The Raike Box Set

by Jackson Lear

  I started to heave with resignation, looking for any familiar symbol among the troops. There was a good chance that General Kasera had finally tired of my freedom and had sent an assload of soldiers after me.

  I crawled up to the roof of the building next to me, hoping for a better view of what lay beyond the town.

  Honestly? I should’ve left Beriss where he was, snuck away, and done whatever I could to escape. I didn’t, because I was broke and thinking about the money. But I should’ve.

  A whole fucking army was camped outside Verseii, the governor’s emblem emblazoned on the banners. There could’ve been a thousand troops out there, all armed to the teeth, all fresh from battle, and there I was, sitting on the roof of a building a criminal who was holding a crying man hostage. If Beriss made even a single peep he would get away, and I’d never be able to stop running for my life.

  I should’ve left.

  Chapter Three

  Not a wink. The guy next to me? Maybe two hours of sleep, which ended abruptly at dawn when the demonic birds from hell started squawking all around us. It was like they were part of some drug-induced feeding frenzy reserved for only the most insane of loud-mouthed bastards. The size of flying poodles and just as yappy, twisting and diving through the air as they fought each other over flecks of food found on the street. Men and women alike shrieked and ran for cover as these creatures swiped at every poor soul they could find. Then they found me and Beriss on the rooftop. For the first time in my life I was hiding from birds.

  I pushed Beriss off the rooftop onto the ground, dropped down after him, and held us both against a wall before shooting a quick finger up towards Beriss. “Don’t you even think about running away.”

  He recoiled, the spark of a rabid man fading. He was probably working through the logistics of it all. He had been able to sleep, I hadn’t, but two hours of rest ain’t worth shit. He had tried to fight me the night before and lost. He had also tried to escape and failed no less than three times, all with increasing bouts of despair.

  He yelped as another barrage of birds came at us. Through the din I was pretty sure I heard one of the bounty hunters from Beriss’ old room scream through the window. “What the fuck is that racket?”

  Brother, you weren’t the one out in the open with these assholes flying around. I pushed Beriss down the road, thumping on every door we ran past in the hope that one of them would be open, but they were locked and barricaded beyond my strength.

  Around a corner, down one street, into an alley, and on we ran until a broken hole in the wall of one building offered us some shelter.

  “No fucking way.”

  I pushed his head down and threw him inside. Half a dozen drugged-up hobos stared back at us, pulling their blankets up to their chins.

  At last I had a chance to breathe. “What the hell are they?”

  Beriss stared back at me, gasping for every breath. “Those things? Blood ravens.”

  “Blood ravens are black and red. Those were gray.”

  “With spots of red, yeah. Those are blood ravens.”

  “They don’t come this far south, not even with the change in season.”

  Beriss shrugged and shifted his attention to a man stumbling towards us with his bandaged hand extended out. “Spare a couple of coppers?”

  “Not today, buddy,” I said.

  The hobo shifted his attention to Beriss. “Spare a couple of coppers?”

  Beriss jostled his tied hands up and down. “Does it look like I can spare a couple of coppers?”

  “I haven’t eaten in days.”

  I glared back at him. “Shake both of your ankles for me.”

  He peered back at me, slack-jawed and crystal-eyed. “Hey?”

  “You heard me.”

  It took the hobo a moment to think back to what I had said. He turned and tread carefully back to his corner.

  The sun’s rays cracked through the clouds across the horizon, sending the demonic birds away.

  Beriss wasn’t quite done with making his point. “I’m telling you they were blood ravens. They follow the dead like a plague and feast on lepers, fallen armies, and creatures that should be dead but aren’t.”

  I peered back out the hole. It wasn’t exactly the birds I was afraid of. It was the army. I looked like a trouble maker and I had a prisoner who was actively being a dick to me. In my limited experience, soldiers were prone to attacking those of us who looked like bad guys and usually got away with nothing more than a reprimand. Beriss would make up some convoluted story and be all gracious and what have you, and I’d be left with a sword in my gut.

