A City in Ruin (The Dark Sorcerer Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Though she had enough sorcery to help her complete many different enchantments, and she had the spellbook she’d stolen from Char and the outpost, she didn’t have the knowledge. It was that knowledge deficit which really created the challenge for her and kept her from being able to do all the things she wanted to do. The dragon stone ring could help, but there were some limits to how much the ring made a difference.

  “If you really think I could help, I’m happy to try. I know some people. I am sure I could find the right dular to help with this.”

  “I’m sure you could,” she said. She looked at Topher. She debated the question she wanted to ask him, knowing it might hurt his feelings. This was a man who acted like a boy, but one who'd been hurt. She wasn't about to whip him while he was down, but she still felt as if she needed to ask. “How long do you intend to stay with us?”

  He headed over to the wall, stuffing the pebbles up into it like he had before. “I don’t really know. I figured I would stay until I figure out where else I can go—that is, if you don’t mind.”

  She forced a smile. “I don’t mind.” She did, but at the same time, given that the dark magic had been out in the world, and it had been drawn to him twice, she also felt as if she had an obligation to ensure he was fully protected. That was part of her role as Toral. “I just wanted to see what your plans were.”

  “I don’t really have a plan so much. I appreciate you letting me stay here.” He glanced toward the other room. “And . . .”

  “And I think you’re going to have to let her go,” Jayna said. “I can see it your eyes. I’ve seen that look from men before. It’s not going to work.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she has her own issues.”

  Jayna took a seat on the bed while Topher began to stuff more pebbles into the wall again. Most of them stayed, but some poured out, cascading out of the holes in the wall, raining down onto the floor. Topher continued to shove them into the cracks, determined to fit them in.

  “What issues does she have?” Topher asked.

  “It's not so much issues as it is injury,” she said. She shook her head. “I shouldn't even be saying anything to you. She wouldn't like it if I did.”

  “I just want to help her. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “She might say otherwise,” Jayna said.

  “Even so, that doesn’t mean I can’t do something to help her.” He looked over to the outer room, shoving a fistful of pebbles into one particularly large crack. None of them stayed.

  “She and I met only about a year ago,” Jayna said softly, glancing to the outer room, too. “She was hurt. I found her in my travels, shortly after I left—” She forced a smile. She wasn’t about to tell him where she had left, though she had a feeling Topher didn’t even care. He only wanted to do whatever he could to help Eva. “Anyway. She was propped up against a pile of rocks. Her eyes were closed, her head bent over.” Jayna shook her head. She remembered that day quite well. She had only taken the ring a few weeks before, and didn’t really understand the power within it. Ceran had provided her with some basic lessons, but she was instructed to travel from the Academy to a small town along the coast where she would get further instruction. As she’d been traveling, she came across Eva.

  “How badly was she hurt?” Topher asked, turning to her. He still had a fistful of pebbles, but he clutched them rather than trying to stuff them into the wall.

  “At the time, I didn’t think she was that seriously injured. She was passed out on the side of the road, nothing else around her. She didn’t have any obvious injuries when I looked at her, though I couldn’t get her to come around.” If Jayna knew then what she did now, she would have wondered if Eva had been intoxicated, but she didn’t think that was the case, either. If it were merely drunkenness, she would’ve recovered far more easily than she had. This was something else—something she didn’t fully understand.

  She had tried using magic at first, then she had discovered that wasn’t enough. She had needed something else. She had needed to use the dragon stone ring.

  The combination of the two had been enough to help Eva, though even then, there had been a bit of a limit to what she had managed to do.

  Slowly, Eva had come around—mostly on her own, though Jayna had tried to help. Jayna still didn’t know if what she had done had been the key to Eva’s recovery, or if there was something else to it. She still didn’t know if Eva suffered from an actual injury, or if her affliction was more about an emptiness. She couldn’t help but feel as if some of the power she now saw in Eva had been absent at the time, and Eva had needed to recharge.

  Still, even though she had needed that time, it had struck her that Eva had chosen to come along with her. Eva had stayed since then.

  “Why does she drink as much wine as she does?”

  Jayna shrugged. “I don’t know. I stopped asking.” At least, she had mostly stopped asking. There were still times when she wondered if she could dig into what happened, find out the reason Eva did the things she did, but Jayna was not skilled at understanding Eva. “All I know is she isn’t from around here. She comes from someplace beyond the kingdom, though it’s not anyplace she admits to.”

  “Why not?”

  “Again, I don’t know. She keeps these things to herself. I think she feels like she’s protecting us, or she’s protecting something else.” She shrugged. “She has a unique ability, and without that . . .” She shrugged again. “It doesn’t even matter. All that matters is that she’s suffered, and I don’t really understand all that she has struggled with, only that her struggle has changed her. I try to understand, and I tried to give her time to work through what she needs to, but it’s not always easy.”

  “I’ve heard of something similar—the kind of power she has,” he said. “Mostly childhood stories. Though those stories never spoke of a person having that kind of power. Some sort of lizard.” He frowned, tipping his head.

