Festival of Mourn (The Dark Sorcerer Book 1)

by D. K. Holmberg

  She got to her feet. “It’s time that we go and figure this out.”

  “Just the two of us?” Eva asked, taking a sip of wine.

  “Why should it be anything different?”

  Eva pushed the bottle of wine away, looking up at her. A dark smile crossed her face. “I suppose it shouldn’t be.”

  “We can do this.”

  “Says you.”

  “Right. Says me. But we can do this. We’ve already proven we can pull the dwaring off and capture it. Now we just need to do it a few more times.”

  “Seven. That’s not a few.”

  “Fine. All we need is to do it seven more times. When we do, then we can defeat the Celebrants.”

  “Sorcerers.”

  “I realize that.”

  “I just want to make sure you’re on the same page. I know you’ve gained some power with your connection to your ring, but this is something more than you’ve dealt with before,” Eva said.

  It was, and it might even be more than Jayna could handle, but she wasn’t about to tell Eva that. More than that, she wasn’t about to tell Eva that she had a different sort of plan. It was one that involved pulling in other sorcerers, but only once the Celebrants revealed themselves. When they did, Jayna would lead them toward the outpost, toward the sorcerers there—and, unfortunately, to Char—where they would ensure that the Celebrants were defeated.

  “We still have a little bit of daylight left. We might as well use it,” Jayna said.

  22

  The day passed far too quickly. The sky was dark, and it grew increasingly difficult for Jayna to think they had enough time to figure out what the Celebrants intended, or where they would hold the festival. If nothing else, they knew when this would take place, but not where.

  She found herself patting her pocket periodically, ensuring she still had the enchantments tucked away inside, needing to keep them with her. They hadn’t moved, much like they hadn’t moved the last time, or the time before that. Each time she checked, she chided herself for her foolishness. They were on the outskirts of the city now, trailing along the forest edge. If the Celebrants needed the El'aras for power, it made her wonder if they might have come out here looking for a way to capture more. She hadn't seen any sign of that though. She still couldn't reach Ceran, though she continued to push power through the ring, attempting to reach him.

  It was almost as if he were blocked from her.

  Gabranth had to be doing that.

  He knew about her. About Ceran.

  And since his plan was coming to fruition soon, he didn't want anyone stopping him.

  Smoke swirled from her, faint wisps of it. Jayna hadn’t seen all that much smoke coming off of Eva today, but that wasn’t uncommon. Eva had a careful nature to her magic. Either she didn’t like to use it all that openly, or she preferred to hold on to it in ways that minimized how much power she poured out from her. There had to be a limit to the amount and kind of magic she could use.

  “I don’t detect anything, but the El’aras were out here,” Jayna responded.

  She had detected that much, but didn’t know when the sorcerers were last here.

  “I know they were out here,” Eva said, laughing bitterly. It was growing increasingly dark, and though Jayna didn’t have any way of telling the time, she suspected they were nearing midnight. The moment they did, they would have to be ready for an explosion of power. She wanted to find some of the Celebrants before then so she had a chance to prepare for the festival, but didn’t even know where to begin.

  “They were here, and—” Jayna started.

  “And had no reason to stay here,” Eva finished. “Once you freed them, they were always going to return to their lands.”

  “How do you think they were captured in the first place?”

  “I don’t even know. Sorcerers have particular magic that can mitigate natural magic,” Eva said.

  “Natural magic?”

  “You might think the power that sorcerers hold is the most natural magic in the world, but it’s the kind of magic that must be worked at. Look at all you put into creating your enchantments. All of that is work. It’s not nearly as natural as what the El’aras, or others like them, use when it comes to pulling on their power.”

  Jayna looked to the smoke streaming off of Eva, and wondered if Eva would claim that her kind of magic was natural. Maybe it was. There was no denying that the power of sorcery did involve elements of work that she had not seen from Eva before. Eva seemed to use her power more easily than any sorcerer, simply drawing it through the items that helped focus it, more than anything else.

  “So, Master Raollet used some enchantment to capture them.”

  “Either he did or somebody working on his behalf,” Eva said. She stared into the darkness, toward the trees.

  “We’re looking for power, aren’t we?”

  “We are. The dwaring will need to feed when they emerge so they can then feed him,” Eva said.

  That was what Rendal had said before he died, as well. They would need to feed, and given that they fed on magical energy, Jayna believed they would feed on something within the city. But what? Maybe the sorcerers who summoned them.

  Even that didn’t seem quite right. Why summon a creature like that if they didn’t have any way of controlling it?

  “And Raollet knows things about the city. Things like where the dwaring might need to feed,” Jayna said.

  Eva started to smile. “He isn't going to be very pleased to see us again.”

  “Probably not,” Jayna said, grinning as she twisted the ring on her finger. “But since he sent his people after us, I think we have gotten even.”

  “He's not going to see it that way. How do we find him?” Eva asked.