  “Up you go,” I said, pointing to another rooftop.

  “No way.”

  “We have three hours until the magistrate’s office opens. I’m not going to give you the chance to run off again.”

  “I won’t. I swear.”

  “You can swear until your mother’s thighs blush for all I care. You’re climbing up there and we’re going to wait.”

  Beriss shook his head at me. “You can’t make me if I don’t want to.”

  I believe he spent the next three hours murmuring an endless ‘I’m sorry.’ It was hard to tell. But true to his word he did not climb up there. I had to haul him up, gagged and bound and regretting any number of his life choices.

  One of the most expensive things I had on me was an enchanted silk hook. Speak the command word and this ordinary length of silk snapped into the shape of a hook. Speak another command word and half of the silk snapped as taught as a pole. Speak yet another command word and, as you’ve probably guessed, the whole thing turned into one rigid pole with a hook on the end. It was probably two hundred years old by now and, if I’m honest, it was about to die on me. I had to break into a shipyard and set a couple of fires just to afford it. You might wonder why I didn’t just steal it, but without knowing what the command words are then all I’d have was an ordinary length of silk. What you’re paying for is knowing how to activate it, and since the command words can literally be any word in any language the seller has all the power in the deal.

  I climbed up onto one roof, hooked Beriss’ waist and pulled him up, found another roof to climb up, hooked his waist again, and up we went until we had a beautiful view of the city waking up around us. And a terrifying view of the army camp just a hundred yards from me.

  I leaned back against a chimney, watching the troops go about their day. Rows upon rows of white, rectangular tents stretched out in front of me. Five across, fifteen down. A light barricade had been erected; sharpened poles five feet high stood in an X shape along the perimeter; a deterrent against an enemy attack, even on home soil, and no doubt carried with the troops as they marched from who knows where. Six low-level sentry towers had been erected, presumably while I was playing cards against Beriss last night. The towers themselves were only six feet off the ground. We were hundreds of miles from the nearest war but I guess what with all the civil unrest going on these days the army were not going to take their own safety for granted.

  A bell rang out among the tents. Smoke rose from the fire pits. Barrels of oats were cooked in warm milk and butter with dates chopped up and added to the mix.

  We waited. It was not an easy amount of time to sit idly on a rooftop, not when I could see the army breaking camp, gathering their weapons, and slowly entering the city. An endless stream of enthusiastic killers, some as young as fifteen, others reaching into their mid-forties, hundreds of them taking the main road through Verseii towards – presumably – Torne, Syuss’ capital and home to the governor.

  A bell from the center of the city clanged. Three god-awful hours had passed with nothing to do but listen to an army saunter just a few feet away from me and my puckered asshole.

  I jabbed a finger back into Beriss’ face. Pinched his nose. He jolted back. I held on. He gasped, sucking on whatever precious air there was to be had from around his gag. I pushed him onto his back, wrapped one hand around his throat, and released my gr
ip on his nose. Just as he breathed in, his nostrils flaring wider than he thought was possible, I pinched again. He thrashed about, feeling the first lurch of death.

  I released my grip. Allowed him to breathe.

  “I sincerely hope you’re thinking about your nose a lot right now. Are you?”

  He reached for his face, padding it down and checking for blood.

  “Good. Because if you do anything to ruin my day, I’ll do what I just did to your nose to your balls instead. Do we understand each other?”

  His eyes watered over.

  I wasn’t exactly going to take him at his word but I was feeling a little more optimistic. That was until I remembered that I still owed money or a favor to the woman from the night before. As annoying as it was to have to pay her back, I couldn’t risk her passing on my name or description in some kind of grievance to anyone who came looking for me. For once in my life I had to play things honestly.

