The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

“I hope so,” she said softly. “Asador is a dangerous place, and he is not his father.”

  Daniel didn’t have anything more to say. It wasn’t his place.

  Sliding to Darren’s home, he found Lucy still resting inside, and he took a seat next to her, watching her.

  “Did you find anything?” Darren asked.

  “Jessa had something Lareth made long ago that she thinks might work.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “If it doesn’t, she suggested that you ask her about some substance that might keep Lucy from being overwhelmed by everything, though she did caution me that it would be unpleasant for her.”

  Darren frowned. “Well, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  He disappeared into his back room, leaving Daniel sitting next to Lucy. He slipped the bracelets onto her wrists and watched her. He wasn’t sure how long the sedative Darren had given her would last. He leaned back in the chair, continuing to keep an eye on Lucy. After a while, he drifted off, only awaking when someone squeezed his hands.

  “You’re awake,” Daniel said, looking over to Lucy.

  “I am. It feels as if this was a dream. Or maybe a nightmare.” She traced her fingers along the back of her head, wincing as she did. “I don’t suppose Darren figured anything out while I was asleep, did he?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “I remember hearing all these voices. It was like I was in a crowd, and I couldn’t shut it out.”

  “We think the metal that was implanted in your head somehow enhances your ability to Read.”

  “Only Reading, and not any of the other abilities?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. What if her Sight was enhanced? And there were Listeners, which would also be a useful gift.

  “I don’t hear it anymore. What did Darren give me?”

  “I’m not sure if it was the sedative or these.” He pointed to her wrists, and she glanced down at them, a puzzled expression twisting her brow. “Jessa Lareth had them from when she and Rsiran faced the Forgers all those years ago. It sounded like she didn’t expect to need them again.”

  “I think after all these years, nobody expected to need the weapons of yesteryear.”

  “Before you went to sleep, you were talking about wanting to chase down Rsiran.”

  “I think we need to.”

  “Haern went after him.”

  “What happens if this becomes permanent?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know.” He hated that he didn’t know and couldn’t help her.

  “I need to figure out where he went.”

  “Lareth?” When Lucy nodded, he shrugged. “I think I already know.”

  “How?”

  “When I went to ask Jessa for her help, she mentioned Asador.”

  “What would be in Asador?”

  “I don’t know. It sounds like Haern might be there.”

  Lucy twisted the bracelet on her wrist for a moment before looking at Daniel. “Then I guess I’m going to Asador.”

  14

  Daniel

  Daniel followed Lucy to the edge of the forest, unwilling to Slide her there, but unable to talk her out of what she had planned. Birds chirped up in the trees, which Daniel found reassuring. If there were any Forgers out here, he had to believe the birds would alert them. Lucy was quiet, not Sliding on her own, the bracelets preventing it. As they had gone, he had tried to talk her out of whatever she planned.

  “You don’t even know how to find Asador.”

  She arched a brow at him. “How hard can it be? Besides, with my enhanced ability to Read, I should be able to find Haern pretty quickly.”

  “The last time—”

  “I think I need to practice. That’s all.”

  Daniel didn’t know if that was the case or not but had a hard time believing she could learn to control her abilities as quickly as she seemed to think. If they were so powerful that they unsettled her here, then what would it be like in a strange city?

  “I don’t think I need these here,” she said, motioning to the bracelets.

  “I’m not sure I want you hearing everything I’m thinking.”

  She smiled at him. “Is that a problem?”

  “A little,” he said.

  “Why? What do you want to keep from me?”

  “You know, there is a reason people learn to place mental barriers.”

  “What kind of secrets do you have, Daniel Elvraeth?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I’ll leave them on, if that’s what you’re worried about. But there might come a time when I simply want to have them off so I can make sure my abilities still work.”

  “That’s fine, but if you do it when we’re around other people, you run the risk of being overwhelmed as you were when we were with the healer.”

  “I know. That’s why I would do it out here in the forest, where it’s just you and me and the birds in the trees.” She stepped forward, her gaze going to the ground.

  Daniel followed the direction of her gaze, realizing that she was staring at a buried metal rod. Only the top of it was visible, and it had been placed in such a way that it blended into the forest, looking like nothing more than a branch.

  “Rsiran made them,” Lucy said. “They were supposed to keep Forgers from reaching us.”

  “How?”

  “They prevent Sliding.”

  “This is what creates the boundary?” When she nodded, he crouched down, running his hand across it. “What prevents someone from just walking across this barrier?”

  “The Forgers have this,” she said, touching the back of her head.

  Daniel looked up and saw the worried expression in her eyes. He thought he understood. She didn’t know if she would be able to cross—and if she could, would she be able to return?

  “It’s hard to believe these keep us safe,” he said.

  “I honestly don’t know everything Rsiran did with them. He somehow attuned them to ensure that members of the Smith Guild were aware if someone crossed.”

