Daveen smiled. “That is what I like to hear. Get better soon, all right?” Evin nodded, and the king hurried down the corridor, engrossed in the report once more.
Once he was out of earshot, Evin turned to me. “What was that all about? I hate him, and I would never help him.”
I smiled. “I know. The king thinks you are helping him because I stole your seal and forged a letter in your handwriting, then gave it to the king. The letter told him about a rebel, and where he can capture him. I have been telling Daveen about rebel movements too.”
Evin’s eyes filled with confusion again. “I thought you hated the king. Why are you helping him?”
Laying a finger against my lips, I said, “I do hate the king, but I won’t explain right now.”
With a scowl, Evin said, “You are a viper, Chance. I hope you know that.”
I smiled. “Only to those I don’t like. Your new room is the third door on the right.” Turning, I walked away, leaving Evin staring after me.
*
Job paced in the dark alley, anxiety making his heart race. He knew the plan, but he also knew that plans could fail easily.
He heard footsteps, and turned to face the sound. The newcomer was carrying a torch, which blinded Job. “Chance? Is that you?”
Something hit him on the back of the head, and everything went dark.
The soldier who had hit Job after sneaking around him while he was blinded frowned at his companion. “Did you hear who he thought we were?”
The other soldier nodded, his expression grim. “Looks like we have been listening to a traitor. Let’s take him back and tell the king.”
*
Daveen eyed the unconscious man the two soldiers dumped at his feet. “Is this him?”
The oldest one nodded. “Yes. But there is something I think you should know.”
Daveen frowned. “What is it?”
“When he heard us coming, he asked if we were Chance, the healer’s apprentice. You have been listening to a traitor.”
Daveen rubbed his chin, frowning. Shaking his head, Daveen said, “I will need you to bring him to the courtroom tomorrow morning.”
The soldiers bowed, picking up the man to take him to the dungeons. Daveen watched them go, still lost in thought.
*
The sound of wood striking wood and metal striking metal rang through the courtyard the next morning as soldiers drilled and trained. Larpsen watched as Evin and I practiced with blunted swords, occasionally calling out advice or insults, depending on the situation.
Evin’s sword arm dipped, and Larpsen barked, “Get that up! One mistake like that in a real fight will make you lose your head. Up!”
Evin grimaced, raising the sword once more. His arm was rigid and trembling as he struggled to hold the sword up, and I paused, lowering my practice sword. “Evin, you should do strength training with me. You’re too soft.”
“Well, thanks for the compliment,” Evin growled. His sword dipped again.
I smiled, tossing the practice sword to the side. “You can’t hold your blade. You wouldn’t last very long.” I went over to a bucket of water a few feet away and scrubbed the sweat off of my torso before donning my shirt. Bowing to Larpsen, I said, “Thank you for the lesson. I think Evin has had enough for one day.”
Larpsen nodded. “I think so too.” He walked away.
Evin glared at me after washing and putting his shirt on. “‘Too soft’?”
I nodded, smiling. “Yep. Lords are getting softer these days. You need to get stronger, or you won’t be able to hold your own against an opponent.”
A servant hurried up to me. “The king requires your presence immediately.”
I nodded and waved goodbye to Evin before following the servant. She led me to the castle’s courtroom, which was set up like the audience room but smaller, where she bowed and indicated that I should go in. When I entered, the king smiled and said, “Good to see that you have joined us, Chance.”
I glanced around the room. The king stood to my left, judges to my right, and two guards were holding the arms of a tall, muscular man. I kept my face blank as I met Job’s eyes, then turned to the king. “Who is this?”
Daveen’s smile faded a little. “You don’t know?”
“Of course not.” I turned to go.
Job strained against the hands holding him, his face twisted with fury. “You traitor! You’ve been here all along, haven’t you? We trusted you!”
I looked at him as if he was something I had just scraped off the bottom of my shoe. “I have never seen you before in my life.” Without sparing Job another glance, I walked out of the room.
Out in the hall, Evin fell into step beside me. “What did he want?”
“He wanted to see if I could identify a man that the guards captured.”
Evin’s eyes filled with curiosity. “Did you?”
I snorted. “Of course not. I have never seen the man, and I don’t know why the king thought I knew him.”
*
The little town was bustling with activity. Screams and the sound of breaking glass filled the smoky air. More than one of the villagers fell to a soldier’s blow, never to rise again. Katarina watched the chaos she had started from a dark alley, her face set in grim lines. The deaths were regrettable, but necessary.
After watching the fighting for a few more minutes, Katarina turned and exited the town. It would take several weeks to travel to all of the different towns Max had named. Once she had started riots in all of them, she could go home to her father.
*
Adam hurried up to me. “Master Larpsen requires you.”
I nodded. “Take me to him.”
Adam led me to a separate room, where Larpsen tended to a severely wounded man from one of the riots. I studied the man’s torn stomach and the deep cuts on his arms and legs before grabbing a cloth and pressing it to the man’s stomach. Larpsen scowled, trying to stop the bleeding. “The rebels struck again, causing riots. He was the only survivor. I don’t know if I can save him.”
