Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer Book 3)

by D. K. Holmberg

  How many of the items within the shop were enchanted?

  Better yet, what was the purpose of some of these items?

  “You have quite a few weapons here.”

  “Of course I do.”

  Jayna started to laugh, turning. “You say that as if it should be unsurprising.”

  “What else does an enchantment offer than an opportunity to attack?” Telluminder asked.

  “Most people within the city claim the enchantments are simply designed to offer protection, not act as offensive weapons.”

  And not all enchantments worked in those ways either. There were some that offered better hearing or sight, assistance that was beneficial to people as they grew older. Some offered a hint of strength, valuable for those who had become feeble. There were enchantments that could be used for nefarious purposes as well. Speed. Strength, in the wrong setting. Even hearing and sight could be misused.

  And then there were other enchantments, like the ones Jayna now had in her pouch, the ones the little girl had given her. There was not much else those enchantments could be used for besides attacking.

  There were other ways of creating enchantments, linking magic in very specific manners, but too many people thought to use violence in their creation.

  “As you have seen, the type of enchantments I have acquired are older.”

  “Do you even know what they’ll do?” she asked, pausing in front of a spear.

  “I know what most of them do,” he said.

  Jayna turned away from studying the spear and grinned at him. “Most?”

  “Not all are quite as obvious as others,” he said. “Some of the purposes of the items have been lost to time.” He nodded toward the center of the shop. “Take the shield, for example. You might think it’s simply an intriguing enchantment, and perhaps it is, but it’s also an item that reflects a history of our people.”

  “Our people?”

  He glowered at her for a moment. “As you can see from the markings along the surface of the shield, there is an intention behind it. You can learn much from the type of markings, much about the people. What they celebrate. What they fear. What they thought they needed to defend themselves against.”

  Jayna glanced at the spear again before turning slightly to look at the shield. He was right. She hadn’t given much thought to that before, but knowing what a person had been afraid of would offer insight into them.

  “What have you learned?”

  “Most of the items from within Nelar reflect fear of the El’aras.”

  Jayna took a deep breath, but the humidity in the air made it difficult for her to inhale fully. The shop had a strange, almost bitter odor to it as well, which added to her discomfort. “You said most.”

  “Not all. There are other items that have been used for other purposes.”

  “Such as what?”

  He smirked at her. “Such as defending against sorcery.”

  Jayna shook her head. “The Sorcerers’ Society has only served in an advisory role.” As soon as she said it, she realized she had defaulted to what the Society had trained her to do and say. She knew it wasn’t entirely the truth. It was just what she had been taught.

  “I am surprised Jayna Aguelon would respect such untruths so willingly,” Telluminder said.

  “What else have you uncovered?”

  “I suspect you are not as interested as you would have me believe.”

  “On the contrary, I am very interested. I’m trying to understand what influenced the city of Nelar.”

  “What influenced it before? Why, people have always influenced the world.” He nodded around his shop. “The dular have been a part of the world for a long time. They have offered their own connection to the world, and have attempted to make contact with those who share in their abilities.”

  “Like the sorcerers.”

  “You view sorcery as something comparable to dular magic, when it is dissimilar.”

  “They come from the same place. The dular just don’t have the same potency as sorcerers.”

  “No,” he said, glancing from Jayna to Eva. “Sorcery involves finding power within yourself, but it also involves putting that power into the world, placing your influence. The dular find something more intuitive. They use emotion and themselves and . . .” He waved a hand. “I suppose it doesn’t matter to one such as yourself.”

  Jayna looked at a small sculpture resting nearest her. It looked like a bowl, reminding her of the memory bowl she had used on Matthew.

  “All power in the world has its own unique source,” Telluminder finally said. “Even yours, Jayna Aguelon.”

  He watched her, and there was something in the way he said it that left her wondering whether he knew more about the nature of her power than he let on. She had done her best to try to conceal the source of her power while she was within the city, and didn’t think anybody here knew the truth of how she connected to magic, but maybe she had not been as skillful as she had thought at hiding how she was bound to others.

  “You know quite a bit about the power within Nelar,” she said.

  “Not as much as some, but more than most.”

  “Who else in the city knows more than you?” He smiled, but didn’t answer. “I see. You don’t want to reveal them.”

  “I don’t want you to think you need to go elsewhere. I do believe we have agreed upon a transaction.”

  Jayna chuckled. “That’s what this is about. You want to make sure you’re paid.”

  “I am a salesman,” Telluminder said.

  Jayna just shook her head. “I will ensure you’re paid regardless.”

  It might have been better if she had offered to purchase something from him, seeing as how he was a salesman—or, at least, he wanted her to believe he was a salesman—but Jayna suspected Telluminder was something more.

  Someone with magic of their own would be useful. Maybe he could help her learn things about the city. He had been here a long time.

  Ceran had remained absent, and the longer Jayna remained here, the more likely she was going to attract notice. It would limit the kind of things she could do and the ways she could act within the city.

