Secrets of the Swords, Book 1

Chapter 37: The Courier, Part 1

The courier thought it was a bit unfortunate that the assignment was another overnight journey, but the theater attendant who had requested her services had paid well. It was a direct delivery – no stops for other messages – and a locked letter, which more than likely meant it was either meant for a lover or a government official. No one else bothered with such tedious paper-folding to make sure a message wasn't tampered with.

Her company occasionally received secretive messages like these, encased in their waterproof bamboo tubes, and she felt that the extra precautions taken to guard the letter's contents from prying eyes made it more tempting to take a peek at its contents than if the letter had just been sent as an ordinary boring envelope.

Still, she had no personal interest in reading it. Given that this particular letter had come from the theater, she supposed its contents were more than likely of the romantic kind, perhaps written in a sudden passion by a patron inspired by a recent performance. How or to whom people expressed their affections was of no concern to her.

What would concern her about the letter's contents, however, was if—

A branch cracked behind her, and she froze as a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"If you're smart, courier, you'll not take another step, and listen well to what I have to say."

She froze, clenching her teeth. Not a love letter, after all. But rather, the sort of secret message that had painted a giant target on her back. Yes, that would definitely concern her.

Flee, or fight?

She turned, slowly, to face her pursuer. She had removed her courier crest after leaving the theater, so as not to draw attention to herself and her mission. If this person knew she was a courier, they must have been following her for a while. And she hadn't noticed!

"What do you want?" she said, careful to keep a safe distance between herself and the man. Though it was dark, she could make out that he was middle-aged, like herself, and the cut of his cloak was similar to that of the city guards' – but she didn't trust it to be authentic.

"You carry a letter from the theater on Pearl Street, do you not?"

Her right hand tightened around the strap of her bag, while the fingers on her other hand twitched towards the pistol at her belt. "It's a locked letter, and sealed in a casing," she warned, her eyes searching his expression for any giveaways of his next move. "The recipient will notice if it's tampered with."

The man shrugged his shoulders and kicked a pebble into the bushes on the side of the road. "I don't doubt it," he replied.

The courier chanced a glance over her shoulder. The tavern where she was supposed to meet the recipient was just up the road, but if the man had tracked her this far, he would certainly be able to follow her that short distance she had remaining.

"Then why are you stopping me, if you know you cannot read it?" she asked. "If you take the letter, the recipient will know that something is amiss, and that's assuming you get the letter in the first place. I'm well-practiced in fending off vagrants like you." If they hadn't been on the scarcely-traveled road to the monastery, she would have already tried to run and throw him off her trail.

The man tilted his head, eyes glittering in anticipation. "I merely want to know who you're giving it to."

The tension in her shoulders loosened only a little, but her hand still hovered beside her pistol. It was not against the rules of her profession to reveal the senders and recipients of messages, only the contents of the messages themselves. "I don't know much," she said slowly. "I only have a vague description and a passphrase that he is supposed to answer with."

"A passphrase?" the man took a few steps closer, and the courier retreated at the same pace.

"I can't give it to you," she warned, her voice raising slightly. "That would be compromising the contents of the message, or those of any future letters. Why are you so interested, anyway?"

The man came to a stop and sighed, clasping his hands behind his back. "I'm from the city guard," he said, as though that alone explained it. Still, he continued – "it's a matter of security for the kingdom. Our sources suggest that there is someone from a secret Loyalist society based at that theater you came from."

She shook her head. "That's impossible. Any Loyalists would have given up after King Guixi had all those men executed three years ago. If the lost crown prince had been alive, he would surely have been one of them. There's no legitimate claim to take back the throne anymore." She hesitated. "Isn't there?"

"No, no, of course not," the man hastily replied. "But for matters of national security, one can never be too careful." He gave a quick smile, his white teeth flashing briefly in the darkness. "That's why I need to know more about the recipient of this message."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

The man wrapped his cloak around himself, a dark shadow beneath the bright starts of the early spring night. "Stay close while he reads this letter that's been sent to him. Gauge his reaction – anything he says or does, report back to me immediately. And if you happen to catch a glimpse of any of the letter's contents, even better."

The courier gave a disbelieving scoff. "That's impossible. No recipients ever want their messenger around close enough to read over their—"

"Either that or I kill you and read it now," the man interrupted, a hand moving suddenly beneath his cloak. His tone had dropped to a quieter, more deadly pitch in warning. "It's not my first choice here, but certainly an alternative."

"How long has your group been tracking these people?" she asked in alarm. For this man to have gone through all the trouble of tracking down a letter meant that his investigation must have been going on for a while.

"Never mind that," the man snapped. "You will do this, or it'll be your life to pay after you've delivered that message. Any attempts to warn the recipient will also cost you dearly."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I wouldn't dream of such a foolish thing."

"Good. Loyalty won't get you anywhere. I'll find you after you've delivered the message."

"I'm sure you will," she muttered under her breath. She was hesitant to turn her back on the man, but when she made a cautious check over her shoulder, he had already disappeared from the road. The fact that he could so easily hide from her, an experienced courier who had been ambushed by thieves, fended off jealous lovers, and traveled deep into dangerous territories all for the sake of the messages she carried, sent a chill through her that lingered long after she had continued back up the road to finish her mission.