Changed by Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 3)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Roine inhaled deeply. Then he glanced at Cianna. “See that he stays safe?”

  Cianna looked at Tan. “You think someone able to ride the draasin is in danger within Ethea?”

  “How many shapers remained in Ethea? How many may have been influenced by the archivists? We know nothing about what they planned, nothing about how many shapers they had. You are one of the king’s shapers. Be vigilant.”

  “Is that the Athan or the warrior?” Cianna asked.

  “Yes.”

  Roine started away, turning off onto a different street leading toward the palace, which was visible in the distance. Amia touched Tan’s arm, sending a reassuring shaping toward him, and then followed.

  Tan stared up at the palace. Smoke swirled around, giving lingering images of the walls but obscuring much of the upper levels. Fires still simmered around the palace. How much longer before they burned themselves out?

  “What was he like before?” Tan asked.

  “Theondar? Don’t know. I’m not old enough to know what he was like.”

  With her small face and long, wavy red hair, she could have been twenty or forty. Tan would have believed either. “How long have you been in Ethea?”

  She laughed. “You want to know how long it took to master fire?”

  He shrugged. “Yes.”

  “I’ve known I was a fire senser since I was nearly ten. Nara is different. The land is hot and dry. But I learned to find places that were cooler, almost as if drawn to them. That was my first sign.” She looked over to the palace. “Fire sensers in Nara have a choice. Ignore it or attempt to chase it and learn to shape.”

  “Why would you want to ignore it?”

  Cianna frowned at him. “You don’t know your geography very well, do you?”

  “Galen borders Incendin the same way Nara does.”

  “Not the same way,” Cianna said. “Galen is separated from Incendin by the Gholund Mountains. Not so easy to pass through, even without the barrier. You’re protected. Not the same with Nara.”

  “Because Nara was part of Incendin?”

  “Not Incendin,” she said quickly. “Rens. And what we call Nara was a part of it.”

  Tan remembered Roine mentioning Rens when telling him about King Weston. “And Rens took part of Nara from the kingdoms.”

  Cianna nodded. “Not as stupid as you pretend,” she said with a smile. “Rens always had two different peoples. There were those who eventually came to Nara and joined the kingdoms, and those who eventually became Incendin. Irashers and Selanders. Back before Incendin existed, back when that land was still known as Rens, it was sometimes hard to tell people apart. There were similarities, but differences, too.” She smiled and touched the braid in her hair. “I’m lucky. There’s no confusing me for a Selander.”

  “And Seanan?” Tan asked. The other fire shaper didn’t look anything like Cianna.

  She nodded. “Seanan has some Selander blood. Many people in Nara do. There are still some people who believe all of Nara should rejoin with Incendin. That is why Nara is so different than Galen, even though we both share the border.”

  Tan couldn’t imagine anyone in Galen thinking they should join Incendin. “You haven’t told me when you came here.”

  Cianna snorted. “I came when I was fifteen. It was either come here and learn so I didn’t destroy myself, or risk the crossing into Incendin.”

  “People do that?”

  Her face turned serious. “Plenty of fire sensers from Nara make the journey across the border. They think that if they are to learn fire, they should learn it from those who truly serve it.”

  “Lacertin said he learned much from Incendin fire shapers,” Tan said.

  Cianna nodded. “And he’s said to be one of the most accomplished fire shapers in generations.”

  Tan studied her. “You were never curious? Never thought to cross the border to learn?”

  “I am committed to the king.”

  “That’s no answer.”

  “No? You were raised in Galen, where there are trees and grass and plentiful water. Nara is different. Hot. Sandy. Harsh. Even that is nothing compared to Incendin.”

  Tan nodded. “I’ve seen Incendin.”

  Cianna laughed. “Seen Incendin? From your side of Galen? That is nothing like the Incendin I watched growing up. There, Incendin has stunted growth, but there are still trees and water.”

  “Now who’s stupid?” Tan asked.

