by Devyn Jayse
I'd had enough of men who chose to mistreat their women and then blame others for it. "Leave Jade alone. If you come after her, we will have the entire Blights descend on you."
"You don't scare me!" He yelled though his eyes told me the opposite was true, as they darted from side to side.
"Then you're a fool. You should be scared. If you come after Jade or Penny here--or any other woman--you will find me at your side one day, but the only warning you'll have is when this sword runs through you." I let the edge of my sword brush against him, and he tried to twist away but Garren still stood behind him. "What's more is that you will be thankful that I am the one that comes for you because if you only knew what other fate awaited you, you would run away screaming right now."
His eyes burned, his lip curled in disbelief.
"You do know who lives in the Blights, right? The meanest sorts of men. The boys you send are nothing compared to them." I pointed at Garren. "See him? He's not from the Blights. He didn't break any of your bones. That's what would happen if you're lucky. If the men from the Blights come, they will kill you for laying a hand on her. Now, go before you speak another word that ensures your demise."
He spat on the ground. I stood still.
"You're an unnatural witch of a woman." He twisted, turning to Garren. "And you, you think you're a man, letting a woman do the talking for you?"
Garren didn't speak a word, but his hand shifted, moving to his sword. Jade's husband walked away from us, still muttering under his breath.
I let out a sigh. "That fool was the source of all your troubles?"
"I didn't know," Penny said, sounding distressed. "I would have told Vin if I knew it was him."
"There's no way you could have known." I turned to her and pulled her into a hug. "I just can't believe that fool nearly did you harm."
"Fools are the most dangerous of men," Garren said, quoting an old saying my father was fond of throwing around whenever he was feeling petty.
"Let's get you back. Your brother is going to be happy that your ordeal is finally over."
"I should have thought of Jade's husband. It just never crossed my mind that he would do that," Penny repeated.
"All's well that ends well. I'm sorry this is how your first riding day should end," Garren said.
"And here Blaze was worried about the horse doing her injury," I said.
"Thank you for saving me," Penny told Garren.
"It was my honor," Garren replied, bending his body into a half bow.
I raised an eyebrow at him behind Penny's back. "Do you want to ride the horse back?"
"No, it's okay, I'll walk," Penny said.
Garren walked back with us to the inn. We knew the chances of further attack seemed unlikely, but walking back as a group felt nice. He led his horse by the reins.
When we finally reached the inn, two of Blaze's men were waiting to take her home. I wondered which one of them had witnessed the altercation and stayed back to let us deal with it. I had no doubt that Blaze would hear all about what had happened.
Not for the first time, I wondered why he never asked me to take her straight to their home instead of stopping at the inn. Penny turned to thank Garren again for the horse-riding lesson and his help.
"Please let me know if you need any further services in the future. I'm at your call," he replied.
Penny's face flushed brightly, and I smiled to myself. Somebody had an attraction to Garren. She went off with the men. Garren and I watched her walk away while his horse drank at a trough.
"So now that your charge is safe from further attacks, will you reconsider moving to the castle?" Garren asked.
I laughed. "You never give up, do you?"
He grinned. "You may say I am stubborn."
I smiled. "Tobin was stubborn, too. But guess what, I'm a Valari. I'm more stubborn than all you Stones."
Garren gave a shrug. "Can't blame me for trying." His face grew somber. "I'm glad we managed to get to her before anything happened."
"It seems strange to let him leave without any punishment. He may have not managed to seriously hurt Penny with all the attacks he organized, but it came close several times--not to mention the boys that were harmed because of him. It's strange that he should leave without any retribution for his actions."
Garren's expression turned grim. "Oh, I don't think he's walking away without any reprisal. A punishment will be coming his way."
My brow furrowed. "What do you mean? We just let him go."
Garren gave me a hard look. "You're fooling yourself if you think the leader of the Blights is simply going to allow a man who had planned attacks on his sister to walk away unscathed. Mark my words, something will happen to Jade's husband."
I gaped at him. "Then why did you let him walk away? If you think he's going to be attacked later on, why did you let him leave?"
He shrugged. "I'm not the law."
"I thought you were a king's guard."
"I am."
I looked at him, confused. He made his way to his horse and stroked the mare's neck.
He got on his horse and glanced back at me. "Don't think about it too much. I'm glad this morning ended well. Farewell, Dare."
"Farewell, Garren," I said as he rode away.
36
Much later, in the middle of the night in my room at the Rebel Hare, a thought occurred to me.
Since Penny's threat was gone, my services would no longer be needed.
As soon as that thought floated to the surface of my mind, all sleep evaporated. I would have to find an alternate job. My deliveries for The Fortune would not be enough to pay for board and meals.
I barely slept that night, wondering what I could do. The one thing I knew for certain was that I was not going to work for Miss Ruby.
In the morning, I asked the innkeeper how much renting my rooms would cost. Even with my work at The Fortune, I couldn't afford to stay on there, so I would have to look for a cheaper place to stay, and I knew finding a place that was both less expensive and safe would take some time in the Blights. I decided to start my search.
