The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4

by Spencer Pierson

  “What may I do for you, young lords?” She said calmly.

  Suddenly, Aiden wondered if he really wanted to know the answer and it appeared the other two felt the same way as they all seemed to lose their voice and curiosity at the same time.

  Oya Dihya waited for a few moments before clearing her throat. “Is there something you need from me or are you planning on watching me sleep?”

  After exchanging glances once again, Gavin bit his lip and stepped forward. “I… I mean we were wondering. This decision which has to be made about rejoining the world. Is that happening tomorrow? Father seems so upset.”

  Instead of answering right away, the tall Naiaden met their eyes and considered them each carefully before continuing. “It is a good question and one which I must answer only with great care, Gavin Terek. Far more rests on the answer than you realize and speaking too freely could very well cause things to go badly.

  “Is that what happened with Jiada?” Aiden asked, his thoughts moving furiously as he remembered the terrifying scene.

  Oya Dihya nodded gravely. “Yes, exactly that. She did not speak too much, but she came awfully close in her anger and it would have been unforgivable.

  “But what is the blood debt?” Ashrak asked.

  Gavin turned, answering before Oya Dihya could. “Each year for the past five hundred years the Duke of Terek must come to Reid Island for a few weeks and answer for any transgressions done against the Naiadens. I don’t understand it completely, but it allows the Naiadens to come to our duchy and interact with us.”

  “What are the transgressions?” Ashrak continued, “And why does the Duke need to answer for them? Can’t they just interact like normal people? Traders and such have to figure out different cultures all the time.”

  Oya Dihya drew a deep breath and blew it out before nodding sagely. “Again, these are good questions and difficult to understand for an outsider, but my people hold their honor as one of their chief attributes. We have little difficulty here on the island because we know each other and are used to each other, but it is painfully easy to insult us in many ways. Truthfully, many of my people would respond with decisiveness if it happened to them, but when your Duke Gerevat came to us we agreed he would pay the blood debt for any transgressions, thus allowing my people to learn if we could rejoin this world.”

  “But why would that be something we would break over?” Gavin asked.

  “That,“ Oya Dihya said gravely, “is something I cannot speak of. You must find out tomorrow for in that will our decision be made.”

  The three boys looked at each other and then nodded their thanks to Oya Dihya before leaving her room. It wasn’t a very satisfactory answer, and none of them were pleased since it seemed to raise more questions than answers. As they passed a mirror in the hallway, Aiden looked into it and wondered if his face matched that of the Duke’s. He wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

  ***

  The next morning after breakfast they all noticed Gavin’s father and Oya Dihya were not at the table. Serilda informed the four friends they were preparing for the blood debt which would be taking place within the next few hours. She cautioned them they would be allowed to watch, but could not interfere in any way. The beautiful dark woman looked at them with one of her strong brows raised. “Swear to me on your honor you will not try to interfere no matter what happens.”

  They each agreed, but shared a worried glance with each other before Analil bounced up and grabbed Chari’s hand. “Come on! I know the best seats! Serilda is coming with us so we don’t cause problems. I never cause problems!” she laughed at Chari’s askance look and pulled her along through the wide, clean streets of Reidenhold, pausing occasionally to stop at brightly decorated booths set into the lower floors of some of the buildings, or along the avenues, and pick up a sweet to chew as she walked.

  There were a number of Naiadens walking along on the same path they were taking. Most tended to ignore them, but they received glances from others. Most were friendly, if not outright curious. Aiden appreciated the bold colors in the city as they seemed to be used extensively both on buildings, banners, and food booths spread throughout their path.

  Still, it was not a large city, and it did not take them long to come within sight of the beautifully constructed coliseum. It was easily the tallest structure in the city at about four stories, and the sound was deafening in the narrow tunnels they traversed to get within its high walls. Once they passed out into the open air, the wave of noise only increased and seemed to be almost a living thing echoing back and forth amongst the masses gathered within.

  Serilda led them to a small, separate balcony seating area on the second level overlooking a wooden stage set up at one end of the oval floor. There were a few others seated there already, including, to his dismay, the stone-faced Otaya Jiada. Serilda gave her one wary glance but otherwise ignored the tall Exemplar as they took their seats and waited.

  It wasn’t long before they watched a small progression of people make their way across the sands and to the stage. Oya Dihya and Gavin’s father were trailed by several other Naiadens. Most were dressed simply, though Oya Dihya and two additional Exemplars were in full scale armor with crested helmets. Oya Dihya’s helmet was tucked under her arm and as they all made their way out on the stage, she handed it to one of the other Naiadens who held it reverently.

  The huge rising and falling sound of the masses within the coliseum came to a stillness that surprised everyone. It was almost inconceivable these thousands of people would not murmur or whisper, but that was the level of their discipline. Into the quiet, the thrumming voice of Oya Dihya burst, echoing powerfully within the ancient edifice.

