Nightblade's Vengeance (Blades of the Fallen Book 1)

by Ryan Kirk

  Minori wasn’t sure what repercussions his actions would have, but he had played through a few different scenarios. Through all of them, one necessity was that he not kill anyone; otherwise, the outcry against his actions would be far too strong to mitigate. So the guards couldn’t know he was there, and they couldn’t be killed.

  Minori opened the door and slipped the rest of the way in. He knelt in a corner and reloaded his tube. Like his previous visit, there would be another guard nearby. He stopped for a moment to pull his first dart out of the guard’s neck. He wasn’t planning on leaving any evidence behind.

  With his sense extended, Minori had no trouble finding the second guard, wandering the halls around a corner. Minori stood up and walked toward the corner, his footsteps silent compared to the rain pounding on the roof. When he was certain the guard’s back was to him, Minori stepped around the corner, as silent as the grave, put the tube to his lips, and blew again. His aim was true, and the guard collapsed into a heap. Minori came up to him and pulled out the second dart. This guard also had a set of keys, to which Minori helped himself.

  Koji was awake. No words passed between the two nightblades. Minori let the younger blade out using the keys, locking the door again once Koji was out. He didn’t think his deception would actually confuse anyone, but there wasn’t any harm in trying. Walking back through the hallways, Minori replaced the keys on the guard’s belt.

  At the door Koji found his sword and personal effects, meager as they were. He was about to leave, but Minori stopped him.

  “Follow me, and whatever happens, kill no one. We’re not here to cause any harm.”

  Koji nodded his understanding. Minori took a deep breath and extended his sense out the way he had come. Luck was on their side. As far as he could tell, the path was open. He opened the door, and the two went back toward the wall. Minori led the way, climbing on top of the wall in one smooth motion. Koji followed, and together they looked down. Koji whispered to his fellow blade, “You know, you’re very capable for your age.”

  The respect was evident in his voice, and Minori took the words as the compliment they were intended to be. “Follow me closely. The wall is slippery.”

  Minori kicked his legs over the wall and let himself down, his feet finding the same holds they had previously used. Moving carefully, ensuring each hold was solid before adding his full weight, Minori picked his way down the wall. Koji took a different route. With a leap, he plummeted from the top, rolling smoothly when he landed. Minori shook his head. The feat was stupid, but he could understand the boy’s desire to move after being locked away for several days. In his younger days, Minori might have attempted the same stunt, but he knew if he was to try such a feat now, he would break a bone.

  He smiled for a moment at the thought of Kiyoshi being summoned to heal him, and the thought led to another. A new plan formed in his mind, and by the time he reached the ground, he was certain of his way forward. He grinned and met Koji down at the bottom. The younger nightblade was covered in mud slowly being washed away by the rain. He was smiling from ear to ear, with a look of loyalty in his eyes that Minori would never have been able to buy.

  They walked away from the castle, and Minori removed his mask. The rain was becoming torrential, and between the weather and their sense, no one would spot them leaving the fort.

  Koji looked over at him. “What do I do next?”

  Minori decided to try out his new plan. “I’ve spoken with the council, and they have given me permission to make you my direct aide. The type of work I do is special and very secret. Do you think you are up for it?”

  There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in Koji’s voice. “I owe you my life.”

  “Good. Let’s go home. Your new life starts now.”

  Chapter 6

  Kiyoshi ambled through the streets of Haven, his mind wandering to a thousand different places as he approached his destination. Shin had demanded haste, but Kiyoshi had no desire to follow the lord’s orders. He felt as though the world he had worked so hard to build was unraveling, one strand at a time, and he was left clutching at the various strings that had once been the fabric of his life.

  As usual, he was wearing the plain white robes of the dayblades, and his presence attracted attention on the streets. Blades were hardly rare, but because of their gifts, they tended to avoid public places, and thus people didn’t get to see them often. Kiyoshi noted the different reactions his presence created. Small children were fascinated. One young boy wanted to run up and talk to him, but his mother caught the child and held on to him tightly.

