Legends of Ahn (King's Dark Tidings Book 3)

by Kel Kade

  Rezkin blinked lazily and turned his clear gaze on them. His facial expression had not changed, and yet he seemed a different person than he had seconds before, a friendly person, a decent person.

  “Lus will escort the ladies to the mess,” he said, as if death had not just been hovering in the air. “Tam, you will accompany me.”

  Frisha and Lady Netty scurried out of the stall ahead of Lus, both women appearing as if they wanted to be nowhere near the strange guard. Tam thought it odd considering that Lus was supposed to be Lady Netty’s escort. He wondered if she was upset with her guard for antagonizing Rezkin. Then he questioned why anyone who knew the reputation of Dark Tidings would do such a thing.

  Rezkin led Tam far from the mess, spying Wesson on the way and insisting the mage attend him as well. When they finally reached a satisfactory position, Rezkin turned to face them. Tam noticed that Rezkin kept a close eye on the entrance to the mess as he directed Wesson to erect a sound ward. Tam could not feel or see anything, but Rezkin seemed to approve.

  “What were you doing in Pride’s stall with Lus?” Rezkin asked.

  “I wasn’t doing anything with Lus,” Tam said. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Actually, I forgot he was there. I was showing Pride to Lady Netty. She has an interest in battle chargers.”

  Rezkin tilted his head. “Lady Netty is interested in battle chargers?”

  “So she says,” Tam said. “She read a book about them.”

  Rezkin stared contemplatively at the mess entrance and then said, “Tam, this is important. Do not underestimate Lus. He is dangerous.”

  “Yeah, I figured that. You can’t tell me he’s a normal guard, Rez. Something’s not right about him.”

  Rezkin held Tam’s gaze for an uncomfortable moment. Finally, he said, “You are correct, and I am glad that you have become so discerning. He is not a guard. He is an assassin.”

  “An assassin,” Tam shouted and then, upon realizing his error, was glad no one could hear his outburst through the ward.

  “A highly skilled assassin,” Rezkin clarified. “Be vigilant.” He looked to Wesson and said, “He is also a mage, trained to use his talent in battle and subterfuge.”

  “I sensed his power,” Wesson said, “although he conceals it well. I believe he may employ a misdirection spell so that mages will think the power is emanating from someone or something else nearby.”

  Tam was furious that Rezkin was just now bringing this to his attention. “Did you know he was an assassin when he came aboard?”

  “Of course,” Rezkin said.

  Even more dissatisfied, Tam asked, “Does he know that you know he’s an assassin?” Without giving Rezkin a chance to respond, he yanked at his hair in frustration and said, “Why would you bring an assassin onto our ship, anyway?”

  Rezkin waited for Tam to stop huffing before he answered. “Yes, he knows that I know, and I brought him because he may be useful. We are at war, Tam.”

  “And Lady Netty?” Tam asked. “Is she an assassin, too? Tell me she isn’t. She can’t be.”

  “No, she is not an assassin. She is innocent.”

  Gritting his teeth, Tam said, “Then why does she have an assassin as her guard? Does she know?”

  “He is guarding her because I assigned him to the position. She knows he is an assassin, and I do not believe she cares for the circumstances.”

  “Why would you assign an assassin to guard her? Make it stop, Rezkin. I want her safe.”

  Rezkin sighed. “Assassins do not go about randomly killing people, Tam, and he is not a savage animal. He will do as I command. As I said, he is highly skilled and, besides the strikers, is the most capable warrior on this ship.”

  “If he respects you so much, then why did he threaten me? I know he was doing it to goad you. I just don’t know why.”

  Rezkin said, “I would prefer not to involve you in this, but it seems he has singled you out. I will not have you going about unaware of the danger. He is not just any assassin. He is a very high-ranking member of the Order, the premier assassin’s guild in Channería. The Order is to Channería as the Black Hall is to Ashai.”

  Tam’s heart pounded harder with every word Rezkin spoke. “When you say very high—”

  “He is the Jeng’ri, second to the Ong’ri, the grandmaster of the guild. His name is Xa. The Order has a strict set of principles. For now, he is beholden to me for reasons I will not discuss. So long as he sees me as the superior warrior, he will do as I say. He continually searches for weakness, though, and he was hoping to find one in you. He knows already that I will kill him if he attacks me again.”

