A City in Ruin (The Dark Sorcerer Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  Jayna tensed, but there was nothing to do other than release the enchantment.

  This was the entire reason she was here. She needed Char’s help, and in order to get that help, she was going to have to use the power within the ring and the enchantment to prove to him what she had uncovered.

  She pushed through the enchantment.

  Triggering it felt different than triggering the other one had.

  It was a strange thing to be aware of, and had she not just triggered the other that had been made by the same dular, she might not have even noticed it. Each enchantment felt a little bit different, mostly because the power that went into each one was slightly varied. Enchantments from different dular were different, as well. Some were more powerful than others, like this one, and some required more energy to trigger than others; Rosal’s first, however, didn’t take nearly as much power to activate.

  She could feel a different layering of energy within the enchantment.

  Stranger still, she was immediately aware of more power within it than what she had felt before.

  She pushed out, then it erupted.

  The suddenness of it was jarring. It was almost too much. Jayna braced for the explosion of energy, trying to resist the power coming out of the enchantment, but it continued to crackle all around her. The power sent sparks shooting. The protection she had placed around herself, that of her sorcery mixed with the painful, cold magic of the Toral connection, provided some buffer, but she wasn’t sure if that would be sufficient. She solidified that protection, using even more power to try to hold on to it, and cried out when one of the sparks drifted through and singed her skin.

  Smoke began to drift up and around her, swirling in a tight pattern that swept over her. She looked over to see Eva with her hands clenched at her sides, the smoke creeping along the ground and slowly rising.

  Everybody else had their attention focused on Jayna. Even Matthew watched, with a tight frown and knitted brow. Topher had a wide-eyed stare on his handsome face. Char studied her, concern etched in his brow. Despite his worry, he focused on maintaining the protection around her, wanting to ensure the explosion of sparks didn’t get beyond that shield. She could see him trembling as he continued to pour power into the protection he’d formed.

  Finally, the sparks began to ease.

  Jayna breathed out heavily and looked at the others. “Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

  “That was created by the same dular?” Char asked in a whisper.

  Jayna looked at the spent enchantment. Once used, the enchantment was wasted, ruined, and there was nothing left of it. In this case, the bloodstone had been altered, and there was no more of the faintly translucent quality to it, nothing more that gave it a crystal-like glow.

  “The same dular,” she said, releasing the energy around her. The smoke that had swirled up from the ground faded as well. It drifted back to Eva, and she realized that nobody else was even aware of what Eva had done.

  “I don’t see how that’s even possible,” he said.

  “You saw the enchantments.”

  “I saw them, but—”

  “Char,” Jayna said. “It’s the same person. He’s the son of one of the wealthier dular in the city. He was looking for a way to impress his father.” Jayna shook her head. All of this for something so stupid. “When he came across the substrate, he used it. He probably shouldn’t have, but he did what he thought he needed to in order to call the power he wanted.”

  “Why did he want that power?” Char asked.

  “I told you,” Jayna said.

  Char was shaken. She could see it in his face.

  “There have been several attacks throughout the city now,” Jayna said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the larger bloodstones, holding it in her palm. “Tell me, Char. Does it seem like anything any Society member would have created?”

  “The Order of Norej said—”

  “The Order of Norej said what?” She was surprised he mentioned the Order again.

  He nodded. “Well, you know they’re an ancient order within the Society.”

  The Order was a powerful one within the Society. Rumors spoke of the kind of magic they had, suggesting power similar to what she'd seen on the battlefield with Ceran.

  But what if they weren't trying to protect the Society?

  An ancient order within the Society could be tied to an even older power.

  She hurriedly worked through that line of thinking. If that were the case, then the Order of Norej might serve one of the followers of Sarenoth.

  She wished Ceran were there to ask. He hadn't given her the names of the twelve. She should have asked him when she last saw him. That was her mistake.

  Perhaps he hadn't even considered the possibility that she would need to know.

  Char stood watching her, and she pushed those thoughts away.

  “You mentioned them before, but you didn’t tell me how long they’ve been here,” Jayna said. She should have asked before when she’d seen them in the streets.

  “Just a few weeks.”

  “A few weeks?” She frowned. The timing fit.

  It didn’t make sense, though.

  She looked to the others. “Why would part of the Society want to spread this throughout the city?” she asked. Even a secretive order.

  Eva shook her head. She stared at the bloodstone, almost as if there were something she could learn from it, and a question burned in her eyes. In the reflected light from the glowing bloodstone, Jayna could see Eva’s troubled expression. A bit of smoke still trailed off of her, swirling around her, yet Eva didn’t move.

  “Rosal said he found those stones with a merchant,” Topher said.

  “I know,” Eva said. “Why would a merchant, at least presumably, be moving these out into the city?”

  She thought about what Ceran had shown her. If this had been orchestrated by one of the twelve, then there was an easy answer. It wasn’t one she wanted to acknowledge, or one that made her comfortable, but it was an answer, nonetheless.