  Jayna chuckled. “She's not a dragon,” she said.

  “I know,” he said, though he grinned. “Could you imagine if she was?”

  Jayna considered it for a moment before discarding that thought.

  “I could look into her power, if you want,” Topher said.

  “I’m not so sure digging into the kind of power she has is in our best interest.”

  “Why not? Doesn’t she want us to help her?”

  “It’s not so much a matter of that. It has more to do with her viewing any sort of help as interference.”

  “Interference? I would only be doing a little of my own research to help her. I think she would appreciate that.”

  She shook her head. “You go ahead and do what you think you need to, but if she catches you digging into her past, I don’t want to be anywhere nearby.”

  “You’re afraid of her?”

  “Let’s just say I have a healthy appreciation for her anger.”

  It wasn’t so much fear, Jayna told herself—though on second thought, maybe it was. There was no doubt Eva had power, and it was the kind of power Jayna didn’t even understand. Had they not struggled as much as they had with dark sorcerers recently, she wondered if maybe she would’ve taken the time to try to piece through just what it was, but given all they’d faced, dealing with Eva’s particular magic was not something she had spent much time contemplating.

  Jayna waved for him to get moving. “There are other things for you to be focused on rather than Eva. She wouldn’t be very pleased if she knew we were talking about her anyway.”

  “I don’t know why she would care.”

  “She would care because she’s Eva. She doesn’t like people talking about her, and I don’t think she wants anybody to be concerned about her.”

  “But I am concerned about her,” Topher said.

  She chuckled. “Just . . . Maybe keep that to yourself. Maybe don’t reveal how much you worry for her.”

  Topher looked along the hallway, turning his attention back to
her. “I don’t like that I can’t.”

  “You don’t have to like it. It’s her choice, not ours. And besides, I need you to help me now. You said you knew how to find some of the dular, so I need you to use that knowledge so we can track down who made this item. Will you do that?”

  He shoved another fist full of pebbles into the broken wall before finally turning to her. “I suppose. I might need to take it with me.”

  “Take it if you need to, but just bring it back.”

  “I can’t make any promises,” he said to her. She offered a smile, and he shrugged. “I’m telling you the truth. I can’t make any promises about whether I can bring this back. If I find the person responsible, isn’t that enough?”

  “I suppose so,” she said.

  “Then can I have it?”

  She sighed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the damaged enchantment before handing it over to Topher. These enchantments were all they had to track this dular, and without this one, she feared she wouldn’t figure out who was responsible.

  Still, she hadn’t gotten anywhere so far. She suspected she could wander through the city a little bit more, going with Eva and any of her contacts, but at this point it might not even be effective. She might as well see what Topher could learn.

  “Only if you need it. Otherwise, bring it back.”

  “It’s already burned out. There’s not going to be anything within it you can use.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with me being able to use it.” At least, it didn’t have everything to do with her being able to use it. There was a benefit in having something like this for her to explore, to test and learn, and to see just what might be trapped within it.

  It might be time for her to start looking at using enchantments again. She might need to use something other than her own magic when she faced some of the dark sorcerers.

  Jayna motioned for Topher to get moving, and he took the enchantment, stuffed it into his pocket, and slipped off down the hall, leaving a trail of pebbles behind him. She only shook her head. He might be helpful, but she couldn’t help but feel she put her trust in the wrong person.

  She followed him down the hall, reaching where Eva sat in the chair. She grabbed the glass of wine off of the floor in front of her, swirling it briefly the way Eva often did, before bringing it to her nose and breathing in its scent. It was sharp, with oaky notes, and there was something almost buttery about it.

  “Get your own glass,” Eva muttered.

  “I just might do that.” She headed to the cabinet, grabbed a glass, then poured herself some. “Topher went looking for the dular.”

  “Fine. He went looking for the dular.”

  “He’s risking himself for us.”

  She shook her head, reaching for her glass, but Jayna didn’t hand it over to her. “He’s risking himself because he wants to help you.”

  “Actually, I think it has more to do with you,” Jayna said.

  Eva’s mouth pressed into a tight line. “Then he’s making a mistake.”

  “Which is the same thing I told him, but you know how young men can be. They get an idea in their head, and they think they need to do all they can to save someone.”

  “He thinks to save me?”

  “I don’t know if he thinks he can save you so much as he believes you need help. In that, the two of us agree. You do need help.”

  “What I need is for you to leave me alone with my wine.”

  “I'd rather sit with you and share a glass of wine. We don't even have to do it here.”

  “I like the fire,” Eva said.

  Topher's comment came back to Jayna, and though she didn't think Eva was a dragon, what if there were some beings who shared that mythical creature's power?

  “I wish you would tell me what happened. At least, more of what happened—more about what you remember.”

  She glanced over to the door, thankful Topher was gone. She didn’t think Eva would share anything with Topher here, but even with him gone, there was a real possibility she wouldn’t admit anything—certainly not that she struggled. This was Eva, after all. She was a proud woman, and she liked to view herself as strong, determined.

