Shadow Trapped (The Collector Chronicles Book 3)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “What if there’s something there that Linsay finds?”

  “We will intercede with her before she has a chance to do that. We’re drawing her away.”

  “Or we’re giving her exactly what she wants,” Alayna said.

  Carth didn’t think that was what was happening, but she did agree with Alayna that it was possible they were doing exactly what Linsay wanted. That was the point of having Talia with her, so that if she was trying to manipulate them, at least Talia’s presence might mitigate that somewhat, though Carth wasn’t sure how sentimental Linsay was. When they had sailed together, it had been easier for her to believe that Linsay had a sentimental streak. It was something that Carth suspected Linsay had fostered, trying to convince Carth of how she would behave, but that wasn’t Linsay at all.

  “I’m aware that’s a possibility.”

  “Being aware of it and being prepared to counter it are different things.”

  “She’s after something. It’s more than just me.”

  “What if it’s not? What if it’s not more than just you? What if she is working on behalf of the Hjan? Have you considered that possibility?”

  Carth nodded. “As soon as I realized that she was the Collector, that was the first thing I started to question, but it seems unlikely. If she were working for the Hjan, I don’t know what benefit there would be in removing me. The accords would still stand.”

  “Only without you there to maintain them.”

  “But they’re about more than me. The A’ras, the Reshian, and even now the C’than are all involved in the accords. Losing me might be a part of it, and it might make it more difficult for the accords to be maintained, but that shouldn’t be the reason that the accords fail.”

  “I think you’re underestimating your influence on the accords.”

  “Maybe,” she said.

  Carth stared straight ahead. How could she ever ensure that there was a lasting peace if everything was dependent upon her presence? She had to find some way of making certain that the accords outlived her. Was that possible?

  But then, didn’t she plan to end the accords when she knew enough—and had enough power—to stop Danis? Could Linsay be working on a way to prevent Carth from doing that?

  They sailed on in silence. Alayna remained near Carth, staring out at the sea with her. Carth was thankful for her presence, and also thankful that Alayna didn’t feel the need to fill the silence between them. She was comfortable with quiet, and Carth needed that quiet.

  As night passed, Alayna offered to take the helm, and Carth sent her away to get some rest. Eventually, Carth would need to sleep, but her mind continued to race, and the unfamiliar seas were interesting enough to keep her focus.

  She followed the stars overhead, letting them guide her. The darkness seemed lighter than she expected, with only the starlight and a sliver of moon providing any light. The seas were empty, and she was able to slowly begin to relax.

  Talia jumped from the mast seat and joined Carth at the wheel. “Aren’t you tired?”

  Carth shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “It’s beautiful at night. I suppose you can’t quite see what I do.”

  Carth frowned to herself and wondered how much of the change in the darkness was because of her drawing away the night to enable her to see better and how much of it was from the fact that she had been to the pool at the heart of Keyall twice. She would have expected that to have changed her, but she didn’t feel any different other than the enhancement to her eyesight, and even that might be explainable by her shadow abilities.

  “I see well enough. I am connected to the shadows,” she said.

  Talia looked around her. “Did you know that before I came to Keyall, I was afraid of the dark?”

  Carth glanced over, keeping her hand steady on the wheel. “Why would you be afraid of the dark?”

  “Those of us who can’t manipulate shadows tend to have irrational fears of it,” Talia said. “Linsay always taunted me about my fears, and always attempted to make me feel bad about the fact that I was afraid of the dark. When I was a kid, she would lock me in a room, thinking to teach me that there was nothing to fear in the darkness.”

  “Did it work?”

  Talia glanced over at her. “It taught me that I should be afraid of my sister.”

  Carth smiled. “Are you still afraid of the dark?”

  “There isn’t the same darkness. Not anymore. I see nearly the same at night as I do in the day, though at night there’s a faint haze that seems to surround everything. There’s calm at night, almost a peacefulness.”

  Carth smiled. “It doesn’t sound like you are afraid of the dark anymore.”

  Talia shook her head. “No. I suppose I’m not.”

  “You could rest,” Carth said.

  “I think I would prefer to rest during the daylight.”

  “You’ll need to take watch.”

  “Then I’m better equipped to take watch at night.” Talia looked over at her. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  Carth smiled and shook her head. “I wouldn’t try to get rid of you. I’m the one who invited you to join me on this journey.”

  “Because you think you need me to draw my sister out.”

  Carth nodded. “Maybe. It’s possible that she will come regardless, drawn by the idea of finding another Elder Stone.”

  “What if she remains in Keyall?”

  “Alistan would send word.”

  “And what if she prevents him from alerting you? What if men like the three you tracked through the city were responsible for freeing her?”

  “That’s a risk we have to take. Every move that we make carries with it some risk. I’m making a move and hoping that Linsay makes another, thinking that we can draw her in a specific way. She has several options, and each of those options leads to several possibilities, and from there, there would be more possibilities.” It played out before her in her mind, like a Tsatsun gameboard. “It all depends on what your sister sees as the most desirable possibility.”