  We climbed down, much to the scowls of some of the townsfolk who knew that anyone hiding on a rooftop was up to no good. Beriss had little choice but to walk topless through the city, his torn tunic in his hands while still fumbling with his boots.

  I took us along the scenic route to the center of town, down the narrower roads and away from the clatter of troops just a couple of streets away. We came upon one of the inns Beriss and I had checked the previous night. I got within twenty yards of the place before freezing.

  Last night there had been five junior officers standing just inside the entrance. Now there were four uniformed privates stationed outside with a sour look on all their faces. They weren’t simply milling around. They were on duty, keeping everyone away from whatever had happened inside. And there I was, a bad guy walking with a prisoner in broad daylight.

  One of them called out. “Hey.”

  I turned us around as quickly as possible.

  Beriss drew in a deep breath.

  I elbowed him in the ribs.

  He spluttered and dropped to the ground, forcing me to drag him down an alley as he lost his grip of his boots and torn tunic.

  The four soldiers stationed outside the inn remained where they were, but one was definitely looking in my direction, trying to figure out if I was a potential suspect or just a nuisance. It was odd seeing four of them at attention in front of an inn, given that their army was currently on the move. Perhaps their commander really was that desperate for a drink. Or, more likely, some other curiosity had taken place the night before.

  Either way it settled it; I had to avoid the army at all costs, lest I had to explain myself to them. I had the feeling that Beriss would’ve been a lot more endearing than yours truly. I pulled us away, trying to figure out how to get to the center of town while a goddamn army carved its way through the streets.

  Businesses were starting to open up now. Folks sweeping the front steps, setting up for the day. It was a slow beginning, with some shops starting earlier than others and more still looking like they weren’t going to open until the afternoon. Down one alley, along the next, across the main road when it looked safe enough to do so.

  We rounded one corner and both came to a standstill. A hundred armed men and women, strolling through in groups of four or five. All in uniform. Crimson tunics, leather padding across their shoulders and chests. Short swords dangling at their waists, spears and tower shields in their hands. The closest five were only two yards away from me.

  A distinct clop clop clop of horseshoes rang through the street. An oddity in almost any town or city, even to this day. Heads turned. People parted. Two horses trotted gently through the crowd. Red blanket under the saddles, the emblem of a bear rearing back.

  General Kasera’s riders. The general himself wasn’t among them. Nor anyone I recognized. I hid, waiting until they passed us by.

  Beriss sent me a wry look. “Oh, I get it. You’re on the run yourself. What’d you do? Kill one of his soldiers?”

  I growled a ‘fuck you’ and squeezed his arm tightly, cutting off the blood flow to one of his hands.

  It honestly wasn’t a sight I had been prepared for. Unless something catastrophic had happened recently that I hadn’t heard about, the governor and Kasera would have no reason for their troops to mingle. They were in entirely separate armies. Although, as I thought about it, that was only true until war broke out. If the inevitable did happen then the governor would assume command over every soldier in the province, Kasera included.

  Then again, the only evidence I had seen of war breaking out was two of Kasera’s riders in the street. Maybe they were simply hunting down a deserter from Erast. Or they were messengers. Heavy-handed messengers if they were since most armies used sixteen year old runners, not members of the cavalry.

  Even though I had the chance to breathe again I still had no easy way through the crowd of soldiers. A hundred of the bastards to my left, another hundred to my right. All I wanted to do was reach that road ten yards away without anyone stopping me. I had no other choice but to try one of the most stupid decisions of my whole life; draw attention to myself.

  I pulled out Beriss’ arrest warrant, held it tightly in my hand, and pushed my captive into the street. “Seducer coming through! Man wanted by the magistrate’s office, please let us through!”

  All hope drifted away from Beriss in an instant.

  Heads turned, bewildered by the half-dressed man walking barefoot, carrying his boots and tunic in his hands, and the darkly dressed individual who hadn’t shaved in several days.

  “Man wanted by the magistrate’s office for seduction! Let us through, please!”

