The Tower of Venass (The Dark Ability Book 3)

by Holmberg, D. K.

  That didn’t seem like any sort of answer. Not one that Rsiran could accept. They still had time. Maybe if they got lucky…if he managed to Slide them to Thyr, they could find Venass on their own. He had seen what he suspected was the Thyrass, so they could follow that, and he could Slide along the shore. With just Jessa, it would be quick work, less straining to him.

  But once they reached Thyr? He knew little more than that Venass would be found to the north. And once they reached it, they still had to find the antidote.

  There were just too many ways for it to go wrong.

  But they didn’t know anyone else who could help them find what they needed in Thyr. Della might be able to do so, but Brusus depended on her to keep him alive through the night. Haern might know how to help. In a former life, he’d lived as an assassin and trained in Thyr, but they had no way of finding him quickly. They might spend the entire night just searching for him. Rsiran didn’t know anyone else he could trust.

  There was someone else who might be able to help, though. Someone he didn’t trust… and knew he couldn’t trust. But would he help? After everything, it was unlikely, but doing nothing was not an answer, either.

  “What is it?” Jessa asked.

  He looked at her. As always, he wondered how she saw through him so easily. Even with barriers in place, she always seemed to know a little of what he was thinking. Did she know him so well?

  Of course, he knew the answer to that.

  “There’s someone else we can try who might know how to find Venass, who can help us reach Thyr.”

  Jessa frowned and then her eyes clouded. She blinked and shook her head. “No, Rsiran. We can’t do that. You don’t know what he’ll do. Besides, he’s got no reason to help you!” She trembled again. “We can find Haern. If anyone will know how to reach Thyr and Venass, it will be him. We just have to—”

  “Just have to find him. How long will that take? Maybe it’s minutes. Maybe hours. If it’s the latter, we’ve lost Brusus.”

  “You’d risk losing him on the chance that he’d help? He’s got no reason to help you.”

  Rsiran shook his head. “He won’t be helping me. But he has plenty of reason to help.”

  Chapter 10

  They emerged in the clearing outside the small wooden hut. It seemed so long ago that he’d been there, but in reality, little time had actually passed. A faint streamer of smoke drifted from the small hole in the roof, the scent mixing with the piney odor of the sjihn trees surrounding them. The wind was still, a sharp change from what it’d been on the banks of the Thyrass River.

  Rsiran glanced at Jessa. She nodded. Then they Slid into the hut.

  The only light came from glowing embers of the fire. Not enough for him to see well. Jessa wouldn’t have the same limitations. He waited as she scanned the room. “I don’t know where—”

  “You’ve finally decided to take a stronger hand in tormenting me?”

  Rsiran turned. His father sat cross-legged in the corner, as far from the fire and the flat bed pallet as possible. Shadows clung to him.

  “I sensed when you came earlier. I knew you’d return.”

  That was as much an admission of his father sensing lorcith as Rsiran suspected he’d get. But did he share the other ability? Could he push on lorcith like Rsiran? And what about heartstone? Had he mastered that?

  “You’ve been to Thyr.” Rsiran didn’t ask it as a question. After what happened to Thom, there was no purpose to disguise why he’d come. Brusus didn’t have time for him to waste on his father.

  Jessa squeezed his hand, keeping him from stalking forward.

  For a moment, he didn’t know if his father would answer. Then, “I’ve been to Thyr.”

  The admission surprised Rsiran. Though Thom claimed he had, hearing his father admit to it was different. “When?”

  His father shifted, a sound little more than a rustling of cloth against the wooden walls. “If you came to ask questions of me, then you’ll be disappointed. I have nothing to say to you.”

  Rsiran snorted. “You’ve never had anything to say to me. Why should this be any different?”

  “Rsiran?” Jessa whispered.

  “Say your peace and leave me,” his father said. “You can’t hurt me anymore than they’ve already tried.”

