The Coming Chaos

by D. K. Holmberg

  All of this had a sense of normalcy to it.

  What she needed to find was anything that might not be normal. Perhaps she did need to go to a tavern.

  She got up and started along the street, reaching a section of town that was a little more run-down. The buildings were less well maintained, some of the signs overhead not as freshly painted as the others she’d passed. Most of the windows were dirty, the road tramped down, with tracks marked through it, not freshly laid cobbles.

  Everything about this part of the town left her a little unsettled, and yet she wasn’t as uncomfortable as she once would have been. There was a time when she would never have come to a place like this—would never have believed she was capable of protecting herself.

  And yet, now that she was here, she recognized she was able to do both of those things. She might not be a fighter, but she could Push, and she could enlist others to fight on her behalf.

  She took a deep breath, pushing open the door. Something drifted out to her.

  It was a faint thought, barely more than a whisper.

  There was something familiar about it, and as she focused on it, she realized where she had recognized it from.

  It was like the minds of the women within the village.

  It was muted.

  Someone here had an augmentation.

  16

  Lucy

  Lucy entered the tavern, her gaze sweeping around. It was dark, dingy, and it seemed as if a haze hung over everything. She watched for a moment, worried there might be shadows twisted, hovering over things the same way Carth used the shadows, but she didn’t find anything like that. Unlike some of the taverns she’d visited with Carth, there were no minstrels playing. There was no joyful noise. Even the servants making their way from table to table seemed to have a dreary appearance.

  This might’ve been a mistake.

  She focused on the minds inside here, and she Pushed, trying to convince them to ignore her.

  She used as subtle a touch as she could, though she wasn’t sure she’d been effective. She didn’t have as soft a touch as some—not as subtle as the Architect had used when he had been trying to Push on her mind.

  She found a table in one corner, took a seat at it, and looked around. Maybe it would’ve been better to have Carth with her. Then she would have been able to hide in the shadows. But this way, she was forced to work on her own, Pushing, using her talents to protect herself.

  Then, if it came down to it, she could Slide.

  She wasn’t hungry, and yet she worried that if she didn’t order something, she would draw unnecessary attention. There were limits to how well she could Push, and she worried whoever was augmented here would realize what she was doing.

  She had to use her ability as barely more than a touch. She certainly didn’t want to draw the attention of anyone who might be watching for her.

  She focused on one of the servants and sent a different kind of Push.

  This one was such that it helped to draw them to her.

  Lucy waited, sitting on the rickety chair, leaning on the table before realizing how sticky it was and sitting back up.

  The old man who approached was missing a few teeth. His hair was long and brushed back. There was something of an angry appearance about him.

  “What can I do for you?”

  Lucy looked around before meeting his eyes. “I’m looking for some food.”

  “We got food. You have coin?”

  She Pushed slightly, just enough to make him think she had enough coin on her, which she did. She carried money with her, something she never would have done before, and she didn’t worry about being able to pay for her food, though he obviously was concerned about her ability to do so.

  He turned, heading back to the kitchen.

  It gave her an opportunity to sit back, sweeping her gaze around. As she did, she focused on the various minds within the tavern. Most of them were workers—mainly loggers, it seemed—and from what she could Read, it was hard work. They put in long hours, often in terrible conditions.

  And there were a few who seemed to be merchants, though they were down on their luck and avoided anyone else’s eyes.

  That left only a single person in the tavern whom she couldn’t easily Read. She wondered if he was one of the C’than.

  She tried to avoid drawing his attention. He was near her age and handsome, with dark hair, a square jaw, and high cheekbones. When she tried to Read him, she found his thoughts muted.

  That couldn’t be a coincidence. Not in a place like this, not with what she had experienced.

  She looked away, trying not to draw his notice. If she wasn’t able to Push on his mind, it was likely he would already be aware of her.

  Would he be able to Read her?

  She didn’t know what ability someone like that would have, only that the thoughts drifting from his mind were faint, muted, and the more she focused on them, the more certain she was that she’d found what she was looking for.

  And now that she had, what would she be able to do with that information?

  Lucy nodded politely to the man who brought her a tray of food, glancing down at it briefly. There was nothing that looked appealing. Her stomach might rumble, but the meat looked stringy and dry. The vegetables, if that was what they were, were overcooked, almost mush.

  She went through her pocket, double-checking to be sure she had the necessary coins to leave, and then began to pick at the food. The others in the tavern came and went. She listened to their thoughts, focusing on what she could. She waited for the other to disappear, but he didn’t.

  That told her more than ever that he was one of the rogue C’than. He was here for a purpose.

  Sitting alone as he was, with the augmentation he must have, he had to have some reason for being here. Could he have been meeting with the Architect?

