Knives streaked toward them.
Rsiran pushed on lorcith knives, attempting to block them all. Even as he did, he knew he wouldn’t be fast enough.
Grabbing Jessa, he Slid to the side, dragging her with him as he got out of the way of the knives. Valn had done the same, and now fought with his sword, trying to face three Venass. Sarah attacked from his side, the two of them battling with as much skill as the guilds possessed. Still, they weren’t enough.
Rsiran had another four Hjan focused on him. Somehow, they had ignored Galen.
The assassin spun, flicking a handful of darts all at the same time. The speed and the accuracy he possessed were alarming, but at least they weren’t coming for Rsiran. All of the darts hit, catching the Hjan with their poisoned tips, and they fell, leaving two standing.
Valn with Sarah’s help finished them quickly, then turned to Galen. “Damn glad we have you with us,” he said. “Where did you say you found him?” he asked Rsiran.
“Eban. He was exiled and turned to assassinations for his livelihood.”
“You say that as if you haven’t killed, Lorst.”
Rsiran turned to him and shook his head. “Not the way you do it.”
“There are times when you have to attack. Other times, you have to sit back and try to understand. The key is knowing the difference.”
Rsiran sniffed. “Did Della teach you that?”
“Not Della. My other instructor.”
“Isander. That doesn’t seem like something he would have said.”
“You wouldn’t know him.”
“I’ve met him.”
Galen reached into his pouch, pulling out a few more darts and rolling them between his fingers. “You wouldn’t. Isander is dead.”
Rsiran debated telling him that Isander lived, but hadn’t wanted to antagonize Galen any more than necessary.
Jessa looked up at him. “Now that the two of you have that done, how about we keep moving?”
“What about him?” Valn asked, pointing with his sword toward the Venass scholar sitting behind the table. His face had paled watching them, and Rsiran wondered if he had expected them to fail.
“I think he’s seen what he needed.”
The man’s eyes widened. “You knew?”
Rsiran shrugged. “Eventually, Venass learns. I’ve found it doesn’t take long, especially this close to the tower.”
“You still risked coming here?”
Rsiran looked at the Hjan lying on the ground. “I’m not sure I’m the one who risked anything coming here. Make certain Danis knows I’m ready for him. Tell him his grandson controls the crystals. He’ll know where to find me.”
“You’re a fool if you think to challenge him!” the man said. “He’s more powerful than you know.”
“I have friends,” Rsiran said. “And you’ve seen how powerful I am. Make sure he knows.”
The Venass man rubbed his eyes. “And he has the Hjan. How many do you think you can stop? A hundred? Five hundred? What of a thousand?”
“If you had a thousand Hjan, you would have come after me already.”
“Maybe we didn’t, but the forgers have been busy. They place new implants each day.”
“Like yours?” Rsiran asked. “You won’t be able to receive another.” That was one of the side effects of what he had done. He wasn’t certain about much when it came to the implant that he’d left within those of Venass, but he knew that they wouldn’t be able to receive another. Removing it would kill them, and placing another wouldn’t work with the lorcith that he’d left. Doing what he did reduced the numbers of Venass. Maybe not as quickly as he’d like, but he didn’t have to slaughter them, either.
“I won’t. Others will. They have discovered you don’t need to have abilities of the Great Watcher to receive the implant for it to work. There are ways to grant power without that. Now our numbers will—”
He slumped forward, and Rsiran noted the dart sticking out from the back of his neck.
Galen shrugged. “Coxberry. He’ll sleep. This way he stops talking.”
Sarah grinned. “I like this one.”
Valn shot her a look.
“He’s taken,” Jessa reassured him.
Rsiran wondered what else the Venass scholar might have been able to tell him. Probably not much, but he’d learned enough to worry. If Venass really had discovered a way of using the implants on those without natural abilities, how many would they have to face? How many could the forgers place in a day?
He had thought to use Danis to draw Carth out, thinking to join in her game, but maybe she was such a skilled player that would be foolish. And from what he’d seen of Danis, he would be equally skilled.
Was it possible that they were trapped between two masters, each positioning for power?
The idea worried him. If that was the case, what could he do but try to get out of the way and stay alive? What could he do to help those he cared about?
Somehow, he had to find a way to keep everyone safe. He thought that meant he would face Danis, and force Carth to act, but he began to wonder if that might have been a mistake.
As he looked at the Venass lying on the ground, most dead, he realized it was too late to second-guess the decision. They had to move forward and hope they would be able to find a way to pull out victory from those playing a game around them.
“Rsiran?” Jessa asked. She watched his face with that way she had, almost as if Reading him.
He nodded. “It’s time we return. We’ve made our point. Now we have to hope Danis takes the bait.”
Chapter 34
The guilds collected in the heart of the Aisl Forest. As Rsiran waited for the rest of the guilds to arrive from Elaeavn, he searched for Luthan. He found him with Della near the edge of the clearing, leaning against one of the sjihn trees. Della stared into the depths of the forest, and the worried crease in her brow left Rsiran unsettled.
“What is it?” he asked.
