The Dark Ability: Books 1-4

by D. K. Holmberg

  Chapter 9

  “I have to go back for him,” Rsiran said.

  Jessa looked over at him, shaking her head as she did. “You can’t go back. What happens if whatever is there…”

  He touched her hand and offered a smile. It felt forced, especially not knowing what he would have to face. Something with the ability to Push darkness on his thoughts.

  “I can barrier my mind.” He spoke more confidently than he felt, but he would have to try.

  Jessa shook her head. “No, Rsiran. We can’t go back there.”

  “Not we.”

  She grabbed onto his hand, as if afraid that he’d Slide from her without warning. “You’re not going anywhere without me,” she said.

  “I can’t protect you from this. And we need Thom to find Venass.”

  “He told you how to find it. We can just—”

  “Leave him?” Rsiran finished. “Sacrifice him for Brusus? What would Brusus say if he found out that we did?”

  She glanced to the ground. “We wouldn’t have to tell him.”

  Rsiran pulled her to him. “You can wait here. I won’t be gone long. I’ll Slide, see what I can find, and search for Thom.”

  Her body tensed and she shivered. “What if you don’t—you can’t—return? What happens to me then?”

  Rsiran couldn’t leave her here. Not without knowing she would be safe.

  He squeezed her hand and Slid, emerging in the heart of the Aisl Forest. The damp earth smelled clean and healthy compared to the forest where they’d lost Thom. A howl erupted, and Jessa jumped, twisting to look around her.

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “Wait here. I’ll return after I find Thom.”

  “And if you don’t return?”

  Rsiran didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t. It likely meant that whatever darkness existed in the forest had swallowed him as well. He didn’t think that he could withstand it if his barrier failed, not without more strength than he possessed.

  “If I don’t, then you’ll go to Della’s, and be there for Brusus in the time he has remaining.”

  He hugged her close and kissed her forehead before releasing her. She let go of his hand slowly. When he Slid, the colors swirling past him, he could almost see the pain on her face.

  When he emerged from the Slide, the forest loomed in front of him. He made certain to emerge where the forest started, and stood, watching the steady swaying of the trees for a moment. As soon as he emerged, the darkness started to Push on him, but this time, Rsiran had been ready. He pressed the mental barriers into place, fortifying them with heartstone.

  With a Slide, he passed beyond the border of the forest.

  Pain shot through his head. Rsiran held onto the barrier, forcing it to remain in place. If it failed, he didn’t doubt that he would succumb to the effect of the darkness Pushing on him.

  Shadows shifted in the night. Rsiran resisted the urge to Slide away, holding a pair of knives ready for him to push away. The sense faded, and he Slid deeper into the trees.

  He wasn’t certain what he looked for, or what he hoped to find. Had Thom carried one of his lorcith-forged knives, he might have been able to find him more easily, but without the knife, he was searching blindly.

  Maybe it didn’t matter. Thom had told them how to find Venass. Follow the Thyrass River, make his way north… and then? What would they find?

  And if he didn’t? What would really change for him? After what Brusus had done, how he’d pulled Jessa and him into his plan to find the Forgotten, could they really forgive him? The Forgotten—at least Josun—knew about what Rsiran could do. Would they come after him, and Jessa? Would they ever really be safe? Maybe it would be best if Brusus did die.

  Rsiran shivered, recognizing that somehow the Pushed thoughts had made it past his barrier. He focused, pulling on the sense of lorcith, fusing it with that of heartstone, and felt the barrier solidify.

  He realized Sliding had changed it. He couldn’t Slide and hold the connection to the barrier.

  Now that he knew, he would focus as he Slid, make certain that when he emerged, he reinforced the barrier.

  But how to find Thom?

  Worse, what was out here in the forest?

  He needed to work quickly. Not only because he didn’t want to remain within the trees any longer than necessary, but also because Brusus depended on him. Regardless of what the thoughts Pushed on him wanted, Rsiran wanted Brusus alive. If the Elvraeth were after them, they would manage that together.

