The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3

by D. K. Holmberg

  Not magic, but C’than engineers.

  She was certain that was the key, though she wasn’t sure why Carth would have wanted her to come here, and on her own. With the lanterns glowing, she didn’t have a sense that this place was abandoned the way the others had been. And if it wasn’t abandoned, then Carth wouldn’t want her to do this on her own. Carth would want to be here with her, to give her whatever help was needed in order to understand what the C’than were after.

  Lucy made her way carefully down the hallway. She had a sense of something unusual here, though what was it?

  She strained to Read, looking for anyone that might be here, but she wasn’t able to detect anything—or anyone. If there were any of the C’than here, she wasn’t aware of them.

  Lucy paused, walking along the hallway, searching for any evidence of the C’than. A door at the end of the hallway caught her attention. It was locked, but that wasn’t going to impede her. She focused on the other side of the door and started to Slide.

  As she did, she met with some resistance. It was subtle, and slightly different than the kind of resistance she had encountered when attempting to Slide into the building in the first place, but enough of a barrier that she understood it was meant to prevent someone from entering.

  A library.

  Shelves lined with books stretched two stories overhead. The room was enormous, easily the size of the tavern in Asador, and the number of books here overwhelmed her. Was this what Carth had wanted her to find?

  Standing near the door, Lucy realized that she wasn’t alone.

  A man sat hunched in front of a desk, facing the door but seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had entered. He scratched a pen across the surface of a paper, pausing every so often, as if he were collecting his thoughts, before continuing on. Lucy tested him, straining for his mind, searching to see if she could uncover anything.

  For a moment, she thought he might have some way of blocking her, but his thoughts were there.

  He was researching.

  He kept the topics he studied at the forefront of his mind, and it was clear to her that he was looking into metals and how they could be combined.

  An engineer.

  She pushed harder, digging deeper into his mind, straining for a connection to Alera.

  It was there, as was a connection to others. There was an entire network within the C’than who had conspired together, and with that knowledge, she realized who they were, and what they were after.

  They thought they could negotiate with the Ai’thol. They thought they could trade knowledge. They disagreed with the ruling C’than and… with Carth.

  Lucy Slid to him, grabbing him, and Slid again, jerking free of the barriers around the building. She emerged on the rocky slope of the island of the stronghold.

  The man started to fight, but Lucy held on to him, throwing him forward.

  “What is this?”

  “This is you facing punishment.”

  “Punishment? Who are you? What have you done?”

  “I know that you have been working with Alera.”

  The man blinked. “You’re with her.”

  Lucy nodded. She looked up at the rocky tower. There wouldn’t be any way for her to Slide inside. If nothing else, she needed to alert the C’than inside that there was a traitor among them. They could keep him here the same way they kept the other engineer.

  “Why?”

  “You aren’t of the C’than. You can’t begin to understand.”

  Lucy forced her way into his mind.

  Diving this deep into the man’s mind, she was aware of the faces and names of his coconspirators. Alera was gone, but how many others had fallen with her? Not enough—not nearly enough.

  And because of it, the C’than were in danger.

  That was what Carth feared. Lucy wasn’t entirely sure why, other than Carth viewed the C’than as a way of balancing the power of the Ai’thol.

  These C’than viewed themselves differently. They saw how the Ai’thol had taken power, claiming it from the Elder Stones, and they had begun to think they could do it better.

  With that power, they had wanted to rule.

  Was that the purpose of the C’than?

  This man, this engineer, thought she couldn’t begin to understand because she wasn’t C’than, and yet, as she probed deeper and deeper into his mind, she thought she did understand. Her insight into what he was doing and how he was thinking showed her just what the C’than was supposed to be.

  In its entire duration, the C’than had never been about accumulating power. From what she could tell from this man, the C’than had been around for decades, possibly much longer, and through it all, there had been a balance.

  Because of men and women like this man and the other engineer, that balance had been disrupted.

  “I can see you don’t understand the C’than,” Lucy said.

  She Slid forward, unmindful of him. She held on to her connection, focused on what she might be able to Read from him, avoiding anything he might try against her. It was difficult for her to know if he would try anything, though his curiosity and uncertainty hovered near the forefront of his mind, more so than any other emotion.

  Lucy reached the door to the tower. She had been refused entry each time she’d been here. Would the same happen this time?

  She tried to reach the door, but there was pressure against her.

  The engineer behind her laughed. “Did you think you could gain access? Unfortunately, even if you could, you know so little.”

  He started forward, and Lucy knew that if he were to penetrate the barrier, she would lose her opportunity. He might go inside, perhaps harm those within and free the other captives.

  Lucy Slid to him, grabbing him just as he reached the barrier that surrounded the tower. The Slide carried her through, allowing her to breach the strange barrier.

  He staggered away from her, watching her, his eyes wide. “You should not have been able to do that.”

