The Strength to Serve (Echoes of Imara Book 3)

by Claire Frank

  “Yes,” Nora said.

  “What did you get from the prisoner?” Cecily asked.

  “His name was Ethan,” Nora said. “He was more of an administrator than a soldier. We searched his room but we didn’t find anything helpful.”

  “An administrator,” Cecily said, more to herself than the others. “Where was his room?”

  “We already searched it,” Nora said.

  “Yes, I realize that,” Cecily said. “I think I should search it again.”

  Nora raised her eyebrows. “Do you think you’ll find something we didn’t? The room was empty.”

  Cecily took another deep breath and let it out slowly. Perhaps she should have given herself another day to calm down before dealing with Nora. She wanted to slam the woman against the wall and wipe that smug look off her face. Instead, she opened her Awareness and probed Nora’s room.

  “You have a small stack of folded papers tucked inside the stuffing of your pillow,” Cecily said. She let the image of the room settle in her mind, checking the usual places people hid things. “There is a bag tucked under the bed, shoved close to the wall, and inside it are … coins, perhaps?” Nora’s mouth dropped open, but Cecily continued before she could speak. “Owen has a knife in his boot, as does Semnal, but on the opposite leg. Nora, you appear to be unarmed, which I think is a mistake considering we’re living in a war zone. Of course the dagger you have hidden in the desk drawer is probably a wise idea, but you might want to start carrying it with you.”

  She stood still while the Wielders stared at her. It felt a little silly to show off like that, but she was tired of them second-guessing her at every turn. She knew more about finding people’s secrets than the three of them combined.

  “Now, where was his room?” Cecily asked.

  “You won’t be able to get to it anymore,” Nora said. “It’s near the bridge on the third floor, in an area that took heavy damage in the last attack.”

  “I don’t think you could get in unless you climbed down the wall on the chasm side and went in through the damaged section,” Semnal said.

  Cecily raised her eyebrows. “Then perhaps I’ll do just that.”

  54. CLUES

  The wind whipped at Cecily’s hair as she stood atop the wall and looked out over the dark chasm, resting her hands on the parapet. The Attalonian army had retreated, and showed no signs of moving. She wondered what they were planning. It was possible Daro had stifled an attempt to surround the stronghold, although it was unlikely they’d have been able to move a large quantity of troops up that cliff. Small groups of well-trained men, perhaps, but not entire regiments of soldiers. Still, the Halthian supply line was intact and Rogan should be arriving with reinforcements any day. If the general let her husband out of that damned cell, and she found at least some hint of where the Arcstone was kept, things would be looking considerably less bleak.

  A thick layer of clouds hid the stars, and she waited while the guard on duty passed her with a nod. Once he’d disappeared into the gloom farther down the wall, she checked her surroundings with her Awareness and hoisted herself up onto the ledge. Her heart raced and a line of sweat trickled down her back as she peered down, the bottom of the chasm lost in darkness. Although this wasn’t the first time she’d scaled a wall, the drop was terrifying. She worried for a moment that she’d experience a bout of weakness, but quickly dismissed the thought from her mind. It wouldn’t help to agonize over it, especially while clinging to the side of a wall.

  She used her Reach to grip the stone and lowered herself down slowly, her feet scuffing against the stone. Feeling her Wielding energy anchor her hands, she let her arms straighten, moving her body farther down. Her Awareness helped her find toeholds and she braced her feet in cracks in the wall for balance as the wind whistled through the chasm.

  The constant flow of energy leaking through her bond to Daro made her feel strong. Her Reach gripped the wall like a suction cup, holding her fast despite the howling wind, and she crawled down the wall with increasing speed. Veering toward the damaged section, she crossed over a split in the stone, where jagged rocks protruded from a gaping crack in the wall. She paused for a moment, her foot wedged in the crack and peered down. A jolt of adrenaline shot through her gut and her heart pounded. Forcing her gaze away from the dizzying fall, she crept sideways toward the breach, moving across the stone quickly, anchored tight by her Reach.

