The Raike Box Set

by Jackson Lear

  “And Kiera’s death gave your father the strength to win? How fortunate.”

  She hesitated with something on the tip of her tongue. Something that would make me appreciate that this was her father she was talking about, not some entry in a historical text. Then came a distant shrug and whatever had been on her mind was hidden away. “I suppose it did give him the strength he needed. My mother was an army scholar and translator. She was there with him and something poisonous was killing her. A long and paralyzing death. My father says she never gave up. My mother says she gave up every night. What I know is that my father refused to abandon her when she was that ill. As long as she remained bed-ridden, Cryax and his army was doomed. If a general ever found out that one of their commanders did what my father was doing, that commander would’ve been executed.

  “One day one of the doctors came along. He somehow found my parents far in the north, outside of the empire’s realm and he walked straight up to my father’s fort. At first he didn’t seem to do much to help my mother except make her tea and keep her calm. Then one day he must’ve received a signal. He promised that my mother would start to get better in three days. And she did. The poison cleared. My mother was able to walk again and my father made his move against the karl. We won. The karl was killed. The head of the Imperial Army owes his life to the Kaseras. To this day, only a handful of people know that my mother was the reason why my father waited as long as he did to rescue Cryax. Now you know as well.”

  “I appreciate that high-borns have a different moral compass than the rest of us but not everything worked out because the doctors saved your mother. They didn’t deliver the final blow to the winter karl nor could they have predicted the future. One army beat another army. Your mother wasn’t involved in that victory. She was involved in her own, lying still in a tent, fighting off some kind of illness. If she was a hundred miles away, your father’s story would be meaningless.”

  “If Día came from a different orphanage would you still have gone after her?”

  She had me there. “Let me ask you, who paid these doctors to kill Kiera?”

  “My grandfather.”

  “Grandpa Kasera?”

  She nodded.

  “See, these doctors didn’t save your mother for the glory of the empire. They killed an innocent child because your grandfather paid them to do a job. I have a job as well. I’m going to rescue Día and I’m going to end everyone responsible for taking her and Kiera.”

  Alysia locked her eyes onto mine, aiming to pull on that sense of disappointment hiding somewhere inside me. “I’ll remind you that desperate people are able to justify any kind of act as long as it’s for the greater good. You’ve kidnapped an innocent girl, becoming the monster she will forever remember even if she is never able to identify you. You’ve jeopardized her life to save someone else’s.”

  “Then I guess you’ll be telling this story to one of the Castors in the hope that they will empathize with a man trained to kill, stuck in an enemy’s territory while desperate to save a young woman who means something to him. But even if that happens do you really think it will slow Castor’s sword when he sees his chance?”

  Her eyes fell again. The information she had hidden away earlier returned to the surface. “It was me.”

  Her aim was off but she certainly struck something. “It was you what?”

  Alysia looked back to me, her large brown eyes settling upon mine. “I’m nineteen. The poisonous thing inside my mother was me. I wasn’t going to make it to birth. Neither was she. Kiera wasn’t killed to save my mother. She was killed to save me.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I needed a moment. Lieutenant looked my way, noticing a change in me that made him want to reach for his sword. Zara cautioned him.

  I asked, “If Kiera died to save your life, who’s being saved by Día?”

  “I don’t know. My mother was hundreds of miles away from Kiera when it happened.”

  “I don’t suppose you know who the old woman is?”

  Alysia stared back at me like I had just pulled some impossible piece of information from the ether.

  “You’ve met her?”

  “Once. I don’t know who she is.”

  “How about where she lives?”

  “She has a Gereran accent. That’s about as much as I can help with. How do you know about her?”

  “We’ve been tracking her down,” I said. “She’s come to Erast five times in the last twenty years. Each time coincides with a kid being abducted. Funny thing is, the kids who are targeted by the Eyeless Ghost see the creature long before they’re taken. I’m thinking it’s the ghost who chooses the victim, leaving it to the doctors to actually find the kid.”

  “Is this what you do? You track people down?”

  “I have experience in it.”

  She eyed me carefully. Hesitantly. “You have ex-soldiers in your company, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Deserters?”

  “Some.”

  “Any new ones?”

  “Did your father lose a couple of men?”

  “Yeah. Two privates tried to break up a fight in the street. It seemed like a young guy was robbing an old guy. It turned out to be a father and son argument. The son pulled a knife on the privates. The privates killed him.”

  I shrugged. “Doesn’t ring a bell. And it seems like their story is pretty solid.”

  “The father was killed as well.”

  “Ah.”

  “All four of them were from Pecta, in Arlo.”

  “Any witnesses?”

  Another nod. “Someone came forth a few days after it happened and said something different. Someone warned the two privates about it. They ran off.”

