"Yes, I'm much better, but I need to return to Arathum."
"You'll find that nearly a day's ride to the south," the innkeeper said. "Will he be taking you?"
"Yes, he's offered me a ride with him."
"Are you certain you don't want to wait and ride with the caravan, they must not be too far back?"
"I cannot wait that long. Others will be missing me and I don't want them to worry."
"And I am supposed to head on to Arathum anyway in order to insure things will be prepared when the caravan arrives, so I can't possibly stay," Warden said. "But we appreciate your hospitality."
"Think nothing of it," the innkeeper said. "I trust all will work out well. You, young lady, gave the doctor quite a scare. He'd never seen someone survive a wound like that. You're quite lucky."
"I must be," Leviana said. She turned away from the innkeeper and looked at Warden. "We should be going."
"Yes, we really should," he said. "Thank you for everything. Maybe we will pass this way again and I will be able to once again make use of your services."
"If that be so, I would appreciate it."
Warden took Leviana's arm and pulled her along with him out into the street. The houses were few. She could see the general store close by. A stable stood a few doors away. They went there.
"I'd like my horse."
"Settled up with Methun then?" the stableman asked.
"He's not charging us. The caravan will pay him when they come through."
"I assume you wish to use the same idea with me?"
The way he said it gave Leviana pause, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Yes, I would," Warden said.
"Now, there's a small problem with that which I guess Methun didn't see. Caravans don't generally come through here," the stableman said. "In fact, I'm willing to lay good money on the idea that you're pulling Methun's leg. Seeing as you came in wearing a messenger's cloak and not a caravaner's outfit. So what's your game, boy? You and the girl running away together with nothing but the clothes on your back?"
Leviana didn't have to wait for Warden to come up with something. He put his arm around her and said,
"You saw through us. I'm sorry. Her family didn't take kindly to the two of us together and she was wounded by an arrow as we tried to escape, but we made it all the way here and I had to tell them something."
"I have to say, you're quite good. You should take up storytelling as a profession. Pay your tab, or I keep your horse. Methun might give you things out of the goodness of his heart, but I'm not so soft."
Warden patted down his body.
"I have no money."
He rabbit punched the man in the face and followed it up with two more before slamming an open hand against his temple. The stableman staggered and fell.
"I guess we can help ourselves to an extra horse now," he said. "I don't think he'll hate us any more if we do."
Shaking her head, Leviana let herself into one of the stalls. She would make sure the man was compensated for his horses. He might find it interesting to have prize horseflesh come from the royal stable, but he certainly wouldn't look the gift in the mouth.
On a pair of horses, they trotted out into the street before kicking them into a gallop out of town. She would have to remember how to get there in order to return all the favors she had received. Just because Warden was a killer and a thief didn't mean she was.
They passed the time on the way to Arathum without words. Leviana's thoughts were captured by the awareness that she might have to wait for the right night in order to return Vadian to himself. And even that felt indistinct. Did it have to be in a cavern like the one's underneath Kerlan? Where had Vadian called the moon upon his other wives? Certainly he hadn't always done it at Kerlan, so it must not have been dependent on location.
Her eyes traced Warden's back. He sat straight in the saddle, but was slimmer than she remembered her Vadian being, so the silhouette was off.
Passing the caravan Warden had seen yesterday, he rode quicker. She kept pace. Then they could see the walls of the city. They rode up to the gate and were met by several of the city guard.
"No entry by order of the Queen's Voice," the leader of the guard said.
"That order does not apply to me."
"The orders of the Voice apply to everyone." Three men stood at his back awaiting his order. "You are to turn around and return to where you come from. The city is closed."
"I am the Queen," Leviana said. "The Voice's authority comes from me. I will not be locked out of my own city."
"You cannot be the Queen." However, there was some discussion going on behind him. One of the others pointed at her and shouted,
"But she looks just like her."
"I am the Queen."
"The Queen is dead. The Voice said she was murdered on the road. Only her Trusted escaped."
Leviana sat back on her horse and stared down at the guard captain.
"I am not dead," she said. "I sit before you."
"The Voice's orders are that no one may enter. The city is in mourning for our sovereign." The group formed up and saluted.
"Let me into the city and I will set the Voice straight."
"I cannot do that. Please, I will have to execute you as a pretender to the crown if you press on."
"If you attempt to execute me, I will kill you all."
"I don't think that is the best idea," Warden said, speaking up for the first time in hours. "We should leave."
Leviana's gaze said nothing beautiful and everything violent. Yet she pulled up her horse and turned it back up the road. "We will have to camp in the open tonight. No where is close enough."
The horses jogged away leaving the guard captain staring at their backs.
Her anger boiled, but she kept her composure. The Voice declared her dead. She had been gone one night.
And the Trusted carried the message that she had died. Treachery. The entire thing stank of it, but how deep was it? They had obviously not searched for her body or they would have found nothing. How could he declare her dead after one night?
Warden rode beside her.
