“Let me get this straight. The Captain uses enchanters to place enchantments on whatever he needs,” he said. “The constables look the other way, but at the same time, they search for those with magic. And now Zella and the others with her are somehow involved.”
“Zella and the others have always been involved,” Olivia said.
“Why?”
“Because they’re the ones who have suffered the most.”
“What do you mean?” Gavin asked.
“Do you think Alex is the first one who’s been rescued? The Captain has captured others over the years. Not all of them escape, but many of them do. Even with the enchantments he’s able to place, he struggles to hold them, partly because they’re incredibly powerful in their own right.”
“What about Alex?”
“She was taken.”
“I know that,” Gavin said.
“She was part of the group that attacked the constable caravan. They were the ones who took the jade egg in the first place,” Olivia said. “Her ability is…”
“What about her ability?”
Gavin had seen it was powerful, but it had to be more than that.
“She can tap into enchantments. Make them stronger.”
He breathed out. That explained many things. “And since the jade egg is an enchantment…”
It would be why the Mistress of Vines wanted her.
Alex could make the egg much more potent.
“She was captured like so many others have been,” Olivia said.
Gavin looked to Olivia. “You were captured once.”
Olivia said nothing.
“How did you get out?” he asked.
“There’s one thing the Captain understands,” Olivia said softly.
“What’s that?”
“Money.”
Gavin glanced at Desarra, then turned back to Olivia. “How long ago were you held?”
“It’s been a while,” she said.
Gavin frowned and glanced at Gaspar, who made a point of ignoring him. “So you were once there. I take it that’s how you got the layout to the Captain’s home?” He looked at Desarra.
She nodded.
“Then what’s going on with the Mistress of Vines? If these others have used her to get to Alex…”
It still didn’t make complete sense to Gavin. Alex was able to augment the jade egg, and somehow the Mistress of Vines was responsible for it. She was the reason that Gavin got involved in the first place. She’d wanted him to get Alex out—which meant she would use the egg. The enchanters had said that the Mistress of Vines would help free their families and somehow release the energy trapped in the jade egg. They’d finally have a sense of safety that their families had not had for years.
“What is she really after?” he asked.
“The same thing they are,” Olivia said.
“And what exactly is that?”
“They want to remove the Captain.”
“Why remove him? It sounds to me like he’s not opposed to the use of magic.”
“Not opposed to it, but he’d also rather keep the status quo. Given how much power and authority he has, he’d much rather ensure he keeps it rather than allowing others to have any.”
“Why would he even care? It seems as if he’s only willing to work with enchanters…” Gavin started to smile.
How much had Anna known about the Captain?
She had spent some time in his fortress. He didn’t really know what she knew, but he questioned whether or not she’d even been aware of it. Perhaps she had known. Maybe that was the reason she’d gone to the fortress in the first place. Or perhaps it was because she could use magic more openly around him.
If only he had a chance to speak with her. Given everything that had occurred in the city since taking on these two jobs, Gavin should’ve taken the time to reach out to her.
“He’s an enchanter, isn’t he?” he said.
The timing made sense. He hadn’t pieced it together before, but now that he started to think through it, he thought he understood. The time when the Captain had risen to power. The reason behind him building such an incredible fortress. That few knew anything about him.
“Did you know?” he asked Gaspar.
“I’ve suspected. None of us really know. That’s one of the things I’ve looked into since I left.” He looked over to Desarra. “The bastard keeps an element of mystery around him.”
“So even though he must have been a part of the sorcery war, he somehow managed to position himself in such a way that he gained even more power after it? This despite the fact that the constables removed all of the enchanters with any power?”
“Sometimes even those without power,” Desarra whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gaspar asked.
“What would I have said? That he’s used his authority to harm us? That he’s an enchanter?”
“I would have cared,” he said.
“It was better this way,” she whispered.
“Better for who?” Hurt filled Gaspar’s eyes.
There was no answer, and Gavin turned away.
“So,” he said after giving them a few moments of silence, “the Captain has held a position of authority in the city, using enchantments he’s not supposed to use, and he continues to cause difficulty for others who have power. That about right?”
“It’s more than that,” Desarra said. “He doesn’t have much magic on his own. That’s why the constables left him alone. They knew that much about him.”