  Rsiran swallowed. This was the hard part. “You will take me to Thyr and then onto Venass. There is something I need to find there tonight—”

  “I’m not sneaking through the night like a common thief. And I’m not traveling with you as you use your… ability.”

  Rsiran took a deep breath and held it in. “As I said. I need to reach Venass tonight. You will assist me in this.”

  His father laughed softly, low in his throat. “There is nothing you can say that will convince me to go with you to Thyr.”

  Rsiran took a step closer. He wasn’t sure he could be convincing in the threat he’d present, but he needed to be for this to work. “If you don’t, then I will do to Alyse what you did to me.”

  He heard his father’s soft gasp, and Rsiran knew he’d guessed right.

  “You wouldn’t do that to your sister.”

  Rsiran took another step forward. His father stood out from the shadows of the wall. He hardened his voice. “Because Alyse was always so helpful to me? I’m sure she didn’t care when I was sent off to Ilphaesn. She certainly didn’t argue very strongly to keep me at home.”

  “Leave her out of this. Blame me if you must, but your sister never did anything.”

  “You just made my point.”

  His father lunged like a coiled snake, moving faster and with more force than he should have managed with as long as he’d been trapped in the hut.

  Rsiran was ready for it.

  He twisted to the side and grabbed his father’s arm. Then he Slid, emerging just outside the hut, releasing his father as he did. He went sprawling into dry dirt. Moonlight filtered through the trees here, giving enough light for Rsiran to see. A sharpened, slender length of wood dropped from his father’s hand. Rsiran Slid to it and kicked it away from his reach.

  His father grunted and didn’t move.

  Jessa came through the door and hurried over to him. She grabbed his hand, as if afraid he would take the opportunity of having his father sprawled across the ground to get revenge. She never seemed to believe that he didn’t hold much anger over his exile.

  “Like I said,” Rsiran said again, “you are going to take me to Thyr and then onto Venass.”

  His father pushed slowly to his knees and sat. Now that they were out where Rsiran had enough light to see, he realized a deep bruise had bloomed under one eye in the time since he’d seen him last. A dark sneer spread over his face. “And you keep making my point, don’t you, Rsiran?”

  “And what point might that be?”

  “That as much as you claim otherwise, your cursed ability has changed something in you.” He wiped his hands on the dirty scraps that were his pants and stood. Rsiran readied to Slide after him if he chose to run. He couldn’t risk any more time spent on this. “As I told you it would, it turned you into something worse than a mere thief.”

  After everything he’d been through, the words still stung. Had he not become the thief his father expected, stealing lorcith from the Ilphaesn mines? Had he not sneaked into the warehouse, repeatedly taking what wasn’t his? Worse than that, he’d broken into the alchemist guild house. And now, he’d been brought into a battle between the Elvraeth, both those within the palace and the Forgotten.

  His father had always claimed his ability would turn him into a thief, but he had become something worse than that. Hadn’t he attacked Josun? The first time, he could claim self-defense, the need to protect himself and Jessa, but leaving Josun to suffer and die within the mines was something else entirely.

  Rsiran sighed. Everything his father had said about his ability had been true.

  That still didn’t change what Rsiran needed to do.

  “No,”
Rsiran said. Jessa grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You turned me into that.”

  He Slid and grabbed his father by the arm, returning to the rocky shore of the Thyrass River.

  Chapter 11

  The wind had shifted since they’d been on the rocks only minutes before, gusting now out of the west. A hint of the forest hung on the air, that of decay and wet earth, this time mixed with something else, almost a bitter odor. Rsiran dropped his father’s arm, letting him slip to the rocks, not concerned if he hurt himself as he slid along the boulders. Jessa tottered atop one of the massive boulders, and Rsiran held her tightly, keeping her from falling.

  Fatigue washed over him. He’d have to be careful as they made their way, or he wouldn’t have enough strength to get them back. The time in the forest had not only delayed them, it risked him not having the strength needed to Slide them all to Venass and then back home.

