A Sword of Shadows and Light: Dare Valari Book 2 Read online

  I resisted the urge to lean forward and wrap my hands around his throat. "It's a question."

  Blaze looked back and forth between us, settling his gaze on me. "We're always suspicious of new people showing up. I don't think I need to remind you of that."

  That was true. A lot of people were still skittish around me and refused to talk to me because I hadn't been born in the Blights or lived there forever.

  "But to answer your question, no, no one has been aware of a stranger that just appears before murders occur," Blaze said dryly.

  He didn't have to say it like that. I scowled.

  He gave me a half smile in return. "You're running late to meet my sister, aren't you?"

  I glanced at the timepiece above the mantle behind the bar and yelped.

  Blaze let out a low laugh. Ragum's dimple blinked in his cheek once more.

  "This conversation isn't over!" I said over my shoulder as I quickly made my way toward the door.

  3

  By the time I got to the Rebel Hare, I was out of breath. Penny sat outside on a wooden bench, holding a pouch in her hands. A man stood at the far end of the bench, leaning against the wall. He looked at me as I panted. Meanwhile, Penny watched me patiently as I bent forward and tried to slow my racing heart.

  "It's not good for you to just stop after running. Walk around and catch your breath," Penny pointed out helpfully.

  I unbent from the waist and paced back and forth in front of her.

  "Sorry for being late," I said when I could finally talk.

  Penny rose from her seat, and the man leaned away from the wall. He would follow us at a distance in case trouble started. I'd first begun escorting Penny when attacks on her were frequent. We had discovered who was behind them. Since then, the protection Blaze had ordered had been cut back, but he still had one of his men trail us. From what I understood from Penny, she was used to that.

  Unlike her, I wasn't used to being followed, and I hated it. Having a man trailing us wherever we went felt strange and restricting.

  "It's all right. I would have been annoyed with you if it was a school day, but the women's shelter doesn't expect me to be on time," Penny replied.

  We walked down the street, heading to the shelter. The women's shelter had been Penny's initiative to help battered women rebuild their lives. I was still impressed that someone so young would think of creating a refuge for those in need.

  "I'm still sorry for being late. Morris passed by Oscar's, which made me late to my midmorning meal, and then I saw your brother."

  "What did Morris bring this time?" Penny was always fascinated by the objects Morris managed to locate.

  "They're these long, wickedly sharp tools. I thought they were weapons, but Oscar claims doctors use them to cut open patients and help them feel better."

  Penny's eyebrows pulled together. "Giving pain to remove pain?"

  "He claims the pain doesn't last long. I don't know. The whole idea made me shudder, but the tools were so intricate."

  "I don't think I've ever asked you--how did you become so interested in blades?" she asked.

  I thought about it. "I think it was because they were the shiniest things around. My best friend, Tobin, idolized his brother. His brother was always practicing at swords, but he wouldn't practice with him. Tobin taught me so that he would have a partner to spar with him."

  "So he taught you a skill, and he got to enjoy it."

  "I'm not sure he enjoyed me winning most of our duels." I allowed myself a bittersweet smile, recalling the times I had beaten Tobin into the dust. I missed him.

  "If you were better than him, that means you challenged him. I'm sure he's a better swordsman now because of it," Penny said.

  The smile left my face as my throat tightened. Tobin had died as a result of my sword fighting. That was something I still grieved and would never forgive myself for. I may not have been the one to strike the killing blow, but most time is felt like I had. Ultimately it had been Prince Jasper that caused Tobin's death, another reason I fiercely hated the heir to the throne.

  I cleared my throat, changing the subject. "I saw your brother at the tavern. He told me there have been a few murders around the Blights."

  "There was another one?" Penny's eyebrows knitted together. "He didn't tell me."

  "Yes, they discovered the body early in the morning." Should I not have said anything? I silently cursed my loose tongue.

  "Do you know who it is?" Penny asked.

  "A woman named Jessie," I replied.