  A search. That was what he needed. And he could Slide, moving quickly through the forest. He’d practiced Sliding, so that doing so alone shouldn’t be too taxing, but he would need to work quickly so he didn’t waste time.

  And maybe, if he emerged fast enough, he wouldn’t have to focus on his barriers quite as much.

  It was worth trying.

  Jessa said that Thom had gone deeper into the forest. Rsiran started by Sliding along the edge of the forest, stepping quickly, emerging long enough to search for Thom before Sliding again. Thankfully, enough moonlight trailed through the trees for him to see the forest floor.

  He pushed up the barrier again. He had to be careful. Thoughts that were not his drifted in, slipping over his barriers, or around them when they were lowered long enough to Slide.

  When he reached the end of the forest, he Slid forward a dozen feet before starting back, Sliding quickly. Each time he emerged from the Slide, he glanced around and then Slid again.

  Rsiran lost count of how many times he’d Slid. Occasionally, he caught sight of movement, but it was never there when he Slid toward it. He forced up his mental barriers, and the dark thoughts never fully returned. Maybe he Slid fast enough that it didn’t matter.

  He was near the center of the forest when he saw a shape lying on the forest floor.

  Rsiran pushed a pair of knives in front of him, holding them in place. He took a step forward, moving carefully. Another step. Without realizing it, he Slid with each step.

  Thom lay on the ground, face down. A pool of blood spilled out around him, staining his shirt. Rsiran couldn’t see the injury, but no one could survive that much blood, not without Healing.

  Could he take him to Della? The Healer might be able to help… but if he did, Brusus would be left to die. Besides, that much blood… there was nothing that he could do, not for Thom.

  The slender steel sword that Thom carried rested on the ground just out of reach.

  Rsiran sighed. Now what would he do? Thom was going to lead them to Venass, and guide them toward where to find an antidote, but without him, how would they find it?

  Brusus would be lost. He might be able to follow the river toward Thyr, but then what?

  He knelt next to Thom. The man had told him to go north to find Venass, but how would they know what they were looking for?

  Rsiran reached for Thom’s sword when he felt shadows shifting around him.

  He stood with a start and pushed a pair of knives away from him, out into the darkness of the forest. They whistled through the air, but he didn’t hear them hit anything.

  As he turned back to Thom, he thought he saw the shadows shift again.

  Rsiran didn’t have enough knives to waste on darkness.

  A howl erupted in the night.

  Hating what he did, he Slid away, emerging back in the Aisl.

  Jessa paced the small clearing, and relief was plain on her face when she saw him, but it faded when she realized that he’d come alone. “Where’s Thom?”

  Rsiran shook his head. “I found him…”

  “But what?”

  “He’s gone, Jessa. Something attacked him. I don’t know what it was, but there was a lot of blood and I knew we couldn’t save him. As I knelt beside him, I saw shadows of it moving in the forest. I couldn’t risk staying behind.”

  She grabbed his wrist and caught his eyes. “We can go back, but after. When it’s light. Then we can give him a p
roper burial.”

  Rsiran let out a frustrated sigh.

  “What now? We go back? Tell Della we failed?”

  That didn’t seem like any sort of answer. Not one that Rsiran could accept. They still had time. Maybe if they got lucky…if he managed to Slide them to Thyr, they could find Venass on their own. He had seen what he suspected was the Thyrass, so they could follow that, and he could Slide along the shore. With just Jessa, it would be quick work, less straining to him.

  But once they reached Thyr? He knew little more than that Venass would be found to the north. And once they reached it, they still had to find the antidote.

  There were just too many ways for it to go wrong.

  But they didn’t know anyone else who could help them find what they needed in Thyr. Della might be able to do so, but Brusus depended on her to keep him alive through the night. Haern might know how to help. In a former life, he’d lived as an assassin and trained in Thyr, but they had no way of finding him quickly. They might spend the entire night just searching for him. Rsiran didn’t know anyone else he could trust.

