Rise of the Elder

by D. K. Holmberg

  Rsiran Slid, dragging Josun with him so she couldn’t get to him and kill him before he got answers about Danis and the crystal. Ironic that he wanted nothing more than to kill Josun, but here he was trying to save him.

  The hall grew hotter, the lorcith in the walls starting to glow with a bright orange light.

  The woman had found a pair of swords, and swung them toward him with as much control as any Neelish sellsword.

  He emerged briefly from one of his Slides. “We could work together against Venass,” he said.

  The woman struck, piercing his shoulder. Rsiran winced and paused in between Slides long enough to draw on the power from the Elder Trees before returning.

  “You’re a fool, Elvraeth, if you think I’ll work with you.” She almost cut him again, this time coming dangerously close to his neck.

  Rsiran jerked back just in time. He doubted that even the Elder Trees would be able to heal him if he were harmed like that.

  What he needed was some way to confine her, but she’d already shown that she could escape one of the cells. But those were designed to hold him, would he be able to do anything that could hold her?

  The glowing lorcith along the walls gave him an idea.

  Pulling on the metal, he began to curve it around her. As he did, he pressed into the lorcith, changing it enough that it raised the temperature required to soften the metal. Doing this required adding grindl and iron to the composition, and he discovered that pulling the lorcith over the stone, he picked up enough of both to add to the alloy he created. The metal continued to fold around her, creating a cage of sorts. If she could Slide, she’d be able to escape. If not, then he hoped the magical heat she generated would be trapped within.

  Rsiran took a step back, letting out a tired breath.

  Pulling on as much metal as he did here required more effort than he’d used in a while. Next to him, Josun started writhing. Rsiran wished he had asked Galen to dose him again before he’d slid to the Forgotten Palace.

  Josun’s eyes flashed open. He glanced toward the metal barricade Rsiran had created, and down to his wrists. “What did you do?”

  “Quiet!” Rsiran said. “Or I’ll let her have you.”

  Josun tried Sliding.

  Rsiran saw it.

  How would he be aware when someone else Slid?

  There were colors that started to swirl before stopping, thwarted by the cuffs Rsiran had placed on him.

  Heat pressed against him, rising from behind the metal cage. Even with the addition of grindl and iron, the barricade began to glow. Rsiran doubted that it would hold for much longer.

  “Time for me to leave,” Rsiran said. “She’s after you, anyway.”

  Josun looked to the glowing lorcith, his eyes wide. “You wouldn’t leave me to her, Lareth.”

  At least he admitted that he knew the woman. “Give me a reason to take you to safety.”

  Josun shook his head. “I’ll tell you what you want to know about your grandfather. Not that it will do you any good.”

  “Not only him. The crystal. I need to know what happened with the crystal.”

  Josun’s face clouded. “I don’t have it.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “It will have to be. I brought it from Elaeavn to Asador, and they took it from me.”

  “Who? Galen?”

  Josun’s face contorted. “Galen didn’t take anything. That fool is too stupid to know what he got himself into.”

  “That fool managed to capture you.” Rsiran glanced to the lorcith spiraling around the woman. Much longer and the heat would cause the metal to buckle and fold, and then he’d have to deal with her. He didn’t fear her—he could Slide from here if needed—but he didn’t want to kill her again, not until he understood why she wanted Josun. “Time is running out, Josun. Who has the crystal?”

  He stared at the wall of glowing lorcith before finally shaking his head. “The Forgotten. That’s who has it.”

  “The Forgotten are no more. When I killed Evaelyn, the rest scattered.”

  “Scattered. The rest of that group joined Venass. But that’s not who I mean. There were others who had chosen not to organize, who had wanted nothing more than to live out their lives in peace. They have the crystal.”

  “Why would they get involved if they wanted only to live out their lives in peace?”

  “They were given a choice.”

  The lorcith barricade began to sag. “What kind of choice?”

  “Work with Venass or…” He shrugged.

