Them? A sorcerer?
The blade was El’aras—wasn’t it?
Am I wrong? Could the sword be what the Fate was after?
“What do you know about the smoke creatures?” he asked again.
The Keeper stared at him for another moment, and a strange expression lingered in her eyes. It was one of concern. “What happened? Where are the others?”
“What others?” Zella asked.
“The Triad. Where are they? When Howarth died, another would have been in line to replace him. The Triad would rule.”
“They abandoned Yoran,” Gavin said.
She shook her head. “They would not have abandoned Yoran.”
“After they were defeated,” Gavin said, glancing over to Davel, “they disappeared. For all we know, they’re dead. The Fates have come.”
Her eyes widened. “If the Fates are here, then they learned what the Triad planned.”
“What they planned?” Gavin asked.
The Keeper’s glare deepened. “The Triad will rise. You cannot stop power. We have something even the Fates could not understand.”
The egg. It had to be.
Could the Triad have been planning a coup?
Davel claimed sorcerers fought for power. This could have been another play for power. And significant power.
“You would still serve the sorcerers?” Zella asked.
“As should you. That is our purpose. We have always been meant to serve.”
Something changed in Zella’s face. “We aren’t meant to serve.”
“You’re wrong. That is our role. We don’t have their power.”
“We have our own power,” Zella said. She took a step back, toward the cell.
Davel looked over to her, though Gavin couldn’t tell why he watched her the way he did.
“What are they?” Gavin asked. “I need to know what these smoke creatures are.”
The Keeper shook her head. “They will destroy you. They will destroy all of you. You cannot control it. Only the Triad could.”
Gavin frowned. “How?”
She eyed him, then the others with him, but didn’t answer.
He wasn’t sure he needed her to answer.
They would feed on those with magic.
He’d seen it.
“What are they?”
She stared at his blade again before looking up at his face. A horrifying smile appeared on her lips. “They are your penance.”
She lunged again, lightning quick.
Had he not been prepared for the possibility, Gavin might not have been able to react nearly as quickly. But he was ready for anything she might do. He rolled to the side, using the power of the enchantment to grant him a hint of speed. Then he grabbed her wrist, twisted it again behind her, and slammed her to the ground.
Here he’d thought her fragile, but she was not only fast but strong. She struggled against him, and he reached into his pocket, grabbing one of the enchantments.
He pressed one of the magical traps against her. She sucked in a sharp breath, and then she stopped fighting. Gavin climbed off. He left the enchantment on her, placed against her wrinkled skin.
“What did you do?” Zella asked.
“I used an enchantment that keeps her from calling upon her magic.”
“But she’s just an enchanter.”
Gavin backed away. “Maybe, but if so, she’s far more potent than any enchanter I’ve ever encountered. She might even be a sorcerer. And, given that she served the Triad, she could be fairly powerful.” Gavin turned to Davel. “You need to have your constables come question her. We need to find out more about these smoke creatures. If we can, then we will know what we have to deal with. There was some way to control the smoke creatures. The Triad knew of it. Now we have to learn.”
Davel nodded and waited near the bars of the prison cell. Gavin backed toward the cell door and pulled Zella with him. Once on the other side, Davel closed the bars, sealing it again.
The enchantment stayed pressed against the Keeper’s back. Gavin didn’t know how long it would work or whether she could find some way to overpower the magic within the enchantment.
“She’s gone,” Gavin said to Zella.
“I…”
“I understand.” He took Zella by the elbow, and he urged her to come with them.
Gaspar and Wrenlow watched him.
“I lost my parents when I was young,” Gavin said. He ignored the others looking, listening. “I don’t remember much about them. You’re lucky that you remember your mother. I never had a chance to visit with my parents after they were gone.”
Zella looked up at him. “What happened to you?”
“I was taken in by a man who trained me. He turned me into the person I am today.”
“An assassin?”
“I don’t know if he intended me to be an assassin. I sort of fell into that by necessity. He taught me to fight. To kill when necessary. He taught me to use various fighting techniques and to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?” she asked.
Gavin shook his head, taking the stairs carefully. “I never found out.”
“Why not?”
“Because others got tired of his training and rebelled.”
They reached the top of the stairs, heading into the main part of the constables’ barracks. Davel stayed with them.
“I’m sorry,” Davel said.
Were it not such a tense situation, Gavin would’ve smiled. He could see how difficult it was for Davel to admit that much.
“You are sorry?”
“About your mother. I am sorry.”
“I can’t believe what she did,” Zella said, her voice soft. “I can’t believe that she still wants to serve. After all of that.”
“We could let her out. She has been held long enough, and we have secured the city now, so there is no reason to hold her any longer.”
Zella looked at him. Her expression shifted, the tightness in her face fading, and her shoulders sagging just a little. “I don’t think you can. Not until we know more.” She glanced toward the stairs. “If she still serves the Triad, then we need to know what she knows.”