  “What if this is all about sowing discord?” She looked at Char before turning her attention to the others. “What if the Order wanted to create division between the dular and the sorcerers?”

  “The dular might have power in the city, but they would never attack the Society so that plan wouldn’t work,” Char said.

  “They never would unless they had enough power to do so,” Jayna said.

  That was the piece that started to make sense. Given the conversation she’d had with Rosal, and what she had seen, she had to think that maybe the dular would attack the sorcerers—with more power and more powerful enchantments, the dular wouldn’t have to fear them.

  The Society wouldn’t give up the city easily. Even though they only had an outpost here now, they still had a measure of influence, making them a consistent presence throughout the kingdom. It was that influence that gave them the ability and authority to command. It was that influence Jayna had started to fear.

  “Where are the Order now?”

  “They’re staying within the outpost, of course,” Char said and frowned. “Why?”

  “If they’re responsible for what happened . . .”

  “Jayna, I know you don’t feel very strongly about the Society anymore. I don’t claim to know what happened between you and the Society, or what shifted for you, but I think you’re stretching things a little bit. The Society wouldn’t do anything like that.”

  “They wouldn’t do anything like what?” she asked.

  “They wouldn’t give the dular power to start a war. That’s what you’re getting at, isn’t it?”

  “I’m not getting at that,” Jayna said. At least, she didn’t think she was.

  “You’re implying it. You’re implying the Order decided to bring some dangerous compound into the city, using it to empower the dular, as some way to instigate a battle between the Society and the dular in Nelar.” He laughed softly. “You realize ho
w that sounds?”

  “I do,” Jayna said.

  “Then you have to see that it’s crazy. The Society wouldn’t invite any challenge to themselves.”

  “I think that’s where you’re wrong,” she said.

  And what she didn’t want to explain was that she wasn’t even convinced this was all the Society. As far as she knew, it might be something else. If it was—if this was outside of the Society—then it would be even more dangerous.

  “I need to find the Order.”

  “No.”

  “Char.”

  He shook his head. “Jayna, I can’t help you with this. At this point, I agree with you that the enchantment was impressive. Whatever happened was significant, but I don’t agree with the rest.”

  “The bloodstone is scattered throughout the city. It’s going to be used to attack.”

  “I don’t think so,” Char said. “There’s no reason for anybody else to instigate fighting in the city.”

  “No reason that you know of. You’re coming from a very Society-centric view. And unfortunately, my time away from the Academy has shown me there are other viewpoints, and that the Society isn’t nearly as benign as you were taught to believe.”

  “What happened to you?” Char asked, lowering his voice as he looked at Jayna. “First you’re using dark magic—”

  “I’m not using dark magic,” she snapped.

  She could feel Matthew’s gaze upon her.

  She would have to explain. She had alluded to what had happened before, and there was no doubt she’d had a hand in stopping the Celebrants of Asymorn, but there was also no doubt she’d been involved in some of the power that had been used at that time. There had been dark magic.

  She had touched upon dark magic.

  As much as she wanted to ignore it, and as much as she wanted to pretend she didn’t have anything to do with it, there was no way for her to fully deny the kind of power she’d called to stop them.

  “Look,” Char said. “The Order has been helping everyone within the outpost.” He grabbed for something and held it out. Jayna took it. It was a star-shaped metallic box with symbols marked in the surface. She traced her finger along them, and cold suddenly worked through her. “They wanted us to be prepared for another dark magic attack, so they provided us with—”

  “The Order gave that to you?” Jayna asked.

  One of the symbols etched into the box caught her attention. It wasn't visible, but she could feel it, and she had seen it before: a crescent moon symbol surrounded by three dots in a circle.

  Char frowned at her.

  “What's wrong?”

  “This. This is the Order?”

  “Yes. They brought it so we could have a way of defending ourselves against a resurgence of dark magic. Each of us was given something like this. This is mine.”

  “This is who brought the bloodstone. This is who attacked me.”

  And it all began to make sense.

  Char shook his head. “Jayna, the Order is one of the most respected organizations within the Society.”

  She held his gaze. She wasn't going to be able to convince him.

  She breathed out heavily, sighing as she looked around at the others. “We need to go.”

  “What are you doing?” Char asked.

  She looked over to him before glancing to the others. Everything felt right. The pieces to the puzzle she had been trying to work together started to fit. Not completely, but enough that she thought she had them right.

  The Order. The bloodstone. The explosions.

  And what Ceran had shown her.

  “The Order want to start a war in the city,” she said, her voice low and as controlled as she could make it. “And I have to stop it.”

  “You can't attack the Order,” Char said.

  “I'm afraid I might have to.”

  He held her gaze, defiance within it. In that moment, she knew he was a full member of the Society. He wasn't going to help.

  “Jayna, don't make me tell Master Agnew your plan.”

  Eva stepped forward, a bit of blood dripping from her palms as she squeezed her hands, smoke swirling as soon as it struck the stone. It drifted up toward Char and pushed him into the center of the room.

