Empire's Edge (Path of Light Book 2)

by N. A. Oberheide

  “Now step up here.”

  Rahlo set his revolver down and drew six bullets out of his belt and set them down on the wooden bench that demarcated the firing line.

  “You know how to load these puppies up?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Good, now load ‘er up and shoot at that trash over yonder. Six shots should be six hits. Get to it.”

  Naurus gingerly picked up the revolver and realized this was different than the old cap and ball wheel guns he was used to. He fumbled a bit, finally finding the latch that unlocked the cylinder and swung it out. The brass cases were highly polished, and the bullets themselves were coated in some sort of metal too.

  “What…you ain’t seen a bullet before?”

  “Yeah, I have, but not like this. Why isn’t it lead?”

  “It is under there. That’s just the copper jacket. Keeps the barrels all squeaky clean! Now load ‘er up, we ain’t got all day.”

  Naurus slipped all six bullets into their respective chambers. He looked down the range at the various pieces of trash perched up on the timber pile. He levelled the shiny, steel six gun and lined up the blade sight. He pulled his thumb up and drew the hammer back with a satisfying click. The hammer fell with a sharp report, and the recoil was stiffer than he was expecting. The brick he aimed at danced around and tumbled down to the ground.

  “Wasn’t a clean hit, but close enough. Keep going till its empty.”

  The next target was a piece of earthenware, which he missed with an obvious splatter of wood splinters just above the target. He repeated this four more times until empty.

  “Well, at least ya hit half. I ‘spose that’s better than nothin’.” Rahlo said with his characteristic mellow drawl, taking the six gun and slotting it back into its well-worn holster. “That’ll do for now. Come on then, let’s not hog the firin’ line now.”

  Naurus took a deep sigh of relief as Rahlo led him away and the wary, shadowed eyes of the Regulators weren’t all entirely focused on him.

  “I know I’m not very good at this. I’m probably not the right guy for the job.”

  Rahlo looked at him quizzically. “Is that a fact? I never said you needed to be no deadeye, I just needed to make sure you weren’t chickenshit with guns. You don’t ‘spose I needed you for marksmanship, huh?”

  “I still don’t know what you need me for.”

  “You don’t gotta play dumb. It simple and complicated at the same time. Lucky for you, the simple part is all you gotta worry about. Come up here, let’s talk a little more in privacy.”

  Rahlo lead them up a staircase that brought them to a crumbling battlement. The view over the valley and city surrounding them was quite awe inspiring. Now it was apparent to Naurus that even if he tried to escape that he wouldn’t have the slightest idea where to go.

  “So, tomorrow we set off. Just me and you, partner. Why the long face?”

  “Well, lets see. What you’re asking me to do basically amounts to sedition and treason. So what, I get to be your whipping boy and then what? I get back home only to be hung from the nearest tree? This is a great plan, nothing could go wrong!”

  “Woah, easy now kiddo.” Rahlo said as if surprised. “Nobody here asked y’all to come over to meddle in our affairs, yet here we are. Who knows…maybe if you demonstrate the good sense to avoid tryin’ to run away or otherwise sabotage us…” He leaned over and gave a hard look with his dark blue eyes.

  “…yes?” Naurus asked, trying to hide his annoyance.

  “Well, ya might just be able to claim asylum here and live out your days in peace. I could sponsor you, basically makin’ it a sure deal. You and whatever family you want to bring. Citizenship for y’all too. Now how’s that instead of fightin’ a pointless war?”

  “I uh…yeah it sounds great. I really would rather be peaceful and not get blood on my hands in all this, besides—”

  “You ain’t gonna be gettin’ a gun from us anytime soon anyway. Don’t you worry your little head ‘bout that.”

  “Okay then. Who even are you guys though? If you aren’t the law, then—”

  “I’ll stop ya right there. We are the law, but we don’t follow the same stinkin’ rules that say the local shire-reeve has to follow. We ain’t got no jurisdictions or boundaries. The entire Confederacy answers to us. If we show up, it’s for good reason. That’s how we found you. Interdicting smugglers is part of our job, yet here you are. You sure ain’t no smuggler. But in this case, it’s a good thing.”