The man’s eyes opened wide as he regained consciousness, and he screamed. Larpsen’s scowl deepened. “Give him that sleeping potion.”
I wiped the blood off my hands and glanced around, spotting the cup on a table. After grabbing it, I knelt beside the man and had him swallow the potion. After a few minutes, his eyes closed, and the tension left him. “Will you be able to save him?” I asked.
Larpsen growled in frustration as the man’s breath left him in a long sigh. His shoulders slumped, and he exhaled. “That answers your question. I will go tell the king.”
After he left, I studied the man’s peaceful features and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
A few weeks later, Evin and I were sword fighting when a servant hurried up to us. “The king requires both of you.”
We nodded, put away our swords, and pulled on our shirts before following the servant to the audience chamber. Evin sat with the lords, and I sat by Larpsen.
The lords sat in their usual places. The king had a row of judges to his right, and a lone man stood in the center of the room. The look in Job’s eyes could have melted steel, and he challenged the king with his bold stare. Even though he was chained, bearded and dirty from several weeks in jail, he held himself proudly. Glancing at me, his eyes filled with hatred. I smiled slightly.
Daveen stood, and a hush fell over the assembled lords. The king raised his hands, his deep voice booming in the large room. “Today, we rid ourselves of a criminal. Today, a traitor will meet justice!” The lords roared their approval. Once the noise died down, the king looked down at Job. “What have you to say for yourself?”
Job raised his chin. “I have only done what I think is best for my people. My people, who are slaughtered and raped and stolen from when they can barely stay alive. Their sweat, blood, and tears have made the nobles fat. What have I to say fo
r myself?” Shaking his head, Job said, “You had better ask yourself that question. What have you to say for yourself, my king? My tormentor? You may kill me, and that may stop the rebels for a short time, but as long as your tyranny dominates others, they will do their best to break free. Another will be chosen to lead after I am gone. It will never stop.” Job spat off to the side, glaring at the king. “I hope you burn for eternity.”
The king smiled, as if amused by Job’s fearlessness. Turning to the judges beside him, the king asked, “What is your verdict?”
The judges put their heads together for a moment, then one stood. “We find this man guilty of plotting against the throne and seeking to take the king’s life. We sentence him to death by burning at the stake in two days’ time, after he has been tortured.”
Guards came and took Job’s arms to lead him away. He once again glanced at me, but this time, he smiled. I nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
I sat in another of the rebel meetings, listening to their panicked conversation after I had told them that Job was going to be tortured for information, then executed. Fear filled every voice.
Randall’s eyes darted. “Surely we are doomed. Our location will be tortured from him. None of us will be safe.”
Katarina snorted, standing. “Shut it, Randall. My father would rather die than give the king information.”
“He may have to do that,” an old man muttered.
Katarina nodded. Her single eye found me, and she said, “Everyone but Max, go outside.” There were grumbles, but they complied, and I stood to face Katarina. She studied me, drawing a knife. Pointing it at me, she said, “Off with the mask.”
“Why?”
Katarina snorted. “Because I don’t trust you. I want to know who I am talking to, and I don’t think you are really helping us. Once you joined us, there have been more failed missions, and now my father has been captured. Off with it.”
I sighed, pulling off the mask. “Happy?”
Katarina’s eye widened, filling with betrayal. “Traitor!” She drew back her arm and hurled her knife at me.
I threw myself to the side the instant before she threw the knife, so it only nicked my ear. Glaring at Katarina, I pulled on my mask and exited the house.
I never saw the tears streaming down Katarina’s face.
Chapter Eight
That night, I climbed onto the roof. The wind pressed my clothes to my body, and I turned to see dark storm clouds blotting out the stars. Lightning danced among the clouds, marking the rhythm to a deadly dance. I didn’t have to wait long.
There was a soft scraping sound behind me, and I threw myself to the side. A knife flew passed me and hit the roof tiles, spinning away. “Hello, Katarina,” I said as I turned.
Katarina’s lips twisted into a snarl, and she brandished another knife. “We trusted you,” she growled, stalking closer. “I trusted you! And now my father is going to die. What else did you tell the king?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t told him anything other than information about your father and some of the rebels’ movements.”
The wind blew harder, making Katarina’s dark hair swirl around her. Her single eye filled with hatred and pain, and she lunged at me with the knife. “Traitor! Evil, scum-sucking pig!”
I grabbed the arm that was holding the knife and thrust her away from me. Katarina growled, crouching, as the first raindrops started to fall. Again, she lunged at me, but I grabbed her hand, pulled the knife out of her grip, and tossed it off the roof. “Stop this, Katarina,” I said quietly. Rain started falling in a torrential downpour.
Her voice broke as she shouted, “Why should I? You’re a backstabbing traitor, and deserve to die!”
She once again lunged at me, her fingers curled into claws. The rain made the roof slippery, however, and she stumbled. I caught her arm before she went over the edge and pulled her to safety. Katarina’s clothes were soaked, and she was shivering violently.
“You need to get out of the rain!” I shouted, and pulled her to the edge of the roof. “Can you climb into my window?”
