A Sword of Fortune and Fate: Dare Valari Book 1

by Devyn Jayse

  Realizing that going to the port would be too painful for me, I changed direction, turning around.

  "Tobin?" I blinked, and the place where I thought I had seen him was empty.

  As I looked around, a group of men were crossing the street, laughing loudly with each other. I stopped, searching among them, but nobody with Tobin's face was among them.

  I shook my head. Of course it couldn't be Tobin. I blinked away the easy tears that came to my eyes, realizing that I just missed him so much I had begun seeing him. I tried not to think of him much, putting away the guilt and grief I felt into a little corner of my head and shutting the door.

  I had always known other territories and kingdoms existed, but I had just never realized how different life was for other people. That surprised me because I thought I was pretty aware. Here in the Blights, nobody cared who you were unless they could take advantage of you or had to fear you. Everyone was focused on how to stay alive. Trust was for fools. Power was to be sought. The place was full of dealers and con men.

  The time had come to head back to The Rebel Hare. I had to turn from delivery woman to guard as I walked Penny to her errands.

  16

  Penny was waiting for me outside The Rebel Hare.

  "I'm sorry, have you been here long?" I asked.

  "No, we just arrived."

  I glanced at the man by her side, having to raise my head to see him. He was taller than most men I knew, and his body was heavyset, but it was all muscle. His head was shaved bare, but a beard covered some of the scar that worked its way from his jaw to his neck. His dark eyes gave me an unblinking look.

  "This is Ragum. He's going to join us, too."

  "Nice to meet you."

  Ragum did not reply. Penny gave me an apologetic look.

  "Well, where are we going today?" I asked.

  "It's school today."

  We set off. Penny walked alongside me but was clearly leading the way. Ragum walked behind us.

  "Have you settled in to The Rebel Hare?" she asked.

  "Yes, it's a nice establishment. The owner's nice, and so is his family."

  "That's wonderful. I'm glad you're happy there."

  "What have you been up to since I've last seen you?"

  "Oh, nothing much. Vin was so angry about what happened in the alley he barely let me out. I mainly did my lessons." Penny made a face. "I never thought I'd miss school, but I did."

  "How long are you spending today at the school?"

  "I usually stay from late morning to early afternoon. Will you have to be there the whole time? I hope I'm not keeping you from anything."

  Even without Ragum looming over me, I knew how to answer that. "No, I'm here for you. You're to stay as long as you usually do. Don't concern yourself about me."

  She still looked worried.

  I gave her a small smile. "It's my job, isn't it? I have to earn my board and meals."

  We approached a run-down one-floor building in a sorry state. Other people milled outside, some talking in little groups. All of them gave me suspicious looks. The only person to smile at me was an older lady who hobbled over, holding onto a wooden crutch.

  "Hello there, Little Miss," a woman said with a gap-toothed smile. "It's good to see you again. I've heard you had a rough encounter with some fellas the other day. Hope they didn't scare you too bad."

  "I'm okay. Dare was there to save me," Penny replied, her eyes shining at me. "Dare, this is Cora. She helps out at the women's shelter and sometimes teaches here at the school."

  "Pleasure to meet you," I said, "and I didn't save her. She was holding her own."

  "No, if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been able to manage."

  Cora patted me on the arm. "You're a good person."

  "I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have." I shrugged, feeling uncomfortable.

  Cora snorted. "Most people here don't lift a finger for others, never mind a stranger. You're good people. Just be careful the Blights don't steal that away from you. It has a way of making good people turn bad."

  "I'll try not to."

  Cora waved and went over to a group of women huddled under the shade of a large tree.

  Feeling as though I should act the part of a proper escort, I stepped into the school ahead of Penny. It was one big room with a chalkboard at one end and a motley set of chairs clustered around. Hostile glares met me and transferred to Penny. Clearly, her classmates were not happy with her bringing a stranger around. After making sure that no threat was present, I ducked back out. Penny followed me outside.