  “Again?”

  Ignoring Tam’s interruption, Rezkin said, “He was testing to see what I would do if he threatened you, my best friend. If I had been more protective of you, warning him off, he would have thought you one of my weaknesses. If I failed to stand up to his challenge altogether, he might have believed I lack conviction. The assassins fight amongst themselves, but the guild stands together against their enemies. He knows you are my apprentice. By ordering you to fend against him yourself, I have placed you in the tiers. It is dishonorable for a superior assassin to challenge a trainee to the death. Henceforth, any moves he makes against you will be within the relational constraints of master to student. This does not mean you cannot get seriously injured or killed. Again, I emphasize vigilance.”

  “Wait, you’re saying that I am to train to be an assassin?”

  “I am not saying that you must become one, Tam, only that you will acquire the Skills. Aside from outright killing Xa, which would be a terrible waste of a valuable resource, it is the best protection I can provide for you. Besides, such Skills will aid you in any battle.”

  Tam was overwhelmed. He looked to Wesson as if the mage could magically fix things. Wesson shrugged at Tam, clearly at a loss, and then crossed his arms as he looked accusingly at Rezkin.

  “Why do you know so much about assassins?” the mage asked.

  Tam looked at Rezkin as well. He had been too astounded to think of the obvious question. He knew a little more about Rezkin’s training than most, but Rezkin had never mentioned assassins.

  “For the same reason I know about mages, healers, nobles, and blacksmiths,” Rezkin said. “It is my responsibility to know about all of the people I may encounter, especially potential enemies. Now that you know of the potential danger, you will both be better prepared to deal with it. If you become overwhelmed, you know to come to me or one of the strikers. I believe Xa has been testing them a bit as well. At least it should keep them sharp.”

  “Is this how you want to live?” Tam asked. “Always on edge?”

  “Who said anything about want?” Rezkin replied. “This is life.”

  Tam said, “No, this is your life. My family never had to deal with anything like this.”

  “Let us hope they never have to, but you are not like them. You are an adventurer,” Rezkin finished with a grin.

  With another groan, Tam said, “I’m starting to wish I had been born boring.”

  Rezkin turned to Wesson and said, “What say you, Journeyman?”

  “I suppose not much has changed,” Wesson said. “It seems as if death has been following us since the moment I met you.”

  “Not true,” Rezkin said. “Your donkey lived.”

  Chapter 11

  The trio joined the others in the mess, and Tieran beckoned Tam to sit between him and Wesson. Rezkin looked at them both curiously and then sat at the same table beside Frisha. This conveniently placed him across from Xa, who was seated between Ilanet and Shiela. Malcius, Brandt, and Waylen were dining with the baron at a smaller table. Kai sat in a chair with his back to the wall by the door that was kept locked while they dined. It was Wesson’s job to make sure their conversations were not overheard.

  Ilanet glanced up from her meal. “Lord Rezkin,” she said in Channerían, “the ‘tree’ in our room has not moved since we left Serret. Should we be wor
ried?”

  Rezkin shrugged and said, “Probably not. The thing is ancient. I am sure it can take care of itself.”

  Frisha turned to him and remarked, “I didn’t know you speak Channerían.”

  Leaving Rezkin no chance to respond, Tieran interjected, “Not only that, but they must be speaking in code.”

  “How so?” Rezkin asked, thoroughly confused by Tieran’s assertion.

  “Why would she expect a tree to move, and how is it supposed to take care of itself? Have you been watering it? Plants need water, you know.”

  “I trust in your expert judgment,” Rezkin replied as he shoved a bite of fish into his mouth.

  Ilanet glanced at Tieran and then back to Rezkin. Switching to Ashaiian, she said, “Lord Tieran is an expert in … trees?”

  Rezkin shook his head, which earned a frown from Tieran. “He is a life mage with a strong bond to plants.”

  Ilanet relaxed her shoulders. “Just plants.”