  “You don’t have to do this,” whispered Beriss.

  “Fuck you. Magistrate’s office! Seducer! Please let us through!”

  It was hard for the entire road not to notice us. Several of the younger soldiers leered at Beriss, giving him a dumb laugh and pointing at his misfortune. Two of them ran past, grabbing their crotches, crying out, “Hey seducer! You want some of this?”

  Beriss walked like a man with a noose around his neck. I started to think I should’ve embarrassed him like this since the beginning. Maybe then he would’ve been quiet.

  “Seducer! Let us through, please!”

  Slowly, like Alamis parting the Phrentiuns through charisma and confusion combined, the soldiers allowed us through.

  I breathed.

  Beriss died inside.

  I guess public shaming works after all.

  Down more alleys we went, along several crooked kinks and doubling-back, through the seedy side of town and across far too many plazas, we finally reached the point of no-way-around-it.

  A grand plaza stood before us. An obelisk rose in the center of the open area, the laws of the land etched in four different languages and illustrated so that folks like me could get at least a basic understanding of what was illegal. On the far right side was the city watch. Across from us: the magistrate’s office. A large, gaudy building with columns as fat as elephants, actual glass windows, and clad in speckled pink marble. I doubt even the gods knew why, but pink it was. More soldiers wandered through the plaza, all heading south west towards Torne.

  “Please ...” mumbled Beriss.

  It seemed as though his protesting wasn’t quite done. Fifty yards to the magistrate’s front door and there was little I could do if he decided to run.

  “Seducer coming through!”

  “I’ll pay you twenty marks to let me go.”

  “No.”

  “Please. I can’t spend the next five years in prison.”

  “I’m sure it’ll fly by. Did you know she was rich?”

  Beriss dropped his head forward. “Yes.”

  “Did you know her parents were well connected?”

  “Yes.”

  “I guess that made it all the more exciting when she pulled off her undergarments, huh?”

  Beriss said nothing.

  “And just think, things would’ve gone a lot better if you had actually agreed to marry her
.”

  “I couldn’t ...”

  “Sure you could. All you had to do was agree to marry her. Her father would never have allowed that to happen, right?”

  He said nothing.

  “So there you go. Have your fun, make sure she has some in return, promise her a life of happiness, let her introduce you to her folks, and then all you have to do next is endure a long and awkward conversation with her father. You might’ve gotten away with a threat of losing your cock, or he might’ve offered you a hundred marks to go away and never bother his family again. Imagine that, getting paid to stop having sex with a woman.”

  Beriss sniffed. “Her father liked me.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he now has a few colorful things to say about your character, but who am I to judge?”

  I froze. In front of the magistrate’s building, tied to a wooden post, stood two horses, both wearing red blankets sporting the insignia of a bear rearing back under their saddles. Not the same two horses from before. Those had been a mix of spotted gray and white. These two were chestnut brown, smaller than the other two I saw earlier.

  More of Kasera’s men were in Verseii.

  Maybe to arrest me. Maybe for something far worse. And they were between me and my money.

  I lingered.

  “You can have all my money,” whispered Beriss. “Just let me go. You’ll never see me again.”

  I pushed him forward.

  “Wait ...”

  “No waiting. Our time together is finally at an end. I’m getting paid and I’m getting out of here.”

  Chapter Four

  A city watch spearman stood inside the doorway, eyeballing me. A desk clerk sat two yards away. I gripped Beriss by the arm, walked him forward.

  “This man is wanted for seduction in Erast.”

  The clerk looked me up and down. I guess I fit the profile of a bounty hunter, though my prisoner looked like he had just been pulled out of a brothel without having the chance to fully dress himself. I showed the clerk the stamped form, complete with someone’s signature, along with what I presumed was Beriss’ name and description. It was hard to tell since I recognized only a couple of words on the sheet of paper, but had no idea if they actually said what I thought they said.