The Death Dealer - The Complete Series

by Katie Roman

  “Are you afraid, Ridley?” he asked quietly.

  She nodded, keeping his hands pressed to her cheeks. He loosened his hands from her grip and took her face in his hands. “We will work something out, I promise, but you know I don't want the title. Do you?”

  She shook her head. “No. When there was peace and things were plentiful I did, but no. I don't want to lead. I don't want to end up doing hard labor like Marcus or worse.” Silent sobs shook her body. Thom wiped away her tears and pulled her to his chest, rocking her.

  Father Thorne approached them. “Is Miss Hunewn alright?”

  Ridley kept her head pressed to Thom's chest. He stroked her hair and nodded. “Yes, Father. She's just upset.”

  “That is understandable, and no doubt she wishes to return home.”

  Thom wondered what Thorne thought of having a thief in his midst. Ridley had only fled to the temple to avoid arrest, but the head priest never protested her presence. He put her to work cleaning and made sure she attended services, but according to Ridley he never asked about her thievery and what her future plans were. Thom smiled at him.

  “Could you say a prayer with us? We want to pray for the safe return of Marcus.”

  Thorne sat in the pew in front of them, and then twisted in his seat and offered his hands to them. Thom gave Ridley a little shake to get her to sit up. She took one of Thorne's hands and Thom took the other, then he and Ridley clasped hands.

  “I understand you both loved Marcus dearly,” Thorne said. “These days have been trying times for all of us, and so I ask for the guidance of Diggery in this darkness. We ask that her light finds us in the dark and sets us on the right path. We ask that she brings Marcus, friend and father, home to be reunited with his loved ones. We ask that Glenbard be strong enough to weather this storm.”

  Ridley squeezed Thom's hand as Thorne spoke.

  “Thank you,” Thom said when the priest released his hand.

  “Keep the faith, friends. It is times such as these that-” Thorne was cut off as the temple's doors were flung open.

  Thom turned in his seat to see a man dressed in polished armor stride in. With him were ten of Robert's soldiers, all dressed in their shiny chain mail shirts under tunics bearing the hound insignia of Escion. A man in the uniform of Guard sergeant came in after the knight and his brute squad. With him were five guards, but these weren't Golden Road guards. Even from his seat, Thom could see they bore the insignia of the Serenity Place hare.

  “Sir Benjamin,” Thorne said, rising from his seat.

  The knight frowned as he took in the assembled people. He cleared his throat. “I am under orders from His Grace, Duke Robert of Escion, to arrest these people.” He looked pained even saying it.

  A murmur spread through the temple like a disease. People stood up uncertainly, but Thorne motioned for them to remain seated. “These people have come to the Temple of Diggery seeking the peace and reassurance of the goddess's love.”

  “I have my orders from His Grace,” Sir Benjamin repeated woodenly. “As does Sir Vincent and Sir Lawrence. They are clearing out Ciro and Kamaria's temples as well. His Grace believes traitors to the crown are within these temples and that they are going to disrupt the peace in Glenbard.”

  “Peace!” someone shouted. “What peace?”

  “Get your murderous brute squad out of here!” another called.

  “Peace, people,” Thorne yelled over the rising objections. “These people have done nothing wrong,” he said to the knight.

  “His Grace believes they are using the temples to plan riots and the murder of guards. They will all be questioned and released if no guilt is found.” Sir Benjamin cleared his throat.

  Thom watched the knight with interest. He was not a man who relished his current task, but he probably wouldn’t disobey his orders. Knights were odd like that. They vowed to uphold a code of chivalry, but it crumbled if their king or lord asked them to do something that violated it.

  “Please, Father Thorne, I will treat these people with care.”

  “Just as carefully as Erickson treated that woman?” Ridley screamed. Thom clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her from another outburst.

  The soldiers looked resigned to their task, but the guards looked like they chafed to get at the assembled citizens. That's probably why the duke sent in a knight, Thom thought. He knows the guards would bully and beat these people on their own, but they'd never disobey a knight.

