Reign of Madness (Revised Edition) (23 page)

“My Masters were extremely knowledgeable, and what they
could not teach, they left to others to impart. A number of
visitors
were brought in over the years, specialists and experts in their respective
fields. I did not understand or question my place or the amount of resources
that went into my training. It was simply my reality, and it was normal. I
never even considered what might have happened to those visitors when they
left. I suppose I assumed they went home. Now, I am nearly certain they never
had the opportunity to leave. Knowledge of my existence and that of the
fortress was very carefully controlled. Everyone involved in my training for
almost twenty years is dead – except one,” Rezkin explained.

“So, all of the strikers and your masters are dead?” Kai
asked. To think that all of those strikers were alive all these years and they
suddenly died just before Kai found out about their survival was frustrating.
“Was there an attack on the fortress? How did they die?”

Rezkin cocked his head and watched Kai carefully for the
man’s reaction to his next words. “I killed them,” he said plainly. The
warrior’s calm demeanor and lack of remorse was disconcerting. With his coal
black hair, pale complexion and icy blue eyes, he suddenly looked much more
like a ruthless predator, cold and reptilian, than he did the young liege-lord.

Kai’s face paled, and his jaw worked soundlessly.
Eventually, all that came out was, “What?”

Tam, too, stared in shock. The young man did not follow
everything the two men were discussing, but he was intelligent enough to catch
on to the majority. His friend had just admitted to killing more than a dozen
men who had raised and trained him, men who were the elite forces of the
kingdom.

“It was the week after I passed my final
Skills
test.
Everyone was gathered in the courtyard. My master called me to the center of
the gathering and gave me his last command. I was to kill the strikers,” Rezkin
explained.

“S-So you just killed them?” Tam exclaimed. “All of them?
Fifteen
strikers?”

Kai huffed as he stood. He clenched his fists several times
and ground his teeth before sitting back down. “Even if I believed you, which I
am not certain that I do, I cannot imagine they died willingly.”

“No, they did not,” the young warrior agreed. He turned his eyes
to Tam and said, “I truly had no choice, Tam. The order was issued in full
hearing of the strikers. As soon as the word was given, they knew their lives
were forfeit so long as I lived. The battle was brutal. Some of them killed
each other by accident when their comrades were caught in the middle. I
suppose, ultimately, I am responsible for their deaths. If I had not killed
them, you can be assured they would have killed me.”

“And, if they had not fought back? Would you still have
killed them?” asked Tam in horror.

Rezkin cocked his head and answered honestly. “At the time,
yes. I was conditioned since birth to always obey my masters,
Rule 258
.
I have killed many, many people on their orders, although Master Peider nearly
always made it a point to inform me of their crimes for which they had been
sentenced to death.”

Tam’s face scrunched in thought. “So, you were an
executioner? They were all criminals?”

“I do not know all of their crimes, but as far as I know,
none were innocent,” Rezkin replied. Tam looked momentarily relieved, which did
not sit well with the warrior. He did not want to mislead his
friend
. An
unreadable expression that looked almost like compassion passed over Rezkin’s
face before he said, “Make no mistake, Tam. I killed because I was so ordered.
Their guilt or innocence played no part in the matter.”

“You would have killed them regardless?” Tam asked.

“Whether they lived or died was not my decision to make. I
was merely the weapon,” Rezkin explained.

Kai took a deep breath and turned to Tam. “Whether you call
him executioner or soldier, the result is the same. Every man in the army will
go to war and kill whomever his superiors tell him to kill. The ultimate
decision rests with the king. If you joined the army, it would not be
your
decision whether or not to kill your foe, nor would it be your enemy’s decision
as to whether or not to kill
you
. You would both be fighting and killing
for someone else. As far as the strikers go, it sounds as though this master
Rezkin speaks of gave the order, and after that, nothing could have been done
to stop it.”

Rezkin nodded once in agreement but kept his eyes on Tam.
His
friend
was having a difficult time accepting the reality, and Rezkin
was not yet sure why. Tam was fairly innocent in his experiences, but the
occurrences with the bandits and his understanding of the way of the military
should have prepared him for this reality.