  “I'm sorry about this, Char. Really I am. In this case, you are wrong. I fear the Order of Norej is far more complicated than you can understand,” Jayna said. She added a trace of Toral magic to what Eva was doing, mostly to ensure it didn’t harm Char, but she also needed to hold him.

  “Jayna. Please don’t.”

  Her power held him.

  She pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall. Matthew and Topher followed, with Eva trailing after.

  “What was that about?” Matthew asked softly.

  “That was about me betraying a friend.”

  20

  They made their way through the street, and Jayna couldn’t shake the emptiness within her. She had attacked Char. Still, she thought it was the right thing to do. He was trying to protect the Order of Norej, and she now firmly believed they were responsible for distributing the bloodstone in the city. But why?

  Distantly, she was aware of the smell of smoke, though she wasn’t sure if it was the usual hearth fire, or if there was something more sinister to it. Given the attacks in the city, and the nearly impossible fires to extinguish as a result of them, she couldn’t tell what it was.

  Topher looked as if he wanted to say something, but when he glanced to Eva, she shook her head, and he seemed to bite it back.

  “It’s fine,” Jayna said, though it was mostly to herself and almost completely untrue. Given what had happened, she didn’t know how it could be fine.

  She wondered if it ever could be again.

  She had attacked Char.

  When she had left the Academy, losing her friend had been difficult. She had left him behind and had always felt as if she wanted nothing more than to tell him the truth about what she had been doing. When she had the opportunity to come to Nelar, she had thought perhaps there would be a chance to reconnect and address what had happened between them.

  All she had done was continue to prove that she devalued the friendship.

  Only . . . she didn’t.

  A hint of smoke swirled around her, and she glanced over to Eva, who was biting her lip. Jayna wasn’t sure if the swirling smoke was for Jayna’s benefit or Eva’s. Either way, there was something soothing about it. She wasn’t sure why, but it helped her feel better.

  “Does anyone want a drink?” Matthew asked, breaking the silence.

  “I’m sure Robert would welcome us at the Wicked Pint,” Topher offered.

  “I don’t know if I’m in the mood for a tavern,” Jayna said.

  “You can’t go somewhere they can easily find you,” Matthew said.

  She looked over to him. “Where do you think we can go that the Society won’t find me? If I use magic, the Society is going to know it the moment I do.”

  She could use the power of the dragon stone ring, the connection to her Toral power, but anything more than that would be risking the Society knowing where she was. The moment they did, she had to worry that Master Agnew—or worse, someone from the Order of Norej—would come for her.

  She wasn’t ready for the Order. Not without knowing more about their motivations.

  She fidgeted with the dragon stone ring, twisting it on her finger. She needed to summon Ceran, but he hadn’t responded to any of her recent requests.

  “We’re on our own, aren’t we?” Eva asked, stepping closer to her. The smoke still swirled around her, draping down her shoulders, as if forming a shirt or a short cloak.

  “For now,” Jayna nodded.

  “He’s not wrong,” Eva said.

  Jayna looked over.

  “But we can’t simply disappear in the city. Not easily. What is your plan?”

  She paused. They were near the far western edge of the city, and the bioluminescent moss on the buildings glowed
faintly, emitting a surprisingly pleasing light that filled the streets. There also seemed to be more moonlight out than usual.

  “When we go home, we can plan through things there. Make preparations.” Besides, she had some supplies there that she might need. If they were going to have to take on the Order of Norej, Jayna wanted to be as prepared as possible. She had picked up some enchantments in the midnight market that might be beneficial for any sort of attack. She didn’t want to confront the Order on her own, especially if Norej was one of the twelve, as she was starting to think. If so, then Daratha, as leader of the Order, could be as powerful as Gabranth, perhaps even more so.

  “I could use a glass of wine,” Eva said.

  Jayna wasn’t going to argue with her. She felt like she could do with a glass of wine too.

  They reached their house without any difficulty. There was no sound of boots on the cobblestones, no soldiers, no sense of the Society trailing after them. There was no surge of magic suggesting that somebody from the Order had caught them.

  There was nothing.

  But she didn’t expect Char to defend her again. He had done that once before, hiding her presence—and her actions—from the Society. She doubted he would agree to that another time.

  But what had he done?

  At what point would he decide to betray her?

  She didn’t know, but perhaps he wouldn’t right away.

  Still, she had seen the look on his face when Eva had swirled her smoke around him, using her particular kind of magic to hold Char in place. That wasn’t the look of someone who would protect his friend; that was the look of someone who felt betrayed by his friend.

  Once they stepped inside the home, Eva made quick work of starting the fire, while Topher lit all of the lanterns.

  Matthew took her arm.

  Jayna looked over to him. “You don’t have to stay here,” she said to him.

  “If I didn’t, I can’t imagine the shit your brother would give me.”

  “He would understand. This is not something you can deal with.”

  He frowned at her. “And why not?”

  “We’re talking about a powerful order within the Academy—one that is protected and revered.”