The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  Could Haern have been angry at his father all these years for no reason?

  It didn’t change the fact that his father had been gone, but if he had been gone because he was pursuing power like this, if he had been gone so that he could prevent the Forgers from reaching a dangerous power, then there was no reason for Haern to harbor such anger.

  “We need to heal this man so we can get answers,” he said.

  Darren stood over the Forger. “Perhaps if I had the same abilities as my mentor, but I do not. Della was unique.”

  “You sell yourself short,” Haern’s mother said. She started toward them, leaning on a cane as she approached. She winced with each step. “I knew her well. She was gifted, and she felt that you had potential, only you needed experience.”

  “My experience is quite different than hers.”

  “Your experience is enough. See what you can do.”

  Darren nodded slowly. “I will try, but…”

  Jessa rested her hand on his shoulder. “It will be enough.”

  Darren reached for the fallen Forger and placed his hands on either shoulder. As he closed his eyes, the color within them deepened, flaring a deeper green. Darren was powerful, and Haern knew he was incredibly gifted with his connection to Healing, something that only a few people within all of Elaeavn had. It was so rare that all those with any potential were gathered so that they could train together and were offered repeated opportunities to handle the sacred crystals. Darren had held them once, and following that, he had been gifted with Healing, as his mentor claimed had happened for her.

  “He has lost a lot of blood,” Darren whispered. “I can stabilize the wounds, but it might not be enough.”

  Haern and his mother stood watching. Nothing really seemed to change about the Forger, except that he breathed little easier.

  After a few moments, Darren stepped back, releasing his hands. “It’s done. At least as much as I can do for him.”

  “How long will it take to know if it was effective?”

  “I’m not sure. The wound he sustained—well, wounds—are difficult. One of them punctured his lung, and I managed to restore that, but another pierced his belly, and healing a wound like that is quite a bit more difficult. I think had I a little more time, or perhaps a little more strength…”

  Darren sagged to the ground, and Haern hurried to him, guiding him to a chair near the hearth.

  “Rest. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

  “Thank you.”

  When he turned back to the cot holding the Forger, his mother leaned over the table, watching the man. “So much hatred,” she whispered.

  “Is it hatred or something else?”

  She looked up at him. “At this point, it’s probably hatred. Had it not been for your father, I wonder if they would hate us the same way as they do, but then again, if not for your father, we might not have remained unscathed as long as we have.”

  “We need him to wake up.”

  “We need a lot of things, Haern, but I’m afraid we may not have much control over it. If only your father would return.”

  “What if he can’t? What if they captured him?”

  “Your father is more skilled than that,” his mother said.

  “I know that he should be, but what if something happened and he can’t get away?”

  “We won’t know until he—”

  His mother broke off as the Forger opened his eyes. He glanced from Haern to his mother and tried to sit up.

  Haern grabbed him and held him down. Years spent working at the forge had made him strong. The man was weakened by his injury, but he still managed to fight far more than Haern expected.

  “Tell us why you’re here and we will help you.”

  The Forger relaxed, lying back on the cot. He glared up at Haern. “You have made a mistake.”

  Could Haern be responsible for leading them to the city? The Forgers should have known about the city before now. It wouldn’t have anything to do with him leading them anywhere.

  “What mistake is that?” he asked.

  “You can’t hold us. And now that we’ve attacked, you will lose your control over the Elder Stones.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we will control them. And then we will decide where they are used.”

  “My father will stop you.”

  The man glared at him for a moment. “Father… yes. I see it. You do have some of his features.” He glanced over to Haern’s mother, and a dark smile parted his lips. “And hers. That would make you Jessa. We have looked for you for quite some time.”

  His mother stiffened but remained silent.

  The Forger continued to smile. “It’s a shame that you continue to fight. With your natural gifts, you could be quite talented. It’s the same offer we’ve made to your father over the years, and yet he continues to refuse.”

  Haern glanced at his mother. Could that be true? Could the Forgers have offered some sort of truce to his father? Why would his father refuse them if it meant they would have peace?

  “Rsiran knows what requirements your gifts have. It’s not an obligation any of us would take on.”

  “Obligation? You speak as if there is something dangerous to the gifts we’ve been given.”

  “I’ve seen the way you use your gifts. I know exactly how dangerous they are. You won’t corrupt any of us.”

  “No? None of your people would succumb to the promise of taking on additional talents?” He turned his gaze to Haern, managing a darker intensity than Haern would have expected considering how weak he was. “What about you? You may not have the strength of your father, but you could. If you came with me, I could show you power that you can barely imagine.”

  “What kind of power?”

  His mother looked over at him. “Haern—”

  He ignored her. “What kind of power?”

  The Forger smiled. “See? Perhaps the great Rsiran hasn’t shared with your people all that we could offer. Venass and the Hjan were but a part, but the plan is much greater than this.”

  “I’ve seen everything you do. I’ve seen your offer and the way that it’s twisted. I’ve seen—”

  The Forger coughed, and blood burbled from his mouth. “Return me, or you’ll never see him again.”

