Soldier Song (The Teralin Sword Book 6)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “Now you sound more like a priest.”

  “And the priests sometimes make sense,” Tresten said with a smile.

  “Sometimes the priests cause trouble,” Endric said.

  “Sometimes,” Tresten agreed.

  “What is it that you came here to do?” Endric asked.

  “I came to get your help. As did Novan.”

  “With the guild?”

  “The guild has long served a unique purpose,” Tresten said. “They are observers, and they record what they see, and there is great value in that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the guild allows those like myself to better understand the nature of the fibers.”

  “You need the guild to help you understand that?”

  “We need the guild to help us follow patterns. And there is a reason for that.”

  “What reason is that?”

  “There is a dangerous man who has lived a long time, and he is the reason for the Conclave. If we could find him, and eliminate him, then much danger could be removed.”

  “And how does the guild help with that?”

  “Because the guild can observe. And from what we have seen, the guild’s influence has begun to shift. Something has changed, though even I can’t see what that change might be. Regardless, that can’t happen. We need the presence of the guild, as, though they don’t know it, they hold an important role in ensuring safety.”

  Endric glanced over at Novan, who stood watching him, leaning on his staff. “Is that why you remained with the guild?”

  “My time with the guild was for a very different reason,” Novan said.

  Endric waited, and when Novan didn’t elaborate, he smiled at the man. “What was your time with the guild for?”

  “Access.”

  “What were you after?”

  “As Elizabeth has said, I have never been content with simply observing. I’m far too meddlesome for that.” He flashed a smile. “Then again, how could I not be, considering where I came from?”

  Endric thought back to the conversation that he’d had with his father. There was more to Novan than he knew. Would Novan admit that now? “And where is that? Where did you come from?”

  “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we now need someone other than Novan within the guild, and for that, we need your help.”

  “Elizabeth only wanted my help to draw you out.”

  “That was how she thought to use you, but I will use you differently.”

  “Why do I get the sense that I’m not going to care for this very much?”

  Tresten chuckled. “This will not hurt you, Endric. At least, it won’t hurt too much.”

  “That’s not reassuring.”

  “In order to gain access to the guild, there will need to be an apprentice proposed,” Novan said. “As I remain affiliated with the guild, however distantly, I am allowed to submit an apprentice.”

  “And Elizabeth would have you submit Senda,” Endric asked, glancing over at Senda, who remained frozen. It was a strange thing to see, and even though he had been standing here in conversation with these two, he still couldn’t shake the oddity of it. “That’s why Senda thought that Elizabeth wanted to use her.”

  “Very good,” Novan said. “That is exactly what I have led her to believe.”

  “You led her to believe that?”

  “With Elizabeth, she needs to feel as if things are her idea. It’s easier that way.”

  “So you convinced her that this was her idea, dragged us out here, and now…”

  “And now we would ask that you serve as Novan’s apprentice,” Tresten said.

  Endric blinked. “Me? You want me to be a historian?”

  “An apprentice historian,” Novan said.

  Endric only laughed. “You don’t realize what you’re asking,” he said, continuing to laugh.

  “On the contrary, I understand quite well what I’m asking. You are the best candidate for this.”

  “No. Senda would be the best candidate. She has been connected enough within the Denraen that she has knowledge that I don’t have.”

  “Which is exactly the problem,” Novan said. “You have a calculating mind, which is something the historian guild would prize. Why else do you think Urik feared you the more that he got to know you? He worried about what you might do more than he worried about your father, and he feared Dendril as much as he ever feared any man until he met you.”

  “I don’t know that this makes any sense. I’m a soldier; I’m one of the Denraen. I’m not sure I can be convincing as an apprentice historian.”

  “Leave that to me,” Novan said.

  Endric glanced from Novan to Tresten. “Is this what you want, too?”

  Tresten nodded. “For us to have the information we need, we must ask this of you.”

  “This is how you want me to serve the Conclave?”

  Tresten nodded.

  “My father fears that I have committed myself too fully to the Conclave.”

  “Yes. I’m not surprised that Dendril would be concerned about such a thing,” Tresten said.

  “He worries that I won’t serve the Denraen the way that I need to.”

  “And what do you fear?”

  Endric considered for a moment before answering. Seeing Tresten again—and Novan—made the truth more apparent. How could he deny what he wanted? “After everything that I’ve seen, it is difficult for me to return to the doldrums of the Denraen. It’s the reason I continue to take myself out of the city, forcing myself onto patrols that one of the commanding officers normally would not make. My father allows it, but I think he does so simply because he worries that anything else would lose me to the Denraen.”

  “Would it?” Tresten eyed Endric strangely, and for a moment, Endric wondered if he was using the strange power of his, searching along his fibers as if to try to determine what Endric might do.

  “I don’t know. I thought I was serving by choice, but lately, there have been those who have made me question because they think Dendril’s time leading the Denraen is at its end.”

