The Coming Chaos

by D. K. Holmberg

  “What’s going on here?” Daniel asked Carth.

  “What’s going on is that we need to stop them.”

  “How did you know they were going to be here?”

  “We’ve been following Olandar Fahr.”

  “How?”

  “She had help.”

  Daniel spun around and froze.

  Rsiran Lareth was behind him.

  “You were dead.”

  “Was I?”

  “But Haern—”

  “Haern is doing what he needs to do. I’m doing what I need to do.”

  Daniel frowned. “You forced Olandar Fahr into this?”

  “He thought that he could hold me, and he did manage to do so for a little while, but…”

  “It took me a while to realize Lareth was with him. When I did, I realized we had an opening.”

  “What now?”

  “Now we need to stop this attack. They can’t reach Ceyaniah,” Carth said.

  “Even if we stop this one, another one will come, won’t it?”

  “Perhaps, but I don’t know how many people the Ai’thol have who know how to reach it.”

  Daniel glanced over to Rayen. “Are we ready?”

  “For this? Always.”

  She grabbed her sword, unsheathing, and slipped forward on the shadows.

  Daniel Slid, drawing himself after her, using her shadows as he did. He emerged, fighting alongside her, and Slid, cutting down two Ai’thol when he emerged. He felt something behind him, a strange sense that tickled the back of his mind, and he Slid again, twisting.

  When he emerged from a Slide, following Rayen as she flowed on her shadows, he carved with his sword, cutting down another of the Ai’thol. The men died quietly. It was strange, but it seemed almost as if they had prepared for this. There might be several dozen Ai’thol, but even powered as they were, they weren’t strong enough to stop them.

  “This is a distraction,” he said.

  “What?” Rayen asked.

  “A distraction. They’re here as a sacrifice.”

  Daniel froze, looking around. If he knew one thing about Olandar Fahr, it was that he played with strategy. Everything he did had intention behind it and was designed to position himself for greater success.

  One of the Ai’thol Slid toward him, emerging directly in front of him, and Daniel Slid forward on the shadows, carving with his sword as he went. When he emerged, he cut through the Ai’thol, and the man fell in a spray of blood. It was strange he could Slide on the shadows, and stranger still that it seemed he could have a physical presence when he emerged, using that to carve through the Ai’thol.

  He turned his attention to Lareth. He was a blur, pushing and pulling on lorcith, sending it streaking through the Ai’thol, carving them up.

  Carth was fighting much like Rayen had been, using shadows and sending explosions of heat, but all of this seemed wrong.

  Another dozen Ai’thol appeared.

  Another dozen followed.

  “This isn’t right,” Daniel said.

  “What isn’t right?” Rayen asked.

  “This. The attack. There’s something off about it.”

  Turning his attention back to Lareth, he frowned. “What if he was played?”

  “Lareth wouldn’t have been played. He’s been facing the Ai’thol for as long as Carth.”

  “Yet if he was traveling with Olandar Fahr, what if he wanted Lareth to think he was successful?”

  It was the kind of strategy Daniel could see Olandar Fahr using. He could see him sacrificing his own people in order to position himself for success. How better to do that than to draw those with the strength to stop him away from where he actually intended to be?

  “Alistan!”

  “What is it?” Rayen asked, gliding on the shadows over to him. She wrapped two Ai’thol in the shadows, holding them until they collapsed.

  “This is all part of his plan.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “No, but…”

  Rayen glanced from him to Carth before nodding. “What if you’re right?”

  “I’m afraid if I’m right, then we have already been delayed too much.”

  Alistan suddenly shimmered into view in front of them. It was startling, as if he shimmered into focus, similar to how someone shimmered when they were Sliding.

  “What is it?”

  “We need to find the fifth stone. That’s where Olandar Fahr will actually be.”

  “Not here?” Alistan glanced to where Carth was fighting, looking to Lareth.

  Daniel shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think this is all a distraction.”

  “She has said he is the most skilled Tsatsun player she’s ever met.”

  “This is just the kind of thing I could envision him doing.”

  Rayen kept them safe while they were talking. Every so often she would use her control over the shadows to knock back a couple of the Ai’thol, and there seemed to be a flood of them, one after the other. Even with that, there was no sense of urgency. The Ai’thol didn’t try to get past them so much as they tried to distract them.

  All of this felt wrong.

  How was it that Carth didn’t recognize it?

  “Well, we do know the others, including the wisdom stone. We have Lashasn and Ih and Keyall. If there is a fifth stone that we don’t know about, it would be helpful to know where the wisdom stone is.”

  “Why?”

  “As you suggested,” Alistan said. “The other pieces are spread in a circle. The last stone would be similar.”

  Daniel thought about what he knew from the maps, envisioning where Keyall would be, tracking along what he knew of Ih and Lashasn, adding in the wisdom stone. It wasn’t a perfect circle, but at the same time, it did somewhat ring the land. The only space missing was…

  He turned back to the forest.

  Ceyaniah.

  Could that be it?