  Rsiran’s temper flared. “That’s not much of a choice.”

  “Most were going to side with Venass, but then they learned about the crystal. Now they have it.” Josun turned his attention back to the lorcith that now started to flow toward the ground. The energy and heat required to melt that much lorcith was enormous, and this woman managed to generate it by herself?

  “What do they intend to do with it?” Rsiran asked.

  Josun shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Venass won’t let them keep it.”

  “Where is it?” Rsiran asked.

  Josun shook his head.

  “Fine. Good luck with that,” Rsiran said, nodding toward where the top of the woman’s head was becoming visible over the sagging metal from the barricade.

  Josun’s eyes widened again. “You’ll never learn what happened to the crystal if you leave.”

  “I’m not the only one looking. I think you’ve already discovered how talented Galen can be. And there are others as well.”

  Josun closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Asador,” Josun said. “They are in Asador. But you won’t be fast enough, not now that Venass knows where it is as well.”

  Rsiran considered leaving Josun to the flame woman, but grabbed the cuffs and angrily Slid him away. As he did, he had the briefest image of her face fully appearing from behind the lorcith before it sank completely to the ground.

  Chapter 27

  As Rsiran emerged in the heart of the Aisl Forest, Josun kicked a moment before settling, his eyes taking in the massive sjihn trees, and tension fading from his arms. Rsiran watched as Josun noted the row of huts along the edge of the clearing, and the structures in the trees overhead, those that housed dozens of people choosing exile from the city.

  “You’re a fool, Lareth.”

  “Maybe,” Rsiran said. “But I have you, don’t I?”

  “Do you really think that you can hold me here? Once I’m free—”

  Rsiran tapped him on his forehead. “Feel your implant, Josun. What does it tell you?”

  Josun’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do? You couldn’t have removed it, or I would have died.”

  “You can believe that if you want, but know that I have more control over heartstone than even the Venass forgers can understand.” He hoped that was true. The way the muscles in Josun’s face twitched, Rsiran knew he’d hit on the right concern for Josun. He’d thought the fire woman one of the forgers, and with the control she had over heat, it would make sense, but he believed that she wanted to oppose Venass.

  “You—”

  Jessa didn’t let Josun finish. She ran over to Rsiran, saw Josun, and punched him in the face, leaving him with a bloody lip. “That’s for nearly killing Rsiran.”

  Josun licked the blood off his top lip. “You have a harder punch than your man.”

  “He caught you again,” Jessa said. “Rsiran will always catch you.”

  Josun grinned at Rsiran. “You mean Lorst, don’t you? Wasn’t that the name you chose when you played at assassin?”

  “I found you, didn’t I?” Rsiran asked.

  “Luck, Lareth. That is all it is.”

  “Why do you feel so certain it was luck? Haven’t I proven I have different skills than you do? Different from any that Venass understands?”

  Josun smiled at him, a dark expression that made Rsiran want to throw him back in the cave within Ilphaesn where he would be trapped. Maybe this time, he would leave him with
out food or water.

  “You’ve proven that you don’t have the stomach to do what’s needed, Lareth. You’ve shown time and again that you’re not willing to do what’s needed.”

  “I’ve done what was needed to protect those I care about.”

  “Like with Haern?” Josun’s smile spread more widely across his face. “Ah, see? You still mourn him, when you should be seeking revenge.”

  “Revenge won’t change what happened.”

  “It might change what’s to come,” Josun said. “Or do you believe you can do what is necessary when your grandfather attacks next?”

  “I’ll do what I have to do,” he said, but even as he did, a part of him wondered if he could. How many times had he been given the chance to confront Danis, and how many times had he failed? His grandfather had proven not only more capable than Rsiran, but cleverer, and able to find new ways to overcome Rsiran’s natural ability.

  “You will fail. I can see that now. A shame, really. You’ve proven yourself more interesting than I would have expected.”

