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

by Ryan Kirk

  As soon as the caravan left, Asa tried to reconstruct everything she knew in her mind. After all this time, the cycles spent searching, she had a feeling she was finally getting close. Osamu would pay for his actions.

  Asa’s mind wandered, and she paid only a little attention to her surroundings. The roads were muddy from recent rainstorms, and the wagons gouged deep tracks in the road. Besides small villages and farmland, there was little to see. She had promised protection, and there was a chance she would be needed, but the odds were small. Asa wasn’t sure how many nightblades were active in the Kingdom, but at least hundreds wandered to and fro throughout the land, keeping roads and paths safe for travelers. Besides that, the Kingdom was largely prosperous, with little need for people to resort to thievery. Most bandits had been pushed to the edges of the Kingdom.

  The caravan had been on the road for several days before Asa realized that something wasn’t right. She noticed it first as a feeling, a tension in the faces of the people the travelers passed. When the caravan passed through villages, instead of being greeted by a boisterous crowd, they were met only by merchants who had need of their wares. Asa wondered how many villages they had passed where she hadn’t even noticed this dynamic, too distracted by her own thoughts.

  After Asa observed the third quiet village in a row, curiosity got the better of her. She made her way to the front of the caravan and spoke with the owner, the merchant she had bartered with originally.

  “Greetings, nightblade,” the merchant said. Asa, now that she was paying attention, noticed that even the merchant seemed on edge.

  “The mood of the villages we pass is tense, but I have heard no news,” Asa said.

  The merchant looked somewhat taken aback. At night, when they made camp, Asa sat far away from the others, far away from the fire. It was too hard for her to use her sense when she was near people, and at night, the sense was a far better method than sight for noticing danger. But the merchant hadn’t gathered that because of this, Asa wouldn’t know what was happening in the world.

  “The news isn’t good. The king has taken ill. They say he lives, but he does not wake up, and there is no telling how much longer he will draw breath.”

  “Has a successor been named?”

  The merchant shook his head. “The Kingdom is stuck between a dying king and three lords. There are many rumors, but I’m not sure what is true. The best I can tell is that no decision has been made. The lords are all in Haven at the moment, probably arguing with one another over who will become the next ruler, but none has been named that I know. If the king doesn’t wake up, I fear what will happen next. The Kingdom hasn’t been through anything like this in many lifetimes.”

  Asa remembered her history well. The last time a monarch had died without an heir, he had been a young king, not even alive long enough to marry. Asa had been taught that the nightblades were the only reason the various lords hadn’t descended to war. The blades kept the peace, forcing the lords to negotiate and decide who would be next in line.

  But the blades didn’t have the same authority they once had. Much of the problem could be traced back, again, to the massacre at Two Falls. The public outcry had been tremendous. Nightblades had decimated an entire village and razed it to the ground, and the prince had died. Never before in memory had such a deed happened, and with that event, the public attitude toward the blades changed.

  Once, blades had been heroes to the people, almost godlike, treated with respect and awe. But after Two Falls, the public realized that the power that kept common folk safe for so long might one day be turned against them. As a result, the lords passed laws limiting the power of the blades. For the first time in Kingdom history, the blades became subject to the same laws as ordinary citizens.

  It began with the census, undertaken when Asa was young. Her mother had hid her far away from civilization for a time, so she hadn’t been counted. But the census was an act by King Masaki to ease the fears of the people. The move made him look as if he were acting to check the power of the blades, and as the cycles wore on, the constraints against the gifted became more and more strict.

  Asa often wondered why the blades didn’t just revolt. Asa had known her fair share of blades over the course of her short life, and in her experience, they were mostly decent men and women. If they took over the Kingdom, it would be in everyone’s best interest.

  But the Council of the Blades was comprised of honorable blades who followed the king’s orders, as they always had. They might chafe under certain restrictions, but they would obey. They believed, at least for now, that was how they could best serve the Kingdom. Asa disagreed, but ultimately she didn’t care enough to get involved in political matters. All she wanted was to find Osamu.

  The caravan was back on the road, and as they got closer to Haven, they were joined by more people wandering in the same direction. Despite Masaki’s illness, or perhaps because of it, trade was brisk. Everyone wanted to get their goods sold in Haven before the king died and uncertainty became the order of the day.

  Because of the crowds, Asa had to be more aware. When they were in remote parts of the Kingdom, she could easily use the sense to discover anyone approaching. But in crowds, security became more difficult. All her attention was required to ensure the caravan stayed together and wasn’t infiltrated by strangers.

  A strange unease settled over Asa. Something tickled at the edges of her awareness, something that wasn’t quite as it should be. As the day dragged, Asa became more certain her shadow was following her. She couldn’t quite pinpoint him, but with all her recent experiences, she was learning to trust her instincts. She let her sense wander freely, taking in the surrounding life. Then she felt the hole, the place where life should be, but wasn’t.

  He wasn’t trying to use the sense. As close as he was, it would have been a dead giveaway. But all life moved around him, and if the spot had been stationary, Asa might have assumed it was a rock. But the hole moved, and people moved around it. Asa opened her eyes, careful not to give any indication she had felt him.