  Some stared openly, but most tracked him with their eyes while trying to pretend they weren’t. Kiyoshi sighed. He had lived with the gift of the sense for more than sixty cycles now, and it was an old friend. There was still much he didn’t understand, but he had learned more about his powers than many ever did. There was nothing mysterious about the sense, but it was impossible to say as much to those who didn’t possess the gift. They would always view it as something too powerful to understand.

  Kiyoshi stopped by the stand of a local fisherman he knew. The old vendor was an expert at finding fish in the river a day’s journey away from Haven, and his fish were often wonderfully fatty, with a buttery flavor when eaten raw. Kiyoshi spoke briefly with the man and selected a fish to be delivered to the palace. If nothing else, he would eat well tonight, and that would give today’s outing more value.

  Kiyoshi focused his thoughts as he approached the fort. The meeting was a trap, and the worst trap was the one you knew about but had to walk into anyway. At times, Kiyoshi wished he cared less about the Kingdom, but that wasn’t who he was, and Lord Shin knew that.

  He was stopped at the front gate. Kiyoshi had visited the fort before and his robes had always been enough to gain him entrance, but the soldiers now fixed him with a stare that made it clear his robes weren’t enough anymore. Reasonable, although disturbing. If this were the way the soldiers felt, soon the populace would follow suit. Kiyoshi felt like he was dancing on the edge of a knife.

  A messenger was sent, and a short time later, Lord Shin’s chief aide came to escort Kiyoshi into the fort. The blade felt dozens of eyes on him as he walked into the center courtyard, but he did his best to ignore the attention. He had answers to find while he was here, too. He scanned the walls, considering different entrance and egress routes. It had been a long time since he had studied a fort with such intent, a skill he had once developed well.

  It had been raining last night, which meant most guards would have sought shelter. Most forts had shelters built at intervals along the walls, and the guards would have retreated into them with the storm, leaving potential gaps in their vision. Kiyoshi spotted at least three locations where someone could have conceivably entered, if the intruder had known which slots the guards would be looking through. Not a surprise, but unsettling. The discovery meant he was probably right about what had happened last night. Only one type of person would have been able to enter the fort unseen.

  Shin’s chief aide escorted him into the cells where Koji had been imprisoned. Kiyoshi analyzed the layout quickly and decided a skilled individual would have had no problem breaking Koji out.

  His thoughts were interrupted by a livid Lord Shin. “Kiyoshi! Tell me, what is the meaning of all this?”

  Kiyoshi had rehearsed his response. “Lord Shin, I know no more than you do. I was hoping we could find answers together.”

  Lord Shin drew himself up to his full height as he stepped toward Kiyoshi. Had the moment been less serious, Kiyoshi might have found humor in the situation. Shin had never been a warrior, and even Kiyoshi, a dayblade, had nothing to fear personally from the lord. “That is a blatant lie, and we both know it! You had Koji broken out of the prison last night—admit it!”

  Kiyoshi shook his head. “I’m sorry, Lord Shin, but that isn’t true, and I am offended you would implicate me in this. As you well know, it was I who signed the warrant for Koji’s arre
st. It would hardly be reasonable for me to then break him out. I want to know what happened here just as much as you do.”

  Kiyoshi’s calm demeanor seemed to pierce Shin’s anger, but the blade suspected it had been a facade to begin with. Lord Shin was creating a show for the soldiers. He was not to be underestimated. Kiyoshi wondered, just for a moment, if Lord Shin had orchestrated the escape to create this very situation. An entertaining thought, but Kiyoshi dismissed it quickly. Lord Shin would have had to cooperate with a blade, and Kiyoshi didn’t see that happening. Shin was clever, but his dislike of the blades was too strong.

  “Very well, Kiyoshi. What do you think happened?”