  The idea that lorcith could be used in such a way amazed him. “It’s a shame he’s been gone for so long.”

  “I think Haern would agree with you. Others, too. If he can make this, imagine what he could teach. Think about Sliding. How much could you learn from someone with his ability to Slide?”

  Daniel didn’t really want to learn about Sliding, but he could tell Lucy wouldn’t like that answer. “Quite a bit,” he said instead.

  “Like I said, it’s a shame that he’s gone.” She stared at the rod a moment before looking beyond it to the landscape that shifted from the forest to a rolling sort of plain. “I haven’t ever tried to go across the border before. From what I understand, it doesn’t take much. All we have to do is step beyond it.”

  “And then they’ll know that we did?” Daniel asked.

  “They’ll know someone did. I wouldn’t be surprised if they send others after us, so once we cross… if I can cross.”

  “We can return to the palace.”

  “I can’t stay here with this in my head,” she started, touching the back of her head, “when there’s something I can do about it.”

  Daniel debated what to do. He could force her back to the palace, but he knew that would only anger her, and he wasn’t interested in that. Going with her seemed a mistake, especially when it involved going to a place like Asador that he knew nothing about.

  If he didn’t go, and if she found Haern…

  He didn’t want to think about what would happen. It was bad enough that she spent so much time in Trelaeavn with these people when she should be in the palace with the rest of the Elvraeth.

  “I’ll go with you,” he said.

  “You don’t need to come. You’ve brought me far enough. I just need to take these off”—she grabbed the bracelets, twisting them—“and I’ll be fine.”

  “You won’t be fine. I saw what happened in the healer’s home.”

  Watching him
a moment, she frowned. “Why do you want to come with me?”

  “Because I don’t want you to go by yourself.”

  “That’s not a reason to come with me. You don’t need to leave the city. Your place is in the palace.”

  “So is yours.”

  She turned back to look beyond the edge of the trees. “Not right now. If Rsiran can remove this, then I need to go and help find him.”

  “You don’t even know if you can.”

  “I believe I can. And if there’s anything I can do to help, then I need to do it.”

  Daniel couldn’t believe what he was about to do. This wasn’t for him, was it?

  This was Lucy, though. He would do anything for her, even if it meant heading out of the city and searching for someone he wasn’t entirely certain would be able to help. And if he couldn’t, then maybe nothing could be done for her. She would have to learn to deal with this strange implant in her head and what it meant for her—and for her abilities.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Not really.” He held out his hand, and Lucy took it. Hers felt small and warm within his, a comfortable sense. He squeezed, and they stepped across the border between the Aisl and the outside world.

  A tingling washed over him.

  Daniel knew nothing about the barrier other than that his father had never believed it was anything to be concerned about. The barrier had served a purpose, and those who lived in the forest believed it an important one, but he’d never been certain. Feeling the way his skin tingled as he crossed, though, he couldn’t deny that there was something to it.

  “We had better go,” Lucy said.

  He glanced back and saw two figures approaching the border. If they detected a crossing that quickly, then how had there been an attack in the first place? The figures were still within the trees, camouflaged by them, and Daniel took a step and Slid, taking them away from the city and the forest.

  They emerged far from where they had been. From where they stood, Ilphaesn Mountain rose off to the west, a promise of lorcith buried within. Now they were just a part of the people of Elaeavn.

  “Why here?” she asked.

  “I’ve seen it before.” That was the trickiest part of Sliding. He had to know where he would emerge to do it safely. Otherwise, there was a danger to it.

  “Will you get tired?”

  “It depends on how far we travel,” Daniel said. He had never really tested himself or his abilities.

  “There’s something else we could do if we need to.”

  “What’s that?”

  She twisted the bracelets. “I could take them off.”

  “I’m not keeping you in chains. You get to choose when you take them off.”

  “I don’t want you to be upset.”

  “If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it before we’re around other people.”

  Daniel tried to fortify his mind, pushing the mental barriers he had acquired during a lifetime spent around those who could Read. As she pulled one of the bracelets off, her eyes widened slightly.

  “Wow. I never knew.”

  Daniel felt a warmth wash over him.

  Lucy grinned at him. “One doesn’t do it. Let’s see what happens when I take the other one off.” She removed the other bracelet and stood with her eyes closed for a moment. “I can tell you’re trying to block me out, but it’s still there.”

  There came the familiar tickling within his mind, the telltale sign that someone was attempting to Read him. “I would block you out, but I don’t think I’m strong enough with your special enhancements.”

  “What if this is a gift?” she asked, opening her eyes and looking at Daniel. “I know we’ve viewed the Forgers as dangerous all these years, but if they can enhance our abilities, shouldn’t we at least try to understand them?”

  “I thought your time in Trelaeavn made you think the Forgers should be feared.”

  “They should be,” she started, touching the back of her head. “Especially after they’ve attacked us repeatedly.”

