The Assassin's Mark (Skeleton Key) (5 page)

Everyone dismounted from their horses in the wide field. A few of the servants we had started constructing the camp as the guards gathered together with Sir Alan in the middle of them for a brief meeting, then some of them would help complete the camp’s construction. Sir Alan glanced my way a few times as if making sure I wasn’t getting into trouble. It unnerved me a little as if I was a child who needed to be kept in line by a parent. I’d never really felt that way around him before, but this wasn’t a typical time in my people’s history. If we were going to make it through, I had to keep my chin up and be the person my parents had expected me to be.

I turned my back on him. I had more pressing matters right now. Beside me, Tabitha helped one of the servants set up my tent. I wished we were at Skyhaven so I could stay in one of the inns instead of this camp. It’d likely be safer for me there. The guards took turns watching over my tent and checking on my safety. Sir Alan also seemed to have organized a patrol routine to ensure the camp would remain safe during the evening. But who in their right mind would attack a camp full of knights? That was beyond me. I just didn’t see the point.

Despite the alternative routes we’d taken and our quest to remain undetected, it seemed bad news always had a way to find us. The occasional messenger found their way to the camp, leaving me a small stack of letters from commanders and nobles demanding guidance, advice, or news to help calm their people. I hadn’t even been crowned yet, and the responsibilities that were being heaped upon me were becoming quite heavy. At least my mother and father had one another to help carry the burden of ruling a kingdom.

Messages were coming from all over asking for clarification on the political front, pleas for grain to be released to the southern marketplaces to keep troops from leaving their posts, and various calls for me to “hurry up and take the bloody throne” as one noble wrote. As if it were that simple. It took all of my patience to keep from writing scathing responses back to most of these fools. It appeared I was slowly cultivating enemies, and I hadn’t even been given the chance to claim Freehaven as mine yet.

The longer I waited, the worse both rumors and public opinion of me would become. Among the letters were reports from some of the military commanders stating that various hordes in the north had already heard of the kingdom’s possible instability. Unless Freehaven unified again under a strong ruler, the hordes would attack us. We’d be weak if we didn’t band together as a united people. Hidden among the letters was a statement from Skyhaven’s commander, promising me the use of his keep and men should the need arise, and a warning about strange knights and worse roaming the countryside.

I wasn’t sure if he just intended to scare me, but the small letter that looked to have been hastily written had caught my attention immediately. The death of my parents had set many things in motion. I would have sworn our smaller size would allow me to remain hidden from prying eyes. Yet it seemed people found me quicker than I’d thought possible. Had one of the noblemen leaked the privileged information?

I couldn’t afford to spend time figuring out all the ways someone might have informed those after me about my whereabouts. Was a person among us helping those who meant me harm? There were just too many suspects, too many opportunities for someone sinister to listen in and report to whoever was behind all of this.

With a sigh, I thumbed through the documents again, arranging them into piles dependent on if they needed my immediate attention or not. How did these blasted messengers keep finding me anyway? I understood how they’d found me after my parents had died. We weren’t exactly hiding where we were. But very few people knew our exact path back home this time. I shook away the thought, dismissing it as I started working through the letters.

Tabitha soon came in with a few slices of cheese and some bread to tide me over until the main meal was ready. She knew me well enough not to disturb my concentration.

By the time dinner was brought in, I knew why my father’s expression had always soured when he heard that a messenger had arrived to court. It took a while to draft replies to those who needed immediate assistance, but when I was done, I gave them to Tabitha. She would deliver them to Sir Alan who could pass them off to the next messenger to visit camp.

Stretching back onto my bed, I pulled my sword from its sheath. The cold-looking blade had luckily never seen bloodshed before. It was lighter than normal, but the hilt fit my hand well. I turned the sword over in my hand. An unsettling feeling came over me as I looked it over. The blade would have its first taste of blood before this was all over.