  "Are you sure you'll be okay here?" Penny asked one last time.

  I tilted my head toward Ragum, who sat on a stump with his knife and sharpening stone. "I've got company. Go inside and get some knowledge. We'll be fine out here."

  Giving us a sunny smile, Penny walked back inside. Continuing my role as escort, I walked around the building to make sure no other entrance existed, which I hadn't spied. By the time I reached the front of the building again, I was officially bored. I walked over to Ragum, who didn't acknowledge me.

  "Have you known Penny long?" I asked for the sake of making small talk, knowing we were going to be there some time.

  "Known her all my life."

  "What's she like?"

  "Good kid."

  Wow, it' was like pulling teeth.

  "That she is," said Cora, having overheard us as she walked back toward us. "She's polite and kind to everyone. Not a bad bone in her body. She even rescued someone a couple of weeks ago."

  "Really? How?"

  "During a trip to town, she came across a husband beating his wife. She got her away from him." Pride was evident in her voice.

  "I wouldn't think he liked that."

  "No, he didn't. You should have seen her stand up to him. She walked up to him and told him to stop. He laughed at her. Penny told his wife she didn't have to live like this. She stretched out her hand, and the wife looked from husband to this young stranger. She took Penny's hand. The man grew upset, said some foul things to Penny, but she just stood there as cool as a cucumber. Of course, it helped that a few of us were there so he had second thoughts about laying hands on her."

  "What happened to the woman?"

  "Penny took the woman to the women's shelter. She visits her almost daily, makes sure she's doing all right. Sometimes, the women have a rough time adjusting to life without a beating. Isn't that right, Ragum?"

  "You were there?" I asked.

  A flicker of his eyelids gave me confirmation.

  "Does she do this sort of thing often?"

  "Our little Miss Penny's always had a soft heart. I already see she thinks the world of you. But of course, she would, with you saving her and all."

  "I didn't save her."

  Cora waved off my feeble protests. "You were there all the same. She's always wanted a sister, and she may come to view you as such. You take care not to hurt her, you hear?" She shook her finger at me, her friendliness turning to warning.

  Then Cora wandered off.

  An uncomfortable silence hung in the void Cora's departure had left behind.

  "So what is it you do for Vincent?" I asked Ragum.

  For the first time since I had met him, he showed an expression other than the blank stare though I couldn't interpret the look. "Anything he asks."

  The silence stretched until I couldn't take it anymore, and clutching at anything for the sake of conversation, I asked, "Who's Miss Ruby?"

  Ragum's interest was as sharp as the knife between his hands.

  "Why are you asking about her?"

  "I spent the past few days looking for a job. Thamir told me to refer to Miss Ruby because she's always in need of girls."

  A slight smile touched Ragum's lips. "That's true. She always does say she needs more help around."

  "What does she do? Do you think I'd like the work?"

  The smile on his lips widened enough to reveal a dimple in one cheek. "You may
like it. The other girls who work there swear they enjoy it. Have you asked Penny's brother about it?"

  "No, he doesn't need to know everything I do." I wondered briefly at his pause before mentioning Vincent.

  Ragum gave me a look someone would give a five-year-old. "You do know you're in the Blights?"

  "Yes. How could I forget?"

  "He knows about everything that goes on in the Blights."

  "Really? It seems like everyone knows everything that goes on in the Blights. Earlier today, a serving girl told me a fellow named Blaze knew everything that goes on in the Blights."

  Ragum's raised an eyebrow. "Really? Who?"

  "I think her name was Hazel."

  "I know her. What did she tell you about Blaze?"

  "That he's got a hand in nearly everything happening in the Blights. That he's a dangerous man to upset, and if I wanted a job, I should ask him for one. Now, you're telling me I should be asking Vincent."

  "You should. In this case, it may be better for you to tell him before you start the job." When I began to protest, he cut me off. "I don't think you'd want to take the job after talking to him. But do tell him about it. He would much rather hear it from you than hearing from Miss Ruby how you suddenly started working for her."