  “The Assembly has begun,” Oya Dihya declared. “As has been our tradition for the past five hundred years, we seek to redeem ourselves for all transgressions inflicted upon us, known or otherwise, by the people of Terek. As they have done for five hundred years, the leader of their people has come before us to honor us and himself by atoning for these transgressions so his people may live.”

  Oya Dihya stepped aside, gesturing for a raven-haired woman with keen, gray eyes to step forward and unroll a large scroll. She paused, her eyes casting out over the quiet assemblage before unrolling the vellum and reading from its contents. “So as has been my duty to tend the rolls since Duke Gerevat first set foot on these shores, so has it been my duty to also read them for each year that has passed until this, the last. I am Oya Amina Defeni, first scholar of our college and as such this is my time to speak.”

  She proceeded to read and for the next few hours did not stop. Each item, from some situations that would have surely been a crime punishable by death to simply speaking over a Naiaden, were included and Aiden could not tell which held more weight. Secretly, he wondered if it did not matter, or if one versus a thousand transgressions would have elicited an equal punishment. Thankfully, there were regular circulations of water, food, and other refreshments but other than those disturbances, no one else moved from their places.

  “This seems like a trial,” Chari said, concern heavy in her voice. Aiden could only nod in agreement, thinking the same thing and terrified at what might happen. Analil had been sitting next to him but had remained disturbingly quiet, almost grim, which did not help his mood. The Naiadens did not take things lightly, and he suspected today would have a very dark ending indeed.

  “What do you think they are going to do?” Gavin whispered. His eyes were locked onto the proceedings and he hadn’t been able to tear them away from the display.

  Ashrak, Aiden, and Chari exchanged glances before Chari got up and went to sit next to him. “I don’t know, but remember what Serilda told us. He’s done this many times and always come back from it. It can’t be too bad, can it?”

  It was then that the woman reading the scrolls became quiet, the silence almost deafening in its clarity which caused all of them to turn their gazes to the stage. Gavin’s father, who had been staring stoically
in front of himself the entire time, chose that moment to cast his gaze up toward where they were seated. They could all see the look in his eyes as he met theirs. A look which caused Gavin to stand, taking two steps and leaning against the railing along the balcony edge as they all held their breaths.

  It only took a second longer for Oya Dihya’s sword to come out of its sheath and slide into Valeran’s unprotected back. They all watched it as it came out of his chest, like some sick, red flag dripping onto the stage before him announcing the world had changed. Aiden couldn’t even think. His mind refusing to comprehend what he’d just witnessed but slowly, relentlessly, it crawled into his consciousness even as he watched the happy, wonderful man he’d almost wished had been his father fall in a bloody, limp puddle.

  Distantly he heard Gavin and Chari screaming before realizing his own voice was joined with them. Despite their oaths, they tried to race down to the coliseum floor but their strength was no match for the Naiadens who surrounded them. Gavin had to be physically carried off by Serilda even as he screamed he would bring back all the armies of Terek to kill the Naiadens, but as they were all led away, Aiden could only remember the satisfied smirk on the face of Ontaya Jiada.

  Chapter 9

  They were quickly taken back to the rethlacan they stayed at the previous night and retreated to the rooms they’d slept in. Gavin was inconsolable for hours, but they finally convinced him taking a knife and trying to attack the Naiadens was not going to happen. Instead, he curled up on his bed and wept while Chari caressed his hair.

  “Okay, so what in the Seven Circles do we do now?” Ashrak said, looking grimly across at the far wall. “This is not how I pictured this trip going. Why does it always have to be death and dismay around you, Aiden?

  “Shut up, Ashrak!” Chari hissed, turning and glaring at the white-haired noble. “Gavin just lost his father!”

  Ashrak lapsed into silence, but Aiden frowned. “Is that the truth, though? It doesn’t make any sense. Serilda told us he’s come back from this every time before and it would be the same. Why would they lie to us?”

  “Because they’re evil!” Gavin half-yelled, his throat tight from tears. “Can’t you see? They lured us here. Maybe they’re in league with the Mourning Lords!”

  Chari squeezed his arm, looking up at Aiden and Ashrak in dismay. “Why would they do that?” She asked, “And why now? Oya Dihya could have just left us to be captured on the docks or killed us herself, but she didn’t. We’ve been working out with her every day, Gavin. Aiden is right, we are missing something.”

  “Maybe they have a medibed?” Ashrak offered, shrugging his shoulders. “I know it looked terrible, but if they got him to one in time, could something like that save the Duke?”

  “Maybe,” Chari said uncertainly. None of them really knew much about the medibeds. They knew the Duchy of Terek had one because it had saved Gavin’s life several months ago when he’d received a vicious head wound, but they didn’t really know what limitations they had, much less if the Naiadens had one.

  “Maybe I should make us all some armor,” Aiden offered into the silence. “It shouldn’t take but a few hours, and it might help us.”

  Gavin had paused in his sobbing and went stiff before whispering. “I have mine, Aiden. Could you make weapons too?”

  “Uh…I could, but even with super sharp swords, we’re no match for even one of the Exemplars and I have serious doubts about fighting the ones who aren’t. You’ve seen how strong they are and how they move, right?”