Katarina nodded, and I lowered her over the roof. I waited until she was in before following.
Katarina was sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest. I pulled a blanket off the bed and draped it over her shivering frame. “You need to get out of those wet clothes.”
Katarina glared at me. “I am not undressing. And I don’t want the help of a traitor.”
I shrugged. “Fine. Don’t blame me if you get a fever.”
There was a knock on the door, and I opened it to see Evin. “Come in.”
Evin frowned, walking into the room. “Why are you wet?” He saw Katarina, and his eyes widened. “Who’s that?”
I closed my door. “Evin, I would like you to meet Katarina, daughter of the rebel leader.”
Evin’s eyes widened. “You said that you weren’t a rebel. You lied.”
“No, I didn’t lie. I am not a rebel; I am the snake in the garden.” I smiled. “You don’t see it until it is too late.”
Evin looked bewildered, and glanced first at me, then at Katarina. “Is someone going to explain to me what is going on?”
“It’s not that hard to figure out,” Katarina growled. “Only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see that he is a traitor.”
Poor Evin only looked more confused. “An idiot?” He glared at Katarina. “I am not an idiot! I don’t know what is going on!”
Katarina snickered. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Before the argument escalated further, I said, “Perhaps I should start at the beginning.”
“Please do,” Katarina and Evin said at the same time, then glared at each other.
I smiled at them, shaking my head. “If you two are finished…”
Evin sighed. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
“My name is Max. My family was accused of treason four years ago, and we were rounded up with all of the other suspected traitors to be executed. I was supposed to be burned at the stake. A guard helped me to escape.” I touched my cheek, where the burning tar had fallen. “I was burned quite badly, but I survived. I spent four years learning how to fight, then I was able to get this position. I have been learning what the king intends to do, and telling the rebels so they can be more effective.”
Evin’s eyes were riveted to the scars that weren’t covered by my clothes. He looked sick as he met my gaze. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged and continued with my plans.
*
“His name is Max. He was burnt when you executed the rebels four years ago. A soldier helped him escape.”
“Very good. Anything else?”
“He’s working with the rebels.”
There was a snort. “I already knew that.”
“His sister is Ella, the lady-in-waiting.”
“Really? That is very…fortunate.”
“I don’t have anything else.”
“Very well. You may go.”
*
Both Katarina and Evin looked stunned by the time I fell silent. Evin shook his head. “It is a dangerous game you are playing, Chance.”
I smiled. “I already told you that my name is Max, not Chance.”
Evin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. What you are doing is really dangerous.”
“I know. The king made an enemy of me, however, and I am going to take him down.” Someone knocked on the door, and I opened it to see Adam.
He shuffled his feet. “Would you like a bath now?”
I nodded. “Yes, I would.” Adam bowed and walked away, and I shut the door before turning to Katarina and Evin.
Katarina frowned. “You’re going to bathe with us in here?”
I snorted. “Of course not. The bath is for you.” Katarina’s eye narrowed. “You are freezing,” I said to forestall the angry response.
Katarina looked away. “I??
?ll live.”
“I’m sure you will, but why not be comfortable while you are surviving?”
Katarina glared at me, and I smiled.
Evin and I walked the halls while Katarina bathed. Occasionally, we would pass servants, despite the late hour. Evin watched the fearful way they walked with a frown. “Something’s wrong.”
I shrugged. “Not surprising. Nearly everything is wrong in this wretched castle.”
Evin considered this, then nodded. After a moment, he asked, “How are you going to get Job out? He’s going to be executed in two days’ time.”
“I know. I don’t really have a plan, at the moment. I was hoping Katarina would help me with that part.”
Evin chuckled. “I am sure she would love to.”
Several soldiers stepped out of the door in front of us. I stopped and waited for them to pass. Then the king stepped out in front of the soldiers, towing a cringing Adam by the ear. Daveen stared at me and Evin. “How unusual for us to meet at this late hour,” he said.
Something in his tone made me uneasy. “Do you want us to go to our rooms?”
Daveen smiled like the cat who had just swallowed the canary. “No, no. Don’t bother, Chance. Or should I say Max?”
I frowned. “Who’s Max?”
The king shook his head. “You can’t fool me. I have an excellent source of information.” He grabbed Adam’s arm and thrust him forward. “He is very loyal.”
Adam stumbled forward, falling to his knees in front of me. His eyes were full of tears. “I’m sorry, Max. So very sorry,” he whispered.
I frowned, confused. At that instant, the soldiers rushed forward and grabbed me, Evin, and Adam.
*
Katarina pulled on some of Max’s clothes after she got out of the tub. Hers were still lying in a wet puddle on the ground. She braided her long hair, then sat on the bed and waited.
After fifteen minutes, Katarina frowned. They should have been back by now. She walked to the door and pressed her ear to the keyhole. Shouts echoed from down the corridor, and Katarina sighed. “Leave it to the men to screw things up,” she murmured. “It is always the girl who has to clean up the mess.”
Straightening, Katarina walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a cloak. After putting it on, she checked that her knives were in the appropriate places, scowling when she felt the two empty sheaths.