Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings Book 1) (21 page)

“So, you want us to steal the
ink
?” Adsden inquired.
He eyed the impressive warrior again and was certain this man could not be an
addict.

“No, I want you to steal the parabata leaves from which the
ink is made. I have no use for the substance after it is processed. I have
other uses for the leaves,” Rezkin explained. “But, let me make this very
clear. No one is to
use
the substance. I will
not
have my guild
fall to its destruction due to drugs. Do I make myself clear? Anyone
inking
will be
dismissed
,” he said firmly.

“Of course, Master,” Adsden said, and he could not prevent
the slight thrill he felt with the use of the title. He had never seen himself
as the subservient type, always dominating over his partners, but the power
this young man commanded called to him in ways he had never experienced. He imagined
it was nearly as intoxicating as the
ink
he had always avoided.

“How much do you require?” Adsden asked.

“All of it,” The Raven replied.

“Do you know how much they have in stock?” the Guildmaster
inquired.

“You misunderstand me. I want you to steal
all
of it
– from
every
shipment –
indefinitely
,” Rezkin
announced.

Adsden’s brows rose once again in surprise. This man was
full of them. “That will be a major undertaking. It is sure to gain serious
notice by whoever is manufacturing the goods.”

“You are to put them out of business. They will run out of
parabata leaves and will be unable to make more
ink
. Rumor will be
spread that no additional
ink
supplies will be available in Justain. You
will steal the remainder of the processed drug and hand it over to the Diamond
Claws. They will sell the drug to those who are already addicted, while
enforcing a systematic rationing. None will be hoarded.”

Adsden looked at The Raven in confusion. “What is the point
in that?”

“You should know that long-term addicts cannot simply stop
inking
.
The withdrawals can be deadly. If the people know they will be receiving no
more, they will have to wean themselves from it. If they choose not to, they
will suffer the consequences for their own folly.”

The Guildmaster ran a hand over his face. “Okay, I
understand, but that is a hefty profit from the sale. Why the Diamond Claws?
Especially since we will be doing the dangerous work of stealing it.”

“The Diamond Claws are better suited for brute enforcement.
Besides, you will be busy with other tasks. The two guilds will split the
profits from the sales. I will ensure the split is fair,” Rezkin assured.

 “What about the Wolf Pack?” the swordsman piped up.

The Raven grinned with unparalleled cunning alight in his
eyes. It was an unnatural, feral grin and more frightening than the man’s
former cold stoicism. Adsden nearly groaned at its masculine beauty. “Surely
two unified guilds can work together to undermine a third. The Serpents and
Diamond Claws will make it clear that the Wolves will either concede to my
authority or they will be crushed between you. Absorb their personnel if you
like, but leave no question as to who is in charge.”

The swordsman smiled in return, although his was one of
genuine excitement. “We can do that.” Adsden knew his guild mate harbored no
love for the Wolf Pack. Neither did the rest of the guild, for that matter.
This was one task they would undertake with satisfaction.

The new Guildmaster looked down at the lists in his hand and
swallowed tightly. “This is all very complex, and some of these targets are
nearly impossible,” he observed. The undertaking was ambitious and intricate,
and Adsden could not even speculate as to the overall plan.

“Then you had better be up for the challenge,” The Raven
replied.

Rezkin left the Serpents’ Guildhouse with Benni close on his
heals. The young man was clearly shaken but could not contain his excitement.
“Am I really gonna train with Adsden? I mean Guildmaster Adsden? He’s a
legend!” Rezkin glanced at the young man with raised brow but did not reply.
“So…what now?” the young man inquired as he bounced along. Somehow in his
excitement, Benni had forgotten his fear of
The Master
.

“Now, you will report back to your Guildmaster. I am sure she
will want to know everything you observed. I hope you were paying attention,”
Rezkin replied.

Benni’s face dropped. “Oh. Yeah, I guess she would. Um…I
think I got most of it, but I can’t say as I understand what’s goin’ on.”

“Nor should you. That is for me, alone, to know for now. Go.
I have other business to which I must attend,” Rezkin stated. Benni responded
with a
Yes, Master
, and bounded off, scurrying down an alley and out of
sight.

Rezkin rounded a corner and then ducked through an abandoned
building. He eventually made his way to the rooftops. He had been followed out
of the Serpent Guildhouse, as he would have expected with any decent nefarious
organization. His pursuer was reasonably
Skilled
, but the more qualified
warrior easily lost him after a few moments. Rezkin had yet to encounter anyone
in this city who was a Master in any
Skill
, although from the rumors and
reports, Adsden may be close to mastery of Stealth Invasion, especially with
his particularly advantageous
talent
with ward manipulation.