Luthan turned away from the forest. “There is something I have Seen. I cannot explain well. A darkness, similar to what I See when I try to turn my attention to you, but this comes from within the forest.”
Rsiran used his connection to lorcith and heartstone, fearing Venass might have been approaching from a different direction, but came up with nothing. “Danis would have gotten the message by now,” he said.
“The message, but will he come after you here?” Luthan scanned the guilds within the forest and shook his head. “I can’t believe he would bring his people here, especially knowing that you taunt him.”
“That’s my concern, as well, but at least here, we can prepare.”
“I wonder if maybe we were mistaken drawing him here,” Della said, practically tearing her eyes away from the forest. Rsiran recognized the worried expression she wore. He’d seen it before when Brusus had nearly died. It was the same expression she wore when she’d learned of the connection to the Forgotten with Evaelyn and to Venass with Danis.
“They can’t do anything to the Elder Trees,” Luthan said. “Rsiran destroyed the forge, so they shouldn’t have the supply of shadowsteel they had before.”
“With Danis, I’ve learned that might not matter. He will likely find other ways to attack the Elder Trees if that’s his goal,” Della said, “yet I’m not certain that’s his move.”
“What do you think he intends?” Rsiran asked.
“I wish I could See that more clearly,” Luthan said. “Unfortunately, what I can See is limited. Perhaps if there was a way of determining what I could See around them, much like I do when I try Seeing with you, Lareth, but I haven’t been able to find anything.”
“Maybe there’s something I can do,” Rsiran said.
“You will Travel?” Luthan asked, looking to Della.
He nodded and sat next to the tree, resting his back against the smooth bark, and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he Traveled.
He didn’t have a destination in mind and hovered ove
r the forest, similar to what he’d done when he went with Brusus to Asador. He rose above the forest, and in this form, Traveling as he did, he had a hint of the power of the Elder Trees, and could reach them from here.
Della and Luthan watched over him, keeping him safe.
Rsiran drifted toward the forest, wanting to see if there was anything within the forest that he had to worry about. He swept through the trees, finding nothing. The forest once had intimidated him, but there was nothing to fear from the forest. This was a place of his people, a place that should be their home.
As he drifted, he heard an occasional howl. In all the time that he’d spent in the forest, he hadn’t discovered the source of the cry. Most suspected it came from wolves, but Rsiran had never seen wolves in the Aisl Forest.
Moving in a steadily widening arc, he reached out from the forest, searching for anything that would explain the darkness that Luthan saw. There was nothing.
Making another pass, and now starting to feel the strain of the effort required to continue, he paused back near the heart of the Aisl, gaining strength from the Elder Trees. What would Luthan have Seen?
He shifted toward the city, moving into Elaeavn.
Lorcith, and it moved.
Rsiran focused on the lorcith, trying to determine how many of Venass might be here.
Dozens of dozens. This was the attack.
What would Danis want from Elaeavn—other than revenge?
Rsiran returned to his body and jumped to his feet.
“What is it?” Della said.
“They’re in Elaeavn. Hundreds of them. It’s like they waited…”
“For us to leave the city open and then they would attack,” Luthan said.
“Why would Danis attack Elaeavn?” Della said. “There is nothing about the city that gives them an advantage.”
“Other than trying to draw Rsiran and us into protecting those within the city. They can attack with impunity while we must be cautious,” Luthan said. “It is a particularly brutal plan. And will be effective, I fear. This city will be lost.”
There was only one answer. “I need to get everyone back into the city,” Rsiran said.
“If they’ve already attacked, it will be too late,” Luthan told him.
“Not for me.”
“You can’t Slide that many people into the city!”
Couldn’t he? Rsiran had never tested the limits of his ability, and there seemed no better time than now to try. They needed to reach Elaeavn, and needed to stop the attack, and with as many of Venass and the Hjan as there were within the city, he didn’t think he could take multiple trips.
“I have to try. I can pull us, and that should give us enough advantage to reach the city.”
He hurried to the center of the Aisl where the others were waiting. Jessa ran over to him and noted his expression. When he explained what he wanted to do, she shook her head at him. “Too many, Rsiran. Even you have limits.”
“What limits?” He looked around at the people arranged around them. “We don’t have much time, not if we intend to save any of the city.”
He noted Cael watching him from where she stood near Galen. When they reached the city, Rsiran wanted Galen with him. Whatever else he might be, having the assassin’s skills would be valuable.
Rsiran guided Jessa toward them. “Do you have everything that you need?” he asked Galen, glancing to the pouch that contained the poisons the assassin used.
Galen almost smiled. “Do you, Lorst? I presume you think we can retake the city?”
“We never lost it. But Venass has focused their attack on the city. It’s time to finish this.”
Galen swept his gaze over the people standing near them. “With these? Are they ready for where you’ll take them?”
Rsiran hoped that everything they had been through would be enough. There were several hundred with him, more than he should even consider attempting to Slide, and he doubted they would all escape unscathed. Rsiran needed to attack Venass, and knew that not all who were with him now would survive. That pained him.
