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 you 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 t
han 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.
Maybe this had been a mistake.
“Who are you? Are you with Hjan?”
Daniel shook his head. “From what I could tell, you’re the one with the Hjan. Or their successors.”
“I will not be accused of such things. And you should not have come to Nyaesh.”
Others approached, all of them Binders. He needed to take control of the situation now before anything happened.
He unsheathed his sword, holding it ready. Considering how fluid the other man seemed to be, Daniel doubted he would be as skilled as him, but he was willing to confront him.
And he had an advantage.
He Slid, emerging behind Samis.
The other man twisted, his sword ready.
Daniel met his blade, bringing his own around in a sweeping deflection. He Slid, emerging briefly before Sliding again. When he did, he tried to kick at Samis, but the other man was ready for his attack. He Slid and emerged once again, thinking he would be behind the other man, but he was not.
Samis brought his sword around, and Daniel was almost too slow to block.
One of the other Binders darted forward, her sword unsheathed, and Samis spun, catching her at an awkward angle, stripping the blade from her. Her sword skittered across the deck, and she ducked, barely missing his sweeping attack.
Daniel had to keep focus on him.
Had he planned better, he would’ve realized there was a danger in simply Sliding this man. How was he to know that Daniel wasn’t an enemy?
He Slid, emerging briefly enough to take stock of where the man was, and then Slid again, kicking, catching Samis in the back of the knee. He staggered forward, but righted himself quickly, twisting his blade and jabbing backward.
Had Daniel not seen the sudden movement, he might have been impaled by the sword. He brought his sword around, and as Samis’s blade met his, he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to outfight him. A part of him wondered if perhaps that wasn’t Carth’s plan. Could she have wanted him to realize that he had to fight in a different way?
He needed to incapacitate Samis, but he couldn’t kill him, not if Carth needed him. There might be a way to incapacitate him, but it would involve a difficult sort of Slide, and possibly a technique that he hadn’t tried before.
He Slid, and while he was preparing to emerge, he pushed off.
Had he more control over his Slides, he thought he might be able to do this better, but he got some air as he was attempting to emerge. When he did, he was soaring above Samis. He kicked, bringing his leg around, catching S
amis on the side of his head. The other man went sprawling across the deck of the ship.
Daniel Slid, emerging near where the sword tumbled, and kicked it away.
He held the tip of his sword out, staring at him.
“Kill me, then. If that’s what you want to do.”
“I don’t intend to kill you. I came with Carth, and she wanted you rescued.”
“Carth?” Samis asked, staring at him.
“Do you recognize the name?”
“She’s dead.”
“I think she uses that excuse a lot. I can assure you that she’s quite alive.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter, Samis.” Carth strode forward, sliding on a thick blanket of shadows. She was unarmed, and as she came toward them, she held her hands pressed together. Daniel couldn’t tell whether she was uncertain or simply unconcerned about whatever threat Samis might pose.
“It is you.”
“You recognize me after all these years?”
“I would recognize you anywhere. Why are you here, Carthenne?”
“It sounds as if Nyaesh needs my help.”
“Nyaesh is secured. We’ve ensured that.”
“I think not. From what I can tell, you have bargained your safety for a kind of danger you can’t begin to understand.”
“We haven’t bargained anything. We have offered a trade of services. We provide protection and they provide knowledge.”
Carth crouched down next to him. “Do you even realize who you are bargaining with?”
“They called themselves the V’lar.”
Carth settled on her heels. Her mouth pressed into a tight line as she stared at Samis. “Of course they did. I can’t believe they would pull something like that, though if they did, it would be here.”
“What is it?” Samis asked.
“You aren’t foolish, Samis. You never have been. Don’t you even recognize the origin of that word? Or has the A’ras education failed you so much?”
He stared at her, and though Daniel half expected him to be angry, there was no such anger in his gaze. “I don’t.”
Shadows Within the Flame (The Elder Stones Saga Book 2) Page 39