  After that, he didn't say one more word.

  I sat there contemplating my thoughts until Penny rejoined us and we walked her back without further discussion on the matter.

  I should have known better than to trust a man I had just met.

  17

  After reaching The Rebel Hare, Penny continued on to her home, along with Ragum. Feeling that the time was as good as any, I headed over to the tavern to talk to Vincent.

  Walking in, I gave Horace a smirk. He scowled at me. Thamir raised a hand in greeting, still drinking himself into a stupor. I spied Vincent at the same table I had occupied earlier--in Blaze's corner. I slid into the chair across from him.

  Without preamble, I told him, "I'm thinking of taking a job with Miss Ruby."

  "What?" If his eyebrows could have flown off his face, they would have.

  "I need a job, and someone told me Miss Ruby was always looking for help."

  "You have a job. Walking Penny. I provide you with room and board. What else do you need?"

  "I'll need to make some coin. I won't be in the Blights forever. The sooner I start, the better it is for me."

  "What about your job at The Fortune?"

  I hadn't told him about that. I wondered who had.

  "It's not a steady job. Oscar won't need me regularly. From what I hear, Miss Ruby would ask more of my time."

  "I'm going to tell you this once. If you take a job with Miss Ruby, then you can consider yourself dismissed from guarding Penny. That would also take away your room and board."

  "What? Why? Is Miss Ruby a competitor?"

  "On the contrary, I consider her a very close friend. I just don't want one of her regulars to be accompanying my sister." He frowned. "Who told you about Miss Ruby, anyway?"

  "Thamir."

  His frown eased. "Thamir's a drunk."

  "Ragum said I would probably like it."

  The air between us chilled.

  "Ragum said what?"

  "He was in favor of it. He said the other girls enjoyed it. Why wouldn't I?"

  He turned to the man seated at the next table. "Tell Ragum I need him."

  The man immediately got up and walked off. I watched him go then turned back to Vincent.

  "I didn't say I was going to work for you exclusively when I agreed to guard Penny," I said. "I've got other skills. I can seek work with anyone I please. I'm sure Miss Ruby would be more than willing to give me room and board if she's that in need of girls, as I've been told."

  "I wouldn't be surprised. It would probably be part of the perks of the job."

  I scowled at him.

  We sat in silence until Ragum walked up to us.

  "Is it true you told Dare she'd like the work at Miss Ruby's?" Vincent asked.

  "Yes."

  "Were you aware that she had no idea what Miss Ruby does?"

  "Yes."

  "You didn't think to explain it to her?" That was said with a raised eyebrow.

  "No, I told her to discuss it with you."

  "Did he?" Vincent asked me.

  "Yes, he did, but that doesn't matter."

  "Anything else I should know?" Vincent asked Ragum.

  "Yes."

  "Well?"

  "She wasn't convinced she should ask you before she started working for Miss Ruby. She heard Blaze is the most dangerous man in the Blights and she should be asking him for a job before she starts working anywhere."

  "What?" Vincent frowned.

  Ragum gave him a sharp smile.

  Vincent gave a small bark of laughter. "It's not like you to pull pranks. But you shouldn't have let it get out of control."

  The dimple in Ragum's cheek twinkled in and out. "I figured she would eventually realize what the job entails."

  I looked back and forth between them, confused and unhappy that they were having a joke at my expense. "Will one of you explain what's going on?"

  Vincent turned to me. "Actually, would you explain why you're ready to submit to this dangerous Blaze but won't do me the same courtesy?"

  I scowled at him. "I wasn't going to submit to him. I just heard that he runs the Blights. I have a habit of getting myself into trouble. I'd rather not step on the toes of a vicious outlaw."

  Vincent raised his eyebrows. "Vicious outlaw?"

  "Power-hungry criminal? Menacing felon?"

  The dimple in Ragum's cheek deepened even as he tried to keep his expression stoic.