  Why didn’t Ceran see that?

  Unless he did and didn’t think it mattered.

  “I’m interested in information about ancient sorcery,” she said.

  “I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to help you,” he said.

  “Not at all?”

  “Not with what you might do.”

  “How do you know what I might do?”

  “Given what I’ve seen you doing so far, Jayna Aguelon, I can’t help but hypothesize.”

  Jayna frowned at him. “What exactly do you think I’ve been doing?”

  He glanced over to Eva. “You have brought her into the city, for starters.”

  “I didn’t realize you were offended by her presence.”

  “It’s not a matter of that. It’s a matter of knowing what her presence represents.”

  “What does it represent?”

  “War.”

  Jayna started to laugh, but she watched Eva. “I’m afraid you don’t know her that well.”

  “I know her better than you. And I understand just what her presence in the city means, what her presence in the city might do.”

  Jayna frowned at him, but had a feeling he wasn’t interested in explaining.

  “We need information about Nelar.” She was starting to struggle with how she was going to continue the conversation with Telluminder. He acted like he didn’t like her, but he wouldn’t have kept talking to her if he didn’t like her at least a little. “If there’s been so much activity here, we need to try to figure out why.”

  He leaned back, watching her. “What do you know about Nelar?”

  “I know it’s at the edge of the kingdom.”

  “That is very basic, Jayna Aguelon.”

  “And I know it once was El’aras.”

  “Once.” He chuc
kled. “This was once a place of power, a place of celebration. Many of these buildings were designed to celebrate the El’aras god. Of course, there were some who believed the El’aras king was a god.” He shook his head, making a soft clucking deep in his throat that told her everything she needed to know about his feelings on the matter. “Time changed things for the El’aras, as time changes things for all people.”

  “It wasn’t just time though, was it?”

  He tipped his head to the side, shaking it slowly. “It was not.”

  “How did the kingdom overthrow the El’aras?”

  She had a feeling that was what Telluminder wanted her to ask, and all she needed to do was push a little bit harder, and she could get information out of him that he wanted her to know. He watched her with his strange, wide-eyed gaze, and there was something almost unsettling within it. There was something about the way he looked at her, the way he studied her, that suggested he knew far more than he should have.

  This was not just an antiquities dealer. This was a man who had been a part of the city, and a man who understood things that he shouldn’t. Maybe even someone who wasn’t fully human.

  “How do men overthrow all things of magic?” he asked.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “No. I’m sure you do not.”

  “Are you mocking me now?”

  He chuckled. “I find myself enjoying this conversation more than I would’ve expected. I thought I was going to be irritated by your presence, and while I am not pleased to see you, I must admit that I do enjoy speaking with you.” He glanced over to Eva and said, “You did well bringing her to me.”

  Eva waved her hand. “Great.”

  “How were the El’aras defeated?” Jayna cast a side glance at Eva as she asked the question.

  “Why, Jayna Aguelon, I would’ve expected that you, of all people, would have known.”

  Jayna watched him for a moment. “Sorcery.”

  He nodded slowly. “Sorcery has been the ally of the kingdom ever since it emerged.”

  “The Society existed before the kingdom.”

  “Perhaps. That is beyond my knowing.”

  She watched him for a moment and frowned. “You mentioned that people celebrated the El’aras king as a god. Were there any other gods that people celebrated?” If Telluminder knew about the gods, maybe there would be something more she could understand. Maybe she could learn about the dark god, and the power that the twelve followers of Sarenoth could access.

  She wasn’t sure what gods were celebrated here. There were no temples as there were in some parts of the world, and she had not heard anybody speak of their religion, though given how close they were to the forest, and the history of El’aras in the city, maybe whatever god was celebrated here was somehow tied to the El’aras.

  “You aren’t the first to have raised the question.” Telluminder shrugged. “There have been others who have looked for information recently.”

  “Others who have looked for information about the old gods?”

  “Such information can be difficult to acquire, especially in places like Nelar. Not many have such books.”

  Jayna glanced over to Eva, who shrugged. “Either it’s the Society, or if you’re talking about in Nelar, then it would be the dular who have that kind of books. There is a ruling class here who could be as responsible as anyone for what has happened.”

  “Perhaps.” He leaned back, sweeping his gaze around the inside of his shop. “Unfortunately, my supply of enchantments has waned. I hope you won’t be in Nelar much longer to prevent my business from thriving.”

  “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be in the city,” Jayna said.

  “That is fortunate,” he said.

  Jayna locked eyes with Eva. She had stood, straightening, and she looked around the shop, bits of smoke trailing around her, as if she were unsettled, then she breathed out, increasing the amount of smoke.

  “Who did you sell the book on the gods to?”

  “Unfortunately, I must keep that to myself. My clients expect a measure of privacy, as I’m sure you could appreciate.”

  Jayna watched him. She knew Telluminder knew something, was hiding something from them. She knew from the way he watched her, the expression in his eyes, the way he shifted.