  Asa no longer felt any danger from the tracker. If he wanted her dead, he’d certainly had plenty of opportunities. With his ability to hide from her sense, Asa wasn’t even sure there was anything she could do if he wanted to kill her. She was certain he was a shadow, hired by someone to follow her.

  Asa turned the problem over in her mind. She wanted to interrogate him, but he held all the advantages. He could sense her, and she could only sense him indirectly. Under most circumstances, she wouldn’t have a chance. But there had to be a way. Asa thought through the problem until an idea occurred to her.

  Deception was the first step. The next time the caravan came to rest, Asa called for a bottle of wine, and although the merchant was wary of providing his protection drink, he brought one over. She assumed the shadow following the caravan was close enough to see her. With so many people on the road, it was the only way to ensure he didn’t lose her.

  As she drank, she allowed her sense to fade and return, as though she was having trouble maintaining her focus. When her sense was out, she allowed herself to stay relaxed, visually examining the surrounding area. She didn’t want the shadow to have any warning, but she needed to keep an eye on the caravan. The merchant deserved that much at least.

  The caravan continued on, and the sun was falling when Asa finally found the building she was looking for in an approaching village. It was a two-story inn, typical of the area. The wooden walls stretched upward, topped with a slanted roof that Asa noticed was missing a few plaster tiles. She went up to the merchant to speak and received a lucky break. The merchant was planning on stopping at the inn for the evening meal without any intervention from Asa.

  As the caravan came to a stop, Asa helped with the horses. Although she wasn’t drunk in the least, she added just a little sway to her gait. She needed the shadow to feel comfortable, to move in a little closer. Although she was tempted, she didn’t check her surroundings. S
he didn’t want the shadow to have any clue she was aware of him this time.

  After the horses were taken care of, Asa stumbled into the inn. Once she did, she cut herself off from her sense completely, something she always hated doing, like she was taking off a warm and comforting cloak. Her other five senses didn’t feel like they gave her any real information at all.

  When she wasn’t extending her sense, her presence would feel much the same as anyone else’s. Asa was betting the shadow didn’t know her well enough to sense her presence in a crowd. He would have gotten used to tracking her by sensing her power, not her actual presence.

  To make the shadow’s work even harder, Asa went from crowd to crowd in the inn. She didn’t mingle, but moved in and out of groups, appearing as natural as possible and remaining patient. It didn’t seem likely the shadow would come into the inn. Asa knew what he looked like, and he would want to remain hidden. He would stay outside the main entrance, waiting.

  Her actions brought back a flash of memory from her days of training. Her masters had ordered her to track a single person while engaging in combat, a drill to test her use of the sense, and she had failed miserably. She had tracked her target well, but once others started attacking with wooden swords, her target slipped away. Even worse, because she was trying to focus on the target, she had taken several painful hits from the swords. She only hoped her own ruse would be as successful.

  Eventually Asa worked her way upstairs. She had no way of knowing if the shadow could track her or not anymore, but she had to hope. Once upstairs, she continued her mingling, trying to hide her presence as well as possible. Mostly, she avoided windows, but every once in a while, she would drift close to one just to look outside.

  First, the shadow had to believe Asa would let down her guard near the inn. Second, he had to lose her presence in the inn, and finally, he needed to keep most of his attention on the first floor. It had always been Asa’s experience that people hesitated to look up. Most people were far too focused on the ground in front of their feet.

  On one of her passes near a window, she saw that her plan had worked. Outside the inn, reclining on a hay bale, was her shadow, focused on the exit of the inn. Asa grinned. She needed answers, and she believed her shadow was somehow linked to Osamu. Did the old blade know she was getting closer? If so, she would question the shadow and be one step further.

  Asa sprinted toward the window and jumped out.

  She had always loved jumping off things. Growing up, sometimes in the rare moments her brother wasn’t focused on keeping the farm going, they would climb trees together and leap. As she got older, she was able to jump from higher places. She learned how to land and roll, avoiding injury. Today, that training paid off.

  Asa landed on her feet, rolled over her shoulder, and came back to her feet at a full sprint. The shadow was on his feet in an instant. He turned to run down a narrow passage between two buildings, but he had made it only a few steps before Asa caught him. She tackled the shadow, and they went down together in a pile of arms and legs.

  Asa was initially on top, but the shadow drove an elbow into her face, knocking her to the side. In the narrow passage, there was no space for her to roll, and she crashed into the side of the building. The shadow struggled to rise, but Asa regained her wits and wrapped her arms around his ankles, causing him to crash down again.

  The shadow tried to kick at her, but Asa’s grip was too tight. Her mind raced. She needed to find a way to overpower the shadow for interrogation.

  In a desperate heave, Asa pulled herself up the shadow’s body, reaching for any handhold. She managed to wrap her hand in his clothing and pull herself up farther. He tried to elbow her in the head, but with her newly freed arm, she was able to deflect the attack.