  Naurus looked back over the city below and its seemingly endless maze of smokestacks, chimneys, and mish-mash assortment of new and old buildings.

  I sure hope he’s right. Just my luck this would happen to me. I knew this was a mistake. He drifted off in thought.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Time to saddle up! Wake up!”

  An unpleasant clattering filled the air. Naurus rubbed his eyes and soon the source was all too unpleasantly obvious. Rahlo was banging a pan against the bars into the cell that he was locked in for the night. It was musty and dark, but at least there was ample hay for bedding.

  “I ain’t stoppin’ till ya get up!” The clattering continued.

  “Fine, fine! Holy shit can’t a man sleep…”

  He groaned, stretched, and finally stood up in the small stone cell. The noise of the large key clacking into the lock was a welcome sound.

  “You ain’t much of an early bird, are ya?”

  “Something like that, yeah.” Naurus yawned and stretched again.

  “Time for some breakfast, then we’re off.”

  “Off to where?”

  “It don’t matter to you, and you wouldn’t know where it is anyway. Let’s go!”

  Naurus followed Rahlo and his torch, being one of the only sources of light down here besides the tiny windows in the cells. Soon they were back out in the main courtyard, and he smelled smoke before soon seeing the small fires dotted around randomly. Regulators were coming and going, cooking whatever they wanted at random with no rhyme or reason. Rahlo came up to the nearest fire, put on his leather gloves, and pulled a cast iron pan off the grill. He quickly set it down on a low wall nearby.

  “Sausage and tater hash! Mmm-hmm good stuff here! You ain’t no tea drinker are ya?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Good, I’ll go grab us some coffee.”

  Rahlo made off to a boiling kettle on the grill and filled two clay mugs with it, also returning with two wooden spoons.

  “Here you go. Dig in, we got a long day ahead of us!”

  So the captor and the captive shared the greasy assortment in the pan and had their bitter coffee. Naurus felt quite awkward doing this but tried not to act like it, looking around at random birds that flitted about in the muggy morning. Thankfully the pan was soon empty, and the duo paired only by fate made their way out of the courtyard. They came to a stable and Rahlo pulled out a pair of horses and handed the reins of the smaller one to Naurus. He looked at his roan mare and it looked back with dark, nervous eyes while it tugged at the reins.

  “Well, what are ya waitin’ for? Ain’t never saddled a horse before?”

  Naurus grabbed the saddle horn and threw himself up, almost being bucked in the process by the skittish mare. Rahlo looked on in amusement as the horse and newly saddled rider struggled in an awkward dance for control of the reins, but eventually the roan decided to save some energy to fight another day.

  “Good, lets giddy-up now! Follow me!”

  Rahlo led them out of the citadel on his chestnut stallion and they wound through old dirt roads before crossing a moat on the back side. Ahead of them lay a rollicking landscape of farms crossed by dikes and punctuated by windmills. It became clear they were heading out of the city and into a much less civilized land beyond. Maybe I can make a break for it out there. But where would I go? Run back here…yes. Then what? Shit…I don’t even have my sword, bastards must have taken it. No map, no compass, fuck me! This is bad…wait
is my dad still following me? Naurus cut that thought off with a longing gaze behind him. Nothing and no one of interest was to be seen, just he broken outline of a bustling city where the last vestige of his hope died in an alleyway full of trash.

  The thoughts of running away, making it to a coast, stealing a boat or stowing away back home were all that filled his mind for hours. It was his only way of pushing the thoughts of what happened to Morra to the back of his mind. The guilt of what he could have done to save her or prevent the situation entirely ate at him with a nibbling guilt. Now was not the time for weakness and rumination, although that’s all he wanted to do in between thoughts of increasingly elaborate escape plans.

  “You’re awful quiet back there, kid.”

  Naurus looked up and realized he had zoned out for some time. Rahlo had slowed down to pull up side by side with him on the wide dirt road.