  There was someone else who might be able to help, though. Someone he didn’t trust… and knew he couldn’t trust. But would he help? After everything, it was unlikely, but doing nothing was not an answer, either.

  “What is it?” Jessa asked.

  He looked at her. As always, he wondered how she saw through him so easily. Even with barriers in place, she always seemed to know a little of what he was thinking. Did she know him so well?

  Of course, he knew the answer to that.

  “There’s someone else we can try who might know how to find Venass, who can help us reach Thyr.”

  Jessa frowned and then her eyes clouded. She blinked and shook her head. “No, Rsiran. We can’t do that. You don’t know what he’ll do. Besides, he’s got no reason to help you!” She trembled again. “We can find Haern. If anyone will know how to reach Thyr and Venass, it will be him. We just have to—”

  “Just have to find him. How long will that take? Maybe it’s minutes. Maybe hours. If it’s the latter, we’ve lost Brusus.”

  “You’d risk losing him on the chance that he’d help? He’s got no reason to help you.”

  Rsiran shook his head. “He won’t be helping me. But he has plenty of reason to help.”

  Chapter 10

  They emerged in the clearing outside the small wooden hut. It seemed so long ago that he’d been there, but in reality, little time had actually passed. A faint streamer of smoke drifted from the small hole in the roof, the scent mixing with the piney odor of the sjihn trees surrounding them. The wind was still, a sharp change from what it’d been on the banks of the Thyrass River.

  Rsiran glanced at Jessa. She nodded. Then they Slid into the hut.

  The only light came from glowing embers of the fire. Not enough for him to see well. Jessa wouldn’t have the same limitations. He waited as she scanned the room. “I don’t know where—”

  “You’ve finally decided to take a stronger hand in tormenting me?”

  Rsiran turned. His father sat cross-legged in the corner, as far from the fire and the flat bed pallet as possible. Shadows clung to him.

  “I sensed when you came earlier. I knew you’d return.”

  That was as much an admission of his father sensing lorcith as Rsiran suspected he’d get. But did he share the other ability? Could he push on lorcith like Rsiran? And what about heartstone? Had he mastered that?

  “You’ve been to Thyr.” Rsiran didn’t ask it as a question. After what happened to Thom, there was no purpose to disguise why he’d come. Brusus didn’t have time for him to waste on his father.

  Jessa squeezed his hand, keeping him from stalking forward.

  For a moment, he didn’t know if his father would answer. Then, “I’ve been to Thyr.”

  The admission surprised Rsiran. Though Thom claimed he had, hearing his father admit to it was different. “When?”

  His father shifted, a sound little more than a rustling of cloth against the wooden walls. “If you came to ask questions of me, then you’ll be disappointed. I have nothing to say to you.”

  Rsiran snorted. “You’ve never had anything to say to me. Why should this be any different?”

  “Rsiran?” Jessa whispered.

  “Say your peace and leave me,” his father said. “You can’t hurt me anymore than they’ve already tried.”

  Rsiran swallowed. This was the hard part. “You will take me to Thyr and then onto Venass. There is something I need to find there tonight—”

  “I’m not sneaking through the night like a common thief. And I’m not traveling with you as you use your… ability.”

  Rsiran took a deep breath and held it in. “As I said. I need to reach Venass tonight. You will assist me in this.”

  His father laughed softly, low in his throat. “There is nothing you can say that will convince me to go with you to Thyr.”

  Rsiran took a step closer. He wasn’t sure he could be convincing in the threat he’d present, but he needed to be for this to work. “If you don’t, then I will do to Alyse what you did to me.”

  He heard his father’s soft gasp, and Rsiran knew he’d guessed right.

  “You wouldn’t do that to your sister.”

  Rsiran took another step forward. His father stood out from the shadows of the wall. He hardened his voice. “Because Alyse was always so helpful to me? I’m sure she didn’t care when I was sent off to Ilphaesn. She certainly didn’t argue very strongly to keep me at home.”

