The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Where do I go?”

  “There should be an opening behind here.”

  “What about you?”

  “I will continue to hold. I’m doing the best I can, but there are limits.”

  “Don’t reach the end of your limits before I return.”

  She nodded, her jaw still clenched tightly.

  Daniel glanced back, seeing that Alera stood with the other two Forgers. They tried to approach, but something Carth did seemed to hold them at bay.

  With the strain on her face, he doubted she would be able to hold on for much longer.

  He had to hurry.

  He Slid to the doorway off to the side.

  The door was locked, which meant that he would have to Slide beyond it. If there was only stone there, as some way of trying to confound a Slider, he would end up buried within it. If there was a staircase, or any other drop-off, he could end up falling to his death.

  “Go!” Carth urged.

  Daniel Slid.

  He emerged on a narrow ledge. Stairs led down, and he was thankful that he had only Slid a short distance. Any further and he would have fallen, tumbling into the darkness below.

  There was no light. He traced his hand along the wall as he ran down the stairs. His breath was heavy in his lungs with each step, but he didn’t dare slow.

  How far would he have to go?

  Down. That was what Carth had said.

  But where?

  He kept running, taking the stairs two and three at a time.

  The longer he was here, the more he recognized a slight change in the lighting. He didn’t know if it was real or if he only imagined it.

  He slammed into a wall.

  How had he not seen it?

  He turned, following an angle in the stairs. They were carved into stone, and the further he went, the more he had to duck. The walls began to squeeze in on either side of him, and eventually he had to angle his shoulders so that he was walking sideways. He kept his head down, occasionally raising it too high and banging it on the stone.

  This was ridiculous. Every moment he spent down here was a moment that Carth struggled up above. Could he really risk this much time?

  If this was a chance to find Lareth, and a chance to save the Elder Trees and Lucy, then he needed to take it.

  More than that, if his family had been responsible for what happened…

  Perhaps he would find nothing, would waste his time racing into the darkness only to come up short. If so, would Carth sacrifice herself in vain?

  He slammed into another wall and turned again.

  It became increasingly difficult to find his way down. Whatever lights he saw had to be imagined. They could be nothing more than spots in his vision. His ears popped as he descended, and he felt lightheaded. His breath grew heavy, and as he went, he heard a soft hammering.

  That couldn’t be his imagination, could it?

  It echoed up the stairs.

  Daniel paused long enough to listen. A faint breeze blew across his face, coming up from the depths of the tunnel. It carried a strange odor with it, a mixture of a metallic scent with wetness.

  As he hurried down the stairs, the strange hammering got louder. He slammed into another wall and turned again.

  And then he reached a doorway.

  What was this?

  If someone was captive anywhere down here, it would have to be here, wouldn’t it?

  And yet, if this was where he was detecting the hammering, how was he feeling the breeze against his face?

  Unless this wasn’t where he needed to go.

  He felt along the door, but there was only a small hole, barely large enough for his fist.

  That was what he was feeling. Air moved through there. It was a ventilation channel, nothing more.

  Someone was on the other side of this door.

  He tested it but wasn’t surprised to find it locked.

  Could he Slide beyond this?

  He focused on the space behind the door.

  It was a strange, slow sort of Slide, different from any other he had done before.

  When he emerged, Daniel froze. Inside was a strange, circular stone cell. Within the cell was a man he had been taught to hate.

  Lareth.

  39

  Haern

  Haern waited for Galen. The other man hadn’t landed next to him, and while he wasn’t expecting him to suddenly appear, he did expect Galen to arrive at some point and help him. Could he be a Listener? That would explain why he hadn’t rushed in to assist when there was a risk of attack. Unless Galen didn’t see Rayen as dangerous. From what Haern had been able to determine, she probably wasn’t.

  The shadows retreated slowly. Rayen disappeared along the street, and as much as Haern was tempted, he didn’t dare follow her. He didn’t know what she might do and didn’t want to risk her wrath.

  There was a subtle movement, and Galen landed next to him. “What was that about?”

  “It was about me trying to convince Rayen to help us. Why didn’t you come help me?”

  “You weren’t in any danger.” Galen stared along the street, his brow furrowing. “Why would you think she could help? Rayen betrayed the Binders.”

  “That’s just it, I don’t think she has. I don’t know exactly what she’s been up to, but if she had intended to betray the Binders, she would have done so differently. She said that everything she’s done has been to support the Binders.”

  “And you believe her?”

  “I don’t have any reason not to. She’s angry at Carth, and she’s been accustomed to running the Binders herself over the last five years, so there is a certain level of distrust.”

  “That’s something I can understand,” Galen said.

  That wasn’t the expected response. “What now?”

  “Now we make our way back to the room and check on our captives.”

  “We still don’t understand why there have been so many Forgers in the city. They’re congregating, but they aren’t doing anything.”

  “From what I can tell, they’re preparing for something.”

  “An attack?”

