The Raike Box Set

by Jackson Lear

“He can still help us,” I said. “But no matter what we do he won’t live long enough to reach a doctor. If you have something to ask him it has to be now.”

  Lavarta’s grimace took full hold. He had seen wounded men and women after a battle. He had listened to the chances of a full recovery or a life cut short. “Very well.” He leaned in, locking eyes with the killer before him. “If you answer these questions I’ll let it be quick. Did you kill Artavian?”

  Krassis heaved with a nod.

  “On Caton’s orders?”

  Another nod.

  “Did Lieutenant Gustali know any of this was going to happen?”

  Krassis did his best to shrug an, ‘I don’t know.’

  “Very well. Please clear the room.”

  The septum shrieked, “I will not have violence in my private chamber!”

  “Zara? Please escort Alysia away. Raike? Please do the same for the septum.”

  “I will not be manhandled!”

  Alysia said, “And I just saw eight people die a gruesome death in front of me.”

  “It’s not you I’m trying to spare,” said Lavarta. “It’s us. There is a side of both of us that the other should never have to see.”

  “I already know you’ve killed people.”

  “I can’t let you see me do it.”

  Zara snapped her belt into a spear. Shoved it into Krassis’ throat. Twisted. Pulled it out. “I’m sorry, commander. You were encroaching on my job.”

  After the septum’s shrieks finally died down – thanks to her fleeing to the city watch – Alysia turned to Zara and her husband. “Can you give us a moment?”

  Lavarta sent a quick look my way before saying, “We can’t stay long. Caton might already be on the move.”

  “I know. I just need a moment with Raike.”

  Lavarta held off on a scowl, more towards the crunch against time than my presence, and moved to the door. “I won’t be far away.”

  Zara exited. Lavarta closed the door over, leaving it ajar by an inch.

  Alysia clasped her hands together, holding them in front of her. “Back in the house you said I was protected.”

  “You are.”

  “By you. That was your meaning, wasn’t it?”

  “It helped to get me motivated for the fight.”

  “While I’m sure that’s right, that’s not the entire truth, is it?”

  I looked back to the door. “We don’t have long. Caton will soon be making a new plan, a desperate one that will probably involve the governor.”

  Alysia stared back at me, unblinking. “Full disclosure: I didn’t come up with this realization on my own. Zara mentioned a lot of it. Lucien filled in the rest – and that he got it within one short meeting with you was quite impressive. Even so, it wasn’t until you said I was protected that I understood. You had a family once. You lost it and ended up at an orphanage. You built a new family there. You lost that as well when someone kidnapped Kiera. You sought out a new family, one full of assholes, maybe in the hope that you would never get attached to anyone ever again.”

  “I did that to get revenge on whoever took my friend.”

  “And woe was the day when you realized that those assholes were not only your peers, but perhaps the most loyal family you ever had. Then came the moment when you had to choose which was more important: doing what you believed in, or following the family code.” She fell quiet for a moment. “Are you still looking for revenge?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Even if you met the people from your company again?”

  “I’ve been on both sides of getting violently kicked out. I understand why they had to do it.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever see them again?”

  I gave her a single nod. “I’m certain of it.”

  By the sound of things, Zara was treading lightly towards the front door of the temple. Alysia cocked her head to intercept my gaze. “I know you’re not looking for a new family but I have to tell you: you’ve found one. You’d have a purpose with us and a life worth living.”

  “But no freedom.”

  Even Lavarta made a move towards the front door.

  “But you’ve never been free, have you?” asked Alysia. “I’m sure of all the people you’ve killed it’s the ones who escaped who keep you up at night.”

  “No. Only one person has ever haunted me.”

  Lavarta hurried back. “Aly?” Burst in through the door. “You gotta come see this.”

  I followed Alysia into the main chamber of the temple and out onto the street. All eyes had turned to the east, bodies leaning out of the doorways, faces peering out of the windows. Every pedestrian there was scrambled out of the way as one of the most unnerving sights I had ever seen turned my nerves upside down.