  Gavin slumped but nodded, finally rolling over and sitting up next to Chari. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt would it? At least we won’t go down without a fight.”

  Chari looked at Gavin for a long moment. “Do you promise not to go out and try to kill any of them, Gavin? Seriously, you can’t take on an entire island and if we have any hope of getting out of here alive, I think it won’t involve violence. Something else is going on here and we have to figure it out.”

  It was clear Gavin was struggling, but eventually, his brain won out over his heart and he nodded, whispering to them all he would not do that. Finally, with a clear plan, Aiden asked if he could see Gavin’s armored shirt and then sat down on his bed to begin work. He had wondered if having the shirt right where he could feel it would help him make others, and it easily shaved a good fifteen to twenty minutes off of the time he needed to meditate in order to re-create them. After he’d made shirts for Ashrak, Chari, and himself he turned to making weapons.

  The swords were a bit more difficult since the last blade Aiden had made was several months ago, but he still managed them in a far faster amount of time than it had taken for the first dagger. He was concerned about how sharp the weapons were, especially having worked out with practice weapons for several months now and learning how often you actually hit yourself with them. The last thing he wanted was to see Chari accidentally brush her own foot and lop it off, so while he was preparing the idea of the weapon in his head, he decided to try to incorporate some part of the armored shirts into them, but geared only toward a specific person.

  It was tricky, but he took the idea of Chari and then envisioned the sword striking her and doing nothing more than bouncing off of her with no damage. Though it took more work, he hoped it did what he intended and after an hour, he held out a sword that closely resembled one she’d been admiring in the Duke’s armory toward her. He was particularly proud he’d included a sheath.

  “Okay, try this one, Chari,” Aiden said tiredly. He was feeling the effects of working for several hours into the night and the usual headaches that accompanied him when he worked in glimmer steel. “I think I made it so you couldn’t cut yourself, but I have no idea how to test that out safely.”

  Both Gavin and Ashrak were looking at the sword with wide-eyed wonder and as Chari pulled the blade, it glistened brightly in the low light. Aiden had made sure it didn’t glow, but he had made the blade look silver, rather than just a simple steel. Chari tilted her head, admiring the beauty of the weapon and then pulled a few strands of hair out from her skull and gently moved the sword, blade-first against them. Nothing happened. They all looked at each other encouragingly but it was clear they needed to know more so she next tried by running her fingernail against the edge, and then touched her actual finger to it. Again, nothing happened and when they finally dropped a cup against the blade, cutting it cleanly in half, they were all grinning.

  Aiden worked on Gavin and Ashrak’s weapons for the next few hours, finally finishing them up about two in the morning. He was a bit disgruntled because once Ashrak had learned Aiden could make his sword look like anything he wanted, he’d been rather demanding until Aiden told him if he didn’t shut up, he’d make him a butter knife. Still, the sword he made for him ended up looking like the one Ashrak had fought with in the alley, and he was pleased enough with it.

  It was during the creation of his own weapon that something odd began to occur. He decided he didn’t want a sword so was slowly molding the image of the thing he wanted when something pushed into his awareness. It was just a brief flash of figures running through a field. A sense of danger flowed from them, but he couldn’t really make them out in the darkness. Beyond it, he could see the soft lights of evening flickering in the windows and walkways of a small town.

  He paused and blinked tiredly, opening his eyes and looking around for a moment. Gavin, Chari, and Ashrak were sitting together on another one of the beds talking quietly, though Gavin still looked angry and puffy eyed. He noticed Glowby was not floating about as he usually did, but didn’t make anything of it. Slowly, he closed his eyes and renewed his efforts. If things were going to happen tomorrow, he needed to be ready.

  Almost as soon as he had done so, the flash came again only this time, the buildings were much closer. Despite the brevity of what he was seeing, he could tell the buildings were the city of Reidenhold, and more specifically the building closest to these racing figures was the one in which they were in.
Whatever was happening, he knew they didn’t have much time so sprang up, racing over to the bed where his other three friends were sitting.

  “Something’s going on!” he half-shouted into their quiet whispering, catching their attention immediately. “Something is coming this way.”

  “What do you mean, something is coming?” Ashrak asked, bemused.

  “I… I mean exactly that. I saw something just now racing toward us. Toward this house! We’ve got to wake up the Naiadens!”

  “Are you sure, Aiden?” Chari asked hesitantly. “You’ve been working for hours and we’ve all been under so much stress.”

  Aiden could feel his brow furrowing as he stopped, trying to think his way through what he had seen. Had it been real? Closing his eyes, he tried to recapture the vision in his head but before he could, another flash hit him hard, almost rocking him from his feet. The house they were in was much closer and in the light of some lamps along the street he could see two Naiadens walking. Without warning, darts sprouted in their throats, making them fall to the street silently. The discussion they’d had around the dinner table back in Terek sprang into his mind where they had talked about darts being used in the attack. It was the Scratchers!