  Now that the Architect was gone—or at least, she thought he was gone—the C’than might have been disappointed.

  What if Lucy pretended to be the Architect?

  She pushed the thought out of her mind. It wouldn’t work. There must’ve been rumors of the Architect, and everyone would have known he was male.

  It would be better for her to sit and watch, see if she might be able to uncover anything from this man that she could use to learn where more of these C’than were.

  His thoughts were too muted for her. The more she tried to focus on them, the more she failed to uncover anything about him.

  The waiter came back and glanced at her, but she Pushed on him.

  This time, she did it with little more force, and he turned back to the kitchen.

  Perhaps that was a mistake.

  Movement caught the corner of her eye, and she glanced over to see the C’than getting up. He looked in her direction briefly before heading out of the tavern.

  Great Watcher.

  She’d made a mistake. She’d been too forceful with Pushing, which meant that now he was aware of what she was doing—and that she was here.

  She needed to know where he was going and who he might be with, but if she followed him now, it would be far too obvious.

  What choice did she have?

  Lucy stacked a few coins on the table and got up, following the man out of the tavern. Once outside, she looked along the street, searching for any sign of him, but he was gone.

  Could she trail after his thoughts?

  She had caught nothing but a muted image of them, not enough to latch on to, and yet as she focused, she thought she could use what she was able to recall.

  It was there. She might not have anything other than the faintest inkling of what he was thinking, but it was enough for her to track him.

  He headed north.

  She turned, meandering along the street, maintaining that connection, focusing her own mind and pushing away any other thoughts so that she wasn’t thinking of anything else around her. In this town, she wondered if that was dangerous. She didn’t think there was anyone e
lse here who could pose any danger, and yet there was the possibility she was overlooking something because of her focus on this man.

  He headed west now.

  Lucy turned, following the path he took, and held on to her connection to him. She waited for the possibility that he might suddenly wink out of existence, disappearing from her. Then she would know for certain that he had some abilities, and more than that, that he could Slide.

  He didn’t seem to take any specific course. The longer she followed, the more certain she was that he was wandering.

  Had he discovered that she was there?

  It wouldn’t be altogether surprising—if he had some augmentation, he might know what she was doing. He might even be able to Read her. But if so, then why not simply challenge her?

  She turned again, realizing she had already passed by this section of town. There was a steady hammering coming from a blacksmith, and she paused.

  The rhythm to the hammering was such that she frowned to herself.

  A blacksmith couldn’t be altogether coincidental, could it?

  The rogue C’than would need access to metal. They used it in their augmentations; they would need somebody who had some knowledge over it.

  She shifted her focus, attempting to Read whoever was inside, and found she could not.

  Odd.

  When she shifted back, trying to focus on the man she’d trailed after, she’d lost him.

  Great Watcher.

  She was making mistake after mistake.

  The only other mistake she might make would be if she were to get caught.

  And yet, she could still Slide. She could feel that she could still do so, something she had taken to testing every so often, ensuring that no one managed to sneak up on her.

  If she was to find out why the Architect was here, she would need to take a few chances. That involved going into this forge, and it involved taking risks.

  She pushed open the door and looked inside. It was dark, the walls all made of stone. Lucy had come to know from Haern and his family that blacksmith shops needed to be designed like this. It was safer.

  The steady hammering continued, and she looked to see where the blacksmith was but didn’t find him.

  He must be in a different section of the shop.

  Shelves lined the interior of the forge, and she looked around, wanting to know whether the quality was similar to what she was accustomed to in Elaeavn, but she didn’t have a chance.

  The hammering suddenly stopped.

  A door opened, and a man appeared out of the back room. He was a little older than her and had a grizzled beard. He wore heavy leathers and had slung his hammer up over his shoulder, watching her.

  “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “I just thought I would check out your wares.”

  “Is that right?”

  “It is. I am in the market for a few things…”

  She trailed off as he took a step toward her, approaching with an almost threatening air. She tried to Read him but couldn’t detect anything.

  Was he augmented?

  She glanced down to see if there was anything in his hands but couldn’t find anything. He carried the hammer over his shoulder, and she knew from experience that a hammer like that was heavy.

  If he swung it at her, could she react in time?

  “Why are you here?” he asked.

  “I told you that I was—”

  He shifted the hammer on his shoulder, and Lucy reacted. She Slid, appearing behind him.

  “You don’t need to get violent,” she said.

  He spun, putting his back to the door, effectively barricading her in if she hadn’t had the ability to Slide.

  Her heart hammered, and she focused on it, trying to calm her nerves. She wasn’t in any danger here. She could use anything she could uncover to figure out who these people were and why she couldn’t Read them.

  If they were with the rogue C’than, then she needed to know.