  Jessa took a knife and slammed it into the back of Josun’s head. He crumpled without another word. She sheathed her knife with a quick flourish. “What are you doing bringing him here?”

  “The Forgotten Palace is compromised.”

  “Compromised?”

  “Can you get Della? I’ll stay here with him, but I need to ask her a few questions.”

  Jessa glanced at Josun before nodding and hurrying off toward Della’s hut.

  Rsiran stared at Josun. The heartstone implant under the skin of his face thrummed in Rsiran’s mind, but with something like a steady song, not painfully as before he had managed to change it. He didn’t know what he had done to Josun’s implant, only that it no longer augmented him the same way.

  A shadow appeared from between two of the massive sjihn trees. Luthan wore a long robe, and his slippered feet barely made a sound as he approached. “You caught him,” he noted, studying Josun.

  “I wasn’t the one who managed to capture him, but he’s caught.”

  “Galen?”

  Rsiran nodded.

  “A skilled man. A valuable ally, don’t you think?”

  “What do you See from him?”

  Luthan shrugged. “From him?” he motioned toward Josun. “I See about as much as I can manage when I try to See you. I believe that the two of you share an ability that obscures you.”

  “Not Josun.” He hesitated. “Did you know him? When he lived in Elaeavn, did you know Josun?”

  Luthan shook his head. “There are many Elvraeth who live in the palace, Rsiran. It is difficult to know them all. The council interacts with many but not all of them.”

  “You didn’t think it strange you weren’t able to See some of the Elvraeth who live in the palace?”

  “The Elvraeth are descended from the ancient clans, no differently than you. But they have been given access to the crystals for years, where as the rest of the population has not.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “The Elvraeth are concealed for the most part. It is not all that surprising or strange for me to not See anything when it comes to the Elvraeth within the palace.”

  Rsiran had thought it came from the ability to Slide, but then, Josun had been wrong about that ability, and was probably wrong about the Elvraeth trying to remove it. One of the first clans possessed the ability, an Elder ability, not Elvraeth, and it would have been protected by them.

  “What of Galen? Can you see anything about him?”

  “If I knew Galen, it’s possible I would be able to See something. You’ll have to ask Della, especially as she knows him much better than I.”

  “Josun claims the Forgotten now have the crystal.”

  Luthan frowned. “I thought you said the Forgotten were eliminated when you removed Evaelyn Elvraeth.”

  “I thought so as well. These are Forgotten who had chosen to remain neutral, but Venass pulled them back, forcing them to choose a side.”

  Luthan’s brow furrowed, and his eyes flickered to the side, flaring a brighter green for a moment. He stood unmoving, not changing his posture even as Della and Jessa joined them.

  “What happened?” Jessa asked.

  “He Sees,” Della said.

  She waited, hands clasped behind her back, ignoring the fact that Josun lay motionless on the ground and bound in heartstone chains.

  Finally, Luthan opened his eyes.

  “They have it,” he whispered.

  “Who?” Della asked.

  Luthan blinked, shaking his head. “Lareth told me that the Forgotten have claimed the crystal.”

  Della nodded knowingly. “You were able to find it?”

  Luthan nodded. “I do not know where it is, but I know who has claimed it.”

  “It’s in Asador,” Rsiran said. He kicked at Josun. “At least, that’s what he claims, and I have no reason to doubt that is true.”

  “Then you must return to Asador, Rsiran. You must go for the crystal.”

  “Who has it?” Jessa asked.

  A troubled look passed over Luthan’s face. “Someone I have not seen for many years, but someone I cared very much for.”

  “No…” Della shook her head, closing her eyes. They opened in a flash, and she met his gaze. “We can’t tell him that we’ve found her. After everything that he’s been through, this will only pull him back in. I have been pleased he removed himself from everything.”

  “Who?” Jessa pressed.

  “It’s Brusus,” Rsiran said, making the connection. That would be the only person that Della would be concerned about discovering one of the Forgotten. He turned to Luthan. “But who is his mother to you?”

