Hadn’t she?
Carth crept closer. She needed to know what was happening here, and if she could use the shadows, she might be able to listen in. If Ras attacked, she would be forced to abandon that plan. She hadn’t beaten him the last time she’d faced him and she didn’t think she would manage any better this time, but she could at least obtain information.
“Why am I here, Bris?” Ras asked. From where Carth stood, she noted a soft glow coming from him, enough that she could pick up on it, though she wondered if the Hjan could say the same.
“You are here to protect your position. Don’t think we haven’t noticed your little establishment.”
Carth imagined Ras getting angry, but he kept his voice even, projecting now in her direction. Had he noticed her?
“My establishment?” he asked. “You mistake what I do for something much grander.”
“We don’t make mistakes.”
“No? Then the rumor about your loss in Nyaesh is just that?”
“There was no loss in Nyaesh.”
“You would have me believe you intended to lose the city after you invested so much?”
“Believe what you will. You’re here now.”
“I’m here,” Ras said.
Carth snuck forward, crawling as she held on to the shadows, but she feared moving too quickly. If she did, she would lose control of the shadow magic and risk exposure. Going slowly… that offered her the chance to remain hidden.
“Why them?” Ras asked.
Carth recognized his tone as indifference, but she knew better.
What game was Ras playing?
It had to be a game, didn’t it? He didn’t want to be here and didn’t want to help the Hjan, so why had he come? What threat would they be able to hold over him to coax him here?
“They’re to ensure your compliance. Don’t think we haven’t discovered.”
Ras seemed to frown, though from this distance and in the darkness, she couldn’t be certain. “If you intend to destroy the Reshian, you will have a better chance without me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We have seen the power you possess with what you call the S’al. If nothing else, you will be able to hold them back while we do what is needed.”
She crept back. Why was Ras here? There would be an angle for him, but she had to figure it out. What game did he play?
As she tried to understand, Carth detected a slow burning sensation that started deep within her, a sense as if her blood burned. It was a sense she knew, but had not detected with such strength in months.
The A’ras. She knew they were here—they would have to be, especially if there was to be some sort of treaty—but she hadn’t seen any sign of them, other than in the city when she’d trailed the captain.
Carth crept back, moving into the shadows, and focused on where she detected the A’ras. She needed to see who led them, and whether any peace attempt would actually hold.
Not too far from her, she detected the A’ras. There wasn’t a pulse of power like there would be when they attacked. This was the steady sense of the power building, the preparation for what was to come.
Keeping Ras—and the Hjan—in view, she had to find where the A’ras hid. The Reshian wanted to make a bargain with the A’ras, but with the Hjan here, and the girls they had captured, this was a setup for a slaughter.
And Wesjan—and the rest of the north—would be caught in the middle.
Carth continued moving back until she reached the start of the mountains. She followed it around, using the sense and awareness of the A’ras to guide her. As she did, she maintained the connection to the shadows, keeping herself concealed. The sense of the A’ras magic continued to build.
As she rounded a corner, she encountered the A’ras.
Nearly three hundred by her quick count, and all heavily armed. Power emanated from them, the same power she detected burning through her veins. It called to her, almost demanding she join it.
This many A’ras would be nearly all of those she’d seen while in Nyaesh. They might not be a full match for the power of the Hjan, but they would pose a danger, especially in such numbers. She didn’t know how many of the Hjan they might face, but this many should at least pose a problem for them, especially if they worked with the Reshian.
Was that why they were here? If they managed to establish peace, then the A’ras with the Reshian would be formidable. Ih and Lashasn would truly be united.
Why did she have a feeling the Hjan would not allow for that?
Nausea flickered in her stomach and disappeared.
The Hjan moved.
Carth had to act, but doing so meant finding a way to ensure the agreement that had brought both the A’ras and the Reshian here. Now that she knew where to find the A’ras, she could help, especially if she could find Invar, but where was the old master?
Carth needed to find him. If anyone would be able to provide her with information about what was taking place, it would be him. Making her way around the line of A’ras, she nearly lost control of her shadows when she saw Alison.
They had been friends from the moment Carth had come to the palace. No others had befriended her, not the same way Alison had, and Carth valued her friendship. She had been the one person she’d struggled with losing when she’d left the palace, but Alison hadn’t understood what Carth had needed to do. She had never understood the competing magic she possessed, though Carth hadn’t really understood it either. All she knew was that she had access to magic that others did not.
Alison might know where to find Invar, but revealing herself to her risked others discovering. Until she knew what was happening here, and until she knew they had come to a peace agreement with the Reshian—and what the Hjan intended—she needed to be discreet.
Moving along the line, she found a cluster of A’ras talking to each other. One of them stood to the side, hands clasped behind his back. Even if she didn’t recognize his face, she would recognize the thin form of Invar.
How would she draw his attention?
Anything she did risked the others noticing her as well.
