“Just because I can be harsh doesn’t mean I lack compassion,” Tristan said. “And just because you’ve suffered doesn’t mean that you should lose your ability to hold onto that compassion.”
Gavin tried to stay awake, but he was tired—so tired. As he struggled, he started to drift, his mind starting to slip, and he drifted in and out, flashes of images coming to him before he passed out completely. When he came around, he was in his dormitory again. The dormitory where he trained and learned how to fight was a brutal place. In the considerable time he’d spent there, he’d come to think of the place as home, despite how sparse it was.
Tristan didn’t believe in decorations within the training compound and certainly no decorations within the dormitory. The only thing Gavin had was the people. There were those he trained with and those he’d come to know quite well, including Cyran.
A wall of windows was high overhead, letting in a stream of light to the main part of the dormitory, the bright sunlight hot regardless of the time of day. Gavin had learned to hate the sunlight and the heat, much like all who came here.
The other students were there, but so too were the ropes he’d broken free of. He rolled over and stared at the ropes.
Why would Tristan have brought them to me? Was it a reminder of his strength? Was it a reminder of my suffering?
Gavin never knew what the man intended.
He sat up and found the other students watching him. They looked at the ropes, and they seemed to understand. This was just another of the many times when Tristan set him apart from the rest. Gavin didn’t understand what purpose Tristan had in driving a wedge between him and the other students, but every time he thought he was getting closer with them, Tristan would do something like this. Any sort of connection Gavin had with the other students would disappear.
It was difficult to make friends, mostly because many of the other students he worked with were also his competition. He had to fight and spar with them; had to defeat them. He spent more time with some of the others who were learning different techniques, working with medicines and herbs and healing balms. Perhaps that might be something he could learn, too.
He stood and took a step, but he stumbled and fell on the ground again. One of the other students turned away from him, and Gavin tried to reach for them but couldn’t. He was tired and weak.
Why weren’t they helping me?
Because no one helped him.
He was Gavin Lorren. The Chain Breaker.
They would leave him to suffer.
He lay on the ground for a long time until one of the other students helped him by propping him up and handing him something to drink. Gavin sipped the liquid, feeling the way it burned as it went down his throat. Gradually, his strength returned, giving him a little bit more power. When he finally climbed back into the bed, he didn’t have to wait long before sleep claimed him.
Chapter Four
The inside of the Dragon was quiet. Several lanterns lit up the inside of the tavern, giving off a flickering, warm light. A crackling flame burned in the hearth, though unnecessary given the warmth of the day. The air still smelled of baking bread and roasting meats, the foods Jessica had made earlier in the day when she had more patrons. All of it felt like the Dragon.
“How sure are you that this is from the Captain?” Gavin asked, sitting at the table with Gaspar and Wrenlow.
Wrenlow held the marker in hand. He rubbed his thumb along the surface before setting it on the table and spinning it. “I’m sure. I’ve seen it a few times. With as much as he’s involved in within the city…”
“How? You haven’t left the Dragon all that often,” Gaspar said.
“I might not have nearly as much as either of you, but I’ve gone out. And I’ve seen this. I know I’ve seen it. And I do have contacts. That tells me enough about the Captain to know we need to be careful.” Wrenlow looked up at Gavin. “He’s dangerous, Gavin. Involved in all sorts of shady deals throughout the city. And he’s connected. The constables won’t even touch him.”
“What does it mean that it’s the Captain’s mark?” Gavin asked, looking over at Gaspar. “You’ve lived in the city a long time. What do you think about it?”
“Surprises me the kid recognizes it. I sure as hell didn’t,” he said, nodding toward Wrenlow. “Damn man has been the bane of the city ever since the sorcerer’s lost power.”
“I have seen it,” Wrenlow said, probably harder than he needed. “He gives them out to those who serve him.”
Gavin grabbed the marker and set it on its edge, twisting it so that it spun in place in front of him. The marker had a distinct symbol on one side; a series of circles mixed with an image of a flame. Its design was too unique to be replicated unless it was by someone who truly knew the marker.
“I don’t really want to go into the Captain’s fortress,” Gavin said.
“We couldn’t,” Gaspar said.
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“It’s only dangerous if we go in ignorant,” Wrenlow said.
“We?” Gaspar asked.
“Fine, you. Is that what you want me to say, that I’m not going to go? That I’m not nearly as critical a part of the team as you or Gavin or Imogen?” Gavin reached toward his arm, and Wrenlow shook his head. “Don’t. If you’re going to do anything, tell him off.”
Gavin looked at Gaspar. “He works just as hard as we do. His role on the team is different.”
“Because you don’t let him have a more crucial role on the team.”
“What would you have him do?” Gavin asked. “Sneak in alongside us? He’s not a fighter. He’s not a thief. He’s the planner.”
There were other titles he could give Wrenlow, and all of them would be equally true. He thought that “planner” would seem the most appropriate to Gaspar.
“You don’t need him to plan. You just need him to be another voice in your ear.”
