The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3

by Holmberg, D. K.

  In that brief moment, he hesitated. He had no idea if his ability to break chains, to break through magical bindings, would cause them any harm. He didn’t necessarily want to hurt them. He just wanted answers.

  It was too late for him to withdraw it though. Gavin didn’t have any control over the magic. If it was magic.

  That energy burst from him and exploded away, unleashing a ring of power that collided with the attackers. They were thrown back.

  Gavin darted toward Kegan, grabbing him and then Mekal, and he threw them further into the room. He snarled at them. “Where is Zella?”

  Mekal looked at him, his eyes wide. “How did you—”

  “No more games,” Gavin said. “If you know who I am”—and he suspected that Kegan, at least, knew who he was—“then you will tell me where I find Zella. If you don’t, I’m going to go through this room and carve through every single person here until I find her.”

  Gavin put every bit of anger and rage into the comment as possible. He tried to fill it with as much power and as much passion as he could to make them believe he was willing to do this. There was some distant part of him that might even be willing to do it. It was the part of him that had trained with Tristan. His mentor had wanted him to gain that skill and know how to be a killer, and that part of him flared up as he sneered at these two.

  “Don’t. Please.” Kegan tried to fight, and he shook.

  “You might find that magic comes a little bit slower to you now,” Gavin said softly. His voice was a dangerous growl. “It’s been my experience that those who are around when I break the chain of magic take a little while to recover. I suspect you will find you’re no stronger than the Mistress of Vines.”

  Kegan whimpered.

  “Do you recognize that name?” Gavin asked. “Would you like me to bring you to her? I’m sure she would be thrilled to know children who play with magic that shouldn’t.”

  “Enough,” a voice said from the back of the room.

  Gavin dropped the boys. He released the rage that filled him, and he turned toward the voice. A dark figure greeted him. She was young like the others, with black hair that faded into the shadows. Still, he detected an intensity from her. Gavin strode forward, holding the El’aras blade out. It only glowed softly, not nearly as bright as it had been before. That was one of the detriments of breaking through their magic. Now it was too dim to see.

  “Zella?” he asked.

  “Who are you?” she whispered.

  “I was hired to find you. It sounds as if you have something my employer wants.”

  “I don’t have anything. Please don’t hurt us.”

  Gavin looked around, and he noticed the fallen faces of what amounted to be children. Most of them were similar in age to Mekal, thankfully. There were only two who were younger, Kegan and another girl, but all of them were still far younger than what he would have expected from sorcerers.

  “I’m not going to hurt anyone else unless you give me a reason to. So don’t give me one.”

  “What do you need?”

  Gavin watched her carefully. What he’d said to Gaspar was not untrue. Even though he had rescued Alex, he still didn’t know whether that was the only part of the job he needed to complete.

  But was it a job?

  Erica had betrayed him and wasn’t really an employer. Maybe the only thing he really considered a job was a task that needed to be completed.

  With the Mistress of Vines, he was determined to complete it. He wouldn’t let her beat him.

  There was something more taking place. He just had to understand what it was—and why he’d gotten pulled into it.

  “You stole something from my employer,” he said.

  “I didn’t steal anything.”

  “Unfortunately, he feels differently. And he feels strongly enough that you did that he hired me.”

  “What do you think I stole?”

  “He called it a jade egg.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t steal it.”

  “Really? Like I said, he felt differently. Enough to pay. And, unfortunately for you, he’s paying well. So if you do have the jade egg, it’ll be far easier for you to simply tell me where it is so I don’t have to drag that knowledge out of you. If you don’t have it, then…” Gavin smiled, trying to look as dangerous as he could. “I’m not really sure what I’ll do. Perhaps I’ll see how much you share with me as I jab this dagger into your belly, curving it as I’m—”

  “Enough,” Gaspar said from behind him.

  Only, Gaspar wasn’t right there. He shouted it into the enchantment, loud enough for Gavin to hear the anger within his voice. Gavin glanced over his shoulder at Gaspar. The old thief watched him, anger and violence flashing in his eyes.

  “Sorry. You’re right,” Gavin muttered. “Let’s make this easy,” he said, shifting tactics. “All I need is the egg. Once you hand it over, I can be out of your home. I don’t need to do anything different. I don’t need to harm you. I don’t even need to reveal your presence to the constables. All I need is the jade egg. Once you provide that, you won’t ever see me again.”

  Though he had to worry that they might come after him. They did have power, after all. Perhaps not as much as sorcerers, but they were skilled nonetheless.

  He was playing this all wrong. He could feel Gaspar’s eyes on him and the irritation within them.

  Gavin didn’t care. At this point, the only thing he cared about was finishing this part of the job. He didn’t even have to turn in Zella. He’d been paid enough and could be paid even more, he realized, especially given the terms of the agreement.

  “I thought the point of this was to see what we could find out,” Gaspar whispered through the enchantment.

  Gavin ignored him. Even though that was part of the plan, there was something more he wanted. If he were able to get the jade egg, then not only would he earn enough money to leave Yoran, but he also could finish two jobs here. Wasn’t that better? Certainly Gaspar should be able to understand that.

