Shadow Trapped

by D. K. Holmberg

  “You used me,” Talia said again.

  “I think you were the one who used me. Look at what you were able to discover. And you didn’t share that with me. I should be hurt, but all I want is to have my sister with me again. That’s all that matters to me.”

  As Talia flushed slightly, Carth realized that Linsay had gotten to her. Regardless of whatever else would happen, and whatever else Linsay might say, Talia now doubted. She had used Linsay to gain access to the powers of Keyall. Had she not, Talia would not have the same enhanced eyesight in the darkness and the same resistance to Carth’s magics.

  “You asked me to bring them to you,” Carth said. “And here they are. Now, what happened to Ras?”

  Linsay leaned forward, a smirk now on her face. “Yes. The one thing that Carthenne cares about more than anything else. Tsatsun. Her mentor. Even more than those she works with, and those she claims to protect, she cares about gaming.” Her voice had shifted, taking on a disappointed tone toward the end. “Considering how very much she cares for this man, when I heard word of his disappearance, I knew that I had to get it to her. I knew that she would stop at nothing to help him.”

  “You’re probably the one who abducted him,” Jenna said.

  “Abduct? No. I wouldn’t do anything like that at all. Even were there a point to that, I wouldn’t harm Carthenne in such a way.”

  “How long do you intend to persist with this?” Carth asked.

  “Persist with what?”

  Carth glanced around at the women. All of them were watching her and seemed unconcerned about anything that Linsay had shared. They were all completely on Linsay’s side.

  And was it any different than how Carth had her network on her side? Were she to go to Asador, would there be such a difference? There would be women there who served Carth unconditionally, and who would do anything that Carth asked of them.

  Carth pulled on the shadows, sending them around her in a way that would conceal their presence from the women arranged around the walls. She thickened the shadows as well, creating a barrier, something tangible so that the others couldn’t force their way through. She heard the soft sounds of murmuring that became an increased agitation, but continued to hold on to the shadows.

  “Now, I think it’s time that we have a frank conversation.”

  Linsay glanced around her, seeming to take in the shadows and the ease with which Carth held them, and her smile faded. The almost congenial expression disappeared, and she fixed Carth with a hard stare. “And with that, you have already lost,” Linsay said.

  “Lost? This is not part of the game,” Carth said.

  Linsay cocked her head to the side. “No? I thought in your mind, everything was part of the game. Isn’t that why you had wanted to come here? Didn’t you think to come to Waconia so that you could find me, and then—”

  “You’ve already dropped your act, and the rest of us know you too well to care. What did you do to Ras?”

  Linsay regarded each of them for a moment, her gaze lingering on Talia the longest. Talia returned her stare before dropping her eyes to the floor.

  “As I’ve told you, I didn’t do anything to Ras. I thought that you might be interested in learning of his disappearance.”

  “And I am. But why are you willing to share that with me?”

  “Must we have such anger between us?”

  “Normally I would say no, but considering what you’ve done to the rest of us, I don’t know that there’s any other response that we’d be capable of,” Carth said.

  “No other reaction? I think Talia has another reaction. I see in her a great sense of hesitation. I wonder what you shared with her. How have you poisoned her mind? How have you poisoned her against me?”

  “I haven’t poisoned her against you. Everything that she thinks about you has come from your actions.”

  Linsay smiled. “My actions? No. I was telling you the truth when I said that I have missed you,” Linsay said to Talia. “I’ve worried about you. And I understand why you concealed what you did from me. Considering what you must think of me, it’s only logical that you would have decided to hide from me what you had discovered.” Linsay stood from her throne and approached Talia. She reached her hands out, and after a moment of hesitation, Talia took them. “You could join me here, sister. I have need of someone with your skills.”

  “My skills? I don’t only want to fight.”

  Linsay shook her head. “I don’t want only to fight either. I need your mind. I’ve always benefited from talking through things with you. Without you, there is no clarity of thought. It’s because of you that I have been able to accomplish all of this.”

  Talia started to glance back, but Linsay took her hands and squeezed them.

  “Remain with me. We can work together.”

  “But Carth—”

  Linsay looked past Talia, an expression of concern on her face. “Carthenne would understand. If she really cared about your well-being, she would understand how you need to be with family.”

  “Talia,” Alayna started.

  Linsay looked over to her. “Are you so much like her now that you speak on her behalf? I know that you want nothing more than to be like Carthenne, but don’t be like her in this. Let Talia make her own choice, not the one that you would make for her.”

  “She’s not making her own choice. She is making the choice that you want for her,” Alayna said.

  “Isn’t she? Has Carthenne twisted her mind so much that she can’t even make a choice on her own?”

  “Carth hasn’t twisted anyone,” Alayna said.

  “No? Even as she abused Jenna?”

  Jenna tensed. “Carth has done nothing other than try to help me,” she said.

  “Help that involved sedating you so that you wouldn’t draw any more attention to her and what she planned. That sedation carried with it side effects that have been detrimental to you. Is that the way that she helped?”

  Jenna clenched her jaw, and she fell silent.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything, Carthenne?” Linsay asked.

