The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  At the end of the hallway, he came across another doorway. He Slid, crossing over the doorway, and when he emerged on the other side, he found himself in an enormous library.

  The same strange orange orbs glowed with soft light, and he looked around, marveling at the rows and rows of shelves all filled with books. It would be all too easy to linger here.

  What surprised him was the sheer number of books. The palace within Elaeavn had thousands of volumes, and the archivists there considered themselves accomplished scholars, but they had nothing on this place. The room stretched at least three stories high, with ladders placed around the interior for reaching the upper shelves. A narrow staircase near the back of the room led to an upper level where even more shelves awaited.

  With a library like this, he would’ve expected to find others here, but it was empty. Where was everyone?

  As he debated where to go, the door to the library opened, and he Slid to the second level, backing himself up toward the wall, staying away from the railing overlooking the main part of the library. Voices caught his attention.

  “You really shouldn’t have allowed her to return,” a woman’s voice said. It was the same woman he’d heard Carth talking to.

  “What choice did we have? She is still far too powerful for us to refuse her entry.” This was a man’s voice, older and rough with age.

  “She might be powerful, but she is no longer necessary for our plans.”

  “She’s no longer necessary, but you can’t tell her that. We have to simply exclude her from what we’re doing. That’s the only way we’ll be able to make this work. We need this to end.”

  What sort of issues did they have with Carth?

  “If she continues to investigate—”

  “I know what will happen if she continues to investigate. We have to intervene, but doing so requires that we place ourselves in a precarious situation,” the man said.

  “Only because you don’t want to deal with her. We may need to use them to take care of her, too.”

  “That wasn’t the plan.”

  “What do you think she’ll do when she realizes that we’ve made this agreement? You know her views on such matters. They are nearly as rigid as his.”

  “I don’t like any of this. This is not how we have operated.”

  The woman started to laugh, and Daniel started forward, wanting to catch a glimpse of who it was and what she might do. From his vantage, he could only see the back of her head. She had auburn hair that hung in waves to her shoulders, and she wore a jacket and navy wool pants. She stood with a rigid posture.

  The other man was balding, and wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He looked down at the woman, his neck bent, something almost subservient in his posture.

  “We have survived for years out of our willingness to do what was necessary.”

  “What does that make us?” the man asked.

  “It leaves us still here. Now, do you wish for me to complete the exchange?”

  The man sighed. “Go ahead and complete the exchange. When you’re done, make certain that they know we are the ones who captured him, and that the attacks must end.”

  “That was always the plan.”

  The woman left, and the man remained in the room. Daniel hesitated. He could continue to observe the older man, but something warned him that he needed to know where the woman had gone off to—and who they had captured.

  He Slid, emerging in the hallway. It was a risk, but there was no one here. He Slid again, emerging near the entrance to the university.

  The door was closing, and he paused a moment before ducking out the doorway. He didn’t know if he could Slide from here and decided not to try it and fail.

  Outside, darkness swirled around him, practically a thing alive. He scanned the entrance, and the darkened figure of the woman disappeared, heading away. Daniel glanced in either direction to ensure that no one was approaching before stalking out to follow.

  Would whatever barrier existed hold him in place?

  It didn’t prevent him this time. He got away from the university and glanced back, worried that someone might have watched him. He saw no sign of anyone around, but that didn’t necessarily mean he hadn’t been observed.

  Could he Slide?

  He did so, emerging on the rooftop of a nearby building.

  From here, he could see the auburn-haired woman as she strode along the street. She moved with a confidence despite the late hour, which warned him that whoever she was, she would be dangerous. Either she was very powerful or she was deeply connected within the city. Either way, he needed to be careful.

  Where was she heading? He followed her, Sliding from rooftop to rooftop, thinking about Haern and how he had traveled through the city with Galen. If there was some way for Daniel to follow her, figure out where she was going, he was determined to do it.

  He glanced in the distance for any sign of Haern but saw none. He was probably still watching and waiting for Galen, hoping that the assassin would return. But where was Galen?

  For that matter, where was Carth? She had come to the university, and he suspected she was after something, likely aware of whatever they planned. Unless she hadn’t been. It sounded as if they were intending to trap Carth, and he needed to warn her.

  The woman made her way north, and Daniel Slid, continuing to follow. There was no sign of where she was going, only that she continued to stride through the city, either unmindful of the possibility that she might be followed or completely prepared for it and unafraid.

  Either option was troubling.

  After a while, the buildings began to thin, the space between them stretching out. Many of them were much nicer here than they were in the center of the city, as if this were some wealthier section that she headed toward.

  What did she intend to find here?

  He waited until she passed a series of buildings before Sliding to keep up. Each time he emerged, he stayed low, not wanting her to realize he was following. But he wondered, what if someone else was following him?

