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Shadow's Voice

Page 9

by Natalie Johanson


  Luci giggled. “I don’t like you.” She pointed at Rose and dropped her elbow heavily on the table. “But you’re fun to drink with.”

  Rose grinned. “I’ll accept that.”

  “When are you leaving?” Luci asked, propping her head on her hand. “Why’d the captain put you in our wing?”

  Rose slumped low in her seat. “Ask her.”

  “You are leavin’?” Sam leaned forward.

  Rose swirled her ale. “Not yet. I have a few more things to do first.”

  Luci grunted.

  Sam chuckled and blew on the candle in the center of the table. Instead of going out, the flame grew with his breath.

  “Shit! Sam don’t be playin’ with that. You can’t even see straight,” Luci slurred at him and smacked his shoulder. “You burn me and I kick yer ass.”

  “Sam here is a mage!” Erik spoke to the tabletop. “Cap’n says he’s a . . . a . . . what’s he Luc?”

  “Elemental . . . something.”

  “Elemental mage. She says I have magic like the mythical elemental mages,” Sam spoke quietly while playing with the flame.

  “That! Now if you’d just stop burnin’ stuff down,” Luci leaned on the small man’s shoulder.

  “Ah Luci. I only did that . . . once. Leave me alone.”

  “You’re like my baby brother. I have to pick on you some.”

  Rose swayed in her chair. “What’s this place called again?”

  “Witch’s Pit.” Sam dropped his head onto his hand and leaned on the table. “Don’t eat the food, but the ale . . . .”

  Erik mumbled from the table. “Good ale.”

  Murmurs went around the table about the good ale. Soon the four of them were sitting at the table staring off at nothing. Suddenly, Erik started snoring and the three went up in a laughing fit.

  “Who wants to help me carry his drunk hide back?” Rose gingerly stood and tested her balance.

  “All right . . . I’ll help.” Luci stood but sank back down in her chair and laughed, “Maybe.”

  Sam stood and laughed, “I’ll help Luc and Luci will help you.”

  “Fun bunch we are,” Luci laughed and stood one more time. “Okay. Let’s get home.”

  Rose hefted Erik to his feet and pulled his arm over her shoulders. “Wake up, fool. I am not carrying you and I will drop you if you fall asleep on me.”

  “I’m up.”

  The four of them waddled and weaved their way through the alleys and eventually made it back to the castle. They only dropped Erik once, for which Rose was shocked.

  Rose and Sam threw Erik on his bed and left him how he fell.

  “You all right on your own?”

  “Yeah,” Rose patted Sam on his shoulder. “Good night, Sam.”

  “Why are you here?” he asked her quietly. “Why did you come with us?”

  Rose watched him, braced her hand against the wall for her weaving balance, and shrugged. “I wanted to have fun. It’s been a long time since I had fun.”

  Sam blinked at her. “What do you have to do?”

  Rose shook her head slowly, the room spinning. “Nothing to worry you about. I’ll be gone soon enough.”

  He watched her with narrowed eyes before nodding slowly and turning away.

  Sam weaved his way down the corridor and Rose turned toward her own room. Closing the door behind her, she fell onto her bed and pulled off her boots. Her few items were still packed in her bag. In time she would be gone, and it would be like she had never been here.

  Chapter 12

  The stone bench was cool against her back. It was a welcome contrast with the sun beating down on her. It was quiet here in the garden, no one to interrupt her. She was left alone here. It allowed her to get away from the noise, smells, the people of the castle. She kept waiting for the summons from the king, but no one had sent for her or mentioned it again.

  “Miss Trewin?”

  Rose peeked around the edge of the bench toward the entrance of the garden. “Over here.”

  The captain’s boot crunched on the rocks and stone path until she stood in front of her. “I assume you have no training with a sword, am I correct?”

  “Not formal, no.”

  “Then if you would come with me, please.” Captain Sayla spoke over her shoulder as she walked away. “I thought it would be wise if you trained with a Sword Master before you leave on your assignment.”

  “I have no intention of getting into a sword fight,” she told the captain’s back, following nonetheless.

  “I am not taking any chances. The king needs this mission to be successful.” They left the gardens and passed through the courtyard to the far side of the castle. “Hopefully you’ll have enough time to learn some basics of swordplay.”

  “All right,” Rose groaned.

  Captain Sayla snapped and spun around to face Rose. “This may mean nothing more than money to you; you may care nothing about the outcome of this mission, but to the rest of us this is of utmost importance. Things are at work behind men’s backs.” She resumed her march toward a small building set next to the barracks. Rose glared after her, feeling put in her place for the first time in years.

  She hustled after the captain. “What things? What is happening?”

  Captain Sayla stopped next to the small building, the bricks old and cracked, and glared at Rose over her shoulder. Rose huffed, bitter at how small this woman could make her feel with simple glares and looked around herself. Rose had actively avoided this end of the yard for all the soldiers it housed.

  To her left were the practice fields and sparring rings. To the right the fields stretched along the walls.

