Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings Book 1) (32 page)

Rezkin shook his head, forcing his attention back onto his
surroundings. When had that happened? It was as though the moment Frisha’s lips
touched his everything he had ever learned just vanished. He suddenly realized
kissing was
dangerous
. As much as he liked it, he did not think he could
leave himself so vulnerable again. He would have to avoid it in the
future…probably. Most importantly, he would have to figure out what had incited
the reaction. He did not know why, but somehow he was absolutely certain he did
not
want to experience the same thing with Tam.

“What about Kaibain?” asked Rezkin, clearing his throat as
he addressed Tam’s question that he had almost forgotten during his musings.

“Well, do you know where you will be staying?” his
friend
asked.

Rezkin shrugged, “I suppose I will get a room at an inn.”

“No!” Frisha said excitedly. “You will stay with me…us, I
mean. At my uncle’s home.”

Rezkin cocked his head curiously. “You have a family in
Kaibain? Your family is not in Cheswick?”

“Well, yes, my immediate family is in Cheswick, but my uncle
and his wife live in Kaibain,” she replied.

“And…” Tam prompted firmly.

“And, that is why I am going to Kaibain,” the young woman
continued. Rezkin could tell she was skirting around the truth.

Tam crossed his arms and gave her a stern look, “Frisha,
tell him
why
you’re going to Kaibain.”

“Well, I am…um…”

Rezkin was losing patience with the conversation. “What?”

“…looking for a husband,” she mumbled, averting her eyes.

Rezkin frowned. “
Why
?” he asked completely
dumbfounded.

Frisha huffed with frustration. “Because I’m already twenty
years old and still unmarried. My father says it’s past time and my mother
actually
agreed
!”

“Ooookay,” Rezkin drawled. “What does that have to do with
Kaibain?

“Well, you see, my father is a merchant, the most successful
in our city. He’s actually the head of the Merchant Administrators. So, he
insists I marry well.” She laughed and waved toward Tam as she said, “When we
were growing up, we were so close that my father started to worry we would fall
in love. He tried everything to teach Tam about commerce and trade, but Tam
would have none of it.”

“It was so terribly boring,” Tam complained with a cringe.

“Anyway, he was relieved when it turned out Tam and I had no
interest in that kind of thing. We were
too
close growing up.”

“She’s like a sister to me,” he interjected.

Frisha nodded, “Exactly. So, my father decided to try to
marry me into one of the Great Merchant Houses, but all their sons were too old
or too young or just plain insufferable.”

Rezkin was following along with the young woman’s rambling
but still was not sure what it had to do with Kaibain. He hoped she would get
to the point soon.

“Well, then my uncle contacted my father and said he was
going to name me his heir since he doesn’t have any children of his own. My
mother and father both jumped at the chance for me to marry into the nobility,”
she finished.

“Why would being named your uncle’s heir help you marry into
the nobility? Is he important?” Rezkin asked curiously. He was familiar with
important people and the nobility. This part might start to make sense.

Frisha sighed. “My uncle is General Marcum.”

Rezkin was staggered at Frisha’s revelation. He furrowed his
brow in confusion as he said, “When we met, you told me you are not a lady. If
you are General Marcum’s niece, then you are a member of House Jebai.”

Frisha wrung her hands as she answered, “Well, yes and no.
You see, Uncle Marcum was the second son. His older brother, Simeon, inherited
the lands and title.” Rezkin nodded knowingly, and the woman continued. “Since
he knew he would not inherit, my uncle joined the army. He worked his way up
through the officer ranks, and after years of exemplary service and
accomplishment, King Bordran named him General of the Army.”

“I am familiar with the accomplishments of General Marcum,”
Rezkin replied. Many of the modern battle strategies Rezkin had studied were
first employed by the general during the last war between the Sandeans and
Jerese to the far north and Channería to the east. Being long-time allies,
Ashai had reinforced Channería, but once the Torreli joined the northern foe,
the war spilled over into the northern territories of Ashai. Despite the great
enemy numbers, the general had been able to push back the aggressors before
they even reached one city in Ashai.

“Anyway, my mother is Marcum’s youngest sister; and as I
said, my father is a merchant but not a noble. Since my mother married a
commoner against her family’s wishes, she gave up her status and any children
of the union are considered commoners. Since my uncle decided to name me his
heir, though, I will be welcomed into House Marcum and considered nobility. Of
course, if there had been land involved, no one would allow it, but I am only
inheriting my uncle’s personal wealth and estate.”

“So you are a lady who was raised as a commoner,” Rezkin
mused. “The nobility will not accept you as an equal. It will be very difficult
for you.”

Frisha nodded sadly and replied, “Socially, yes. They will
always see me as the woman with commoner blood. Between my father and my uncle,
though, my dowry is substantial, so there are plenty of minor lords or second
or third sons who will be willing to marry me.”

