The Runaway King (10 page)

W
e planned to leave for Libeth late that afternoon. In the meantime, I was allowed free rein of the camp, though everyone there kept a close eye on me. It was a good thing I wasn’t trying to escape because it would’ve been impossible anyway.

When it was finally time to leave, I half expected Erick would order me hooded, but he didn’t. Maybe he had decided to trust me and accept me into the group.

I rode with Erick on his horse until I gave him directions to find Mystic, who amazingly was still tied up where I’d left him. Erick never asked about Mystic, obviously assuming he’d also been stolen. I almost wished he had asked. At least, it would have been fun to tell the story I’d prepared about how I obtained this horse.

Because of the swampland behind Libeth, we had to take almost the same path as I had taken in coming to Avenia yesterday morning. It was nearly midnight when we entered the town, which was silent except for the occasional shuffle of farm animals in the fields or restless crickets at the roadside.

“Where’s the house?” Erick asked.

I pointed up the hill. From here, it looked entirely dark, which was a relief. If there’d been evidence of anyone awake, I would have made an excuse to cancel the plan. “For a job like this we need quiet,” I said to Erick. “I’ll go in alone and everyone can wait for me.”

“You and I will go in,” Erick said. “This is a test to see how you operate, remember?”

I remembered that all too well.

Erick handed me my knife. “I assume you want this.”

I took it and strapped it to my waist. “What about my sword?”

“It’s still in the tent, still safe. Let’s see how everything goes tonight.”

Once at Harlowe’s home, Erick directed the men to wait at the edge of the estate. He and I would walk the rest of the way on foot.

“I don’t like this sneaking around,” Erick said. “I much prefer the use of force.”

“The last time your thieves used force, several of them came home injured.” I decided not to burden him with the detail of who had caused their injuries. “This is better.”

We fell silent as we got close to the house. I wondered how many people were inside. Did Harlowe’s servants live here or travel to their own homes at night? Did he have vigils like Conner used to have? Every part of me hated what we were about to do, and hated myself for bringing the thieves here.

Once we reached the home I hesitated, debating the best course of action. Erick’s presence made the situation far more complicated. I could climb the exterior walls of the house and enter through an upper story. Erick likely wouldn’t follow me, so it was my best chance to be alone. I could find Harlowe and explain to him as much as was necessary to get his help. But if Erick did follow me, that would put him on the same floor as the bedrooms. I knew very little about the layout of Harlowe’s home. If I startled someone, there was too much risk it would create a fight, and Erick was well armed.

So I led Erick around the front of the home. We’d go directly into Harlowe’s office and hope no servants were still awake.

It was not so many hours ago when I’d been a welcomed guest inside these walls. Could I really have fallen this far so fast? I made a silent vow to repay Harlowe for my crimes as soon as possible. Still, what I was doing felt like the ultimate betrayal. Harlowe would understand someday why I persuaded the thieves not to go to the border settlements. But I wasn’t sure I could ever make him see that I needed to take them somewhere, and that this was the only place I felt I had some control.

The window to what I thought was Harlowe’s office was high off the ground, so I’d have to shinny up a tree to get in. Hopefully that was enough deterrent for Erick to follow me. I doubted he was a man who did much climbing.

I brushed my hands on my pants to dry them. Erick glanced up at the window, then grabbed my shirt and pressed me against the tree trunk. “You swear to me this isn’t a trap?” he hissed.

“It isn’t a trap,” I assured him. “Trust me, I want to get in and out as much as you do.” Probably more.

“If anything looks funny, I’ll signal my men and guarantee nobody leaves here alive. Especially not you.”

“If you don’t want anything to go wrong, then stop making so much noise,” I said, pushing back at him. “Now let’s do this.”

I climbed the tree with no more noise than the occasional rustle of leaves. Then, keeping myself shielded by the wall, I peered into the window. With the little moonlight available, I could see that this was Harlowe’s office and it was empty. Even better, the door was closed, and as far as I could tell from looking beneath the door, the halls were dark. If servants were awake, there would still be some lights on the main floor.

