Endless Night

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Is that what you’re doing, then?”

  He smiled. “I think they would be disappointed in the level of service that I’ve provided, but I’ve done what I thought was necessary.”

  “By creating the barracks.”

  Cheneth leaned forward and fixed her with his hard gaze. “I didn’t create the barracks.”

  “I thought—”

  “No. You know the barracks were created by Nolan with the intent to hunt the draasin. That much is true. That was the reason men like Wyath and Calan were recruited. It wasn’t until I came that the mission of the barracks shifted, as did those we recruited.” Cheneth leaned back, his gaze drifting over to the hatchling. “I wanted to understand the war and find some way to end it. I thought… It doesn’t matter why I thought. What matters is what we’ve discovered.”

  “The war continued, and Nolan demanded his hunters. Wyath knew that we had to find a way to end it and did what he could. And then you after Wyath was harmed, injured so that he couldn’t continue. The war shifted, Ter pushing against Rens, driving them from their cities. Even the ala’shin I trained weren’t enough.”

  “They weren’t like Ciara.”

  He shook his head. “None like Ciara. I had not expected to see power such as she possesses, and so naturally. But her father… he learned to summon the draasin quickly. That was the pattern I knew the best, the easiest to teach.”

  “How did you know such a pattern?”

  Cheneth turned. Firelight danced in his eyes, giving him a haunted appearance. “Hyaln once summoned the draasin. There once were riders who filled the air, calling to the draasin.”

  “What changed?”

  “Hyaln changed, it seems.”

  “The summons?” she asked.

  “The summons itself is not dangerous, and I think the summoners the key to stopping what has happened.”

  Alena looked over to the draasin. She would not have survived binding to the egg had she not shared a connection and had Volth not possessed his connection to water.

  “How? We don’t even know how we can stop it, and if you’re right, and now Atenas is involved.”

  “Yes. Spirit concealed them from me before. I should have expected it, but made a mistake.”

  Alena started to smile, prepared to tell him that there was no such thing as a spirit shaping, but the intense expression on Cheneth’s face told her otherwise. Instead, she said, “No one can shape spirit.”

  “None of the warriors of the order have ever shaped spirit,” Cheneth agreed. “But that doesn’t mean that others cannot.”

  “What can shapers of spirit do?” Alena asked.

  “There are many things that shapers of spirit are capable of doing, but it is the connection to the elementals that creates the most opportunity.”

  “You shape spirit.”

  Cheneth nodded. “I shape spirit. Not as strongly as some. When I learned of what happened in Atenas, combined with what I’ve feared now that we’ve discovered Tenebeth is freed, I stayed to learn. I needed to know.”

  “Why not return to Hyaln for answers?”

  “I would not be welcome there. I was not supposed to demonstrate the summoning to the ala’shin. Such a thing was considered forbidden. Now I am something of a pariah to Hyaln.”

  “So you can’t return.”

  “I cannot, but still I needed to understand.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I am saying that those who freed Tenebeth likely trained in Hyaln.”

  “You sent Jasn there!”

  He nodded. “Because I had to know. If any could survive, it would be the Wrecker of Rens.”

  42

  Alena

  The purpose of the barracks has changed. No longer is it to end the war with Rens.

  —Rolan al’Sand, Enlightened of Hyaln

  Wind whipped suddenly, hot and violent. Thunder rumbled and lightning crackled.

  Alena raced forward to the shaper circle, determined to get there before Cheneth.

  When the dust and wind settled, Eldridge stood next to a dark-skinned woman who reminded her of Ciara. Another rested on the ground at their feet.

  Alena gasped.

  “What are you doing bringing her here?” she asked.

  “Nice to see you too, Alena.”

  “Blast you, Eldridge. Don’t you know what you’re doing?”

  She glared at him, but he only shrugged. “Alena, this is Reyanne.”

  “Reyanne?” she asked, confusion rising within her. “That’s not what I asked.”

  “I know that it’s not, but that’s the answer you’re getting. Now help me carry this one to Volth. She needs healing, and I suspect he’s the only one who can do it.”

  Alena stared at the person at Eldridge’s feet. Blackness swirled around her, nearly as dark as night even though the sun shone brightly. She wore leather of a similar darkness and held a sword that looked nothing like those of Ter.

  “You brought a servant of Tenebeth to the barracks?” Alena hissed.

  “I brought someone in need of healing,” Eldridge countered. “Now, you shape earth and water better than me, so will you help move this one for me?”

  “You can’t touch her,” Reyanne said.

  Alena ignored the comment. “What are you thinking?” she demanded of Eldridge. “We’ve barely survived an attack from Thenas—twice—and now you bring another with the same power here!”

  “Thenas was here?” Eldridge asked.

  “He came for the draasin. Ciara chased him off.”

  “Ciara? That the girl from Rens?” Eldridge asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And she managed to run off one of Tenebeth’s servants on her own?”

  “There’s something about her spear,” Alena said.

  Eldridge glanced to the woman at his feet. “Then she might be needed, too. We’ll need both of them.”

