The Executioner's Right (The Executioner's Song Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Meyer nodded.

  The others of the Executioner Court turned and slipped off into the crowd.

  “We can depart. Our role here is done. The priests will pray for a little while longer, and then the hegen will come and claim their prizes.”

  “I have fulfilled everything I need?”

  “For now. King Porman agreed to the terms the jurors placed upon me exerting my right. You had to be accepted by the court.”

  “They didn’t think they would accept me?”

  “I suspect the jurors knew the court would be convening sooner than was typical.” His gaze lingered a moment on Bellut. Did Meyer already know? Finn wouldn’t put it past him. “You did well.”

  “And now I stay as your apprentice.”

  “Yes.”

  “And my sentencing?”

  “Has been commuted, as has the danger to me.”

  Finn smiled tightly. “Just a moment.”

  He made his way over to Bellut, who nodded to him and said, “It seems you have been approved by the court.”

  “I have,” Finn said.

  “Very well.”

  He had started to turn when Finn reached for him, catching his arm.

  Bellut turned back toward Finn, a flicker of darkness in his eyes that quickly passed.

  “I know what you did,” Finn said, pitching his voice low.

  “And what is that?”

  Finn flicked his gaze toward the King. “I hope the reward was worth the risk.”

  With that, he turned away, following Meyer away from the Raven Stone, back through the gate, and into the city. He would find the evidence to convict Bellut later. This time, he’d include Meyer in all of it.

  He was an executioner’s apprentice. For the first time, that title felt as if it fit him.

  Epilogue

  When Finn returned to the small room in Meyer’s home, he found a blank card waiting for him.

  The hegen.

  He stared at it for a moment before daring to lift it and look at it. There wasn’t anything to the card. Just a marker—reminding him of the marker he’d been given when he’d met with Esmerelda.

  The hegen had been there.

  He looked around the room. The books stacked on the desk looked no different from how they had before. There wasn’t any sort of organization to them. A few sheets of paper he’d borrowed from Meyer to make his notes were there as well, along with the bottle of ink and the pen.

  The bed looked untouched, the same mess of the sheets as when he’d been startled awake by Meyer.

  Finn took the card. After making it through the job, then finishing the testing, and learning the Client had been Bellut, he had wanted to rest. With the hegen leaving this, he didn’t think he could.

  He had to deal with it. Now.

  Out in the hall, he paused for a moment. Meyer had disappeared back to his office, and the sound of voices drifted from the back of the room. He was meeting with someone. Offering healing. Eventually, Finn would need to join in those sessions, if only so that he could master that aspect of the job.

  Not today, though.

  He headed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  Finn turned to Lena. “There’s something I need to take care of.”

  “Like last night?”

  He shook his head slightly. “Last night was different.”

  “He was worried about you.”

  “Meyer?” Finn asked, and Lena nodded. “I thought… I suppose it doesn’t matter what I thought. It’s been taken care of.”

  “What has?”

  “Meyer says that you and Mother will be taken care of.”

  Lena pushed a strand of brown hair back behind her ears, frowning at him. He hadn’t realized how thin she had become. How tired she had looked. He had been so focused on himself, and everything that he had gone through that he hadn’t paid nearly as much attention to his sister as she deserved. “Why does that sound as if you’re leaving us?”

  “I’m not. Just for tonight.”

  “Why?”

  Finn considered keeping the truth from her, but with everything she’d done to help their mother, he figured she deserved to know some of the truth. He held the hegen card out, and her eyes widened, obviously recognizing it.

  “What do you owe?”

  Finn shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t do what they wanted, so…”

  “What did they want?”

  He took a deep breath and pulled the other card out of his pocket. He had kept it with him. When he handed it over to her, she frowned.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I think the Hand is Oscar Richter.”

  “Father’s friend?”

  Finn took the card back and placed it into his pocket. “Yes.”

  “You were supposed to take his hand?”

  “That’s his nickname. I think he was supposed to be captured, too. I prevented it, protecting him.”

  Lena inhaled deeply before letting out a slow breath. “Be careful, Finn.”

  “I’m trying to be.”

  She started to turn before hesitating, wrapping him in a hug. “Thank you for what you’ve done.”

  “I don’t know that I’ve done anything.”

  “You have. And he’s helped. Mother seems to be getting better. It's slow, but she’s getting better. I don’t even know that we need to meet with a physician at this point. I think Master Meyer will be enough.”

  “That’s good,” Finn said.

  She released him, and he headed out into the street, moving quickly toward the gate, nodding to the Archers, before slipping out into the night. In the distance, the gallows loomed. The hegen would have already gone and claimed their prizes, taking hands and feet and whatever other parts of the King needed for their magic.

