The distant sense from Asboel remained there. The farther they came in Par, the less and less certain he felt that he’d be able to reach the draasin. Amia remained silent next to him. She was scared, but the anger inside her kept her silent as well.
The other side of the massive wall surprised him. Thousands of people walked the streets, most dressed in bright splashes of color attempting to compete with the color on the other side of the wall, nothing like the dark brown and black leather the shapers wore, as if the shapers set themselves apart. The animals were equally strange. There were thick-furred creatures that looked like horses with massive sides that pulled carts and wagons through the streets. Other creatures like squat lizards slithered along, some with riders seated atop them.
The smells were different, too. The air was warm and humid and carried with it the stink of dust and dung, but also that of exotic foods and spices, things Tan had never smelled before. He sensed at least a passing familiarity from Amia.
With all those differences, some things were the same. The rows of buildings looked like any other building in Ethea, though most were made reddish brown rock. Tan’s earth senses picked up a large source of water nearby. More of the flowering trees grew all around them. Were he to reach with earth sensing, he might discover other things here that he had no explanation for, but he kept his sensing drawn tight around him.
The black tower loomed over everything.
It was like a presence, a physical sense that infused everything, as if determined to draw attention to itself. The flames spouting from the spires radiated heat and light. The other shapings came from the other spires.
If he could convince these people to help, they could be powerful allies. Then he could return and help Asboel, keep him safe before he attempted to attack the lisincend again.
They didn’t make their way toward the fortress.
Tolman and Wes veered off down a side street made of hard packed rock. There were fewer people down this street, though those who did make their way along glanced only briefly at the shapers before hurrying on. They made a point of not looking at Tan and Amia.
The street let out onto another, this one secluded from the others. The faces of the buildings were different here. Like the others, they were made of thick stone, with doors of stout wood. Tan had seen little metal throughout the city to this point, almost as if it had been intentionally left off. None of the buildings had windows. Flat roofs arched over the edge of the buildings, leaving the street in shadows. This was a hidden place, he realized, kept apart from the rest of the city.
Wes stopped near a door along the middle of the street. He released the shaping of wind holding them above the ground and Tan dropped with a sudden jarring crash. He resisted the instinct to catch himself with a shaping of wind. Even were he able to suddenly shape wind, doing so would reveal the extent of his abilities and he wanted to hide anything other than fire for as long as possible, until he understood what danger they might be in.
Amia stood and dusted her hands on her legs, fixing Wes with an expression that softened. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Wes looked back at her with confusion for a moment before narrowing his eyes. “Do not try to shape me.”
Amia relaxed her arms and opened her palms. “Not a shaping, but I sense your sorrow. You have suffered too much. But know that we are not the reason for your loss. We are not of Incendin.”
A shaping of wind struck her across the face, knocking her back. “Do not presume to know me, Aeta. You think I don’t know how you were responsible for what happened?”
He spat the last with a vehemence that surprised Tan. Even among the lisincend, there hadn’t been hatred for the Aeta. How badly had they misjudged this?
Tan flung a shaping of fire at Wes, twisting it around him in a tight spiral. The wind shaper pushed against it, threatening to draw away the air the fire needed to burn, but Tan fueled it with saa, drawing the elemental. In these lands, it came willingly, granting him even more strength than in Ethea.
The shaping dropped when Tolman kicked Tan in the back, knocking him forward. “Enough.” He looked at Wes and shook his head. “You’re a fool. You’ve bonded how long? Five months? And you think yourself the equal to a fire shaper?”
Wes wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. “I am with most,” he said.
“You will not touch her again,” Tan whispered. He didn’t bother keeping the heat out of his voice. “Or you will learn how hot fire burns.”
Wes met his eyes for a moment before turning away.
Tolman laughed softly. “Oh, not soft at all, I think. You might actually have some use to us, boy.”
The door opened. A wide, squat woman with thick jowls and beady eyes stared out at them. She studied Tan and Amia, then her eyes narrowed as she noted the tension between Tan and Wes. “What is this?” she snapped.
“Shapers. Incendin,” Tolman said.
“We’ll need more bonded to hold them. Dangerous otherwise.”
Tolman nodded. “I’ll stay. This one lets his emotions get him.”
“Can you blame him?” the woman asked.
Tolman snorted. “Yes. As would he.”
The woman tapped the door with a thick hand. “True enough. True enough. What are they?”
Tolman pushed Amia forward, though more gently than Wes would have. “Aeta. Probably nothing of use with her.”
The woman’s face pinched in disgust. “Of course. And him?”
“Fire. Powerful already. Nearly killed Wes. I’m surprised he hasn’t transformed already. Might be why he’s with her.”
The woman snorted. “Maybe we can use them both.”
“I didn’t come to be used. I came to find help,” Tan said in a rush. He needed to get them to understand why they were here. Delay only put the kingdoms at increased risk. “We’re not from Incendin—”
“We’ll see,” the woman said, cutting him off. “We’ve got ways of knowing.”