  “I know your momma probably told ya to never talk to strangers, but I ain’t no stranger now. I’m your only hope out here, and team work is what makes the dream work!”

  “This sure isn’t a very good dream.”

  “Now now…don’t be a downer. I know this probably isn’t what you were promised out here. What did they offer you? A piece of land? A fat sack o’ coin? Glory and honor remembered for all history?”

  Naurus didn’t answer.

  “I’ll be taking that as a yes.” Rahlo said smugly, looking ahead under the shadow of his straw hat. “You don’t have to like me. I know y’all are distrustful of foreigners and all. We ain’t like that though. We don’t care about where you come from or what you talk like, only what you do for your fellows and neighbors. We sure as shit don’t believe in a walled garden reserved especially for certain weirdos who think they are special ‘cause they dabble in witchcraft and wizardry.”

  “They’re called Transcendents.” Naurus felt defensive. “And they live how they do because we let them. We aren’t scared of magick, and in fact they keep us safe. The only reason they have this ‘walled garden’ as you call it is because that’s exactly where they felt safest during the war, at least those who declared neutrality.”

  “Nobody was innocent or neutral back in those times, kid. Neither you or I was alive back then, but the sages and scholars ain’t gonna lie about that. We wound up with a few of those fancy-folk, I don’t really care what you call them. Either they integrate, or they don’t, and that’s all we care about. We ain’t got no walled gardens or nobility here, not anymore. We’re freemen, not serfs or subjects of some lord or king.”

  “That’s great, but somebody rules over you after all.” Naurus didn’t know where this conversation was going.

  “Of course, we ain’t lawless here. We ain’t gotta bow to nobody either. We’re led by a president and his council, and they answer to the people and what we desire.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Scoff all you want, but you’ll see what I mean sooner or later. I can’t expect you to understand the freedoms we have. But that’s exactly why you are being given an alternative to being tried as a spy right now. Or would you rather go back and stand in front of the county magistrate?”

  “Well, no. I didn’t ask for any of this. My mission is a failure, let me just go home in shame and you’ll never see me again.”

  “I can’t do that.” Rahlo started chewing on a twig he pulled off an overhanging maple tree. “But I will keep my word that if you don’t try anything stupid, you won’t be tried for your crimes against our state. I’m still somewhat amazed you managed to get around our rapid reaction regiment. Do tell, how did that happen?”

  Naurus thought about it for several seconds but realized embellishing the story was rather pointless. “We simply camped up on a ridge and watched them pass by. My handler was a Transcendent, and that ‘witchcraft’ as you call it means they have ears like a bat and eyes like a cat. I had ample warning.”

  “Well ain’t that somethin’.” Rahlo scratched his scruffy face. “Ah well, I didn’t ask for you to land in my lap either. Lamenting this won’t help either of us.”

  “Probably not. But what am I supposed to help you do? I still don’t know what this is all about.”

  “Of course you don’t. It will become more apparent soon. Damn, I’m hungry.”

  The noon sun blazed high above and sparkled off the river as they crossed the stone bridge over it. They dismounted on the other side and refilled their canteens at the river while enjoying a feast of bread and jerked meat. Naurus pondered his fate while tossing the hard crust of his bread into the water, wondering if he too would tread water or be pulled under and eaten at the hands of fate.

  Far and Away

  “We’ve been following them for a few days now. Where do you think they are going?”

  “Hell if I know. All I know is that we barely got any food left, we’re broke, and we are gettin’ too old fer this shit.”

  Trevin laughed. The statement hit too close to home, but two men of their age could hardly justify living like brigands. They had stolen their horses from a farm not far outside the city and made off like phantoms in the night. Turns out, stealing food was turning out to be their only option to keep going as well. Trevin scanned around, realizing that out in the wilderness they could attempt to forage, but the thought of taking the time to comb through the woods and come up with hardly more than a snack soured that idea.

  “Hey Gull!”

  “Hey what?”

  “You remember how we used to knock off those merchants and farmers out in bum fuck nowhere?”