  “I’m still not sure this was smart,” she whispered.

  Jessa knew the toll Sliding had on him, and that was just moving the two of them around the city. What he did tonight was harder even than that. “When have I ever done anything smart?”

  She punched his shoulder. “You brought me, didn’t you?”

  “Only because I knew what would happen to me if I didn’t.”

  Jessa laughed, a smile coming to her eyes as she did. “Only because you know what’s good for you. Moving around at night looking for something in the dark is what I’m good at.”

  Rsiran smiled. “I think Della would have killed me on your behalf had I left you behind.”

  As he said it, he noticed his father looking at him, a strange expression on his face.

  Rsiran looked down at him. He’d crawled back atop one of the large rocks lining the river and sat staring down at the froth, the same as they had done earlier. “I presume this is the Thyrass River.” His father nodded once. “Where from here?”

  “If you already found the Thyrass, you should be able to find Thyr without difficulty.”

  That was the same thing Thom had said. “I told you. I don’t need Thyr. I need Venass.”

  His brow furrowed. “Venass is north of Thyr. More than that I can’t really…”

  “For Alyse’s sake, you’d better come up with a better answer than that.”

  His father shook his head slightly. “What do you hope to accomplish? You think by finding Thyr, you’ll get some kind of reward with me? Or do you plan to steal something else?” He sneered at him. “You’re nothing but a thief.”

  “Careful,” Rsiran said. “This thief could leave you wherever he chooses.”

  His father’s eyes narrowed, and he closed his mouth.

  Rsiran made sure to hold onto Jessa and stepped down the rocks rather than Sliding. He grabbed his father by the sleeve. The river snaked north in front of them. Behind him, it ran fairly straight south.

  Rsiran fixed on the farthest point he could see in the distance. Had he been Sighted, he might have an easier time choosing his targets. What must it have been like for Josun, being Sighted and able to Slide without the limitations Rsiran had?

  He Slid, pulling them along the river. Each time, he emerged only long enough to look for another point in the distance. The rock lining the river sloped upward, the river cutting a deeper valley as they went, making it difficult to find a clear vantage. If he could find higher ground, he could fixate on a farther point and Slide a greater distance. Instead, he was forced to travel much more slowly than he would like.

  Sliding by himself over great distances was taxing. The time he’d Slid to Asador chasing after his sword, he’d nearly not had the strength to return. Practicing Sliding had increased his comfort with both distances and burden, taking Jessa with him as often as possible, exercising it no differently than he had exercised his arms and chest working the forge. But as much as he’d improved, he still struggled under the burden of transporting three of them.

  With each Slide, he sagged under the effort. He didn’t want to admit it, but he began to wonder if he’d be able to get them all back to Elaeavn once they found Venass and the antidote. Would he be forced to leave one of them behind? If so, it wouldn’t be Jessa. She’d been through too much for him to risk her again. Besides, he needed her Sight.

  And then a Slide took them to a ledge overlooking the distant land. Water from the Thyrass cascaded down from the shelf, spilling to a point far below as it ran somewhat east. There, flat ground spread out toward an enormous city in the distance. The river cut through the heart of the city and seemed to keep going, beyond the city, likely all the way to the sea. Rsiran saw no sign of the ocean from where he stood.

  Within the city, buildings taller than any in Elaeavn stretched high into the sky, some with bright lights filling the windows. One stood taller than the others, a thick tower made of a pale white stone rose near the edge of the city. A high wall circled the city.

  “Is that Thyr?” Jessa whispered.

  “That’s Thyr,” his father said. Rsiran had released him, letting him stand atop the rock next to them. There was no place for him to run. “Home to the Tower of Scholars.” He sniffed and looked away. “Great Watcher only knows what else.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Rsiran stared at the tower that must be the Tower of Scholars rising above the city.

  “Scholars claim they can understand anything, even the Great Watcher himself.”

