The Courier’s Collection

Chapter 13

13

“HOW COULD YOU, JAK? I thought I was special, I thought we might be something.” Rasha asked. She felt the rage building inside of her. An uncontrollable rolling in her stomach that made the room spin. He stood with his palms up, pleading with her.

“Try to understand, I was young, I was foolish. She means nothing to me now,” Jak was trying to explain to her, he reached out to touch her arm but she pulled away from him.

A woman, not unlike Silae, entered the room. She had a wide smile on her face and belly heavy with child. The woman eyed her smugly.

Rasha turned back to Jak, who was staring as if he didn’t recognize her. His mouth was open and his head was bobbing as he searched for something to say.

“I’ve heard enough.”

Jak reached for her again. This time he put both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

“I don’t love her anymore, I haven’t for a long time! I love you.”

Rasha knocked his hands away and reached for her swords. With a cry, she lunged at him. The sword in her right hand, Cutter, plunged into his stomach. She let go of the sword. He stared down at it in disbelief.

“No, no.” Rasha was crying and shaking her head. She hadn’t meant to stab him. She’d only been angry and hurt.

“Murderer! You killed him!”

The woman that looked like Silae screeched and took an unsteady step toward Jak. She had Blade in her hand and she walked with purpose, toward Rasha. “You’ll pay for taking him away from me.”

She swung the sword across Rasha’s neck. Shocked, Rasha tried to hold the wound together, but it was too late. The warm blood poured through her fingers, and she fell to her knees next to Jak’s body.

“Your Highness!” Someone was shaking her awake. She woke with a start, eyes wide, until she realized she was looking at the maid. There was another behind her. Temi had his large paws on the bed staring at her face.

“Are you all right? You were screaming in your sleep.” It was Fisa.

Rasha looked down into her purple hands. There was no blood anywhere. She’d been dreaming. The bed coverings had shifted to the floor, and she’d perspired through her nightgown. It was sticking to her. Fisa dashed into the bathroom to get her a cold cloth.

“Here, lie back and put this on your forehead. You’ve got the fever.”

The other maid was putting the bed back to right. She arranged the sheets and blankets so that they covered Rasha to the waist.

“I’m fine, really.”

“You’re not well. You should rest today.” The older servant—her name was something strange like Margaret—was looking at her with sympathy.

“I can’t,” Rasha said. She threw back the covers and climbed out of bed with shaky legs.

“Are you sure, Your Highness? Fisa said.

“I’m sure. Thank you, Fisa. I’ll dress, and then the room is yours.” She hoped she wouldn’t fall to the floor and curl up into a ball. Not in front of the maids, anyway.

With the bathroom door closed safely behind her, she allowed herself to shudder.

She’d dreamed she killed Jak and been killed in turn by his wife. His wife. What excuse would he give for not mentioning it? Is that why he’d run off in the night after they’d asked him to become the prince incumbent? His strange behavior made sense now. Had he dissolved the marriage? No. If he had, Ladi would have found that out, too.

Ladi didn’t seem happy to tell her the news, but Rasha wondered if the she might be gloating inside. Her infatuation with Jak was obvious, and her constant attempts to flirt with him exasperated Rasha. In her childish way, she’d been testing the strength of Jak’s feelings for Rasha, but none of it mattered now.

Why couldn’t things ever be simple? She’d had a job to do: collect a package take it to Adalu. It turned out that the package was a princess. That had been almost a rotation ago. With the real prince and princess in hiding, she and Jak had stepped in to help preserve the kingdom. Except Jak, her prince incumbent, was already married to another woman. If it became known, he would be ousted. No prince of Adalu had a wife and a betrothed. Not that Rasha had intended to marry Jak, she hastened to assure herself. Once this war was over, she planned to go back to her real life. Possibly a life without Jak.

Rasha left the palace to meet with the captains at the easternmost part of the palace grounds. She’d left her cloak open, despite the biting cold. They were waiting for her near a dense line of evergreen trees.

The meeting didn’t have an auspicious beginning. The ranking officers of the kingdoms had earned their authority over lifetimes of service. Being asked to place themselves and their men under someone else’s command was disagreeable to almost all of them.

“We can’t all have different plans of attack!” Rasha was exasperated.

“It’s worked for us in the past,” the leader from Karmir said stiffly. He’d been decorated many times, and wore his decorations proudly. For the last hour, he’d been adamant that his strategies and plans had never failed.

“We bring our battalions and lead them. We all know our own strengths. It confuses the enemy and ultimately leads to victory.” He was looking at the captain from Vol, the eighth kingdom. It had been less than a hundred rotations since Vol joined the ten kingdoms. Before that, they’d been defeated by the Karmir many times. It was no secret the two nations were still holding grudges.

Rasha raised her hands before they decided to revisit the past right there in front of them.

“We’re not here to revisit the past,” Rasha snapped at them. “We will work together or we will lose this war. Let the beasts decide which of you tastes better for breakfast, if it suits you. But we will fight under a united command.”

There were a few smiles at her comment, but everyone nodded

“Your Highness, we speak different languages,” an officer from Buku said with concern.

“I’m aware of that. Nevertheless, we will find a way to work together and drive this threat from our kingdoms.”

“I don’t mean to be contrary, but you’re quite young. How many battles have you won, that believe your counsel is better than mine?” It didn’t surprise her that the Chilalian would be the one to give her the most trouble. He was a good friend of her father’s. He gave her the same supercilious looks.