  He gave the gallows a wide berth. Not because he feared it, though it did unsettle him, especially at night, but because he didn’t want to encounter the hegen before he was ready.

  A sliver of moonlight shone overhead. It was barely enough to illuminate his way, though Finn didn’t need much light for him to know how to reach the hegen section of the city.

  When he reached the outskirts, he paused, though only a moment. A faint drumming came from deeper in this section, and firelight danced, giving an erratic light to the road leading through the hegen section.

  Finn made his way, moving as carefully as he could, heading toward Esmerelda’s home, though he wondered if perhaps she would be gone. It was a night following the festival, after all. For all he knew, she was out by the gallows now.

  Regardless of what he’d thought at the moment, the bloody hand could only be one thing. Maybe Oscar had left a similar debt unpaid. Maybe some old lover carried a grudge. Whatever the case, Finn hadn’t done what was asked of him.

  When he reached the home, it seemed as if shadows moved around him. Distant voices drifted along the street, doing nothing to settle his nerves. Finn knocked.

  He waited a moment before the door came open.

  Esmerelda looked out into the street before turning her attention to him. “You came by yourself. That’s unexpected.”

  Finn handed her the card. “I take it this was yours?” He pulled the other one from his pocket, offering it to her. “And this?”

  She took both of them, looking down at them. “Why don’t you come in?”

  She stepped aside, and Finn entered her home.

  As before, something was unsettling about going into one of the hegen’s homes. Perhaps not Esmerelda herself, but the home had something strange about it. An energy, though Finn thought that only his imagination. Faint lantern light glowed softly in the room, lighting up the shelves, and the strange collection of items scattered all around. Oddly, it reminded him of Bellut’s home.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t do what you wanted with Oscar. I couldn’t let him be captured.”

  She paused at a stove, pouring liquid from a kettle into a cup before carryin
g it over to him. “What do you presume I wanted with Oscar?”

  “You wanted him captured. Or dead. Either way, I didn’t do it.”

  She poured a cup for herself and set the pot down, turning to Finn. “Why do you presume that?”

  “The bloody hand.”

  “Interesting. I would’ve taken that for something else.”

  “What exactly should I have taken it as?”

  She smiled at him, taking a drink. “A warning.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She took another drink before meeting his gaze. “Had you not acted the way that you did, Oscar Richter would have been captured by the Archers.”

  A wave of cold washed through him. “You knew?”

  She nodded slightly. “I know many things, Finn Jagger.”

  “If you didn’t want Oscar harmed, then what did you want for him?”

  “That is between Oscar and me. Much like your arrangement is between you and me. As is the arrangement between Henry Meyer and me.” She took the card signifying Oscar and held it between her fingers before holding it to one of the candles where it burned in a flash to little more than ash. “There. You no longer have to worry about Oscar Richter.”

  “He’s my friend.”

  “Oh. I know.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

  “Must something happen to him?”

  “If he owes you something, I…”

  Finn bit back what he was about to say. What was I going to do?

  If Oscar owed the hegen something, it was between him and the hegen. There wasn’t going to be anything he would be able to do.

  She smiled at him. “You have served well, Finn Jagger. I suspect you will continue to serve well.”

  “If you had wanted me to help Oscar, I’ve already served.”

  She twisted her fingers, and another card appeared. On it was a face, one that looked far too similar to his sister’s face. She twisted the card, and then it seemed to be his mother. She twisted it again, and the card was blank.

  “You might find another request comes,” she said.

  “And if I don’t comply?”

  “You are now the apprentice.” She took another sip of her drink, smiling at him slightly as if the answer told him anything. “Is that all?”

  Finn looked around, his gaze lingering on the jars that seemed to contain fingers. He resisted the urge to shudder. “I suppose it is.”

  “Very well.”

  He turned toward the door, and an item on a table caught his attention. A bowl.

  He looked up from the table, the bowl atop it, and fixed Esmerelda with a frown. “That’s an interesting bowl,” Finn said.

  She smiled at him. “It is.”

  “I’ve seen something like it recently.” He said it casually, knowing he wouldn’t get straight answers from her.

  “You don’t have to play coy, Finn Jagger.”

  “You?”

  She strode forward, lifting the bowl and tracing a finger around the inside of the bowl. “An item of power. Alainsith power.”

  His mouth had gone dry. He felt like he’d escaped from the threat of his impending sentence only to come upon something as deadly. “You used the Client.”

  “I can see how you would think that,” she said, her voice soft.

  “You didn’t want to destabilize the treaty with the Alainsith?”

  Esmerelda continued tracing her finger around the bowl. “This would do more than destabilize, I’m afraid.”

  “What would it do?” Finn asked.

  “With the right activation, these could lead to great destruction.”

  “So you were responsible for the bowls.”