  “And what do you think she will decide is the most desirable possibility?”

  “If she follows us, she has a chance to destroy me, gather her sister, and find more information about an Elder Stone. I think that is the most likely possibility.”

  “And if it isn’t?”

  “Then I have prepared for other possibilities.”

  “You have?”

  Carth glanced toward the stairs leading below deck. “We sent word to others who work with me, and those who have some power will be arriving in Keyall within a short period of time. They were warned not to engage Linsay, and that she would be a skilled manipulator. There’s someone I’m very close to who will lead them, and if needed, she would take steps to ensure that Linsay doesn’t harm anyone else in Keyall.”

  “You put a lot of faith in the people that you work with.”

  “They have all proven that they are deserving of that faith.”

  Talia watched Carth for a few moments. “Did you know that my sister warned me that you might try to manipulate me? She said that you might attempt to use my desire for what I discovered in Keyall against me.”

  “I’m sure that she did,” Carth said.

  “She’s told me stories about you. They were many of the same stories that I’d heard in Keyall, though I had not attributed them to you. Did you know that those stories had spread?”

  Carth shrugged. “I can’t control the spread of rumors. Most of what travels ahead of me is only that: rumor.”

  “There are some who claim you want power, and that you want to rule.”

  “And what do you think?” Carth asked.

  “When I first met you, I wasn’t sure. Now that I have come to know you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who should be less interested in it than you.”

  Carth grinned. “The sea is my home, and I would prefer to ensure that there is order from chaos, so I suppose I’m more like the constables fro
m Keyall than anyone else.”

  “Don’t let Peter hear you say that,” Talia said, laughing softly. “I overheard him talking, and I get the sense that he is not at all fond of you.”

  “That’s only because he’s angry that I escaped him. Perhaps he’s angry because I’m a woman, and capable.” There were plenty of others in the world like that. “And he seems to think that means he’s somehow less of a constable.”

  “Keyall is strange like that.”

  “No. I think all men are strange like that. Keyall is no different than most of the places I’ve been to, other than the fact that the people there have an innate way of ignoring my magic.”

  “About that.”

  “Yes?” Carth asked. She turned the wheel, guiding them more westerly, following the direction of the stars.

  “You went to the pool at the heart of Keyall. Twice. I spent years drinking the water, and it took time for my vision to change, but you went where the power was strongest. Has anything changed for you?”

  It was interesting that Talia asked her about the same thing that Carth had questioned. “Has anything changed for you since you were there?”

  “No. I thought that perhaps my eyesight would be stronger, or that my resistance to your shadow magic might be enhanced, but I haven’t had a chance to test that.”

  “I’ve noticed the darkness has faded somewhat, but…” She shrugged. “I’m not sure what that means. Maybe nothing. I’ve always been most strongly connected to the shadows, so it could be only that the time in Keyall, where my sense of it was diminished, has strengthened me.”

  “What happens if your friends don’t find Linsay and she doesn’t follow us?”

  Carth sighed. “Then we continue as we have. We keep our ears open, and we stay ready for whatever she might throw on us, but we also continue doing what’s necessary.”

  “And what is it that’s necessary?”

  “You’ll come to understand what I’ve been doing, but know that there is someone who is worse than your sister, and he has caused great pain to a large number of people. I have him neutralized for now, but that may not last, and we continue to prepare for that time.”

  “Why?”

  Carth looked out into the night. “Because he wants power for the sake of power. And eventually, he will bring war to places that have known only peace.”

  Talia fell silent, and she eventually made her way below deck, leaving Carth alone, staring out at the night. She didn’t mind the solitude, and it gave her a chance to think, and to contemplate, and to play out various patterns on a game board within her mind, trying to determine what move that Linsay might make next.

  As night went on, she felt the stirrings of fatigue, but less than she had recently. She was hungry more than anything, and her stomach rumbled, making her yearn for a port and a place to eat, and maybe have a mug of ale. Heading this way would take them beyond the borders of her map, and as interesting as that was, she had a little uncertainty with it.

  Carth fought fatigue throughout the night, and by morning, she had grown tired, but was not nearly as exhausted as she had thought she would be.

  Had she been drawing on the shadows or the power of S’al? It had to be one of them; otherwise she would have long since been too tired to function.

  Alayna stirred and joined her at the wheel. “You let me sleep,” she said.

  “I have been thinking.”

  “About what?” Alayna asked.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out what needs to happen, but I keep coming up empty. Maybe I’m wrong about heading this way. Observing the west and seeing what else is out there is interesting, but if I’m really needing to know what Linsay might be after, I’m avoiding one place that I could go that might bring me more answers.”

  “And where is that?”

  “Linsay is a strategist. She has proven herself in Tsatsun over and again.”

  “And?”

  “There’s another like that. The one who taught me.”

  “From what you’ve told me, he would be far from here.”

  “He would be, but if we can’t draw out Linsay, and nothing comes of her in Keyall, I think I have to go back to Ras. Back to the C’than.”

