The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Won’t they just look for us?”

  “I suspect they will do more than look for us.”

  “What else will they do?”

  “If I’m right, they will make a point of heading out to find information.”

  Galen carried Becky down to the end of the alley and propped her in a corner. At least there wasn’t the same stench of filth here as on the main street. He returned and grabbed Ray, carrying her back and setting her alongside Becky.

  When he was done, he joined Galen at the mouth of the alley.

  “What did you see?”

  “Come with me,” Galen said.

  “Where?”

  He pointed up.

  Galen scrambled toward the rooftop, and Haern followed, surprised at Galen’s dexterity. Galen moved as if he had done this before, but then, he probably had. This was the kind of thing Haern suspected assassins did, so he supposed it wasn’t too surprising that Galen was competent at reaching rooftops.

  “Have you ever been here before?” Haern asked when they crouched at the edge of the roof.

  “Here? No. I’ve been through Asador before, but I never spent much time here. I did help capture your father’s nemesis for him, so there is that.”

  “My father had a nemesis?” What else was he going to learn about his father on this trip?

  “A dangerous man who was willing to betray all of Elaeavn.”

  “And you were able to catch him while my father couldn’t?”

  “I was.”

  Haern grinned. He loved the idea of his father as merely competent, not the all-powerful man he often came across as. “How?”

  “The same way we captured those Forgers. People often underestimate those who have abilities they see as less than theirs. Even you denigrate your Sight, but you shouldn’t. My ability with Sight kept me alive in many dangerous situations, and I wouldn’t change that at all.”

  “But if you could Slide—”

  “If I could Slide, I would begin to rely upon the fact that I could. Like those Forgers did. They didn’t expect us to be able to incapacitate them. Surprise is almost as powerful as any ability.”

  They crawled along the rooftop before reaching the edge. From here, Galen leaned over, looking down at the street. One of the women they’d seen in the tavern moved along the street, disappearing into the darkness.

  “There,” Galen said.

  “Why her?”

  “Because she’s going for help.”

  “Shouldn’t we avoid her?”

  “Not if we want to know what kind of help she’s going for.”

  They jumped across to the next roof and scurried along it. They were all slate, and though the footing was somewhat tricky, the more Haern moved along them, the easier they became to navigate. Galen didn’t seem to have any difficulty, practically gliding along the roofs. The woman began running, and Haern trailed after Galen, trying to keep pace, although Galen only jogged. Every time the roofline was interrupted, Galen paused only a moment before jumping across.

  “Where do you think she’s going?” he asked, trying to keep from being too breathless with his question.

  “There’s typically someone in each city who runs the network. I suspect she’s going there.”

  “And you want to find out who that is.”

  “Whoever’s running it will be able to tell me whether anything really happened to Carth,” Galen whispered. He jumped across an alley, landing in stride on the next rooftop. Haern jumped, growing only slightly more comfortable as he went.

  How could Galen have been out of practice yet still move so easily across the roofs?

  “Are you sure you haven’t done this in a while?” Haern asked.

  “Cael would have killed me had I continued to do this.”

  “Maybe, but it seems to me that you aren’t as out of practice as I would’ve expected.”

  “I told you, there are some things you never forget.”

  Haern really wasn’t sure how much of that was true. There might be things you never forgot, but moving like this was a skill. Haern could keep up, but it left him feeling as if he might slip at any moment. Somehow Galen didn’t have the same difficulty.

  The woman crossed a wide street, and Galen jumped down from the roof, pausing long enough to look back to see whether Haern would follow.

  What choice did he have?

  They had moved into a slightly nicer section of the city where the streets were wider; they wouldn’t be able to jump from rooftop to rooftop as they went. Galen stayed on the street, and Haern kept him in sight. When he finally caught up, Galen stopped. He nodded toward a building on the left side of the street. A sign hung down from the building, marking it as a tavern—no surprise, as all these people seemed to have a thing about taverns.

  “She went in there. If I’m right, this is the headquarters in the city.”

  “Why would they need a headquarters like this?”

  “As opposed to what?”

  “As opposed to anyplace else? Why would they need to have it inside a tavern?”

  “It allows them to keep their finger on the pulse of the city.”

  “Would this be where you would set up?”

  Galen turned to him, frowning. “Why do you ask that?”

  “You’re the one who said this part of the city wasn’t as vibrant. I just thought—”

  “You’re right,” Galen said. “This wouldn’t be where Carth would set things up.”

  “If that’s the case, then is she really gone?”

  “The Great Watcher knows I hope not. Carth is incredibly powerful and skilled. If she’s gone…”

  “If they use this place, maybe it means someone else has taken over the city.”

  “If they use a place like this, it might mean somebody else has taken over her network. The taverns have always been Carth’s thing. Having access to them is how she has acquired information, and if someone else is running the network…”

  “What now?” Haern asked when Galen didn’t continue.

  “Now we take our next step.”

  “You mean we go in?”

