The Assassin's Mark (Skeleton Key)

by Sarah Makela

  Skyhaven’s big gates and extended overlook towers were designed to withstand most sieges. Still, it would be a safe haven on my trip home. As we entered, the local guardsmen who were all loyal to my father when he’d still been alive came to assist us. No lord or a noble currently oversaw the keep, which made it even more valuable. The soldiers stationed here cared little about politics, and their commander had a reputation of being a strict and honest man.

  The keep served two functions. It was a central station for local guardsmen and a strong military checkpoint between the castle and main trade routes. It also ensured no forbidden goods were allowed into the cities along the road. Despite the trade traffic in the lower courtyard, the keep proper was secure and allowed very few nonmilitary personnel inside. Anyone caught sneaking around in its halls would soon find themselves in the dungeons below.

  I followed Sir Alan through the secondary gates and into the inner courtyard. Knights surrounded us, and I tried to focus on breathing. I couldn’t afford letting my guard down. The other night’s attack still shook me to the core, but I balled my hand into a fist to keep it from moving to the hilt of my sword.

  Skyhaven’s commander was fairly friendly. His face had deep scars earned during battles throughout his life. A twinkle of happiness lit his eyes as he spotted me. Sir Alan and the commander exchanged a few quiet words before I was lead further into the keep. We took a tight set of stairs up to the commander’s quarters.

  I released a nervous sigh. Maybe this would turn just fine after all. Across the hall from the commander’s quarters was the keep’s main office. It was held aside for any member of the royal family and would function as my room while we stayed here.

  The main office had a fantastic view over the other towers and the huge metal drawbridge door. It was meant for royalty, and it showed. Heavy expansive benches and cloth-lined chairs were placed near the walls, giving anyone visiting the room a comfortable sitting arrangement regardless of their status. I was more than ready to sit down after those stairs, but Edward barred my entry into the room.

  “No, this won’t do,” he said and turned to leave, blocking my way.

  Sir Alan grabbed him on the elbow. “What do you mean?”

  Edward sighed and pointed to the opened windows and the breathtaking view beyond. “If she’s here, her location is easy to find. Someone could see her at the window and shoot her with an arrow. If they don’t know where she is, they can’t attack her. It only takes one keen eyed civ...peasant to see that the princess is in this tower. No, it’s not safe. If I intend to protect her, this room will not do,” he said.

  Anger boiled up inside of me, but I calmed myself. He’d said he was trained as an assassin. If he thought this wouldn’t work, then I should listen. He’d already saved me once. “I see your point. Is there another room here that would work better?”

  We checked half a dozen of rooms before Edward seemed content on one in middle of the tower. It had no windows. Instead, heavy bookshelves lined the walls. My hopes for the royal family’s room sank. This room seemed to fit what he wanted.

  Even so, he ventured around the shelves, perhaps testing for secret passages until he was satisfied. With another glance at the door to gauge its thickness, he finally nodded. “This is the best so far,” he said and nodded toward Sir Alan. “It’s nicely isolated with no visibility. Thick walls and the door seems solid enough. This will do.” He glanced in my direction as if gauging my reaction.

  The thought of being locked up in a windowless room surrounded by books as opposed to a nice view wasn’t a pleasant one. But in the light of the assassination attempt, I’d have to choose safety over vanity any day. I nodded my approval.

  Sir Alan spoke quietly to one of the knights he’d brought with them, then the knight took off. “We’ll make sure the door is well-guarded, Your Highness.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  My gaze locked with Edward’s as everyone else vacated the room. Something about him drew me into his blue eyes. Something that felt real, if not magical. I wondered if he felt the same way, or if I was just crazy after the recent attack.

  He finally turned to the books around the room. “Could anything in here be useful to help us narrow down our list of suspects?” he asked as he browsed the spines on the nearest books.