  Her pouch fell to the ground.

  I bent down to retrieve it and handed it over to Penny, whose face was pale. "Are you okay?"

  She swallowed hard. "Jessie is my friend's mother."

  Oh. I had forgotten. Blaze had probably wanted to tell her himself. He was going to kill me.

  "I'm sorry," I said before I could dig the hole for myself any deeper.

  "We should go over to her house," Penny said, changing directions. The man turned the same way without missing a step.

  "But what about the shelter?" Blaze was going to be upset with me.

  "We can go to the shelter after." Penny set a faster pace. "Why didn't Vin tell me?"

  Penny was the only one I had met in the Blights who called Blaze by his given name, Vincent, or nickname, Vin. Everyone else in the Blights called him Blaze. From what I'd learned, it was a name that reminded everyone of how he'd gotten to power, when he killed his first man.

  "He wouldn't want you to worry," I said.

  "No, it's because he wasn't happy I was friends with Kay."

  "Why not?"

  "Because he didn't approve of her mother."

  "Why wouldn't he approve of her?" Despite the question, I was pretty certain I knew the reason why.

  "Do you know Miss Ruby?" She gave me a sideways glance.

  "I've heard of her." Penny didn't need to know I had unknowingly volunteered to work for her.

  "I don't know if Kay's mother was one of Miss Ruby's girls, but she did the same sort of work." Penny's expression told me what I needed to know about what she thought of that.

  "Is there a lot of that in the Blights?" I asked.

  "Desperate women will do anything for coin."

  "Did your friend know about it?"

  "Yes, Kay knew. Jessie tried to get her to do the same," Penny said matter-of-factly.

  "What?" I was getting why Blaze was not happy about Penny's friendship with the girl.

  "She refused, but Jessie thought Kay was selfish. She kept telling her they would earn more money if Kay took up the job, especially if it was with the same client."

  A sick feeling welled up within me at the thought of a mother exploiting her child like that. "That's terrible."

  "Yes, it is."

  "Is that common here in the Blights?"

  Penny shrugged. "Is it common anywhere? I think desperation breeds it, but sometimes it's also pure greed."

  "You'd be right there." I thought of all the strange cases I'd heard of mothers trying to exploit their children.

  "How did you meet Kay?" I asked her.

  "She'd run away from her mother to attend school. She didn't have a quill or ink, so I shared mine so she could learn her letters."

  "That's kind of you."

  "It was the right thing to do," Penny replied.

  I looked at her and realized that most of the things Penny did were because they were right. She didn't think about the consequences but whether the thing to do was right or wrong. I liked that about her, and I realized that was because she reminded me a little of myself except she wasn't as reckless.

  She was also more selfless than I had ever been.

  I glanced at her. Blaze might have had the reputation of the criminal leader of the Blights, but he had helped raise a kind sister. I didn't think enough people credited him for that. They probably thought Penny was a calming influence on her brother.

  The home Penny's friend lived in was more of a shack,
located in the narrow confines of an alley between two rundown buildings. We passed similar shacks with people giving us suspicious looks. I tightened my hand on the hilt of my sword, thankful that Blaze's man had our backs.

  Penny knocked on the thin metal that served as a door.

  "Come in," a young voice called out.

  Penny ducked her head and entered, and I followed her inside. Blaze's man stayed out.

  Once my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting within, I saw the space indoors was barely habitable. I could have easily reached the ceiling had I raised my hand up, without having to stand on my tiptoes or reach for it. A girl sat in a corner on a lumpy mattress, arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were red rimmed.

  "Kay! I came as soon as I heard." Penny rushed over to her friend.

  Kay clutched at Penny, letting out small sobs. "I told her it would happen sooner or later. She wouldn't listen to me."

  "I know, I know," Penny murmured, patting her friend on the back.

  "She was a handful, but she was all I had," Kay said brokenly. "What am I going to do now without her?"