Unless… Carth used a hint of A’ras magic, pulsing the power through the knife he’d given her.
It was barely anything. Not much power at all. But it carried a certain signature, one she thought might draw Invar.
There weren’t many with the ability to detect another’s use of power. Carth could, and she knew Invar could, but among the rest of the A’ras, there weren’t many who possessed the same ability. Was that the secret of the Lashasn? Was that the secret Invar hid?
Invar looked up. He cocked his head to the side and stared into the night a moment before looking back toward the others.
Carth cursed under her breath. That hadn’t been enough.
She repeated the pulse, this time using a particular pattern he’d asked of her when she’d worked with him.
It had the desired effect.
He looked around, eventually turning toward where she stood. She didn’t want to release the shadows, but needed him to know where to find her, so she pulsed her A’ras power once more.
Invar started toward her.
Carth backed away from the A’ras, taking a position between some rocks so that she would obscure herself. From there, she waited, pulsing her power one more time so that she could draw Invar.
When he approached, she lowered her shadow cloak.
“Ms. Rel. I thought I detected something of your signature. I thought you were traveling with the Reshian to better understand your other ability?”
“That’s what I thought as well,” she said.
“Then why have you returned?”
“Who leads the A’ras in the peace accords?” she asked.
He studied her a moment, his mouth turning into a deep frown. “That, I am afraid, is not something I can share with you.”
“I know you’re here to come to terms with the Reshian.”
She watched him. His reaction w
ould tell her whether the Reshian worked with the A’ras now, or whether there was something else she had to worry about. Invar, always so composed, barely flinched.
There was some reaction, though. Enough that she knew what she’d said bothered him.
Pieces started coming together for her. “This wasn’t only about a peace accords, was it? You knew the Hjan were coming here.”
“Always so astute, Ms. Rel. You would have done well continuing your studies in Nyaesh.”
“I wasn’t wanted in Nyaesh.”
“Only because most were too blinded to know what you could offer.” He sighed. “But you are right. We knew rumors of a peace agreement would draw them.”
And the flickering of power, the sense that she’d picked up near the A’ras and near the Reshian, made it clear that the Hjan were aware of both sides.
They wanted them to come here.
Carth revised her strategy as Ras would have done.
The Hjan had not only used the peace accords to draw two enemies here, the had maneuvered their opponents here and had made them think they came by choice. It was enough to impress her.
“You’re doing what they want,” Carth said.
Invar shook his head. “The intelligence is sound, Ms. Rel.”
“They know what you intend and they will attack.”
Invar nodded. “So we have heard. They have smuggled weapons here.”
Carth snorted. Weapons? “Is that what you think, Invar? They’re not weapons, they’re girls. Perhaps girls with some power, but they’re girls.”
“We were willing to ally with the Reshian if it meant preventing the Hjan from gaining a foothold here. You’ve suffered beneath them, so you of all people must understand why they need to be stopped.”
And the Hjan would have known that, which would be why they had brought the girls, but why? What did the girls have that would give the Hjan an advantage?
Power surged, this time the sense of the A’ras magic. As it did, the shadows swirled. At first, she thought the timing coordinated, but seeing Invar’s pinched expression, she realized something was off.
“It would appear that Reshian have attacked the A’ras,” he said.
Carth frowned, focusing on what she detected. There were distinct signatures, enough that she realized they were all getting maneuvered in such a way that they Hjan would win. “From what I can detect, the A’ras have attacked the Reshian.”
“They would not. I personally oversaw the alliance, Ms. Rel.”
Everything she knew flashed through Carth’s mind. The Reshian. The A’ras. Even the Lashasn and Ih. Much of it began to come together.
Invar started away from her.
“Invar!”
He turned. “Ms. Rel, I have the A’ras to coordinate—and, it appears, an alliance to renew.”
“The A’ras. They’re descended from Lashasn, aren’t they?”
His eyes narrowed, the most emotion she’d ever seen from him. “How is it that you’ve learned this?”
“The flame. That’s the same as what Lashasn refer to as the S’al, isn’t it?” When he didn’t answer, she went on. “There are some descended more directly, aren’t there? They’re the ones who can reach all of the A’ras flame.”
He nodded slowly. “There are not many who know this, Ms. Rel. It is dangerous for me even to acknowledge.”
“I think it’s more dangerous if you don’t. I am descended from it as well, aren’t I?”
“I do not know. The talents you display are more than most who have ability with the A’ras magic, but true connection to the Lashasn magic is rare.”
“That’s what the Hjan are after.”
His brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“The girls the Hjan have abducted. They’re descendants of Lashasn. And the Hjan would use them to continue the war. You have to stop the attack,” Carth said to Invar.
“There are no descendants of the Lashasn.”
“There are. I have seen them. They are here. The Hjan brought them here.”
Invar scratched at his chin. “Can you prove what you say?”
