The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3

by Holmberg, D. K.

  He waited and held on until the constable was completely immobilized. Gavin dragged one of the constables back to the room. When he returned, he reached for the other constable.

  The blade of the El’aras dagger started to glow.

  Balls.

  The constables must have detected something.

  Was it a sorcerer, or was it an enchanter?

  Either way, Gavin didn’t want to get caught. It would be better for him and Gaspar to grab the enchanter and get back out into the street, but first they had to find the enchantment. It could be anything.

  Gavin had experience with enchantments, and had seen how they could be utilized to devastating effect. Practically anything could be enchanted, but the type of enchantment depended upon the particular skill of the enchanter. Each enchanter had an ability to perform very specific enchantments, though Gavin didn’t know if that ability depended upon what they placed the enchantment upon. Sorcerers could use enchantments as well, and were often even more skilled, but sometimes the strangeness of an enchanter’s ability made their kind of power unique.

  Gavin hurried across the room, dragging the other constable. “See what you can find,” he whispered.

  “What are you going to do?”

  He held out the dagger. “Look.”

  Gaspar frowned at it. “Then we need to go.”

  “Just because there’s magic here doesn’t mean there’s anything we need to be concerned about,” Gavin said. “Hell, if the constables had broken in because there was something dangerous here, maybe this is exactly the place we need to be.”

  Gaspar turned his attention to the constable.

  Gavin stayed low and moved back into the other room. Maybe there was a trapdoor. If so, that meant a sorcerer was here.

  He examined the inside of the small room. It looked to be a bedroom, though other than the bed and a table, there was no clothing and no signs that anybody spent much time here. He backed out, and he looked around. An outline on the wall caught his attention, indicating a section that was a little off. Without the glow of the El’aras dagger, he likely wouldn’t have even seen it. He probed at it, pressing the dagger into the wall, searching along the corners.

  The wall popped open.

  Power exploded toward him.

  Gavin braced himself, and he brought the El’aras dagger up, which deflected the explosion and caused the energy to split off to either side. He darted forward, holding onto the dagger. It continued to glow, though it was fainter than it had been before.

  He stepped into a massive room, larger than he would’ve expected from the other side. It opened into a large chamber with a low ceiling. Pillars of stone held up the ceiling, and Gavin had a difficult time seeing to the far side of the room. Shadows loomed in the distance, and though a lantern hung on one of the nearest pillars, there was no light emanating from it.

  The room extended through the neighboring buildings. Whoever occupied this place had most of the block.

  Something slammed into him again. The impact reminded him of the beating he’d sustained when Alex had attacked him while trying to escape from the Captain. He spun in place with the dagger, but he didn’t see anything there. There was nothing other than the darkness.

  There had to be someone here.

  Gavin moved forward carefully. He held out the dagger, trying to illuminate the room. There were shelves along the walls, and the items on the shelves reminded him of what he’d seen in Cyran’s sublevel.

  He turned quickly and realized what it was. A sorcerer’s lair.

  Enchanters didn’t have anything quite like it. They didn’t need to. Sorcerers required the space and the solitude to carry out their spells and incantations to create power.

  He almost chuckled, but the power slammed into him again, knocking him back. It wasn’t painful, not the way even Alex’s attack had been. Whoever used their magic at him wasn’t nearly powerful enough to do any real damage.

  “If you don’t stop what you’re doing now, I’m going to bring the constables in here,” Gavin said.

  Power surged against him again.

  “I said, if you don’t stop…” Gavin held out the dagger. He didn’t see any movement, nothing that would give him any sense of what he’d detected, but he couldn’t shake the irritation within him. They were continuing their assault.

  “Fine. If this is what you want to do, then don’t blame me when the constables drag you off to…” Gavin had no idea where they took magic users. Perhaps he should ask Gaspar about that.

  The assault faded.

  “Good. I knocked out the three constables that came to your home. I don’t know who you are or where you are, but step forward so I can see you.”

  Gavin waited for a moment. A small figure stepped out of the shadows, and his breath caught.

  A child.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gavin stared at the child. He looked to be no more than twelve, with thin cheeks, dark hair, and hollowed eyes that had seen more than they should at his age. He’d heard of sorcerers claiming children before, but usually that was because they detected potential for sorcery and because they were willing to train them. Sorcery was a complicated art. He didn’t know enough about it to understand all of the details involved, but those who practiced sorcery needed incredible training. He didn’t expect a child to have the necessary training, or even the mindset, to handle the skills sorcerers were able to learn.

  Which was why he should have known Alex wasn’t a sorcerer.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Kegan,” the child said.

  Gavin studied him, trying to gauge an age. Maybe twelve. Thirteen. Similar to Alex. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m hiding. You said the constables were there?” The boy looked past Gavin, peering beyond the border of the sorcerer’s lair.

  “Hiding from what? It can’t just be the constables.”

  “They would take me away,” the boy said.

  “The constables are searching for people who use magic,” Gavin said. Of course, the boy was exactly what the constables were looking for, based on what Gavin had experienced of his power. Only, he couldn’t imagine if the constables expected to find somebody this age.

