A City in Ruin (The Dark Sorcerer Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Then there were some of the other explosive spells the sorcerers had used. Those were a bit more complicated, yet as she had watched, they had bounced that magic around as if it were nothing. Ceran had taught her several different dangerous uses of sorcery she never would've learned in the Academy, but the overwhelming violence she had witnessed on that battlefield was more than what even he had demonstrated. It seemed impossible.

  It told her all she needed to know about the sorcerers. All of them would’ve been incredibly powerful, all of them would have been impressive in their own right, and all of them would have been difficult for her to stop, at least with sorcery. With the dragon stone ring, Jayna didn’t know if she would have a different advantage.

  When she reached the edge of the market, she headed carefully forward. The air still stank of the burning remains of the vendors’ stands, and a hint of blood tinged the air, though not nearly as much as what had been on the battlefield. She felt a stillness not unusual in Nelar, especially with the humidity, which weighed everything down, as if to coalesce around it, tamping down the energy that could be found here.

  She made her way through the remains of the square, pausing as she looked over to Eva, then down to where Rosal leaned against the wall. She crouched down across from him. His eyes were still wide, and a little bit of blood trailed down one temple.

  He’d been injured.

  She attempted sorcery first. The healing patterns she had learned in the spellbook she'd taken from Char were not terribly complicated—which meant they weren't terribly effective either. As she tried to sweep magic through him, she could feel it butting up against some resistance. Almost without meaning to, she drew a burst of painfully cold power through the dragon stone ring, which surged more potently than she had expected. She had to hurry to tamp it back down.

  What was that?

  When she had reached for power through the dragon stone ring before, there had never been such a rapid response. This was more than what she had anticipated.

  “Are you hurt?” she asked him.

  He blinked a moment and shook his head. “Jayna? What were you doing here?”

  Jayna looked over to Topher, who was trying to speak to Eva, though she just stared out into the darkness. A bit of smoke swirled around her, less voluminous than before, and either Eva had withdrawn it, or had possibly reached the end of her potential when it came to using that smoke.

  “I think they targeted you,” Jayna said.

  Rosal turned toward her. He had a sharp jawline and eyes she couldn’t deny her attraction to. It was easy for her to remember why he had ended up back at her place, why she had ended up kissing him the way she had at the Wicked Pint.

  “Why would they have targeted me?” Rosal asked.

  “Tell me about your enchantments.”

  Rosal reached into his pocket and pulled one out, setting it on his palm. It was hardly larger than the small, bean-sized enchantment he had demonstrated to the rest of the crowd, and the symbols on its surface didn’t have the same definition as some of the more pronounced and impressive enchantments. There was an irregular pattern on the surface she suspected she could re-create, though she didn't know if she could reproduce a dular enchantment. The kind of power they poured into their enchantments was similar to sorcery, but they infused it with emotion, which granted it a different strength than sorcery-based enchantments.

  “This?”

  “Why don’t you tell me about the kind of enchantments you create?”

  “I . . .” He shook his head. “They weren’t always this potent.”

  “I gathered that,” Jayna said.

  “It’s just that I’ve been struggling. My enchantments were more like Molly’s enchantments, and little more than a bit of spark. Nobody wants that. Even the people who buy them end up disappointed, and they end up coming back to us, angry at what they perceive as some wrong we did to them.”

  “I assume Molly is another dular?”

  “That’s Molly,” Rosal said, motioning to one of the other dular who sat along the wall. Jayna looked in the direction he pointed, and she saw the woman who’d been trying to sell her the sparks of flame, the one who had been aggressive with her magic, even though it had been mild. She smiled to herself. “She always positions herself at the outskirts of the market, mostly because if she comes in any farther, she knows some people aren’t going to stop, or they’ll realize there are other enchantments that are more effective,” Rosal said.

  Jayna chuckled. “I saw that.”

  “Did you? Well, I couldn’t do much more than what she could. I could at least start a flame, but . . .”

  “What changed?”

  “The items I was enchanting,” Rosal said.

  “I didn't realize it mattered for the dular.” The basis of an enchantment mattered for sorcery though. Why wouldn't it matter for dular? With sorcery, the compounds involved in the enchantment were what granted power, along with the spell placed upon it.

  “Normally, it doesn’t. Normally, the items make little difference, other than the fact that the power in a particular enchantment is augmented if we find the right echoing of power.” He shook his head. “I’d looked for ages, searching for other ways to echo power, but hadn’t found anything very potent for me. My magic was no better than Molly’s.” He looked over to Jayna. “And how can I be a dular, at least one of any skill, if I can’t sell my wares?”

  “It seems to me there would be other options for you.”

  “You’d be surprised. The options for the dular are fairly limited. I spent quite a bit of time trying to search for other places to put my power, but nothing really made a difference. It wasn’t until I . . .” Rosal looked away, turning his attention to the cobblestones next to him.