  It had been accidental, and yet it had allowed her to gain the access she needed.

  She let him go, no longer worried that he might be able to reach someplace she could not. She Slid, reaching the door to the temple. She wasn’t going to try to Slide beyond it. There was no point, but she paused in front of the door, noting the same symbol that had been on the building in Nyaesh.

  Lucy remained there for a moment, studying the door, but there was nothing. She had a sense of power, but there was something more to it.

  Shadows drifted outward from the tower itself. It wasn’t only shadows, though. There was a faint glowing to it, an edge of light, and she recognized it, having seen it with Carth before.

  Lucy smiled to herself. Was this what Carth had wanted her to uncover?

  Perhaps she wasn’t able to reach it because she hadn’t been able to See it before.

  The engineer near her tried to back away, but Lucy pounded on the door.

  She stepped back, waiting.

  “Do you think they will receive you better than they will receive me?” he asked, sneering at her.

  “I do.”

  “You are not C’than.”

  “And from what I can tell of you, and the others we’ve encountered like you, neither are you.”

  His eyes widened slightly when she mentioned that there were others, and she smiled to herself. Let him be uncomfortable. Let him know that he was not the first she and Carth had encountered. Let him know that they had failed at infiltrating the C’than.

  When no one answered the door, Lucy stepped forward, raising her fist to pound again, but it swung open. An older man, his back slightly stooped, his hair graying and hanging down around his shoulders, looked up at her with silver eyes.

  “You don’t know me, but I’ve been here with Carthenne Rel, and I have returned because I found another of the—”

  The man smiled at her. “I know you, Lucy Elvraeth.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “How do yo
u know me?” Had he Read her? She suspected that the abilities of the C’than rivaled those of the Ai’thol. That might be what she needed to keep in mind the most. The Ai’thol and their motivations were known to her. The C’than were different. Carth viewed them differently, but that didn’t mean that they were safe. It was possible that they had their own motivation, one that would be as damaging as that of the Ai’thol.

  “How do you know me?” she asked again.

  “You have traveled here with Carthenne Rel, much as you’ve said.”

  Lucy took a deep breath, nodding. “I found another engineer who was working with Alera.”

  “Another?” The man glanced at the engineer standing behind her. Lucy could practically feel the anger surging from the man, much like she could feel an edge of fear beginning to course through him. It was the same sort of fear she had detected from the first engineer they’d captured. Why should that be?

  With his fear, it made it more difficult for her to Read anything about him. She turned herself, positioning so that she could keep the engineer in view, not wanting him to sneak up on her. She also kept this older man in her sight, uncertain as to what he might do, though she doubted he would harm her. If he had been here when she had come with Carth, then he would know she was only trying to help.

  She couldn’t be gone much longer. There were several other places within Nyaesh that Carth wanted Lucy to visit, places she had wanted to ensure were safe, and she had no idea how long Carth would give her or how long they were going to stay in Nyaesh.

  “It’s unfortunate that they have continued to betray their commitment to what we do,” the man said. He turned his attention to the engineer, and for a moment, it seemed as if his eyes glowed, though that was probably nothing more than sunlight reflected within them. The engineer cowered away, clearly far more afraid of this man then he was of Lucy.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “I am but a servant of the C’than,” he said.

  “Why does he fear you?”

  “Perhaps because he recognizes his mistake,” the man said.

  Lucy didn’t think that was it. She tried to Read this man, but his mind was closed to her.

  What about the engineer? Could she uncover anything more about him?

  She shifted her attention, trying to Read the engineer, and the only thing that came to her was a single name. It was one she had heard before, but she wasn’t expecting to hear it now.

  Ras.

  Lucy turned her attention to the older man. “You’re him,” she breathed out.

  “As I said, I am nothing more than a servant of the C’than.”

  There was more to him, and she was certain that it mattered, but now wasn’t the time. Now she needed to return to Nyaesh. “Do I need to stay?” she asked Ras.

  “If you need to return for Carthenne, then don’t wait here on my behalf. I will take care of him.”

  Another surge of fear came flowing from the engineer, and Lucy nodded.

  With that, she stepped away and Slid.

  When she emerged back in Nyaesh, she focused on another image Carth had given her, Lucy’s next destination. She couldn’t tell if it was another place of the C’than, but that didn’t matter.

  Another thought intruded.

  It wasn’t hers; it had been sent to her by Carth.

  She was needed back on the ship.

  35

  Daniel

  “What do you think happened?” Daniel asked. He couldn’t make out much through the shadows swirling around him. That was likely what Carth intended. Hide their presence, and then they could determine their next move.

  They had come to find the A’ras, though.

  “If what we’ve seen is any indication, this is the C’than.”

  “How have you seen…? Lucy. She’s been helping you.”

  Carth nodded.