  The damaged portion of the wall was a mess of cracked and crumbling stone. She placed her toe on a section of rock, feeling it slip, and a piece dislodged from the wall to tumble down into the chasm. With a deep breath, she tried again and found purchase, then worked her arms across until she was flat against the edge of the break. Craning her neck, she could just see inside the stronghold where the wall opened up to the outside air, the stone broken by a catapult in one of the assaults. The crack wasn’t large, but she should be able to wedge herself through.

  A wave of weakness washed over her and her grip on the wall faltered. She slipped, clutching at the stone with her fingers as she tried desperately to balance, one foot perched on the loose rock of the crack. Pressing her body into the wall, her heart thundered and her stomach lurched. For a horrifying moment, she couldn’t Wield. Her Awareness dropped, sucking back inside, leaving her blinded. Clenching her fingers into the rock, she held on, shutting her eyes against the nauseating lapse in her Wielding.

  Her arms ached with the strain and she tried not to panic as she pushed her Reach outward again. It hurled from her like a whip with unintentional strength, punching through the stone and thrusting her backward off the wall. She gasped as she swung down, as if hanging from a rope. Her Wielding grip held, but she smashed into the wall with a smack that left her ears ringing and a sharp pain shooting through her knee. Clinging with her Reach, she clambered up the wall to the breach and wedged herself through.

  The crack opened into a small room, littered with debris. The back wall lay in ruins, blocking the corridor and cutting off a small section of the stronghold from inside access. Cecily stumbled in and leaned with one hand against a partial wall, struggling to catch her breath. Her leg hurt but it could still bear weight, so she limped across to the broken wall between this room and the next. She was fairly certain Ethan’s room had been on the other side, so she squeezed herself through the rubble.

  Cold air from outside wafted in through breaks in the wall, but the room was more or less intact. Cecily opened her Awareness to feel the outline of the space. The door was blocked by rubble on the other side, and one wall tilted at an odd angle, but the floor felt stable enough. After the Lyceum Wielders had taken Ethan prisoner, he had been reported among the casualties of one of the assaults, and his room had been cleared of his possessions. All that remained was a bed, a small writing desk, and an empty recessed shelf on one wall.

  Nora had said they’d searched the room, and found nothing. Cecily wasn’t surprised. She tightened her Awareness; the image sharpened and she examined the nooks and crannies carefully as she took slow steps around the room. It appeared to be bare, any evidence long since taken with the rest of Ethan’s belongings. The structure was stone, and any possible hiding places were empty.

  She sighed, frustrated that she’d risked herself to get in, only to find Nora and the other Wielders had been right. Trailing her hand down the wall, she glanced up at the recessed shelf. The other rooms had them as well, a wood frame inset in the stone with three shelves running across. Cecily ran a finger through the dust and centered her Awareness on the shelf for one last look.

  Focusing closely, she perceived a crack where one of the stone blocks was loose. She’d missed it before, looking at the walls as a whole. There were breaks and damage throughout the room from the bombardment, but this piece had a straight, smooth break, like it had been cut. The stone stuck out just a hair, knocked slightly askew from the rest of the wall. As she tightened her Awareness on the spot, she could sense an irregularity behind the stone. It wasn’
t solid.

  She couldn’t get her fingers around the loose piece. There was nowhere to grip, and she wondered how anyone could have moved it. It fit perfectly into the wall without a large enough crack to wedge something inside, and whatever was behind it fit so precisely there was almost no space between it and the surrounding stone. How could Ethan have moved the chunk of stone to hide anything behind it? It was impossible.

  Unless he’d been a Stone Shaper. Not every Stone Shaper chose to use their abilities to make a living. Perhaps this Ethan fellow had pursued a different life, despite an affinity for stone? It was possible. If that was the case, he could have made a hiding place in the stone wall and left something inside.