  “Now wait a minute,” Tieran said. “What are you two talking about?”

  Ilanet smiled and changed the subject. “I do not yet know if I possess the talent. My father is a wind mage, and my mother was an illusionist.”

  Rezkin looked at her sharply, but the damage had already been done. He mentally commended her, though, for keeping her secret so long. He had not expected it since she was only a small-one, untrained in subterfuge.

  “Illusionism is an unusual talent,” Tieran said as he scrutinized the young lady.

  “What is illusionism?” Tam asked from beside him.

  “Perhaps Journeyman Wesson can explain it better,” Tieran muttered.

  He furrowed his brow and sank into deep contemplation. Rezkin could see that his cousin was working toward the solution, and it was only a matter of moments before the secret was revealed.

  Wesson swallowed the bite he had just stuffed into his mouth and took a drink while bobbing his head. Finally, he said, “It is an unusual ratio dominated by the elemental powers of pyris, or fire, and tropestrian, which is wind, with a miniscule concentration of amber, the power to bond and interact with plants and animals, in the tertiary envelope—or so it is defined by the readers. Weak illusionists can manifest images or sounds that do not really exist, but strong ones can make the illusions physical, seeming so real that you cannot tell them from reality. An illusionist’s power produces the illusion and then invades the mind to convince someone that it is real. It has been suggested that the talent is rare because it is possible for an illusionist to be seized by his own power, during which time it drives itself until the wielder dies from overexertion—that and the fact that illusionists are often murdered because people fear any power that can manipulate the mind.”

  “Like Rezkin’s spell,” Frisha said with a generous scowl in his direction.

  “What?” Wesson looked at Rezkin with wide eyes. He sat back in his chair and then groaned as he ran his hands through caramel locks. “Why did I not think of it before?”

  Tieran suddenly slammed a hand down on the table and lurched to his feet. “You went to Serret to file some paperwork, and you came back with a new kingdom, a treaty, and a princess?”

  Rezkin sat back in his own chair and calmly looked at Tieran.

  “What princess?” Tam asked, and Rezkin could see the anxiety growing behind his friend’s eyes.

  “Netty,” Tieran said mockingly with a derisive laugh. “Sixteen, her father a wind mage, her mother an illusionist—Ilanet! Princess Ilanet!”

  Ilanet’s cheeks flushed, and she looked back to Rezkin. “Oops.”

  “When were you going to tell us?” Tieran exclaimed.

  “Probably never,” Malcius muttered from the adjacent table. “At least, not until he is standing over all our graves.”

  “Malcius, that is uncalled for,” Frisha said.

  While Tieran and Malcius were absorbed with berating Rezkin, Tam was focused on Ilanet. She looked as if she wanted to disappear under the table. She must have felt him staring because she turned to meet his gaze. Her eyes held pain and sorrow, and her gaze was pleading.

  Tam said, “Your father—the man who tried to kill you—was the king? King Ionius?”

  She blinked a few times, her lips quivering with words unspoken.

  Tieran caught Tam’s remark, which drew his attention to Ilanet. “Is this true?”

  Ilanet closed her mouth and nodded.

  Tieran looked back to Rezkin. “Did you steal her? Did your incessant desire to save people drive you to kidnap a princess? What about the treaty? Ionius will go to war over this!”

  Rezkin said, “Do you think me so irresponsible? The princess was part of the treaty. In fact, Ionius insisted.”

  “Kings do not simply give away their daughters,” Tieran said with a glare.

  Frisha’s anxiety had also spiked with the revelation. Like Tam, she stared not at Rezkin but at Ilanet. “Why are you here? What was the deal?” she asked.

  Frisha tried to remain calm and congenial, but by the look on Ilanet’s face, she thought she might have failed. She did not want to scare the poor girl, whom she had come to think of as the younger sister she never had, but as her own dark thoughts welled within, her tone had acquired an unbidden edge.

  Ilanet looked at Frisha and thought that this was how the mouse must feel when cornered by the cat. “Well, I was not present,” she started, but by the hard glare directed her way, she knew Frisha would not be satisfied with that answer. She glanced at Rezkin and then swallowed. “But I am told that my father believes I am to marry Dark Tidings.”