The silent warrior slipped over rooftops and through alleys.
He was now in Wolf Pack territory, but since it was near midday, most of the
guild would be pick pocketing in the market or sleeping – not that Rezkin
was particularly concerned. It was time for him to check up on the progress
with the marquis, and to do that he had to make his way to the more affluent
part of the city where the noble kept a grandiose estate.

Marquis Addercroft spent far more time in the city than many
of his counterparts who preferred to maintain their own lands. Addercroft
preferred the luxuries provided by the constant influx of migrants and trade
goods. His affection for young, beautiful women was what got him into trouble
in the first place. While most noblemen steered clear of causing too many
problems with the young women of the peerage, preferring to
encourage
maids, tavern wenches and other desperate or impressionable commoners into
their beds, Addercroft had been unable to keep his hands off the daughter of
another marquis.

The young woman of a mere fifteen years of age was staying
as a guest in his home, about six years prior, when the marquis forced himself
on the virginal girl. The poor girl did not succumb to the older man’s advances
willingly, and the marquis was a bit too rough. In the end, young Lillian
– Lilly to her family – was secretly buried in her snow-white
nightgown stained with the blood of her deflowering and the slice across her
throat.

The panicked marquis entrusted his loyal cousin, Urek, to
take care of the body along with a few guards who conveniently disappeared not
long after. The ever-ambitious Urek took advantage of the opportunity to bury
the body in a secret location wearing the nightgown in which she had
disappeared along with the marquis’ dagger. With the abundance of evidence
preserved in the grave, any mage worth his
talent
would be able to point
a finger at the marquis.

Such was Urek’s hold over his illustrious cousin. A common
maid might have been overlooked, but the daughter of another marquis would be a
major scandal with deadly consequences. The former Guildmaster was not as
clever as he thought, however, and one of the northern fortress’s strikers
discovered the marquis’ secret. Rezkin knew the location of the body.

Finally slipping over the estate wall and across the small
private courtyard, Rezkin hid himself behind a decorative topiary that flanked
a waist-high sectional wall. He had a perfect view of the servants’ entrance
where the wagon containing Urek’s body would be dropped. Since it was close to
noon, his shadow fell beneath him and the young warrior was careful to ensure
he was downwind of the entrance since the marquis was known to keep his hunting
dogs with him most of the time. The man seemed to have an obsession with the
animals, even going so far as to invite them to share his bed. Rezkin pondered
the possibility that it was a ploy to keep his wife from the bed so he could
enjoy his extramarital pleasures. The marchioness kept to her own chambers, but
that might have been due to her understandable hatred of her husband.

About a quarter of a mark later, a bell chimed from the back
gate. A liveried servant came scurrying out the back door from the kitchen. The
servant pulled the gate open slightly and engaged in a brief conversation with
whoever stood on the other side. A few moments later, the servant drew the gate
wide and then turned and ran quickly into the house. An average sized man
hidden deep within his cowl drove the cart into the courtyard. He leapt from
the driver’s seat and ran from the courtyard, disappearing back into the
anonymity of the city beyond.

Shouts and a thundering crash could be heard through the
open windows somewhere above. A moment later, two dogs streamed from the back
entrance and ran straight for the corpse-laden cart. The marquis followed not
far behind with several of his retainers hurrying after him adorned with
panic-stricken faces.

The frantic dogs barked and yelped as they ran around the
cart startling the donkey that began to bay and stomp, nearly upsetting the
cart. The marquis must have been particularly furious as he batted at his
beloved dogs, going so far as to actually kick one in the ribs. The dog cried
out pathetically and cowered away under the cart. The servants held back in an anxious
huddle as they whispered amongst themselves, and the marquis’ guards finally
caught up with the commotion as they surrounded the small wagon. The marquis
had been hasty in beating his guards through the door, especially since he was
receiving a delivery from a killer. Rezkin shook his head in disgust at these
outworlders’ disregard for the
Rules
.

Marquis Addercroft stomped furiously into the cart where he
leaned over the putrid body and gazed at its bloated, pasty face. The death was
too fresh to account for most of the smell and appearance. The marquis grimaced
in disgust and then finally took notice of the flowers sitting atop the mound
of the former Guildmaster’s belly. The blood drained from the marquis’ face,
and even from the distance, Rezkin thought he could see the glisten of sweat
break out on the man’s brow. Addercroft’s eyes darted around as though
expecting to see the assailant watching him, which might have seemed paranoid
except that Rezkin
was
watching.