  “They are called swial’onthel. Old. Powerful. There were seven claimed during the war many years ago and secured around Verendal.” The word sounded strangely fluid when she said it. “Until recently they were responsible for securing peace with the Alainsith, along with the varethar.”

  “The staff, I’m guessing.”

  She nodded. “Very good.”

  “Why did you have the Client take them?”

  “With the right connection, I’m afraid these would destroy the palace and all within it.”

  He stared at the bowl. “I don’t understand.”

  Only, he did.

  Oscar.

  “You used Oscar.”

  She held his gaze. “He had a price to pay.”

  His card made even more sense.

  Oscar had gone after the bowls.

  Finn had been there to protect Oscar.

  “Why?” It was the only question he could think of. “You didn’t want to see the treaty fail?”

  “This was about more than the treaty failing. Had the swial’onthel been used, the king would have perished. More than Verendal would have suffered then. The result could only have been war.”

  And he would have been a part of it. A dishonorable thief who had helped start a war.

  But the executioner’s apprentice helped to stop it.

  That had to mean something, even if the hegen had directed it.

  “And the favors the hegen have called in?”

  “Only those necessary to ensure your Client failed. Unfortunately, he nearly succeeded. There is more at work here than we realized.”

  The King’s final words came back to Finn.

  What would they have learned from him had he not been executed?

  Probably nothing. Leon hadn’t known anything. Like the crew, he had been used.

  Esmerelda traced her finger around the inside of the bowl. “Thankfully, they have all been reclaimed before they could be used against the kingdom. They will be placed where they cannot be retaken.”

  “And the staff? The Client has it.”

  “Does he?”

  Finn frowned. “Are you saying he doesn’t?”

  Esmerelda set the bowl back down. “A warning might have been sent.”

  Finn grunted. “We didn’t even take it. Not the real one. Did we?” The comment he’d overheard the King say to the Client made more sense. She met his gaze. “You wanted to learn the Client’s identity.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  Finn nodded. “I suppose I did, though I don’t have any way of proving what I learned.”

  “You are the apprentice, now.”

  Which meant that it would be his task.

  Find a way to prove Bellut responsible.

  She tipped her head to him. “You did well.” She smiled. “Now I think it’s time you have a good night, Finn Jagger.”

  She guided him toward the door, and he stepped outside into the cool dark night. When the door closed, Finn frowned to himself.

  As he made his way back toward the city gate, winding around the Raven Stone, he noticed movement. Hegen claiming their prizes.

  Meyer might claim all of this was beyond them and that they were to serve the arm of justice only, but how could he do nothing if there was some greater plan against the kingdom?

  More than that, how could I prove Bellut responsible?

  He had to find proof, even figure out why Bellut had hired the crew to target his home—unless it had been nothing more than a distraction. Afterward, he would have to convince Meyer. And if he could not…

  Maybe it really wasn’t his responsibility.

  As he made his way back toward Meyer’s home, he was troubled. There were no answers, only more questions. Now that he served Meyer as his apprentice in full, perhaps Finn would have the opportunity to answer those questions.

  He stuffed his hands into his pockets and realized that Esmerelda had left him with another card. He didn’t remember her giving it to him; she had kept the two that he had brought with him. He pulled the card out as he reached the door leading into Meyer’s home; he stared at it for a moment, trying to understand the meaning behind it.

  Finn had no answer, much like he had no answer when he had been left the card with the bloody hand. No bloody image w
as depicted on the card this time. It was made neatly, with what appeared to be a golden ink. The image was unmistakable, but the meaning was unclear to him.

  On the card was a crown.

  Get the next book in The Executioner’s Song series: The Executioner’s Apprentice.

  Executioners search for justice, not vengeance. Finn questions why it can’t be both.

  As apprentice to the master executioner, Finn struggles to understand his place in the city as he searches for truth in those sentenced. The job is more complicated than he ever imagined. He’s proven his understanding of the basics, but for him to serve as an executioner—if that’s what he wants—he needs mastery.

  Distracted by his search for a way to heal his still ailing mother despite the hegen magic, he finds himself at odds with the master executioner.

  When assigned his first solo case, he knows he needs to impress Meyer. An investigation into a fire that burned through an entire section of the city leads Finn to learn of a greater threat to Verendal—and the entire kingdom.

  When only Finn believes there’s more to the fire, can he save the city or will his quest for vengeance finally lead to his downfall?

  Sign up to my newsletter to get the free novella, The Fading Lion, set in the world of The Executioner Song!

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading The Executioner’s Right. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.

  I’m also always happy to hear from readers! Email me at dkh@dkholmberg.com. I try to respond to each message. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook as well!

  Review link HERE.

  All my best,

  D.K. Holmberg

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  Series by D.K. Holmberg

  The Chain Breaker Series