  “What is there to say?” Carth asked. “It seems as if you’ve said everything there is.”

  “So you agree?”

  “It depends,” Carth said.

  “On what?” Linsay asked.

  “On what you think I’m agreeing to.”

  “You agree that Talia should make her own choice.”

  Carth looked over to Talia. She could see the anguish on Talia’s face and the difficulty that she had with choosing. “I want nothing more than for Talia to have the freedom to choose. That’s what I want for everyone. Unlike you, I have never wanted to make a choice on behalf of someone else, regardless of what you claim.”

  “There are times when choice is detrimental,” Linsay said.

  “Are there? In my experience, you will find that others will work with you more effectively when they are given the choice rather than forced. When they’re forced, you’re more likely to find that they don’t have the same passion that they would otherwise. I don’t expect you to understand.”

  “On the contrary. I understand completely, which is why I expect you to choose to work with me.”

  “Carth would never choose to work with you,” Alayna said.

  Linsay looked over at her. “No? Then I don’t think you understand Carthenne quite as well as I do.”

  A chill worked through Carth. It felt as if she were playing into Linsay’s hand, and that everything that she had thought to do, every way that she had thought to counter, Linsay had already anticipated and had maneuvered around her. Had it not been involving her, it would be impressive, but as it was, Carth feared what she had in mind.

  “Why would I choose to work with you?” Carth asked.

  “Because I know how to find Ras.”

  “Which is the reason that we’re here.”

  “It is.”

  Carth regarded Linsay for a long moment. She noticed the set to her jaw,
and the hardness to her eyes. There was something about it that made it clear that Linsay did know where Ras would be found. Had she found him on Odian? What she needed was to send word, to confirm whether something had happened to him, but she couldn’t do it in a way that would reveal his presence to Linsay if she didn’t already know where to find him.

  “And by saying that, I presume that you don’t intend to tell me where to find him.”

  “Tell you? Carthenne, I need to show you.”

  13

  The ship appeared no different than the last time Carth had been on it, though there was no longer the sense that it was gradually sinking. The stink of tar hung in the air, and it mixed strangely with the scent of the water and of the sea. If nothing else, the tar scent overwhelmed the stench coming off the shipmaster.

  They were tied up to the dock, and the ship rocked softly with each wave that came through, pushing them against the docks. There was movement along the docks, that of others from the shipyard scurrying along the dock and out toward other boats. Some carried coiled lines, while others brought paint or buckets thick with black tar, and still others carried folded sails.

  The timing of word that the ship had been repaired was convenient. Had Linsay known? More than that, had Linsay had some way of influencing it? Considering what she had seen, it seemed likely that Linsay did have some way of influencing it.

  “What kind of guarantee do you have for your work?” Alayna asked.

  The man glanced at her before regarding Carth warily. He hadn’t watched her with quite the same eagerness before, having considered Alayna the captain. Had he heard otherwise? Carth still didn’t know the extent of Linsay’s influence in the city, and didn’t know whether the men in the city feared her or whether she had a more silent type of authority.

  “Guarantee? There is no guarantee. The ship doesn’t sink. If it does, then you can come back here and talk with me.”

  Alayna glared at him. “What did you do?”

  “It’s all very complicated,” the man said, waving his hand. “When you run a shipyard as long as I have, it becomes difficult to explain the nature of your work.”

  “I could explain the nature of my work quite simply,” Alayna said. She took a step toward him and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. “I make certain that men like yourself don’t try to take advantage of women like myself.”

  The man crossed his arms over his chest. “Your seams were leaking. Whoever had done the work on the ship the last time had done shoddy work. You had a slow leak.”

  “Where?” Alayna asked.

  “Where? I said the seams were leaking.” When Alayna said nothing, he shook his head. “It means that you were leaking from everywhere. Had you not made it here, you would have eventually sunk, and there would’ve been nothing that could have been done. It’s a wonder that you were able to make it here. Most ships with problems like this would have been lost long before.”

  “Most? So you’ve seen this before?”

  The man grunted out a laugh. “I’ve seen many things in my years as shipyard master, but this?” He shook his head. “Nothing quite as extensive as this.”

  “If you—”

  “Pay him,” Carth whispered.

  Alayna took a deep breath and let it out, trying to conceal her frustration. “Fine. I will pay you for your work. If we sink, know that I will return to Waconia, and I will ensure that we have reparations.”

  Alayna pulled a bag of coins from her pocket and tossed it to the man. He opened it and fingered through the coins, his mouth moving wordlessly as he counted them before he tucked it into his pocket and turned away.

  “That’s too much,” Alayna said.

  “It’s fine. It wasn’t our money anyway.”

  Alayna smiled. “I suppose it wasn’t.”

  “And if the slavers are the ones who were responsible for what happened, it’s only right that they be responsible for paying to repair the ship,” Carth said.

  “How do we know that he will have done the repairs he claims?” Alayna asked.

  “I have a feeling that Linsay wouldn’t have allowed anything else. She might have been responsible for us nearly sinking, but I doubt that she would willingly join us on the ship if she was afraid that we might still be in danger of sinking.”

