Read Online Rebels and Fools (The Renegade Chronicles Book 1) by David Michael Williams - Free Book Online

letter.
    Ragellan
did not know what to believe, but he was confident that his refusal to arrange
the assassination and his arrest were related. He had gotten in somebody’s
way—but whose?
    The
door to the room opened suddenly, tearing Ragellan from his memories. Grabbing
his dagger, he leaped to his feet. But it was only Klye.
    “Sorry,”
Ragellan said. “I suppose I’m a bit jumpy. Where are the others?”
    Klye
collapsed onto the bed, his eyes finding Horcalus, asleep on his cot. “They are
in the other room. I told them to get some sleep, though Plake was eager to
enjoy Port Town’s nightlife.”
    “He
may try to sneak out,” Ragellan pointed out.
    “I
know. That’s why I jammed the lock on the door. It’s a useful trick to be sure.
Keeps witnesses to a robbery as well as idiot ranchers from getting you into
trouble.”
    “You
locked them in the other room?” Ragellan couldn’t suppress a chuckle at the
man’s creativity.
    Then
Ragellan listened as Klye told him about their walk to the Cathedral, the close
call with the Captain of the Three Guards, and the meeting with Leslie Beryl.
When Klye got to the part where Plake had interrupted the conversation,
Ragellan no longer smiled.
    “There
is no doubt in my mind that he was going to tell her about the two Knights of
Superius in our little band,” Klye spat. “I don’t think Leslie would have
necessarily used that information against us, but it would have given her
something to hold over our heads.”
    “And
the fewer people who know Horcalus and I are in Capricon, the better,” Ragellan
finished.
    Klye
nodded. “Sometimes, I wonder why I ever let Plake tag along. We would’ve been
better off just tying him up by the side of the road and continuing on our
way.”
    “He
might have identified us to local authorities.” Klye rolled his eyes, and
Ragellan pressed on. “Oh, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell them
anything pertinent, I’ll grant you, but we were still too near the Superian
boarder to take chances. You did what you had to do. Besides, maybe you were
feeling a little guilty. We had just stolen four horses from his uncle’s
ranch.”
    Klye’s
scoff told him that guilt had nothing to do with it. “To tell you the truth,
Ragellan, I thought he would get bored with us and leave eventually. It was a
long ride from Param to West Cape. And the longer Plake was with us, the longer
his uncle and the constables would believe he took the horses.”
    “Our
unwitting scapegoat,” Ragellan concluded. “That is clever. The poor man
probably still believes his reckless nephew stole the horses, sold them for
coin, and is living it up in some city in Param.” He silently added a prayer
for the gods to bless the ranch owner for his unwilling sacrifice.
    “Plake
won’t be doing any celebrating as long as he’s with us, though gods know he’ll
try. I feel like I’m babysitting him.”
    Ragellan
could empathize with Klye. He had been a trainer for the Knights before being
promoted to the rank of commander, and he had met his fair share of
undisciplined young men. “Well, we’ll be out of Port Town soon, and there is
little enough trouble for him to get into on the road. Do we leave tomorrow
morning as you had hoped?”
    “Actually…”
    Klye
told Ragellan the rest of the story, about Leslie’s suggestion that he come
back tomorrow afternoon to meet with a guide who would take them all the way to
Fort Faith. “We should be on our way out of Port Town well before sunset.”
    “Do
you trust Leslie Beryl?” Ragellan asked.
    “Not
necessarily,” Klye replied. “But I think I understand her, and that’s more
important than trust.”
    Ragellan
did not argue, though he secretly pitied Klye. He doubted the former thief had
ever put much faith in the people around him. Klye only depended on people
whose interests coincided with his own at the moment. He knew nothing of
genuine respect or love, only grudging fear and convenient