  Galen’s eyes narrowed. He looked along the street, and Haern wondered what he could See. Galen was more talented than Haern, especially when it came to his Sight.

  “If they’re preparing for an attack, I wonder why here. The Forgers remain interested in the Elder Stones, but everything I’ve learned tells me there are no Elder Stones in Asador.”

  “What if there were?”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “My mother said there are Elder Stones in other places. They represent the ancient Elders, and they represent power. We have the sacred crystals in Elaeavn, and from what Carth has said, her people had Elder Stones. What if they have their own in Asador?”

  “I’ve never heard any rumors about any Elder Stones here.”

  “Would anyone outside of Elaeavn know about the sacred crystals?”

  Galen frowned. “There was a time when I would’ve said no, but now I’m not so certain. When the crystal was lost, others went searching.”

  “And the Forgers know about them.”

  “They do.”

  Haern looked over at Galen, meeting his eyes. “If there’s a sacred crystal here—or something similar to it—that could be what the Forgers are after. Maybe they’ve found it.”

  “If that’s the case, you need to send word to your new friend.”

  “I’m not sure Rayen would listen.”

  “She listened more than I was expecting. And if she still has control over the Binders, she might be the only way we have of getting word to the rest of them. We’ll need their help, especially if it involves securing something from the Forgers that might make them stronger.”

  “That’s not why I’m here, though.”

  “No. You came here for your father, and we have no word of him. The one person we thought might have a lead doesn’t. I’m no longer certain we will even be able
to find him. We need to use everything in our power to ensure the Forgers don’t gain any more strength. If that involves preventing them from reaching Elder Stones that we didn’t know existed before, then we must do it.”

  Haern turned his attention to the street. “I’ll do this, but if we find word of my father—”

  “Then you can do what you must to rescue him. First we need to return to the tavern and ensure the Forgers don’t escape. We can find out what they know about Elder Stones that might be found in Asador.”

  “And Lucy.”

  They hurried along the street, and when they reached the tavern, there was a boisterous sort of energy and noise within it. Something left him unsettled, although there was no reason for him to worry. The Binders were here, but they’d had no conflict with them so far. And now that he had met Rayen and knew she was in charge of the Binders, he didn’t think they would have trouble with them.

  At the top of the stairs, there was a strange silence. Galen put his hand out, raising a finger to his lips.

  “What is it?” Haern mouthed.

  Galen shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  He reached into his pouch and grabbed a pair of darts, quickly loading them with whatever toxin he could easily reach. Would it be merely a sedative, or something more abrasive—a dangerous poison that might burn away someone’s resistance?

  Did it matter? All that mattered was that it might be effective.

  Galen crept down the hallway in complete silence. Haern was reluctant to follow, fearing that he might make too much noise, but he needed to know. Maybe they were only being unnecessarily concerned, but what if they weren’t? What if there was activity here that put them in danger?

  Could other Forgers have come for them?

  It was possible, and Haern had no misconceptions about which of them would be necessary to stop the Forgers when it came to it.

  They reached the door to their room. Galen rested his hand on it, breathing slowly, and Haern tensed, everything within him ready for the possibility of an attack.

  Galen pushed the door open in a burst.

  He rolled back behind the wall, ducking out of the way. If he hadn’t, the knife that came shooting out of the room would have sunk into his chest.

  Someone was inside.

  Haern looked over at the knife.

  It wasn’t a knife. It was something else.

  A barb.

  He recognized the weapon.

  A Forger weapon.

  “Galen. It’s Forgers—”

  Haern didn’t have a chance to say anything more. A Forger appeared in the door, and Galen spun, jamming one of his darts into the man’s chest.

  The man collapsed, but not before striking out, bringing the weapon around to attack.

  Haern lunged and grabbed the Forger’s arm, wrestling it down before he managed to strike Galen.

  Galen spun off and dropped to the floor, rolling forward. He threw something out, and by the time Haern managed to push the Forger off him, he looked up to see another Forger dropped to the floor.

  The captives were no longer captives.

  One of the men was beginning to get up, and the other—the one who had resisted the most—glared at Galen, watching him for a moment before disappearing in a shimmer.

  The other Forger started to rise and lunged toward Galen.

  Haern Saw it and jumped.

  His elbow caught the man in the head, and he dropped to the floor, collapsing on top of the other man’s head.

  Galen looked at him. “What about your ability with lorcith?”

  “I didn’t think about it.”

  Galen grunted. “It was effective. You may want to get off him before he bleeds all over you.”

  Haern got to his feet and saw that the man he’d attacked wouldn’t be getting up, certainly not anytime soon. Blood pooled around his head.

  The inside of the room was in a bit of a disarray.

  “How would they have found us?”

  “The Forgers have many ways. I had thought we would be able to get through this in time, but unfortunately, we’ve now lost him.”

  “He knows what we’re looking for.”

  “He knows, as do these two.”

  “But you killed them.”