  "Has anyone caused you trouble?" Penny asked, drawing back from Kay to look at her face.

  "Not yet, but they will." Kay wiped her nose. "They're vultures, all of them. Did you see them circling outside?"

  "You don't have to stay here," Penny said, giving a concerned look at the door, as if expecting thieves to come in immediately and run off with anything they could grab. "Come to the shelter. You'll have others with you."

  "And live on charity?" Kay drew herself up. "No, thank you."

  "It's not charity. You earn your keep by maintaining the place, cleaning, cooking, gardening, whatever you like to do. You'll have company of other women. It would be good for you," Penny insisted. She had helped build the shelter for situations precisely like Kay's.

  "My mother worked so she could get us this space. I won't leave it before she's even cold and buried." Kay's voice broke on the last words.

  "At least think about it? Promise me you'll consider it?"

  Kay allowed herself a small smile through the tears on her face. "I will. I know you won't stop hounding me about it."

  "I want what's best for you." Penny reached out to hold Kay's arm.

  "I know. That's what I love about you. You care about everyone." Kay pulled Penny in and gave her a hug.

  That was true--Penny had a very kind heart. She had created the shelter herself to help battered women. As a result, she'd set a target on herself when a man wanted to make her pay for stealing away his wife, as if his wife hadn't walked away of her own free will. In the end, the man disappeared. I knew Blaze had something to do with it. He wouldn't allow a threat to his sister to remain, but he wouldn't tell me what he'd done to the man.

  Kay let go of Penny and noticed me for the first time. "Who's this?" she asked, wiping at her face and leaving streaked tear marks behind.

  "This is Dare, the friend I told you about," Penny said. "Dare, Kay. Kay, Dare."

  "I'm sorry to meet you under these circumstances," I said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

  "Thank you," Kay replied. "Penny has told me a lot of nice things about you."

  "Penny's very kind."

  "She is." I looked at Penny. She was gazing at Kay sadly.

  "Remember to consider my offer," Penny said.

  "I will. Thank you for coming to see me." Kay gave her friend another hug.

  "I'll be back soon. Let me know if you need anything at all," Penny said in farewell.

  "I just want to know who did this to her."

  I hoped that Blaze managed to find out before others died.

  4

  The next morning, I was still wondering if Blaze had made any headway in finding out who was committing the murders. I pushed open the door to The Fortune, and the bell let out a pretty little tinkle.

  Oscar and Morris were poring over items on the counter, and they looked up as I entered.

  "Hello, Dare!" Morris said.

  The only place in the Blights I could find a job was The Fortune. It was run by Oscar, an old man whose history was still a mystery to me. He was educated and well to do. The store sold items whose quality rivaled that of those sold in the castle and outshone anything you could find in town. Morris regularly supplied him with many of the items he sold. I had never found out why Oscar lived in the Blights or why Morris regularly ventured from town to the Blights to sell his merchandise. Then again, we all had our secrets.

  "Hello, Morris, Oscar." I gave them both a nod in greeting as I walked over to the counter where they sat perched over an assortment of tools, long utensils with sharp edges lying there on a lengthy piece of cloth. "What's this now?"

  "These are physician's blades," Oscar replied.

  I wondered briefly if the surprise items from Shreperi, the day before, had inspired this. I couldn't say I had visited many physicians, but no doctor I'd ever been to had ever exhibited those utensils. "Do all physicians use these?"

  "No, these aren't part of a regular medicinal kit. These are customized for a doctor's specialty." Oscar picked up the shortest instrument, showing me the metalwork.

  My hand reached for one of the tools, a vicious-looking tool with a jagged, curved edge. Before I touched it, I looked at Oscar. He gave me a nod, granting me permission. I picked up the piece and ran my finger along the beautifully crafted piece.

  "Are you sure this is for a doctor?" Doubt tinged my voice.

  "Wicked little thing, isn't it?" Morris said. "It's a nasty piece of work. I would wager it would cut up all your innards."