Davel nodded. “I would welcome your assistance in questioning her.”
“You would permit that?”
“I think that we must. We haven’t got much information from her in twenty years. Maybe you can change that.”
She swallowed tightly before nodding.
Gavin didn’t know much about the enchanters. He hadn’t the opportunity to get to know them very well. At least, not all of them very well. He knew that so much of their identity was tied up in the war two decades previously. It had changed them, essentially cursing them as their parents had poured power into the egg.
It had to be incredibly difficult for Zella to finally find her mother alive after all this time.
What would he think if he were to find his parents alive?
Probably the same as when he had learned Tristan still lived.
“What next?” Zella asked.
“I have the constables sweeping through the city, searching for any sign of magic,” Davel said. “We will find the Fate and stop him.”
“There might be more than one Fate, if what Zella said is true.”
She nodded. “They wouldn’t want another to rise to prominence.” She looked to Davel. “Is it safe sending your people into the city? If the smoke creatures are out there and somehow feeding on the enchantments.”
“I don’t know,” Davel said. “They’re trained and prepared. We’ve given them as many enchantments as they need to withstand anything they might come across.”
That might work, though Gavin couldn’t help but wonder if it was the wrong approach. “We might not have time to get the answers we’re after.” They couldn’t wait around while the creatures continued to attack the enchanters. “We may have to draw them out.”
“Draw them out how?” Gaspar asked.
Gavin rea
ched into his pocket and pulled out the jade egg. “This.”
“Let’s say that it’s what they’re after,” Davel said. “Even if we do draw them out, what will we be able to do with them?”
“Either we give the Fate the egg and he leaves, taking the smoke creatures with him, or we have to fight them,” Gavin said.
Davel shook his head. “I’m not certain that either of those strategies is the right plan.”
“No, they’re both stupid,” Gaspar said. “You’ve seen just how powerful the Fate is.”
“Short of a sorcerer…” Gavin frowned. Having fought the Fates, at least those who were here, he couldn’t help but think they wouldn’t be able to do anything. “There might be something else we can do.”
Gaspar looked over at him. “What is it?”
“You’re both right. We might not be powerful enough to stop a Fate. But what if we can call someone who is?”
Gaspar groaned.
“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” Davel asked.
“He intends to call a special friend,” Gaspar said. “And the last time they were here, they nearly destroyed part of the city.”
Davel looked over at Gavin, his brow furrowing. “What are you going to do?”
“I think it’s time I call the El’aras.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Gavin waited in the forest. He wasn’t far in, though he’d gone far enough that any threat to the city would be mitigated. This part of the forest was familiar to Gavin. Not only was there a large clearing here, but it was where they had dealt with Cyran and the other sorcerer. There was a certain irony in using this place to summon Anna and the other El’aras. Magic would come to the forest once again.
The trees towered around him. As he headed deeper into the forest, it didn’t take long for the trees to begin to rise ever taller around him, soon blocking out the light above. They served as his sentries, watching over him, though they did not seem to care whether he succeeded or not.
He wasn’t alone, or at least he didn’t think he was. As far as he knew, Davel had left several of the constables to watch him, as if he were concerned that Gavin might bolt.
Davel claimed it was for Gavin’s own safety, though the longer Gavin was here, the more he questioned whether that safety was truly for him or for something else. It didn’t matter. Not really. All that mattered was that he would contact the El’aras.
It had been a long time since he had spoken to Anna or any others with her.
He thought she’d understand the need behind the summons. That by calling to her and asking for her assistance with this fight, they could use the power of the El’aras. But he didn’t know if that was truly the case or not.
His call might go unanswered.
He sat there and held the enchantment Anna had given him, waiting for a response. Every so often, he reached into his pocket and touched the jade egg. The egg was smooth, and when he touched it, he felt warmth flushing through it. He could not lose it. He dared not.
“What’s happening there?” Wrenlow asked, his voice coming loudly through the earpiece.
“Nothing,” Gavin said.
“Nothing?”
“So far, nothing. I’ll let you know if anything happens.”
“I don’t know if you will,” Wrenlow said.
“I called you for help the last time, didn’t I?”
“I suppose you did.”
Gavin laughed. “Besides, I don’t know if you want to be here for any of this.”
“If it deals with the El’aras, probably not. I didn’t have the best memory of their visit the last time.”
Gavin chuckled again. Somewhere out in the forest, Gaspar prowled, and Gavin suspected that Davel was out there as well. The enchanters with them were working to create additional enchantments to be prepared for the possibility that the Fates might attack. Gavin had to hope that he had enough time before the El’aras arrived, where he could prepare and be ready for anything else he might encounter. Only, the longer he was here, the less confident he was that he would have the time he needed. He had no idea how long it would take them to arrive now that he’d triggered Anna’s enchantment.
Gavin took a deep breath, getting to his feet. “Where are you?” he whispered.
“Are you talking to me?” Wrenlow asked.
“Not you.”