  Gully slowed his steed down, smiling back at him ominously instead of saying anything.

  “Well I think we will have to relive the good old days once again.”

  “Oh hell.” Gully spat. “This whole damn wild goose hunt’s been a trip to the good old days! Now yer gettin’ the itch to be a little thieving bastard again?”

  Trevin laughed. “Gull, you flatter me. I never lost that itch though. The difference is now, there sure isn’t a military tribunal to answer to. It’s me and you out here. If it comes down to saving my kid or knocking off some dirt farmer, guess which I’m gonna choose?”

  “Right, you always been loyal if nothin’ else.” Gully threw his long, messy hair back over his shoulder. “Well what’s yer plan then?”

  “I think I see my plan right now.”

  Just then they passed a curve and could finally see down the road now that the woods didn’t block their view. Up ahead he spotted a short wooden bridge that spanned over a river. On either side the slope of the banks were forgiving but also overgrown with brambles and cattails. Gully looked over with a nasty grin and Trevin knew that were still in sync after all these years.

  “Looks good to me. Let’s hide these horses, Gull.”

  They led their steeds off the beaten path and hitched them up where no casual passerby could ever notice them. They walked back over to the bridge and crossed it. The very aged wood moaned, creaked, and cracked under foot.

  “Good, good.” Gully commented, knowing that any cart passing over would create a ruckus that would mask any noise they made.

  “Alright Gull, this looks like a perfect spot for the ol’ hammer and anvil. Which will it be old friend?”

  “Ya don’t even have to ask. I’m the hammer lookin fer a nail!”

  “Yeah of course! Just making sure you weren’t going soft on me after all these years.”

  “I may be old, I may be slower’n I used to be, but age and treachery will win out.”

  “Yes indeed. As for now, we wait. Let’s go down and refill these canteens at least.”

  The evening sun was still warm, but a cool breeze was blowing in down the valley walls. The river was teeming with croaking bull frogs and a crane which the bumbling bandits startled almost as badly as it scared them with its furious flight. They sat amongst the reeds and cattails, trying to goad each other into noodling for a nice catfish dinner. Soon though, they heard a distant yet distinct sound. The sound of the
creaky axels of a cart. They peeked over the bank and spotted their prey. A sizeable wagon pulled by a pair of horses meandered down the dirt road towards them. They could make out a pair of men sitting up front, and the unfortunate glint of the sun off the brass blunderbuss cradled by one of them.

  “Well shit Gull…looks like you’ll have to get the drop on mister scattergun.”

  “Oh yeah, ain’t nothin’ to it. Just do yer cute little act like always. Hurry up, get over there!”

  They each set up in their respective positions on opposite ends of the bridge. Gully set up in hiding just under the bridge. Trevin walked just into the tree line opposite him and waited for his cue. The bridge wailed in agony as the horses and accompanying cargo cross over. Trevin peeked out and waited until the horses were just about to leave the bridge. He ran out into the road and tripped up, sprawling to the ground then frantically looking around.

  “Watch out! Bears were chasing me! You need to turn back!”

  The man with the blunderbuss stood up and looked at Trevin with a cross look. He hopped off the wagon and started making his way over.

  “I ain’t seein’ no bears. What’s the matter wit’ you?”

  There was no need to answer the question, as Gully made his appearance right on cue. With a swift kick to the back of the knee and a hard shove, the pudgy older man went sprawling to the ground. Gully snapped up his weapon and Trevin hopped up, pulling a knife and making his way to the driver.

  The driver’s eyes went wide, and his wrinkled, bearded face twisted in a look of disbelief.

  “I ain’t got nothin’ good here! I ain’t got no money! Just leave us be!”

  “That’s not an option right now. Sit real tight right here and don’t do anything stupid unless you want a knife in your back!”

  Gully had his knee pinning the passenger to the ground and holding the blunderbuss to his head. Trevin made his way to the back of the wagon and started to rifle through the sacks and crates there. It quickly dawned on him that this wasn’t quite going to be the haul that he was looking for.