  Daniel crouched low on a flat rooftop. A compound stretched around him, nice buildings and a courtyard holding a fragrant garden. This must be where merchants lived.

  He looked around to see if perhaps she might have someone following her—or him—but there was no sign of anyone.

  He Slid again, reaching the next rooftop.

  The woman had paused, and from here, she headed into a building.

  This building looked no different from any of the others, and if anything, it seemed to be less fancy, with no garden around it like he saw around the others. A massive stone wall surrounded it, and in the moonlight, he could make out barbs of metal worked into the wall. That metal would be dangerous for someone to attempt to climb over.

  The building he crouched upon was little more than a stout rectangular structure, all of a deep gray stone. He crept forward, looking around for any sign of others nearby, but didn’t see anyone. There was no sign of the woman here either. There was no sign of anything.

  What kind of compound would this be if there were no guards? Unless there was no need.

  He should return to the main part of the city and get help, but instead he simply waited, wanting to know what the woman inside might be up to. She had a captive—he was certain of that—but who was it? And what did she intend to do with them?

  A nagging question at the back of his mind left him wondering if perhaps it might be Lareth. But how would they have captured Lareth? She didn’t strike him as a Forger. She was with the university. But what else would she have been doing?

  He started to Slide, preparing to follow, and realized that he couldn’t.

  His heart hammered quickly.

  Could this have been a trap?

  He’d managed to Slide here, so why would it be that he couldn’t Slide back out?

  He was captured.

  How was it that he had now managed to find himself somewhere where he couldn’t Slide out twic
e in the same evening?

  Daniel thought he had a better understanding of his abilities, and the fact that he continued to end up captured in this way bothered him.

  He didn’t see how it was possible. How would they have managed to allow him to Slide in but not back out? There was something he wasn’t quite understanding here.

  He crawled to the edge of the rooftop. There were no guards, which implied that either they didn’t worry about who might attempt to break in or they had other ways of determining whether someone was here. Could he have triggered some sort of alarm? That might explain why he was suddenly unable to Slide.

  At the university, he had been restricted from Sliding but had been able to walk out, so he wondered if perhaps he could do the same thing here. The woman he’d followed had managed to walk in just fine.

  Was his ability to Slide restricted entirely, or was it only attempting to get out of here that was impossible?

  He Slid and emerged on the other side of the roof. At least that distance wasn’t restricted. Could he Slide down into the yard? He wasn’t certain he wanted to. There was danger in doing that, especially since he didn’t want to attempt to climb over the wall with the sharp metal worked into it. Though, what would he do if it were the only way to escape?

  There had to be another way out.

  Unless they were preventing him from Sliding until others appeared.

  Daniel made a steady circuit of the grounds, but he saw no sign of anyone down there that he would need to fear. Whatever was holding him here had a different explanation.

  He made his way to the back of the building and Slid to the ground.

  From here, the building loomed in front of him. He didn’t detect anything unusual about it, but an ominous sense to everything left him more than a little troubled.

  He kept close to the edge of the building, making his steady circuit until he came around to the front. Once there, he paused. A plain-looking door was the only entrance to this building, and he saw no evidence of anyone.

  He Slid to the wall and the gate. He waited a moment, glancing around before pushing on the door. It was locked.

  He tried to jam his sword into the lock, but it wouldn’t open. He didn’t like being this exposed. The longer he was here, the more likely the auburn-haired woman would reappear. He could Slide back to the rooftop, but without any way of escaping, even that didn’t serve him well.

  What he needed to do was get out, but the only way other than through this door was over the wall. He attempted to Slide to the top of the wall, but there was something that seemed to prevent him, much like the bars over the windows in the palace within Elaeavn prevented Sliding. He ran his hand along the surface. The stone was smooth, though sections of it were slick and colder than the rest.

  It was the same metal as he had seen on top of the wall, he was certain of it. He knew that heartstone would prevent Sliding, but if it had been heartstone, he wouldn’t have been able to Slide in here in the first place.

  Daniel focused on the door leading out. It didn’t matter if he was caught breaking through it. All that mattered was that he was not caught here.

  He jammed his sword into the lock again, shaking it from side to side.

  With a soft snap, the door popped open.

  Daniel pushed open the door and went racing out. Once outside, he looked around. Could he Slide?

  He prepared to do so, when something struck him from behind.

  Daniel went staggering forward, spinning around. The same woman he’d seen from above approached, making her way toward him, her face twisted in an angry scowl. Pain shot through his shoulder where he’d been struck, the same shoulder where he’d been hurt before.

  She reached the edge of the doorway, studying him. “Who are you?”

  Daniel straightened, meeting her eyes. This was no Forger. “I’m no one.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I’m looking for answers.”

  She scowled more deeply. “By breaking in?”

  She looked up and down the street before turning her attention back to him. Daniel considered Sliding, but now that she was here in front of him, he wanted to know who she was and what she was after. More than that, he wanted to know who she had trapped.

