A City in Ruin (The Dark Sorcerer Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  As she neared Rosal’s family home, she slowed.

  A crowd had gathered outside of the home. It was an enormous courtyard, with a fountain flowing with water, and in the nighttime, Jayna hadn’t even paid attention to it. She’d been so focused on tracking the linking spell that she hadn’t paid any attention to where it was guiding her. Now that she was here, now that she could feel the energy, she didn’t need to focus on it, especially as she knew that Rosal was just on the other side of the wall, which the mansion—larger than any others nearby—loomed over. At night, it had seemed impressive, the mansion glowing with lights and so many windows, the shadows spreading out over the yard, and in the daylight, the pale white stone gleamed. It stood in sharp contrast to the dark stone she found in the rest of the city, and the ivy creeping up along the side of the stone lent it an aura of positive energy.

  She watched the crowd in the courtyard. Some of them were shouting, and most of them had their attention turned toward the home, as if angry at Rosal’s father.

  At one point, the gate opened, and a horse leading a wagon came rumbling out, flanked by soldiers on either side, before the gate closed once again. Jayna watched from a distance, trying to see who was inside the wagon. If this was Rosal’s father, then it might be a perfect opportunity, but she instead caught sight of an elegantly dressed woman with black hair, deeply tanned skin, and a flowery red gown inside the wagon.

  The woman looked out at the people as the soldiers pushed them back, keeping them away. Could that be Rosal’s mother?

  Jayna needed to find a way in.

  She headed to the wall and leaned against it, lingering there, feeling the sense of Rosal through it, and realized she wasn’t going to get a break from the soldiers patrolling in front of the home.

  She would need to find another way. Maybe she could create a bit of a distraction. She thought about the enchantments she had, but none of them would necessarily work.

  Maybe a spell, though.

  It didn’t have to be anything too exotic. All she needed was to divert the soldiers’ attention long enough so she could slip over the wall. She needed something she could either form or activate from where she stood.

  What would it be?

  She held up her hand, palm facing upward, and summoned power through the ring. The Toral ring magic could be mixed with sorcery—or it could be unleashed as a blast of power. That was what she needed now. As that cold power flowed into her, she let it explode gently outward, and it nudged one of the people shouting in the courtyard.

  It was an older man, and he leaned on a cane. When her slight burst of energy struck him in the shoulder, he turned to the man behind him, and he poked him in the chest with the cane.

  The other man shouted and shoved the older man.

  Jayna smiled to herself. She could create a little bit of confusion here.

  She held out the ring again and sent another burst of power out, shoving a woman in the back, who spun and slapped the man behind her.

  It didn’t take long before chaos had spread throughout the courtyard, which drew the soldiers’ attention.

  Jayna used the opportunity to jump, reaching the lower lip of the wall and hurriedly scrambling over it. Somebody pointed in her direction, but she was over before they had a chance to say anything or reveal her presence. Once in the garden, she hurried along the wall until she reached Rosal’s shed. The door was cracked, and she poked her head inside.

  “Rosal?”

  “Jayna,” he said with a sigh. “You made it. I wasn’t sure you would with the protest going on outside . . .”

  “Protest?”

  “Well, my father increased the merchant fees for the city.” He pulled open the door and stood there dressed in a black jacket and pants. “It wasn’t very popular, as you can imagine.”

  “You said he oversaw the merchant guild.”

  “He does. And he also controls the fees the merchant guild pays.” He shrugged.

  “Who just left your home?”

  “I didn’t see. I told you my father hasn’t let me into the house very often for the last few years.”

  “You had to have seen something,”

  “I think one of the lead merchants was here.”

  That was a merchant? They had seemed too wealthy to be a merchant.

  “Let's go talk to your father. We can find out what he knows, if anything, about the merchant who came through with the stones.” She couldn't believe how naïve Rosal could be. And here she blamed Topher for his childlike qualities, but at least he had an excuse. Rosal had none. Jayna only wished she had learned that about him when she'd first met him.

  “I don't know . . .”

  “Then I'm going inside. Alone.” Jayna wasn't above breaking in to get information—though it might make more sense to go and ask Rosal's father first.

  “You wouldn’t even know where to start,” Rosal said. “I might not have been in the house much over the last few years, but my father lives by a routine. He wouldn’t have changed that—or where he leaves things.”

  “Then come with me.”

  He looked over to the house, and she could see the conflicted expression on his face. He scratched his chin and rubbed the fingers on his other hand together. “I can talk to him. I don't know what he's going to tell me. He doesn't tell me much these days.”

  Jayna motioned for him to go, and he started off, though she could see his unease and the tension in his shoulders. What must it be like to be so afraid of one’s father? Jayna had never feared her parents. She was sad they were gone, but she had the sense from Rosal that he wouldn't necessarily feel the same way about his own parents.

  Rosal frowned before heading along the path toward the house.