  Here they had thought they had found only the Council of Elders, but what if that was not the case?

  What if the tree represented the Elder Stone?

  And he’d been there already.

  “We have to go to Ceyaniah,” Daniel said.

  “Are you sure?” Rayen asked.

  “I think we have to. Otherwise, Olandar Fahr is going to succeed.”

  “If he’s never been here before…”

  “Just because he’s never been there, that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to reach it. What happens if he’s already discovered some way in? Look at what we were able to do.”

  “We were able to do it because you used a combined ability.”

  “And he can’t? Let’s just go look first.”

  “Where would you have us go?”

  Daniel looked around at the ongoing fighting. They could disappear. He didn’t feel as if they were needed here. Carth and Lareth alone could handle this. The others fighting them were powerful, but not nearly as powerful as the two of them.

  If he were Olandar Fahr, and if he had reasoned out where the fifth Elder Stone would be located, how would he approach it?

  From the water.

  Daniel grabbed Alistan and Rayen and Slid.

  He emerged near the shore. The forest rose behind him, impossibly dense, and at first he thought he was wrong. But then he turned.

  A fleet of ships headed toward the shore.

  There had to be two dozen ships, and several had already unloaded their passengers on the shore.

  “You were right,” Rayen said.

  “I need to go get Carth.”

  “You need to get an army,” Rayen said.

  “Not an army,” Alistan began, clasping his hands in front of him, staring at the ships. “But a way to redirect. In this, perhaps having Rel here would be beneficial.”

  “Do you want to stay here, or do you want to come with me?”

  “I think that I need to stay,” Alistan said.

  “I was talking to Rayen.”

  “I’ll stay. Som
eone has to keep an eye on him.”

  Daniel Slid.

  When he emerged, back in the battle, he found Carth and Lareth along with Lucy confronting dozens of Ai’thol.

  “It’s a feint,” he said, getting next to Carth.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because the real attack is along the shoreline.”

  Carth frowned, the corners of her eyes tightening for a moment before she shook her head. “Still playing games,” she whispered.

  “Ironic coming from you,” Daniel said.

  Rather than answering, Carth glided to Lucy and tapped on her arm, and they disappeared in a Slide.

  Lareth looked over at him. “Where did they go?”

  “Apparently the real battle is along the shore.”

  Lareth looked around him. “A sacrifice? All of this for a sacrifice?”

  “I can help you.”

  “Go and join the others. I can take care of this.”

  Daniel looked around. There had to be forty or fifty Ai’thol still remaining.

  “You can’t do this on your own.”

  “They have captured me enough times. They made the mistake, though, of revealing how.”

  “How did they do it?”

  “A metal I hadn’t known about before. Now that I do…”

  With that, Lareth shot into the air, hovering there.

  He glanced down at Daniel. “It’s easier if you go.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t have to worry about hitting you.”

  Metal began to spin around Lareth, and Daniel Slid.

  When he emerged along the shoreline, Carth and Lucy were on the shore, facing Ai’thol with far more skill than he expected. Soldiers from Ceyaniah appeared, heading toward them.

  That wasn’t his fight. They had that part of it, but there was something he could do. He would ensure that Olandar Fahr didn’t reach the Elder Stone.

  51

  Lucy

  The sounds around her were chaotic, and she tried to ignore them, knowing there wasn’t anything she could do to fight. War wasn’t Lucy’s strength. There were others—like Carth and Rayen and Daniel, of all people. They were skilled fighters. As the battle progressed, Lucy understood she was not going to be a part of it.

  Carth glided over to her on a slip of shadows. “It’s time to go.”

  Lucy nodded, focusing on the Architect. He was nearby, she could feel him, and yet, she wasn’t sure how close he had to be.

  “Do you think we’ll find Olandar Fahr?”

  “I don’t know. With as many Ai’thol as are appearing, I have to believe we will.”

  “Unless there’s another reason.”

  “I don’t know what the reason might be, unless…”

  Carth pushed out with the shadows, her body starting to glow for a moment. She frowned, and her jaw clenched. It did that when she was thinking, planning, and Lucy couldn’t help but wonder what sort of plans Carth was coming up with now. And more than that, she couldn’t help but wonder how they might involve her. Whatever Carth was doing, it could be dangerous.

  The other woman nodded to her.

  Lucy took Carth’s hand, and they Slid.

  They traveled toward a shoreline. When she emerged, she stepped free of the Slide, half expecting to be trapped or to feel the same pressure she had when dealing with the Architect before.

  This time, there was no such pressure.

  Ships were out on the sea, and there were a dozen or two people along the shoreline. All of them were Ai’thol, but not all of them had scars.

  The Architect was there.

  She hadn’t seen him in months, but he looked much the same as then. Deep green eyes stared at her as he stalked along the coast, unmindful of the battle raging around them.

  She nodded to him, and Carth ignored her. She had both swords in hand, and shadows were swirling around, striking at the Ai’thol. Suffocating them.