  "What kind of specialty requires this kind of tools?" What doctor cuts up his patients?

  "These are for doctors that look into surgery, cutting the body from within to free the patients from pain."

  I winced. What person could survive being hacked away at? "How is cutting someone taking pain away from them? Just slicing a piece of skin is painful."

  "Yes, but sometimes the person has a growth that's eating them away from the inside. Cutting it out removes that pain from them." Morris looked awed and sickened at the same time.

  "I'm glad I'm not a doctor. I don't think I could stand carving up people, removing bits and pieces from them."

  "What is that thing at your side for, then?" Oscar asked, pointedly looking at my sword.

  "You know full well that I don't walk around and stab people at random."

  Morris snorted. "That would be a sight. There's already a lot of talk about you. Stabbing people at random would make them all more fearful of you."

  "People are scared of me?" I was taken aback.

  "Yes. Didn't you know?"

  I shook my head. I had no idea. "Why would they be scared of me?"

  "You're female but dress like a man." When I opened my mouth to protest, he pressed on. "No, let me go on. You're a female carrying a sword, and people have seen you use it several times. Word has spread. Even if you hadn't fought in public, you carry yourself like you're prepared for violence. Haven't you noticed people keeping their distance from you?"

  "I thought that's how people were in the Blights." That was true. I assumed everyone was distrustful of strangers in this rough neighborhood.

  Morris shook his head. "Most people like conversation even if they live in the most miserable part of the kingdom."

  Huh. I'd always just attributed people's expressions and distance to how things were in the Blights. Yes, a few people had crossed the street when they saw me walking toward them rather than share a sidewalk with me, but I thought that was because they were wary of strangers, not because I was intimidating.

  "And the most important reason everyone fears you is that you're the companion of the criminal leader of the Blights."

  "Companion?" Do people think we're together? A vestige of horror went through me, but even more horrifying, a part of me was thrilled. I quashed it.

  "You came to the Blights a stranger, and the only company you keep is with Blaze and his
people. That would make anyone wary of drawing his attention by befriending you." Morris laughed at the expression on my face. "Is this really the first you've thought on this?"

  "Yes," I admitted, not sure I liked it. "Is it bad that people fear me?"

  "In the Blights? No," Oscar said shortly.

  "Yeah, if anything, it's an advantage. That makes sure the bad people keep away from you," Morris added. His shoulders shook as he started laughing. "But if you want them to really fear you, just start stabbing people at random. Blaze has always had an unstable crew."

  "I don't think that's necessary," Oscar chided Morris. "Blaze has steady people around him."

  "Oh, that's right. I forgot you're great friends with him yourself."

  "I am. And I think his bad reputation is greatly exaggerated."

  "Sure, he's a bundle of joy that one. All good deeds and charity." Morris rolled his eyes.

  I hid a smile, imagining exactly how Blaze would react to hearing himself being described like that. He would much prefer that people be fearful of him.

  "To summarize Morris's long-winded diatribe, please don't go around stabbing people," Oscar said.

  "I won't unless someone comes at me with those." I raised my chin at the items on the counter. "Where do you get your items from, Morris?"

  "Ah, I keep my sources close to my chest. Otherwise, you'll profit from all my trouble."

  "People come to you with this? Or do you go ask for them?"

  "People come to me with a lot of things, and I figure out where it belongs. A lot of the time, The Fortune is the best place to house all the exotic items I receive. Oscar here knows how to find the best homes for them. These beauties came from Kedun."

  Kedun was one of the most barbaric lands around. We were lucky to be situated in a place where we needn't fear attack from them. "Well, that explains why they're so nasty."

  "The Kedun may be barbaric, but they're very advanced when it comes to medicine. We would do well to learn from them," Oscar said.

  "They're a vicious lot, and these tools help prove that," I said dismissively. Then I returned to the topic that interested me. "Do you have a store in town where sailors bring you items? Is that how you have access to all these new weapons and instruments so regularly?"