Tam felt Rezkin and Kai’s eyes on him. He glanced up and
blinked away sweat or tears – he was not quite sure which. The young carpenter’s
apprentice was shocked and confused and did not know how to react to such news.

“I-I don’t know what to say, Rez. It’s like you’re a
completely different person than I thought you were. I mean, I knew all that
lording you do with the other nobles was an act, but I thought I knew the real
you. I thought you were good and honorable and relatively harmless, but now you
say you are a cold-blooded killer – an assassin. How many have you
killed, Rezkin? Dozens?”

Rezkin cocked his head in thought.

“Hundreds?” Tam prodded.

The young warrior shrugged and said, “I am certain it was
less than a thousand, but I cannot say exactly. The masters probably kept
records, though.”

Tam could not believe his ears. Rezkin stood so calm and
unconcerned as he spoke of killing hundreds of people, as if it was just
another workday. “Have you no remorse? How can you be so cruel?” Tam questioned
with abhorrence.

“Do not mistake indifference for cruelty. I find no pleasure
in killing or inflicting pain. As for the others? No, I have no remorse. It was
my purpose, my training. I believed in the masters and knew their purpose was
to train
me
. If they told me to kill, then I knew it needed to be done.
That was the way of it, until that final day. I do not know why the strikers had
to die, and I find myself questioning the order. Not that I could have done
anything differently, except
die
. As I said, they would have killed me
if I did not kill them first.”

“I still do not believe you killed fifteen strikers in a
single battle,” Kai grumbled.

“I did not,” Rezkin replied. “I either directly or
indirectly killed fourteen. One escaped during the battle.”

Realization suddenly dawned on Tam. “Since we met, you have
said you were looking for someone – a comrade. It’s him, isn’t it? You’re
looking for the fifteenth striker.”

“Yes, that is so,” Rezkin replied.

“Why? To finish what you started? You’re going to hunt him
down and kill him?” Tam asked, his voice heavy with accusation.

“At first, that was my intent. Now, I do not know if I must
kill him. I need answers, and I am left in a quandary. My final order from my
master was to ‘
Kill the strikers
.’ One got away. Does that mean I must
hunt him down and finish the job? Even more importantly, did my master mean
that I should kill only the strikers who were present or
all
of the
strikers?” Rezkin asked looking pointedly at Kai.

“What? You think you are supposed to kill
all
of the
strikers? That would mean war against the kingdom,” Kai blurted.

“I honestly do not know the intent,” Rezkin replied.

“Why did you not ask your master to clarify?” Kai asked with
disgust.

“I could not,” Rezkin said. “My masters killed
each other
during my battle with the strikers. Now, I am left to wonder – was there
something wrong with the order? Was I supposed to kill the strikers? Why was
the order given in the first place, and who was behind it? I know my master did
not make the decision. Were the strikers guilty of something? Were they
conspiring against the king? It is obvious Bordran set up my training, but for
what reason I do not know. Did Caydean even know of it or was someone else
issuing orders in place of the king?”

Rezkin shook his head and continued. “Something both you and
General Marcum pointed out made me wonder. I always assumed the strikers were
the targets. Anyone familiar with my training would know I was capable of
completing the assignment, but someone else may have thought fifteen strikers
would be sufficient to end
me
. Was
I
the true target? My master
would have known I could prevail against the strikers given the right
conditions, but the conditions he set up would have meant the greatest chance
for my failure.

“There are simply too many questions, and I need answers,”
Rezkin said, his frustration bleeding into his tone. “Right now, the only leads
I have are Farson, who has disappeared, and the strikers. After speaking with
you, Kai, I realize it is unlikely the majority of the strikers would have the
information I seek.”

Kai grunted, “I would have to agree with you on that. This
all sounds convoluted. You do not know who was giving the orders, why the
orders were issued, or the identity of the actual target. What I
do
know, assuming I believe your story, is that fourteen of my brothers are dead
and another is on the run from
you
.”