  The books my parents liked to keep in each study had a collection of volumes on terrain, maps, and genealogical information on the noble families. I scanned the shelves until I found a book on my royal bloodline and any other important tomes I could think of. Meanwhile, Edward located a set of maps along the wall that he was intently studying. He trailed his finger over the map as if soaking up the information and creating his own mental map of the kingdom.

  I walked around the desk and arranged the entire situation in my head. I was still a ways off from reaching the capital and claiming the throne. From my family, there were really only five people who could contest my right to rule. Each of them blood came through the royal bloodline via my great-grandfather. None had shown magical talent as was expected of rulers, but I’d felt power burn inside me before as if I carried my own untapped magic. No one needed to know that.

  “Do you have any enemies who could claim the right to rule by conquest?” Edward kept his voice low as he sauntered over to the desk and looked over the book on my family’s lineage.

  “No. Neither my parents nor I have enemies...until now. Whoever is after the throne is likely from my family. The people of my kingdom would rise up against an outsider. My parents and I weren’t close with parts of my family. Some served in active roles of government under them, but a few disliked my parents. But none of them should have a reason to have them killed.” I sat in the cushioned chair before my legs gave out.

  Edward lifted my chin and brushed his thumb over my cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll sort this out.” He smiled. “Let’s try another angle. Who were your parents not close to that would have a claim and the drive to accomplish something like this?”

  “A couple of cousins, an aunt, and an uncle.”

  “It should be someone with a desire to carve themselves a path they wouldn’t otherwise get aside from violence.” Edward dipped the quill in ink and scribbled on the parchment before us. “Tell me what you know of each.”

  It took a few hours of talking about my family’s internal politics, what they’d say about each and rumors associated with each. In the end, we ruled out my crazy cousin Holbreth, who’d politically married into a wealthy family out in the north. There’d been rumors that he loved wealth more than anything else. The family he married into owned a massive silver mine, and he had no reason to leave.

  My other cousin, Nathan, had become a marauder on the outskirts of the kingdom to keep roaming tribes off our lands while enjoying his fair share of looting and pillaging. In the end, he’d never attacked the kingdom. Edward immediately excluded him off from the list as he was simply too far.

  That left two possibilities each of whom made me uneasy. There was Doyle and Etain, both of which had a solid grasp of politics and had what it needed to rule. Doyle was an offspring of my mother’s mother and a drow. He embraced his drow heritage and focused mostly on their politics. Etain was interested in ruling through religious means and had made a name for herself by converting lands to the goddess for my father. Lately she’d been prevented from pursuing other lands so quickly and had shown her distaste at being reprimanded.

  “Tell me more about this Doyle you keep coming back to. What type of politics are the drow involved with?” he asked. He closed his eyes while he listened to what I knew of them and their power structure. “They have two political strides. Subterfuge and slavery. When they are fully committed, they go for the jugular in order to claim their prize.” I leaned closer, enjoying his strong, masculine scent.

  A smile played on his lips. “Yes, I know the type. Arrogant, power hungry, and disciplined. The dangerous sort.” He lifted his stubbled chin, and his piercing eyes stared stra
ight into me.

  There was a knock on the door, and Sir Alan walked in without waiting for approval. He leveled a suspicious glare at Edward. As if he’d do anything. Edward was more of a gentleman than many of the noblemen I’d see at court. “Your Highness, Edward, I wanted to ensure everything was well here. Would you like some supper, princess? I could have some sent up.”

  My mind had been so fixed on my family’s politics that I’d forgotten about food. Sir Alan always looked after me, but I couldn’t help to wonder if he had an ulterior motive for coming here. Was he jealous of Edward or just wary of him? I wasn’t sure, and to be honest, I couldn’t allow myself to get distracted now. It felt that something during our conversation kept eluding me.

  “I think the princess could use some dinner, Sir Alan,” Edward said. “I’d appreciate you having it sent over. Your Highness, if you don’t mind, I’ll remain here and keep studying the political landscape a bit longer.”