  “Can't you see these people do not trust these men? The guards of Serenity Place murdered a young woman, and here they stand in the Golden Road district acting as though they have power here.” Thorne bristled as he spoke but kept his hands balled at his sides. “I will not let them go with these fiends.”

  “Sergeant.” Sir Benjamin snapped his fingers and the guard sergeant came to stand beside him. “Take your men out of here and return to your guard house.”

  “But His Grace said we were to-”

  “And I am saying go. I do not want there to be any violence here,” Benjamin reiterated, his tone clipped. Thom noted a bulging vein on his forehead as he addressed the sergeant. The sergeant looked livid, his face growing red, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. “Now, sergeant.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The sergeant bowed to Sir Benjamin, but as his head was down someone screamed “murderer” and threw a shoe at him. At that, any pretense of peace was lost. The guard sergeant ignored the protests of the knight and rushed past him. The guards scattered among the people, their batons raised to rain down blows on any who got in their way. Benjamin used some sort of hand signal to his soldiers and they sprang into action. Thorne cried for peace. Benjamin called for everyone to stop and sit down, but no one heeded them.

  Thom grabbed Ridley's wrist and dropped to the ground between the pews, pulling her down after him. He signaled for her to follow him as he crawled along toward the aisle. All around them people cried in pain and anger. Thom got them to the aisle, quickly got to his feet, and yanked Ridley to hers. He took a firm hold on her wrist and hurried for the exit.

  A guard tried to stop their escape, but Thom dodged his baton blow and drove his shoulder into the man's chest. As the guard staggered back, Thom stuck his foot between his legs and the guard fell backwards. Thom and Ridley bounded over him and out the door.

  In the streets, people from the other temples were being pulled outside. Thom pulled Ridley toward the alleys to avoid detection. They crept into the shadows and watched as people were arrested for some imagined conspiracy the duke had concocted to keep order.

  “What are we going to do?” Ridley whispered.

  “We will wait for nightfall, and then we'll seek shelter with Captain Brach. We can talk to him and Nathaniel about all this.” Thom watched the street in horror as people were being pulled by their hair and thrown onto the ground. All pretense of order was dropped as citizens fought back. Thom pulled Ridley close and they remained in the shadows.

  Thirteen

  They had been at sea over a fortnight already, leaving behind the freed prisoners who said they didn’t dare risk a winter storm capsizing them. Sal was the only one to give an honest answer. “We’ll all hang if we go back with you. If we stay put, we may sue for clemency from His Majesty.” Grace bristled at the thought. No one believed Drake could win this, but Grace refused to believe it was a hopeless cause. They would triumph and set everything to rights in Glenbard, then across all of Cesernan.

  As they were leaving, Drake called Marcus and Grace to a small council meeting with Tristan, Katherine, and Nicholas. For once, the Serish queen and her lords were absent. Drake shared that in the spring, he planned to bring a force to Cesernan in the hopes of overthrowing his father. For this, he would rely on Marcus and Grace to spread the word to the commoners. The small council also asked that Grace and Marcus take Charlotte with them so she could contact their noble allies. Things were falling into place where the prince was concerned; however, Grace wished she could
be as optimistic as her noble allies were.

  Grace leaned over the railing of the Dawn where the contents of her stomach were splattered along the sides of the ship, landing in the sea to mingle with the saltwater. Donald stood behind her and rubbed her back, offering her a waterskin that she refused.

  “Drink it,” he insisted, and pressed it into her hands.

  “How did you ever get used to this?” she rasped. The water made her feel better as its coolness coated her throat, but her stomach still protested.

  The Dawn rocked along with the waves. The sky was blue without a sign of storms, but the wind blew violently. Each time the ship lurched, Grace felt her stomach knot and the food within revolt. She watched as her meager lunch tumbled about in the waves.

  “You’ll be fine,” Donald said.

  “I feel like I’m dying,” she moaned, resting her head against the ship’s rail. “The crossing from Arganis wasn’t nearly this bad!”