  They climbed onto the deck of the ship. Jenna was already there, beginning to prepare the lines and readying them for departure. They still needed to gather supplies, but Carth wanted to be ready to go as soon as it was possible for them to do so.

  “I still can’t believe that you’re going to allow her to join us,” Alayna said.

  “I think allow might be a bit strong in this case,” Carth said. “I’m not sure I have that much choice in the matter.”

  “Didn’t you tell Linsay that there’s always a choice?”

  Carth smiled. “Sometimes the things that you pay attention to amuse me.”

  “I pay attention to everything,” Alayna said.

  Carth took a deep breath. “You do. And you are far more skilled than she has given you credit for before, but I think that changed.”

  “What do you mean?” Alayna asked.

  “When we met with her, she made a comment that made it clear that she views you differently now. I think we’ll need to be careful on your behalf.”

  “I thought we were always going to be careful on my behalf,” Alayna said.

  “We were, but now I wonder if she doesn’t see you as a threat.”

  “Good. I want her to see me as a threat.”

  “I’m not so sure that you do. I think if she underestimates you, it will help all of us. It’s the same way that her underestimating Jenna will help.”

  “What if she hasn’t underestimated Jenna?”

  Carth watched Jenna work. There was a deliberateness to the way that she completed her task. She moved methodically around the ship, readying everything. She had become a skilled sailor in the time since she had joined Carth, and that skill was what Carth needed, though she wasn’t able to steer the ship like Alayna. Even more than that, Carth needed Jenna’s fighting skill. With everything that they had faced, having Jenna—and her ability to fight—had been crucial to what they intended.

  “Oh, I’m quite certain that she has underestimated Jenna. She thinks Jenna is nothing more than a mindless fighter, barely able to control her impulses.”

  Alayna leaned toward Carth and lowered her voice. “Are you so certain that she isn’t?”

  “Jenna might be impulsive, but she’s so much more than that. Watch her and you’ll see. That’s the sort of thing I think Linsay’s plotting has failed to take into account. She has a keen mind and has been able to manipulate me along the way, and will probably manipulate me even more, but she underestimates those who work with me.”

  “So I shouldn’t let her think that I’m capable,” Alayna said.

  “I think if we can hide from her some of that fact, we maintain at least an edge of advantage. I don’t know how much of an advantage we will have, but any will benefit us.”

  “What about Talia?”

  Carth squeezed her eyes tightly. Talia was the difficult piece for her to know what to do with. For some reason, Linsay continued to want to manipulate Talia, and Carth worried that she wouldn’t be able to do anything to help the woman. She didn’t want to break the connection between her and her sister, but at the same time, she didn’t want Talia to continue to be abused by Linsay. There had to be a balance, though Carth wasn’t sure what that balance would be.

  “With Talia, I think that Linsay has continued to underestimate her sister. I think she was surprised by the fact that Talia had discovered the secrets in Keyall, and I think she was surprised that Talia had managed to keep that from her for as long as she had. Hopefully, we can find ways to continue to have Talia surprise Linsay.”

  “How? Talia has gone back to siding with Linsay. What can we do to work with her?”

  “We can be ready.” Carth wasn�
��t convinced that Talia had completely been swayed by her sister. There was hesitation, and it was enough that she hoped that in time, she could help Talia find a way to ignore her sister’s influence. But it would have to be Talia’s choice.

  “When they come, can I slip the knife into her when she’s not watching?” Jenna asked, making her way to Carth as she watched the movement along the dock.

  Five figures made their way toward them. Linsay took up the rear position and was dressed in the same color blue as the house she’d occupied had been. Three of the women coming with her had been in the house, and each of them had been silent, but they moved with a lithe sort of grace that made Carth wonder what enhancements they might have taken.

  Talia walked alongside her sister, and there was a set to her jaw evident from the distance. She hadn’t said anything to Carth after they had spoken to Linsay, and Carth worried about what Talia might be feeling.

  “Not until we know where Ras will be found.”

  “And if he’s not been captured?” Alayna asked.

  “We’ll know soon enough,” Carth said. She had sent a coded message through a merchant ship leaving Waconia, and when it reached Asador, Carth would have another coded message sent, and then another, eventually reaching Ras, if he was still in Odian.

  “Remember,” Carth said as the others making their way toward them reached the end of the dock, “enhancements wear off.”

  The women parted around Linsay, and she stepped forward, looking up at the ship. “It reminds me of the one you lost.”

  “You mean, the one you burned.”

  Linsay shook her head. “I had nothing to do with the loss of your ship. Why would I, when there was such knowledge aboard?”

  “Because there was such knowledge aboard,” Carth said.

  “You were always so attached to that ship. Why was that?”

  Carth didn’t mind talking about the Spald. Revealing her connection to it did nothing to provide Linsay with any advantage. It did, however, make her angry thinking about it, something she suspected Linsay knew—and intended to take advantage of. “It was my home. Maybe you wouldn’t know anything about that. I imagine you had a consistent home and grew up in a loving household with your parents and your sister, but I didn’t have that. After I lost my parents and eventually managed to make my way free of the A’ras, the only place that was my home was the Spald. And you took it from me.”