  “It’s a long story,” she said.

  “Then share it. If it’s a long story, I have time. We have to wait until Topher gets back from looking for the dular, anyway.”

  “We don’t. I could just sit here and have a drink.”

  “Or you could tell me why you feel the need to drink. You could tell me what happened to you that day I met you.”

  “The day you met me I died.”

  “You didn’t die.”

  Eva looked up, holding her gaze. “Are you so sure?”

  “Do you want to die? Maybe that’s been my problem all along. I keep thinking I need to help you, but that might be wrong.”

  “There’s no ‘might’ about it. That is wrong.”

  “If you don’t want the help, then I’ll stop offering it.”

  “Good,” Eva said.

  “But you’ve got somebody else now who wants to help you.”

  “I’m sure you can tell him something to scare him off.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m not going to chase him away on your behalf. If you don’t want him to help you, then you have to deal with it.”

  “I don’t. I can just ignore him.”

  “You might be able to, but I wonder if perhaps he’ll be a bit more persistent than you give him credit for.” Jayna thought about how determined he’d been to stuff the pebbles into the wall. Anyone who was willing to keep working at that, to keep shoving pebbles into a broken wall, regardless of how they poured back out, had a bit of stubbornness within them. It was that stubbornness that might be needed to get through to Eva.

  “Just tell him I don’t need his help,” she muttered.

  “You tell him. But if you’re going to be staying here with me, then you’re going to need to help me. You might not need his help, but you’ve proven to me that I need yours.”

  “On that we agree.”

  “And when he finds the dular responsible, I’m going to need your help to figure out what happened.”

  “You just want me to pull off the danger.”

  Jayna chuckled. “Obviously I can't.”

  “Obviously,” Eva muttered.

  Jayna took a sip of the wine, watching Eva for a long moment. “I hope you know that all I want is to help you.”

  “You seem to think you can help everyone.”

  “You know that’s not the case. But I do want to help you.”

  “I’m a lost cause. You might as well just give up on me.” Eva closed her eyes, turning her face to the fire. She bit her lip, and when she breathed out, a small streamer of smoke drifted from her. It floated around her, a swirling pattern that spiraled outward.

  “I refuse to see you as a lost cause, and I refuse to allow you to think you are one.”

  “You can refuse it all you want, but that doesn’t change the truth.” She opened one eye. “Leave the glass behind.”

  Jayna let out a frustrated sigh, getting to her feet and turning away from Eva. She would leave her, if the woman wanted to be left alone, and she would go and work on her wall. At least with that, her efforts didn’t feel quite as futile.

  7

  Jayna glanced over to Topher as they headed toward the small market, moving through the darkened city streets. The only light was that of the glowing moss, a trail of green that guided them forward. The moon was a sliver, not casting nearly enough light down for them to see by. Even the stars didn’t twinkle quite as brightly as they normally did.

  “Are you sure about this?” Jayna asked.

  “I’m sure about what I found,” Topher said. “You wanted me to find who made this thing, so I did. I told you I would.” He grinned. “It was easier than I expected. I thought I was going to have to check all of the dular, but I only had to ask a couple before they knew right where to find him.”
<
br />   “Him?”

  “The man from the other night. The one who passed out in your bed. He’s the one who makes these.”

  She frowned. “No.”

  “He’s one of the dular. Apparently, he’s quite gifted, as well. I don’t know the whole story about him, but from the way it sounds, his skills have improved recently. Now he has quite a crowd that want his enchantments.”

  She followed him through the market. Eva was out there somewhere, exploring on her own, and at this point, Jayna was no longer concerned about what Eva intended, or even if she were tracking them. At this point, the only thing Jayna really cared about was getting to the bottom of who had used the enchantment that had blasted through the wall of her home.

  “Why here?” she whispered.

  Topher shrugged as he looked around him. “There are plenty of dular markets in the city—especially the city—but not many like this.” He chuckled. “This one sells particular items. Dangerous ones.”

  She regarded him for a moment. He seemed almost excited. “You find this interesting?”

  “I think the history of it is interesting. The city embraces the dular. Usually places try to hide their magic, their enchantments. Not here.”

  She grunted, shaking her head. “It’s not usually about keeping it from others. It’s about keeping it from the Sorcerers’ Society. “

  “That’s why the dular are doing it at night.”

  “I doubt they’re trying to conceal their actions from the Society,” Jayna said.

  She hadn't taken any time to try to figure out the politics of Nelar, though perhaps she should. The dular were able to operate openly, but that didn't mean all of them did. Dangerous enchantments could be found in this market. That was what Topher had said. And certain enchantments were far more dangerous than others.

  And in a place that had an outpost. She was less surprised that there would be an underground market—she’d been in other cities with similar places, and wasn’t so shocked to find one here—but she was a bit taken aback by the willingness to deal in magic so close to the outpost.