“Maybe I do.” Gavin turned and made a point of looking over at Wrenlow. “What do you propose? If we do have to go into the Captain’s home, how would you suggest we go about it?”
“It’s not possible,” Wrenlow said.
“Good,” Gaspar said. “I was afraid that you were going to offer some suggestion about how you thought we might be able to break into the one place in the city that’s been off-limits to those of us who have lived here for the last few decades.”
“I’m just saying that nobody knows what’s in there. Only a few people within the city have ever spent much time there,” Wrenlow said.
A realization dawned on Gavin. “That doesn’t mean nobody has. We can question them. Maybe we can find some of the information we need.”
“Gavin,” Wrenlow said, “no one is going to betray the Captain. Everybody is afraid of him. Hell, I’m afraid of him, and I don’t even know him.”
“You know him well enough.”
“I know him by reputation. That’s not the same as knowing him. Besides, I don’t want to go in and risk getting the kid hurt.”
“We’re not going to be risking him. If the Captain has this kid, then all we have to do is be prepared. Watch. Be ready.” Gavin wasn’t sure it’d be that simple, but he kept that to himself. “Why don’t you see what you can figure out. Piece together what’s known about the layout of his home. Maybe we can find something that’ll help us.”
“That’s not going to work,” Gaspar said.
Gavin swiped the marker off the table. “You never know.”
“What are you going to do?” Wrenlow asked.
“I’m going to go take a look at Erica’s home. I’ve got to figure out why her son was kidnapped, maybe get a better sense of who she is.”
“I can tell you who she is,” Gaspar said. Gavin arched a brow and Gaspar grunted. “Not like that, boy. She was an easy mark. And her son would have been a target.”
Gavin doubted it would be so simple. It never was. “I still need to find it. I presume she gave yo
u some idea of where it is.”
“Some. Not enough for me to help you know where to find it.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not quite right.” Gavin smiled at Gaspar. “If anyone knows how to find anything in the city, it’s you, isn’t it?”
“You aren’t going to be able to use that on me.”
“Use what?”
“Whatever you think that you’re trying to do. I don’t know if you think it’s cute or what.”
Gavin batted his eyelashes. “You don’t think it’s cute?” He was met with a glare, and he started to laugh. “Come on. I’m just going to take a look. If I go without you, you’ll miss out on all the excitement.”
“If I go with you, then I have to deal with whatever excitement you bring.”
Gavin smiled and headed toward the door. He checked to make sure that he had his El’aras dagger and was comforted by its presence. He felt better after sleeping, despite not liking the dreams he was having.
Ever since coming to Yoran, he’d felt increasingly tied back to Tristan and his training. Partly that was because of the reason that he’d come to Yoran in the first place. Cyran had suggested that there might be jobs for him to take. The other part, he suspected, was because of his newfound knowledge that Tristan lived. Gavin now thought about his old mentor even more than he had before.
He sighed and pulled the door open. Out on the street, he blended into the crowd quickly. He rounded a corner, unsurprised when Gaspar joined him.
“I didn’t think you were going to come with me.”
“You don’t even know where you’re going,” Gaspar said.
“No. I figured I would just wander my way around the city until I figured out where I needed to go.” Gaspar frowned at him, and Gavin started to laugh. “I’m not serious.”
“When it comes to you and some of the foolish things you do, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
They headed through the streets, and Gavin paused at one corner, raising his hand slightly. Gaspar didn’t need for him to do it. He’d paused as well.
Three constables navigated in their direction.
“Something’s going on with them,” Gavin said. “I’ve been watching. It seems like more and more constables are moving in some sections of the city. I don’t really know what’s taking place, only that I don’t care for it.”
“It’s probably nothing,” Gaspar said.
“Probably?” Gavin glanced over to him, arching a brow. “You’ve lived in the city a long time. You know what’s normal and what’s not.”
“I know what’s normal, and…”
“That’s not normal.”
“No,” Gaspar said.
The constables stopped while making their way along the street, much like when Gavin had been following them before. They paused, talking quietly, and it wasn’t clear what they were doing.
Gavin shook his head. “I followed them the last time I saw them, but I didn’t see anything.”
“It’s not a good idea for you to follow the constables.”
“They aren’t going to learn what we did with the El’aras.”
Gaspar shot him a hard look. “You think I’m concerned about that? No, it’s the enchantments we have.” He tapped his ear. “They have ways of detecting them.”
“How?”
“They have ways.”
That confirmed his earlier suspicion that the constables had enchantments of their own. That would be the only way to detect others. “I’d like to get ahold of their technique.”
“Why? Isn’t your dagger enough?”
“It’s a bit obvious. I’d like something that wasn’t quite so deadly looking when I carried it.”
“Don’t worry about it. When you carry it, it doesn’t look deadly.”
Gaspar started off, and Gavin laughed to himself before following him. When he caught up, the thief was trailing after the constables—the very thing he’d told Gavin not to do. Gavin said as much.