  They would’ve anticipated facing off against a sorcerer, someone of power who posed a real danger to them. That had to be why they brought three constables to bear.

  “Are you going to bring me in?” Kegan asked.

  “I don’t care about magic,” Gavin said.

  “You don’t?”

  “I’m not a constable. Now, what I do care about is you attacking me the way you did.”

  “I thought you were one of them.” He took a step off to the side, and in the pale light of the dagger, he looked beyond Gavin. He was watching the space outside of the lair, searching for something on the other side.

  “They’re unconscious. For now. I don’t know how long they’ll stay that way. Unless you give me some answers, they might start to come back around.”

  “Who are you?” Kegan asked.

  “My name is Gavin Lorren.”

  The boy’s eyes widened. He recognized the name, though Gavin wondered if he knew him as the assassin or from the rumors that had spread. If it was the latter, then the boy wouldn’t be afraid of Gavin. If it was the former…

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came looking for the constables.”

  “You’re attacking them?”

  Gavin glanced behind him for a moment before turning his attention back to Kegan. “Not as a general rule, but they have something I need.”

  “What do they have?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Gavin looked around the room. He watched Kegan out of the corner of his eye, though he kept his focus on the rest of the room, searching for signs of somebody else here.

  “How long have you been here?” Gavin asked.

  “Not long.”

  “Where’s you
r master?”

  Gavin didn’t really know what sort of arrangement the sorcerers had, but he suspected that there was a master and apprentice type of role. Gaspar had said that there’d once been an attempt to have a sorcery school within Yoran. Gavin couldn’t even imagine such a thing. In all the places that he’d visited, there’d been nothing like that. Most places were willing to accept sorcery as a necessary evil, but they did view the people who used it as something dark. They didn’t care for sorcerers. He had enough experience with them and with their magic to agree with that sentiment.

  “He is going to return soon,” the boy said.

  Gavin smiled. “Then we’ll wait.” He motioned for him with the dagger. “Why don’t you step out here? I don’t need you to attack me again.”

  “How were you able to endure it?”

  “Your little punches? You need to work on the intensity of your blows if you want to do any real damage.”

  “You shouldn’t have been able to tolerate it,” Kegan said.

  “I think you’re giving yourself far too much credit. I don’t know much about magic, but I have the sense that you have some potential. Still, you need to perfect it.”

  “Perfect what?”

  “How you’re attacking. You need to focus it. A lot of those small blows could be honed into something more tightly controlled. If you did that, then you might’ve been more effective harming me.”

  What was I doing telling the boy this?

  He didn’t need to help develop a sorcerer who knew how to use their power. Of course, this boy didn’t have enough strength to be able to harm Gavin. Yet.

  “I’ve used it before, and it works.”

  “On constables?” Gavin asked.

  The boy stared at him. “Yes.”

  “Only constables?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, I figure somebody like you would need to practice. And if you’re practicing only on constables, then you aren’t learning what you need of your power.” Gavin shook his head. “Trust me. I’ve had plenty of training, and I know you need a diversity of challengers to ensure that your techniques are effective.”

  “What do you know about magic?”

  “Nothing.” He jabbed with the dagger again. “Get out here.”

  Kegan eyed him for a moment before heading through the doorway. He stayed away from Gavin. He looked young, though there was still something about him that wasn’t quite young. It was a strange feeling that Gavin couldn’t put his finger on. Maybe the boy was older than he appeared. There were plenty of children who looked younger than they were. He hunched forward as he walked and glanced at Gavin. Wide set eyes glowered at him.

  The dagger started to glow more brightly.

  “If you’re going to try anything…”

  Kegan shook his head.

  Gavin swore under his breath. He wasn’t alone.

  He darted off to the side and moved just in time. Something swirled past him. He suspected a magical attack, rather than anybody managing to creep up on him. Still, the idea that Kegan—or whoever he was working with—had surprised him was worrisome.

  Gavin was equipped well enough to handle those sorts of things. And somehow, the boy had surprised him. No, distracted him.

  He tapped on his enchantment. “Be ready. There’s a boy coming your way who has some potential, but he isn’t alone.”

  “What kind of potential?”

  “Alex potential.”

  Gavin crouched down, sweeping the dagger around. He needed to figure out the source of the other attack. He hurried through the room, staying low, and debated whether it made sense for him to keep the El’aras dagger out. His knives would likely be more useful, but if he sheathed the dagger, he wouldn’t have the advantage that it offered. He needed its light to be able to see.

  He moved forward into the large room. He had thought that it was enormous when he’d first seen it, but now that he was here, it seemed even larger than he’d believed when the door first opened. It wasn’t as well hidden as the one beneath Cyran’s home, but perhaps it didn’t need to be.

  The doorway that had blocked it had been effective. Had Gavin not had the glow of the El’aras dagger, he might not have ever noticed that there was anything here.