"We have to get into the city."
"I don't need to get back into the city. I'm prepared to leave now," Warden said. "Without your reward, I lose nothing."
"We can get in."
"How?"
"I don't know," Leviana admitted. Sneaking into the city she owned had never come up. Now she cursed the oversight. The horses slowed to a walk. Then Leviana pulled up short. Looking back, she said, "It is my city. I will not be stopped."
Warden stopped as well. He looked at her then past her at the city. Blowing his breath out his nose, he shook his head.
"You're certain you mean to reward me and not hand me over to the guard?"
"You have my word. I will not hand you over to the guard."
"I know a way in but we will have to wait until dark."
"How?"
"Will you wait until nightfall?"
"If I must."
"Then don't worry about how. I'll get us in."
They rode through the uneven land toward the mountain in the moonlight. Leviana followed Warden as he moved.
"We'll leave the horses here," he said. They were within sight of the wall, but traveling without light to hide their movement. Above them, a torch burned in the distance showing them where the wall was. Warden dismounted and let his reins hang. "They most likely will not be here when we get back. There's no way to secure them."
Leviana dismounted as well and stood holding her horse's reins. The beast seemed good natured enough. Left without a rider, it might wander, but probably not far. However, there was no telling how long they would be gone.
"How do you know of this?" Leviana asked.
"Trade secret," Warden said. They climbed the slope of the mountain as they approached the wall. Soon they were close enough that they could climb the incline of the brick. On his hands and toes, Warden climbed the wall until he
reached the top. Then he popped his head over.
Motioning to Leviana, he slipped over the top. The guards stood nearby, but so far they had not been spotted. Turning his head back and forth, he searched for the stairs. The wall was much taller on the inside than it was on the outside, even from there. He didn't want to have to jump it. Leviana slipped up beside him. He was almost impressed, she was very light on her feet.
Sighting the stairs, he ducked down and moved along at a crouch. She mimicked his motion. They were at the top of the staircase before the guard turned toward them and he did not see them in the haze of the torch. Good fortune for the both of them. On soft feet, he made his way down the stairs to the level of the street. Nearby several buildings stood with their backs to the wall. Going between them, Warden kept his body low.
Stopping at the street, Warden looked for anyone. It was not late, though the moon had risen. People still walked the streets. He stood up and straightened his cloak. Leviana came to stand beside him.
"What's the quickest way from here to the palace?" he asked.
"The boulevard of Trainers runs across the city and connects to the Entry of Horses which will put us in the stables. That's the easiest way in, fewer guards."
"Good to know."
Leviana stepped out into the street then put her hand out for him. He walked past her. The Boulevard of Trainers was specifically for the trainers of dogs and horses, two useful animals much of Arathum enjoyed. The palace boasted the best horseflesh in the empire at any given time. They walked up the street. Several people passed them, but said nothing, caught up in their own business. Leviana did not hide her face, but then most of the normal people did not know what she looked like. A noble might, but the common folk had perhaps only seen her once in their entire life.
At the top of the street, they stopped. She turned and deftly stepped away from a carriage jogging down the way. The stones of the city clattered with the horse's shoes.
"We will look less suspicious, if we actually behave as if we are together."
They passed a tavern. A drunkard issued out onto the street and stopped in front of them. He called out,
"Beautiful one, a moment for a coin?"
Leviana ignored him, walking on. The drunk covered the distance toward her with quick feet and took a hold of her arm.
"Too good to entertain a good man?"
Warden reached out and grabbed the man's shoulder.
"No."
"Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter, but she is not a nightwoman."
The drunk pulled away from him and spit in his face. Warden wiped the spittle from his face and clenched his fist. Leviana crossed the distance between herself and Warden to place a kiss on his lips. Caught in that moment, he put his arms around her, marveling at how he felt at ease there. Then the moment broke. She pulled away. The drunk stared at them both for a moment before stumbling away making disgusted sounds.
"Why did you kiss me?" Warden asked.
Leviana said nothing, but continued to lead the way further into the city. He let her walk on for several streets before he pulled abreast of her and asked again.
"Why did you kiss me?"
"He would not have been convinced by anything less than a show of affection between us. By kissing you, I showed him that I was with you. Otherwise, there would have been a fight. A fight means the guard comes. We would like to avoid the guard."
He couldn't fault her. Yet his fingers came to his lips. Part of her lingered there. They passed under a torch and he stopped. Grabbing her, he pulled her back into the shadows of an alleyway. Heavy footsteps drew closer. As they stood, their breath quiet in the night, shadows passed them. Six men traveling together. A guard patrol.
"We could have walked right past them," she said. "They aren't looking for us."
"Old habit," he said. "Let's go."
He led the way out of the alley. She let him go on until they got to a cross street and he asked,
"Which way?"
"Toward the mountain. We'll reach the boulevard of trainers soon."
Together they moved through the city until they reached the boulevard. Another guard patrol sighted them from a distance and came toward them.