  “They aren’t going to stay in Erast, then. Even heading back to their home city is going to be risky. Someone will see them. But if this was a killing because of some home dispute then they’ll at least want to capitalize on it. They’ll take a long detour to reach home, but when they do they’ll try to contact someone who will pay them for what they’ve done.”

  “How does my father find them?”

  “Depends. When did they run off?”

  “Five days ago.”

  “Your father has already sent riders along every main road?”

  “Yes.”

  “And to Pecta?”

  “Yes.”

  “To find out more about who the dead father and son are?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which is going to help your two runaways considerably since your rider is all the proof someone else needs to verify that the old man and his son are dead. They’ll start gathering their money now, waiting for the duo to make contact. Which direction is Pecta?”

  “South east of here.”

  “How far away?”

  “Two hundred miles.”

  “Are they city boys or farmers?”

  “Farmers.”

  “How old?”

  “Seventeen.”

  “Then you’ll find them in a small barn or stable, a one to two hour walk east of their family farm.”

  She waited for some kind of explanation. I tried the usual, ‘because I’ve talked to a lot of army deserters and there is a surprising lack of originality in their escape plans,’ but that didn’t satisfy her.

  “They’re trying to outsmart anyone coming after them by sticking to the small roads and hiding in barns they can easily fight their way in and out of. They’ll be on the far side of the city because they don’t want to be caught for being lazy and hiding in the closest place they find and they’ll want as much distance between your father’s army and them. They’ll be staying in the barn of a friend of a friend. Send someone dressed like me to all the farms within a three hour walk of where they grew up. Take note of everyone who gives your hunter some attitude. Those are the people who will help to hide your deserters. Send someone else along with beer. A woman, ideally. Someone who isn’t afraid to flirt and show off a li
ttle skin. That will draw out the deserters. Chances are they will be too wired to make any kind of meaningful move, but it’s the first taste of freedom. You can figure out which are the outsiders by where they sleep, the calluses on their hands and feet, and they won’t know as much about their hosts as they should. Birthdays and such.”

  Alysia nodded, thanking me. “You should’ve joined the army.”

  “I’m better suited where I am, thank you.”

  “Was this something you always wanted to do? Be a mercenary?”

  “It sure beats sweeping floors for a living. At least mercenary houses feed us well. If you really want to know, a staggering amount of our new recruits come from bitter backgrounds. Orphans are the most common. They’ve been over-looked their whole lives and now they have a point to prove.”

  “But that streak in them must’ve been there for a while,” said Miss Kasera. “You don’t wake up one day and decide to become a mercenary.”

  “No? I did.”

  “You joined so you could get revenge on whoever took Kiera?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if she had only been kidnapped and not killed? How would you tell her that you threw your life away when you didn’t need to?”

  “My life is better than thousands of merchants in this city,” I said.

  She shook her head at me. “If you were truly happy with what you’ve been doing then you wouldn’t still be harboring a grudge that has jeopardized your life.”

  She had me there.

  “Can I ask you, if Kiera was never taken, would you still have gone down this path?”

  After twenty years of mulling this over, I was still none the wiser as to how life would have turned out. I simply had no answer for her. She wanted one though, so I figured I had little to lose than to lay glory at the feet of her father. “In all likelihood I would’ve joined the army. Maybe I would’ve found a skill set that would benefit people like carpentry or stone masonry. I wouldn’t recommend making me a cook, though.”

  I caught a glint in her eye, her eyelids drooping and her vision fading slightly, no doubt some kind of introspective moment.

  “Your family helped to make me who I am,” I said. “I was never any good sweeping floors, I hated stomping in piss and dye to color some merchant’s clothing. My options at fifteen were limited.”

  “I’m assuming you had problems with authority. What makes you think you would’ve done well in the army?”

  “I guess I liked the idea of being a general one day,” I said. “A citizen of the empire. Able to leave this city behind and be welcomed in Ispar.”

  “Ispar is a lot more cutthroat than here.”

  “Yeah, I had a feeling politicians with their own armies wouldn’t be easy to get along with. And it’s not like I had much of a chance down that route either. You need a vault of gold backing you up just to become an officer. And you’d need to read and count well.”

  Somehow I’d said more to Miss Kasera than I ever intended. Stranger still, I was talking to the richest lady I had ever met like I wanted her to see the real me.

  A week ago I knew exactly who I was. Closer to the Governor’s Hand. Someone with sixty brothers and enough money to retire. Now I was bordering on being a traitor. I was being hunted by the city watch, the doctors, Vanguard, and quite possibly Ispar Company as well. Add into that, if anything happened to Miss Kasera here then I’d be hunted down by one of the richest men in the empire and his whole god damn army.

  I turned to Miss Kasera, trying regain some control of the situation. “Why did you come here? Why not send someone else?”

  “I told my father that his final word over me ended the day I got married and that I was trying to uphold the virtues of my family by securing the release Myalla.”