Edward

At dusk, the travelers slowed near a large field. The servants and a few of the guards helped prepare the camp. Several of the knights had huddled around one man for a moment, before they went their own ways. I laid low for a while not wanting to risk alerting them to my presence. The large knight they’d been talking with already seemed on edge. I had noticed him watching his surroundings while on the road more than what seemed necessary as if he could sense me or someone else following the group.

I leaned against a thick tree on a hill near the camp, remaining sheltered from sight but able to hear what was going and sneak glances. The smell of their food twisted my stomach into knots. Hunger gnawed at my gut, but I couldn’t waltz into their camp. They had a few guards that patrolled the area where I was. It would probably be wiser for me to enter the camp when most of the knights slept. The risk would be much less.

Soft rain trickled down from the sky. As the evening progressed, it picked up its intensity. I shivered against the cold, but at least it deterred most of the men from lingering outside of their tents after supper. The guard patrol routes were heavier on the side of the encampment near the road rather than on the side near the woods where I sat. Their very important person must’ve been situated over there.

Weary and famished, I walked down the hill making sure to remain within cover. The camp had begun quieting even more, so it might be advantageous for me to make a move soon.

As I crept closer to the outskirts of camp, I heard a tree branch snap closely followed by a young woman’s giggle. Curiosity drove me forward, and I stepped carefully to not draw attention to myself. Her moan stopped me in my tracks. I scanned the trees, trying to locate the source of the sounds. About forty feet away, a guard and a servant girl were embraced in one another’s arms, uncaring of the world around them. Had it not been for her soft cries of passion, I might have walked into the pair. No wonder I’d not seen many guards at the back of camp. This must’ve been some sort of lover’s spot.

I circled the clearing a little away from them until I came upon their clothing. This might be the chance I was hoping for in order to better blend in with the camp. Among their possessions, I found a tunic and leather pants along with a thick leather belt and a sheathed sword. That would be significantly more useful than my knife.

I carefully picked up the clothes and belt with its sheathed sword to avoid any sound, then slunk away from the lovers. Why couldn’t they have left a snack of some kind? It would’ve been so much easier than making my way through the camp. At least I had something less conspicuous to wear though.

The guard’s clothes smelled awful as I quickly changed into them. They could definitely use a wash. The leather belt hung low on my waist, but it would work so long as I didn’t have to run any marathons. The patrol would be coming around any time now, and I wanted to be farther into the camp before then. They might decide to talk with me, and I needed to scope the area before I chose to interact with anyone.

A sleepy servant nodded to me as I passed him, and I let myself relax a little. The scent of cooked meat guided me toward where the food had been prepared.

Here and there, I ducked between the tents to avoid meeting anyone face to face. Twice I’d almost walked into guard patrols before I finally found my way to the camp’s cooking tent. It was larger than the tents surrounding it, and none of the servants were around. They had already vacated it for wherever they slept during the night. My focus narrowed on a small collection of breads that seemed to be left over from tonight’s meal. I grabbed a few slices of bread and folded them into what remained of my button-up shirt using the formerly fine fabric as little more than a rag. A grimace formed on my lips, but I squelched it. When…if…I ever returned home, I had a closet full of clothes.

As I turned to leave, I spotted an array of salted meat that lay on one of the preparation tables. My stomach tightened with hunger. Bread was fine, but I needed protein after my full day of chasing after the group on foot. I sliced off a piece and bit into it. My eyes watered as the heaps of salt they’d put on the meat overpowered all other flavor. The only thing I could tell from the meat was that this animal had been wild game. Made sense, especially if I’d been thrown back in time or some such. Nevertheless, the protein did wonders to invigorate me. I didn’t feel quite so weak and drowsy now, but the small meal was a far cry from being completely sated. It was only a matter of time before someone came in here, and I didn’t want to be found loitering. I preferred to keep my limbs attached.

