The Allseer Trilogy

by Kaitlyn Rouhier

  CHAPTER 12

  Market day had brought quite the crowd to the streets of Aspen, the constant motion down the main thoroughfare kicking up an endless cloud of dust. Merchants and farmers had traveled from nearby villages to set up stalls up and down the road, selling wares both bright and colorful. Fay walked among them, peering over shoulders to gaze at vegetables in varying shades of green and yellow and bright red. Ripe fruit and colorful flowers sweetened the air with their scent. Two children trailed in her wake, their arms already full with brown sacks nearly bursting with goods.

  By all accounts it seemed a perfect day. The sun had seen fit to grace them with its presence, hanging high overhead, a warm breeze ruffling her yellow dress. And yet despite the hustle and bustle, despite the beauty of the day, something felt completely and utterly wrong.

  It hung in the air all around her, thick as smoke, drifting in lazy clouds. She thought maybe some time in the sun would shake the feeling from her old bones, but it had only gotten worse, the feeling settling deep in her marrow, dancing along her every nerve. What is this?

  “Gran, are we almost done?” Mikah called from behind her. She peered over her shoulder, watching as the boy shifted the heavy sack to lean against his right shoulder. She’d almost forgotten they were following.

  “Yes, dear,” she replied. “Let’s get back to the inn, hm? Give those arms a rest and have some lunch.”

  Both children beamed, the prospect of being rid of their burden a comfort to them both. Fay returned their smiles, wishing in her heart that the feeling was mutual. Her burden was only getting darker, heavier.

  They left the market behind and soon found themselves standing before her own private sanctuary, an inn built by the loving hands of a man years in the grave. Oh, how she missed him. But his legacy to her still lived on, the inn still as vibrant and beautiful as when he’d first built it. They stepped inside and Carri came bounding up to meet them, her long spindly legs awkwardly carrying her along. She’d suffered a growth spurt and she hadn’t quite gotten comfortable with her new height, looking like a wobbling foal anytime she walked.

  “Hi Gran!” she said, flashing a smile. She was customarily streaked with dirt, her hair a mess. She helped take the bags from the other two children, carrying them into the back. Fay followed her, fighting against a stomach gone sour. Carri glanced back, her expression shifting from happiness to one of deep concern. “Gran, what is it? You don’t look well.”

  “I’m not certain, dear. It’s…difficult to explain. The air feels wrong today.”

  Carri nodded. She’d gotten used to the strange feelings Fay would get, had come to recognize the subtle shifts in her expressions. The girl was not gifted, but she could read people as if she were. “Nothing has been happening here. Everything has been quiet. Is there any way I can help?”

  Fay sighed. “Perhaps I just need to busy myself. Are there any chores you lot haven’t finished?”

  “The bath house hasn’t been drained yet.”

  “I think I will take care of that today,” Fay said. “Perhaps some work will ease this weight off my shoulders.”

  “I’m here for you,” Carri reassured her. “If you need anything, let me know.”

  “Thank you, child. You’ve always been so kind. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bath house to clean.”

  Fay shuffled to the back corner and gathered a bundle of supplies. Through the common room and out the back and she was moving through bright green grass, the smell of flowers and fruit trees permeating the air. The bathhouse was as empty as the inn, though she expected that to change by the evening. Those that had come to shop and sell would be needing a place to rest and her inn was the best of the bunch.

  She sat down the bucket of supplies, drifting to the far side of the room to tug aside the dark curtains, allowing natural light to spill into the bathhouse. Bending down, she pulled up a heavy iron grate and locked it into place, allowing the water from the pool to drain out and down the hillside.

  While the pool drained, she restocked supplies, tidying the baskets of soaps and pumice and little vials of perfumes. The work should have helped clear her mind, should have freed her spirits from the awful sensation plaguing her, but it was growing worse.

  She could see it in the shake of her hands, the feel of sweat pooling on the surface of her skin. The sensation to look over her shoulder, as if she were being watched, was almost too much to bear. She whipped around, her body wracked by fear and weakness.

  Something caught her eye at the bottom of the pool, dark and glistening and moving. She crept closer, every instinct telling her old bones to run, to flee. Spreading like corrupted ivy, a thick substance crept across the bottom of the pool, twisting and curling in over itself. It seemed to sense her presence, shifting directions and stretching towards her.

  She took a cautious step back, then another and another. The substance sped up, rising over the lip of the pool to give chase. She fled, slamming the door shut and hurrying across the expanse of the yard, the extra fabric of her dress held tight in her fists. Before entering the inn, she regained her composure. She didn’t want to frighten the children.

  Putting on her best face, she sauntered into the inn. “Carri,” she called, watching as the girl came bounding around the corner. “Fetch the others please. I think it’s time we took a vacation.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “I hope you’ll understand the need for such questioning. These are trying times for us all.”

  Samira listened to the speaker, her eyes traveling from the tip of his shaved head, to his outstretched leg, heavily bandaged, the wound still fresh from the way his face bunched at the slightest movement. To his right sat a young woman, her hazel eyes cautiously inquisitive. Her power wavered around her, new and unshapen. Given the proper training, her power would become the tip of a very dangerous spear.