  She nodded to him. “Perhaps we should go.”

  She had discussed payment with him, but he hadn’t really offered her enough information to be useful, so Jayna decided to keep her coin in her pocket. Not that she had much anyway.

  Eva remained silent as she regarded Telluminder.

  Jayna started past, then paused, looking down at the shield. “How much for the shield?”

  “I’m afraid that is not for sale.”

  “Are you not willing to sell it to me, or are you not wanting to sell it at all?”

  Telluminder just shrugged. “It is not for sale.”

  “What about the spear?”

  Telluminder flashed a tight smile. “I’m afraid that is not for sale either.”

  “How many of the items in your shop are not for sale?”

  “Most are,” he said. “But not all.”

  Jayna frowned at him a moment before leaving the store and waiting for Eva to join her outside. “What was that about? Why was he like that? It seems like he was upset about something.”

  “He’s upset about us.”

  “I’m not sure that’s all it was,” Jayna said, flicking her gaze over to the shop. “And we still haven’t learned what we need to know.”

  “There’s another place we can go,” Eva said.

  “I know. I was hoping we could avoid it, but given the reaction we had from Telluminder, I’m not so sure we can.”

  “It’s going to be worse there.”

  Jayna took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then nodded as she started along the street. How were they going to figure out what they needed to know if they had to deal with people like Telluminder and Master Raollet?

  “Let’s get going. I want to get this over with.”

  They made their way through the streets, and as they finally neared Master Raollet’s shop, Jayna slowed.

  Smoke drifted around it.

  The same kind of smoke that drifted from Eva now.

  8

  They approached the smoke carefully, moving slowly and steadily toward it. The energy within the smoke and the flame coming out of the shop reminded her of Eva, though she wasn’t going to say that to her. There was something about it that was off, some aspect of it that was not quite the way she expected it to be, but it was familiar enough that she thought perhaps Eva would recognize it. Yet when she looked over to her, Eva didn’t show any sign of recognition.

  “Any suggestions?”

  “Why are you asking me?”

  “Because this is—” Jayna cut herself off. “I don’t know what this is, but I know there is some sort of dangerous energy here. And given the dark sorcerer and smoke I saw over near the market earlier this week . . .”

  “You’re afraid that somebody else is inside?”

  “What do you suggest?” Jayna asked, studying Eva, wondering if she might be able to feel something.

  “This might simply be a fire,” Eva said.

  Still, she squeezed her hands. A droplet of blood dripped from either hand, striking the cobblestone, and a burst of smoke began to swirl upward.

  “I might have a spell I could try.”

  Jayna started forward and neared the outline of the smoke.

  It was that smoke which she worried about more than anything else.

  There was a spell she’d seen when going through the spellbook that could create a dangerous flame, but it was going to take practice to enact it effectively, and she didn’t know if she had enough control.

  The advanced spellbooks were exactly that—advanced. Jayna had not reached that point in her studies at the Academy, and using that kind of magic now, when she’d barely had an opportunity to study
and practice it, might be a mistake.

  She stepped forward again and started forming the pattern in the air, a complicated twisting of her fingers. It involved tracing a specific shape, almost an exacting one, and given Jayna’s lack of experience, doing so was difficult. It was a series of interlocking patterns. She focused as much as she could, holding on to her energy, and traced the pattern, pushing power out through it.

  A gust of wind burst along the street. It worked.

  “That was new,” Eva said, as the smoke around her was dragged by the wind.

  “I wasn’t expecting it to work quite like that,” Jayna said. “I saw this in the spellbook, and I didn’t know if I had enough control to create it.”

  “You have to stop doubting yourself,” Eva said.

  “It’s not a matter of doubting myself. It’s a matter of recognizing I don’t have the same kind of knowledge as those who’ve studied within the Academy. The books have helped, but I think I need more time with them.”

  She strode forward into the wind that gusted along the street. The doorway leading to Master Raollet’s shop was slightly ajar.

  Jayna approached carefully, glancing over to Eva, who squeezed her hands more tightly. “Why does everything happen to Master Raollet?” Jayna asked.

  “I would think he’d ask the same thing,” Eva said. “Of course, he would blame you for most of it.”

  “This one isn’t my fault,” Jayna said.

  “This time,” Eva said, chuckling.

  Jayna pushed the door, and it swung open slowly, revealing a fog of smoke within. It was dark, making everything difficult for her to see. She didn’t see any active flames—just the smoke.

  Jayna started to form a pattern when Eva grabbed her wrist, shaking her head.

  “If you want to get information from him, you would do well not to destroy the inside of the shop.”

  “Again,” Jayna said.

  Eva nodded. “Again.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “Let me try.”

  She stepped forward, just in the doorway, and squeezed her hands. Her knuckles whitened and blood poured out from her hands. As soon as it struck the stones, it turned into a thick, billowy smoke, which drifted upward, swooping out and around, then Eva forced it into the shop.