  “I don’t have it,” Zella said.

  “Where is it?”

  “I don’t have it, but…” She looked all around her, her gaze lingering on Kegan and Mekal for a long moment before turning back to Gavin. “I can help you find it.”

  “Good.”

  She motioned for him to follow. Gavin went along with her, heading down the hallway. It was much like what he’d seen in Kegan and Mekal’s home.

  The others joined her and stayed close, as if they intended to protect her in case Gavin tried to do anything. Considering the way that he’d attacked, he doubted there would be anything they could do to prevent him from harming her if he decided he wanted to.

  Gaspar stayed behind Gavin by only a step. “I don’t like any of this,” he muttered through the enchantment.

  “You know, you are the reason I took this job.”

  “This isn’t the job you took.”

  “It’s all tied together,” Gavin said. The more involved he got, the more certain he was.

  The hall ended at a door, and Zella used a burst of magic to open it. Through the El’aras dagger, Gavin was aware of the way the power pushed out from her and into the door. She motioned for him to follow.

  He passed through the doorway and noted a strange tingling wash over him, which suggested there was some sort of magical energy here. He couldn’t see anything that confirmed it, and he waited for a moment.

  “You can come in further,” Zella said.

  Gavin sighed before following her inside. Gaspar walked in next, staying close.

  The room was different than some of the other lairs he’d been in. There were shelves all around, several tables, and a rug in the middle. Gavin wondered if the rug would be removed to reveal a trapdoor beneath it much like Cyran’s had. She stopped in the middle of the room, looking around. There was something in her eyes that suggested this was a place of value to her.

  “What is this place?” Gavin asked.
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br />   “I’m a collector,” Zella said.

  “A collector?” Gavin paused in front of one of the shelves filled with sculptures. Some of them were tiny figurines, others were bowls, and still others looked to be creatures crafted out of dark metal. There was something to these he hadn’t realized before. As he held his dagger up, he sensed power. The blade glowed softly, taking on a hint of pale white light. Many of the sculptures reminded him of what he’d seen in Cyran’s lair.

  He spun, facing Zella. “Don’t try anything.”

  “You’ve already made it clear that nothing I could do would work.”

  “What is all of this?”

  “These are enchantments we’ve collected,” she said.

  Gavin looked around. “Enchantments?”

  “All of them. We’ve been taking them from the constables.”

  Gavin glanced over at Gaspar, whose brow furrowed. Gaspar headed toward the shelves opposite Gavin, and he began to search along them in his quick but methodical way.

  “Just from the constables?” Gavin asked. There was an enormous number of enchantments here.

  “Primarily, though we’ve taken some from others.” She looked over at him. “Some of these enchantments allow us to be stronger or faster, and they give us an advantage.”

  Gavin smiled to himself. He could imagine the youngsters carrying these enchantments, and he could easily imagine how they were able to hide the fact that they were the ones responsible for taking them.

  Who would guess it would be those like Mekal and Kegan?

  They looked too young to pose much of a threat. The constables would underestimate them.

  Had he not found them when the constables did…

  He turned to Kegan, suddenly understanding. He let out a long laugh, ignoring Gaspar watching him. “They didn’t just find you,” Gavin said. “You were drawing them in.”

  Kegan turned away, but Mekal continued to look at him defiantly.

  Gavin smiled to himself. “What do you think you can do by disarming the constables of their enchantments?”

  “They have to have a limit to how many enchantments they have.”

  “Why must they?” Gavin asked.

  He studied the shelves. Some of the objects were simple, such as rings, necklaces, and bracelets. Others were devices, like bowls or boxes or even statues. If these were all constables’ enchantments, they had incredible reserves of them. Not that he was surprised by that. Everything he’d seen of the constables suggested they had access to considerable power. They would have to, in order for them to be able to keep peace and push out the sorcerers and enchanters.

  “Everything they have is tied to what they stole from our masters,” Zella said.

  She might’ve appeared young, but there was something about the way she said it that suggested she might be older than what he gave her credit for. Gavin looked at her anew. Studying her, really studying her, he tried to better understand why that was. Maybe it was simply that he’d assumed her to be a certain age.

  Gavin had lived a hard life, and his training with Tristan had made things more difficult for him. Because of that, he looked older than he was. Not that he needed any help with that. He’d been scarred through his fighting and through his travels.

  “You all trained with the enchanters who were taken?”

  “Not taken,” Zella said. “Slaughtered. They bargained with our people, and then they slaughtered them.”

  “So you just think you’re taking everything back?”

  “Should we not?” She raised her hands, spreading them out in front of her, and she turned in place, looking around the room. “Everything here was created by those who partnered with the constables. Partnered with those who led Yoran at the time. The sorcerers were dangerous. Our people recognized that, and they were willing to work with them, to help them stabilize the city. Even as we did, they were planning and plotting against us.”

  Gaspar looked over with a troubled expression on his face. “We need to be careful,” he whispered.

  “Why? That was over a decade ago.”