  “Sampson, was it? Thank you for giving me the chance to explain myself. I apologize if my sudden arrival caused any alarm.” When she’d reached the castle, she’d flung herself past the guards with ease, bowling over any who got in her way. She’d had a single focus, a driving need to find the source of the change within her, and what she’d found filled her with an overwhelming anxiety. I’m not the only one.

  He nodded, lips curling into a smile. “It did at that,” he agreed. “When you came bursting in, it sounded like we were being invaded by an army. We feared the worst. I suppose introductions are in order now that things have settled. I am Sampson, advisor to our newly appointed queen, Lillana.” The woman to his right gave a brief nod, her eyes never straying far from Samira. “And you are?”

  “My name is Samira. I serve Sharmir in a rather official capacity, but my reasons for being here are quite personal.”

  “I’ve heard whispers of you,” Lillana said. “Sharmir is said to be incredibly well defended and almost impossible to find without a guide. They say it is kept that way by a remarkably powerful woman. It seems safe to assume that it you.”

  “Yes,” Samira confirmed. The thought of Sharmir filled her with sorrow. She’d left it undefended for the first time in years, open to attack while she was off chasing a feeling. She only hoped no one took advantage of that fact while she was away. “Despite how it may appear, I am no threat to you. The real threat punched a hole in this castle and fled out of sight.”

  “Elfrind,” Lillana whispered, her eyes drifting to the floor. There was pain and anger lurking in her gaze, threating to burst forth. “We only just recently found him, and he is different. Changed. What I’d like to know is how you knew about this in the first place?”

  Samira sighed. Such things were so difficult to put into words, and words were doing a poor job bringing them to the point she needed to convey. Surely by now they knew something of his power, had felt it in some way. They had to know the destruction that could be wrought by such power if the man saw fit to use it. “I’m just going to get to the point here,” she said, reaching up slowly to grasp th
e lace collar of her shirt. The soldiers flanking her shifted nervously, but Sampson raised a hand, calming them.

  She pulled down on the fabric, revealing the line of crystals that had plagued her for years. They glowed faintly, and Sampson and Lillana both leaned forward, eyes wide with disbelief. They glanced at each other, neither seeming to know how to react. It was Lillana that spoke first.

  “My brother, he-”

  “-has the same crystals, yes. As does one of your guests. And I fear there may be yet another. I have carried the responsibility of these crystals and the power they bring for many years, and through all those years, I thought myself alone. Until recently. Something happened to me back in Sharmir and I felt a shift in the world, an undeniable pull that brought me towards this very city. It seems now it was in part to the awakening of a young woman named Kirheen and the discovery of your brother, Elfrind. Both of them wield this power as I do – a reality that frightens me more than I can say. But for all my wisdom, I don’t know why this is happening.”

  “So, you came here to investigate, to find these people? What exactly do the crystals do? Forgive our ignorance, but this is entirely new to us,” Sampson said.

  “I wish I knew for certain. These crystals appeared many years ago, and with them a drastic change in my powers, a rapid slowing of aging, and an inability to die. I’d say these very things extend to the others with these crystals, so I’m sure you can see why I fear such power being in their possession.”

  Sampson looked skeptical, a brow rising. “I’m sorry. Did you say you cannot die? An exaggeration, surely?”

  “Had I the desire to face the pain necessary to demonstrate, I would. It is no exaggeration. Your men could relieve me of my arm and hours later I would be whole, as if the injury had never happened at all. By the look on your face, I take it you’ve witnessed this before?”

  Lillana had gone pale, her hands clasped tightly on her lap. She gave a curt nod. “I watched my brother die years ago. No man could have survived what happened to him, unless what you say is true. My parents must have realized he possessed such a power, and so they locked him away and threw away the key.”

  “How did he get out?” Samira asked.

  “That girl you mentioned, Kirheen, something happened to her and she broke through the door where he was being held. She claims it was against her will, that she had been called there. She found my brother in chains, starved to the point that he no longer looked like a man. That wasn’t the only thing she found though.”

  Sampson shivered. “Samira, do you know anything about a corruption? I can think of no better word for it. The entire room he was found in was covered in some black substance that I can’t even begin to adequately explain.”

  Samira inhaled sharply. “The entire room?” She’d been a damned fool to hope it hadn’t manifested in the others. “That is partly why I’m here. When I felt the pull back in Sharmir, something began to happen to me. That very corruption came leaking out of my skin and it was only with the help of friends that I could contain it. That you’ve seen it here too frightens me beyond words.”

  “That’s far from comforting,” Sampson sighed. “Just what are we dealing with? Seems we’re all swimming in the dark while the city crumbles around us.”

  Lillana grimaced. “It hasn’t crumbled yet. Samira, you are more familiar with this than we are. What is my brother after? What does he want?”

  “I can’t speak for him. Our motives are different, to say the least,” Samira said. “We share these crystals, but that makes me no closer to understanding him. If I’m to go off what I’ve seen, he is looking to amass power for himself. He tried to drain Kirheen of her power and would have succeeded had I not shown up. He mentioned another awakening and I fear he’s found another like us, or at least knows the general whereabouts. If he gets his hands on that much power, whatever he intends to do with it will be impossible to stop.”