  Rsiran glanced at Jessa, and she only shrugged. “You never told me you’d ever been to Thyr.”

  His father looked at him. Once, he’d been a wide man, thick with muscle, and intimidating to Rsiran. The time after Rsiran had been apprenticed with him had taken much from his father, not the least of which was mass from his body, leaving him lean and wasted. No longer did he intimidate Rsiran as he once had. He still managed the same look he’d always given him, one filled with a mixture of condescension and disgust. Rsiran did not turn away from it this time.

  “No.”

  Rsiran shook his head, sniffing out an annoyed laugh. “I could leave you here when we’re done, if you like.”

  “Doesn’t matter to me. I’m already dead as it is.”

  “You think mother would like it if you were dead? Alyse?”

  His father stiffened but said nothing.

  Jessa touched is arm. “You don’t need to keep doing that to him. He’s helping you already.”

  “Doing what?”

  She pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him. In the cool of the night, it was the only thing that felt good. She smelled clean, her hair infused with the scent of whatever flowers she’d been picking lately. Nothing like the bitter scent of lorcith he had grown so accustomed to. He hugged her back, resting his chin atop her head.

  “How is this any better than what he did to you?” She reached up and touched his face. “You don’t need to torture him anymore. You’re a better man than he is. I can see that.”

  The words made Rsiran smile, and he leaned toward her and kissed her on the mouth. She tasted sweet, like a mixture of mint and ale. For a moment, he could forget about everything else, as if the Great Watcher had finally given him everything he needed.

  But the moment passed. Rsiran couldn’t forget why he’d come. Brusus needed him to succeed. And if Brusus died, Rsiran may never understand what he’d been pulled into. As much as he wanted to help his friend, he wanted answers as well.

  He released the embrace and stepped away from Jessa. She stood next to him, holding his hand, as he turned to his father. This time, he softened his voice. “This is where I need your help. Where is Venass from here?”

  His father looked as if he might say something, but instead just frowned at him. “What is your business in Venass?”

  Rsiran considered lying or simply demanding that his father tell him how to reach it, but decided against it. “A good man will die if I can’t reach Venass tonight.”

  “What kind of good man?”

  He met his father’s eyes. “The one who saved
me when you’d given up on me.”

  Emotions flickered across his father’s face. Rsiran could read none of them. Finally, his mouth tightened. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”

  “A cure.”

  His father frowned. “And you think you can find it in one night. In the dark?”

  “I don’t have any choice. I have to try.”

  He shook his head and looked away. “Then you’re a fool.”

  There was a note in his voice that gave Rsiran pause. “Can you show me how to find Venass?”

  He didn’t look over. “Do I have any choice?”

  “There’s always a choice.”

  His father turned. “Is there?”

  He’d made plenty of choices recently. Not all of them good, and few easy, but he’d always had a choice. “Regardless of what I do, there’s always a choice.”

  “We’ll see.”

  His father stood and took a few steps toward the ledge, beside the waterfall, and leaned forward. Almost too late, Rsiran realized what he was doing and muttered a quiet curse under his breath. If he did nothing, his father would die from the fall. And Brusus would die.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to Jessa. And let go of her hand as he Slid after his father.

  He emerged falling alongside his father.

  Wind whistled around him. Rsiran wondered what he’d been thinking. Doing this could mean his death if he was wrong. But it definitely meant Brusus’s death if he did nothing.

  Above him, Jessa screamed.

  He’d never tried to Slide like this before. As far as he knew, it should work the same as taking a step. He prayed to the Great Watcher that it did.

  His father was right in front of him. And now the ground loomed before both of them. Another moment, and he’d be too late.

  Rsiran grabbed his father by the back of his dirty shirt and Slid again, aiming for the ground. Normally, he had to step into the Slide. This time, he fell.

  He emerged rolling onto his side. It didn’t lessen the impact, though, and as he hit the ground, his elbow jabbed hard into his side, forcing the air from his lungs. His father rolled next to him and grunted.