Jessa touched his arm, almost Reading him in the way that she did.
Rsiran sighed. “They’re as ready as we can make them. This is what we wanted.”
Galen did smile then. “We? This is what you wanted, Lorst. You brought the Hjan to Elaeavn.”
Rsiran shook his head. “I didn’t bring them to Elaeavn, but I will see that they never return.” He started to turn away. “Be ready.”
As they left, Jessa leaned into him. “How many do you think you’ll be able to Slide?”
Rsiran glanced around the clearing. “I don’t know.”
“This many?”
“I—”
“I ask because if you attempt this and it fails, what happens to all of us?”
“It won’t fail.”
“How can you be so certain?”
Rsiran pointed to the Elder Trees. “For this, I’ll have to use the power of the trees.”
“Why do I get the sense that’s not a good thing?”
“Because I don’t know how much strength they can continue to offer.”
Would he be the reason the other vision that he’d had while holding the last crystal came true? Would it be his fault that they darkened?
If he tapped away the rest of the power simply to Slide people to Elaeavn, it was possible.
But they needed to go now.
“It’s time,” he said.
Valn hurried over to him with several others of the Sliding guild. All told, there were seven. The guild was a small one, without enough people to make this easier on Rsiran.
“How can we help?” Valn asked.
“We’re returning to Elaeavn to face Venass.”
“Good, because if you said we were returning to fish, I’d be upset. Don’t much care for fishing,” Valn said.
Rsiran considered those around them. “Take the best fighters. As many as you can carry. Arrange yourselves throughout the city.”
Valn nodded and reached out his hand. Rsiran took it, clasping wrists with Valn.
“Whatever happens, Lareth, I’ve enjoyed fighting with you.”
Rsiran nodded. “Me, too. May the Great Watcher keep his gaze on you.”
Valn grinned. “Someone has to.”
They departed, grabbing a few from those waiting in the clearing. Rsiran knew most who the Sliders chose—all skilled fighters—but not all. Valn took two, and most of the others took one. It helped, but not as much as what he needed.
And they couldn’t wait any longer.
Rsiran stood in the center of the clearing and raised his hands. Those standing around started to quiet, and quickly turned their attention to him. It shouldn’t have surprised him how quickly the focus shifted to him, and the open willingness for him to assume command, but it still did.
What did he say? From the faces that he saw and recognized—Luthan and Sarah and Seval and dozens of others—they expected him to say something.
He cleared his throat and touched the hilt of his sword as he searched for reassurance. “Venass has reached Elaeavn. If we fight—and if we win—we can end this. We can return to the lives we want to lead, and we can stop fearing another attack.” He swallowed. “More than that, we need to capture Danis so that we can reclaim the crystal. If we don’t, the other crystals will fade.”
Jessa squeezed his hand.
Rsiran took a deep breath. “We’ve faced Venass before. We know the powers they are capable of using, and the destruction they can cause. Whatever we have experienced before, this will likely be worse. They will have discovered some new trick, and come up with some new threat.” Rsiran looked at those standing around him, meeting as many in the eye as he could. “Not all of us will survive. I will do everything I can to save those who choose to fight, but not all of us will live. I understand if you don’t want to come with me.”
He fell silent, expecting some to depart. Jessa held his hand tightly, and the rest of th
e forest around him seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the others to respond.
No one left.
“Grab onto each other,” Rsiran said.
As everyone started to squeeze closer together, Jessa leaned into him. “Where are you going to Slide this many people that it will be safe?”
There was only one place that he could think of in the city, but he feared that it would be the hardest to reach.
“The palace.”
Jessa sucked in a breath and nodded.
Rsiran closed his eyes. He wasn’t entirely certain what he planned would succeed. Could he pull all of these people with him? He’d done the same with massive amounts of lorcith in the past, but never had he attempted it with such a large group of people. If he failed, so did the hope of Elaeavn surviving the Venass attack.
Yet he knew he couldn’t Slide people separately. Even as quickly as he could Slide, it would take too long—and would ruin any chance that they might have at surprise. They needed to act now, and quickly.
He pulled.
As he did, he remembered vividly the first time that he tried Sliding with another, and how hard that had been. Then there had been the time when he had Slid Brusus and Lianna to the heart of the Aisl after she’d died. That had been so difficult that he couldn’t Slide again afterward. Why did he think he could Slide this many now?
The effort was enormous, and almost too much.
He anchored to the place he intended to Slide, knowing it as well as he could. That familiarity helped, but there were so many with him.
Rsiran screamed.
Pain shot through him. Moving this many people—even with the need that they had—was more than he should have attempted.
Maybe it would have been better to have Slid smaller groups, after all.
But that would risk Venass knowing they were coming.
Rsiran pulled harder, forcing them along the Slide.
Then he paused the Slide in the place between.
Power flowed around him, and Rsiran bathed in it, taking as much of that power as he could, knowing that he would need it to succeed. He pulled on the power of the Elder Trees. There was no question that the power faded, weakened in some real way. Whatever had happened with the crystal had weakened the Elder Trees as well.
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