  “It probably is,” Tresten said.

  “But I’m not ready for that,” Endric said.

  “Because you fear leading?” he pressed.

  “I don’t fear leading. It’s…”

  What was it? He longer really knew what it was that troubled him, only that leading the Denraen meant he would no longer be allowed access to the Conclave, which meant that he would be separated from this greater part of the world.

  Tresten watched him, and there was something on his face that told Endric that he understood.

  Could Tresten be reading his mind? Could he somehow know what it was that Endric wanted and why it bothered him so much? Such a thing shouldn’t be possible, but then again, Tresten was nothing if not unique in his ability.

  “What did we tell you on Salvat?” Tresten asked softly.

  “I was told that to serve the Conclave, I needed to return to the Denraen.”

  “And you did. You have been obedient, which, as someone who has observed you over the years, is quite surprising.”

  Novan barked out a laugh. He tapped his staff on the ground, and the teralin along the length of it flashed, however briefly. Did Novan even know what he was doing?

  It happened briefly and then disappeared, leaving nothing remaining. Maybe it was nothing more than Endric’s imagination, though he didn’t think so.

  “What are you saying?” Endric asked Tresten.

  “I’m saying that obedience is fitting of a soldier.”

  “Of a soldier.”

  Tresten nodded.

  “But not of a leader.”

  Tresten smiled slightly. “You begin to understand.”

  “I don’t begin to understand anything.”

  “If you lead the Denraen, you would get to choose the course they take. The Denraen serve peace and nothing more. They have a great and important role in the world, and it’s one the
generals of the Denraen have always understood, though you might understand even more than most.”

  “I do understand, but I also understand that if I were to begin serving the Denraen in the way I truly need to,” he said, realizing that everything that his father and his friends had said about his lack of true devotion to the Denraen was true, “I wouldn’t be allowed to have the same service to the Conclave.”

  “The Conclave needs stability and an understanding of the various ways the world works together. And perhaps in serving the Denraen, you might choose to do so in a way that is different than your father, and you might use your connection to the Conclave to guide the Denraen toward a future where they are more integrated with the needs the Conclave might have. Or perhaps it will be nothing like that,” Tresten said with a smile.

  “If I do this, does it disrupt my service to the Denraen?”

  “Your father has already made it clear that you get to choose,” Tresten said.

  “He knew.”

  Tresten nodded. “Your father knew you had questions, just as he has always known that there is a benefit to you having such questions. I imagine they were many of the same questions he once asked.”

  Endric had a hard time believing that his father had questioned like this before.

  “What now?” he asked, looking at Novan.

  “Now, you need to decide whether you are going to become my apprentice,” he said with a smile.

  Endric could only shake his head. “What choice do I have?”

  “You have all the choice in the world,” Novan said with a smile.

  “And yet, with the two of you here, I have the sense that I don’t.”

  8

  Morning came too quickly. Endric rubbed the sleep from his eyes, shaking it off as he looked around the campsite. Novan was already up, holding his staff, gripping it with both hands while rolling it across his lap. Every so often, there came the sense of teralin within it, and as Endric detected it, there came an occasional twinge, a surge of power that reminded him of shifting polarity. It was almost as if Novan wanted Endric to feel that surge.

  “It’s good that you’re up,” Novan said to Endric.

  Endric got to his feet, looking around the clearing. “I didn’t realize that I’d slept that long.” The sun still hadn’t crept over the horizon, so regardless of how long he had been out, it wasn’t all that long.

  “You hadn’t, and you were restless.”

  “Don’t you sleep?” Elizabeth asked, glancing over at Novan.

  He shrugged. “A historian trains himself to sleep only when the timing is appropriate.”

  “Everyone needs sleep,” she muttered.

  “Some more than others,” Pendin said, standing at the edge of the clearing. He looked out into the distance, having taken the last patrol, and as he stared, his brow furrowed, a deep frown on his face.

  “What is it?”

  “Probably nothing.”

  “Probably?”

  Pendin shrugged. “Every so often, I think I see movement out there.”

  Endric shared a glance with Pendin. They had been through enough on their patrols for him to know to trust that curiosity, and they certainly were traveling through lands where the type of men they had encountered on their patrols might be found. “We probably should go take a look,” he said.

  “All of us?” Pendin glanced back at his mother. Of them, she was probably the only one who wouldn’t be able to handle herself if it came down to it.

  “We might need the numbers.”

  Pendin sighed. “Why do we always end up with this sort of thing happening with you?”

  “Hey!”

  Pendin smiled, shaking his head. “Not that I’m blaming you.”

  “Obviously.”

  “It just seems that trouble always finds you.”

  “Or perhaps Endric finds trouble,” Novan said. “Who is to say that he can't do so?”

  “It’s not an ability that I necessarily want,” Endric said.

  “And yet, as one of the Denraen, I think it is an ability that is most valuable to you.”