  The cavalry, two hundred strong, with red cloaks over each horse and each rider dressed in glistening armor. At the head rode one man, his helmet blazed in silver with a thick mane of red hair. General Luqa Kasera. Alysia’s father.

  … Who had been coerced by Caton Pelus days ago. Whatever truth or lies Caton had fed the general, the general was now bearing down on me like I was the source of every misery that had ever fallen upon him. Worse still, I was standing in a stolen lieutenant’s uniform.

  If I wasn’t fucked before, I was now.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  I stepped behind Alysia, my heart beating faster than ever before. General Kasera brought the cavalry to a halt. Glared at me like I was a perpetual stain in his life. Dismounted. Snapped his helmet off, kept it to his side, and strode forward with one hand firmly on the hilt of his sword.

  Alysia kept herself between me and her father like a human shield. “Father.”

  “At ease, Alysia.”

  “I’m not a soldier for you to command.”

  “You are my daughter in the hands of a mercenary who has caused our family untold problems. Stand aside.”

  Lavarta stepped in the way. “My Protector, your daughter is telling you the truth.”

  Kasera shot a messenger’s note into Lavarta’s hands. “She believes she is telling the truth.”

  Lavarata read the message, his face souring in an instant.

  Alysia snapped back. “Raike saved my life, Father. You weren’t here. You don’t know everything that’s been going on. Are you going to listen to your erroneous suspicions or are you going to listen to the truth?”

  He advanced on us both. “I have been kept up to date with the developments of you and your associate here from people I trust.”

  “The governor’s chief-of-staff is behind this mess.”

  The general shifted a glare towards me with one eye squinting against the burdening sunlight, then back to his daughter. “You were being kidnapped.”

  “I was about to be. Raike stopped it.”

  “He orchestrated a slaughter to make him look like a hero. And he’s now dressed as a lieutenant.”

  “It was seven against one, Father.”

  “Exactly. No one survives those odds, yet he did.”

  “Do you really think seven men allowed themselves to be killed simply to help someone else?”

  “I don’t know what kind of deal he would’ve made with them but it is possible. Desperate men will agree to anything if it’s to save someone they care about, even at the sacrifice of themselves.”

  “He and Zara figured out who killed Artavian and who was trying to kill us. It was Caton Pelus. You know him. Tell me if that’s a surprise or if Caton is exactly the kind of man who would have Auron murdered so that Lieutenant Gustali could be promoted to commander.”

  It looked like Kasera had just bitten off half a lemon. “And your friend here had nothing to do with this?”

  “Raike was in the right place at the right time. He’s been helping us.”

  “He orchestrated it.”

  “I believe him.”

  “I’m sure you do.” Kasera sneered back at me, his hand never leaving the hilt of his sword. “He’s wan
ted by just about everyone in Erast, you know?”

  “I’m not deaf or blind, Father. Zara has kept me up to date with whatever you’ve told her to look into.”

  His graveled face pulled inwards, grimacing at the news. “I forbade her from telling you and the kids.”

  “I overruled your command,” said Alysia, shifting awkwardly.

  Kasera snapped back at her, silent, now seething with fury.

  Alysia’s right shoulder began to tremble in front of me. Even her voice started to shake. “I overruled your command.”

  “Choose your battles wisely, girl.”

  Alysia’s shoulder continued to tremble. “And yours. He saved my life. I don’t believe for a second that he hired seven people to try to kidnap me, not with the way they nearly killed him. They come from Arlo. He doesn’t. They were hired by the governor’s assassin, Krassis. He wasn’t. He’s killed them and has captured Krassis. Zara was with him when that happened.”