  After a moment of struggling, Asa was again on top of the shadow, letting her weight settle over his hips, trying to pin him down. For a moment she was balanced and drove an elbow into his face, feeling a satisfying crunch as her blow landed.

  The shadow managed to plant his feet on the ground and thrust his hips into the air. Asa, unprepared for the sudden shift in weight, was thrown forward, losing all grip on her opponent. She rolled forward and back to her feet, turning around just as the shadow got to his own feet, his back to her. He was about to run again.

  Asa grabbed his left shoulder, and in response, his left arm came snapping back in an effort to knock her down. Asa saw the blow coming and stopped it with her own left arm. She slid her right hand, which had been on the shadow’s shoulder, down to his elbow. She shoved with all her body weight, locking his joint and throwing him into the building.

  At least that had been her plan. The shadow rotated, turning his torso toward her. Instead of slamming face-first into the building, his back crashed into the wall. They stood there, facing each other. Asa was angry, furious at being followed for so long, but the shadow seemed to be enjoying himself.

  Asa’s mind raced. If it came down to a matter of strength, she was going to lose.

  The shadow planted one of his feet against the building and, with a strong shove, reversed their positions. Now Asa was pinned to the opposite wall, with the shadow’s body stretched across the narrow opening, his feet on the wall he had once been pinned against.

  Despite her situation, Asa was amazed at the shadow’s skill. She had never seen anyone use their environment so well.

  In her moment of distraction, the shadow’s grip on Asa’s hands changed, and he had one hand on her wrist and another on her elbow. The shadow twisted, his body parallel to the ground, forcing Asa’s elbow up and her wrist down. A classic throw, but Asa had never even considered the move as a possibility in such narrow circumstances. If she didn’t want to break her arm, she had only one choice—to be thrown. She launched herself into the throw, trying to roll out smoothly.

  Unfortunately, the shadow’s grip on her wrist was strong. His move caused him to crash down as well, but he still controlled her wrist and, with a firm grip, kept her on the ground for a moment while he regained his balance. Asa saw his face, just for a heartbeat, and the man looked almost sad to see the fight had come to an end.

  The shadow drove his fist into Asa’s stomach, and all the breath was driven from her. He immediately let go, and Asa doubled over as she sucked and sucked, trying to get air back into her body. As soon as she did, a wave of coughing ran through her form, and the agony of the shadow’s punch took a few moments to subside.

  Asa struggled to her feet and looked around. Her shadow was gone.

  Chapter 11

  Minori meandered the dark streets of Haven, lost in thought although there was plenty to observe. Shin’s troops seemed to be everywhere, many more than the small personal guard the lord had claimed to summon. But Shin was a concern for another day.

  Minori was thinking about the blades. He had served as a blade for more than forty cycles, and in that time he had seen both the best and the worst of his peers. When he was feeling charitable, he could see Kiyoshi’s perspective. The blades, for all their strength, made mistakes.

  Despite that, blades were still better leaders, and that was where he and Kiyoshi separated. They had been forged in a kind of training civilians would never understand. Minori would choose a foolish blade over a wise merchant any day.

  It was his purpose to bring order and direction to his community of warriors and healers. The main problem blades faced, Minori believed, was that they had an amazing amount of power but no way of focusing it. Since they were distributed throughout the Kingdom, their influence didn’t present a threat to any of the lords or the Kingdom itself. But because the blades were so widely spread, they couldn’t bring about change, either.

  Minori didn’t like to admit it, but he was an optimist. He believed the blades, given the proper leeway, could change the Kingdom. They could bring a lasting order, making war and conflict a distant memory. But the blades needed unity, and for them to achieve that, Minori knew they would have to walk through fla
mes.

  Minori traced over his train of thought, as he often did, just to ensure there were no mistakes in his logic. The first premise he held to was that the power of the blades gave them an independent attitude—only natural. Even the dayblades had the power of life and death, as Kiyoshi had so kindly reminded him earlier. Therefore, the traditional means of exerting power, such as overwhelming force, weren’t applicable to the blades. They needed to be ruled by consent.

  The second premise followed from the first. To gain the consent of the blades, Minori needed an issue to rally the blades around, an issue to convince them that the current system was broken and they needed another. Fortunately, Kiyoshi had dropped just such an issue in his lap with the order to kill Koji.

  This was related to Minori’s third premise. The blades were honorable people, much to the benefit of the Kingdom. But they were also proud, and there was a limit to which their pride could be swallowed. Being counted was one thing; being asked to kill your peer was another entirely. The blades were already upset about Koji’s sentence, but with a little prodding, he could push them further. He needed to play to their honor and their pride. If he did, he would have their consent. With their consent he could guide them and focus their strength, and the gifted would take the place of authority so long denied to them.

  Tonight was an experiment to test Minori’s ideas. Koji, faithful as he was, had already laid the groundwork. Despite the reward on his head, he had traveled through Haven, letting other blades know what Minori had done for him. A risky move, but Minori needed Koji’s help. Simply bragging about his work wouldn’t get him anywhere. But Koji was living proof, a blade with a bounty on his head.