Later that afternoon, back at the tavern, I decided to ask Blaze if he would allow me to stay at the Rebel Hare until I could pay him back. My search hadn't yielded any results. I hadn't expected him to remain quiet when I asked him.
"Well?" I asked, breaking the silence that had stretched long past endurance.
"Well what?" Blaze picked up his mug and had a sip.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Will you let me stay on at the inn until I can pay you back the funds?"
"Your payment for escorting Penny is room and board. You're not required to pay me. That was our agreement."
"But I won't be guarding Penny anymore."
"Why not?"
"She doesn't need me now that the threat against her has been eliminated. And it's dangerous for her to be around me if the prince decides to send more men after me."
"Did you kill the man?"
"What? No. You know I didn't."
"Then the threat remains," Blaze replied with a shrug. "You do need to be more careful about your word choice. I may decide to take you up on it and ask you to get rid of him. You wouldn't like that, I think, despite your enjoyment of swordplay."
I glowered at him. He was baiting me.
"Stop teasing me," I said. "If I'm to move away from the Rebel Hare, I have to look for alternate lodgings, and that could take time."
Blaze straightened. "Your lodging at the Rebel Hare is yours for as long as you need it."
"I don't need your charity. I want to pay you back. I just need you to accept my terms."
"It isn't charity."
"I will accept lodging as payment if I'm working for you, but if I'm not, then you are not obliged to offer me room and board."
"You're still working for me. You're to continue walking my sister to the school and shelter."
"B
ut Penny no longer needs protection."
"She doesn't need protection. She needs a companion." Blaze growled in frustration.
Oh.
"You were right. I was too busy to notice it before, but Penny doesn't have any friends. It's not right. She needs friends. And if it makes her happy to be friends with a stubborn woman who has an unhealthy obsession with swords, then that's what she gets."
"What about the prince?"
Blaze leaned back. "I'm not worried about the prince."
I frowned. The prince wanted me dead. Blaze may not consider him a risk but I had come under attack several times because of his vendetta against me. I had to worry.
"Your other job is to be a set of eyes and ears for me in the Blights," he said.
"I won't spy for you," I argued.
Blaze's eyes narrowed. "If you work for me, you report to me."
"I'm not one of your men. I won't rat Penny out. I won't share other people's secrets. I'm not interested in submerging myself into Blight politics." I'd left court life behind and didn't want to return to it.
Blaze gave a theatrical sigh. "Fine. Let's hear it. You asked me what I wanted you to do. Now, you say you don't want to do it. What is it that you actually want to do?"
I thought about it. "I want to continue accompanying Penny to school and the shelter because I enjoy our time together. I do think I help her, even if it's just to tell her that her older brother isn't the shining sun."
Blaze's eyes narrowed into slits, and I thought perhaps I should move on before he really did tell me to stop working for him.
"I am willing to run small errands from time to time like I do for Oscar at The Fortune, but I want the option to turn down any requests I don't like."
Blaze raised an eyebrow. "Is there anything else or is that all?"
"That's all." I would have to figure out how to stop the prince myself.
"We can work with that. We'll test it for a while and see where we take it from there."
I chewed my bottom lip. I was safe for the time being. I had shelter, and I had food, but I couldn't remain reliant on Blaze for long. I would have to find my own way. And I had to deal with my own threats.
Blaze took a long sip of his ale. "Now then that's over, do you want to tell me why my men reported you entering so many brothels today?"
A flush heated my face. Of course he had heard about that. "I was searching for cheaper lodging."
Blaze threw back his head and laughed.
37
Penny went into the shelter. I walked around outside as I always did and then stepped indoors, where I found Penny talking to Jade, who was growing increasingly agitated.
"I just wanted to tell you myself," Penny said. "I'm all right. Nothing happened, but you needed to know for your safety."
Jade glanced up at me. "Is it true? He attacked her?"
"Yes," I replied, wondering how much to tell her and worried that the news might send her into another episode.
"Did he harm you? Are you all right?" Jade looked over Penny, her eyes searching for injury.
Penny reached out and took hold of her hands. "Jade, I'm fine. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. I will admit it was a little scary, but Dare was there, and so was another friend."
Huh. Garren is a friend now, is he?
"What happened?" Jade asked, glancing between Penny and me.
"He tried to take Penny away. He wanted to get her to tell him where she had hidden you away," I answered, taking a seat nearby. "He wasn't too pleased when we tried to stop him. Really friendly fellow."
"Did you..." Jade paused then soldiered on. "Did you harm him?"
"No, not this time. I gave him a warning of what would happen if he came around, looking to harm you or Penny."
I placed my hand on my sword, and Jade followed the motion with her eyes.
"Dare, there was no need to tell her," Penny said.
"She needs to know he may return. She has to be aware," I replied, shaking my head. "He sent boys after you several times. This may not be the last of it even though I threatened him. I'm sorry, Jade, but you should be on your guard."