“Wait for me here,” I told Erick. “I’ll be out in five minutes.”

I wormed my fingers beneath the window and slowly raised it. It slid silently and easily, an indication that Harlowe often opened it, perhaps for a breeze during the warm spring afternoons. The leap from the branch where I was perched wasn’t too bad, and within a few seconds I was standing inside Harlowe’s office.

In the low light, the challenge would be to figure out where he kept his valuables. I didn’t need much. Coins were best because they’d be the most valued by the thieves, the easiest to replace, and the least sentimental. If Harlowe had coins anywhere in the home, they were most likely here.

I had worked my way around a desk in his office and was fingering across shelves of books when I heard footsteps in the main hall. I froze, hoping it was only a passing servant.

But the footsteps were followed by voices, and the light of a candle flickered from beneath the office door. They were coming closer.

When it became obvious they were approaching the office, I hurried toward the window. The voices were of two men, though with the muffle of the door I couldn’t recognize them. I assumed one of them must be Harlowe.

The door opened before I was as far as the window, so I began to duck beneath the desk, but a voice commanded me to stop.

I didn’t draw my knife. There was no point in it. And turning around to face the two men who had entered the office was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.

Both men gasped when they recognized me. Harlowe was the one holding the candle. The other man, who had ordered me to stop and who had withdrawn his knife, was none other than Mott.

N
one of us spoke for what seemed like an hour. Slowly Mott lowered his knife and finally Harlowe whispered, “You’re Jaron. But why —”

My heart pounding, I glanced at Mott for help, still unable to speak.

At almost the same time, I heard a sound behind me and Erick climbed through the window. “I saw the light,” he said. “I thought you needed help.”

“I don’t.” Now I withdrew my knife.

Mott put a hand on Harlowe’s arm. “This isn’t who you think it is,” he said. “This boy is one of the finest thieves of Avenia. I’ve seen him before and I know he’s capable of everything he says he is. You should give him whatever he wants. He’ll always get it anyway.”

Erick looked at me. “What are you capable of?”

I ignored Erick and looked at Harlowe. “Whatever coins you have here, I want them. Now.”

Harlowe remained frozen, unable to put together the various explanations of who he had thought I was when we first met, whatever Mott must have told him, and what he was now seeing unfold. Finally, Mott pushed him forward, and Harlowe said, “I don’t have much here.” He reached for a frame on his desk. “But this is made of gold. It’s worth a lot.”

A sketch of a young child was inside the frame. I wondered if it was Nila’s father, or the other child Harlowe’s servant had told me about. “I don’t want that picture,” I said. “But I’ll take the frame.”

Harlowe removed the sketch and set it carefully on the desk before Erick took the frame and dropped it in a bag he’d brought with him.

Next, Harlowe reached for something inside his vest and handed it to me. “You can take this too. It’s also gold.” It was the watch that had belonged to Nila’s father.

I tossed it back at him. “That’s imitator’s gold. It’s worthless.” Unable to avoid Mott’s eye, I added, “Surely you know that I can tell the difference between that and real gold.”

“Obviously you can’t.” Erick frowned at me while holding out his hand. “It’s real enough for my needs.”

“If anyone’s taking it, I will.” I reached for the watch, but Erick swatted my hand out of the way and flashed the blade of his knife. There was nothing to do but give in.

“This boy doesn’t mean anything more to us than imitator’s gold,” Mott said, staring at me. “Give him some coins and he’ll go.”

Harlowe padded to his bookshelf. He pulled out a box from an upper shelf, then walked over to me and said, “Hold out your hands.” I took the bag from Erick, and Harlowe widened the box, letting dozens of garlins fall inside it.

Behind me, Erick actually gasped with delight. Then his eyes fixed on Mott. “What about him?”

Mott looked at me. “You won’t get me, thief.” And he ran from the room.

I pointed to Harlowe and told Erick, “You watch him.” I stopped as I passed Harlowe. “Don’t move. Don’t give him a reason to do anything.” Then I left the room, chasing after Mott.

