Rise of the Champion (The Sword of Kirakath Omnibus #1) (34 page)

I’ll be known for killing the Night Blades off within a week. I’ll have to act quickly if I want to take down Clovis before he learns of what I did here. I don’t need him preparing for it, after all.

All thoughts soon faded away as the sound of hooves beating against the road grew too loud to ignore.

* * * * *

As sunset was nearing, Caleb stopped in a small clearing. It had taken longer than anticipated to find one, but they had both agreed that clearings were safer for the two of them. It was always easier when no one could easily sneak up on them.

Katie slipped off of the horse first, and then Caleb slid off of it.

“I’ll tie her up,” Katie said with a small smile. “We can talk afterwards.”

It was clear by the look on Caleb’s face that he was not too anxious to talk, but he did not voice any objections to it either.

She took the paint by the reins and walked her over to a tree, tying it up.

As she returned, she said, “You still haven’t named her, have you?”

“No,” Caleb said sheepishly. “I guess I never thought much about naming her. Besides, she probably has a name. Nicolas just never told me what it was.”

“Right, he gave her to you,” Katie said, remembering back to when Nicolas had given each of them a horse so they could ride to the ruins of Draesa.

“Yeah,” Caleb said as he sat down on the ground and set his bow next to him. “It seems so long ago. It’s hard to believe it’s been less than a year.”

“It is,” Katie agreed as she sat next to him. The past eight or nine months had been so busy that it felt a great deal longer than it had been. “So are you going to tell me why you stop acting like yourself every now and then?”

Caleb sighed, which made Katie frown. “The Sword of Kirakath is a magic sword. That much, you know. However, you don’t know the depth of its power. When I call upon its magic my physical abilities and my combat skills grow exponentially. However, it causes bloodlust too. It always has, though it was so weak that it was unnoticeable at first. By the time the assassins found me, the bloodlust was so great that I had trouble controlling it. But now… the bloodlust is so great that I can only direct it at a target. I only used its magic when I saw that Victor was going to outlast you. It seems that you’re safe around me, at least. If I’m right, then the magic amplifies what’s inside of me. There was some bloodlust deep inside of me from the very beginning because of what happened to Kirakath, and I fear that the bloodlust that I feel when I use the sword’s magic is tied to that. Because I care about you and would do anything to protect you, the bloodlust isn’t enough to make me even think about harming you though.”

Katie could not hide the look of surprise that crossed her face as she heard him speak.
I can’t believe he’s been dealing with something like this and I never even knew about it. It’s a bit reassuring to know that he won’t lose it and attack me though.

“That explains most of it, but that doesn’t explain the bloodlust I saw in your eyes when you asked those two assassins about who was after us,” Katie said as she looked him in the eyes. “You weren’t using the sword’s magic at that time.”

“I wasn’t,” Caleb agreed with a frown. “The bloodlust did not completely fade after I killed Victor. I wanted to kill those two before they even woke up, but I knew that we needed information from them first. I decided right from the start that they would both die, regardless of what they said. It’s a good thing too. My bloodlust did not fade until I killed the last one.”

This is a big problem. Caleb’s bloodlust is getting progressively worse. What are we going to do about this?

“When did your bloodlust get this bad? Surely it can’t have happened suddenly and without warning,” Katie said thoughtfully.

“This is a consequence that I have to face for using the sword’s magic to do something it wasn’t intended for,” Caleb said quietly. “I doubt it would have even gotten this bad if I had not have done it. Still, it’s a small price to pay.”

A consequence for using the sword’s magic to do something it wasn’t intended for… what is he talking about?

“I healed you with the sword’s magic,” Caleb confessed. “I don’t know how I did it, but I used its magic to heal all of your injuries. I couldn’t let you die.”

Katie’s eyes widened at that admission. She could not believe that he had done something like that for her. The full weight of the situation settled upon her quickly.

It’s my fault that he has to deal with this. If I hadn’t been reckless, I wouldn’t have been in that state when he found me. I should have gone looking for him instead of trying to take them out myself.

“I’m sorry that you have to suffer because of me,” Katie said quietly.

“I’d do the same thing if we were in that position again,” Caleb said seriously. “Don’t blame yourself. I don’t.”

“Thank you,” Katie said. She had no idea how to describe her emotions at that moment outside of grateful. “Are you sure that going through with this plan of yours is a good idea? It’s going to be very difficult to kill a count. It’s not a situation like we’ve experienced before. He’ll have armed guards and knights to protect him. Plus, you were being controlled by your bloodlust when you made the decision to go after him. If you’re sure, I’ll stand by your side, but I want you to be sure.”

Caleb closed his eyes and took on a thoughtful look that lasted for a while. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked to her. “Clovis has to die. Not only did he hire the Night Blades to kill us, but he was behind the Massacre of Kirakath. I will kill him for nearly getting you killed… and for playing a part in the deaths of my parents. But first, I want to ask him why Kirakath was massacred. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“I understand,” Katie said sincerely. She could understand his need for answers and his need to protect his friends. “I will stand by your side then.”

“Thank you,” Caleb said with a smile.

“So,” Katie said a few minutes later. “Did your father really use his old friendship with the high general to get his apprentice a position in the King’s Army in Zabryan?”

Caleb looked down at the ground and nodded. “His name was Gabriel Silver. He was not only my father’s apprentice though. He was my best friend, and I don’t blame my father for using his ties to get Gabriel into the King’s Army. I did not want to leave the village. In fact, I wanted to stay in the village for the rest of my life. As you can see, I didn’t get what I wanted.”