  Cecily pushed her Reach into the cracks, much like she did when picking a lock, and gripped the stone with Pressure. As she pulled it out, she nudged it back and forth to dislodge it until enough of it poked through so she could grip with her hands. It wasn’t a large section, only the size of a small brick, and she dug it the rest of the way out and set it on the ground.

  Behind it was a small box, crafted of stone. It fit as precisely as the outer brick had, and she had to pull with her Reach to get it out. It was a simple case with a fitted lid that sat on top, clearly hewn from the very rock of the stronghold. Whether Ethan himself had made it or not, it was clearly Shaper-wrought, and created to hide in that very spot.

  Cecily grasped the edges of the lid and lifted it open. Inside was a leather purse, the drawstring pulled tight, and a folded piece of paper. Hefting the purse in her hands, she heard the clink of coins. She opened it and poured a few into the palm of her hand. They were foreign, money she didn’t recognize, with a face stamped on one side, and lettering on the back. Glory to His Eminence, Emperor Horadrus. Attalonian coin.

  She slid the coins back into the purse and cinched the drawstring. The paper was thick, and half-open despite the deep creases of the folds. Opening it, she spread it out and pulled out a small glowstone for light. The script was fluid, with sweeping lines and small flourishes in the lettering.

  Ensure the cask is left with the empty barrels and not discarded. Once we have taken the stronghold, we will retrieve the item and your responsibility will be considered fulfilled. Final payment will be buried beneath the birch tree on the west side of the market in southern Halthas.

  Your assistance will not be forgotten in light of the impending occupation. This seal will ensure the safety of you and your family.

  A wax seal was pressed into the bottom of the letter, the design depicting a stern face. Cecily traced her finger over the seal and pondered what the letter meant. Ensure the cask is left with the empty barrels and not discarded. What cask? Was the item it referenced the Arcstone? As the saying went, there was only one way to find out.

  ***

  Cecily slipped into the shadow cast by the nearby lamp and pressed herself against the wall. She’d scrambled out of the room and up the side of the stronghold, using her Reach to hoist herself over the parapet. The purse and letter were tucked inside her tunic, and she’d hurried down through the building and snuck into one of the storage areas, deep beneath the stronghold.

  It was a place she’d searched before, but she’d found nothing suspicious. Stacks of crates and barrels filled the rooms, holding everything from uniforms, to foodstuffs, to the officer’s supply of wine. The letter had said cask, and instructed Ethan to keep it with the empty barrels, so Cecily hesitated until she was sure no one was near, then crept down the corridor to the next room.

  The door was unlocked and she eased it open, wary of the hinges making noise. Inside she found haphazard stacks of empty barrels, some upright and some overturned. At some point, these would be shipped back to the city to be reused, but for now they were left to accumulate in the storage room. Cecily tucked her hair behind her ear as she began looking through the barrels, tipping them and probing with her Awareness to see what she could find.

  Working her way through the room, she checked each cask. Their lids were fitted into place, but they were empty, the discarded remains of the army’s wine and ale supply. Toward the back of the room, she found what she was looking for: an anomaly. Tucked in a corner, with barrels stacked around it, was a cask with something inside.

  Cecily moved the other barrels out of the way, rolling them carefully to the side. With her Awareness, she could sense a rectangular object in the bottom of the large cask. Slipping her Reach in between the hoop and the staves, she eased the metal off the top. This loosened the sides of the barrel and allowed her to remove the lid.

  The tangy scent of wine wafted from inside as Cecily reached in to retrieve what was hidden within. She lifted out a box and set it on the ground, the metal cold against her hands. Crouching down, she felt the lock with her Awareness. It was small, but simple, and with a slice of Pressure, the latch clicked free.

  Her heart beat hard as she eased the lid open. Inside, the box was lined with thick fabric, and tufts of wool poked out around an object wrapped in a cloth. A sense of weariness crept through her, and she realized the sides were lined with small sunstones, sewn into the lining. Sunstones could be tuned to absorb Wielding energy. If this was the Arcstone, they could have been placed there to dampen some of its power.

