Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings Book 1) (46 page)

Rezkin cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. “ I am
uncertain. Events have transpired for which I have no explanation. It is for
this reason I am going to the tournament. I have no desire to prove myself
before the masses, but I do need answers.”

“Why do you not just go to the palace and ask?” the general
questioned. He was not particularly fond of the new king, but Marcum was loyal
to Ashai.

Choosing his words carefully, Rezkin stated, “There may be
forces in the palace working against me.”

“A traitor?” the general asked. Rezkin inclined his head,
not quite agreeing but not denying it either. He did not know who was
responsible for the massacre at the fortress. It could have been the king for
all he knew. If the king found out the strikers were traitors and issued the
orders for them to die, then Rezkin had done the king’s work. If someone else
had ordered the deaths of the strikers, then Rezkin could be the traitor along
with whoever issued the orders. With the authority granted him by the old king,
though, Rezkin could not be tried openly. He would have to be dealt with in
secret.

The general cleared his throat, “If a traitor is in the
palace, then I must warn the king. Likewise, if he does not know about you
already, then he must be told.”

“Actually, I would prefer you not do that,” Rezkin stated
firmly.

Marcum narrowed his eyes at the young man. “And, why not?”

Rezkin leveled his gaze at the general
willing
the
man to see his sincerity and authority. “We are in the midst of a conspiracy, General.
People who are not involved need to remain uninvolved. I assure you this
conspiracy is quite
deadly
,” Rezkin stated ominously as his voice
dropped. It was a warning. It held the implication that the king could be in
more danger if he knew and inferred that the general’s own life was threatened
if he spoke. Jimson’s face went pale with Rezkin’s threatening words, and the
lieutenant was glad that, so far, he had not been dragged into the
conversation.

 General Marcum stiffened. “Surely the king knows by
now. Colonel Simmons would have sent a letter to the palace as well.”

Rezkin reached into his tunic as he replied, “He did.”
Pulling out a sealed scroll, he waved it in front of the general. “This is the
letter that was meant to be delivered to the seneschal.

General Marcum’s eyes darted over to the lieutenant. “You
gave it to him? That is a letter to the king!”

Lieutenant Jimson’s jaw dropped as he shook his head
vigorously. “No, sir! I have not seen that letter. It was not given to me to
deliver. I swear it, sir!”

Stuffing the letter back into his inner pocket, Rezkin waved
their concerns away. “The lieutenant is not at fault, General. I retrieved this
before it ever left the colonel’s desk. Lieutenant Jimson never received the
letter.”

“When did you see the colonel?” Lieutenant Jimson inquired
with disbelief.

“I did not meet with the colonel. I said I retrieved the
letter from his desk,” Rezkin stated. He looked back at the general and
remarked, “You really must improve the security at Fort Maneske. It was
disturbingly easy to break in, go about my business and leave. I barely had to
try.”

“You
stole
it?” the general gasped. “Stealing the
king’s correspondence is an act of treason! Yet-…yet, you sit here calmly as if
it is nothing more than another errand.”

Rezkin shrugged. “What are you going to do about it?”

The general’s jaw dropped. “Well, I will tell the king. I
will have you arrested!”

“Let us dispense with the bluster, General,” Rezkin replied.
“Neither you nor the lieutenant will be making any attempts to arrest me. Even
if you succeeded, which you would not, you could be tried for failing to comply
with the authority of a Sword Bearer, among other crimes.”

After allowing them a moment to contemplate the statement,
Rezkin continued. “Aside from your own safety, you also fear for the safety of
the king. Already, a part of your mind is wondering what fate could befall the
king should he find out about me and the conspiracy in which I am involved, assuming
a traitor is in the palace. No, General, you will not arrest me, and you will
not inform the king of my existence. In fact, you will speak of me to no one
except in the sense that I have been a guest in your home as your niece’s
friend.”