  6

  As they sailed, Carth had a growing sense that they would eventually need to head toward Odian. She hadn’t been to Odian in what felt like years and didn’t know what reception Ras would give when she did appear. It was unlikely that he would welcome her warmly, but she also doubted that he would be particularly angry with her. Maybe it wouldn’t be necessary. Maybe Linsay would reveal herself and make it unnecessary.

  It was the middle of the day when Carth became aware of a strangeness to the ship.

  She looked over to Alayna for confirmation that she wasn’t imagining it, and her friend had a frown on her face.

  “It’s not just me, then,” Carth said.

  “I feel it as well,” Alayna said.

  Jenna had been working through a series of movements, practicing her sword work on the deck, and turned her attention to Carth and Alayna. “What is it that you feel?”

  “It’s the ship.”

  “What is it about the ship?”

  “It’s sinking. Or, it appears to be.”

  Alayna frowned. “I’ve noticed that she’s been a bit sluggish, but thought that it was only me needing to get acquainted with sailing her.”

  “And I haven’t even noticed the sluggishness before now,” Carth said.

  “You have been distracted,” Alayna said.

  That irritated her. She shouldn’t be so distracted that she wasn’t able to detect things like that occurring on her ship. That was her responsibility as captain of the ship, though maybe Alayna had become more of the captain than Carth and only seemed to be deferring to Carth.

  “When did you first start noticing it?” she asked.

  “Not long after we left Keyall. Again, that could just be inexperience with her. It takes time to get to know a new girl like this.”

  Carth hurried below deck and made her way from room to room. There was nothing in any of the rooms that made it seem as if they were taking on water, but maybe they couldn’t tell in the cabins. There was a crawlspace beneath the section of the deck, an area that was mostly used as a smugglers’ hold, and Carth flipped the door open and crawled inside.

  “What do you see?” Alayna asked.

  Carth swore under her breath as she peered around. “Water.”

  “How much?” Alayna asked.

  “Enough that we can’t keep sailing.”

  Carth crawled out of the crawlspace and slammed the door closed.

  “We could bail water out of it.”

  “And if we did? How much longer before whatever it is that it’s making us take on water spreads to something more catastrophic? If we don’t address this, we could end up sunk in the middle of the ocean, with nothing more than a dinghy to row us.”

  “Why would Alistan have given us a leaky ship?”

  “I don’t think he did.”

  Her first thought was to question whether Linsay had some influence here. It seemed almost too much credit to give her, but Carth wouldn’t put it past the woman to have configured some way of sinking the ship that they would be given. She could imagine Linsay somehow gaining access to all of Alistan’s ships and sabotaging each of them, or alternatively, she could have gone after only the most likely ships. Either way would have been effective.

  “You think it was her?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “You question it, though.”

  Carth nodded. “I have to question it.”

  “How would she have done this?” Alayna asked.

  “I don’t even know. Whatever it was had to have been subtle, enough that we wouldn’t notice until we were far enough along. That’s why we need to get into port, so we can assess the extent of the damage.”

  “If we go into port, we risk her knowing where we are.”

&nb
sp; Carth could only nod. That was the other challenge. If Linsay had sabotaged them—and Carth at least had to suspect that she had—it hadn’t been an aggressive attack. It had been only enough to get them into deep water, and likely into range of where Linsay thought she could find them.

  “What’s the nearest port?” she asked.

  “The nearest port has to be Waconia.”

  It was a deep-water port and was rumored to have a decent-sized city, but it was also rumored to be a haven for smuggling and violence. It was the kind of place that Carth had attempted to clean up. When she had tried in places like that, she’d had more help, and there wasn’t the same sort of timely urgency that she had now.

  “I don’t like it,” Carth said. She looked over to where Jenna was sharpening her swords. There remained a darkness to Jenna and an eagerness to fight. When facing slavers, that eagerness was warranted, and in the port, she had used that tendency, but against an entire city of smugglers and thieves, that wouldn’t be nearly as beneficial and was just as likely to end up with them in trouble as anything.

  “We don’t have to like it, but it doesn’t look like we were given much of a choice.”

  Carth gritted her teeth and reached the top of the ship. “Keep us going straight.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to see if I can figure out what she might have done.”

  “Now you’re certain that it was her?”

  Carth shook her head. “I’m not certain of anything, but I’m prepared for the possibility that she was the one responsible.”

  Carth climbed onto the railing and dove into the water.

  As she plunged into the water, she immediately began pulling on the shadows, drawing them away from her. She sent a surge of her flame magic through her hand, causing it to glow softly, enough that she could see through the murkiness. She propelled herself along, keeping pace with the ship as she examined the hull.

  Could there be something that had happened when they’d encountered the slavers? They hadn’t been that long out of Keyall when they had come across them, so it was possible, though she would have expected to have recognized it were that the case. Could they have scraped something? If they had, Carth would’ve expected to have been aware of it. Maybe it was nothing more than disrepair. She didn’t know the condition of the ship before she had taken possession of it and didn’t know how well cared for it had been. Maybe Alistan and his men hadn’t cared for it all that well.