  As he prepared to speak, darkness swirled around him.

  Was it Carth—or was it Rayen?

  37

  Haern

  It wasn’t difficult to See through the darkness along the street. Haern had been sitting for a while—probably too long, he realized—and still hadn’t seen much movement. There was the usual sort of activity along any street, especially one within Asador, most of which involved people heading to and from taverns, making their way toward their evening activities. Sometimes he saw groups of men, other times couples, and occasionally he saw pairs of women. Those were the ones he wondered about. Could they be part of Carth’s network?

  Daniel had been gone for a while. He still worried about whether he could trust him. For Lucy’s sake, he thought he should, but once they found her, what would Daniel do? Would he abandon them? Leave the city? Haern didn’t know, which was reason to worry. It wasn’t as if Haern could even follow. Daniel could Slide anywhere he wanted if it came down to it.

  Needing to have someone he could rely upon, he waited. He was convinced that he would come across Galen or Carth if he waited long enough.

  There was a limit to how long they could wait without taking action. Eventually, the Forgers would come around, and Haern would need to make a decision about what to do with them. He could continue to dose them with the slithca, but he didn’t like the idea of doing that. How many times would he need to administer it to them?

  The idea of killing them didn’t sit well with him. It would be an act of cold-blooded murder. Was that what he was?

  Would his father have done that?

  No doubt his father wouldn’t have hesitated. His father always took the action he thought was necessary.

  What would Galen have done?

  Galen had resisted killing them. Regardless of what he claimed, whatever type of assassin he had once been, Galen wasn’t that man anymore.

  If anything, Haern would be more like Galen than like his father.

  With that mindset in place, he focused on the streetscape. It was easier when he tried to think like Galen, trying to come up with what the assassin would do, how he would have managed the Forgers. Galen kept them alive as a way of acquiring more information. Haern would have to do the same, but if they did have to leave, who would continue to hold them? Maybe he and Galen should have come up with their own network.

  The night shimmered.

  Haern’s breath caught. That was unusual. He remained crouching, refusing to move, but the shimmering wasn’t so much the kind of image he saw from Sliding as it was what he saw from shadows thickening. It was what Galen had wanted him to see when looking for Carth.

  Could Carth be coming?

  If not Carth, could the other be coming?

  Haern crouched, touching his pocket to make sure he had the darts he’d grabbed from the room and filled with poison. He might not have Galen’s ability, but he could use what the other man had taught him.

  Jumping from building to building was easier than it had been the first time. Haern still moved carefully, tentatively, but he didn’t fear making the jump as he had when he’d first climbed up to the roofs with Galen.

  He headed toward the thickened shadows, figuring that if nothing else, he would see if he could reach Rayen. Maybe he could get answers from her.

  The night began to thicken like fog, and he knew he was getting close. The fog was unnatural, much like the depths of the night were unnatural. Without his enhanced Sight, he doubted he would have been able to see much more than a hand in front of him. Even with it, there were only gradients of shadows and flickers of movement.

  Haern crouched again. He didn’t dare continue onward without being better able to see where he was going. It see
med as if the shadows were something alive, and he feared them.

  “You don’t move like him,” a voice said behind him.

  Haern spun, holding out the darts.

  The shadows parted, only a little, but enough for him to see the dark-haired woman. Up close, she was just as striking as she had been from a distance. She was an enemy, but he couldn’t help but find her incredibly beautiful.

  “You’re Rayen.”

  “You’ve heard of me.”

  “You’re the one who betrayed my friend. You’re the reason the Forgers have Lucy.” He was tempted to throw the darts at her, but he hesitated. He needed information first, and he didn’t know if there were others nearby. If so, he might not be able to get away with attacking her.

  “It couldn’t be helped.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I believe anymore.”

  The shadows started to thicken, and Haern slipped forward, not wanting to lose sight of her. “Why?”

  “Because she has returned.”

  “Carth?”

  Rayen didn’t answer, but the shadows moved away from him.

  “Her absence didn’t mean that she didn’t care,” he said. What was he doing using his mother’s words to try to reassure Rayen? It was the same thing his mother said about his father when he was gone for extended periods of time, and Haern didn’t believe her any more than Rayen probably believed him.

  “She’s been gone so long that she doesn’t understand the dynamics anymore.”

  “I used to think the same about my father,” Haern said.

  “Who’s your father?”

  He sighed. Did it matter if he revealed his father’s name to her? She could probably figure it out anyway. “Rsiran Lareth,” he said.

  “Lareth. She spoke highly of him. Not as highly as she did about Galen, but still highly enough. And yet, it didn’t matter.”

  “What didn’t matter?”

  “They managed to grab him, the same way they have managed to grab everyone else. Anyone who was a threat, they have removed. Haven’t you noticed that?”