  Cianna glared at him.

  “I have ridden the draasin. What makes you think I haven’t visited Incendin?”

  She considered him a moment and then laughed. “Well, maybe I am being stupid now. Probably my turn anyway. Couldn’t let you be the only one.”

  They rode onward, Cianna continuing to follow Tan. He wondered if she had somewhere to be. He did: Amia might be able to help the king, but there was something he could do that might bring him answers.

  “So. You were in Incendin?” she asked after awhile.

  Tan smiled. As blunt as Cianna seemed, he decided he was beginning to like her. “Not intentionally.”

  She laughed again. She undid the top clasp of her leather overcoat to reveal a burnt orange shirt beneath. Maroon embroidery worked around the neck. “How do you end up in Incendin accidentally?”

  He shrugged. “It’s a long story.”

  “See? Now you’re stupid again. How else to explain you ‘accidentally’ end up in Incendin?”

  “That’s a different story,” he said. “But Incendin was bleak. The sun burned down. Nothing but rocks and stunted plants, some which tried to kill me, all around. And then the sound of the hounds calling all around.” Tan couldn’t imagine being there for long periods of time.

  How had Lacertin managed to survive years there?

  Cianna nodded slowly. “That is Incendin. Nara is not quite so… barren. Still harsh. You wonder why I don’t go to Incendin to learn? I would have to go there, survive the worst of Incendin to reach the Fire Fortress. And then?” She shook her head. “Lacertin might have been willing to risk it—the Great Mother only knows why—but I am unwilling.”

  “That’s why you want to speak to the draasin?”

  She turned her head toward him and smiled. “Sometimes you’re almost smart.”

  “I don’t know that the draasin teach,” Tan said. “I’m not certain any of the elementals ever teach.”

  “No? Then how do you think the first shapers learned?”

  “That’s what I intend to find out.”

  She frowned as he pulled the horse to a stop and jumped from the saddle. A cluster of fallen rubble lay across the road in front of them. Behind the rocks, men wearing the king’s colors—deep brown and a forest green like the one Roine wore when Tan first met him—worked, trying to clear the road. They nodded at Cianna and then at him but said nothing.

  He tied the reins around a loose boulder to keep the horse from bolting. He’d have to find a stable to house it, but Cianna likely knew of one.

  She waited, looking down from her saddle at him. “Why here? What do you hope to find?”

  Tan turned and surveyed the city from this vantage point. It hadn’t been long since he’d been here, but it felt ages ago. How much had changed in the weeks he had been gone? How much had he changed? It seemed each time he faced Incendin he changed even more. How much of that change had been for the good?

  Tan turned to the low, squat stone building of the archives. Fires that had swept through the city had not harmed the archives, not like the surrounding buildings. Golud had helped build the archives, and the elemental power still protected them.

  Tan sighed. What did he hope to find here?

  “Answers,” he finally said.

  Cianna frowned, hesitating for a moment as if she considered what she would do.

  Would she try to stop him? She was a Master shaper. She could stop him from accessing the archives, prevent him from accessing the hidden demesne of the archivists.

  �
�What do you think to find in the archives?” Cianna asked.

  Tan stared at the building. If not for his ability to sense, he wouldn’t even know golud pressed beneath him, supporting—and protecting—the archives. What he wanted to know wasn’t even in the archives, but below it. Answers had to be there, else why would the archivists work so hard to protect it?

  Cianna waited for his answer, sitting in her saddle and staring down at him.

  Tan sighed. “I don’t want to go into the archives.”

  She frowned.

  “What I want is below it.”

  A flash of understanding turned back her frown. She nodded and hopped from the saddle, barking an amused laugh. “Nothing there but more mysteries,” she said. “But I’ll go with you. Not much I can do—or you, I’d wager—but seeing as there aren’t many archivists to stop us, it doesn’t hurt to look.”