  No one else seemed to be having as rough of a crossing as her. The crew of the Dawn offered suggestions on how to avoid seasickness, but still chuckled to see her hanging over the railing after every meal. Marcus and Charlotte spent a day or two adjusting, but Grace couldn't seem to make her body behave. Her throat was raw and she ached from heaving.

  “You should stand away from the sides and look at the horizon.” Donald took Grace by the arm and steered her away from the rail. “It will help if you don’t think about it and just focus on a single point in the distance.”

  Grace followed Donald’s finger as he pointed in the distance. What she saw was not endless blue sky and sea, but rather a dark mass. Grace watched it with interest. Home. She was finally almost home, and she felt light as a feather to see it again. Soon they would be in Glenbard. Unfortunately, even with the change of scenery her stomach still protested and she heaved over the side.

  Eventually Grace retreated below decks where Kay’s cabin had been turned into a women’s room. The first and only crew member to leer at Charlotte and Grace was threatened with a whipping by Kay if he dared touch her guests. Kay wouldn’t tolerate harassment of any kind, and the mere threat of the lash caused the offender to immediately apologize to the women. Grace was duly impressed, because the crew of the Fearless Dawn always came off as lawless and rowdy, but apparently Kay ran a tighter ship than she allowed people on land to believe.

  Inside Kay’s cabin, Grace lay on Kay’s bed while Charlotte pressed a wet cloth to her head. Kay was nowhere to be found.

  “You can go out. I’ll survive without you,” Grace said, feeling her stomach tighten. She squeezed her eyes shut against the cramp. When she no longer saw the cabin moving with the waves, her stomach relaxed. Now it only felt like she was being gently rocked. She kept her eyes closed to enjoy the sensation.

  “They’re dicing. I’ve no interest in gambling away what little coin I was given,” Charlotte replied.

  “What will you do first when we enter the city?” Grace questioned.

  “Head for Egona. Lord Henry’s steward was aware of our plans, and assuming he hasn’t been arrested, he will help us mobilize Egona’s militia. Egona always kept messenger birds, so I can use it as a base of operation while I contact other allies.” Charlotte’s cool fingers touched Grace’s cheek, checking her temperature. “And what will you and Marcus do?”

  “Rally Glenbard, I suppose. Provide Drake with the support of the people,” Grace answered.

  When Charlotte didn’t say anything, Grace opened her eyes. Charlotte was looking away from her toward the cabin door. She frowned and shook her head.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Shhh.” Charlotte put a finger to her lips. “Listen.”

  Grace stopped speaking and listened. At first she heard nothing, but then the sound of angry voices drifted through the closed door. No words were discernible, but Grace recognized the cadence of Kay’s voice. She was trying to keep her voice level, as was whomever she was arguing with.

  “I am captain here! You were nothing more than a drunken sea rat when I found you!” Kay suddenly shouted, her voice clear from where she stood just outside the cabin door. “Find something to do, Quinn, and bother me no more!”

  Kay swung the cabin door open and narrowed her eyes when she saw Grace and Charlotte. Grace didn’t bother to hide the fact she was listening, but Charlotte at least looked away quickly.

  “Is everything alright?” Grace asked.

  Kay stomped over to the bed, grabbed the wet cloth from Grace’s head, and held it to her own. She closed her eyes and said nothing for a few moments; she just stood with her eyes closed.

  “It’s nothing,” she said at last. “Quinn thinks there is a storm moving in from the south, but I say it will blow away from us. Nothing you two should be concerned about.” Kay dropped the wet cloth back onto Grace’s face. “I can’t even remember why I came in here.”

  “Were you looking for something?” Charlotte offered.

  Grace repositioned the cloth on her forehead. “Something to tell us?”

  “Pox and rot, it’ll come back soon enough. You both know we will be docking in Glenbard in the morning, right?”

  Charlotte nodded, asking, “Will your crew be disembarking with us?”

