The Rebel Assassin

Chapter 8: The Border

Joshua wanted to hold the badge, since he knew the most about how act like you were on a royal mission, but eventually he had to concede defeat in the argument. Auxiliary guards that he had trained at the castle were often funneled into other guard companies, and it would be just our luck for a border guard to recognize his former, supposedly dead, captain.

And after arguing Joshua down, no one had the time to deal with me, so I got it by default. Who can blame me? I just feel better when I'm the one doing the scamming. And I probably had the most experience in the group with flat out lying (besides Joshua) anyway.

So I tossed and caught the badge one handed as we waited for the border guards to get around to us, getting used to its weight and aura of importance, while Joshua glared at me from under his hood. It was early morning, the sky still more gray than blue, and the large flat area at the mouth of the pass teamed with merchants and other travellers hoping to enter the pass as soon as the guards began letting people through for the day.

The process of crossing the mountain border between Solangia and Englescroft — with the Protectorate between them — was simple. There were two ways through the mountains: the legitimate passes, and the less legitimate ones. The legitimate ones were occasionally swept or travelled by guards, and maintained jointly by Solangia and Emorial. Border guards checked traveller's papers at both ends of the pass, ostensibly keeping bandits out. In practice, distasteful people still slipped through to target the trade that flowed between the two countries, and most merchants still hired personal guards, but it was reasonably safe and, since it was maintained regularly, often faster than the other routes.

It was also expensive. Merchants and wealthy travellers paid to use the Crown's Pass — or took their chances with Bandit's Pass. The name spoke for itself. You chanced Bandit's Pass only if you were very confident, very desperate, or were a merchant who weighed the cost of paying for the Crown's Pass against the cost of extra guards for protection and found it agreeable.

Without the princess's badge, Bandit's Pass would have been our only option to get to the Protectorate in a reasonable timeframe. If I didn't pull this off, it still might be our only option. And in a race of a handful of rebels crawling through Bandit's Pass versus well-equipped royal guards skipping through Crown's Pass... we would lose. The princess's company wouldn't be delayed by losing the badge for long. We needed to make good use of our head start while we had it.

"Stop playing with it," Joshua hissed. "That seal legally compels any Solangian we pass to assist us with anything we need. It's going to make our mission a lot easier."

"Yeah, but it's still, you know, just some fancy metal." I was skeptical of the badge's power. I don't think I would have felt legally compelled to help someone just because they shoved it in my face.

A border guard finally made his way over to us and shouted over the rumble of wagons moving past, "Merchant mercenaries?" He looked confused, scanning our ragged collection. We had decided a cover story was a better bet than faking royal uniforms, so we didn't look like much of anything except well-armed.

I winked conspiratorially and motioned him closer, leaning in. "Adina Eyro, royal guard to Her Highness, Princess Magali." I palmed the badge into his hand so that nobody else would see. "Take a look at that — discreetly. Her Highness has assigned us a secret mission to carry out in Emorial. You understand? We need to blend in, so don't go flashing it around."

The guard bent over it dutifully. "Yes, Captain Eyro. I see. Let me verify this seal with my captain, and then we will, of course, assist with anything you need." He bowed and walked toward the guard tower at the other end of the pass entrance.

I turned to look at Joshua, glowering beneath his hood. "I think I like being called captain."

"Don't get used to it."