“Yes, that is true,” Rezkin replied as he studied the
striker carefully.

“What is your intention toward me? I am a striker. Do you
intend to kill me, too?” Kia probed.

Rezkin’s gaze was as firm as stone when he replied, “I have given
my oath as your liege, Kai. Aside from that, I am no longer beholden to any
master, as you well know. No matter your doubts about me, do not doubt my word.
I do not give it lightly.”

“Wait,” Tam interrupted. “How are
you
Striker Kai’s
liege. I thought strikers answered only to the king.”

Rezkin hissed an exasperated sigh as he looked back at the
striker. If Kai were going to openly rebel against his own oath, now would be
the time to do it. More importantly, the young warrior watched the man for the
subtle nuances that indicated he might betray Rezkin in secret.

Kai stared at the floor for a long moment before he finally
looked up at his chosen king. Rezkin had been surprisingly open and honest
about his actions and motives. He made no excuses, nor did he feign remorse. In
truth, the striker could not fault Rezkin for his part in the other strikers’
deaths. Even lacking the details, Kai could see the young man had been backed
into a corner. It was kill or be killed. He begrudgingly admitted that he actually
did
believe the young man’s story. Rezkin did not seem like the kind of
idiot who would boast about killing more than a dozen of the king’s elite
warriors if it were not true.

The striker raised his head and met Rezkin’s eyes. His
bearing was resolute and determined. Kai kept his eyes on his liege as he
answered the young man’s question. “Rezkin is my king. I have sworn unto him my
fealty, and by my oath I stand.”

“Your
king
? I don’t understand. Rezkin is no king,”
Tam blurted with confusion.

“What you do not know, young man, is that
King
Rezkin
does
have a rightful claim to the throne of Ashai,” Kai asserted.

Rezkin shook his head and waited for Kai to continue on his
rant. Kai explained to Tam how King Bordran bequeathed the Sheyalin blades on
the young warrior and granted him complete autonomy and authority within the
kingdom. Tam followed along with the striker’s story, finding each word more
unbelievable than the last. Kai was convinced that Rezkin was his king. Tam
wondered if the man was a bit cracked. As the older man spoke, Tam glanced at
Rezkin to gauge his reaction. Rezkin looked bored.

Tam frowned. When Rezkin acted the noble, his reactions were
outrageous, sometimes even flamboyant, but at least they were understandable.
He had thought he understood the stoic warrior, the solid, dependable healer
that was his friend. Now, he thought he understood little about the man. He
certainly did not understand Rezkin’s lack of concern with regard to killing
and being declared someone’s king.

When Kai finished explaining his position on the matter, Tam
found himself staring at Rezkin’s swords. Rezkin noted Tam’s point of interest
and walked closer to the lantern. He slowly slid each of the blades from their
sheaths and turned them in the light. The flickering yellow flame seemed to
slide in amongst the blue and silver swirls to dance in seductive jubilation.
Tam was mesmerized by the hypnotic illusion. Berating himself for losing focus,
he tore his eyes from the liquid silver blades and stared at the man he called
friend.

“Where do I fit into all of this Rezkin? Everyone seems to
serve some purpose for you. I am smart enough to see your manipulation of the
nobles. You need Kai for his information and skills, and I can imagine your
need for the soldiers and the mage and even Reaylin, who turns out to be a
healer. It seems you can draw service from anyone you want. But, what do you
hope to gain from me? I am nothing special.”

Rezkin sheathed his swords and furrowed his brow as he said,
“You are my
friend
, Tam. As such, I will honor and protect you –
you and Frisha and Jimson.”

“Am I? Am I your friend?” Tam asked with accusation.

“Of course you are. It has been so since first we met,”
Rezkin replied. He cocked his head and inquired, “Do you now doubt it?”

“I don’t know what to think, Rezkin. It’s as though
everything I thought I knew of you is a lie. How can I be friends with someone
like
you
?” Tam blurted without considering the impact of his words.