The Executioner's Right (The Executioner's Song Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  At first, Finn worried that it was one of the Archers, but the way they moved was wrong for the Archers. They stayed in the shadows, away from the center street. Darkness seemed to swirl around them, almost as if it swallowed them.

  “Here he comes,” the King.

  “Who is it?” Scruff asked.

  “We don’t talk about that,” Wolf said.

  “He’s got to have a name. What am I supposed to call him?”

  “You’re supposed to call him the Client,” the King said.

  The man stopped, and he waited until the King approached him.

  They spoke softly, but then the man turned, heading away.

  The King turned to the others and motioned for them to follow.

  Oscar tapped Finn on the arm. “Now is the time you could refuse this. You don’t need to have anything to do with this job.”

  Finn looked at the Client. His darks seemed to somehow prevent the streetlight from getting too close to him. It was almost as if they shielded him.

  An idea started to form.

  There might be a way for him to protect the crew—and satisfy the testing.

  If it worked, he wouldn’t have to hang. Maybe Rock could be saved, too.

  Finn didn’t have any particular allegiance to the Client. If he could figure out who it was, it might even erase the King’s debt.

  How could he get to the Client, though?

  “What do you know about the hegen?”

  Oscar tensed and didn’t look over. “I know the same as anyone, I suppose. Magic users. Kept outside of the city. The king tolerates them.”

  “I told you that Lena got involved with them.”

  “You did. But you also got her back.”

  Finn took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I did, but I… well, I went to the hegen, looking for help getting her back.”

  Oscar grabbed his arm. “You did what?”

  “I knew that she was caught up in something that she wasn’t going to be able to escape them on her own. I went to the hegen to see if there was anything that I might be able to do to get her back.”

  “What did you promise them?”

  “I didn’t promise them anything.”

  “That’s not how it works, Finn.”

  Finn reached into his pocket, fingering the card. Even in his pocket, he could imagine the outline of a hand on it, and he looked over to Oscar. Did the bloody hand mean that he was going to somehow have to betray Oscar?

  Finn couldn’t betray Oscar. Not even to pay the price the hegen would ask of him.

  “We’ll have to talk about this later,” Finn said. Oscar reached for his arm, but Finn shook him away. “Right now, we need to keep up with the others.”

  When they reached the end of the street, Finn could see the palace in the distance. The King and the Client spoke softly, with the Client motioning down one of the side streets.

  What if he called out to the Archers?

  It would betray the crew, and though Finn might be able to capture the Client, they didn’t have the necessary proof needed. Meyer would need proof.

  And the King would stop him. Wolf. Maybe even Rock.

  There would have to be a different way.

  The King came over to them and leaned close. “We’re going to split up. Wolf, Scruff, and the Hand are going that way,” he said, motioning along the street. “Make sure it’s clear.” He looked to Wolf, and something passed between them. “You know the plan. I’m taking Rock and Shuffles with me.”

  “What about the Client?” Oscar said.

  “He’s going to keep watch,” the King said.

  “I thought he was coming with us.”

  “He’s coming with us, but he’s not coming all the way with us. That’s why we were hired.”

  Oscar glowered at the Client. “You’re going to trust the Client to keep watch?”

  “He knows the signals. That’s the hardest part of it.”

  It wasn’t all there was to it, and the King knew it.

  Finn looked over at the Client, studying him.

  He couldn’t see anything about him. With his hood up, his face was concealed, even his eyes difficult to see. He was too thin to be the fat juror. Maybe the Archer Finn had seen the King talking to?

  Calling the Archers wouldn’t help if that were the case.

  “What are we going in after?” Finn turned his attention to the Client.

  The man barely turned toward him. “Is this how all of your jobs go?”

  There was something about the Client’s voice that seemed familiar to Finn.

  “This one is special, but don’t worry. We’re going to do the job,” the King said. “Come on.”

  He motioned to Rock, and he started off down the street, moving closer to the wall, getting beneath the shadows of it.

  There weren’t any Archers on this section of the wall. That seemed strange.

  The King tapped Finn on the arm, signaling for him to keep moving as well. The Client backed up along the street, retreating into the darkness until Finn could barely see him.

  “Where do you want us to cross?” Rock asked.

  Finn turned his attention back to the King, who guided them along the wall's inner aspect. He didn’t see any of the Archers atop the wall from where they stood, which gave him hope that they wouldn’t be able to see them, either.

  “Keep moving, and I’ll show you,” the King said.

  Another bell rang out. The sound was sudden, a gentle pealing of the bell. Finn still looked up, feeling startled by it.

  “You’re jumpy,” the King said.

  “I can’t help it.”

  “There’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”

  “Other than risking ourselves breaking into the palace?” he whispered.

  The King chuckled. “Other than that. We’re not going to get caught.”

  “How do you know?” Finn looked over to Rock. “He’s already got the notice of the Archers.”

  “And a sentence. So, doing this don’t matter. Not to you, either.”