  5

  Return to the Archives

  Cianna lit the small lanterns hanging around the archives. Once the flickering orange light began glowing, Tan saw how the place appeared deserted but not abandoned. Books were stacked atop tables, picked up from where they must have fallen in the explosion. A few shelves were tipped to the side, but someone had been through and stacked the contents that had fallen.

  “Who was here?” he wondered.

  Cianna shrugged. “Archivists, likely.”

  “They were exposed. They would not have stayed. And you said they were gone.”

  “You think all the archivists were to blame? How many spirit shapers do you think there are hidden in the archives?”

  Tan shrugged. “How many fire shapers have come from Nara?”

  She cocked her head. “Why?”

  “We don’t have any idea how many spirit shapers the archivists hid. Besides, had this been archivists, they would have righted the shelves.”

  Tan made his way toward the door at the back of the archives. Behind the door were restricted works and then a staircase leading down. It was there that the valuable works were kept.

  Cianna moved to block him. “Those are restricted.”

  “They are, but I’ve been there before. I’ve been trapped there before.”

  “That was you?”

  Tan nodded.

  “Roine—Theondar—never said who reported the attack in the archives.”

  “The archivist wanted Amia and brought the fire shaper to capture her.”

  Cianna frowned. “Are you sure they wanted her?”

  He nodded. “She was the one captured by the archivists.”

  “But you’re the one who speaks to the draasin.”

  Tan hadn’t considered that. What if the archivist hadn’t been after Amia? What if they had wanted him instead? Had they used her to get to him? Could he have done exactly what they wanted?

  The idea gave him shivers. What would have happened had they succeeded? If they would have reached—and accessed—the pool of spirit in the cavern at the place of convergence?

  Now that Cianna suggested it, the idea made a twisted sort of sense. Amia might have shaped the draasin, but he was the one who spoke to them. Would they have known?

  Of course they would have known. Jishun would have heard from the king what Tan had done.

  Maybe he was as stupid as Cianna teased.

  She opened the door to the restricted section of the archives. With a quick shaping of fire, all of the lanterns here suddenly blazed brightly. The air smelled musty but there was another scent to it, like that of rot and decay. Her nose wrinkled at the smell.

  “Was it like this before?”

  The shelves were intact here, not tipped like they were in the main section. A few small tables rested at the end of rows of shelves. Stacks of paper and a few rolls of parchment perched on the tables.

  “It looked the same. Didn’t smell like this.”

  “Well? What did you want to see here?”

  Tan pointed toward the door along the back wall. The last time he’d been here, Roine had to shape it open.

  Cianna hurried toward the door. She touched the lock and performed a quick shaping.

  Tan felt the pull of the shaping differently this time, almost as if he could see what she did. With a jab of fire, she shaped through the lock on the door, destroying it. Cianna pulled it away and dragged the door open. Darkness greeted them.

  “Any lanterns?” she asked, peering into the darkness.

  This might be a shaping he could do. Shapers lanterns only required there be a shaper, not any particular shaping. With a focus of effort, Tan lit them. A steady white light lit the way down the stairs.

  Cianna snorted. With a quick shaping, she flickered the lanterns on, then off. “More than I’m used to seeing.” She turned and looked over at Tan. “There are a couple in the university, but not many. How do you know how to light them?”

  “They lined the cavern in the place of the cavern…” He trailed off, not wanting to remind Cianna of that time.

  Cianna’s face tightened for a moment and then she nodded. “I think I remember. Too much of that time remains blank for me. Ever since your girl lifted the shaping, there are gaps.”

  Tan frowned. “Was it like that for the others?”

  “Don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “Most of us didn’t talk about it much. Too proud. Too stupid, maybe.”

  Tan wondered what would happen when Amia lifted the shaping from the king. Would he have gaps like the others? If he did, could they use those to determine how far back the archivists shaped him?

  But what if he forgot too much? What would it mean for the kingdoms?