  “What can be done?” Sampson asked.

  “It may require us giving chase. He can’t just be allowed to take more power for himself, not while his motives remain unclear. If he were to succeed and come back with the power of two of me, I can’t even begin to describe the destruction he’d be capable of.”

  Lillana opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the thumping of frantic steps sounding from the hall. The main door to the throne room burst over and a terrified Seeker stumbled in, nearly tripping over his own dark robes as he slowed. “My Queen!” he panted. “We’ve a problem. Something is happening with the corruption. It’s changing!”

  “Where is Mirin?” Lillana asked as she rose from her chair, eyes drifting to the exposed hall beyond the open doors. A scream echoed down the corridor and Lillana gasped at whatever she saw beyond. “Gods…”

  Samira shifted, turning to get a better view. At the far end of the hall, the corruption spread rapidly, squirming its way over new terrain. Four Seekers staggered back out of its way, too shocked to focus their powers.

  Cursing under her breath, Samira dashed down the hall and leapt in front of the Seekers. “Move!” she shouted, gathering her power. She pulled the energy from within herself, condensing it in the air between her raised hands. With careful aim, she flung the orb towards the center of the freed corruption and let the energy within release. It exploded outwards and the blight flailed away from her power, shrinking and condensing into a dense, dark ball in the corner. “It won’t stay that way for long. You two,” she said, pointing to the nearest Seekers. “Get to that entrance over there and form a barrier and you hold that barrier until you’re told otherwise.”

  “Y-yes. Right away,” said a female Seeker, her teeth chattering as she spoke. She pulled her companion along, glancing over her shoulder at the corruption as they fled to the other side of the room.

  “And you two,” Samira said, whirling towards the remaining Seekers. “Come with me.”

  She fled the room, the Seekers following close enough to be her shadow. When they’d reached the hallway, she stopped and turned around. “Barrier this entrance, now!”

  The Seekers obliged, raising shaking hands to form a barrier that solidified as they regained their calm. Samira fed them her own strength until she felt confident it would hold. “Your job is to hold that steady, no matter what. We’ll rotate you out in shifts so you can eat and rest, but for now this is your job. Don’t mess it up.” She communicated the same message to the Seekers across the room, their own barrier fully formed. They both nodded their understanding. Satisfied, she turned away and approached Lillana and Sampson, both looking white as ghosts.

  “Please tell me you have more of them,” Samira said, pointing her thumb back over her shoulder.

  Lillana nodded, her breathing audible. She clung to Sampson, her hand gripping his shoulder, knuckles turned white from the strength of her grasp. “Yes, of course. We’re spread thin, but I can gather what we have.” She waved to a nearby soldier and he stepped forward, armor clanking. “Go. Find any Seeker you can and have them gather in this hall. And if you see Mirin among them, please relay how urgent this is.”

  “Yes, my Queen,” he said, but even his beard couldn’t hide the quivering of his lip. He turned on his heels, running for the door as fast as his armored legs would take him.

  Samira looked to the bright barrier basking the throne room in icy blue light. Fully in control of their senses, the Seekers had strengthened it, feeding it more power until the shield was as unyielding as it could be. But they couldn’t maintain it forever. Eventually they would tire, and when they did, there would need to be others to take their place.

  And if it falls? She tried to repress the thought, but it had already taken root, the images of their failure painted across her mind in horrid brush strokes. A chill ran up her spine as she watched the corruption slink back into view, cautiously approaching the barriers, testing it for weakness. If it falls, this world crumbles.

  CHAPTER 14

  Garild stood behind a shimmering barrier
of blue, his eyes tracking the movement of the Darkness beyond, the black substance turning lazy circles in the center of the sealed room. Abby and Burk stood to either side of him, tense and silent.

  He peered over his shoulder, hoping to catch Burk’s attention. His eyes were glued to the Darkness, his mouth gaping open, gone wide with the shock of what he was seeing. He shuddered, visibly shaken by what moved beyond the barrier. “By the Allseer,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “This can’t…”

  Garild felt a stab of guilt. He didn’t wish such a discovery on his worst enemies, let alone his friends, but they had to know the truth. “I think, Allseer help us, it’s exactly what you think it is. The Darkness.”

  Abby shook her head. When she spoke, her words rose and fell, unsteady as her trembling hands. “This is insane. It can’t be real. How is this even possible?”

  “I don’t know, Abby. I don’t want to believe it any more than you do, but I can’t discard what is right in front of us. Whether we like the truth or not, it’s real. All we can do now is face it.” As he spoke, he caught sight of Samira striding towards them, her eyes unfocused. Her presence was a spark that ignited his anger, and he clenched his teeth, biting back the scolding he so desperately wanted to give her. She’d left him behind, alone in a very dangerous city and he’d almost paid for her absence with his life. It was only by some miraculously good fortune that he’d run into his friends and not more of the vicious mob terrorizing the city.

  “Ah, there you are,” she said as she got within earshot. Her tone was casual, unburdened by any fear that he’d come to harm when she’d left him alone. She looked distracted, dark eyes peering past him, past the barrier.