She took his hand in a firm grip. A wave of cold flowed over him. It took him a moment to recognize that she shaped water. And powerfully.
“Come on in.” She stripped his pack. “You think he’ll need the wraps?” she asked Tolman.
“For now.”
“And the sword?”
Tolman shrugged. “I’ll take it from him. Less danger to you that way.”
Tan stiffened as his warrior sword was torn from his waist. He hadn’t worn it long, but losing it felt like failure.
They shuffled him to the back of the room. Lanterns shaped from stone glowed with a steady orange light. Not flames, but not the same as shapers lanterns. Tan studied one, trying to understand what fueled them, but the woman pushed him along and through the building. Smells assaulted him, that of burnt bread and roasted meat and sweat. She shoved him down a hall lined with doors. Like outside, these were made of wood.
Everything else seemed shaped. Even the hinges were shaped, twisted from stone to form reinforced hooks the doors could swing on. The woman stopped him before one of the doors and pulled it open. She shoved Amia inside before closing it and twisting the handle. The woman moved further down the hall and stopped at another door and pulled it open.
“You’ll have water and food.”
Tan hesitated. They had to play this right. He might be able to shape all the elements, but there were powerful shapers here. Possibly as powerful as those within Ethea. He might not manage to escape if they couldn’t convince them to help.
“We only came for help. We’re not from Incendin.”
“No? Fire shaper like you come from somewhere other than Incendin?” The woman laughed and shoved him inside, locking the door behind him.
18
Captivity
The cell had a single bench and a ceramic pot. There was nothing else within it. No lantern, nothing to give any light. Tan pulled on a shaping of fire and set it glowing in his palm. Fire came easily. Saa swirled around the fire, dancing within it.
Ta
n wished he could speak to saa the way he spoke to the draasin. Maybe the lesser elemental would be able to help him here. Honl had departed, the elemental apparently nervous to help when other wind elementals were present.
Tan considered the cell. The walls were solid stone. He ran his hand along the sides, realizing that they were shaped into place. From what he could tell, most of the building was shaped into existence. That meant earth shapers of serious power, enough that they could create an entire building. The wall around the city seemed like obsidian, as did the tower. That meant fire shapers of equal strength. And he’d seen a wind shaper of considerable power. The woman shaped water and Tan wouldn’t put it past her to have comparable strength.
What did it mean that so much shaping power was here?
Tan sat on the bench. It wasn’t long enough for him to lay on, as if not really meant for a place to sleep. That left only the floor of the cell, but that was dusty and had a hint of dampness to it.
Amia.
He reached through the bond to her. Sharing the connection like this had uses other than knowing her emotions.
I’m here.
Are you hurt?
He sensed a dismissal of pain. I’m angry.
You said this was Par, but did you know there were shapers here?
Amia had a troubled sense. No. There are some shapers in Doma and Chenir. Incendin has fire shapers. But few other shapers were ever found outside the kingdoms. I’m not sure the People knew why.
Tan began pacing in the small room. He couldn’t remain confined here for long. Asboel needed him, especially if Tan couldn’t find help here.
We’ll find help and then I’ll get you away as soon as I can.
I’m not sure there will be help here. If not, are you sure that you can get us free?
If he had Asboel, he’d feel quite certain. Without the draasin, he was less so. Honl had not returned to him, but then, Tan didn’t really know what to expect from the wind elemental.
I will keep you safe.
The bond between them let her know how uncertain he was that he could.
* * *
The door opened and soft orange light spilled in. The woman filled the doorway, blocking him from bolting, and the pressure Tan felt told him that she likely held a shaping ready. She frowned as she saw him standing, pacing from one end of the small cell to the other.
She cocked her head and considered him. “If not Incendin, where would you claim is home?”
It was a start. If he could get her to believe that he wasn’t from Incendin, maybe he could get the others to believe as well. Then he could get the help they needed. “The kingdoms. Do you know the kingdoms?”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Dangerous. Nearly as bad as Incendin.”
“Why would you say that?”
In answer, the woman grabbed his arm and pulled him from the cell. He didn’t resist.
“Where are you taking me?”
“He asks to see you. You should be pleased. Is that not what you want? A chance to destroy him like all the others?”
Tan could do nothing but shake his head. “Who is he?”
The woman snorted, dragging him down the hall. “You will see.”
As he passed Amia’s cell, he sent her a warning. Wait. I will know soon if this will work.
Be safe, she replied.
Tan took a deep breath and let the woman lead him away. They stepped into a different part of the building, where the steady lanterns glowed within stone. She let go of him. The bindings still held, trapping his arms in place. He thought he could sever them, but doing so would only admit to them that he could shape more than wind. Tan wasn’t ready for such an admission quite yet, not until he understood what was happening here.
She walked ahead of him, trusting that he’d follow, unmindful of the fact that she put her back to him. For all she knew, he would shape fire and destroy her.