I grabbed a couple more slices of meat, then made my way out of camp the way I’d come. The camp had settled down as more people began to rest for the night. In a matter of minutes, I was back in the shelter of the trees finishing off the meat and clearing my palate with a slice of bread. It was still warm from having been baked. It wasn’t a thrilling meal, but seeing as I hadn’t eaten properly for at least a day, I wasn’t complaining.

The remaining two slices of bread sat on the remnants of the shirt in my lap. While I could eat them, I wasn’t sure of when I’d next be able to sneak food. It was only a matter of time before the guard noticed his clothes were missing and alerted the camp. I folded the slices of bread back into my shirt and trekked deeper into the woods. The hilltop where I’d rested before might be dangerous since that’s near where the lovers had been, so I opted for climbing a tree once more to keep an eye on the camp.

Guards strolled along the camp making their rounds, but as my gaze scanned the area, I froze. For the briefest of moments, I spotted the outline of the woman from my dreams. There. She moved through the camp quietly, but I kept a keen eye on her. Even though I was some distance away, I couldn’t shake the feeling building within me. It had to be the woman. She had been scantily clad in the fields, but here, she wore an elegant dress with a long cloak. She was the knights’ VIP.

Puzzle pieces started clicking into place, but I couldn’t take my eyes from her. Couldn’t think rationally when she was right there.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I heard the feminine voice again beseeching me to help her.
She needs you. He’ll kill her.
The middle-aged woman’s voice echoed in my head over and over again. A protective instinct that I hadn’t known I’d possessed stretched up from deep within me, but I pushed it down. Why should I be the one to guard her? She was in the middle of a military camp surrounded by well-armed men. I didn’t know her, and she appeared to be perfectly fine.

My sleep was restless, and an uneasy weight rode my shoulders. Below me, a muffled cry in the shrubbery almost went unnoticed. Maybe it would have if it weren’t for the thud of a body hitting the tree I slept in. With a careful glance down, I caught a man in dark green strangling one of the guards. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I looked out over the camp, and a chill slid down my spine. Systematically men dressed in similar green tunics were killing the knights. Key guards were going missing from their posts, and with morning light still another hour and a half or two hours away, few people in the camp were awake yet.

She
. The thought pounded through my head, urging my body to act before I realized what was happening.
Needs
. I climbed down the tree. My heart pounded in my chest, uncaring of what or who lay beneath me.
You.
The sword I’d acquired earlier sunk into the neck of the invader as I dropped on top of him. In a strange detached state, I picked up my pace and left the weakened guard on the ground behind me. Tree roots and various branches flew by my face as I sprinted through the woods.
Now!

Whatever had risen up inside me had sparked a driving force to protect the young woman, but as I stood on the outskirts of camp, I froze as fear crashed through me. I’d lost sight of her during the climb down the tree. Would I be able to locate this woman from my dreams? A feminine scream cut through my fear, and I darted into the camp. Hesitation was a distant memory, and I focused on picking my way through the clashing swords as knights began waking up and pushing back the group of mercenaries.

The mercenaries had a mishmash of weapons and armor. They were merely hired thugs. The one thing they’d had on their side was the element of surprise. Two knights lay bleeding on the ground, and four mercs stood before a tent that seemed to be the group’s makeshift armory as if they were guarding it.

Coming from the side of the tent, I slashed my sword through the nearest mercenary’s side. My momentum carried me onward, and I smashed the pommel into the other merc’s face. He clutched his nose, leaving himself wide open, and I slid the blade into his chest. It had happened in a matter of few heartbeats, but now I’d lost the element of surprise. The last two spun toward me.

Quick and seemingly experienced with dirty fighting, the closest man swept my legs out from under me. The kick sent me face first into the mud. Instead coming to a stop, I rolled through the mud before leaping to my feet. His blade zinged through the air before it sank into the mud where my head had been moments ago. What I’d give for more bullets. I needed to keep the ones I possessed for dire situations. This might not be fun, but it didn’t fit my prerequisites for dire. The knights had risen to their feet during the fight and saw their chance to push back the mercenaries.