  “Not quite like that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The woman from the other tavern went in. We need to be careful to go in a little more cautiously. We don’t need her to recognize us before we’re ready.”

  “How would you have us hide?”

  “For now, we watch.”

  “Watch what?”

  “Watch the entrance to the tavern. Then we can go in.”

  Galen made his way across the street, scrambled up one of the buildings, and crouched, looking out over the roof at the entrance to the tavern. Haern followed him, moving much more slowly and keeping his eyes up as he did to see if anyone came out of the tavern while they were climbing.

  No one moved.

  When they were both situated on the edge of the rooftop, he glanced over at Galen. “What if this takes longer than the poison lasts on the Forgers?”

  “Then one of us needs to go back and ensure that they are adequately dosed.”

  “How long do we need to watch?”

  “As long as we have to,” Galen said.

  “And how long do you think that might be?”

  Galen shrugged. “It depends on who’s in there.”

  Galen fell silent and Haern decided to mimic him, not wanting to anger the other man. They crouched, and moments stretched into minutes. He shifted in place, his legs aching from crouching, but Galen seem to suffer no ill effects. He simply remained motionless, as if unconcerned about how long this would take.

  Occasionally the door to the tavern would open and people would depart, but most of them were obvious patrons, some staggering as they left, while others kept to themselves and still others simply made their way along the street. None of them looked like the woman from the first tavern.

  Other times, people approached the tavern and headed inside. Haern glanced over to Galen each time, but h
e made no sign that he was concerned. At one point, one of the other waitresses that had followed them out of the tavern appeared and hurried into the tavern. Haern glanced over to Galen, but he shook his head.

  “They found the other two,” Galen said.

  “Isn’t that a problem?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we’re already here.”

  “What happens if they realize this was all part of some sort of set-up?”

  “It changes nothing. They would still react as I expect.”

  “And what way is that?”

  “Trying to find more information.”

  “About what?”

  “About us. They would want to figure out what we’re after and will alert an even greater response.”

  Galen kept his gaze fixed on the entrance to the tavern. What was he expecting to see? If it was the first woman who’d gone in there, would it make a difference?

  Haern began to grow frustrated. This seemed like a waste of time, but if they were to determine whether Carth was alive, this was what they needed to do. And Haern couldn’t deny that Galen had been right about many things in Asador.

  It was nearly an hour before the door opened and the waitress headed out.

  When she did, she wasn’t alone.

  A dark-haired woman went with her, gliding along the street. Galen’s breath caught.

  “What is it? Was it Carth?”

  “Not Carth.”

  “Did you recognize her?”

  “I couldn’t tell anything about her.”

  “Why does that surprise you? I couldn’t tell anything, either.”

  Galen looked over to him. “That doesn’t bother you? Even with your Sight?”

  Haern hadn’t considered it, but now that he did, he realized that it should trouble him. He should have been able to detect something. The fact that he hadn’t was alarming.

  “It wasn’t Carth, but someone who wanted to look an awful lot like her.” Galen frowned. “A distraction like that is the kind of thing Carth would do.”

  “Should we find her, then?”

  He paused, looking down over the edge of the rooftop. “I don’t See anything.”

  “Are you sure that you would?”

  “There should be something. Even with all her abilities, I was always able to find her.”

  Galen jumped down, and Haern followed. When he landed, they were standing in pools of darkness.

  “Galen?”

  “Quiet.”

  He crept forward soundlessly, disappearing into the shadows, and Haern frowned.

  Where was Galen going?

  Haern followed but struggled to see through the darkness. How could it have gotten so dark so quickly?

  Was this related to Carth’s magic? He didn’t know what sort of power she had, but Galen seemed to think so.

  And if it wasn’t her magic, what made the darkness this dense?

  Where was Galen?

  He had disappeared into the shadows, moving fearlessly, though maybe he should have been more cautious.

  Haern continued to move forward when someone grabbed him.

  He started to gasp and spin, but a hand clasped over his mouth silenced him.

  “Quiet,” Galen whispered into his ear.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s not Carth.”

  “Who is it?”

  “That is what we have to find out.”

  32

  Haern

  Galen leaned over the Forger, jabbing him with the end of one of Haern’s lorcith knives. The man stirred slowly. He managed to look over, and when he saw Galen leaning over him, he jerked back.

  “I thought you might be excited to see me,” Galen said. He leaned forward on the chair in the rented room, watching the Forger, tapping the knife on his thigh. The Forger’s gaze hung on the knife, almost as if he were more concerned about that than any poison Galen might use on him.

  “I’ve seen knives like that before,” the Forger said.

  “So have I. And I managed to stop the assassin responsible.”

  “The assassin? No assassin. It was Lareth and nothing more.”

  “Not Lareth. This assassin went by the name of Lorst.”

  Haern glanced over to him. He’d not heard that name before, but these lorcith knives were his father’s creation. Haern only made them because he wanted to see if he could craft anything as skillfully as his father.

  “You claim Carth is gone, but someone within the city shares her abilities.”