  The thought of food made my stomach grumble. It had been a while since I’d eaten, and I could use a break from talking. I knew we had to find the culprit but having a break might clear my head. “I’ll come downstairs with you, sir.”

  Edward gave a small nod before bowing back over the documents, as if there was more to gleam from them than we’d already discussed.

  On the way to the dining room and even while eating, Sir Alan was uncharacteristically quiet. Normally he spared a word of advice or encouragement, but today, he seemed tired and on edge. I leaned toward him a little and raised an eyebrow.

  “Fine, Your Highness. I just don’t know about you being in there all alone with him.” He sighed. “While you two were in there, we caught two assassins sneaking up the tower on their way to the room you would’ve been staying in.”

  It seemed Edward’s suggestion on which room to fortify had been well placed. The assassins didn’t know where I was. I was safe. He’d earned my trust twice now. Never mind that I found him irresistible, but even so... I turned my focus back onto Sir Alan again.

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I wasn’t upset; merely annoyed that he hadn’t thought to tell me there’d been another attempt on my life, and this one had been inside a fortified location, where I was supposedly safe from the usual mercenaries everyone employed. That meant either they’d entered with a degree of influence and knowledge, or they bought off the guards.

  A chill ran up my spine as it hit me. I knew who was behind this. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I think I might know who it is.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Edward

  I looked around the study and tried to gather my thoughts. This room was filled with the knowledge of this world, and I only had to reach for a book to get a proper grasp of what was happening here politically. While we spoke a closely related language, actually reading their language seemed to give me grief, but I muscled through as best as I could. I’d scribbled notes when Brigit told me of the political landscape and about her family. Beyond that, the volumes and volumes of books would take forever for me to gleam anything from.

  Frustrated, I’d remained here to check the maps for landmarks. From what I’d heard, I knew where we were on the map, then it was easy to discover where our path would take us. A few smaller towns dotted the road with at least two big cities on the way over to the large castle that dominated the center of the map. Seats of power tended to be placed in the center, even the Romans with all their world knowledge had the same hubris. Early British rulers hadn’t been much better, each feudal lord placed their seat of power as the center of their maps, and thus their own small worlds.

  The door slammed open, and I spun around to see the princess rush into the room. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Her sudden entry had taken me by surprise, and I’d already drawn my knife from my belt ready to strike.

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “Don’t be so jumpy. You might hurt someone.” I wanted to shake her. There were assassins. I had to be watchful. As she neared, I noticed a slight blush on her cheeks. The curve of her form took my mind away from her words. “Edward, could you tell me what you wrote earlier?”

  I read what we’d discussed about the possible troublemakers. When I reached the end of Doyle’s political focus being drow, she lifted her hand.

  “The drow genuinely dislike half-breeds. My uncle can only rise so high in their society and can only achieve so much with them. He has the ambition and the skill, but he’s held back by generations of traditions. With nowhere to grow in drow society, what if he’s looking for another venue to establish his power?” Brigit pointed to the map.

  “It’s a leap to go from drow politics to murdering your parents.” I rose from my seat to see where she was pointing. It slowly began to make sense. The distances and timing. “He had to wait.” I cocked my head to the side and let my assassin’s perspective kick in. “He’s been waiting for this.” A sense of dread slowly spread through my gut.

  “What is it?” she asked, mirroring the tilt of my head as if it would help her see what I saw. Her hair swayed toward me barely out of reach, and an urge to run my fingers through it nearly overtook my hands.

  “He had to wait until you were far enough from the throne to accomplish his plan. It means he’s aware that we most likely sought shelter here. I overheard the guards saying that Sir Alan caught a few assassins climbing the stairs. We have to leave here soon.” I strode back to the desk and began putting the books back in their places.

  “What do you mean? We have to leave now? Please talk to me.” The tone of her voice wasn’t panicked. Instead, it carried dignity and mild confusion.