  “My father blames Lareth for the persistent attacks. He’s heard stories about other places that find peace with the Forgers.”

  She opened her mouth to answer—probably to snap at him—when she suddenly spun, looking into the distance. “There’s someone Sliding toward us.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I can feel the effect of the Slide.”

  “I didn’t realize you had that sort of ability.”

  Her jaw clenched and she grabbed her hair, twisting it in one hand. “I don’t. At least, I didn’t.”

  If there were people Sliding toward them, it likely meant members of the guild, but that seemed fast, even for the guild. They shouldn’t have been able to chase them down and come after them. “Can you Read anything about them?”

  “Daniel, I’m not sure I want to take full advantage of these abilities like that.”

  “You have them. We might as well use them to figure out what’s going on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The guild shouldn’t have been able to follow us.” He looked into the distance. There were stretches of trees, and otherwise it was just a flat plane rolling away from them. The sky was a cloudless blue, and the sun shone bright. Now that he’d detected the barrier around the city, he had no idea how the Forgers had managed to sneak in—unless someone had let them.

  “Who would have let the Forgers into the city?” Lucy asked.

  “Do you think you can avoid focusing on my thoughts?” Dealing with Lucy’s ability to Read him so well would be a challenge. He wasn’t sure he wanted her in his mind like this.

  “I don’t have any control over it.”

  “Do you think you can get control?”

  “I don’t know. It’s unusual. It’s like everything just has flooded into my mind.”

  How would he feel if his abilities were enhanced? It was one thing to have abilities that you had grown up doing, but it was quite another to have them suddenly appear. And not just appear, but appear with considerable strength.

  “I’ll see what I can do. You be ready to Slide us if it becomes necessary.”

  Daniel nodded. He looked into the distance, trying to identify someplace that would be safe for them to Slide to. Without having traveled here, he was at a disadvantage. Once he had traveled somewhere, he could return, the Slide much safer the second time, but the first trip would be unsafe, and he didn’t want to end up hurting Lucy any more than she already was.

  She squeezed his hand. “I appreciate that.”

  Daniel shook his head. This was going to get old quickly.

  Lucy closed her eyes. She rubbed her wrists where the bracelets had been and gripped both bracelets with one hand, leaving Daniel to wonder if she intended to slip them on quickly.

  “I can almost recognize them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They’re Elvraeth, but not Elvraeth that I know.”

  “How can you tell they’re Elvraeth?”

  “Because they have abilities.” Her eyes opened, and she looked over at him. “That shouldn’t be possible.”

  “Why? The Elvraeth have the Great Watcher abilities—”

  “No. It’s not just that they all have abilities. They have all abilities.”

  “You mean guild abilities?”

  She nodded.

  “How can you tell?”

  “I… I don’t know. It’s like I know.”

  If they were augmented in the same way that she had been, it likely meant they were working for the Forgers. It would be difficult to overpower someone like that. Their best bet was staying ahead of them, but in order to do so, they had to keep moving.

  Daniel wasn’t a fighter. Even though he trained with the sword, it was something he did, not something he was. He had been raised to lead, not fight.

  “Maybe we should head back to the city. We could warn the t
chalit, even the guilds, if you—”

  Daniel didn’t get a chance to finish. She Slid, carrying both of them.

  It happened fast, much faster than most of his Slides, and with a sudden urgency and power that overwhelmed him. When he opened his eyes, they stood on top of a high peak, with the grounds sweeping out around them far below. A cold wind whipped around him, and he shivered.

  “Ilphaesn? You brought us to Ilphaesn?”

  “I didn’t know what to do. They were almost to us. And I think they’re tracking me.”

  “You think your new ability lets them do that?”

  Lucy looked down to the ground far below. With her enhancements, it was possible she could See far more than him. “We need to keep moving.”

  “We should go back to Elaeavn.”

  “I don’t think we can,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Because—”

  They Slid again, and this time they appeared on a distant plain he had seen from the mountaintop. She continued to Slide them, moving them quickly from place to place. He wouldn’t have had the strength to Slide them this far or this frequently.

  “Stop!” When she hesitated, Daniel tried taking her hands and getting her to look at him. “We should go back.”

  “They know who we are.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When we were on the mountain, I could Read one of them. They know who we are.”

  “So? If we go to the palace, we can get ourselves to safety.”

  “I’m not sure the palace can protect us from this.”

  “What do you intend to do?”

  “I intend to keep moving.” They continued to Slide and paused every so often for Lucy to get her bearings. When they paused, she hesitated, listening, as if she could hear the sound of the people following them. And maybe with her enhancements, she could hear them. It would be a useful ability to be able to detect a Slide. Unless she Listened. That gift was rare for most, and relatively weak.

  “There’s a city up there,” he said, pointing to a massive city that sprawled out in the distance when they had paused again in between Slides. “Could that be Asador?”

  If not Asador, then another city would give them a chance to wait and prepare for their return.