Honl?
Tan sent the thought out on a breath of wind as they stepped outside the building, trying to send it silently. He didn’t know what others sensed when he communicated with the elementals. Elle had felt him speaking, but then, Elle had also managed to learn to speak to the elementals as well.
Finally, the wind elemental drifted closer, still not visible, but the sense of him grew closer.
Careful here, Tan. There are places in this city where I cannot go.
Why?
Other wind is preferred.
The woman glanced over her shoulder at him and frowned. She paused at a street corner to let one of the strange lizard creatures pass. It moved slowly, carrying a young couple with long, colorful robes. Tan realized that the dress had levels of distinction. Some robes were more heavily embroidered than others. A few people wore scarves around their necks, some with them twisted tightly around their mouths. Other than Honl, not much wind blew through here.
The woman stared at Tan. “You will not shape me.”
Tan looked from her to where Honl had been, but the elemental was gone. “I wasn’t.”
“Hmm.” She shook a flabby arm at him menacingly. “Do not think because I haven’t added to your bindings that you are free to try something reckless around me. As a fire shaper, you may not know that my water shaping lets me know when you’re shaping. Think twice before you attack.”
Tan hadn’t known that about water shaping. It explained why Elle was able to sense him shaping, though other shapers could not. “Where are you leading me?”
“You keep asking the same questions. Is everyone from the kingdoms so stupid?”
Tan grunted. The comment reminded him of what Cianna used to say to him. What would she say if she knew he’d been captured while trying to find help? She probably would think him as stupid as she’d always accused him of being.
The woman laughed. “Now you won’t even talk?”
Tan twisted so that he could see the buildings around him better. The street was narrow here, and much like the one where they held him, the flat roofs stretched over the road, as if hiding what passed beneath.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
Her tiny eyes narrowed to little more than slits. “Garza.”
“Why are you holding me?”
Garza tipped her head back and laughed. Her massive belly shook with it.
“What?”
“When attacked as often as we have been, we learn to protect ourselves.” Garza’s wide face scrunched up. “Otherwise, we lose those we care about. Like Wes.”
She stopped before a tall, black doorway that blocked them from going any further down the street. The roofs covering the road prevented him from seeing anything else, but the door resembled the color of the tower he’d seen on the way into the city.
“What happened with Wes?” Was that the loss Amia had sensed?
She touched the door with a shaping of water that let it slide open. “Don’t pretend concern when you come to destroy us, fire shaper. You will see that the Utu Tonah is not so easy to destroy.” She pressed the tips of her fingers together and looked toward the sky, inhaling deeply.
“You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not here to destroy anyone,” Tan said.
Garza laughed again. “Because you cannot. You will see.”
She started through the door, leaving Tan to follow.
Garza pushed the door closed. On this side, a wide room opened before him. There was a low ceiling and lanterns stationed along posts worked all the way around, giving a soft glow and leading to the wide, obsidian stair at the end of the room. Decorative sculptures were carved or shaped into the posts, making them appear as massive sculptures, reminding Tan of the draasin. He paused at one, studying it for a moment, before moving on. Other doors opened into this room as well. As far as Tan could tell, the room held nothing but doors, as if other areas of the city all converged here, where they could lead into the tower. Everything around him appeared shaped. Had he not been trapped as he was, he might have taken the time to ask how.
Garza started up the stairs, pausing to look back at Tan. He took the first step, moving with uncertainty. His hands, bound in front of him, made climbing the stairs more difficult, and the steps had a slickness to them. He stared at Garza’s back with each step.
The stairs ended at a wide landing. Tan glanced down the hall, uncertain what he’d see. A few orange lanterns hung on the walls here, casting their light against black walls of slick obsidian. The walls were otherwise bare. The floor was a simple white marble tile.
A few people moved in the distant shadows. Tan couldn’t tell anything about them.
Garza turned and headed up the next flight of stairs. Again, she didn’t bother to ensure that he followed.
Tan wished for more elemental connection, anything that would make him feel more confident. With Asboel recovering in Nara, he was left with Honl, but the wind elemental had none of the confident strength of Asboel. What other elementals could he reach? Saa had so far responded, but were there others?
Tan couldn’t help but think he was walking into certain death.
Garza glanced at him and laughed again. “Do not fear, fire shaper. You are blessed. You will get to see the Utu Tonah before your end.”
19
The Utu Tonah
The stairs let out onto a wide-open floor. Bright sunlight streamed through an opening in the ceiling and glittered off the bright white tile floor. Tan shielded his eyes at the sudden change. Next to him, Garza laughed again.
She led him toward a massive dais at the end of the room. A huge chair of gold rested at the top, surrounded by shapers. Most spoke softly and kept their heads bowed as they spoke to the man sitting in the chair. Tan could feel the power they shaped, though he didn’t have any idea why that should be.
“Who is this?” Tan asked as they approached.
Fortress of Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 4) Page 17