  Other soldiers were already training in the fields, sparring with wooden practice swords. Several groups were running and others were training with weighted balls. A small number had paired off and were sparring with naked blades, the loud clacking echoing through the yard. A man to Rose’s right danced around another with grace and precision. The afternoon light gleamed off his sword and the clang of the blades meeting echoed across the practice fields. Dust swirled around their feet.

  Captain Sayla knocked on the door and turned to Rose. “I’m going to introduce you to one of the Sword Masters that trains new recruits, primarily for the cavalry. I pulled a few favors and got him to help you before you leave. He’s a big, giant of a man but don’t let him intimidate you. He’s all glowers and roar but no real bite.” Captain Sayla glanced at her. “Listen to him.”

  Rose nodded slightly as the door opened. A man nearly as wide as the door walked out into the sun. Rose’s eyes were drawn first to the thick wormlike scar that ran from his temple down to his chin. As he brushed his hair out of his eyes, Rose noticed his striking golden blond curls. They covered his head and flopped into his eyes in a mess. He turned his eyes straight to Rose. The weight of his gaze made her take a step back.

  “This the runt?” He gestured to Rose with a thick hand.

  Captain Sayla tossed her long, blond braid back over her shoulder. “This is Rose. Rose, this is Archie.”

  “For the love of the gods, Mariah. Stop calling me Archie,” the man grumbled.

  “It’s your name.”

  “Archibald. My name is Archibald.” Archibald rubbed his eyes and growled a sigh, “mum doesn’t even call me Archie anymore.”

  “Not to your face,” Mariah murmured.

  Rose stared in shock at the two people in front of her. She pointed to the captain. “Brother? Are you her . . . her brother?”

  Two identical sets of hazel eyes turned to her and Rose took another step back.

  “Archie is my elder brother—”

  “—and because my tiny sister asked so nicely,” Archibald paused to glare at the captain, “I agreed to teac
h an even tinier girl in my spare time, for free.”

  Rose squared her shoulders.

  Captain Sayla grinned at her then turned to Archibald. “My thanks, Archie.”

  Archibald glared at the captain’s back before looking Rose up and down. Archibald stared at Rose a moment longer with a frown between his brows. Then he turned on his heel and strode toward a practice ring next to the small building.

  “Come, Tiny.”

  Rose glowered at Archibald’s back before running after him. Archibald stopped next to a rack that held wooden swords, edged blades, knives, and staffs. He selected a practice sword and tossed another at Rose. With a yelp, Rose reached to catch the sword.

  “Okay, Tiny, let’s see what you already know and what I’ve gotten myself into.”

  Rose walked over to the rack and set her book down. “My name isn’t Tiny.”

  “No, but you are tiny. Sword up. Face me.”

  Rose pursed her lips and did as he said. She much preferred long knives and daggers to swords. Raising her blade, Rose tried to settle into a comfortable stance with the awkward and heavy blade.

  Archibald circled Rose and nudged her feet farther apart with his sword. “Not bad, not bad. Now, I’m going to attack you. Try to stop me. Remember to keep your knees bent.”

  Archibald swung his sword at Rose’s head. Rose brought her sword up and met Archibald’s attack.

  “Good. Use the flat of the blade to block, not the edge. Again.”

  Rose readjusted her grip and watched for the next attack, her arm shaking from the weight. Archibald swung at Rose’s knees and Rose dropped her sword to block the swing. The blow shook her arms but Rose met the blow. Archibald swung again and the wooden sword cracked against Rose’s knuckles.

  “Ah!” Rose clenched her hands to her chest.

  “You were doing well, Tiny, but you can’t pause. Always anticipate the next attack.” Archibald raised his sword. “Again.”

  Rose bent and retrieved her sword. “Stop calling me Tiny.”

  Instead of replying, Archibald swung again. Rose met the attack and jumped back to avoid the second swing at her ankle. Just as Rose regained her footing, Archibald jabbed her in the gut.

  “Gods . . .” She wheezed and doubled over. She fought to stay on her feet and not sink to her knees while struggling for breath.

  “One last time.”

  “. . . wait . . .” Rose gasped out.

  “You cannot yell ‘wait’ while your opponent readies to kill you.”

  Rose gripped the hilt of her sword and glowered. “I know.”

  “Sword up, Tiny.”

  “I am not—” Rose raised her sword and blocked the swing meant for her head, “Tiny!” She swung her own sword at Archibald’s ribs with her shout.

  He easily blocked her attack and grinned at her.

  Rose panted and stared at him with a frown.

  He grinned again. “Tiny and fierce. Good. Fierce I can work with.” He paused and then shrugged. “I can work with tiny a little, too.”

  Rose dropped the tip of her sword to the ground. She puffed some hair out of her eyes.

  “You’re not hopeless and you have some spunk, which is even better.” Archibald dropped his practice sword and walked around Rose. “Have you fought before?”

  “Not with swords,” she huffed.

  Rose started to turn to face him but Archibald grabbed her shoulders and turned her back around. He kicked her right foot farther in front and her left wider. Rose tensed and Archibald grabbed her wrists.

  “Now, I’m going to walk you through a basic routine,” he said.

  Archibald started moving her though blocks and strikes all the while Rose was stiff and tense. He moved her arm forward in a thrust. Rose tensed even farther and her arm was jerky, even with Archibald’s strength guiding it.