There was a pause. “I hope you understand that I want to be a part of this, but I don’t want to get involved in the violence,” Wrenlow said. “Besides, you haven’t taught me as much fighting as you promised.”
“I’ve taught you some,” Gavin said.
“Some, but one of these times, I’d like to win.”
“Then you have to beat me.”
Wrenlow grunted. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s no different than what I was once told.”
Gavin made a small circle of the clearing, looking all around. There wasn’t anything else here, only the sense of the movement around him. Every so often, he could feel the energy near him. He suspected that came from the constables, though Gavin wasn’t entirely sure that was what it was.
He tapped the marker, running his finger around it. The marker was small and simple, yet Gavin suspected it was incredibly powerful. How could it not be, given that it was from one of the El’aras—and a powerful El’aras at that? He had never attempted to trigger the marker before, though he had held on to it and felt the temptation to call to Anna in the past.
Gavin paced around the forest. Davel had been unwilling to have the El’aras meet Gavin in the city, almost as if he thought that he could keep them from using their power, though Gavin knew better. And even if Davel couldn’t, the El’aras weren’t going to go around and use magic in ways that would be perceptible to anyone else in the city. The El’aras weren’t even known there.
He made a steady circle of the small clearing. “Where are you?” he whispered again.
“Here.”
Gavin spun around and came face-to-face with Anna.
She was even more beautiful than he remembered. El’aras beauty could be almost impossible. She had golden hair, crystal blue eyes, and deeply tanned skin. She wore a pale blue cloak with heavy embroidery around it. A curved sword hung from her waist, though Gavin had never seen Anna use a sword. As far as he knew, she preferred to allow others to do that.
“You came yourself,” Gavin said.
“You summoned. Isn’t that what we had agreed to?” She had a strangely lilting quality to her voice; a softness. The way she spoke pulled on him, as if it tugged on some deep part of himself that wanted to react, to answer her call.
Gavin shrugged. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know what we agreed to. All I know is that I’ve tried not to call for your help.”
“The help was freely given,” Anna said.
“I understand, but there are different types of help. In this case, I wasn’t sure that you’d want anything to do with what I needed to call you for.”
Before looking around the forest, he watched her searching for the others that had to be here. He didn’t think that he was alone here in the forest but didn’t know where the others had gone, waiting while he summoned Anna. Perhaps they were watching other parts of the forest, convinced that they would have to protect against the army of the El’aras, but that was unnecessary.
“What, exactly, is it?” she asked.
“This.” Gavin pulled the jade egg out of his pocket. Of all the people he’d interacted with, Anna was one he didn’t worry about taking the egg from him. Which made it even more surprising when she snatched it from his grasp. “You could’ve asked.”
“How did you acquire this?”
“It’s a long and somewhat complicated story. I take it you recognize it?”
“Recognize it? It is long thought lost.” She looked over at him. “Do you even know what it is?”
Gavin shook his head. “The constables call it the jade egg. They said the enchanters used it to hel
p them place enchantments. The enchanters within the city believed that their ancestors poured their power into the egg, granting it that ability.”
He no longer knew what to believe. At this point, the only thing he thought he understood was how it had passed from one group to the other. The Triad had it first. Maybe to use it against the Fates. The enchanters had somehow gotten ahold of it. The constables had taken it from them. Now the Fates wanted it.
“This belongs to my people,” she said.
“Like the Shard?”
“Exactly like the Shard.”
“How did it curse the enchanters?” If it was an item of the El’aras, then what Zella and the others knew of it was wrong.
“There is danger in using an item like that without the necessary power to activate it.”
Gavin could imagine what had happened. The enchanters had tried to trigger the egg. They hadn’t been able to. And so, they had all worked together.
And it had left the egg changed, perhaps ever so slightly.
“They used themselves as a sacrifice.”
Anna nodded. “It is possible that would be enough to activate it.
“What is it?” Gavin asked.
“It’s an item of ancient and incredible power.” She held it carefully in one hand, squeezing it with just her fingertips. As she held on to it, the egg glowed softly. It carried a pale bluish light that seemed to mirror the colors of her cloak.
“How did your people lose this?” he asked.
“We were betrayed,” she said. There was a harshness in her words that didn’t fit with what he’d seen from her before.
Gavin stiffened. “Isn’t that always the case.” He understood betrayal. Having a friend who had betrayed him had been difficult, but he had a sense from Anna that her betrayal had been something else. Perhaps worse.
“There was one who came among us. One we trained. Allowing to know our secrets. When he came upon this, he took it before disappearing.”
“And why do the Fates think it’s theirs?”
“The sorcerers stole it from him long ago.”
Gavin grunted. “You were betrayed, then he was betrayed. I suppose that’s fitting.”
“The egg has never been theirs.”
Gavin stared at the egg in her hand. “I take it that if I ask for it back, you won’t allow me to reclaim it.”
The Fates of Yoran (The Chain Breaker Book 3) Page 22