“I see,” Rezkin said. Where did that leave
him
? If
Frisha married some noble, then she would already be well protected. She would
no longer need him. Somewhere in his mind he had
known
that, as a woman,
Frisha was expected to marry and bear heirs. With everything that had been
happening, he had not really considered the possibility that it might occur
sooner rather than later. He felt a nagging tightening in his gut. He was not
comfortable with the situation, but he did not know why. Usually, his gut
instincts were correct, but he could not place the feeling at the moment.

Realizing that Frisha’s personal relationships were none of
his concern, unless they caused her harm, Rezkin decided to simply put it from
his mind. It was none of his business, and he had other matters to which he
needed to attend. Without having to worry about protecting Frisha, he could
focus on Tam and Jimson. Perhaps he would end up joining the army, after all.

Rezkin shook off the discomfort in his chest and said, “Thank
you, Frisha, for informing me.” He looked over at Tam who was watching him
closely. “Is there anything else you wished to discuss tonight? It is getting
late.”

“No,” said Tam with a hint of empathy. “I think we’re good.
I’ll be up soon if you want to go ahead.”

Rezkin nodded and walked away into the darkness.

Tam immediately turned on Frisha. “What was that? I thought
you wanted him, Frisha?”

“What? I do! I mean, what are you talking about?” Frisha
asked in alarm.

“Think about it. The man just told you that you are his
purpose in life, and you told him all about how much money you have and all the
nobles who will want to marry you. Rezkin doesn’t have any family, remember? He
was raised in a fort. He probably doesn’t own any property. He most likely carries
everything he owns with him. You made him feel like he wasn’t good enough for
you. Now, he thinks you don’t want him.”

Frisha’s hands flew to her mouth as she gasped, “What!? No!
I didn’t mean…” She turned on Tam in anger, “You were the one who kept pushing
me to tell him!”

“I wanted you to tell him why you were going to Kaibain
– that you were looking for a husband. I wanted you to let him know that
you were interested. I didn’t expect you to throw it in is face that he was so
much less than your potential suitors!” Tam scolded before stomping out of the
stable.

“Tam! Tam!” Frisha called. “You know I didn’t mean it like
that!”

Tam whirled on her, “You had better make this right, Frisha.
Right now it looks like you’ve been stringing him along. He doesn’t deserve
this. He’s a good man.”

When Tam returned to the room, Rezkin was nowhere to be
seen.

After leaving Tam and Frisha in the stables, Rezkin had
returned to his room only to realize there was no way he could sleep. He was restless.
He needed some action, so he decided to put his
Skills
to use. He donned
his stealth gear and snuck out of the inn via the window in his room and made
his way across the city by rooftop.  Where the roofs were not close enough
together, he descended into the shadows of the dark alleys and scurried along
in secret. Once he reached Fort Manaske, he found it easy to breach. He already
knew the layout and typical guard schedules and routes from his studies with
the masters and strikers. Now that he knew more about the strikers, it made
sense that they would have that kind of information. There had been times when
some of the strikers would leave the fortress for weeks at a time and return
with fresh information. The question was,
Why?

Tonight, though, Rezkin wanted to find out more about these
rebels of whom the lieutenant spoke. After scaling the wall and dodging the
patrol, Rezkin slipped from shadow to shadow across the yard and into a dark
alcove. Intent on entering the building through a second story window, Rezkin
clambered atop a sturdy barrel and launched himself into the air. He caught
hold of an iron hook jutting from the wall that was meant to hold a lantern.
His forward momentum and impressive abdominal muscles carried him higher still,
and he flipped into the air once before catching the stone sill of the window.
The warrior pulled his body up to perch in the sill while he worked at the
window catch. The glass pains swung silently inward, and Rezkin slipped into
the darkness.

After closing and latching the window, the young warrior
skulked through the dark office. His actual target was across the hall and down
one door. He listened closely at the door and then nudged it open. The corridor
was dark and empty. Rezkin padded softly over the stones and stopped outside
the colonel’s office. The young spy slipped his lock picks from the pouch at
his belt and easily disarmed the mechanism.
Someone really needs to upgrade
the security around here
, he thought. He closed and locked the door behind
him.

As a security measure, this room had no windows, but that
only made Rezkin’s job that much easier. He unwound some of the strips of
fabric that wrapped around his frame. These strips served two functions. First,
they held his clothes tight to his body to keep them from getting caught on
things. Second, they could be removed for use in other capacities like tying or
hanging objects or people or wrapping wounds, if necessary. At this moment,
Rezkin stuffed them under and around the doorframe to prevent any light from
leaking out when he lit the lamp.