  Tam said, “You told me you were no longer betrothed!”

  “I am not,” Ilanet said, quickly turning back to him. “My father broke my betrothal to Prince Nyan when he gave me to Dark Tidings.”

  Tam turned his glare on Rezkin, who was by that point receiving the same from almost everyone in the room.

  Rezkin held up a hand. “I will tell you the same as I told Ionius. I do not intend to marry Princess Ilanet. By the treaty, she is here solely as my ward.” He met Tieran’s angry gaze and said, “I did not aim to deceive you indefinitely. It is true that Ionius planned for Ilanet to die. It was for her safety, and everyone else’s, that I wanted to get as far from Channería as possible before her identity was revealed. This was to diminish the possibility that someone aboard might be capable of sending word back to the mainland.”

  Brandt broke his silence to say, “But if Ionius agreed to the treaty, then he knows already that she is aboard.”

  Rezkin nodded. “True, but where royalty is concerned, we must recognize the potential for more than one enemy. She was disguised upon boarding, and it may be that others did not recognize her. Without the fanfare, as would be typical for the departure of a royal, some may question whether she made it aboard at all. So long as people are speculating, they will be unlikely to implement any plans, at least until their suspicions are confirmed. You must remember that we are only one ship sailing to a questionable destination. Most aboard are already wanted in Ashai for treason and sedition. We are a prime target for pretty much anyone who wants to make a lot of money and is in possession of a few ships.”

  Tieran narrowed his eyes. “Which raises the question, why did Ionius not send at least a couple of war ships as escort? And why only one guard?”

  “Remember, Ionius wants her dead, if for no other reason than to cover up his failed attempt,” Rezkin said.

  Brandt added, “He would be more likely to blow us out of the water than to help.”

  Tieran dragged his chair back over the floorboards and retook his seat. “So how did she end up here?”

  Rezkin looked at Ilanet, whom he noticed glanced more often at Tam than anyone. Tam now sat brooding with his elbows on the table and head buried in his hands. “As I said, King Ionius insisted. It seems her rescuer made a deal with the king to see her to safety.”

  Tieran said, “And you, Lus, are you this rescuer?”

  Xa tilted his he
ad and grinned. “No, I do not possess—how did you say? —an incessant desire to save people. I was also unaware of the plot against the princess. I had only a small part in the events.”

  “So who saved you, then?” Tieran asked the princess.

  “I think I am not supposed to say,” she said without meeting his eyes.

  Kai took the opportunity to interject his thoughts. “I will tell you who it was. It was the Fishers.”

  Tam’s head jerked up, and he looked at the striker incredulously. “Fishermen saved the princess?”

  “Bah! Not fishermen,” Kai said. “The Fishers. They are an underground group of activists dedicated to exposing corruption within all facets of Channerían society—the nobility, guilds, merchants, military, and even the Temple.”

  “A bunch of commoners?” Malcius asked.

  “Not at all,” Kai replied. “Anyone can become a fisher, and their members span all classes. In Ashai, people vie for power, and corruption exists, but in the end, the king commands all. It works well when a good king sits the throne, but when the king harbors a dark soul—well, such is the nature of our own predicament. In Channería, the king still bears the ultimate authority, but the power to make policies and carry them out is divided between the various offices of the council, the Temple, and the military. If the king wants to change anything, he must seek approval from those entities. More people are in positions of greater power, which means a greater chance of corruption. Such an environment inevitably leads to the formation of groups like the Fishers.”

  Malcius glanced at Rezkin with narrowed eyes and then returned his attention to the striker. “What makes you think these Fishers have anything to do with Princess Ilanet’s rescue?”

  “You might recall there was a delay in the arrival of the treaty on the day we departed. I was sent to investigate. It turns out there was an uprising. The Fishers had somehow uncovered a plot by one of the council offices to usurp funds from the military, or something to that effect. I did not have time to get the whole story. This was brought to the attention of another council office, which took the issue before the council. The general of the army, who also holds a seat on the council, went to Ionius for support. Ionius hates having to answer to the council for anything, so when they cause trouble, he comes down hard on them.