  Finn frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You don’t do this, you go back to your new master. Considering how you’ve already failed what they asked of you, you’re not going to find the reception you want. You’ll end up back on the gallows.”

  Finn stared at the King. He knew.

  That shouldn’t surprise him, but for some reason, it still did.

  “Did you tell him?” the King asked, keeping his voice low.

  “Tell him what?” Rock said.

  The King smiled tightly. “Ask Shuffles why he’s here.”

  Finn’s stomach sank.

  The King nodded to him. “No going back now, Shuffles.”

  Rock watched Finn, but he didn’t say anything.

  “What about the Archers?” Finn finally asked, needing to break the tension.

  “You let Wolf and the Hand worry about that while they take care of their assignment.”

  Finn looked behind him. That was where they’d gone. They were going to distract the Archers, but what else?

  “Who’s getting betrayed on this job?” Finn asked. The King didn’t answer. “It’s been Rock and me. Who gets to suffer this time, King?”

  A whistle split the night, and the King looked up. “Time to move.”

  He pushed them toward the wall and pulled a rope and hook from under his cloak. He tossed it, catching the hook atop the wall, and nodded to Rock.

  “You first, Rock. Clean up the other side.”

  Rock grabbed the rope before starting up it.

  When he reached the top of the wall, he crouched a moment before jumping down to the other side.

  “Now you, Shuffles.”

  Finn glanced along the street before taking the rope.

  He started to climb.

  When he was partway up the wall, he paused and looked around him.

  It was too late to back out.

  Finishing the c
limb, he reached the top of the wall and crouched down, looking around him. From there, he scanned the top of the wall, looking for Archers. There would have to have been some up there. When he’d come close before, he’d seen Archers patrolling regularly. There weren’t any.

  Down in the garden on the other side of the yard, he didn’t find any, either.

  Finn held onto the wall, then dropped.

  Rock was there and grabbed him.

  Finn jerked back.

  “What was the King talking about?” Rock asked.

  Finn looked up. The King hadn’t reached the top of the wall. When he looked back to Rock, Finn knew he had to tell him. This was his friend. “Meyer wanted me to be the one to hang you. I couldn’t do it.”

  Rock watched him. “Because I got out. What would you have done had I not?”

  “I couldn’t do it,” Finn said.

  Rock opened his mouth to say something more, but the King reached the top of the wall and then jumped back down.

  Finn had wondered if he were even going to join them. There was some part of him that had been concerned that the King would have stayed on the other side of the wall, leaving him and Rock to get pinched.

  When the King came toward them, he motioned to follow. “Now we move quickly.”

  They hurried through the garden. The garden looked different at night from how it had during the day. In the daylight, there was the path they’d taken that led straight toward the main entrance of the palace. At night, they weaved through the plantings, around trees that created more shadows, and used them to shield them from anyone seeing their approach. Through it all, the massive palace loomed in front of them.

  The King led their approach. Any concern Finn might have had about the King avoiding the risk in the job was mitigated by how willing he was to guide them. Were they to be caught, the King would face the same fate. Though he’d done the same at the viscount’s home.

  The King raised his hand, motioning them to stop.

  “We need to wait,” he whispered.

  Rock nodded, and Finn used the pause as a chance to look around him.

  There hadn’t been any sign of the Archers in the garden. None on the wall. They weren’t there. The King wouldn’t have been able to manipulate things so well as to prevent the Archers from coming for them.

  He turned his attention back to the King. Another soft whistle split the night.

  The King held his hand up, motioning for them to wait.

  Rock looked over at Finn, a question in his eyes.

  The King motioned for them to follow.

  They stayed along a row of shrubs, and as they went, the palace grew increasingly closer, looming overhead. Almost as if it pressed upon him. Finn slowed before realizing what he was doing. He hurried forward until they were right in front of it. Enormous windows lined the front of the palace, spaced evenly along the length of it. He couldn’t even see the top of it up close, but he felt the dampness coming from the stone. The scent of earth and stone there was almost too much.

  The King paused, considering the windows, and it seemed as if he were counting them. He moved off to the left, reaching one of the windows and grabbing at it. It came open without a sound.

  The King pointed to Rock. “Get moving.”

  “Where do we go when we’re inside?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  Rock nodded, and he climbed into the window, disappearing.

  The King turned to Finn. “Your turn, Shuffles.”

  Finn held the King’s gaze a moment, then he climbed into the window.

  He looked around. Faint light filled the room from two lanterns on either wall. They were dim but bright enough in the darkness for Finn to see where he was. He quickly looked for anyone else in the room, but other than Rock, it was empty.

  It was a massive room. A thick, plush carpet covered the floor. An enormous hearth occupied one wall. Luxurious high-backed leather chairs angled near it, with a finely made wooden table resting between them. Shelves lined one wall, books filling the shelves. A few sculptures took up space on the shelves as well.

  The King climbed into the window after them.