  “But Eldridge,” she said, “they’re gone. Cheneth sent them to Hyaln.”

  As he let out a frustrated sigh, the figure at his feet stirred.

  Reyanne shaped earth with vast control to wrap her more tightly, securing her in place.

  “You can’t leave her out here like this,” Alena said.

  “No. And she can’t be killed. Not until we have answers.”

  “I don’t know that any of Tenebeth’s servants will provide you with the answers you seek,” Cheneth said, striding forward.

  Alena faced him. “Did you know he was coming with… with this?”

  Cheneth crouched in front of the person and waved a hand overtop of her, making a point of not touching. “Damn you for always being right, Eldridge.” He looked over to Alena. “The person she was remains intact, only buried.”

  “That’s why I brought her here,” Eldridge said. “Thought that Volth with his unique abilities might be able to help, but Alena tells me the nya’shin might be even better.”

  “She’s ala’shin,” Cheneth said.

  Reyanne snapped her head around to look at Cheneth. “You have one of the ala’shin here?”

  “Did. Until she returns, I will do what I can with this one, though we may have no choice but to destroy her.”

  “We can learn much from her,” Eldridge suggested.

  Cheneth glanced up to Alena and then sighed. “Perhaps we can. I think the pen should be secure enough,” he said to Alena. “We will need to free your friend, but then I doubt he will travel all that far from us.”

  Alena focused on the draasin in the pen. He listened, as if waiting for what she might intend, almost as if knowing that she would reach for him. “Are you certain that is wise with Calan—”

  “What of Calan?” Eldridge asked.

  “He might have decided he no longer wishes to be a part of the barracks,” Cheneth answered.

  Eldridge whistled softly. “A dangerous game you’re playing here, Cheneth.”

  “It’s no longer a game. As the summons I answered on your behalf will attest.”r />
  “Summons? Atenas?”

  Cheneth nodded. “I’ve helped stave off some of it, but I think you will be needed there, my friend.”

  “I will help take care of this one first and then will go.”

  Alena didn’t remain to listen to anything more, hurrying onward to the pen. The draasin greeted her as soon as she pulled the door open, standing in the doorway, wings spread as if ready to take flight at that moment.

  Lren.

  Your den is needed. There is a servant of Voidan brought here who will need this space.

  The draasin snorted. You still think you can save those Voidan has tainted.

  We saved the female.

  You did, but think of the effort it required.

  I am. I saw how Ciara nearly scoured Tenebeth from Thenas, she said. And if she can use her spear for that, maybe she can help this other.

  What would you have of me, Lren? You would release me to return to Rens, where I will be hunted by your other?

  I would rather that you remain.

  You have bonded another, Lren. You do not need me.

  What bond?

  You will understand in time. But for now, I will stay with you. Perhaps your forest will provide an interesting hunt.

  So long as you don’t burn it down.

  You think I have so little control over fire?

  Alena smiled. No. I think you have all the control that you wish. May you hunt well until I see you next.

  The draasin lowered his head and regarded her with his dark orange eyes for a moment, then he climbed from the pen and, with a powerful flap of his wings, he leapt to the air, disappearing into the forest.

  Once the draasin had departed, she sensed the sustained connection to the elemental within her mind. The draasin remained a strong presence, and she felt as if she could call to him, though the link wasn’t at the same level as what she experienced with the hatchling. She didn’t understand why, but the connection there was even more powerful than what she shared with the other draasin. Had she formed some sort of bond with the draasin?

  “Has he gone?”

  She turned to see Cheneth coming toward her. The dark shaper came on a shaping of earth and wind, secured between Eldridge and Cheneth.

  “He’s gone. But not departed.”

  “Good. We may have need of elemental power.”

  “Why? What’s changed?”

  Cheneth nodded toward the draasin pen. Now it would be Tenebeth’s pen, or at least his servant’s. “There is a stirring on the air. Change is coming, Alena, and it comes more rapidly than we may be ready to deal with.”

  “And that’s why you went away? Why you went to Atenas?”

  “I went to Atenas because Eldridge was summoned. But that is not where I have been the whole time. No, there is more taking place than even I realized.”

  “Even as enlightened?” Alena asked, following them as they brought the dark shaper into the pen and set her on the ground. The stone chains were placed overtop of her, and then Cheneth used a shaping she didn’t recognize to seal them to the ground, holding her in place. With what she’d seen of Thenas, she wasn’t sure that would be enough.

  “Serving as enlightened doesn’t give me any more insight than any other. And I had been away from Atenas too long. It was good that I returned.”

  “Why did Oliver call?” Eldridge asked.

  “I begin to understand why Tenebeth has returned. And perhaps we are in more danger than we even realized.”

  The words hung in the air.

  “How can we be in more danger,” Alena asked. “We’ve seen what happens with his power, the way that Thenas could not be stopped. That seems bad enough.”

  “Oh, it is,” Cheneth agreed. “But there is more. And I will share with you my concerns, but after. First, we must find help for this one. I might be able to stabilize her until Ciara returns, but the rest will be up to our ala’shin.”

  “Why does it matter so much if you stabilize her?”