Carth didn’t know if she could. It meant finding the Hjan, and with their ability to flicker, she would lose them as soon as she found them. Discovering them again would take luck along with skill.
But could they draw them out?
“What if I can?”
“The treaty would continue,” Invar said, “but there are those who will fight it, especially if the Reshian attack. As it appears now.”
“This isn’t the Reshian.” She felt that within her, with more certainty than she felt many things.
“Can you prove it?”
“I can feel it, Invar.”
He squeezed his eyes closed. “What do you ask of me, Ms. Rel?”
“We have to keep them from attacking.”
“How do you propose to succeed?”
“I know the leader of the Reshian.”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you intend?”
Her mind began racing, trying to think through the different moves. Each time, she came up with the same answer—she didn’t know enough about what the Hjan intended. If she could understand what they wanted, or even how they might move, she would be able to counter them. “Convince them to meet as planned. If you can, you might be able to hold the Hjan off.”
“And if I can’t?”
“That’s not an option.”
The treaty was to be signed at dawn. Carth appreciated the significance, a mixture of light and dark, a blending of the two powers. Now that she’d spoken to Invar, all Carth had to do now was speak to her father.
Finding him was easier than she’d expected. Using the shadows, she was able to track how they flowed, the strange way they bent around him. Had she not known he was out there, and that he had the same ability as her, she wasn’t sure whether she would have been able to track him this way.
As it was, she flowed on the shadows, through a barrier of the shadows, until she reached him.
Much like the A’ras, the Reshian were camped not too far from the treaty site.
When she appeared, her father noticed immediately.
“Carthenne. You should not be here.”
She glanced at the others, disappointed to see that Adam was among them now. He had been aboard the ship, and she had thought he was more reasonable than some of the others, but maybe the presumed attack made it so he had to rejoin the Reshian.
“The treaty needs to move forward quickly. The Hjan intend to attack.”
“We will proceed as planned. The Hjan cannot use the power of the S’al, Carthenne. They can’t use the shadows either. That is why they have never fully gained a hold here.”
“And why they would prefer that both sides destroy each other,” she said.
Her father opened his mouth before closing it again.
“They have found descendants of Lashasn. True descendants. That’s what you detected.”
“There are no descendants beyond what Nyaesh protects,” her father said.
“Had you only been willing to listen to me, you would know there are.” Anger surged in her and she pulled on both shadows and the A’ras flame, the power making her strong. “I am proof that both can coexist, Father. This needs to happen or the war will continue. Think about how long you’ve wanted it to end. How long have the Reshian faced the A’ras?”
She released her connection to both powers. She might need that strength, and the more she used it now, the less she would be able to when she actually needed it.
“I… I don’t know.” Her father glanced at the others with him. Carth knew only Adam, and none of the others, but she hoped they would see the sense in working together. If they didn’t, if they continued to push, then she had little doubt that the A’ras would fight back. Playing out the possibilities, she saw no way it could end without either side weakened.
And then the Hjan could attack.
“Father, I have seen how
this will go. Think this through.”
Adam leaned toward her father. “The shadow born can be impulsive, but I’ve never seen her do anything that would put the Reshian in danger.”
She took a breath, wanting to thank him but not wanting to say anything more to her father.
Convincing Invar had been easy compared to what she needed to do with her father.
But then, he’d been attacked by the A’ras in Nyaesh. He had seen a betrayal, when he had wanted nothing more than to protect her. In his eyes, he had lost his wife because of that betrayal.
“The Hjan want only to stop this. Please, if not for me, do this for Mother.”
“Why do you think I came in the first place?”
Carth breathed out. At least the A’ras and the Reshian would come to terms. Now all she had to deal with was the Hjan.
Why did that make her the most nervous?
30
Carth circled around the outside of the treaty site, remaining concealed as she did, and holding on to the connection to the A’ras magic as well. Not A’ras. Lashasn. Like her mother.
Carth fingered the ring she wore around her neck and, on impulse, slipped it on. Her mother would have wanted her to wear it. The metal pierced the skin of her finger, but it was not unpleasant. As it did, she felt a surge in her connection to the A’ras magic.
Always, it had been difficult for her to reach the A’ras magic. There was some resistance, and it burned when she tried to reach it, but this time, now that she wore the ring, it came to her almost easily, as easily as the shadows came to her.
She smiled, wishing her mother were here with her, but knowing that what she did would make her mother happy. Her mother had wanted her to reach the A’ras magic, and she had wanted peace between the A’ras and the Reshian. If nothing else, Carth could honor her memory by doing that.
She searched for signs of the Hjan. There was little doubt in her mind that they would appear, especially now that the treaty moved forward. What she didn’t know was if the Hjan would attack directly, or if they would use the girls they’d taken and continue to create division, trying to force the Reshian and the A’ras to fight each other.
The Shadow Accords Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 59