  “Until you what?” she asked.

  “Until I found something new. It was different. Something I’d never seen before.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Well, I don’t know what it’s called, but it was a sort of glowing rock. It had a particular coloration to it—almost maroon, maybe purple, but it seemed to take on a different color depending on who held it.” He met her gaze. “I found it was effective in increasing the efficacy of my enchantments. I tried a small rock.” He held out the enchantment, turning it in his hand before showing it to her. “Something small that once would have done very little, and it began to take on much more color.”

  “Color. By that, you mean the sparks you demonstrated.”

  “That’s right. People have fallen in love with it. They really enjoy seeing those colors. I can make more, but it takes more concentration. Some of them are a little harder, especially when I deal with the larger enchantments.”

  Jayna leaned back, looking at the injured people around her. She didn’t know how this had to do with the danger Ceran had shown her. Somehow, it all had to work together.

  “Where did you acquire this?”

  “There was a merchant who came to town about two weeks ago.”

  “And you bought it from them?”

  He turned away.

  Jayna snorted. “You didn’t buy it. I see. You took it.”

  “Well, not at first. I had no intention of taking anything from anyone, but the first one just looked so pretty. It was this blood-red stone that seemed to glow with its own light. It called to me. I felt compelled to go to it, to hold it, and to test it. When I placed the enchantment on it, I knew something was different.” He shook his head. “All these years, I’ve looked for ways to increase the potency of my enchantments, and it really took a specific construct.”

  “Where can I find this merchant?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. They were only there for a couple of days, then they disappeared.”

  “If they were only there for a couple of days, then . . . Let me guess. You went back after you learned just how potent your enchantments were, and you stole more stones from them?”

  “I wouldn’t have,” Rosal said.
“It’s just . . . You wouldn’t understand. You wouldn’t know what it’s like to not have the kind of power you need, to feel like you could do and be more, and to find that the one thing standing between you and the success you long for is a bit of power you had to borrow.”

  Jayna twisted the ring on her finger for a moment, watching him before shaking her head. “I . . .” There came a tightness along the skin of her arms, and she got to her feet, looking into the distance. Sorcerers. She could feel the magic coming in their direction. She hurried over to Eva. “The Sorcerers’ Society has come. They must have detected the magic here.”

  “Is that a good thing or not?” Eva asked.

  “I don't know. The people need help.” She could smell not only the stink of ash and burning wagons, but the metallic stench of blood, and something she hoped was not burning flesh, but feared it was. “If the Society comes, they're going to learn about the market.”

  “Then what do you want me to do about it?” Eva asked.

  “Well, to begin with, maybe you can get the rest of the dular out of here. You and Topher can work together.”

  Topher shared his gaze with Eva for a moment, eagerness in his eyes.

  Jayna just shook her head. He really needed to learn some restraint.

  “What about you?” Eva asked.

  “I’m going to see if I can’t head them off a little bit,” Jayna said.

  “By that you mean you intend to speak with Char,” Eva said to her.

  “How do you know he’s even here?”

  “How do you?” Eva asked.

  Jayna closed her eyes. She could feel the linking spell between her and Char, the connection and energy that had formed between them long ago, and it didn’t take much for her to know how to reach for that. She was all too aware of the magic that flowed between them. Even though they had both placed the linking spell, it had recently become more one-sided. She could still feel the effect of Char out there, and knew he was within the city; she had little difficulty tracking his proximity to her. The difference was that he could not do the same—or perhaps that he just didn’t want to.

  “You know how,” she said softly. She looked down to Rosal. “You need to get going. The two of us aren’t done, though. We have more to talk about.”

  “What more?”

  “I need to know more about those stones.”

  “I’m sorry I stole them.”

  “I don’t care about you stealing them.”

  “You don’t?”

  “What I care about is who you stole them from. I need you to go back home, and I’m going to meet you there in a little bit.”

  “I can tell you where to find his home, but it’s difficult to find in the city. Navigating through Nelar, especially at night, can be tricky.”

  She pressed her hand on his chest and traced a quick pattern. It was a minor one, a hint of a circle with a loop looking out from it. As soon as she was done, she pushed power out through that, sealing the linking spell. It was a transient one. Long enough for her to find him tonight, but not long enough for her to have to track him indefinitely, not like the linking spell between her and Char.

  That one had been temporary as well. At least, that had been the intent. They had lost control over it, and the linking spell had formed and solidified, becoming something concrete between them. She didn’t need that with Rosal.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “That’s so I can find you. If you try to hide from me . . .”

  “I’m not going to try to hide,” Rosal said. “I’m glad you found me. I was hoping to see you again. I don’t know what happened last night. I think . . .”

  “I think you had too much to drink,” Jayna said. “I have some experience with that.” She looked over to Eva, who was working with Topher, and the two of them were shuffling the dular away, getting them moving. Most of them had little difficulty getting to their feet, but some struggled.