  “Because this, Alena, is Bayan.”

  43

  Ciara

  We must soon mobilize. I will need to renew connections, and must find a way to seal off Tenebeth if we manage to defeat him. I don’t think that I can work alone, but will others who study agree to work with me? Will Hyaln? Will the college?

  —Rolan al’Sand, Enlightened of Hyaln

  The draasin carried them beyond the waste. Ciara kept her gaze fixed on the ground as they flew, staring at the flowing dunes of sand. From above, and moving as quickly as the draasin managed, she found them beautiful in a strange sort of way, much different than the harsh and painful heat she experienced when down in the waste.

  “What are you looking for?” Jasn asked.

  “Not looking for anything.”

  “Nothing lives there.”

  Ciara smiled to herself. “You would be surprised, Jasn Volth, at what lives there.”

  They continued flying, soaring south, the dry heat shifting, cooling somewhat, as they made their way beyond the waste. Ciara frowned as they crossed over the massive crevasse and stared at the wall and the drop into the ground far below. Even from here, the drop seemed impossibly steep. How had she survived?

  Jasn put his hands on her hips, and she resisted the urge to turn back and face him, not wanting him to see the way she flushed every time he touched her. But then, as a water shaper, it was possible he already knew.

  “How do you know where to find Hyaln?” he asked her.

  “I don’t.”

  “Then how are we supposed to find it?”

  “I don’t think we are.”

  That had to be the reason Cheneth had wanted her to bring Jasn to Hyaln. Only the draasin would be able to find the way. Ciara had sent an image of what she wanted, and from there had asked the draasin to bring her there.

  They soared, catching a heated current of wind that blew against her face. Ciara closed her eyes, surprised to find that she enjoyed the flight with the draasin, that it was less terrifying than she had expected. Each time she rode with the draasin, she felt a different set of emotions, this time more wistful than anything.

  After a while, the draasin began to descend and landed on the hard rock. The sun had started to set, leaving streaks of orange in the sky. Ciara wished they had waited until the morning to leave, giving them a full day to travel, but she didn’t know how far they had to go to reach Hyaln, and the draasin wasn’t giving her any clue either.

  “This can’t be Hyaln,” Jasn said, looking around.

  Ciara was surprised that she recognized where they were. This had been the place where she had seen Ter shapers attacking the draasin—maybe the same Ter shapers that she now worked with. “Not Hyaln,” she agreed.

  The draasin waited for them to climb down and made her way to the deep pool of water, lapping at it. Ciara and Jasn waited until she was done before drinking what they needed.

  Jasn wiped his arm across his mouth when he finished. “I should have brought a waterskin for this trip.”

  Ciara hadn’t thought of carrying a waterskin with her for weeks. Water was prevalent throughout Ter, and she didn’t have to struggle as she once had, not suffering with the constant thirst as she had while growing up in Rens. But now that she was back, she found that she had gotten softer. Would she still survive in Rens if she returned, or had she changed so much in such a short period of time that she was no longer fit to be nya’shin?

  She wandered away from the water and smiled when she saw a shriveled brown husk lying on the ground. Ciara lifted it and shook the gourd, listening for the sloshing of water within.

  “What is that?” Jasn asked.

  “It’s called a water flower. These kept me alive when I crossed the waste.”

  “You crossed the waste? On foot?”

  “Not everyone can travel as your shapers can,” she said.

  Jasn looked at the draasin and smiled. “No. You get to travel in a much better way.” He sighed. “Strange, thi
nking that I once wanted nothing more than to kill the draasin. And now here I am, riding one and wishing I could be more like you so that I could summon the draasin myself and learn to ride them as you have.”

  Ciara tapped her j’na and the draasin looked up, eyes catching the glowing light of the end of her j’na. “And I have longed for the ability of a shaper, to be able to control the elements and know that power.”

  “I think your ability is better in some ways,” Jasn said.

  “And I yours.”

  They fell silent, almost as if neither wanted to say anything more. He stared at her, his eyes fixed in that intense, bright-eyed way that he looked at her, and she looked back at him, forcing herself to meet his gaze. Energy seemed to course between them, and neither wanted to move or risk breaking the strange, building power that rose, almost like lightning preceding a storm. Even the cool breeze reminded her of a storm…

  “Tenebeth,” she whispered.

  Jasn unsheathed his sword and spun, as if expecting the dark to attack. “Where?”

  “Not here yet,” she answered. But she could feel Tenebeth coming. That was the surge in energy that she’d detected, that power she had felt. The wind and the distant rumble of thunder only confirmed it.

  “We should go,” Jasn said.

  Ciara looked around the hard landscape. Other than the rocks and a few plants growing throughout, there was nothing here. “Where would we go? Do you think we can outrun Tenebeth when he comes for me?”

  Jasn looked over to her. “This is not your fault. He wants your power, your ability, but you have refused him. I’ve seen that strength in you, Ciara. You have not let him reach you, and you will not let him do so now.”

  “No? When Tenebeth chases me wherever I am, you think this is not my fault? I think he’s come for me again, Jasn Volth. He wants—”