  “That is a matter we have yet to discuss,” Kay said. Her tone indicated to Grace that it was the end of that particular conversation. “We have to speak with the harbor master upon docking. Be prepared to answer questions about who you are and what your business is in Glenbard. I suggest picking a fake name.” With that, Kay turned on her heel and left the cabin.

  “I don’t think her crew is happy about all this,” Charlotte said. “I’ve caught her arguing with that Quinn fellow a few times already. I’m sure it is nothing, though.”

  Grace sure hoped it was nothing. The men of the Dawn were feared on both land and sea, and their involvement in Glenbard would be extremely beneficial.

  “It’s probably nothing,” Grace reiterated, hoping that saying it out loud would assuage the feelings of dread building in her chest. It didn’t help.

  ~*~*~

  Marcus joined Grace that night while she hung over the side, letting her meager portion of porridge evacuate her body. He stood by with water at the ready.

  “Drink,” he said as he put the waterskin in her hand. “You will be back on land soon.”

  Grace couldn’t imagine solid ground. It was like a distant memory. “Land? My kingdom for solid ground!” she said jokingly.

  Grace sat on the deck and brought her knees to her chest. Marcus sat next to her, patting her knee and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. The air had turned cold once the sun went down. A chill ran up Grace’s toes, filling her with a welcomed coolness.

  Above them the gibbous moon offered little light. There were a few lamps lit around the deck, but mostly everything around them was swathed in shadows. Most of the crew had retreated from the cold below decks, leaving Marcus and Grace alone.

  “It is a good thing you didn’t become a sailor,” Marcus said. “I fear you would turn inside out from the seasickness.”

  “I fully intend never to be at sea again once this is all over. I will live underground before I get on a ship again.”

  Marcus chuckled and put an arm around her.

  Silence encased them for some time. Grace, who had felt like she was on fire as she became sick, now shivered under the blanket. She wasn’t quite ready to go into Kay’s cabin for the night just yet, though.

  “What do you suppose we will find in Glenbard?” she asked, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.

  “Angry people,” Marcus said. He looked up at the moon and stars. “Drake and his cohorts don’t even seem sure of what is waiting for us when we land. The Duke of Escion declared martial law, so the people will be scared, certainly, but mad too. We will need to convince them their anger is greater than their fear. If we are lucky, we can set them off like a powder keg. It will be an explosion that rocks Cesernan to its core
if we somehow manage to unite Glenbard against the crown.”

  Grace nodded and rested her chin against her knees. “Will we succeed, though? The might of King Frederick’s crown is backing Robert of Escion,” she said. “I am not sure we are a big enough hammer for this particular nail. If we fail, our friends and family will be taken in too.”

  Marcus’s arm dropped from her shoulders and he let his hands rest on his knees. Whatever he was thinking, he didn’t want to vocalize. Grace watched the shadows move on his face as the light from the deck lamps swayed with the ship.

  “You need to rest, Grace,” he said at last.

  He got to his feet and held out a hand for Grace. She got up, feeling her stomach shift subtly with the waves. Marcus escorted her back to Kay’s cabin, but still he said nothing. She imagined he was likely thinking the same thing as her. Failure was not an option, not when so many lives depended on them.

  Fourteen

  Everyone assembled on the deck the next morning. Each moment that passed brought them closer to Glenbard, and each moment that passed made Grace’s chest tighten. She realized there was something wrong in the harbor. Great ships flying the flag of Escion blocked the harbor.

  “Warships,” Marcus said as he shielded his eyes from the sun.

  Kay ran here and there calling out orders. Grace wasn’t sure what she was doing until the Dawn began to list northwards.

  “What are you doing?” Grace asked when Kay hurried by.

  “The bastards have set up a blockade. Our fake papers and flags won’t get us through, and they might not even save us from finding a new home on the bottom of the sea.”

  “What are you doing, though?” Grace repeated.

  “She’s taking us north to Dunkirst,” Marcus answered, shifting uneasily.

  “Dunkirst?” Donald cried. “But there is no port in Dunkirst; there are only rocks to capsize and rip the Dawn apart.”