  “You need to relax or you’re going to strain yourself. Now pay attention and learn these moves. This is the most basic movement. Nearly everything else is based on this.”

  “Wait.” Rose tugged at the strings of her bodice and yanked it off. Pulling her damp shirt away from her skin, Rose rolled her shoulders and retrieved her sword. “All right. Show me.”

  Archibald chuckled and clapped her hard on the shoulder. “I think I like you.”

  He returned to showing her the movements. Soon, Archibald started adding more and more moves to the sequence, and Rose had to focus just so she wouldn’t trip over her own feet. Archibald stepped away and had Rose go through the movement over and over until she flowed smoothly through the motions.

  “Got it? Good. Now use it against me.” Archibald retrieved his dropped sword and faced Rose. Hesitantly, Rose started the attack; frowning with the effort to remember everything.

  Over and over Archibald had her strike him with the routine. Soon, the flow and rhythm of the moves started coming more naturally. Just when she started to feel confident in the routine, Archibald taught her a new set of moves again by guiding her movements first. By the time he finally called an end to the lesson, Rose’s arms quivered and back muscles she didn’t even know she had burned. The sun was low in the sky and the courtyard had emptied without her noticing. Her hair was plastered to her wet face and her shirt stuck to her skin.

  Rose used the tail of her shirt, the one clean part left, to wipe the sweat from her eyes while Archibald replaced their practice swords on the rack.

  “Not too bad for your first day, Tiny.”

  “If you keep calling me Tiny, I’ll call you Archie.”

  Archibald laughed and slapped her back hard enough for her to have to take a step forward to catch herself. “We’ll see about that. All right, off with you then. It’s late and I’m tired.”

  Rose suppressed a snort and started the trek back to her room.

  “Tomorrow you have a meeting with the merchant guild in the morning and the masons have a petition for you to look over. I’ve added them to your schedule after your noon meal.”

  Micah took the itinerary from his secretary. “Thank you.” King Micah looked through the list, then handed it back. “Please set aside some time in the next few days for Miss Trewin and Captain Sayla to speak with me.”

  “Yes, Excellency.”

  “Thank you, Ben. That should be all for today.”

  Micah’s secretary bowed and excused himself. “Captain,” Ben nodded in greeting as he passed her in the doorway.

  “Good afternoon, Sire.”

  “Afternoon, Captain.”

  Mariah pulled a sealed letter from her inner coat pocket. “Officer Fiben just returned from Salva with the reply from Lady Arthine.”

  “Thank you, Captain. These need to go out at your earliest convenience.” Micah handed her a new stack of letters.

  “Do you think it’s wise to still have the ball?”

  Micah rubbed his chin. “I need this. I need to host this with all the province leaders. It is even more important now that the B’leakon council members are coming.”

  “I don’t see why. They’re only traders. Not even under crown rule.”

  “Because,” Micah scowled, “not even my father was able to get them to meet him. This is the first time the B’leakon trade council has been willing to open new dialogue.”

  “And you want to boast that in front of all the leaders.”

  “No,” he corrected. “I need to boast that in front of them. My father left me with many unhappy lords. I need them to see I have more political power than my father had.”

  “Do you know what will help with political power?” Mariah asked with a knowing smirk. “Marrying a lord’s daughter with connections and a dowry.”

  Micah glared at her. “I am reading the proposals.”

  Mariah settled into the chair acro
ss from his desk. “Don’t be cross. I’m only trying to help.”

  Micah sighed and leaned back in his chair. Mariah echoed his sigh. He held Mariah’s eyes as she shook her head at him.

  “Why are you humoring her? Hiring her?”

  Micah cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do you truly think she can be forced into anything she doesn’t want? If she can do half of what you suspect, we need her. I can afford to pay her. Because . . .” he trailed off and looked away. “Because she doesn’t care I am king, and her disregard of my title is refreshing.”

  Mariah squinted at him and Micah waited for her to argue with him. Strangely, she held her tongue this time and nodded. “I’ll have those invitations sent out immediately.”

  He nodded as Captain Sayla let herself out.

  Chapter 13

  Rose knocked on the closed doors. Standing self-consciously in the large, quiet hall, Rose glanced at the guards lining the corridor and resisted the urge to squirm. The secretary opened the large oak door and Rose took a deep breath. She hadn’t spoken with the king since she’d demanded payment; since the captain had lectured her. Walking into the office, Rose was surprised to see paintings of horses all along the walls. There were stallions and mares with foals, large draft horses. Many set against the lush hill of the Rhivony countryside and various provinces.

  “Do you like my collection?”

  Rose jerked her attention away from a painting of a giant Clydesdale to the king. “I . . . yes. They are lovely.”

  King Micah smiled and looked around his office. “My family breeds horses. I grew up around them. I’m rather fond of the draft horses myself.”

  Rose glanced around once more then took a seat next to Captain Sayla. “You wished to speak with me?”

  “We need to send you to Amora as quickly as possible. To Berthton.”

  “What is in Berthton?”

  “The Penish family home.” King Micah said. “I need you to find proof the lord governor is raising an army to over throw me.”

 

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