  He stayed low and crept forward, then turned when he reached the far end of the room. There was a shadowed form across from him.

  Gavin lunged. His elbow connected with something, and he toppled farther forward than he’d anticipated.

  It was another child.

  Crap.

  Gavin rolled to the side, holding out the dagger. This child was a little bit older than Kegan, but still couldn’t be out of their teens. They were unconscious.

  Gavin grabbed the boy and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him toward the entrance of the lair. He stepped out and found Kegan watching Gaspar, who simply stood over the three constables, a short knife in hand.

  “I found a buddy of his,” Gavin said, carrying the other child out and setting him near the constables. He glanced over at Kegan. “Do you have anybody else in there?”

  “Mekal?” he whispered.

  The boy was older than Kegan, with a hint of whiskers growing on his cheeks, the earliest wisps of a beard. They had the same wide set eyes and the same shock of dark hair. Mekal looked taller and thicker than Kegan, like an older version of him.

  “He’s fine. Well, he will be. He needs to wake up.”

  “I didn’t take you for the kind to attack children,” Gaspar said.

  “I wasn’t attacking a child… that’s not right. I did attack a child, but I didn’t know I was,” Gavin said.

  “Who is he?”

  “You got me. He was in the back of the room. Kegan came out first, so I suspect this one had been teaching him.”

  Gavin looked over at Kegan, who was staring at Mekal. “Is that right? Has Mekal been teaching you?”

  “Our master is going to return home any minute.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Gavin glanced over at the constables. “I could wake them up and give them the news. I’m sure the constables would be most impressed with what you’ve just told me. I’m sure they might even have something to say about your master’s return.”

  “Don’t,” Kegan said, moving toward him.

  “Then start talking.”

  “We live here. It was our parents’ home.”

  “What happened to them?” Gavin asked, already on edge. He worried about what the boy was going to say, but he already had a suspicion.

  “Do you think this is the first time that constables have come to our home?” Kegan said with an edge of arrogance.

  “What do you mean?”

  “They come every few weeks. Most of the time, we have enough notice and we can hide. Sometimes we have to run.”

  “Run?” Gavin asked.

  “If they come inside.”

  “Like they did today.”

  “We didn’t detect them,” Kegan said. “I don’t know how.”

  Gavin glanced down at the constables before turning his attention back to the boy. “How do you detect them?”

  “They aren’t subtle,” he said. “They come looking for those who have abilities, and they want to drag them off, but they…” He shook his head and wiped away tears that had formed in his eyes.

  Could that be what the constables were doing?

  He could imagine that they were going door-to-door, checking out the old homes of sorcerers or even enchanters.

  “Were your parents sorcerers?”

  Kegan shook his head quickly. “They didn’t have enough power.”

  Enchanters then.

  Enchanters had a weaker form of magic. The type of magic they called upon was similar to that of sorcerers, but not nearly as potent. Enchanters had to harness their power, focusing it into items that could be used in other ways, such as Gavin’s first communication device. It was how some people had enchantments that allowed
them strength or speed or, in the case of the Captain, impenetrable skin.

  “Your brother has been teaching you?” Gavin asked.

  “He’s been trying to show me as much as he can, but he doesn’t know enough. There are—”

  Kegan cut off, and Gavin smiled. “There are what?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Were you about to say that there are others you’ve been working with?”

  Kegan’s eyes widened slightly. “No. I wasn’t going to say anything like that.”

  “Listen, boy. If you know something about other enchanters, I need you to share it with me now.”

  “I’m not going to tell you anything.”

  “Even if I do something to your brother?”

  Gavin pulled out the El’aras dagger and twisted it. The blade glowed softly, so he knew that Kegan was still holding onto some magic, though not nearly as much as he was able to.

  “What are you going to do to him?” Kegan asked.

  “It depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On what stories you’ve heard about me.”

  Kegan shook his head. “I don’t know anything about you.”

  “That’s too bad.” Gavin crouched down.

  Gaspar shot him a hard look. “What are you doing?” he whispered.

  It came through loud and clear through the enchantment. That was interesting. It was another use for the enchantment he hadn’t even considered before. Perhaps he should have thought about that before now. He imagined that Anna had realized the potential of the enchantment in such a way.

  Perhaps they needed to call upon the El’aras. They had power, and Anna had lived in Yoran for quite a while—long enough that she might know what was taking place here. The El’aras in the city would have to have known about others who used magic, wouldn’t they?

  “Just watch,” Gavin whispered. He held the dagger out and jammed it into the ground next to Mekal. He touched Mekal on the shoulder. “Wakey, wakey.”

  Mekal started to stir, and when he opened his eyes, he looked up at Gavin. The El’aras dagger started to glow more brightly.

  Gavin shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He placed his hand on Mekal’s chest, keeping him from sitting up. “You should know that we have your buddy—brother—Kegan over here. He’s been telling us some very useful information, but he doesn’t want to tell me anything more about where you’ve been learning magic.” Gavin leaned close to him. “Now, I’m not a constable, but I am someone who needs information.”