  “No. A sedative, that’s it. I intended to dose them with more of the slithca to ensure they can’t Slide, but once they come around, we can ask questions.”

  Galen grabbed one of the men and dragged him into the room. He worked quickly, injecting the poison into first one Forger and then the other.

  Haern stood in the doorway, half-expecting someone to appear, worried that the Forger who had escaped would return.

  “We won’t be able to remain here, will we?” Haern asked.

  “I’m going to go down and find us an alternative room.”

  “You intend to stay in this same place?”

  “There’s no reason not to. They might come to this tavern, but they won’t expect us to have stayed. Besides, until we get back to Carth, I’m not sure how much I want to be moving locations.”

  “You just intend to interrogate them?”

  “You say that as if I should be ashamed of it.” Galen looked at the fallen Forgers. “All that matters is that we manage to get the information we need. If it leads us to Lareth or your friend, then so be it. If it leads us to whatever the Forgers are after, even better.”

  Haern breathed out. It would have to be enough.

  When they had the men bound and secured, they headed down to the main part of the tavern. Haern stood off to the corner, watching the activity within the room. There was a certain energy, and it was happy, carefree, not the same way that he felt. He was anxious and tense. It had been a long time since he had felt carefree like that.

  Galen spoke softly to one of the women. She had dark skin and dark hair and she wore a rich chocolate-colored dress that accentuated her figure. He leaned in, speaking intently, before turning back to Haern.

  When Galen rejoined him, he pressed a hand on Haern’s shoulder, guiding him back up the stairs, this time to the third level.

  “What did you tell her?”

  “Only that we needed an extra room so that you could enjoy yourself.”

  “Galen—”

  Galen shrugged. “It needed to be believable. Besides, I’m not giving up the other room. We can use it to set a trap.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?”

  “It might not, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try.”

  Galen checked the room, pausing in the doorway. It was a little smaller than the one they had occupied before, and he searched the space, ensuring there was nothing there that the Forgers might be able to use.

  When he was satisfied, he motioned for Haern to follow him. They headed down the stairs, back toward the first room, when another of the serving women caught them.

  “You’re here?”

  “We are here. Why?” Galen asked.

  “There was just someone here looking for you.”

  “Who?” Galen asked. He reached into his pouch, and Haern half-expected him to pull out one of his darts and attack the woman.

  “What can I say? He had your height and eye color,” she said.

  Someone from Elaeavn, but who?

  “What did he look like?”

  “I just told you what he looked like,” she said.

  “What did he say?”

  “He was talking about Carth and the network.”

  Galen nodded. He paused at the door to their room, glancing back at Haern. “That’s your friend.”

  “Should we wait for him?”

  Galen frowned. “I’m not sure we can. The only problem is, I don’t know quite how to find him.”

  “I might be able to help with that.”

  “How?”

  “Lorcith.” They stepped into the room, and Haern tried not to look down at the fallen Forger as he grabbed one of the Forgers who was still alive, though motionless.

/>   “You think you can detect lorcith on your friend from a distance?”

  “He’s not my friend.” He said it far more forcefully than he intended. “He carries a lorcith sword, and I think it’s one my father forged. I think I can find it if I focus.” Finding lorcith in the city—and from something that he hadn’t forged—would be difficult, but if it meant figuring out what Daniel had been up to, Haern would need to do it.

  Galen grunted as he lifted the other Forger, and they headed out of the room, locking the door behind them. “Once we find him, we have to reach him.”

  “Without any way of Sliding, it will take longer,” Haern agreed.

  Galen clenched his jaw, and they grunted as they hurried up the stairs to their new room. When they were up there, they tossed the two men off to the side, leaving them there.

  “Go to it,” Galen said.

  “What about you?”

  “I’m going to go make the body more tempting.”

  “Why?”

  “The other Forger will return, and he needs to think that we’re still staying in that room. When he comes back with whatever help he intends to bring, we need to be ready.”

  He didn’t like the idea of drawing Forgers here. He didn’t need to cause trouble in this tavern, but at the same time, they needed to know what the Forgers were after and whether there was an Elder Stone in Asador.

  When Galen was gone, Haern took a seat on the end of the bed and began to focus on lorcith. As he had told Galen, there was a connection to lorcith he’d forged before. It was unique, and it seemed to call to him so that as long as the lorcith was nearby, he would be able to use that sense and draw to it. If only the sword was one that he had forged.

  Still, with enough lorcith, he could reach for the metal, and considering the fact that there wasn’t nearly as much lorcith in Asador as in other places, he might be able to detect it. Plus he’d pushed on it before. That should help him.

  As he reached, his mind wandered. He thought about his connection to lorcith. It would have been easier had he been the one to forge it, but his weapons weren’t nearly as impressive as those his father had made. Those were almost as decorative as they were useful. Connecting to lorcith like this reminded him of being in the smithy, working at the metal, trying to do what his grandfather instructed.