  The Barth was relatively quiet today. A lutist played in the background, the soft sound doing nothing to fill the gloom of the tavern. In the few times that Rsiran had been to the Barth since returning from the Aisl, he had found it similarly somber.

  The fire burning in the hearth gave the tavern a sense of warmth, but not the same way it normally did. The lorcith sculpture of the sjihn tree that Luca had forged rested on the mantle. Rsiran still didn’t understand the power the sculpture possessed, but there was something to it.

  Jessa sat next to him on the stool, her hands resting on the table, and her eyes staring straight ahead. “Can’t believe we’re this concerned about telling Brusus.”

  “Della is right,” Rsiran said. “When we tell him about his mother, how is that going to affect him? Does it draw him back into a fight that he’s essentially abandoned?”

  Jessa bit her lip and didn’t say anything.

  Alyse appeared from the kitchen carrying a plate for a man sitting in the corner near the hearth and set it down in front of him. She noted Rsiran and Jessa and nodded before making her way toward them.

  When she reached their table, she glanced from Jessa to Rsiran. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Rsiran shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

  Alyse crossed her arms over her chest. “I can tell when something is bothering you, Rsiran! Is this about the tavern? Something about grandfather? Tell me!”

  “Neither,” he said. “It’s about Brusus.”

  Her brow furrowed and she placed her hands on her hips. “What is it about Brusus?”

  “We think we know where to find his mother.”

  Her hands slipped off her hips. “Oh.”

  The door to the kitchen opened again and Brusus strode out, a wide smile splayed on his face. He greeted the few people in the tavern, and even paused to nod to the lutist, whispering something that only he could hear before heading toward Rsiran and Jessa. “About time you got back here. Rumor has it that you caught Josun.”

  “I didn’t catch him. Galen did.”

  “Ah, don’t sell yourself short, Rsiran. Galen may have slowed him, but you caught him.” He leaned on the table. “Did Galen tell you how he stopped Josun?”

  “Slithca.”

  Brusus suck
ed in a breath and then whistled softly. “Do you think he learned that from Della, or did he pick it up from Isander?”

  “I don’t know. Either way, it doesn’t matter. He stopped Josun.”

  Brusus nodded. “And a good thing. We have the crystal then?”

  Rsiran shook his head. “That’s actually why I’m here.”

  Brusus grinned. “You want a few mugs of ale to forget about it for a while?” Seeing Rsiran’s face, his smile faded. “Not here to forget about it then. Something you learned affects me, doesn’t it?”

  Rsiran took a deep breath. “It does. Brusus, I—”

  “You found her didn’t you?” When Rsiran didn’t answer, he shook his head. “Where is she?”

  Rsiran swallowed, looking to Jessa for support. Both of them knew how much Brusus had wanted to find his mother, and that it had been the reason he had spent so much time trying to find the Forgotten in the first place. Now, they finally had word of her, and Brusus wanted to know.

  “Rsiran, if you know anything about her, please… don’t keep it from me. You don’t understand how long I’ve searched for answers. I still don’t even know what she did to warrant exile.”

  “Asador,” Rsiran said. “That’s where she is. Josun told us that the Forgotten who hadn’t chosen a side before were forced by Venass to choose. That’s why she’s there.”

  “And the crystal?”

  Rsiran nodded. “She has it. Luthan saw it and realized that.” Rsiran hesitated. “There’s more, Brusus.”

  “More than my mother? What more can there be?”

  “It’s about Luthan. He knew your mother before her exile.”

  Brusus shrugged. “Many would have. She was Elvraeth, and fairly highborn from what I’ve managed to learn. I haven’t learned anything about my father… unless you’re telling me that it’s Luthan.” He said the last with a grin. “Though I can’t imagine Luthan ever young enough to take a wife.”

  “He’s not your father.”

  “I know that, Rsiran. Had it been one of the council, I would have learned.”

  “Luthan… he’s not your father. He’s your grandfather.”

  Chapter 28