  “Nice story but Zara could’ve been sent instead. Why you?”

  “I thought I could convince you because I knew what happened to Kiera. You want a young girl released from captivity. So do I.”

  “Myalla won’t be harmed,” I said.

  “Good. When you became a mercenary did you swear an oath?”

  “I did. Between joining and swearing we’ll teach you a few things about magic and swords, see what you’re made of, and if you haven’t resolved whatever brought you to us by the time you’ve sworn an oath, then whatever’s bothering is going to be left behind.”

  “Aren’t you breaking your oath right now?”

  “I had someone convince my captain that this was the right thing to do.”

  “So you’re jeopardizing your future with the company to find out what happened to your friend all that time ago?”

  “That’s what I’ve been hearing since Día was abducted.” I was again aware of how much I had said to Miss Kasera without knowing the first thing about her. “Why are you still living with your father?”

  “My husband is serving in Angaletta.”

  I’d heard of it but I couldn’t begin to tell you where it was. “Were you afraid that you’d be pinned down by some karl?”

  “Not at all. I’ve met wives who remain at camp while their husbands march to another battle and I’ve met wives who battle against senators and provincial governors. At least out here I’m useful. What exactly does a closer do?”

  “If I was hired to investigate the disappearance of a thirteen year old girl from an orphanage in Red Hill, I would see it through to the end. If she’s alive, then I’ll find her and the people who took her. If she’s dead, I’ll find her and those who killed her. There shouldn’t need to be anyone following my footsteps to continue in what I was hired to do. How much did it cost to hire these doctors to save you?”

  “I’ve never asked.”

  I looked back to Lieutenant. Something had caught his attention along the nearby rooftops. He gave me a discreet signal. Trouble had found us. I signaled back, asking if it was city watch or company. Considering the city watch never snuck across the rooftops, I knew the answer before Lieutenant responded.

  “These doctors, do they have their own security?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many people did you come with?”

  “All the ones you can see.”

  Lieutenant flexed two of his fingers to the left of the street and two to the right. I held my hand out to guide Alysia back to her escort. “How capable are your guards in a fight to the death?”

  “They’re here to defend me. Not you.”

  “What about Zara?”

  “She’s under orders. If I’m in danger, you’re the reason why.”

  Lovely.

  Alysia cast her eyes to the edge of the rooftops while keeping her head low. “The doctors have closers of their own. And enforcers, or however you want to call it. You might be able to threaten the street rats and local thugs but they’ll be used to dealing with the wealthy who have their own private security.”

  “They’ve timed it well,” I said. “Follow you through the city, waited until my friend and I had exhausted our powers.”

  Alysia’s dropped into a nervous tone. “What of Myalla?”

  “Regardless of what happens to me, no harm will come to her.”

  “Will she be released by dawn?”

  “If I live? Yes. Otherwise, it will take a few days.”

  “Where was she being held?”

  “Burnt-out area along the river. It shouldn’t be too difficult for Zara to pin point exactly where.”

  Alysia looked back my way like I didn’t have a hope in hell of surviving this ambush and that it might actually pain her to come all this way and fail at securing Myalla’s release. She raised her chin to get a better look at the problems that was soon to face us. “I’m not sure if I can help you. They were polite to Father but he was sour after their emissary left.”

  “For what it’s worth, thank you.”

  We reached Lieutenant and the soldiers. Lieutenant beamed with a smile and spoke in a louder voice than usual. “I’m afraid this is farewell, ma’am.”

 
; Alysia nodded to Lieutenant as though he would jump to her every order. “The girl will be returned by dawn, yes?”

  Lieutenant glanced to me. I gave him a nod. “Yes, ma’am.”

  With any luck, Alysia’s command will have deterred our would-be attackers above.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  She turned to me, a final farewell. “Kiera died in the crag lands. They might have Día there as well.” She nodded to her escort, turned, and left us in peace.

  Lieutenant leaned in and dropped to a whisper. “That’s probably the closest to royalty we’ll ever get.”

  I watched Alysia leave, silently. A lifetime of training for the senate left her with a graceful walk. Head up, shoulders back, while still relaxed as she moved. We followed her, slowly, trying to keep her in our sight so that it would force our attackers to let us go instead of fighting in front of a general’s daughter.

  Lieutenant followed my line of sight. “She’s pretty.”

  “Yes she is.”

  “But that’s not why you’re looking at her.”

  “No.”

  “Then what is it?”

  I watched her walk away, convinced that I saw something that might not actually be there. “I’m not entirely sure.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Lieutenant glanced along the rooftops, trying to figure out when the ambush was going to take place.

  “How do you want to do this?” I asked.

  “Ideally, not at all. Any chance we can head back to the orphanage?”

  “And do what? Throw a couple of kids at trained killers?”