The general was quiet as he considered the young man’s
words. Marcum was a riot of emotions. He was furious that this insolent young
man would dare to give him orders, that he would finagle his way into the
general’s own home, that he would dare to bring his niece into this mess.

Lieutenant Jimson cleared his throat, “Rezkin, I have a
question, if I may.”

The young warrior’s demeanor relaxed slightly has he turned
his immediate attention on the lieutenant. “Of course, lieutenant, you may ask
anything.”

Jimson released a breath and asked, “If you were able to
retrieve the letter to the seneschal from the colonel’s office, then were you
not also able to intercept the one addressed to the general?” This caught the
general’s attention. He had been so wrapped up in his anger that he had not
considered that small detail.

“Of course. I had already read the letter and knew you were
carrying it. It was never my intention to conceal my identity from the general
for long. I had hoped to get to know you personally, General, before you became
aware of my status,” Rezkin replied directing his response at both of them.

“Why?” General Marcum huffed.

“Two reasons, really,” Rezkin replied. “The second was
because I needed to study you. I knew, of course, about your military exploits
and political maneuverings within the court, of which you have very few, by the
way, for a man of your standing. What I did not know is what kind of man you
are personally and where your true loyalties lie.”

The general scowled, “I am the General of the Army of Ashai.
My loyalties are to the kingdom, of course.”

“I do not doubt that, general, but there are many
interpretations of what is best for the kingdom,” Rezkin remarked.

General Marcum scoffed, “What was the first reason, then?”

“Frisha,” Rezkin stated.

“What
is
your interest in my niece, Sword Bearer?”
Marcum asked with hostility.

Rezkin sighed, “I have told you, General, my intentions
toward Frisha are pure. She is my
friend
and as such, I will protect and
honor her. Both Frisha and her father recognize you as her guardian until the
time she marries. Therefore, I must respect you as such. I had hoped to give
you the opportunity to know
me
before you received that letter.
Unfortunately, it seems your suspicions instilled within you an immediate
dislike, which I have been unable to assuage despite my efforts to put your
mind at ease.”

The general laughed. “Of course I am suspicious. Anyone with
any intelligence would not believe your story. You claim to be a commoner, but
it is obvious you were raised as nobility. If you desire someone’s trust, you
should start with being honest, or at the very least become a better liar.”

Rezkin cocked his head and replied, “I have never lied to
you, General. While there is much I will not disclose, I have always been
honest in what I
have
told you. I assure you that if I wanted to imitate
some persona, whether noble or commoner, I could do so flawlessly. I never
claimed to be a commoner. I simply stated that I am not a noble. Since I left
my home, I have only endeavored to be myself.”

“If you are neither commoner nor noble, then all that is
left is royalty, and you are certainly not King Caydean or Prince Thresson,”
General Marcum asserted, but in his mind the alternatives were sprouting thick
roots.

“Why must I be either?” Rezkin questioned.

“Everyone has a place. You must be
something
,” the
general remarked.

“You have seen my papers, General. I am Rezkin.
Just
Rezkin,” the young man replied.

The general grunted, “So you are.” After a moment’s pause
Marcum finally said, “Let us get to the point, Rezkin. What do you want?”

Rezkin pondered the question. “Hmm, I cannot say what I
want
,
but I can say what is necessary. You see, someone in this kingdom has a very
dangerous enemy, and I need to know who it is.”

“Who? This
someone
or the enemy?” asked the general.

“Oh, I know who the enemy is,” Rezkin replied.

“Then, who is the enemy?” Marcum asked.

“
Me
,” Rezkin stated.

“Explain,” the general commanded, as generals are prone to
do.

Rezkin curled his fingers and tapped on the arm of the chair
as he thought about how much he should divulge. “I was given orders to kill a
number of people, which I did, all except for one. One managed to escape while
I was dealing with the others. I question, now, why those particular people had
to die. If it had been my choice, I would not have killed them.”

