieves’ guilds have fallen to The Raven. Bodies already line the
riverbank, all marked with a raven upon their brows. We know he cannot be in
all of these places at once, and it has been difficult to pinpoint his
location, but this being the Seat of the King, I think there is a good chance
he is here.”

“I have never heard of such a thing,” Captain Jimson
remarked. “How can one man commandeer half a kingdom worth of criminals? The
greatest advantage we have for keeping them in check is the fact that they are
so greedy and unscrupulous that they will never unite. Their guild wars alone
keep their numbers at bay.”

“Yes, well, with the state of the kingdom the way it is,
more people are turning to crime. You have already experienced the results of
the rising number of countryside bandits. The cities’ thieves’ guilds are
growing their numbers as well. Additionally, I do not believe this Raven
intends to stop with the north.”

“You think he will claim the other cities as well?” Jimson
asked with concern.

“They are calling him the King of Thieves. I think he
intends to claim every criminal guild in Ashai,” Marcum stated. “Look, there
are other happenings, too…kingdom business that I am not privy to discuss with you
all. This is one of the reasons I convinced Simeon to let his sons and daughter
go to Skutton and why I have decided to allow Frisha to attend. This city may
not be safe. The Raven has changed the way the guilds are working.
Astonishingly, the everyday crime against commoners has dropped to almost nil,
but wealthier Houses are being targeted. In fact…” Marcum sighed. He hated to
tell them, but he needed to emphasize the threat. “The Golden Trust Bank in
Justain was robbed.”

“What!?” everyone shouted at once.

“That’s impossible!” Tam said. “It’s NEVER been robbed. Even
I
know that, and I couldn’t even afford anything worth keeping there,
much less afford an account.”