“My age is irrelevant. My status is not. Do you challenge my right to the throne?” To his credit, the general didn’t back down as she stepped forward into his space. It was unheard of to challenge a royal because even thinking it was treason. The penalty for which was a long life in the dungeons—or a swift beheading.

Rasha stood ready to draw her swords.

“I’ve fought many times against many opponents. Just not the kind where you get shiny medals and a parade.”

He measured her words, taking in the determination on her face. Rasha’s hands itched to be holding her swords. It must have shown in her eyes because he finally conceded.

“No, Your Highness, I would never presume to challenge you or your authority.”

Rasha nodded and turned back to the others. Rasha knelt down in the grass and they gathered around her. Using a handful of pebbles, she outlined her plan.

“I need three groups here. She pointed to what was the south of the kingdom. I need another three to the west and the other three to our east. Well make them come to us. Right here, we surround them, and then the battle is ours.”

In the training room, Rasha took up a longsword to continue Ladi’s training. Rasha wasn’t blind to the fact that Ladi preferred sparring with Jak because she had a crush on him. Jak either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care. He seemed to have that effect on women. They fell all over him.

She pressed an attack at Ladi, and she stumbled back. Rasha hadn’t meant to drop her that fast, but she was having a difficult time controlling her feelings. Ladi was getting pummeled.

Rasha admired how Ladi shook it off and came at her again. She’d improved markedly since beginning her training. She’d be even better if she went to the Courier’s Keep for a proper education.

“You should consider formal courier training.”

“I don’t need the training. I’m living the life.”

“No, you’re not. You’re here helping us because the war has left us shorthanded. What will you do when it’s over?” Rasha’s temporary status was a closely held secret. Bashir and Chiza would return to their kingdom when the threat had ended. Rasha had been looking forward to leaving the palace life and working with Jak. He’d been a legendary courier himself. She wouldn’t need Ebere when the authorities reinstated Jak. Not that there was anything wrong with Ebere, he just wasn’t Jak, she mused, then realized she was doing it again—making plans for the future with Jak. Wouldn’t he need to be home taking care of his long-lost wife? Rasha swung the longsword hard and fast, throwing Ladi off balance.

Rasha used her strength to push back and knock the sword from Ladi’s hands. It landed with a clank. Ladi marched over to pick it up.

“Whoa, where did that come from?” Ladi asked.

“Sorry. I’m just somewhere else today,” Rasha said, shaking her head.

“I know where your mind is. just forget about it. Who cares if he’s married? He wants to be here with you.” Ladi shrugged a shoulder.

Ladi picked up her sword and came at Rasha with renewed vigor. This time Ladi finished with her face pinned to the mat by Rasha’s foot. Rasha offered her a hand up, and they started again.

“Oh, you mean ignore that he’s married to someone else. Dream about him being with me the way you do?” Rasha swung the sword, punctuating her words with the clash of steel. She spun away from Ladi’s next attack.

Ladi let out a war cry as she threw her sword with all her might at Rasha. Rasha had to move fast to avoid it. Ladi was angry now, too. Angry at Rasha. They continued practicing hard, throwing taunts at each other for well over an hour.

“Good.” Rasha said as she returned her sword to the wall.

“Thanks,” Ladi replied, still breathing hard.

“You’ll be better after you graduate from the Courier’s Keep.”

“I’ve got a criminal record. If I put in a rotation with you, they might consider making me official.” Ladi said with a shrug.

Rasha laughed. “That’s what you think? Working with me will get you a license? You have a wild imagination. No wonder crime comes so easily to you.”

“It’s not always easy, but I’ve learned how to turn a no into a yes.”

“We’ll see when you’re dealing with the robot at Courier Central. Without credentials, they won’t consider you. They won’t even acknowledge you exist without training. You should go to the academy while you can.”

“What does that mean?” Ladi asked, sitting up straight.

“I mean we’re losing this war. I don’t know how much longer we can hold out against the beasts. We’re badly outnumbered, and we may not survive the winter,” Rasha said grimly.

Ladi seemed somber as she considered what that might mean. Then she brightened.

“But if we find the traitor, we might get ahead of them for a change. They won’t defeat us again.”

“Perhaps,” Rasha sighed. “We’re running out of time and options.”

“If my brother were here, what would he say?” Ladi asked.

It was like that sometimes with her. She’d be laughing or talking about something, and her brother entered her thoughts. Rasha recognized it; it happened to her sometimes too. She’d see someone that looked like him, or hear a familiar laugh, and, for an instant, believe it was Lu.

“He’d say we’re going to defeat those beasts and win this war, but not sitting around on the floor.”

Rasha stood up and put out a hand for Ladi.

“Is everything in place?”

“Yes. The trap is set, and I’m just waiting for our false friend to take the bait. He’s going to bite.”

“He?” Rasha asked.

“I don’t think a woman would do this.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“You have a suspect in mind.” It wasn’t a question.

Rasha nodded. “I think it might be the mermaid.”

“Keabasi?”

“She’s part fish. It’s not beast, but an alliance between them wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Exactly.” Ladi shook her head. “It’s too obvious.”

Rasha hoped it wasn’t her, but if it was, she’d need more evidence to prove it. Either way, whoever was betraying them would pay. Her nightmare, Jak holding his hands over his bleeding belly, flashed in her mind. She had to shake of the foreboding that accompanied the vision.