  They got mounted, Elizabeth grumbling a little bit more, and broke camp, riding toward the distance and where Pendin had noted movement. Endric couldn’t be certain, but the longer that they rode, the more certain he was that there was something there. His friend hadn’t imagined it, not that Endric truly believed he had. Pendin was far too capable a soldier to merely imagine something like that.

  “You see that?” Pendin asked.

  Endric nodded. In the distance, there was a flicker of movement. Nothing more than that. A scout. They had encountered riders like that often enough recently that he recognized it.

  “Well, we knew that this could be interesting,” he said.

  “Interesting how?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Interesting in that we are followed.”

  She looked around. “I don’t see anything but emptiness around us.”

  “No. You wouldn’t.”

  “You would accuse me of not being able to observe an attack?”

  Endric forced a tight-lipped smile. “Nothing of the sort. You’re not a soldier. You might be able to break down what you read and interpret it, and whatever else you do with the university, but there are certain things that you can only see when you keep an open mind.”

  “Now you accuse me of not having an open mind.”

  “I think it’s more that I’m accusing you of not recognizing the potential for danger. There aren’t many who would who aren’t soldiers.”

  They continued to ride, and every so often, Elizabeth would glance over at Novan. She watched him, as if trying to study him, but Novan seemed to make a point of ignoring Elizabeth. He had to know she kept her eye on him, yet he did nothing, almost making a point of not looking in her direction. Endric bit back a smile, watching the dynamics between them while also keeping his gaze searching the surroundings. There might have been something, but the movement had disappeared, so whatever it was that he had detected was no longer.

  As they made their way steadily toward the west, Elizabeth was quiet, though Endric could sense the irritation within her. She knew something had happened the night Novan had appeared, but she was not privy to it, and that lack of knowledge bothered her more than anything else.

  Senda watched Novan, almost as if she wasn’t able to understand what had taken place. Every so often, Endric would glance over and want to say something, but what would he say? There didn’t seem to be anything that would make much of a difference. How could he explain—really explain—what Tresten was?

  Instead, he rode in silence.

  Pendin watched Novan as well, and he was equally silent.

  “This has become quite the fun journey,” Endric said, looking over at Novan.

  “They are disappointed they don’t know more,” Novan said softly.

  “Can you blame them?”

  “There are certain things some can’t know. There is no harm in admitting there is information that is beyond your level of understanding.”

  “Beyond my level of understanding?”

  Novan chuckled. “Not yours, Endric. The more I’ve come to know you, the more I wonder if there is anything that’s beyond your level of understanding. And even if there were, I’m not sure that there would be any sense in trying to keep things from you. You have a particular way of finding out what you want to know.”

  “I can’t tell whether that’s a compliment or not.”

  “It very much is,” Novan said.

  Day began to break. Streaks of light lit the sky, making the dark banks of the clouds look even more impressive. Every so often, thunder would rumble, and he was thankful it would finally rain. It had been dry for long enough, and though he didn’t like the idea of getting drenched, it might tamp down some of the dust from the grasses all around them.

  “I don’t suppose Tresten would find a way of keeping us dry while we travel,” Endric whispered.

&
nbsp; “You know he’s not here.”

  “Not now, but I imagine he wouldn’t have any difficulty finding us.”

  Novan chuckled. “That is likely true, but it is getting word to him that would be a bit difficult. He has other tasks that he needs to do.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as other tasks.”

  “You don’t really need to be that deceptive with me. If I am to be your apprentice—”

  Novan smiled. “If you are to be my apprentice, that means that you will do as I request. And sometimes, a master historian requests that their apprentice remain silent and observe.”

  “If that’s the type of apprentice you wanted from me, you chose the wrong person.”

  Novan laughed. “Another good point.”

  Elizabeth glanced back at him. “What were you talking about?”

  “When?”

  “Just now. What were the two of you talking about?”

  Endric frowned and glanced over at Novan before looking back at her. “Nothing.”

  “Everything went silent, so I know you were talking about something, but I would like to know why you decided to exclude me just then. And how you managed to exclude me.”

  “The Conclave has its ways,” Novan said with a smile.

  “The Conclave is not the Magi,” Elizabeth said.

  “Isn’t it?” Novan asked. “Perhaps there are more than you realize. Perhaps the Magi are all around us, and they keep themselves concealed.”

  Elizabeth shifted in her saddle, looking around. She started to smile and laughed softly. “The Magi rarely leave Vasha. They feel they are too good for the rest of the world these days.”

  “That’s not the reason the Magi don’t leave Vasha, but you aren’t alone in believing that they should integrate themselves within the world,” Novan said.

  “Integrate? You believe the Magi have any interest in integrating with the rest of the world?”

  “I do. And eventually, I suspect the Magi will come to see that as well.”

  Endric looked over at Novan, wondering if that was something that Tresten had somehow reviewed with his connection to the fibers or whether there was another reason for him to think that way.