  “Let’s get moving,” the King said.

  “What are you taking from here?”

  “Not from here,” the King said.

  “Then where?”

  “The second level.”

  “Why?” Finn asked, worry creeping into his voice.

  “Because that’s where we’re going.”

  The King guided them through the room, to the heavy oak door, and pushed it open just a little bit. There was a movement in the hallway, and the King lingered there for a moment, the door barely cracked but enough that Finn was able to make out the sound of boots across the slick tile.

  Archers.

  “We’re not going to be able to get past them,” Finn whispered, leaning close to him.

  “Just wait,” the King said.

  The boots continued to thunder across the tile, the sound loud in the silence of the palace.

  Finally, they began to fade, growing ever more distant.

  The King nodded to them.

  “Get moving,” he whispered to Rock. “You know your task.”

  The large man studied the King for a moment before stepping out into the hall.

  Shouts rang out.

  The King stepped back, moving away from the wall.

  “You sent him out there to be captured?”

  “I didn’t send him out there to be anything,” the King said.

  Finn studied his reaction. There was something off about it. He wasn’t telling the truth. The King had anticipated this. Gods, he’d probably used Rock this way on purpose.

  The same way he’d use Finn.

  That was all he was. Maybe that was all he’d ever been.

  The sound outside of the hall died down, and the King turned to the door, pushing it open a crack. He lingered there for a moment, looking out, and when he was satisfied, he slipped out of the door, and Finn had no choice but to follow.

  The hallway was as he remembered it. Gleaming white marble stretched out in front of him. A row of doors lined the hall, but the King didn’t lead him to any of the doors. Instead, he hurried along the hall until they reached the stair leading up.

  The King glanced back at him before heading up.

  At the top of the stair, Finn paused.

  There was movement, though he couldn’t see it clearly. He could hear it. Voices.

  One voice came distantly but close enough that Finn could hear it clearly. “Let Porman know we’ve got it controlled.”

  A cold sweat worked across his skin as he started to suspect the reason the job had to be done tonight.

  King Porman was inside the palace.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Finn grabbed for the King’s arm, pulling him back toward the stairs.

  The King glared at him a moment before pulling free and leaning forward. If he had leaned out any farther, he would have been seen.

  “What are you doing?” Finn hissed. “Didn’t you hear what they said?”

  “I heard. It doesn’t matter. We’ll complete the job and—”

  The sound of boots along the tile came to him, louder than they had been before. They were close. Archers. Not just any Archers, either. These would be palace Archers.

  “We do this, and we end up caught. You know what will happen then,” Finn said.

  The King frowned at him, glowering for a moment. “You know the price.”

  Finn started to turn. He might still be able to slip out of the palace, back through the window, and escape before the Archers caught up to them. If he moved quickly, he had to think he could get back into the yard and find another way out. This wasn’t how he was going to fail.

  “You leave, and I’ll make sure your sister and mother suffer.”

  The King hadn’t spoken loudly, but the words cut through the quiet.

  Finn turned to him. In the time tha
t he’d been working with the King, there had been subtle threats made to others, but never to anyone on the crew. Never anything overt like this.

  The King stared at him. The darkness in his eyes told Finn everything that he needed to know. The short time he’d spent with Meyer had shown him men like this. He’d seen the lies and the truths.

  This was a truth.

  The King would do exactly as he promised. If Finn didn’t help him, his family would suffer, regardless of whether they were safely at Meyer’s home.

  But then, they wouldn’t be safely at Meyer’s home if he didn’t get back out of there and finish his testing. Were he to fail, Meyer would find the end of the sword—he’d get an honorable death, unlike Finn and the others. Which meant that Finn’s family would be left behind.

  He had thought he could somehow work this to his advantage by capturing the Client, but he might have to find another way.

  Buy time.

  “Before I do anything, you need to tell me exactly what we’re after. What’s so valuable to the Client?”

  The King breathed out heavily. “It’s a carved wooden staff.”

  Not a bowl this time? A staff was just as ridiculous, though.

  “We’re in King Porman’s palace. Some of the crown jewels are stored here. And we’re after a staff?”

  “Why do you think I haven’t told you before?”

  “Because it’s ridiculous.” He looked around, realizing that he’d raised his voice more than what he had intended. There wasn’t anyone near him, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be someone coming. How long did we have before someone appeared? There were Archers near them. The boots on the tile sounded far too close to be anything else. “A staff isn’t worth what you’ve claimed he’s paying. Unless he’s not paying that.”

  “Oh, he is,” the King said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “We’ve been paid for every job before this.”

  “How much did he offer?”

  “I told you—”

  “How much?” Finn stood in the middle of the stairs, realizing how exposed he was. He should get moving, but until he knew what the King intended, he didn’t intend to do so.

  “A hundred crowns.”

  Finn squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “A hundred crowns?” And here the King had offered him five. That was still an enormous amount. Five crowns was more than he would make working with Meyer for years.