  Kasera grunted, his fingers flexing back and forth. “I understand why you think you can trust him, but this …”

  “I’m not a child, Father. I’ve been surrounded by soldiers, assassins, and infiltrators my whole life. Didn’t you always tell me that devils come in the guise of angels? Clean cut, reciting your virtues to lure you into trusting them? Zara has been investigating him this whole time. She didn’t find anything that suggests he’s acting with others. Auron has had others following him as well. The governor too. Hell, even Caton and Krassis have been following him. If no one can find any connection between the dead mercenaries from Arlo and Raike then perhaps I’m telling you the truth. You may be standing here with a cavalry behind you, but your daughter is telling you that you’re wrong about Raike.”

  He’s eyes flared with the fire of the sun behind them. “You can’t trust a man with no morals ...”

  “I’ve never been that foolish. You, Auron, and Raike all dance with darkness in your life. You do it as a general of Ispar. Raike does it as a man of Syuss. He is just as good at his job as you are at yours.”

  “He’s responsible for a lot of misery in Erast.”

  “We all are,” said Alysia. She trembled even more. “This is the hill, Father. The one I’m prepared to die on. Don’t take him away. No trickery, no lies, no false promises. If he dies for any reason then I’m blaming you.”

  “You’ve been given a gift. Don’t waste it like this.”

  “I was given a second chance. I’m giving him one as well. If it’s the only one I have then he’s the one who’s going to get it. He’s not behind this mess, but he can end it.”

  Kasera looked to me, growling like I had seen Greaser do a thousand times. “One word from me and the men and women behind me will cut you down.”

  I nodded, choosing to stay quiet at a fairly pivotal point in my life.

  His glare shifted onto Zara. “You left my daughter in danger.”

  Zara lowered her eyes, her chest starting to heave. “I didn’t do it lightly, sir. Her husband’s life was in danger and I only left her in hands I knew were capable.”

  Kasera glanced towards me. “His hands?”

  “Delen’s as well.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Dead. He walked into a ambush set for your daughter. Raike got her out against odds which Delen could never have survived. Nor me.”

  Kasera narrowed his eyes on his head of security. “I’ve seen you fight.”

  “Yes, sir. But if I had gone after Miss Kasera, I would’ve been overpowered from all sides. I don’t have the same antagonizing skills that Raike has. I would’ve lost against those mercenaries. Your daughter would’ve been kidnapped. If he had gone to help Commander Lavarta, Raike would’ve been caught and killed. The commander as well.”

  Kasera shot a blast of air from his nostrils, almost like he has a warhorse himself. “That’s a lot of speculation.”

  “Yes, sir but we were in a situation where a decision had to be made and I made one. Your daughter is still alive. Her husband is still alive. Given the massive conspiracy against them and the dozen people who were involved in trying to either kill them or turn a blind eye towards anyone who was about to kill them, the two of us against twelve of them in five ever-changing locations, it should at least be noted that Raike and I caught everyone involved and didn’t lose either of the people the twelve of them were actively trying to kill.” She gave me one fleeting look. “He’s worth listening to.”

  Kasera turned away, growling to himself as he mulled over one annoying reality against another. “I’m going to ask you this once and once only – and believe me I will have a hundred people investigating this to determine exactly what your involvement in this whole mess was: why did you come to help my daughter?”

  “Because I’ve been broke for months and have hated every moment of it.”

  “So you’re loyal to coin, is that it?”

  “If I was I would’ve robbed everyone in Erast and set myself up as a king.”

  He sneered at me for not the last time. “You have quite the attitude.”

  “I’m not a good guy, I’ll be the first to admit it. But I’m not cruel. I’ll give people a chance, you especially. I’ll find out beforehand if they deserve a talking to or a knife in the face, but I won’t blindly take orders. If you have a problem I might help. It’s not a question of money. It’s a question of how close to being right you are compared to them.”

  General Kasera stared back at me for what felt like hours. I sincerely wished my blade wasn’t broken to pieces since I was sure that I needed a fast escape. “And if Alysia asked you to hurt someone you knew?”