  Jayna waited a moment, then followed him along the winding path leading up to the house. It was incredibly ornate. There were shrubs on either side, blocking out some of the light—many were sculpted, shaped into different creatures, like an eagle or a wolf, while others were simply neatly trimmed. The path itself was all cobblestone, making her feel as if she were walking on a completely paved road in the city. It wound slowly and steadily around, making its way toward the home, and included a few paths that branched off. She continued to follow him, sticking to the side of the path where the shrubs cast shadows, watching him from a distance. He moved slowly, almost as if he were hesitant, and never once bothered to look back at her.

  Finally, the path opened up, the shrubs on either side spread outward, and he hurried with a quickened step toward the main door of the home.

  Jayna stood behind Rosal as he hesitated in front of the door.

  She nudged him. “Go on,” she said.

  He started to reach for the handle of the door just as it came open. An older, gray-haired man dressed in white stood on the other side. Jayna had a hard time thinking that was Rosal's father. A servant, then.

  “Master Rosal. I will let your father know you have come.”

  Rosal blinked before bobbing his head in a quick nod. “Thank you, Gilles.”

  The older man closed the door on them.

  “Your father won't even let you in?” Jayna asked.

  Rosal didn't look over to her, but he flushed. “I have to make my way.”

  He didn't say anything and they stood at the door for what seemed like at least ten minutes.

  When the door opened again, she caught sight of a large, handsome man, with the same enchanting eyes as Rosal, though a bit grayer at the temples. He glanced at Jayna for a moment before dismissing her and turning his attention to Rosal.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “I wanted to show you something,” Rosal said, hesitation in his voice.

  “I don't have time for games, Rosal. The guild is busy enough with current activities.”

  Rosal nodded hurriedly. “I know. I've heard. I just want to show you something.” He held out one of his modified enchantments. “I found something. It could be valuable.”

&
nbsp; “Show me.”

  Rosal's father had a deep, commanding voice, anger edged within it.

  Rosal blanched, fumbling with the enchantment.

  While he did, Jayna realized something: He had the wrong one.

  She shook her head. It wasn't one of his new, augmented enchantments. This was one of his old ones. She tried to say something, but sparks sputtered from the enchantment.

  Rosal's father watched him for a few moments before silently turning around, heading back into the house, and closing the door behind him.

  Rosal stared at the enchantment in his hand. “Oh. I think I have the wrong one.”

  Jayna snorted. “I guess we aren't going to get answers that way.”

  “I’ll try again later.” Rosal said, turning away and starting back toward the garden house.

  He didn't even look back at Jayna.

  She wasn't about to miss out on her opportunity. If there was something in his father’s records, she needed to know.

  And it wouldn't hurt to just take a look. She didn't know where Rosal's father might keep things like that, but her brother had taught her how to search. She could put those talents into practice.

  She darted the opposite way along the house, moving away from the main entrance, and reached the door near the far side. When she was there, she paused. It looked to be a servants’ entrance, though nobody else was here. She pulled it open just a little bit, poking her head inside, and didn’t see any movement. It led into a narrow hallway, and two enchanted lanterns hung on the walls, creating light down the length of the hall.

  She stepped inside and headed down the hall, which smelled of flowers, and as she ran her hand along the smooth-paneled wood surface of the wall, she found the reason for that. A vase rested on the table, a cluster of a dozen roses of different colors—red, yellow, and pink—filling the vase. She breathed in their scent before hurrying along the hall until it reached a wider passageway, then a wide staircase that headed up to one of the upper levels.

  Jayna looked along the hall. She could make out the darkened forms of Rosal and his father standing in the doorway, neither of them speaking loudly enough for her to hear, but she had to wonder if perhaps Rosal had won his father over. If so, maybe they could use that accomplishment to help them find the merchant more easily.

  Jayna was tempted to wait, but detected energy up above, high overhead.

  She climbed the stairs carefully.

  As she did, she started reaching for the power within the ring, knowing she might need it. If anybody were to come across her now, she had little doubt she was going to have to fight her way out. Worse, it was going to involve demonstrating power inside of the home—the kind of power she didn’t necessarily want to reveal. It would involve attacking Rosal’s father and his men.

  When she reached the landing, she paused. A gleaming tile floor greeted her. A dozen or more different enchanted lanterns lit the hallway, glowing with a steady light, the script around their base signaling the enchanter responsible for creating them. Large arched doors were closed along the hall, but there was something here she could feel.

  She wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but there was some aspect to it that called to her, compelling her forward.

  Jayna moved slowly and carefully, heading along the hallway until she reached a door where she detected power. On the other side of the door was what had drawn her forward. There was no movement in the hall, nothing here that suggested anybody was even aware of her presence.

  She didn’t need to chase magic, but there might be something useful to what she had detected.

  The door itself was no different from the others—ornately carved, the oak standing in a relief of symbols and shapes—and she ran her hand along the surface of it, pushing out with a hint of sorcery.

  There was an enchantment within it, potent enough that she could feel it even without trying to trigger it. She had to be careful with this door. Maybe that was all she’d detected in the first place.