  Vincent raised a hand, stopping me. "I'm Blaze."

  "You?" It was difficult to reconcile him with the image everyone had painted of the feared and powerful criminal leader of the Blights. "You're Vincent."

  "Only Penny calls me that. Well, generally she calls me Vin. She calls me Vincent when she's annoyed with me."

  I looked around us. The men in the nearby tables were quiet, watching the crowd in the tavern. I realized that, unlike the rest of the people in the tavern, they were not casually sitting, having a meal or drink. They were ready for trouble.

  We were sitting in Blaze's section.

  Of course! How could I have missed it?

  As if reading the thoughts going through my mind, Vincent--no, Blaze--gave me a smirk. "That's not all."

  "There's more?" I had been insulting him to his face. My face flushed as I recalled everything I had said to him.

  "This job you've been so eager to chase with Miss Ruby isn't what it seems."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Miss Ruby runs a brothel."

  I jumped out of my seat, my hands in tight fists. I turned furiously to Ragum. "I asked you if I'd enjoy the work, and you said yes!"

  "You might have," Ragum replied unapologetically, the dimple no longer there.

  If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead right then.

  Blaze had wiped the smile off his face, but I could still read the laughter in his eyes. Blaze made a motion with his hands, and I followed it to see the men at the nearby tables lean back in their chairs. My sudden movement had nearly made them attack me. Realization washed over me at the magnitude of power I had stumbled across. I had unknowingly gone into service with one of the most feared men in the Blights.

  "Is that all?" Ragum asked. "I've got a game of dice going with the men that I should get back to."

  Blaze gave him a lazy grin, which Ragum returned before walking away. His grin widened as he took in the look on my face.

  "You look a little pale. Are you imagining all the delightful tasks that your job would have entailed?"

  I could feel my face heat up as I recalled all the things I had said. I had said I wanted room and board from her.

  Despite the panic I felt within, I glared at him. "I can't believe you let me go on and on about the job." Or t
he insults. I wasn't going to mention that, though. I would rather have him laughing at me than angry if his reputation was to be trusted.

  "You seemed most insistent. It seemed a shame to let you stop."

  A flush of embarrassment heated my face. I was never going to live down this misunderstanding.

  "I still think it bears repeating. If you join Miss Ruby for employment, consider your employment with me terminated."

  "Of course I'm not going to join her!" I burst out. "You know I wouldn't."

  "Do I?" Blaze's voice turned dangerously smooth. "I don't know you at all."

  "I didn't come to the Blights to pursue that kind of work," I said tersely.

  "Why did you come to the Blights at all?"

  "I had nowhere else to go."

  "I find it curious that a young woman such as yourself suddenly finds herself bereft of family and friends, enough that you'd come to where only the most desperate go. Why aren't you in the castle or in town? Why aren't you searching for a job there?" he mused aloud.

  I pressed my lips together to keep myself from answering.

  He continued, "You could have become a seamstress, a shopkeeper's assistant... So many other options were available to you. But you came here, where only riffraff and scoundrels live."

  "Which one are you?" I asked, despite myself.

  "I'm a scoundrel, of course. Haven't you realized that yet? Oh of course not, you didn't know who I was."

  I ignored that barb. "You're more than a scoundrel."

  "Oh?" he asked.

  "You run the place."

  He didn't deny the obvious.

  "You know everything that happens here. Who comes in and who leaves. What people are thinking before they even think it." I knew I should be quiet but I was still realizing who I had been interacting with. This was the most feared man in the Blights.

  "You wouldn't be far wrong. But there are still things I don't know. Like who is trying to harm Penny and why."

  "You know it's no one from the Blights. None here would dare risk your wrath."

  "What if it was a setup?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "What if no one is actively after Penny? What if an attack was orchestrated so that there would be a savior? My enemies know my sister is the one precious thing I have. They know I would reward her savior and keep them close to me. If that was their goal, they would have succeeded."