  Cianna started down the stairs, moving into the shadows between the lanterns. After a few steps, she looked back at Tan. “You’re the one who wanted to come down here. Aren’t you coming?”

  Tan forced a smile and started after her. The last time he had been down these steps, they had found the body of the only archivist who had been kind to him. They made their way quickly down the steps. Cianna paused at each door, looking into each. When she reached the room where Tan and Amia were captured, she paused and studied the ceiling.

  “Incendin do that?”

  Tan shook his head. “Me.”

  Cianna regarded him strangely and stepped into the room. She climbed onto the shelving and reached the top, where she ran her hand along the stone. Her eyes drifted shut and a soft shaping built. When she opened her eyes, she let out a soft whistle.

  “Fire. And strong enough to melt stone.” She jumped down. “With focus, too. You didn’t bring the entire ceiling down on you.” She laughed. “Probably knew that, though.”

  “I didn’t really know what I was doing. All I could think about was escaping the shaper.” And Amia’s shaped command that still lingered in the back of his mind, the request for him to protect her. When they were chased, the command had practically overwhelmed him again, the same as it had when they ran from the lisincend through the mountains of Galen.

  Cianna frowned. “Theondar does you a disservice. You need better teaching.”

  Tan snorted. “From who?”

  She shrugged. “Me, for starters. To melt stone like that means you’re a strong fire shaper. Makes sense you can speak to the draasin.”

  “I can speak to the other elementals as well. And I was an earth senser first.”

  Cianna grinned at him. “But look what you reached for when you needed to escape.” She smacked him on the shoulder as she passed, moving back onto the stairs. “It’ll be good to teach again. Not many come looking to learn fire.”

  Tan didn’t know what to say. None of the other masters had seemed particularly interested in teaching. Only Ferran had offered, though hadn’t made much of an effort during their return to the city. Even Roine hadn’t really wanted to teach. Finally, he had a willing instructor, but why did he wonder if his time would be better spent elsewhere?

  “Well?” Cianna asked.

  He needed to learn. That was the reason he returned to Ethea. “I’m ready
to learn.”

  Cianna started down the stairs again, not waiting to see if he would follow.

  Tan frowned, a thought crossing his mind. He raced down the stairs to catch her. “How many fire shapers are there?” he asked.

  Cianna looked back at him and shrugged. “Not many. Kingdoms probably only have ten or so. Most are deployed along the border to fortify the barrier. Not nearly as many as wind and water shapers. Earth shapers are less common, but not quite as rare as fire shapers.”

  “Why were you here?”

  She laughed. “What—don’t like me now that we’re down in the dark?” Her red hair seemed to glow with the lantern light.

  “I like you fine,” Tan said hurriedly.

  Cianna laughed. “Some compliment. If I wasn’t sure before, now I know why the Aeta girl is drawn to you.”

  Tan ignored the comment. “How is it decided who stays at the university?”

  She nodded. “Not sure how it is with the others, but with fire, we rotate. Each serves along the barrier for three cycles before returning. Keeps suspicions at a minimum.”

  “Suspicions?”

  They had nearly reached the lowest level where the strange doors ringed a circular area.

  Cianna paused and looked back at him. “Fire shapers along the border raise questions, even with other shapers.” She shrugged. “Most feel it best we return to Ethea regularly to prove our loyalty.”

  What would it have been like had his parents returned to Ethea during his childhood? Would he have learned about his abilities sooner, or wouldn’t it have mattered? Would his father have still been called to service? Probably sooner. And his mother might have been drawn back into service as well. Instead, they served in a different way, working to preserve the barrier.

  “How many fire sensers do you think there are?”

  Cianna shrugged. Her braid bobbed as she did. “Not always easy to determine who can sense fire. How many earth sensers do you think there are?” She shook her head. “Get to your point. What are you trying to determine?”

  “I’m only wondering why there are so few fire shapers.”

  “Only here. Incendin has more.”