  Jayna didn’t think so though. Whatever was here had to be more than just the power of the door itself. Whatever was here was on the other side, and it wasn’t magical in the way an enchantment was magical. It wasn’t sorcery either.

  She tested the door. It was unlocked.

  She pushed it open.

  It was a massive study. Bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, hundreds upon hundreds of books filling their shelves. An enormous desk occupied the center of the room, and upon the desk were stacks of paper, another enchanted lantern, and a lacquered box, which reminded her of the one Rosal had in his home on the hearth.

  Why would he have that?

  It was an excessive display of wealth. Not only were the books valuable, but she couldn’t imagine what it would’ve cost to have furnished the room. A hint of gold gilding worked around the desk itself, tracing along the frame in an elaborate looping pattern of lines. Even that was probably some sort of an enchantment.

  Jayna approached carefully, probing outward with a hint of power, using the ring to detect whether there was any sort of energy she needed to be careful with, but she didn’t feel anything beyond the underlying sense that there had to be an enchantment here.

  She stopped at the desk, looking down at the papers. If he had anything about the merchant guild, it would have to be here, wouldn’t it?

  Which meant Rosal and his father might be coming this way.

  There was still something Jayna felt in this room, and now that she was here, she was even more aware of it. She looked at the lacquered box. When she tried to open it, it resisted her.

  It was locked.

  She traced a quick detection pattern on its surface. Nothing complicated. She only wanted to determine whether there was any sorcery or magic used in it.

  Her pattern reflected back at her.

  There was something in it.

  Sorcery wasn't going to open it though.

  She started to reach for the power of the Toral ring, painful cold beginning to work up her arm as she did, and she sent it in a trickle into the box.

  She could feel the magical resistance within it and pushed past it. It was like tripping a switch. As soon as she did, she heard a soft hiss of air, and the box opened slightly. She flipped it open all the way.

  Inside was an enormous stone, much like the one Rosal had.

  It was a luminescent red with a trace of maroon around it, and flecks of black and gray inside the crystalline structure. She held it up to the light coming in through the window, and it glowed a blood-red color.

  Jayna wasn’t about to leave this behind.

  They were dangerous. Too dangerous.

  If this stone were the reason others had attacked, to practically burn down the city, she couldn’t leave it. Maybe there were others who were also interested in it throughout the city as well.

  She turned and looked around the room just as she felt the steady tension along her skin that suggested the use of magic nearby.

  Jayna closed the box and tucked it under her arm, looking around the inside of the office. She couldn’t linger here too much longer. Whoever was coming had considerable power. It might not even be sorcery. The energy in this place may not be anything more than enchantments, but even they could be potent. She was all too aware of how that power radiated around her, the pressure building.

  She reached the door, pulling it open just a crack.

  A dark-haired man with a sharp jawline strode toward her. He was dressed in a formal jacket and pants, and had a thick beard covering his chin.

  Rosal’s father. It had to be.

  Jayna turned to the window. That was the only way she could escape. She ducked behind the desk, tested the window, and tried to yank it open, but couldn’t get it to come up. She jerked on the window again, forcing it up, and with a soft creaking, the window rose.

  Another burst of power came. She didn’t have much time at all.

  She slipped out the window, pulling it back down, then
crawled along the ledge of the roof, looking down into the garden far below. At a minimum, the drop would break something if it didn’t kill her.

  Now how was she supposed to get out of here?

  15

  She crept along the ledge, close to the windowsill, and stared down into the garden. There was no movement there, though she suspected there were soldiers on the patrol, the way there had been when she had attempted to approach the home. She searched for movement, anything that would tell her where the soldiers had gone, but she didn’t see anything.

  As she looked down upon the grounds, she realized the garden itself had a pattern to it. The paths had a certain structure to them. She had seen a pattern like that before.

  It wasn’t just a pattern. It was an enchantment.

  What sort of powerful enchantment was placed on the grounds of the home?

  More than that, who was powerful enough to place an enchantment like that?

  It would have to have some sort of purpose, but she didn’t know what.

  She was tempted to trigger it, but hesitated. Triggering an enchantment this large would be potentially dangerous. Jayna didn’t want to run the risk, and certainly didn’t want to find out firsthand what damage it might cause by simply attempting to explore it.

  Instead, she only marveled at it, studying the enchantment, trying to lock it into her mind. She could investigate further later. For now, she needed to get down from the wall.

  And then . . .

  Then she had to escape from Rosal’s father’s home.

  She reached the edge of the home. From here, she thought she might be able to—

  A spell struck her, something like a fist of wind slamming into her, nearly tossing her off of the ledge.

  Jayna held on tightly to the windowsill and swung for a moment, afraid she would lose her grasp on the lacquered box holding the stone. Her boots barely allowed her to grip the ledge, and she almost teetered and fell. She thought she might be able to create enough of a spell in the meantime to cushion her blow, but as she faltered just a bit, she reached out and grabbed for the ivy lining the house. Jayna scrambled, getting a grip with her free hand, and started to slip.