Once the lamp was lit, he moved about the office swiftly. He
carefully thumbed through papers in drawers and baskets atop the desk and found
nothing but staff reports, inventory logs, and other mundane business. Lastly,
he checked the sack of outgoing correspondence. Each of the messages was
stamped with the colonel’s seal ready to be delivered. The intruder heated a
thin knife in the lamp flame and slipped it carefully under each seal so as not
to disturb the wax. Rezkin read through each missive, even finding those
Lieutenant Jimson was intended to carry.

A few of the messages to other commanders mentioned the
“rebel threat” but did not go into detail. One of the letters outlined the
locations and numbers involved with attacks in the last few months. Another
appeared to be a reply to a previous letter from a Striker Hendina. It briefly
mentioned the missing prince and wished the captain luck in his investigation.

Two letters caught Rezkin’s eye that were nearly exact
duplicates. They were both about
him
. They provided his name and
description and identified him as a Sword Bearer. The letters described his
recent adventure with the bandits and his future plans. They even included the
names and descriptions of his companions. One was addressed to the King’s
Seneschal and the other was, interestingly, addressed to General Marcum.

After only a moment’s consideration, he returned the
general’s letter to the bag but slipped the letter to the seneschal into his
pocket with the intention of destroying it later. Then again, it was a letter
addressed to the seneschal with the colonel’s seal, and if he were to deliver
it himself, it could easily be interpreted as a letter of introduction. Some
people would pay a small fortune to have such a letter in their possession.

Making sure everything was back in order, he returned the
room to darkness. The warrior waited several moments while his eyes adjusted to
the lack of light. After retrieving the strips of cloth from around the door
and winding them back around his body, he slipped out of the Colonel’s office
and back down the hall. Escaping the fort without being observed was easier
than getting in since the guards were looking for people entering, not leaving.
Rezkin made his way back through the city without incident, and the difference
between the peaceful Lorelis and crime riddled capital city of Justain was
never more apparent.

The young warrior climbed to the second-floor window of his
room, which cast a small amount of light into the alley since Tam had left a
candle burning. One glance through the window, and he had to smile. Was this
his first genuine smile? Perhaps.

He drew his thin dagger, nudged the window open a hair’s
width, and slipped the dagger into the crack between the window and the sill.
Very carefully, he used his dagger to press down on the tip of the dagger Tam
had placed in the sill like Rezkin had shown him. Sliding the window up the
rest of the way, he quickly snatched Tam’s dagger before it fell. Tam was
snoring contentedly in his bed. Rezkin closed the window and replaced Tam’s
dagger. The door had been barred, but there was no dagger to alert Tam when
Rezkin entered. Tam must have realized the bar would not hinder the young
warrior’s entrance.

The next morning, Tam woke to see Rezkin sleeping in his
bed. He had no idea when the young warrior had returned last night, but it had
to have been very late. Tam had stayed up most of the night out of concern for
his friend. When Rezkin disappeared just after his conversation with Frisha, he
understood that Rezkin had been more upset than Tam previously realized. Rez
was so steady and…
solid…
and he always acted like a gentleman, especially
toward Frisha. Someone who did not know Rez might have thought the young warrior
unaffected with his stoic demeanor, but Tam knew Rezkin had been devastated. He
hoped that Rez had not gotten into any trouble during the night.

Dressing as quietly as he could, Tam slipped out the door
and went down to the common room for breakfast. It was well past sunrise,
another reason he knew Rez was not well. Frisha was drinking a cup of tea while
waiting on her food to arrive. Tam joined her at the table and waited to be
served.

Frisha cleared her throat. “Um….where’s Rez?”

“In bed,” Tam stated shortly.

“Oh,” Frisha said with surprise. “That’s unusual for him. Is
he unwell?”

Tam gave her a flat look. Frisha had the grace to blush, but
said nothing. “He was out all night. I would not expect him to get up before
noon if he were me.”

The young woman gasped, “
All
night? What could he
have been doing
all
night?”

Tam shrugged. “I am sure I don’t want to know,” he said
cryptically. He knew he was being mean, but he was furious with Frisha for the
way she had treated Rez. Frisha had not intended to hurt Rez, Tam understood,
but he did not think that made any difference to his friend. It sounded like
Rezkin had endured a hard life growing up. It did not seem like there could
have been a lot of love to go around under the conditions he had described.
Rezkin had somehow attached his heart to Frisha, and his childhood friend had
bungled it.

“Ohhh,” Frisha moaned, hiding her face in her hands. “I’ve
really messed things up, haven’t I? I really didn’t mean to hurt him. It all
just came out wrong. How can I fix this?” she begged.

Tam shook his head, “I don’t know. I guess you should just
tell him how you really feel. How
do
you feel, Frisha? Do you even
want
him? Is this just a temporary fling until you find your nobleman? Would you
really be willing to give up wealth and status for a man who essentially
amounts to a well-mannered vagabond?”