  Haern watched the Forger as Galen said it. They weren’t sure what he might do or how he might react. Both had agreed it was likely that the Forgers would know something, and likely had quite a bit more knowledge than Galen and Hearn did about the person they’d come across.

  For some reason, this troubled Galen. It was more than just the fact that this person had abilities with the shadows, though that seemed to be part of it. It was that this person seemed to be the one the others had gone to. Whoever she was, she now had control over the network.

  The Forger smiled. “If you think that I will reveal those secrets, you are mistaken.”

  “I think that you will speak so that you can survive. So far, I’ve been generous,” Galen said.

  “So far, you’ve been afraid,” the Forger said.

  “Don’t tempt me,” he said.

  “Or what? I don’t believe you’ll do anything. You haven’t proven yourself willing to make the difficult choices. All you do is make threats, and while you have knowledge, you also are tentative. One thing you’ll find when you work with us is that you lose that tentative nature.”

  Galen flicked a dart at him. The man immediately began gasping.

  “Was that tentative?” He leaned closer. “That is terad. And it’s rolling through you now. The longer it’s there, the less likely it is that we can do anything to prevent it from overpowering you. Now, I have no problem with you dying. Considering what you’ve done—at least, what I know you’ve done—you deserve to die. But I’ll be honest. There is still something you can tell me, and that’s what makes you valuable. Then again, we really haven’t tried to find out what your friend might know.”

  The other Forger lay motionless. Galen had kept him unconscious the entire time they’d had him captive, and the gasping Forger stared at Galen, his eyes going wide.

  “If you know anything about terad, you’ll know that it requires a very specific treatment. Most people who succumb to the effects die fairly quickly, though not all.” He leaned forward, his face close to the Forger’s. “You have a choice. Do you intend to reveal what you know? This is your only opportunity. I won’t offer it again. If you choose not to answer, I will allow the terad to run its course.”

  Haern hated watching. There was something about watching someone suffocate, and he looked so helpless. It wasn’t that he wanted to help this man, but the idea of letting him die like this bothered him.

  According to Galen, this poison was a paralytic. It stopped all the muscles in one’s body from working, leaving one unable to do so much as breathe. And somehow Galen was immune to it.

  What sort of horrors had he survived?

  Galen shrugged. “As I said. It was your choice.” He turned away and headed out the door.

  Haern remained. He couldn’t take his eyes off the Forger. His eyes were bulging out, and he began to turn purple.

  “All you have to do is agree to tell him,” Haern said. “Why won’t you tell him? Why allow yourself to die?”

  The man looked up at him. He nodded once.

  “Galen!”

  It took a moment, but Galen reentered the room. He walked slowly, cautiously, and he glanced at Haern before turning his attention to the Forger. “Has he decided to talk?”

  “He nodded.”

  “Good.”

  He reached into his pouch and pulled out a small leather folder. Dipping his hand inside, he rolle
d his fingers and pushed them into the Forger’s mouth.

  “This will be unpleasant,” Galen said.

  He massaged the Forger’s neck, and the Forger took a shallow breath, and then another. His eyes began to recede, and the color returned to his cheeks.

  Galen leaned close to him. “That is your one opportunity. You’ve seen that I’m willing to allow you to die. I need to know what you know about this woman.”

  “Not Rel.” The Forger gasped as he spoke, straining to get a breath.

  “I’m aware that it was not Rel. I know Rel quite well, and if it had been her, I would have known. Who is she?”

  The Forger shook his head. “Someone. Like her.”

  Galen frowned. “Who?”

  “She worked with Rel. That’s how she knows the network.”

  “Is she the one who alerted you that we came?”

  “She didn’t. Another did.”

  “Which other?”

  When the Forger didn’t answer, Galen leaned close again. Another dart twisted between his fingers. “I think I’ve already made my position clear. Which one?”

  “Someone else,” the Forger said.

  Galen flicked a dart at the man. When it sank into him, he leaned back, quickly falling asleep.

  “I don’t care for this,” Galen said.

  “The fact that we don’t know who it is?”

  “No. The fact that whoever it is had worked with Carth. Her people should have stayed loyal to her. It’s something she does better than anyone else.”

  Galen got to his feet and paced. Every so often, he glanced down at the Forgers, and his frown deepened.

  “We were close to her,” Galen said.

  “We were, but you had us disappear.”

  “Only because, had we remained there, we would have been in danger. She has power. I was able to detect it. Hell, I could have sworn she was Carth when we first encountered her. Someone like that…” Galen breathed out heavily. “I can understand why Carth’s people would follow her. If she has the same sort of power as Carth, it wouldn’t be surprising if she could inspire people to follow her. They might even think she has Carth’s blessing, and while she might, it’s also possible that she does not.”

  “Do you want us to go back after her?”

  “I’m not sure we’ll be able to find her again. The last time was easier because she didn’t know I was here, but now she will have learned, and she’ll realize the move was nothing more than an attempt to draw her out.”