  “What was that?”

  The Forger smiled. “As I said, return me or you won’t see him again.”

  His mother took a step toward the cot and grabbed the sides of it, leaning down over the Forger. “Where is he?”

  The Forger grinned. “I’ve already named my terms.”

  “Where is he?”

  “You think we would have been able to attack had the threat he posed not been removed? I’ll admit, Rsiran does pose challenges to my kind, and it has taken us many years to come up with a way to mitigate that, but everything is solvable in time.”

  “What did you do to him?” she asked.

  “If only you could know. I’ve already named my terms, and if you would have nothing to do with them, then you will remain in the dark.” He closed his eyes and coughed again. Blood burbled once more. “Ah, perhaps it’s already too late. Now only your Great Watcher can lead you to him.”

  He took another breath, and then no more.

  9

  Haern

  His mother stood, gripping either side of the bed, looking as if she might shake the Forger, but she didn’t. She staggered back, and Haern was there, catching her, lowering her back into a chair near the hearth opposite Darren. The Healer sat quietly, his eyes closed, breathing deeply.

  Heat emanated from the hearth, the coals glowing softly, making the air stink of medicine and blood. Haern wanted nothing more than to get out of here, but he needed to help his mother.

  “Mother?”

  “If it’s true, and if they have your father, then—”

  “Then we need to be ready.”

  She looked over at him. “No. We need to find him.”

  Haern stared at her. His fat
her had continued his battle with the Forgers on his own, never bringing anyone else into it. How could they find him? The only person who might know enough to figure out where his father had been spending his time was right before him.

  “Find him? There’s no way.”

  “No way that we can, but there’s someone who might be able to help.”

  “Who?”

  “Come on.”

  She headed out of the building and stopped in the middle of the clearing, taking a deep breath. Sunlight poured down, but it wasn’t enough to push away the cold that had begun to creep over Haern’s mind.

  The Forgers had come once. As easily as they reached the Aisl, he had to believe they would be able to attack again. What sort of defenses would they be able to mount? Probably not enough. Doing so would require more power than they possessed, and he wasn’t sure they were capable of stopping the Forgers. Their attackers had been few in number, only enough to damage the Elder Trees, but even that was more than they had been able to manage.

  What would happen if they decided to come in real numbers?

  “Shouldn’t we do like he suggested?” Haern asked, glancing back to Darren’s home.

  “What’s that?”

  “Go to the Great Watcher. Isn’t there some way of reaching him?”

  His mother eyed him strangely. “The only person who has ever sat alongside the Great Watcher and had any sense of what they were seeing was your father.”

  “There has to be some way for us to reach out to the Great Watcher.”

  “Haern, the Great Watcher doesn’t simply respond to us. You’re talking about trying to reach one of the gods.”

  “What do you mean, one of the gods?”

  “The Elders are believed to be gods, and they left items behind for their followers. Those items are what we have used to gain power. Those are the Elder Stones.”

  She guided him through the forest over to the guild tree for the Sliders. Lucy remained near the others and stood near the back. Despite her ability to Slide, she had never really felt a part of the guild, Haern knew. Something about living in the palace had made her feel apart from those who lived in the Aisl, regardless of how much time she’d spent here.

  Jessa stopped and nodded to Elsa. “I need you to transport me to the city.”

  “Jessa, I’m not so sure that you’re in any shape to go anywhere.”

  “This is time-sensitive. Rsiran has been captured.”

  Elsa’s eyes widened. “Is that how they were able to attack?”

  Jessa nodded. “I think so. I’m not sure how they managed to find us, and we might not ever know that, but we need to go after Rsiran.”

  “You are going to go after him?”

  “I was going to gather those who might have some ability.”

  “I don’t think we can spare anyone after the attack.” Elsa looked around the heart of the Aisl Forest, an anguished look on her face. “If there’s another attack…”

  “I’m not asking you to come with me. I just need to go and speak to someone.”

  “For Rsiran, I will do this,” Elsa said. “Where would you have me go?”

  “The palace.”

  “Oh.”

  His mother took Elsa’s arm, and the three of them Slid. It was a blur of movement, a swirl of colors, and it happened even faster than when Lucy Slid him.

  When they emerged from the Slide, they stood in a courtyard outside the palace. Rows of flowers grew in long raised beds, their colors vibrant and their fragrance filling the air. A thick carpet of grass was neatly trimmed. A half dozen soldiers stood guard, barely reacting to their sudden appearance.

  Haern had been to the palace before, but he had not visited very often. The few times he’d come with Lucy, they had stayed outside of the palace. The other times had been for formal occasions, and he hadn’t attended many.

  “You need me to return for you?” Elsa asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I can wait.”

  “I’m not sure that you can.”

  Elsa breathed out. “Good luck with whatever you plan.”

  With another shimmer, she disappeared.

  When she was gone, Haern glanced over at his mother. “What is it that you intend to do here? Who do you intend to meet with?”