  “Yes, but I recognize some of these items. They are powerful. As strong as you are, you still need to—”

  The dagger started to glow.

  Gavin frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m afraid, Gavin Lorren, I’m not going to let you harm any of my people,” Zella said.

  He realized too late that something had been placed behind him. It was a small figurine that looked like a wolf carved out of black metal, which reflected the light coming from his El’aras dagger. The wolf started to shift, shimmer, and then it began to grow.

  Gavin shook his head. “This is a mistake.”

  “Mistake or not, you came here. You attacked my people. I suspect you would—”

  Gavin lunged and stabbed the El’aras dagger into the growing wolf’s back. He had no idea if it was even going to work, but as he jabbed it down, the dagger flashed with another burst of white light. The sculpture shattered.

  Somebody nearby cried out. Gavin spun, turning to the others in the room. Many of them went racing toward the shelves on the walls.

  “If you want to keep anyone from getting harmed,” he whispered through the enchantment, “you need to help.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Gaspar asked.

  “You were the constable. Figure it out.” Gavin darted forward, turning toward Mekal and Kegan first. They were heading for one of the shelves, reaching for enchantments.

  Gavin flipped, the energy of it carrying him up and over them. He kicked softly, though with enough force to incapacitate, and he caught Mekal in the forehead. The boy stumbled backward.

  Kegan grabbed something off of the shelf and held it outward. Gavin braced himself, holding the El’aras dagger out from him. The dagger absorbed the brunt of the attack, sending the power streaking off to either side.

  He shook his head. “You’re making a mistake.”

  Kegan held out whatever he’d grabbed, forcing it toward Gavin. “No.”

  Gavin dropped low, twisting his legs in a scissoring technique, and he caught Kegan and flipped him to the ground. The boy’s head crashed into the stone and bounced. The sound was almost sickening, but hopefully he hadn’t fallen so hard to have crushed his skull.

  At this point, Gavin wasn’t even sure how he needed to feel. They looked like children, but he had a sense that perhaps they weren’t children at all. Magically enhanced in some way…

  But was that all they were?

  With other magical beings, they looked human. The El’aras looked mostly human, but they were not. There were others in the world that looked… different. Most of the enchanters he’d met were human.

  But could there be something else? What did I really know about enchanters, other than the fact that Alex was one?

  And Alex was with Jessica. Wrenlow. Imogen.

  Gavin tapped on the enchantment, and he quickly whispered, “Wrenlow, if you’re paying any attention, you need to be careful with Alex. I don’t know what sort of enchantments she might be hiding from you.”

  There wasn’t any response, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. It was possible that Wrenlow was tied up with whatever research he was looking into at this point. He hoped that Alex hadn’t escaped them, and he hoped she wasn’t doing anything right now.

  Gavin shifted, turning toward several of the other enchanters. Three of them converged on him, and all of them held items in hand. Gaspar snuck around the backside of the room.

  “Listen. All I need is the jade egg,” Gavin said, looking past the three enchanters approaching and trying to get Zella’s attention.

  “What makes you think I’m going to provide you with the jade egg?”

  “What is it?”

  “Something we’ve been trying to reclaim for years,” Zella said.

  “Why?”

  She shook her head at him. She nodded toward the others, making a motion with her hands. They were fac
ing Gavin, but they reacted to the motion she made.

  Could that be another enchantment?

  This place was a storehouse of enchantments, and he could imagine how they might be used.

  Hell, he wanted to go through everything in here to see what there might be. Despite what he’d told Gaspar about not wanting or needing enchantments, there was still value in them, like with the enchantment he communicated to Gaspar and Wrenlow through. He could think of other enchantments that would be equally valuable to him if he were given the opportunity to use them.

  He turned toward the three oncoming enchanters. He was prepared for whatever they might do to him. But he wasn’t ready for how quick they were.

  They streaked toward him, and Gavin did the only thing he could think of.

  He jumped.

  Training kicked in at that point. While in the air, he spun and stretched his legs out from him on either side, and the momentum carried him around. One foot struck the shoulder of one of the enchanters and sent them spinning off to the side. The other missed, but as Gavin came back down, he chopped with his arm, slicing toward them. The blow was hard enough that he knocked one of the enchantments away from the attacker.

  He darted forward, using a burst of power from his core reserves, giving him a hint of speed. When he slammed into the third enchanter, they collapsed.

  Gavin raced forward, holding onto the El’aras dagger. Resistance pushed against him, but he ignored it.

  Then he reached Zella.

  He pressed the dagger underneath her neck and held her tightly from behind. “Call them off.”

  As he looked around him, he could see the other enchanters getting back up, turning toward him. Some of them, including Mekal, remained down. Still, Gavin worried that even a few enchanters organized would be more than what he could withstand.

  “I’m not calling them off. They’re doing what they are instructed to do. They are protecting me. Our people. Our—”

  Gavin shoved a little harder than he intended. The El’aras dagger cut the skin of her neck. Blood trickled down the blade, causing the glow to surge brighter.

  “Call them off,” he hissed.

  Zella stiffened. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Who do you think I am?”