  The way she attacked was brutal and deadly, and she brought them down quickly, carving the Ai’thol apart.

  “Is he here?” Lucy asked.

  She didn’t feel as if she were trapped, but she worried something might happen that would hold her here. Having suffered under the Architect before, she didn’t know if he’d be able to find some way to ensnare her.

  “I don’t see him,” Carth said.

  Lucy focused on the Architect.

  He was a hundred yards away, standing along the shoreline. There were six others flanking him, all wearing dark cloaks, the style so different than the typical Ai’thol. None of them had the usual scar on their faces.

  “Take them down,” she said to Carth.

  The other woman ignored her, and Lucy Slid over to her, shaking Carth, forcing her to pay attention. “I need to get the Architect, and you need to remove the people surrounding him.”

  Carth shook herself free, and she glanced along the shoreline, taking in the sight of the Architect. Shadows streamed away from her.

  They reached some sort of resistance.

  “Interesting,” she said.

  “You can’t get to them?”

  “No. But I can do this.”

  With that, Carth exploded forward in a mixture of her connection to the flame and the shadows. She jumped, gliding on the shadows through the air, and landed in front of them.

  She brought her sword around, twisting, shadows swirling and thickening around her, and as Lucy watched, she could swear there was something pressing against Carth’s shadows, but she couldn’t make it out.

  The more she watched, the more certain she was that whoever was fighting out there had incredible power. Carth tore through them, overwhelming their attempt at resisting her shadow magic, exploding with heat. Her entire body glowed each time she did, and then that glow retreated, backing away into the shadows.

  She carved through them, her sword spinning, a spray of blood following her.

  Three Ai’thol approached.

  Lucy focused on their minds. She could feel their presence. There was resistance, and she forced her way through it. As she did, she Pushed.

  It was a simple thing. A demand that they protect her.

  They spun, marching down the shoreline, away from her, and into a different fray.

  She had no qualms about using her power in that way, and none about using it against these people. What she was doing was necessary. She stormed forward, following the three soldiers who now defended her, and as they encountered more Ai’thol—some of them suddenly appearing, Sliding here—she Pushed on them.

  It was a strange thing to be walking along the shore, with the sun shining overhead, the ships bobbing out on the waves, and feeling a chaos that came not from the water, as she was accustomed to, but from the violence all around her.

  And it was chaotic.

  It was difficult to tell if she was the only one fighting. Carth was tearing through some of the attackers in the distance, but there seemed to be something more taking place. As she watched, she thought that some of the Architect’s men were fighting with other Ai’thol.

  That couldn’t be right. Could it be that she was Pushing on them?

  It was hard for her to tell. She didn’t have much control over Pushing, and yet it seemed as if they were acting on her behalf.

  It was possible that was nothing more than her imagination, and so she continued to try to Push, gathering more and more soldiers toward her.

  At a certain point, Lucy suspected she would reach the extent of her capability. The request was simple: Protect her. She wasn’t trying to control them, and she wasn’t attempting to direct how they did it, but with a strong enough Push, she didn’t have to do any of those things. All she had to do was influence them in such a way that they would respond to her—and for her.

  The five soldiers now in front of her reached Carth. She sent a quick Push, demanding they protect her as well.

  They parted around Carth, hacking through the Ai’thol safeguarding the Architect, and Lucy foc
used on him.

  She Pushed.

  There was resistance, so she sent more and more power against him, straining to hold him here. She didn’t have any way of preventing him from Sliding but realized she didn’t have to do so completely on her own. Carth had her shadows swirling around the Architect.

  It might not hold.

  The resistance was there, and Lucy remembered what it had been like. It was the same resistance she had experienced when she had been trapped by the Architect the first time.

  With that realization, there came a building pressure upon her.

  She Pushed again.

  This time, she attempted a Slide, but only within her mind.

  She had no idea if it would even work. When she had attempted to do so before, it had seemed effective. She found resistance within the Architect’s mind and continued to send more and more energy at him, trying to override anything he might do.

  She reached through that resistance.

  And then beyond.

  The resistance was there, but with her connection to Sliding, she was able to Push beyond the barrier the Architect held. He could no longer avoid the power of her attempt to Push.

  The request was as simple as it had been for the others.

  You can’t Slide.

  She forced it with as much energy as she could, making the command tear through his mind.

  And then she retreated.

  She had no idea if it was even going to work, but she thought convincing him he couldn’t Slide would hold him.

  Something struck from behind her, and she spun around. A tall man with gray hair strode along the shoreline. He flickered as he went, Sliding with each step. Power swirled around him. She was unable to see anything but that power. It was almost as if he held the shadow and the flames and…

  Olandar Fahr.

  “Carth!”

  The other woman glided toward her.

  Lucy pointed, and Carth started toward him. Lucy spun her soldiers toward Olandar Fahr, sending one more Push to the Architect: Sleep.

  Then she focused on Olandar Fahr.

  Could they end this? After everything they’d gone through, everything they’d experienced, would they finally be able to stop him?