The Executioner's Rebellion (The Executioner's Song Book 4) Read online

  “You really are the Hunter, aren’t you?”

  “There are several outside of the city that have been attacked, including outside of Weverth. And several within the city as well. Why?”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “I think I would,” Finn said. “They were attacked for the same reason your attackers wanted my sword. Tell me why.”

  “All we had to do was use the wands on certain buildings. They wouldn’t fund the revolution otherwise. And they knew your sword would counter them.” She shrugged. “They wanted to destroy it.”

  Finn frowned. He’d thought this was all some conspiracy, all tied together, but what if she had been used? There were certainly those who knew about the power of the sword, but his blade didn’t have nearly the power that Justice had. That would have been the sword to claim.

  “You didn’t even know what you were doing.”

  “Did it matter? We saw what those wands were capable of doing. If it destroyed something within the city—”

  “It destroyed the history of this city,” Finn said.

  “A history of oppression,” she said.

  “The Alainsith never suppressed our people. We pushed them out.”

  She turned away. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done. And I wouldn’t have changed anything.”

  “You wouldn’t have changed allowing witchcraft to be used within the city?”

  “No,” she said.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way,” Finn said.

  This time, she turned to him, meeting his gaze. “You should pick your side carefully, Finn. When the darkness comes, will your king see you through it? Or will you be just another tool he uses?” She shook her head. “I don’t intend to be a tool.”

  She turned away from him again, and Finn doubted he would get any more answers from her. Not this way. In time, as he questioned her, he thought he would find out more, even though he didn’t like what it would involve.

  He got to his feet. “Your father has been released.” She tensed. “I questioned him. You are responsible for that, unfortunately, and he denied everything.”

  “You believed him?”

  “Should I not have?”

  She shuddered. “He didn’t know anything.”

  “But you still let him take the blame.”

  “I didn’t intend for him to,” she said, her voice soft.

  “But you still let him. He will be given an opportunity to prove himself, though because of what you have done, he will be watched.”

  “We are all watched. Even you, Finn.”

  Finn waited for her to say something more, and thought about all of the things he wished he could say to her, the ways he might be able to get through to her, but she had betrayed him—she had betrayed so much—and there wasn’t anything he could do at this point.

  He stepped out of the cell, locking it again. As he stared through the bars, he knew the circumstances would be even worse than they were now when he next saw her. He would be tasked with questioning her, trying to understand what she had done and the reason behind it, and Finn doubted that he would get much in the way of answers.

  When he reached the end of the hall, he found Master Meyer standing there, watching him. “You don’t have to do this,” Meyer said.

  He was dressed in his gray jacket and pants, with a satchel hung over one shoulder and dark lines in the corners of his eyes.

  “Why shouldn’t I?”

  Meyer flicked his gaze along the hall. “It can be hard when you have to question someone you care about.”

  Finn squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them and looking at Meyer. “I always thought it would be Oscar.”

  “So did I.”

  “She’s not the only one involved.” He turned so he could look down the hall, though he wasn’t able to see anything. “There was witchcraft involved in the destruction of the Alainsith buildings. I don’t know what it means, but I can suspect.”

  “That’s what the king feared,” Meyer said, his mouth tightening.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been wondering why the king had us get involved in this. Something like this should have been handled by the Realmsguard, or even the palace Archers, but he didn’t use them in this case. I wasn’t sure why. And perhaps even now, I’m not sure. But if it did involve witchcraft, then perhaps the king knew, and he wanted to ensure it was stopped before it had a chance to take hold.”

  “I’m concerned that witchcraft has started to spread throughout the kingdom.” Finn thought about the last attack, when Holden had targeted the city. He had intended to use the Alainsith in order to power something greater. Finn might even have unwittingly played a part in that.

  He looked over to Meyer, and found him still frowning.

  “If it’s witchcraft, then we should—”

  “We can’t leave it,” Finn said.

  That was what the king wanted of him.

  He was the Hunter.

  “You’ve done well.” Finn regarded Meyer for a moment. It was high praise from him. “You’ve done what the king wanted of you, as well,” Meyer stated.

  “And what is that?” Finn asked.

  “You’re serving in your way, not mine.” Meyer shrugged. “That is what he asks. That is also what the court would ask of you. So long as you serve justice, you will find that there is not one single way it must be done. What would you have us do now?” Meyer asked.

  Finn didn’t really know, but an answer came to him nonetheless.

  “I’m going to be gone for a while,” Finn said to Meyer.

  “For what?”

  “Trying to ensure we stay ahead of whatever attack is coming for us.”

  “How?”

  When he learned that Jamie had betrayed him, it felt like she was one more person who had let him down. Throughout the time he had served as an executioner, it felt as if so many people had. Even Oscar had not wanted to be a part of what Finn did. Not that Finn could blame him.

  There was only one person who had helped him through all of it. One person who had shown a willingness to offer their assistance, knowing who and what he was.

  It was this person he had to go to now.

  “It’s time for me to involve the hegen. It’s time for me to ask Esmerelda for a favor.”

  Meyer’s eyes darkened for a moment, and Finn understood.

  Both were worried—not about the hegen, but about why witchcraft was spreading throughout the kingdom.

  The epic conclusion of The Executioner’s Song series: The Master Executioner!

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading The Executioner’s Rebellion. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.

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  All my best,

  D.K. Holmberg

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  Series by D.K. Holmberg

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  The Cloud Warrior Saga

  Elemental Academy

  The Elemental Warrior

  The Dark Ability Series

  The Shadow Accords

  The Collector Chronicles

  The Dark Ability

  The Sighted Assassin

  The Elder Stones
Saga

  The Lost Prophecy Series

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  The Volatar Saga Series

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  The Book of Maladies Series

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