  “I don't think we have to worry too much about that.” She motioned for Eva to follow her, and they made their way toward Master Raollet's shop. He wasn't too far from where they were. As they neared, Jayna started to notice someone following them.

  She spun, immediately using a muted starburst pattern, and it slammed into three men.

  She hurried over to the closest one, holding her hand out, ready for the blade of light pattern.

  “If any of you move, she's going to suffocate you.”

  She pointed to Eva, hoping they had heard rumors about what Eva could do, and was relieved when one of them looked up with widened eyes.

  Jayna smiled tightly. They had to be with Raollet, as he’d sent thugs after her already. “Good. You know what she can do. Now I just need to know where to find Raollet. And don't tell me you don't know how to find him.”

  The man shook his head.

  “I don't need all three of you.”

  She used a blunted blade of light spell, sending it burning into his chest. It wouldn't kill him, just incapacitate him. She moved over to the next man. “If you don't want his fate, then you will speak.”

  He started babbling, stating street names and directions, which meant nothing to Jayna.

  Eva nodded.

  She knew where to go.

  Jayna knocked him unconscious with the same blunted blade of light spell, then repeated the action on the third man.

  When all the men were knocked out, Eva guided Jayna through the streets, weaving away from where they were, but not as far as Jayna would've expected. They stayed on the outskirts of the city, abutting the forest. As she neared the shop, there was a distinct energy in the air—sorcery.

  She raised a hand, signaling to Eva to slow.

  The street was dark, and given that it was going to be a new moon, there wouldn’t even be moonlight for them to navigate by. A few stars twinkled in the sky overhead, and there were some lanterns glowing in windows, but they provided little illumination, leaving everything almost too dark.

  “What is it?” Eva asked.

  “There’s something here,” Jayna whispered.

  Jayna turned in place, focusing on the sorcery she felt. There was a particular pattern she c
ould use and embed power within to help her better detect sorcery when she had picked up on it already. She didn’t use it all that often. There was no point in doing so. Typically, when she detected sorcery, she simply avoided it. Either that, or she knew that she was the reason it was nearby.

  “I don’t exactly know what it is, but I can detect it,” Eva said.

  The smoke around Eva started to swirl even more. It was a measure of her discomfort that she held on to as much smoke as she did, and that the smoke swirled around her like that. Jayna reached for as much power as she dared, holding on to it through the dragon stone ring. She didn’t summon all of her power, and she didn’t try reaching for any sorcery, but she wanted to be prepared.

  The building was larger than the last one Raollet occupied, and made of a grayish stone, with the moss ever present in this part of the city having been scrubbed free.

  She had to be ready.

  Whether it took sorcery or her dragon stone power, she didn't care.

  “We can do this,” Jayna said to her.

  “I know we can,” Eva said. “But how much will it cost?”

  Jayna didn’t answer. It wasn’t the monetary cost Eva was concerned about, but the magical cost.

  She glanced up to the sky. They didn’t have much time. Midnight would be here all too soon, and when it came . . .

  They had to be ready.

  They reached the door to Raollet’s hideout. Now that she was close, Jayna could feel the energy coming out of the door, a distinct sense of pressure that pushed against her, reminding her of sorcery from when she’d been in the Academy. This was a protective barrier, but it wasn’t a solidly made one.

  At least, it was supposed to feel insubstantial.

  Jayna held her hands out, focusing on magic. There was something out here. She could feel it. She pressed outward with a blunted starburst pattern, which caused the air to shimmer for a moment.

  “Clever,” she whispered.

  “What is it?” Eva asked, smoke streaming off of her.

  “He has a protection here, but he has it in place so we can detect it, but also so we think it’s all he has.”

  “There’s more?”

  “At least one other layer.”

  It might be more than that, but it was going to take a distinct amount of sorcery for her to detect the difference between the layers of power, and Jayna wasn’t at all interested in picking through those layers.

  She looked over to Eva. “We need to ask him questions, right?”

  “If you think so.”

  “He might know where to find power in the city. Something the dwaring might feed on.” She lowered her voice as she said dwaring, not wanting to summon them, though maybe that would be easier and better for her.

  “That is correct.”

  “Then we need to do this.” She held out her hand, pointing the ring toward the door. She called power up through her, using the Toral ring, the energy within the dragon stone, triggered by her own innate sorcery.

  It blasted through the protections.

  As soon as they were down, she kicked open the door. Jayna stepped inside, bracing for Master Raollet to attack, and glanced back to see Eva coming in behind her, though facing the street. She held her hands at her side, the faint smoke drifting around her, twirling up her legs, along her arms, and then slowly floating outward.

  Somebody moved.

  Jayna reacted.

  She unleashed a painful burst of power through the Toral ring.

  There was no focus to it, no control, just a finely honed burst of magic that she could unload on anybody who might be coming at her.

  It struck the attacker in the chest, the night too dark for her to see anything clearly, sending them staggering backward.

  She glanced over to Eva. “There’s at least one more person in here.”