Mott was waiting for me as I rounded the corner into the main hall. He grabbed my arm and yanked me against the wall.

“What are you doing here?” Mott hissed.

“You should’ve heard the alternative.” Suddenly, there was so much to tell him. About the Avenian thieves who stole across our borders to attack our women and children. About the nobles in Carthya who covered it up. And about my father, who, worst of all, had ignored the pleas of his own people for help. But there was no time. “Why are you here?”

“Can’t you guess?”

“You should be helping Tobias at the castle.” A beat passed. “How’s he doing?”

“Amarinda and Kerwyn will protect him. But there’s talk everywhere of the regents’ vote against you. If you don’t come back now, there might not be anything to return to.”

I stepped back. “And if I don’t finish here, there’s no point in returning.”

“Killing Devlin won’t solve this problem.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I dreaded the words I’d be saying next, and even as I spoke I understood the impossibility of it all. “I have to destroy the pirates. All of them.”

Mott’s eyes flared. “What? This is madness! Not the plan of a king!”

Angrily, I hissed, “Then join those who vote for a steward and let me be!”

I started to march away, but Mott grabbed my arm. “I don’t want a steward in Carthya any more than you do. But your actions only give ammunition to those who think you lack the judgment to be king. You are helping them destroy you.”

Turning back to him, I said, “Why can’t you see this, Mott? Forget the steward and see the dangers for Carthya. This is our only hope
not
to be destroyed. Our troubles are far bigger than Gregor’s political ambitions.”

Mott wasn’t convinced. “You should’ve let Gregor in on your plans. Other than Kerwyn, there was nobody your father trusted more. Please, come back while you still can.”

“If I do that, how long until the pirates invade Carthya? Is it days, or will they give us a whole week to prepare? I don’t
want
to be here, Mott, so give me another option. Give me any way in which Carthya has a chance to survive and I’ll do it.”

But he couldn’t. In a voice thick with sadness he said, “Nobody comes back from the pirates, Jaron.”

“I’ve got to. Who else makes your life this interesting?” And I even offered a smile.

Mott breathed out a curse, then said, “If you need me, I’ll be at the church in Dichell. For your own safety, that’s as far as I dare follow you.” I started again to leave, but this time he added, “Give me your knife.”

“What?”

Mott held out his hand, palm upward. “You’ve been gone too long. So give me the knife.”

It was the second time Mott had injured himself to save my secrets. Watching him slice the blade across his arm hurt almost as much as if it had been my flesh. When I took the knife back from him I hesitated, hearing a small sound behind us.

Nila held a small candle out to see us better. “Oh!” she said, startled. Then as she recognized me and saw the blood on my knife, she took a step back. “Oh no.” She turned and ran up the stairs. I didn’t dare call after her. I couldn’t risk Erick hearing us.

“Go now,” Mott said. “I’ll try to stop her before she wakes anyone. And, Jaron, you must come back.”

“I will.” I spoke with more confidence than I felt, but it seemed to comfort him. “And it probably doesn’t matter at this point, but I am sorry.”

Before Mott could respond, I returned to the office, then rushed at Erick who had Harlowe backed against the wall with his knife. I pushed between them and cried, “What are you doing?”

“He asked your name,” Erick said.

I turned to Harlowe. “No, sir, I don’t want you to remember my name. Nor to remember
this
night.” Then I pulled Erick away. “We’ve got to go.”

Erick’s eyes locked on my bloodstained knife, and Harlowe let out a horrified gasp when he realized what I must have done. “So that’s what you’re capable of,” Erick mumbled. “I underestimated you.”

“He asked for it,” I said, then nodded to Erick. “You go first.”

When he ducked out the window I turned back to Harlowe, who said, “Tell me you didn’t just —”

“Someday I hope you’ll understand.” I spoke so softly I was nearly mouthing the words. “Forgive me.”

Harlowe only shook his head, feeling horrified and betrayed if he felt anything at all. And I climbed down the tree, knowing that this was a crime for which I might never be forgiven.