  “Father …”

  I answered. “She’s free to ask.”

  “What’s your price?”

  “Worst case scenario?”

  He nodded back at me.

  “Worst case scenario is she asks me to kill her.”

  He shifted. Both of them did. “And would you?”

  “If I knew why and if I agreed with it, yeah.”

  “Just like that?”

  “It wouldn’t be the same minute that she asked me. Maybe not even the same month. But if it was the best of many bad options then I’d at least consider it. But I wouldn’t consider it lightly.”

  He stared back at me for another eternity. “You’re a menace to my family.”

  “Imagine if I was a menace to your enemies.”

  “I’ve started to. You did all this because someone killed a steward you had never met?”

  “No. We did all of this because someone wanted Commander Lavarta dead. The steward just found out about the plot and had to be executed before he got back home.”

  Alysia handed over Artavian’s letter to his father. “There’s a code written in this. The backward letters spell it out. Tell me that a verbose aide-de-camp didn’t accidentally write ‘assassin’ in his final letter to his father. Or ‘trap’ and ‘get out’. He knew what was coming and who was behind it.”

  Kasera shuffled between a mix of grimacing and nodding, annoyed that someone was proving me right. He shot his eyes back up to me. “Did you write this?”

  “I copied it from the original. Even so, I only know what it says in Isparian. I assure you I do not speak Telucian, let alone read or write it.”

  Kasera folded the letter over. Held it tightly in his grip. “What do you intend to do now?”

  “The one who killed Artavian is dead. You can find his body in that temple. He gave up Caton’s identity as the one who orchestrated this whole thing. We have two members of the military police who are alive and as corrupt as hell. It won’t be too difficult to set a trap for Caton. Given the political fallout of implicating the Gustali family I suggest someone warns them first to deny everything. Let’s see how loyal Caton really is to Gustali when the governor begins to distance himself from his right hand man.”

  “And if you happen to spring a trap intended for you?”

  “Then I’m sure it will be swift and deadly.
You should stand clear.”

  Kasera drew in a deep breath and shifted his attention onto Alysia. “I could have him locked in chains and legally beheaded by the end of the day. Especially for impersonating an officer of the army.”

  “Even if he wasn’t responsible for any of this?”

  “Oh, he’s done enough. There are a hundred people in Erast who would love to have him in chains before them with no one looking.”

  I stayed silent. There didn’t appear to be any way I could talk my way out of this and I certainly didn’t want to have to kill the general in front of his daughter. With the way some of his closest riders stared down at me it seemed like they were all concentrating on me carefully, ready to fire off a well-prepared spell that would obliterate me the moment I swung with my blade. I was still debating whether it would be worth my while, considering that his investigation into me had likely been a large factor in why I was drowned by the Governor’s Hand.

  At last, the general looked my way again. “All right. Let’s go see what Caton has to say for himself.”

  I whispered to Alysia. “You should stay here.”

  Kasera said, “Oh, she will. With half the cavalry protecting her.”

  “And the other half?”

  “Will be watching you.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Like being released from the jaws of one lion to be feed to the pride, I guided General Kasera and one hundred members of his cavalry through the streets of Torne, up to the Grand Plaza, and into the city hall.

  “I don’t know where to go,” I confessed.

  Kasera barged into Caton’s office with me and Lavarta by his side, and a hundred soldiers waiting in the corridor outside. Caton sprung to his feet, knocking against his desk, falling back into his chair, and scrambled to right himself once more. “My Protector, I wasn’t expecting you.”

  Kasera jutted his jaw forward. “What news of my daughter?”

  Caton looked towards me as a wave of control returned to the governor’s chief-of-staff. “You should ask the man by your side.”

  “I already have.”

  Caton gave Kasera another awkward look. “Then you should know that Raike here was arrested just today for the murder of one of our soldiers. By the looks of things it would appear that he has also escaped his cell.”