"I know. I'll plan it with the other women as soon as you're gone." She turned to Penny, blinking back tears. "I'm so sorry, Penny! If I had known he would try to hurt you, I would have gone back to him."
"No," Penny and I said together.
"That's what he wanted," Penny continued. "You don't ever have to go back to him. You're safe here, and you have a place for as long as you want it."
"He wants you to live in fear," I said. "You don't have to anymore. We'll start the self-defense classes the next time I'm here."
Penny gave Jade a hug and told her she'd say goodbye before we left. Then she went to take care of her usual tasks while I remained sitting with Jade.
Tears made their way down her cheeks. I patted her on the shoulder. "It's all right. Penny wasn't harmed. And now, he knows someone bigger and meaner than him will be after him if he tries to harm either one of you."
"I just feel bad that this happened. I should have known he was the one behind the attacks on Penny."
"Don't. Ragum was there when Penny helped you, and it didn't cross his mind that your husband was behind the attacks."
"Still, I should have done more."
"You've done as much as you can. The next step will be living your life and helping others in a similar situation."
Jade smiled through her tears. "You're so young, but it sounds like you've lived a lifetime."
"Our situations may not be exactly alike, but we're both new to the Blights and have to make a life for ourselves here. If we allowed ourselves to be anchored to our past, we would never be able to move to the future."
By the time Penny had done her rounds and completed her tasks, Jade had calmed down, her face free of tears. Penny and I wished her well and left.
38
"Your spirits seem low. Is everything well?" Oscar asked, looking up from a blade he was polishing.
I had been sitting on a stool staring down at the same dagger for some time, and I gave him a half smile. "Yes, thank you. I've just got things to think about."
Oscar didn't inquire further. I liked that about him. He gave me room to do what I wanted and didn't delve into details that didn't concern him.
"Are you leaving the Blights?" he asked.
"What? No, why?" Startled, I raised my head quickly, enough to give myself a crick in the neck. I winced and raised my hand to rub at my neck.
He rummaged in the drawer beneath the counter and took out a small vial. "Here, rub this on, and it should ease the pain."
"Thanks." I took it and followed his instructions.
"You've been here long enough for the novelty to wear off. The Blights are not the best place to be, especially for a young woman like yourself. It may seem like an adventure at first, but the reality is it's a poor place to make a life."
The pain in my neck began to recede. I stoppered the vial and handed it back to him. "I don't really have a choice. I've got nowhere else to go. And even if I did, moving requires money. There aren't many opportunities, but I have to do something in order to make enough coin so I can at least have the choice to go somewhere else."
"You've been doing some good work here. Would you be interested in a more permanent job?"
"Really?" I looked at him in surprise.
Oscar smiled. "Really. You've been proven to be reliable and trustworthy."
"What would I be doing?"
"You'll still be sent out on deliveries--you've been good with those--but in addition, you'd be dealing with the weapons. I need a backup for when I need to leave the store."
"You leave the store?" I twisted my features into a shocked expression.
"I have been known to leave from time to time. But back then, I would just shut the store until my return. Now, I could keep it open."
"So that Morris finds it open when he visits?" I hadn't seen anyone visit the shop other than M
orris. I didn't think anybody ever did.
"Keep teasing, and I'll rescind my job offer." Oscar took off his spectacles and rubbed the glass with a piece of cloth. He peered at them to ensure they were clean then put them back on. "It's a shame, really. I could have used your help in figuring out what the map means."
"The pirate's treasure map?" I asked with a laugh.
"That's the one. The customer's told us to keep it as long as we need to as long as we don't decide to take ship and seek the treasure ourselves."
I laughed at his teasing. "You're mistaking me for Penny. She's the one with the dreams of pirate adventures at sea and flying with the luwians. I'm quite happy staying on firm ground, myself."
"You do have a little taste for adventure."
"I've had more excitement over the past few weeks than I'd had in my entire life."
"That doesn't mean you don't want more."
I grinned. "No, it doesn't. But right now, I'm content making a little life for myself in the Blights."
At some point, I knew, I would have to make a decision and see if I wanted to stay there for the long term or leave, but I wasn't ready to depart yet.
"Well, since you're working for me now, it's time that I teach you all the different weapons I have here. Are you ready to learn?"
"About deadly blades? Always," I replied with a sharp smile.
As Oscar began his lesson, I realized how much I had to learn.
I smiled to myself, glad that I had time.
39
I was sitting at my usual table at the tavern when Garren slid into the chair next to me, startling me as always by seemingly appearing out of thin air.
"You're back." I was taken aback at how pleased I was to see him again.
"Just heard an interesting piece of news that I thought you should know," He said, signaling Hazel for a drink. "My friends tell me that the man who was here a few nights ago has disappeared."
"Oh?"
"He seems to have vanished in the night. His neighbors didn't hear anything. His items all seem to be intact, so it's safe to say that he hasn't decided to move."