“Yet, you killed them anyway,” the general stated grimly.
The truth was finally revealed, and he could see the young man for what he was.
He was a killer. He murdered people on command rather than through necessity.
The fact that the young man admitted his actions so casually demonstrated his
cold and calculating nature.

Rezkin shrugged, “They learned of my orders at the same time
as I, and after that, they really gave me no choice. Although, in truth, I
cannot say I would have done differently at the time had they not attacked me
first. I must follow the
Rules
.”

“So your rules say you are supposed to kill innocent
people?” General Marcum asked.

Rezkin cocked his head as he replied, “I did not say they
were innocent, General. I am not a cruel man. In fact, if I was given orders to
kill the men, then there was most certainly a good reason for it. The problem
is, I do not know the reason, nor do I know who issued the orders in the first
place. As such, I do not know where I stand. Since I am no longer obligated to
follow anyone’s orders, I am free to make my own choices. That is with one
exception. My last order was to kill those people and one escaped. I must find
him.”

“So that you can kill him?” Marcum accused.

“Perhaps,” Rezkin replied honestly. “More importantly, I
wish to know what he knows. Those men I killed knew much more about my orders
than I.”

“And what of the one who gave you the order in the first
place,” Lieutenant Jimson interrupted.

Rezkin frowned. “He is dead. He was killed during the
battle, but not by my hand.”

“Battle? Just how many did you kill?” Lieutenant Jimson
nearly shouted in his surprise.

“There were many, but that is irrelevant. The point is the
kill order would not have originated with the man who issued it. I want to know
where the order came from and why it was given. And…” Rezkin paused as he
worked to understand his own thoughts, “…I want to know if I really must finish
the job.”

“You want to know if you must kill the survivor,” the
general stated.

Rezkin shook his head. “Not just him. There may be many more
I was intended to kill with that order. It was unclear. I do not know if I was
supposed to kill only those present or all others associated with them. You
have seen the authority I was given, General. With my Masters dead and that
certificate, I am no longer beholden to anyone. Does the order still stand? If
so, will someone else finish the job if I do not? What are the consequences for
not completing the job? Most importantly, what are the consequences for those
deaths for which I am already responsible? What I know right now is that there
are at least two sides to this war, and I do not know which side I am on, if
any.”

“You speak of war. You think that what you are involved in
is that serious?” the general asked.

“Believe me, General. Whoever ordered the deaths of the men
I killed is fighting nothing less than a war,” Rezkin replied.

General Marcum set his empty wine goblet down on the side
table and leaned forward. “If what you are saying is true, then you have killed
some very important people; yet, I have received no reports of any high profile
deaths. Something of that magnitude could not have been kept from me unless it
was either ordered by the king or is being kept from the king. In order to keep
something like that from the king, it would have to be someone very high up
indeed.” Marcum sat back and asked, “Just how do you know it was not I who
issued your orders?”

Rezkin’s lips pulled into a feral grin as he replied,
“Because, General, then you would have known who I was when we first met, and
if you had, I can guarantee you would not have been able to sleep with me under
your roof.”

Despite the general’s outward calm, his face paled at least
a few shades, and Rezkin knew he had achieved the desired effect. It was not
that he enjoyed frightening the General of the Army. It was purely a strategic
maneuver. He wanted to impress upon the general just how serious it was that
someone had used
him
to carry out the deaths of the high profile
targets.

As he took a sip of wine, Rezkin waved his hand in the air
as if to clear away the saturnine mood. He said, “Do not be overly concerned,
General. If I intended you harm, I would not have had to maneuver my way into
your home to do so. In fact, if I intended to kill you, you would never have
been aware of my existence. You have my word that as long as you do not take
actions against me or interfere with my purpose, no harm will come to you or
your family by my hand so long as I am a guest in your home.”

Composing himself, the general cleared his throat and said,
“That is very reassuring, especially considering the fact that if I were to ask
you to leave, you would no longer be a guest in my home and no longer beholden
to your oath.”