  There had been the sense of her attempting to Read him during their journey, but he hadn’t known what she was doing. “Before we left?”

  “And during.”

  “During? She couldn’t Slide back to the ship while it was sailing.”

  Carth smiled tightly. “You’d be surprised at what she can do.”

  Could Lucy be another piece in the game Carth played? That felt wrong, but it wouldn’t surprise him with Carth. She used people that she thought could benefit her. That included him.

  “What’s your plan?”

  Carth kept her gaze fixed straight ahead. “My plan is no different than it was before.”

  “And yet you didn’t share your plan with us before.”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  He watched her, waiting for more of an explanation, but none came. They had come to understand what was taking place with the A’ras, but after the attack on the sea, he wasn’t sure they would uncover anything that would be of much use. The A’ras obviously didn’t care for Carth, which meant that they wouldn’t care for her return. And if the C’than were now involved, then it might be much more dangerous than they had believed.

  “Samis,” she whispered.

  “You recognize him?”

  Carth continued to stare, saying nothing.

  “Carth?”

  She stepped back, wrapping shadows around them much more densely than they had been before. Despite the shadows, Daniel could see through them. Either his proximity to Carth made it so that he could see her easily, or she allowed him to see her.

  “I saved him once before, so why should I have to do it again?” she whispered.

  “You saved who? The A’ras?”

  “Not just the A’ras. This one. This man.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “And you shouldn’t have to, Daniel Elvraeth.” She spun, making a motion with her hand, and Rayen turned to follow, joining her in the shadows. “It’s time for us to go.”

  “Just like that?” Daniel asked, grabbing for Carth. She jerked her arm away, leaving him gripping nothing more than air. “What’s the point of all this? You brought us here, brought me here, lecturing me about what it took to move past what has happened to me before, trying to teach me about what it would take for me to understand myself, and now you would simply walk away?”

  “It’s not simply anything. You don’t understand.”

  “I understand what I’ve heard you say. Whatever happened here has happened to you before. That tells me that you’re the one who’s not looking into the past and reflecting. Isn’t that what you were telling me—and Rayen—we needed to do?”

  He stared at her, wondering if perhaps he might have been a little too harsh with her. He needed to be careful when it came to Carth. He didn’t know her that well and wasn’t sure quite how she would react.

  Rayen surprised him by laughing. “I can see why you like him.”

  “Don’t start siding with him,” Carth said.

  “And why shouldn’t I? He’s making sense, and that’s making you angry, two things I enjoy.”

  Carth took a deep breath and stopped. “What would you have us do?”

  At first, Daniel thought she was directing the question to Rayen, but he realized she was talking to him.

  “I’m not sure. If that’s someone you know, and considering the way you reacted, someone you cared about, shouldn’t we do whatever we can to help him?”

  “If the C’than have claimed him, there may not be much that can be done,” she said.

  “Claimed him?”

  Carth nodded. “It’s not only the Ai’thol who know how to do such things, as Lucy has proven. It’s similar to your ability to Read, though more potent and dangerous.”

  “If it’s similar to my ability to Read, then we can help him.”

  “Were it only the Ai’thol, I think we would have been able to stop this, but the C’than are much more difficult. They study and prepare in ways the Ai’thol do not. And they would know what I know. There might be nothing we can do.”

  “But they gave us a way to compensate for that,
” he said. Carth stared at him for a moment. “Lucy. With her ability to Read, we have a way beyond what they’re able to do. If there’s some way of helping, she would have it.”

  Carth started to smile. “Interesting.” She turned back toward the other part of the street, looking toward the center of the clearing. “It won’t be easy getting to him.”

  “What do you intend?”

  “If we had more time, perhaps we could go for Lucy and use her ability to Slide, but without that, we need to rely upon you. Do you think you could Slide yourself—and possibly another—back to the ship?”

  “Just me and this other person?”

  “That’s the plan,” Carth said.

  “What about the two of you?”

  “The two of us will be drawing attention away. We will return to the ship, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  Daniel nodded. He could do this. He might not love what she was asking, but it really involved just Sliding to him, grabbing him, and then escaping. If that was all it took, he didn’t have to worry about being able to do it.

  “I need to know which one he is.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you know.”

  The shadows began to dissipate, and Carth started forward, leaving him near the edge of the street. He watched as she crossed the street and unsheathed her knife, the blade beginning to glow, and stalked straight toward a man wearing a deep maroon sash wrapped around his shoulders.

  Two others stood opposite, neither of them remarkable, but both of them with flat eyes and an angry expression.

  They converged on Carth, immediately recognizing her as a threat. The man in the center hesitated. On his face, Daniel could See a look that he could only describe as recognition.

  That was the man she wanted him to grab.

  He Slid to him, grabbing him, and in a flicker of movement, he Slid toward the ship. When he emerged, the man withdrew his sword in a fluid motion.