"What is your business at this hour?" the leader asked.
"Is it already so late that the guard needs to ask such a question?" Leviana asked.
"Things have been quite tense. Certainly you have heard the news?"
"Yes, the news has not escaped us. However, it is still early. The moon is barely risen. Certainly it can wait a while longer?" Leviana kept her voice quiet and mellow. No need to rouse the guard unnecessarily.
"No, it cannot. State your business, or be subject to capture."
Warden stood back and kept his mouth shut. Whatever she was going to do, he wanted no part of it. The guard captain looked them over once again and brandished his weapon.
"I will give you another moment, then I will take you in," he said.
"Our business is our own," Leviana said. "Now kindly stand aside."
Taking two steps back, Warden prepared to make a run for it as the guard captain stepped into the space between himself and Leviana. She held up her hands in a gesture of peace.
"You will come with me," the captain said.
"Gladly."
Warden ran. Two guards detached to follow him. He was perhaps a street away when he stumbled and fell on his face. The two guards picked him up and brought him back. He hung between their arms like a rag doll. Leviana searched him over. He had no reason to fall. Of course, he may have stumbled over something she didn't see.
"I would like to be judged tonight. By the Voice," Leviana said.
"That will have to wait until in the morning. He is not available now," the captain said. He marched them along the boulevard with his men formed up around them.
"It is my right as a citizen to be judged immediately by the judge of my choosing. I will see him."
"I will see if he will see you. I can do nothing more."
After a few minutes, Warden came to and began to walk on his own. He sidled close to Leviana and asked,
"Do you have a plan?"
"This will get us into the palace faster."
"As captives."
She rolled her eyes and continued forward. The men gathered around them marched in unison toward their goal.
They passed under the palace gate and into the courtyard. There the group broke up, three men followed the captain and the captives down into the mountainside. Leviana walked without missing a step down int the dungeon of her own palace. Beside her, Warden looked around with sharp eyes.
At the bottom of a staircase cut into the mountain, they reached the cells. The bars were filthy with the grease of hands that had held them for comfort. The lamps along the corridor were evenly but far spaced leaving pools of darkness between them. The captain escorted them to a cell and a guard who awaited them opened it for him.
"I will see if the Voice wishes to speak with you."
The guard outside the cell door watched them with hard eyes. The guard captain walked away with his compatriots behind him. With the door shut between them, Leviana came to the front and waited. The guard left behind looked at her and then said,
"Immortal."
"You recognize me?"
"They say you are dead."
"The rumor is untrue. Let me out."
"How do I know it is you?" he asked.
"When I first gained the throne," she said. "I killed the council and promoted the man Navar to the position of Voice for his service to the Black King. There is no one alive who remembers the beginning of my reign."
"This is true, but it does not tell me for certain that it is you."
"I seek to go to the Voice. I would speak with him. If you release me, I will not run away."
He hesitated, but then unlocked the door. Throwing it wide, he said,
"I will either be a hero or a dead man come morning."
&n
bsp; "Perhaps I will be able to reward you."
Warden, quiet through the exchange, was the first out of the cell. At the stairs he turned to her.
"Did you plan this?"
"No, I was planning to lure the guard over and steal his keys. This is much cleaner." She led the way up the stairs and at the top turned to the right. Down a short hall, she turned to the right again and went further into the mountain. Another staircase let them out onto a shelf-like balcony. They transferred along the mountain slope until they reached the place where they could move to the smaller palace she kept for herself and those closest to her. Undoubtedly Kendrick had moved himself by now seeing as he had taken the position offered to him.
There was a guard at the entrance to the palace who stared at her as if he had seen a ghost, but did not try to stop them. Leviana swept in and through the halls with Warden in her wake.
She came first to the rooms of the Trusted. At this hour, she would be involved with her meditation. A perfect chance to confront her while she was unarmed. First she pressed on the door and peeked through. Warden put his hand on her shoulder.
"What?"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm seeing where my Trusted is. She must have reported me dead, otherwise there is no reason for the guards at the gate too think I am." Their quiet conversation carried only a few feet, but they kept their voices down just in case others might hear. The guards within the private palace would come if someone yelled for them, but otherwise, they remained out of the way, just as the Queen ordered. Going further into the Trusted's room, they found them empty.
"Where could she be?" Leviana said as she stalked out of the room. At this hour, she should have been on the mat in her sitting room winding down from the day. Further along, they reached the door to Leviana's rooms. She pressed them open and went inside, keeping her footsteps soft. Then she heard voices coming from her bathing room.
Slipping up to the door, she peeked inside.
Through the rising steam, Leviana saw two bodies. Warden leaned over her to see into the room as well. The two bodies came together and then separated.
"Kendrick," Versa said. "You have what you wanted. Certainly it is enough."
"No, it is not enough to have her gone. Already rumors swirl that she is not truly dead. I must have a body to lay to rest. Otherwise, they will always doubt my rule. There can be no doubt."
Blades of Fate Page 5