  “He knows where we are. He can either send a small army against us and send reinforcements whenever needed, while buying more and more allegiance as we sit here helplessly. Or he sets up multiple ambushes to stall us on our way to the throne, while mounting a proper assault, cutting off any chance to escape. We have a narrow window of opportunity if we leave right now. I’ll reach out to Sir Alan. Be prepared.” Tension tightened my shoulders, and I fought the need to brush my lips against hers before it might be too late. Instead, I opened the door and headed along the hallway to where Sir Alan talked among his knights.

  He was in a small room with Sir Orland and two other knights with a tankard of ale in each of their hands. “Sir Alan, we need to leave. Her life is in danger.” From the tone of my voice, anyone could tell I wasn’t joking.

  “Did she send you here?” At my nod, he said, “Of course, Edward. I’ll ready the troops.”

  “With all respect, sir, we should leave now with a small group that will escape attention. Five or six strong, and not a man more. The rest of the knights should remain here to stall our enemy’s advancement.”

  His demeanor changed on the spot. “Absolutely not. I know you’ve wormed your way close to her, you knave, but this is going too far. It’s my duty to keep her safe. I will not have her leave here with a handful of troops.” He kept his voice low, but the animosity was easily noticed from his tone of voice.

  “You will be there to keep her safe. As will I. But men are needed here to make the enemy think we are still inside the keep.” Patience wasn’t a strong suit of mine when it came to diplomacy, but I restrained myself from yelling at him.

  “The lad might be right. I give you my word that I’ll keep the men safe and the enemy distracted.” Sir Orlan slapped Sir Alan on the back. “Protect our princess. Despite what you may think of this man, he’s been right so far. If he is half as smart as you think he is, then we’ll all be in trouble for not listening sooner. Go on. Hopefully we’ll see one another again.”

  “Thank you, sir. I wish you all the best.” The knight was so casual in the way he’d given his word to keep the enemy busy, even if he had to sacrifice his life. It reminded me of tales I’d read of WWII veterans, knowing their chances were slim but still doing what they considered to be right.

  “Keep this brave knight on the right path. He’s slow to trust, but he would give his li
fe for those he knows well. Farewell, Sir Alan.” Without another word, Sir Orlan left the room. The other knights said their goodbyes as well and ventured after the older man.

  I stood there for a moment with the fuming knight who’d just lost the sharp edge of his anger. Not eager to cause more conflict, I turned to leave.

  “If this turns out to be a trick, Edward, know I’ll have your hide. I’ll gather a couple men. Meet me in the stables with the princess and her maidservant in fifteen minutes.” The knight shook his head and stormed down the hall.

  I headed upstairs to gather my meager belongings before returning to Brigit. In the courtyard, I heard Sir Orlan gathering his men to prepare for a siege. There were orders to block the outer gates and gather supplies to the keep’s basement. Refocusing on my task, I jogged back to the study for Brigit. She was reading some dusty-looking tome as I entered, her focus solely on the text. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” I said and carried her possessions.

  It took a few minutes to gather Tabitha, some supplies, rations and a smaller tent should we need it. Sir Orlan had passed Sir Alan a few gold coins in case we needed to strike bargains with the people on our way. Each of us had a cloak to hide ourselves in, and a different horse than we’d ridden in on. We took an escape tunnel underneath Skyhaven to the outside. There were six of us. Brigit, Tabitha, Sir Alan, two knights I didn’t recognize, and me.

  We were just travelers now on our way to the capital. To make things more believable, we split the supplies evenly between us. Sir Alan, to my surprise, also had a small lute that he occasionally played as if to make time pass quicker on the road.

  To my culturally untrained eye, we seemed to blend in.

  The small roads we were on slowly became wider and well maintained as we approached the main trade routes between the cities. Even as the roads merged, I began seeing suspicious activity that indicated possible ambushes were already being prepared.