  “Leave her out of this. Blame me if you must, but your sister never did anything.”

  “You just made my point.”

  His father lunged like a coiled snake, moving faster and with more force than he should have managed with as long as he’d been trapped in the hut.

  Rsiran was ready for it.

  He twisted to the side and grabbed his father’s arm. Then he Slid, emerging just outside the hut, releasing his father as he did. He went sprawling into dry dirt. Moonlight filtered through the trees here, giving enough light for Rsiran to see. A sharpened, slender length of wood dropped from his father’s hand. Rsiran Slid to it and kicked it away from his reach.

  His father grunted and didn’t move.

  Jessa came through the door and hurried over to him. She grabbed his hand, as if afraid he would take the opportunity of having his father sprawled across the ground to get revenge. She never seemed to believe that he didn’t hold much anger over his exile.

  “Like I said,” Rsiran said again, “you are going to take me to Thyr and then onto Venass.”

  His father pushed slowly to his knees and sat. Now that they were out where Rsiran had enough light to see, he realized a deep bruise had bloomed under one eye in the time since he’d seen him last. A dark sneer spread over his face. “And you keep making my point, don’t you, Rsiran?”

  “And what point might that be?”

  “That as much as you claim otherwise, your cursed ability has changed something in you.” He wiped his hands on the dirty scraps that were his pants and stood. Rsiran readied to Slide after him if he chose to run. He couldn’t risk any more time spent on this. “As I told you it would, it turned you into something worse than a mere thief.”

  After everything he’d been through, the words still stung. Had he not become the thief his father expected, stealing lorcith from the Ilphaesn mines? Had he not sneaked into the warehouse, repeatedly taking what wasn’t his? Worse than that, he’d broken into the alchemist guild house. And now, he’d been brought into a battle between the Elvraeth, both those within the palace and the Forgotten.

  His father had always claimed his ability would turn him into a thief, but he had become something worse than that. Hadn’t he attacked Josun? The first time, he could claim self-defense, the need to protect himself and Jessa, but leaving Josun to suffer and die within the mines was something else entirely.

  Rsiran sighed. Everything his father had s
aid about his ability had been true.

  That still didn’t change what Rsiran needed to do.

  “No,” Rsiran said. Jessa grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You turned me into that.”

  He Slid and grabbed his father by the arm, returning to the rocky shore of the Thyrass River.

  Chapter 11

  The wind had shifted since they’d been on the rocks only minutes before, gusting now out of the west. A hint of the forest hung on the air, that of decay and wet earth, this time mixed with something else, almost a bitter odor. Rsiran dropped his father’s arm, letting him slip to the rocks, not concerned if he hurt himself as he slid along the boulders. Jessa tottered atop one of the massive boulders, and Rsiran held her tightly, keeping her from falling.

  Fatigue washed over him. He’d have to be careful as they made their way, or he wouldn’t have enough strength to get them back. The time in the forest had not only delayed them, it risked him not having the strength needed to Slide them all to Venass and then back home.

  “I’m still not sure this was smart,” she whispered.

  Jessa knew the toll Sliding had on him, and that was just moving the two of them around the city. What he did tonight was harder even than that. “When have I ever done anything smart?”

  She punched his shoulder. “You brought me, didn’t you?”

  “Only because I knew what would happen to me if I didn’t.”

  Jessa laughed, a smile coming to her eyes as she did. “Only because you know what’s good for you. Moving around at night looking for something in the dark is what I’m good at.”

  Rsiran smiled. “I think Della would have killed me on your behalf had I left you behind.”

  As he said it, he noticed his father looking at him, a strange expression on his face.

  Rsiran looked down at him. He’d crawled back atop one of the large rocks lining the river and sat staring down at the froth, the same as they had done earlier. “I presume this is the Thyrass River.” His father nodded once. “Where from here?”