  “I don’t know. I just arrived and know nothing besides the fact that Koji is no longer in his cell. What have you found so far?”

  Lord Shin looked pained to have to explain last night’s events, but Kiyoshi didn’t mind. “Last night, Koji escaped from his cell.”

  Kiyoshi frowned. “Your message said as much, but my question was much more specific. What do we actually know happened?”

  Lord Shin’s frustration was obvious. “Much less than I’d like. The guards claim everything was normal. They don’t remember, but the two guards inside the cell block apparently passed out. They realized there was a problem when they woke up and found Koji gone. No one saw anything, and there’s no evidence of any combat. The keys were still on one guard’s belt.”

  Kiyoshi put the pieces together quickly, but he wondered what Lord Shin was thinking. “What’s the best theory for what happened?”

  “I think it’s obvious. Koji found out he would be executed, and he decided to leave.”

  “How did he escape?”

  “I don’t know! Who knows what powers the nightblades have? Somehow he must have put the guards to sleep and opened the door to his cell.”

  Kiyoshi didn’t even try to dignify that comment with a response. Unless Koji had somehow developed skills far beyond current understanding, he didn’t possess those sorts of abilities. People without the gift erroneously believed those with it were capable of anything.

  Lord Shin continued. “Otherwise, one of your people came in and helped him escape. Either way, you are responsible.”

  Shin’s second theory was much more reasonable, but Kiyoshi couldn’t have the blame for the prison break placed on the blades. “Until we know what happened, it is far too soon to be making baseless accusations, Lord Shin. I have ordered a manhunt for Koji. We will find him and bring him to justice.”

  Shin sneered. “I don’t think your manhunt will do very well when your blades are the ones who broke him out in the first place. No, I have called a manhunt of my own. I have summoned a number of my honor guard into the city, and they will conduct an intensive search. There won’t be anyplace for him to hide.”

  It took everything Kiyoshi had not to let his anger show. “I am thankful you will help us in this search. It was very wise of you. If there is nothing else, I must go now. I have my own hunt to complete.”

  Lord Shin waved his hand. “You are dismissed.”

  Turning on his heels was one of the most satisfying actions Kiyoshi had taken in a long time. Before he left, he stopped and spoke to a guard at the door of the prison. The soldier seemed uncomfortable talking to the blade but answered his questions.

  “Has anything been different around here lately? Did Koji have any visitors?”

  The guard thought for a moment. “He had only one visitor. Another nightblade. An older man. I don’t remember his name.”

  Kiyoshi didn’t need it. He knew where his next stop would be.

  Kiyoshi knew where Minori had set up his household. Kiyoshi prided himself on being aware of as many of the happenings in the Kingdom as possible, and in Haven his attention was even more focused. He headed directly to the nightblade’s home, his mind racing faster than he could walk.

  There was only one reasonable explanation for what had happened in the prison, even though Kiyoshi had a hard time believing Minori would go so far. Kiyoshi had been impressed in their first meeting. Minori had been honest and direct, qualities that surprised Kiyoshi. Minori had seemed reasonable, and he had to know what effect his actions would have.

  Kiyoshi worried about Lord Shin bringing more troops into the city. The Kingdom continued to survive because of a balance of power. Certain cycles were generally peaceful, allowing more room for mistakes, but this cycle was as tense as any Kiyoshi had lived through.

  Shin was grabbing an opportunity right now. Under the pretense of a manhunt, he was moving more troops into the capital. The other lords would complain in the council, but they wouldn’t take action, and the king could hardly push back. If he did, he would appear to be on the side of a murderous nightblade. With the extra manpower, if anything happened to the king, Shin would be in the best position to take control of the capital, and most likely the Kingdom.

  All because of Minori’s shortsightedness. That was what surprised Kiyoshi more than anything. They might disagree, but Minori had a reputation as a man who knew what he was doing. A man who made change happen. Well, he was certainly causing change now, but he was playing right into Shin’s hands.