  She could feel Char coming closer. It wouldn’t be long before he reached them, and when he did, she suspected the sorcerers would sweep through here and detect the kind of magic that had been used. There was danger in that, especially as she didn’t know what they might do if they did detect something here.

  “Do you promise to find me?” Rosal reached for her before dropping his hands down to his sides.

  Jayna sighed. Why had he seemed so different the night before?

  He was a handsome, interesting man, but had she seen this side of him, his willingness to borrow and steal dangerous magic, what would she have done?

  Maybe nothing differently.

  Jayna had her own connection to dangerous magic. How could she blame somebody else for using it when she was so willing to reach for it herself?

  “I promise I will find you. It won’t even be long. Now go.”

  He headed off, limping slightly, but the farther he walked, the straighter he managed to stand. He paused at the ruined remains of his wagon and sorted through things before shaking his head and disappearing into the darkness.

  “I’m going to see if I can’t head them off now,” she said.

  “Be careful,” Topher said.

  Eva watched her, and Jayna ignored the long stare, slipping away. She found the path Char and the other sorcerers were taking, and she hurried along, getting closer and closer to them, until she ducked off into the narrow, dark alley that they would come past.

  She wondered if perhaps Ceran were still out there watching her. She never knew how much he followed her, though if he were concerned about some dark sorcerer, he would have worse things to be focusing on than her. She was only part of his responsibility. At least she understood what he was doing these days, though why had he not shared with her before?

  Another question she had for Ceran.

  Jayna started off toward a side street. She needed to draw the Society away as she had claimed she was going to. She debated what spell would be potent enough for them to detect the power she used but wouldn’t have a distinct signature to it.

  She didn't know how to mask her magic that well. Jayna wasn't even sure she could.

  Which meant that once she used her spell that way, it would potentially give the Society something to track.

  She traced out the quick pattern for the starburst spell, and angled it upward.

  As that power bloomed away from her, she moved into another alley, hiding, hurriedly releasing her connection to magic so the Society would not attack her.

  Magic bloomed nearby, causing tension along her skin.

  The Society was coming.

  Jayna could practically feel the other sorcerers working their way past. Most of them were dressed in the dark maroon clothing, but not all of them. Some of them wore gray, and one actually looked to be wearing chain mail.

  Soldiers.

  Somewhere among them was Char.

  Jayna couldn’t see him, but she could feel he was there.

  She focused on the connection between them. She pushed through the bond, but couldn’t tell much of anything. The link was there, lingering between her and Char, but it was faint.

  She needed to stretch across that connection, somehow trigger him so he was aware of her presence, the same way Ceran managed to alert her through the dragon stone ring.

  Could she use something similar to that?

  Jayna hadn’t tried that before, but it seemed it would make sense.

  She closed her eyes, focusing on the linking spell buried within her mind. That spell had been with her so long and so consistently that she had long ago started to forget about it. At this point, it was merely a presence within her mind, but the more she focused on it, the more she thought she could pull through that connection, and when she did . . .

  There. It came to her, an awareness that drifted to the forefront of her consciousness.

  The energy was there, a burst of power that flowed up into her. Jayna held on to it, then tried to keep her mind focused on it, using whatever she could to de
tect—and use—the power she sensed.

  She had to find some way of pushing through it.

  Sorcery wasn't going to be enough. She used her dragon stone ring connection, drawing just the faintest trace of power, her finger going numb with the painful cold as she called upon that power. Then she felt along the connection she shared with Char.

  The strangeness of the connection was there, and all she had to do was touch the linking spell with her magic. As she pulled on it, wrapping a hint of power around it, she felt it reverberate. It was just enough for her to pluck the power of that spell, and the spell carried with it enough energy that she felt it echo in response.

  It was all she could do.

  She waited.

  She’d never attempted to do this before because she didn’t have the necessary power—or experience. Even now, she wasn’t sure it would work. She still didn’t have the knowledge needed for significant sorcery, though she had much more experience than she had while in the Academy.

  Char stopped.

  He had nearly reached the market. She closed her eyes as she felt where he was. She knew how close he had come to the market, but as soon as he stopped, she knew the linking spell had called out to him. She started toward the mouth of the alley and continued to wait.

  Jayna crouched, and when Char started toward her, moving back in her direction, she stepped forward.

  “Jayna?” Char hissed, his voice barely rising above a whisper.

  “There you are,” she said, joining Char as he stepped into the street.

  “What are you doing here? How did you do that?”

  “What did you feel?”

  “I felt a strange tickle in the back of my mind. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. It was almost like you were tugging on something.” He stepped closer, his dark robes of the Sorcerers’ Society flowing down to the ground. They had to feel incredibly hot in Nelar’s humidity. “I’ve been increasingly aware of our connection these days, but this was different. I felt like you were trying to reach me.”