  “Who are you?”

  “I would ask you the same thing. What are you working on?”

  The man brought the hammer down and rested it on his hand. He looked ready to strike, and Lucy almost missed the sense of movement behind her.

  She Slid across the room and spun around, realizing there was another person there.

  The man she had seen in the tavern suddenly appeared.

  Could he Slide?

  She’d been trailing after him and hadn’t thought he could, but what if she was wrong?

  “What are you doing here?” the newcomer asked.

  “I came to the shop to see if there was anything I might be interested in purchasing. I didn’t realize I would be assaulted like this.”

  “Assault?” The man shared a look with the blacksmith before turning her way. “You’re the one who came in here looking as if you want to cause trouble.”

  Lucy frowned, glancing from the blacksmith to the other man. He was handsome, and she stared at him, wondering if he could Slide. If he could, he could follow her, but then again, she could also Read something about him.

  The sense of his mind was faint, but it was there. The more she focused, the more certain she was that the answers she was looking for were there within his mind, and yet it was muted to her.

  She backed up, keeping the wall behind her. She didn’t want somebody else suddenly surprising her.

  As she watched, she kept her gaze on the blacksmith. With his hammer, he was the one she feared.

  “What are you doing here?” Lucy asked.

  “You came to his shop,” the other man said.

  He took a step toward her, and Lucy watched to see if there would be any telltale sign of someone Sliding. She didn’t see any shimmering, nothing that would suggest he’d Slid.

  He didn’t approach too quickly, and because of that, she thought that she was relatively safe.

  Could she still Slide?

  There was always the possibility they would find some way of trapping her. The Ai’thol had known a way to prevent somebody from Sliding, and even Ras had a way of keeping her from doing so, so she had to be careful.

  She held on to the thoughts of Daniel Elvraeth. They were distant, but she used him as she often did, anchoring to him. If it came down to it, she would pull on his mind, drawing herself to him, getting away from here.

  The other two simply watched.

  Why couldn’t she Read the blacksmith?

  “Are you with the C’than?” she asked.

  She felt it best to get that out in the open, and she watched both of them for any sign of emotion.

  The blacksmith didn’t move, but the other man did. He took another step toward her. “Who are you with?” he asked.

  “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

  “It matters. You’re not going anywhere until we find out.”

  “Do you think you can hold me?”

  “I think I would try.”

  She frowned and attempted a tiny Slide, barely more than a half step over, and found she still could Slide.

  “I came here looking for answers. There’s a dangerous man here.”

  “We are dangerous men.”

  “Are you?” She glanced from the blacksmith to the other. “I see a man holding a hammer, and another man threatening an unarmed woman. Dangerous indeed.”

  “You might be unarmed, but that doesn’t mean you’re helpless.”

  Lucy smiled. “It does not.”

  And that was perhaps the greatest compliment she could have received. She wasn’t helpless, and she was thankful for that.

  Whatever else happened, she no longer had to fear.

  But she didn’t want to fight. That wasn’t her purpose in coming here.

  “I just came for some answers,” she said.

  “What sort of answers do you think we have?”

  “I don’t know. And yet, the two of you look as if you know something.”

  “Why would we look like that?”

 
; “Because you have augmentations.”

  She didn’t see any spark of recognition.

  Perhaps she was wrong.

  Most people would know if they had an augmentation, especially the way the C’than placed them. And if they didn’t have one, then there might not be any way for her to know.

  Perhaps she had been wrong about it entirely.

  She didn’t think so, though.

  There was some resistance to her attempting to Read, and that resistance suggested to her they had some way of opposing what she was doing. The more she focused on it, the more certain she was that there had to be something.

  But what if it wasn’t an augmentation? What if they had some other way of fighting off what she was able to do?

  Carth certainly had a method of preventing her from Reading, so it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of belief that these two had some way as well.

  Could it be that she had stumbled across somebody powered by natural Elder Stone power?

  If so, she’d made a mistake by trying to chase after them.

  She took a step back and bumped into the wall. “Listen. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot.”

  “We definitely did,” the man said.

  “I came looking for people who have been placing augmentations. If that’s not you, then I don’t need to remain.”

  The two men shared a look, and with that, the blacksmith suddenly surged.

  Lucy reacted and Slid, emerging behind him, near the door. She prepared for the possibility that she might need to Slide away, but she didn’t want to do so. She wanted answers.

  She hesitated, worried that perhaps this was a mistake. What if she needed Carth?

  But the more she thought about it, the more certain she was she had to do this on her own. If she didn’t, then how was she ever going to be able to function on her own?

  Lucy thought about how she could handle them. She wasn’t going to fight them, and she wasn’t going to be able to Push on them. There had to be some other way she could use her abilities.