Reaching into his coat, Addercroft pulled out a white
handkerchief, which he used to mop at his lip and brow. He then stretched
forward with a shaky hand to pluck a parchment from the wreath. Curious. Rezkin
had not instructed the men to leave a message with the corpse. He wondered what
the missive said. The warrior’s curiosity was satisfied a moment later when a
sudden, unexpected gust of wind snatched the small parchment from the older
man’s wary hand. It fluttered in the breeze as it danced right past Rezkin’s
topiary. No one was paying any attention to the small piece of paper, so Rezkin
snagged it as it passed.
Compliments of The Raven
, was all the missive
said. The warrior nearly rolled his eyes. Thieves were so melodramatic.

Finally noticing the waiting crowd, the marquis collected himself
and stood straight. “It seems my cousin has had an unfortunate accident,” he
stated loudly.

“An accident, my lord? His throat is slit,” protested the
Captain of the Addercroft House Guard.

Addercroft gave the man a look that could cut and said, “Yes,
he must have ridden into a line. Have him prepared for burial immediately.” The
marquis glanced around at all the confused faces and shrieked, “NOW!”

A flurry of motion ensued as the marquis dropped down from
the cart, and his retainers surged forward to collect the corpse and make
burial arrangements. The Captain of the Guard followed Addercroft a short
distance for a private conversation, which happened to take place just on the
other side of Rezkin’s hiding spot.

“What do you desire of us, my lord. Shall we raid the
Serpents? We can have their new Guildmaster in a noose before mid afternoon,”
he claimed. Rezkin thought the man a little too optimistic. Thieves did not
tend to stick around for raiding parties. As soon as they caught wind of the
incoming force, they would flee to their next safehouse.

“No, absolutely not,” Addercroft answered as he shifted on
his feet anxiously. “Whoever this Raven is, he
knows
. He must have
tortured the information out of Urek,” the man ruminated.

“Raven, my lord?” the captain questioned.

Addercroft waved his hand dismissively, only replying, “The
note.”

The captain glanced around looking for the fallen missive
and then dismissed the issue. “Urek did not appear to have been tortured. The
only injury I saw on the body was to his throat,” the captain observed.

“No, you are correct. Urek was stubborn and hotheaded, but
he did not give up easily. We have to assume The Raven knows, though. You saw
the flowers,” the marquis stated with a bit of trepidation bleeding into his
voice. Rezkin thought it interesting that the captain also knew the marquis’
secret. He would have thought for sure the man would have been put to death for
the crime of knowing too much.

“Maybe he only knows what happened. Maybe he does not know
where the…evidence…is located,” the captain proposed. “Did he make any
demands?”

Addercroft answered through clenched jaw. “No. For now, we
will not interfere. I want you to find out who he is and where he can be found.
Find out everything about him. I want to know where he came from, what he
plans, and the names and locations of each and every one of his relatives and
friends.”

Rezkin tensed at Addercroft’s last words. He was not overly
concerned about the man finding out any details about him since no one knew
anything. The warrior had always been warned of the dangers of developing any
close ties to anyone, which was one of the many reasons
Rule 1
seemed
rather odd. Since he had been assigned
friends
to protect, he had to
take Addercroft’s words seriously. He would have to rethink letting Addercroft
live. The man did not deserve the air he breathed, and he might just get in
Rezkin’s way after all.

The young warrior considered his options. He could kill
Addercroft, now, making it look like an accident or suicide. A suicide would be
particularly convenient because he could leave behind a letter of confession,
finally solving the mystery of young Lillian’s disappearance. That would leave
House Addercroft in disgrace and could even lead to its dissolution. The
marquis’ son was a good man, from all accounts, and could do the position
justice.

Another option was to simply do nothing at all. Urek had
hidden a letter in a safe deposit box at the Golden Trust Bank. The letter contained
Urek’s knowledge of the crime and the whereabouts of the grave. The former
Guildmaster had left orders for the letter to be delivered to Lillian’s family
upon his untimely death. All Rezkin had to do was to ensure bank officials
received word of the death, and the judicial system would take care of
Addercroft – if Lillian’s father and brothers did not do so themselves.
But, that would have the same effect as the former option.

The third option it was then. The young warrior consumed a
quick meal of pheasant and nut bread and then returned to the Diamond Claw
Guildhouse to give them their new orders.