“Actually, I think you got exactly what you wanted,” Katie said, earning a surprised look from Caleb. “You might not have got what you wanted before the massacre, but you’ve got what you wanted since then. You’ve got friends that you can trust, and you have made a difference in many lives. Thanks to you, the Black Crows are no longer around to cause trouble and the Night Blades are so diminished that it’ll take a while for them to rebuild.”

“I think you’re right,” Caleb said as he looked at her with a smile. “But there’s something else I want… something that I believe you can give me.”

“What’s that?” she asked in confusion.

“I want you to teach me to fight. I saw your swordsmanship skills, and I think it would be a good idea if I had some skills of my own. I don’t want to rely on the sword’s magic anymore,” Caleb said seriously.

“Very well then,” she agreed without a hint of hesitation. “I’ll get some suitable sticks to use as practice swords, and we’ll begin tonight.”

Chapter 12

Nicolas sighed as he sat down at one of the tables in the Black Raven Inn’s tavern. It had been three days since Caleb left with the goal of killing Victor Abrams, and his time since then could best be described as a mix of boredom and worry. He could not help but feel that Caleb had gotten in over his head. The Night Blades were legendary, after all.

I should have gone with him. I’m not of any use here. Before long, I’m sure my membership to the Thieves’ Guild will be revoked. I haven’t had any business in a month, and Alexander can’t be happy with that.

Before he could think any further on the matter, he heard a knocking sound, so he rose to his feet, walked over to the door, and opened it. On the other side was a courier with a letter in his hand.

“Are you Nicolas Edge?” he asked immediately.

“Yes, you need me?” Nicolas asked curiously. He could not recall ever having a courier show up at the inn before. The only three people that ever needed to speak with him of a semi-regular basis were Alexander, Jason, and Katie. All three of them were more than willing to visit him in person though.

“I was sent to deliver this message, sir,” the courier said with a low bow as he held the letter out for Nicolas to take it. “It is from Zachary Edge.”

Nicolas could not even begin to suppress the look of shock on his face at that. Zachary Edge was his father. They had not spoken in the past year and a half, and the last time they spoke had not been the most pleasant experience.

“Thank you,” Nicolas said as he took the letter from the courier. Once the man made his way away from the door, he shut it and walked over to the table he had been sitting at. Taking a seat, he carefully opened the letter and unfolded it.

It only took about a minute to finish reading the letter, but he had to re-read it a few times to make sure that he was not imagining things.

Only after he was sure that it said what he thought it did, he spoke aloud to himself. “So Father wants me to meet him at the manor tonight for dinner... he actually wants to talk. I can’t believe he wants me to come by after all this time.”

Taking a deep breath, he left the letter on the table and rose to his feet.

“Dinner’s not for a few hours, but it might be a good idea to head there now,” he said as he headed to his room. “But first, I’ll change into a fresh set of clothes.” It was important to remember that his father was a noble in blood and personality.

After he changed into a new set of clothes, he made his way out of the inn and headed for Caldreth.

* * * * *

It did not take him too long to reach his father’s manor. It was within sight of Castle Caldreth, as was expected of the manor of the patriarch of one of Caldreth’s oldest noble families.

While the Edge family only numbered at a total of five members, they were all important, with the sole exception of Nicolas. He had an older brother in the service of King John as a knight and a younger brother in the King’s Army. In addition to that, his uncle was the magistrate and his father was one of the wealthiest men in the city.

Nicolas, however, had pursued a career in the shadier side of life, which was one reason he was the black sheep of the family.

Shaking his head, he looked at the manor. It was at least twice as wide as the Black Raven Inn. A large stone wall surrounded it with an iron gate in the front. The manor itself was two floors tall and was white with a charcoal gray roof.

He stepped through the iron gates and walked up to the two large wooden doors. He pulled them open and stepped through. He glanced around as he closed the doors. While he had not expected to see his brothers or his uncle around, he had expected to see servants. His father always kept a dozen or so servants on hand.

The manor was as finely furnished as always, but there was not a servant in sight.

“Father, are you home?” Nicolas asked in a clear, loud voice.

He received no response.

Nicolas walked forward a few yards and looked around curiously. He could see right away that his father was not on the bottom floor, so he made his way to the stair case that led to the second floor.

As soon as he reached the top floor, he saw into his father’s library. What he saw was the last thing he expected to see.

His father was lying face down with a knife planted in his back.

Nicolas ran as fast as he could, coming to a kneeling stop next his father’s body. The blood pooled around his body left little possibility that he was still alive, though he was compelled to check for a pulse regardless.

He’s still warm, but there’s no pulse. He’s dead… and it had to have happened after I left the Black Raven Inn.

He felt sadness fill him as the realization that his father was dead, but he did not shed a tear, despite the situation. He respected the man before him as a man. As a father, on the other hand, Nicolas could not feel any trace of respect for him. Even before Nicolas joined the Thieves’ Guild, Zachary had never shown him any respect or love. Zachary had never expressed pride or anything of the sort towards Nicolas.

He didn’t really like me at all. I never cared about nobility, unlike my brothers. Maybe that’s why. Either way, it doesn’t matter. He’s dead, and he needs to be buried.

Nicolas reached for the handle of the knife and pulled it free from his father’s body. He went to set it down on the ground next to him when he heard the distinctive sound of swords being drawn from their scabbards.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that there were five guards standing about five yards behind him with their swords drawn.

He immediately looked at the knife in his hand and took note of his proximity to his father’s corpse. It was pretty easy to figure out what the guards were thinking.