Gaspar glanced over at him. “I don’t have any reason not to follow them.”
“You have the same thing I do,” Gavin said, tapping his ear.
“Not on me.”
Gavin frowned. “There’s a reason she gave it to us.”
“There’s a reason she gave it to you. I didn’t say I wanted it.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’ve come in and disrupted everything I’ve been working for,” Gaspar said. “Threw off my other jobs, too.”
“I haven’t disrupted anything. You’ve chosen to work with me.”
Gaspar had taken all sorts of different jobs in the time that Gavin had spent in the Dragon, though rarely had the man taken one recently. It was almost as if he was avoiding them, possibly because of the El’aras attack on the tavern. There might also simply be a personal reason that was preventing him from taking on more jobs. Either way, it mattered very little to Gavin.
“I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”
“You had plenty of choice in the matter,” Gavin said. “The only reason you started to do anything is because you wanted to offer Jessica your protection.”
“Is that so different from you?”
“You know it’s not. It’s just that I don’t think you can make the claim that you’re doing anything I’m not doing.”
Gaspar frowned. “Come on. If you want to check out this place and see where she and this boy live, then we need to get moving.”
“Good. I was afraid you were going to run off and try to talk with the constables.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Gavin chuckled as they headed through the streets. Gaspar ignored him and followed some route he knew, though it brought them past large crowds of people. Every few streets, they encountered more constables. Each time they did, Gaspar paused, watching with a look in his eyes that suggested that whatever he was seeing troubled him.
For that matter, it troubled Gavin too. If what Gaspar suggested was right, then the constables were looking for sources of magic—something that involved danger to him and those who had enchantments like him.
“Come on,” Gaspar said when Gavin stopped again. “They aren’t here for you. Hell, I doubt they’re even here for your old friend. More likely than not, they’re just looking for signs of magic users. You think this is the first time the constables have come out in the city like this?”
“It is since I’ve been here.”
“Well, it isn’t anything new. And seeing as how I’ve been here longer than you, I guess I get to be the one to tell you when something is strange or not.”
“If you say so, old-timer,” Gavin said, grinning at him slightly.
Gaspar shot him a sharp glare before turning away.
They continued along the street. Gaspar guided them into an older section of the city. The buildings were more dilapidated, and not as much care had been put into maintaining them. The people here wore clothing that was tattered. Children ran wild in the street, rather than working jobs or apprenticing in some way.
Gavin was curious about where Gaspar was leading him, and as they neared the end of one street where it intersected with still another, he started to slow.
Gaspar paused at the crossroads, and he turned casually, motioning the other way. “Did you see it?”
Gavin scanned along the street, but he didn’t see anything conspicuous. Whatever it was had to be somewhat obvious, at least given Gaspar’s reaction. He continued to look, searching for whatever house it was that Gaspar was referring to, but he didn’t see anything there.
“I’m not sure what you’ve seen,” Gavin said.
Gaspar motioned, pointing at each of the five houses along the street. He stopped and nudged Gavin. “Look at that one there. What do you see?”
Gavin had been taught to observe with Tristan. With his training, he should be able to catch what Gaspar was trying to point out, but he didn’t see what had triggered the thief. The house was no different than the others. It was a bit r
un-down, the paint on the door and the window frames faded. Some of the homes had plants in pots sitting outside, but not the fifth one. Unlike the others, a board was angled along one of the windows.
“It’s boarded up,” he said.
“Very good. Look at you, picking up on something I teach the youngest kids I work with.”
“How many kids have you worked with?”
Gaspar snorted. “Everyone I worked with has been better than you.”
“Well, I’m not a thief.”
“You wouldn’t be a good one. Now come on. Let’s go take a look at this.”
Gaspar led them down an alley, and he pointed at each of the homes before pausing at what Gavin thought was the fifth one. He motioned for Gavin to back up. “These two are connected,” Gaspar said, gesturing toward two of the homes.
“How can you tell?”
“Look at them. Roofline stays the same. All the others here have some variation to them.”
Gaspar tested the door and grabbed his lockpick set. He worked quickly, and then he stepped inside. The darkness swallowed him. Gavin hesitated before following.
“You see anything?” Gaspar whispered.
“I can’t see much in the dark,” Gavin said.
“You keep saying things that don’t need to be said.”
He could make out Gaspar, but he was only a few steps away. Otherwise, Gavin couldn’t see much inside of the room. It was almost completely black. As he looked around, he searched for a lantern or anything he might use to illuminate the room.
He drew his El’aras dagger and was surprised that it was glowing softly.
“Where do you think the magic is coming from?” Gavin asked.
“With you here? Could be a lot of different places.” Gaspar watched him. “Including you.”
Gavin shook his head. “I know the El’aras were trying to convince me that I have some sort of magic, but even if I do”—and Gavin had a hard time believing that he did—“I’ve never seen the El’aras dagger light up when it’s just me.”
The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3 Page 31