  With a trembling hand, she pulled on the cloth, revealing a chunk of cream-colored stone. Veins of pale green ran through the rock, and its sheen almost glowed in the dim light. It was warm, emanating heat like a dying ember.

  Of all the things Daro had described about his ordeal, mentions of this stone were what made his voice break. He’d been subjected to torture, and made to do things against his will, but it was the sessions with the Arcstone that still haunted his dreams. She couldn’t begin to comprehend how Nihil’s experiments had changed this stone, but sitting with it in such close proximity, she could feel its power.

  Reaching inside to replace the cloth, she hesitated, her hand hovering above the stone. Her breathing echoed in her ears and her stomach fluttered as she let her fingers brush its smooth surface.

  With a gasp, she flung her head back, her eyes widening as her mouth dropped open. Her Awareness flew outward, extending beyond her control as her hand touched the stone, and she was flooded with the shape and movement of the entire stronghold. The image expanded, moving outward across the chasm and high into the sky. The lines were sharp, the world outside bombarding her with vivid clarity. Physical sensation began to dull, as if she were being pulled from her body, stretched thin across the landscape as her Awareness swelled beyond anything she’d ever done before.

  Fighting for control, she wrenched her hand away and her Awareness hurled inward, knocking her backward with the force of its retreat. She lay on her back, gasping for breath, and blinked away the nauseating dizziness that threatened to overtake her.

  As the room stopped spinning and her racing heart slowed, she pushed herself up to sitting. A piercing pain shot through her head, leaving spots in her vision, and she rubbed her temples, hoping it would subside. Not daring to put her hand near the stone again, she quickly shut the lid and locked it with a flick of Pressure in the latch.

  She refitted the lid and hoop back on the cask and placed it back in the corner, then moved the rest of the barrels back to their original locations, fighting against her headache. She didn’t know who else was aware of the Arcstone’s presence in the stronghold. Ethan could have been the only one, but if he had others working with him she didn’t want them to realize the stone was gone.

  When she was reasonably sure the room was set to rights, she picked up the box and crept out. If she’d been uncertain about what to do with the stone once she found it, her resolve was now set. She couldn’t let the Lyceum have such a dangerous object, not when the Paragon was clearly intent on using it. She would need to find a way to take it to Imara. If anyone had a way of rendering the stone inactive, it would be the Raeswa—and if not, at least they might be able to keep it safe. It might mean confessing to Daro that she had the ston
e, but she was confident he’d agree that leaving it with the Imarans was the best solution.

  In the meantime, she needed a way to hide it until they got through the current crisis.

  55. THE PULL OF THE STONE

  The weight of the metal box was heavy under Cecily’s arm as she slipped out into the night. A few lights shone through the fabric walls of tents, but most of the encampment was quiet. She paused outside the doorway and leaned back against the stone wall. There was no way she was going to entrust the stone to the Lyceum Wielders. She didn’t know what the Paragon had been doing with the stone, but putting it back in the hands of someone who would use it to experiment on other Wielders was simply unconscionable. She’d have to concoct a story to convince Nora and the others that it was still missing, and hide it from them in the meantime.

  Taking it to her room was out of the question. Not only would it be difficult to get it out if the Attalonian assault drove them from the stronghold, she didn’t want to imagine what Daro would do if he discovered it there. It was bad enough she’d been hiding the true object of her search for this long. She was prepared to cope with his anger when she finally told him, but it needed to be at a time when they were well on their way to Imara, and the danger of the stone falling into the hands of the enemy had passed. He might not like traveling with it, but she was certain he’d agree with her reasoning to take it to the Raeswa.

  That left her one option. Griff. He and Serv both already knew about the Arcstone, and she knew they’d be willing to help her keep it safe. And Griff wasn’t a Wielder. With the havoc the stone seemed to be causing, and with what it had done to her when she touched it, putting it in the hands of a non-Wielder seemed prudent. She’d warn them both of its dangers, but hopefully Griff would be able to keep it hidden without any ill effects.