  By the time Kiyoshi got to Minori’s house, he was almost running, driven as he was by rage. He had worked too hard for too long to let something like this happen. He pounded on the door, and a young man came and answered. Kiyoshi demanded to see Minori, and the young man bowed and escorted him into the house.

  Minori was kneeling at his desk, writing a letter that Kiyoshi imagined was going back to the Council of the Blades. It caused a thought to run through Kiyoshi’s head that he hadn’t yet considered: What if Minori was working on the direct orders of the council? Would they be so bold as to undermine Kiyoshi so thoroughly? It seemed unlikely, but he had been out of touch for some time. He reminded himself to stay calm and not make hasty mistakes.

  Minori smiled, and Kiyoshi knew he would play this game to the end.

  “Kiyoshi, it’s wonderful to see you again so soon. What brings you here today?”

  Kiyoshi noted that the young man took up station by the door. His presence caused Kiyoshi to pause. There wouldn’t be any reason for an aide to remain here for this conversation, not unless Minori had something else planned. Was he in danger? The thought seemed almost ridiculous, but perhaps he needed to stop making assumptions when dealing with Minori. He immediately became more alert.

  “Let’s get right to the point. Where were you last night?”

  Minori’s smile never left his face. “And what do you want me to say?”

  “The truth.”

  Minori seemed to juggle a few options in his mind, but then he shrugged. “Very well. I was helping Koji escape from jail.”

  Even though Kiyoshi had been certain Minori had been responsible, it still defied belief that the blade would sit here and acknowledge the truth so openly. Minori had to be crazy or stupid, or both. Kiyoshi could feel his emotions getting the better of him, but he couldn’t stop the fury that erupted.

  “Do you have any idea what effect your actions had?”

  Minori’s smile faded as he answered. “I assume one of a few possibilities. The most likely was that the king would be forced to declare a large, public manhunt for a nightblade. There was also a chance that one of the lords, most likely Shin, would bring in more soldiers under the pretense of hunting for Koji.”

  Kiyoshi knew his mouth was hanging open. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “What were you thinking?”

  “Two things. First, it was criminal what happened to Koji. I assume you already know I went to the prison to talk with him. He told me the truth of what happened, and not only is he innocent, but he upheld his duties with an honor and wisdom far beyond his age. He’s an honorable man, and I won’t allow you to sacrifice him just because you think it serves the greater good. Once you do, who knows how much farther you’ll go to protect the peace?

  “Second, it is time
that the Kingdom makes a decision. For too long the blades have held a precarious position in our society. The Kingdom relies on our strength to keep the peace, but no one respects us. They fear us. They fear what they don’t understand, and this can’t continue. Either we need to be accepted, or the Kingdom needs to find another way to protect itself.”

  Kiyoshi was stunned. Yet part of him understood what Minori was saying. Maybe, just maybe, that same part of him even respected how Minori stood for his beliefs. But the greater part of him knew that the nightblade’s actions were wrong. Perhaps Minori could justify his deeds, but if he was trying to push the Kingdom toward some sort of conflict or decision, then a time of chaos was on the horizon. People would suffer, and Kiyoshi didn’t want any more blood on his hands.

  “Minori, perhaps Koji was innocent. But what you did could lead to conflict. People could die as a repercussion of your action.”

  “Perhaps. But we know Koji certainly would have died, and forgive me for saying so, but I value the life of a fellow blade more than any citizen of Haven.”

  Kiyoshi stumbled backward. Minori’s philosophy and his self-belief were unshakable, and Kiyoshi didn’t know how to attack. All he knew was that this was far too dangerous a path to take.

  “I’m sorry, Minori, but I need to launch a manhunt for Koji. I understand your intent, but if his life will save the lives of others, it’s a price I remain willing to pay.”

  Kiyoshi turned to leave, but Minori seemed set on having the last word.