“Tam! You know me. You know I don’t care about being a lady
or wealth and status. I’m fine with being a commoner. And, I think I
do
want Rez. He’s everything I always dreamed a man should be. It doesn’t matter
to me that he owns little and has no family,” Frisha said.

“So you
do
want to marry him?” Tam asked outright.

“Well, we haven’t known each other long, barely a couple of
weeks, but it wouldn’t be any different if I were to marry a noble. If I had to
say yes or no right now, I would definitely say
yes
.”

“Okay, just…just don’t hurt him, Frisha,” Tam said. “He
doesn't deserve it.”

“I know,” she replied softly.

Rezkin had heard Tam moving around the room. The young man
could not move quietly to save his life. The warrior had only been asleep for a
couple of hours and knew he would not be able to sleep much longer despite
having stayed up all night. The sunlight was streaming in the window and people
where moving about outside. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He dressed
quickly in a dark blue shirt and grey pants. He strapped on his swords and
secreted away his daggers but left his armor behind. When he entered the common
room, Frisha and Tam were just finishing their breakfast.

The young warrior took a seat at the table with his
friends
,
but the mood was somber. “What is wrong?” he asked. “Is something amiss?”

Frisha worried her lip anxiously and glanced at Tam. Tam
nodded once and then said, “I’ll just be up in the room.”

Rezkin cocked his head as he watched the young man leave.
“Is he upset?” he inquired.

“Yes, a bit,” Frisha answered honestly.

“Did I fail in some way?” Rezkin asked. He did not think he
had dishonored Tam in anyway, but maybe his
friend
was upset that Rezkin
had not been in the room last night. Had Tam been concerned?

“No, not at all. He’s actually upset with me,” Frisha
replied.

Rezkin did not ask why Tam was upset with Frisha. It was
none of his business, and he really did not wish to get involved in a dispute
between his
friends
. What if they asked him to choose a side? He could
not honor one without dishonoring the other.

“Rezkin, may I speak with you for a moment?” Frisha asked
anxiously.

Were they not already speaking? “Of course,” he replied.

“When…when we’re in Kaibain,” she started, “it’s just…I
don’t want you to go. I want to be with you.”

Rezkin nodded. “Then you can come with me,” he replied.

Frisha’s eyes widened. “Come with you?”

He nodded once again. “To the tournament,” he said.

“You…you would like me to go with you?” Frisha asked in
pleasant surprise.

“I want you to always be with me,” he stated with resolve.
It was so much easier to protect her when she was with him. He had been fretting
over how to do so when he would be so far away. If she came with him, it would
solve his dilemma.

“You do?” she beamed excitedly.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “That is, unless you marry one of
those nobles. I cannot see taking you with me after that.”

Frisha was tearing up now, “Oh, Rez, I don’t want to marry a
noble.”

“Good, then it is settled. You will come with me,” Rezkin
stated with finality and gave her his best smile.

Frisha swooned in happiness.

After finishing his late breakfast, Rezkin took Tam and
Frisha into the courtyard where he started Frisha’s training with throwing
knives and continued Tam’s sword lessons. After breaking for the midday meal,
Frisha and Tam needed to go to the market for supplies. On the way out of the
inn, they encountered Reaylin who made an extra effort to step into their path,
effectively bringing them to a halt.

“Where are you guys going?” she asked. She had a way of
speaking a little too loudly even when raised voices were not required.

Tam looked at her sideways. “We are going to the market,”
the young man replied.

“Great! Let’s go,” Reaylin returned loudly. Tam scowled at
the young woman’s audacity. She had not even been invited and now she was
ordering them around.

The rest of the afternoon was spent perusing market stalls
and collecting odds and ends. Rezkin ordered a supply of oats to be delivered
to the inn for the horses. Since they were not taking any pack animals, a good
amount of grazing would have to suffice. The land between Lorelis and Kaibain
was much the same as that which they crossed on their trek from the river, so
there would be plenty of grasses to be had. The group returned to the inn in
the evening so they would not have to spend additional money on a meal. After
dinner, the travelers bathed and packed anything they would not need before
their departure.

Lieutenant Jimson arrived with the horses just as the sun
was beginning to lighten the sky. The beasts were large and sturdy, as would be
expected of army horses. The smallest was a pretty palomino mare that was still
a bit too large for Reaylin, but it would have to suffice. Reaylin did not seem
to mind as she went about securing her pack behind the saddle.

Tam and Frisha stood cautiously at a distance not really
knowing what to do with the beasts. Both were chestnuts, one gelding and one
mare. Tam’s mare had a white star on its head and white fetlocks. Frisha’s
mount was a hand or so shorter and had darker fetlocks and a nearly black main
and tale. Jimson rode a dappled grey gelding. At first, the horses nickered and
shied away from Rezkin’s massive black charger but they eventually settled to
follow his lead.