  “There’s someone who might be of use to us in trying to understand where the Forgers could be found.”

  Haern looked around, his gaze lingering on the windows. He could only vaguely detect the alloy of lorcith that prevented Sliding directly into the palace. “And they live in the palace?”

  “Not the person we need, but someone who knows how to find her.”

  They started forward and were met by a pair of guards. Haern wasn’t surprised that the guards seemed to recognize his mother, and they waved her in without saying a word. They strode through the halls of the palace. The floor was made of a plain white marble, and pillars of it rose up on either side. Lorcith was worked into the walls, more decorative than anything else, and every so often he came across an ornate sculpture completely made out of lorcith. He paused at the first one, studying it. It looked something like a tree that would be found in the Aisl, but the detail was incredible.

  “Your father made that long ago,” his mother said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along the hallway.

  Haern glanced back at it. His father had made that?

  If only he had learned how to manipulate lorcith so skillfully. Maybe becoming something of an artist would be interesting to him. Simply working at the forge day after day, hammering at the metal, didn’t appeal to him the way it did to his grandfather and his father.

  “Where are we going?”

  “We have to find Cael.”

  “Cael Elvraeth. As in the leader of the council?” If he had known they were doing this, he would have asked Lucy to join.

  His mother nodded.

  “How will she know how to find the Forgers?”

  “She won’t. Her husband will.”

  Haern knew very little about Cael’s husband. He was mostly hidden from the public’s eye, though everyone knew he wasn’t Elvraeth. It was that fact that made her more beloved. She hadn’t felt obligated to marry within the family to keep power focused within the palace. She had been willing to step outside traditional power lines and had found someone different. But Haern had never suspected her husband was powerful. He’d seen him from a distance but had never spoken to him. Few people did.

  Hurrying along the hallway, his mother leaned on the cane less and less as they went. Either she was feeling better, or she was simply trying to hide her injury. Either way, Haern doubted that he would know. His mother was strong—possibly the strongest woman he’d ever met.

  At the top of the stairs, she guided him along the hallway until they stopped in front of a set of double doors. She knocked and waited.

  “Why does Galen know how to find the Forgers?”

  “Galen has access to someone who can help.”

  “And who is that?”

  “The most dangerous person I know.”

  The door opened, and Cael Elvraeth stood on the other side. She had to be twenty years older than him, but with her raven hair and the elegant deep blue gown she wore, she was stunning. He hadn’t seen her for a long time, and never up close like this. There was something imposing about her, and she radiated a sense of power.

  When she saw them, she frowned for a moment until she recognized his mother. Only then did a smile spread across her face. “Jessa Lareth.” She glanced over to him, studying him for a moment. “And her son, Haern. To what do I owe this honor?”

  His mother shifted her feet, tipping her head down to sniff the flower tucked into her dress. She was anxious. “The Aisl was attacked by Forgers.”

  “Attacked? I thought Rsiran—”

  “Apparently, Rsiran has been captured.”

  Cael cocked her head to the side. A pressure built in Haern’s head, and instinctively he slammed his m
ental barriers into place to prevent her from Reading him. Would it be enough? Cael Elvraeth was rumored to be the most powerful Reader in all of Elaeavn.

  “Oh, no. I’m so sorry, Jessa. Is there anything I can—”

  “I need Galen.”

  Cael blinked once, tipping her head back to glance from Haern to his mother. “He no longer fights. You know that.”

  “I know he doesn’t, and that’s not what I’m asking of him.”

  “I don’t care that you think he might have some ability, but against the Forgers?”

  His mother stomped her feet anxiously. “Cael, that’s not why I’m here.”

  Cael attempted Reading them again. Haern was able to fortify his mind with lorcith, something he’d learned when he was younger and knew to be a boon when it came to dealing with powerful Readers, but his mother didn’t have the same ability.

  A slow frown spread across her face. “Then why are you here?”

  “Because I need to find Carth.” The name hung in the air for a moment. “Galen is the only person who has any contact with her.”

  “She cares about him. That is no secret.”

  “I know she cares about him. Well, I care about my husband. Please, Cael. Let me at least speak with him.”

  Cael watched her for a moment before sighing and stepping off to the side. “Come on in. I suppose there’s no choice but to welcome you. Even if I didn’t, you’d probably push your way past anyway.”

  His mother flashed a smile. “I wouldn’t push my way past. I’m more into sneaking.”

  “I’m not sure how much you can sneak around in the palace.”

  His mother smiled tightly. “You’d be surprised.”

  The inside of Cael Elvraeth’s room was incredibly ornate. It was nothing more than a sitting room, a barrier between this room and the next, and even that was well decorated. A multicolored carpet rolled across the floor. A desk sat in the middle of the room, with two lanterns glowing with a faint blue light on either side. Stacks of paper were piled up on top of the desk. Bookshelves on either wall were stuffed with various volumes. Even the decorations, mostly exotic sculptures and paintings, were incredibly well made and likely valuable.