  “Find the others,” Eva said.

  “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

  Jayna strode forward, reaching the counter and the back of the new shop.

  Master Raollet moved toward her. The location looked like it had been hastily organized, with boxes stacked and items placed haphazardly onto shelving, but not at all like his other shop had been.

  He didn't have a cane, but he had a long staff, twisted and curved, the wood a strange dull black that he tilted toward her.

  She held her hand up, focusing power through the dragon stone ring.

  “If you want to keep that staff, then you will refrain from your attack,” she said.

  He glowered at her, still pointing the staff in her direction. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to ask you a question.”

  “Only a question? Not to destroy my shop like you did the last time?”

  “What can I say? You’re the one who had three El’aras captured.”

  “What do you care about the El’aras? They’re our enemies.”

  Jayna grunted. The kingdom hadn’t been at war with the El’aras for a long time. They might have an uneasy sort of peace, but she knew better than to attack them. He should know better as well.

  “I’m not going to instigate any war with the El’aras. Neither should you.” She held on to the power within the Toral ring, ready to unleash it, but didn’t want to if she didn’t have to. She hoped she wouldn’t need to, but worried it might become necessary. “All I need is help.”

  He pulled the staff back, watching her. “Help? After what you’ve done to my shop? Why should I be willing to help you?”

  “You have no reason to help me. Other than the fact I intend to reveal to the Sorcerers’ Society the items you had in your shop.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Master Raollet said.

  “I may not be with the Society, but I know others who are. They would be most intrigued with the contents of your shop.”

  He angled the staff at her again. “How do you intend to do that if you can’t walk?”

  “How do you intend to blast me if you can’t breathe?” Jayna twisted the ring, letting just a tiny bit of power seep out, illuminating the inside of this new shop. When he finished arranging everything, it might even be a little larger than the last one. It was a narrow band of energy, a bit of flame that poured out from her dragon stone ring, and he took a step back, lowering the staff. “All I need is the location of places in the city that might have power.”

  “So you can attack them?” he snapped.

  “So I can protect them,” she said.

  He laughed darkly. “Protect. I’ve seen your kind before.”

  “Have you?”

  He sneered at her. “I’ve seen your type, thinking they can offer protection. There is no protection. Not from the kingdom, and not from the Society.”

  She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t care for the Sorcerers’ Society, given the nature of what she saw in his shop, but she was surprised to find out that he didn’t care for the kingdom.

  “If you want to keep the contents of your shop a secret, you will tell me what I need to know.”

  “And the moment I tell you, those with the power you seek will be in danger.”

  Jayna just laughed. “These others are already in danger. I intend to help them.”

  He glanced from Jayna to Eva, squeezing the staff for a moment. “Help by attacking.”

  “You can believe me or not, but there’s a dark energy that’s about to be released in the city. I intend to stop it.”

  “How?”

  “Does it matter?” Jayna asked.

  “It matters if you want my assistance. How?”

  Jayna glanced back to Eva, and made a point of continuing to hold her hand out, the energy pouring out of the Toral ring flowing steadily toward him. “Let’s just say there is something incredibly dangerous within the city. If I don’t stop it, no one can.”

  Master Raollet laughed. “You would have me believe you are some great sorcerer? I have never seen a sorcerer use one of those,” he said, tipping his head toward the ring.
<
br />   “What do you know about it?”

  He stayed silent, but watched her for a long moment.

  “Fine. Don’t tell me.” That wasn’t why she was here, though she’d love to know how he’d heard of other Torals. That wasn’t common knowledge. “But I’m not a sorcerer.” There was a time when she wanted nothing more than to claim she was one. It was the reason she had gone to the Society and the Academy, the reason she had chased that power. She had wanted to know what she could do, how she could hold on to that power, but now . . .

  Now she had a different purpose and mission.

  “Where is there power?”

  “I’m not going to—”

  Jayna didn’t give him a chance to finish. She blasted him with the Toral ring, and he went staggering back. She darted forward, grabbing the staff from him, sweeping it under his legs and dropping him to the ground. She tapped him on his chest. She could feel the staff was another enchantment, much like the cane she’d taken from him.

  “We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. I would much rather find what you know about Asymorn more easily, but if you prefer another . . .”

  He glowered at her. That was his only response.

  Not one of recognition when she’d mentioned Asymorn. She had hoped he might know something more.

  “Fine. Have it your way.”

  “Why are you asking me? You can just go to your precious Society and ask them. That is where you will find those with power.”

  Jayna shook her head. “Not the Society. They have shielding over their power.”

  The outpost protected them.

  “Fine, then find someone who is like them. That’s the only power source in the city now that the king has banished the fairies.”

  “Oh,” Eva muttered.

  Jayna looked over to her. There was only one other power.

  Dular.

  That was what it was. She should’ve considered looking for dular, especially as there were plenty of them within the city.

  Eva shrugged. “I've heard some stirrings about the dular gathering.”