Gavin nodded in understanding. “He doesn’t have much power on his own, but he uses the other enchanters he’s buying to gain strength. Is that what he’s doing?”
“As far as we can tell,” Desarra said.
“And then he learned of Alex?”
Could the Captain want the egg for himself?
It would be a complicated ploy, and one Gavin wouldn’t expect to work.
“I didn’t know who she was at the time,” Desarra said, looking over at Gaspar. “When you wanted the layout, I thought it was for another one of the enchanters who’d been taken. It had been a while since he’d managed to purchase one. They don’t allow him to purchase too many, but…”
Gavin leaned forward. “Who is she? I mean, other than her ability to augment enchantments.”
She had to be significant otherwise. He tried to think about why that would be the case, but he wasn’t sure.
“She’s Zella’s daughter.”
Gavin got to his feet and started to pace. He glanced over every so often, and his mind worked through everything that he’d learned. Strange for a city that disliked magic this intensely to have so much within it.
Why should this city be so different than any others that I’d been in?
Some were more open and welcomed the idea of magic, recognizing its value. In others, the sorcerers were a part of the community, and they worked with the people rather than trying to subjugate them. In still other cities, it was more like the way Yoran had once been. The people had been conquered, and they lived under the rule of a sorcerer. There were some like Yoran was now, where magic was expelled. In all of them, there was always an undercurrent of power. Gavin should’ve expected this city to be no different.
Gavin paced in front of the fireplace, looking all around the inside of the room, trying to piece together everything he’d heard and everything they’d implied.
What did I need to do now?
Gaspar and Desarra talked quietly.
Gavin looked at Olivia. “If the Captain keeps taking—”
“Not taking. Buying.”
Gavin nodded. “Buying other enchanters, then what are they interested in?”
“They’re interested in freeing those who have been purchased,” she said.
“It’s not just about freeing them though. It’s about something else, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“What?”
“There’s a reason Zella was willing
to offer the egg to the Mistress of Vines,” she said.
He leaned forward. “What?”
“They want revenge.”
“Revenge for what the Captain’s doing?”
“For all of it. The Captain primarily. They view him as responsible for not only the capture of people like Alex and others but also what happened to their parents.”
“Why?”
“Because he was one of them. He betrayed them. And they’re hoping the Mistress of Vines will finally get that vengeance.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Gavin said. Maybe this was just something he needed to leave alone. Vengeance was a motivation he well understood. “Then we wait until it plays out.”
“You can’t,” Olivia said.
“Why not? I don’t really care if the Mistress of Vines or the Captain has the fortress.”
“All they want—we want—is the freedom to use our magic without fear.”
“So you convinced the Mistress of Vines to help.”
“When they took Alex…”
Gavin shook his head. That had been the tipping point for the enchanters. Either that, or the Mistress of Vines propositioned them. He didn’t know which.
“If they attack, if the Mistress of Vines succeeds, there will be open war within Yoran again,” Gaspar said, looking over to him. “I’ve lived that before. I don’t want to see it again. For as bad as he might be, the Captain did accomplish one thing. The magical war ended.”
“Only because the constables were using enchantments to hunt those with magic,” Olivia said.
“The alternative was worse,” Gaspar said.
“Are you sure?”
They were both right. He’d seen it. Gavin had been through a few places where there’d been a battle between those who had magic and those who did not. It was never easy, always brutal and bloody. The time when he’d been hired to remove the Tanran had been the worst, but there had been others.
Gavin looked over at Gaspar. “You got me into this. You’re going to help me finish it.”
“Finish what?”
“If I know sorcerers, she wants the egg for more than just to help the enchanters.” Power, of some sort. It was just learning what kind of power. “So we have to reclaim the jade egg.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gavin sat by the fire with hands clasped together, looking around the room for a moment before returning his attention to the crackling flames. Olivia sat next to Desarra, both of them talking quietly to each other. Gaspar had slipped out, looking for more information.
Gavin’s mind raced as he struggled with the various scenarios. To get Alex back, he’d have to stop the Mistress of Vines, though he had no idea whether he could. She was a powerful sorcerer, and skilled enough that he would need help.
“What is it?” Wrenlow asked, leaning forward and watching him. He held a book open in his lap and was jotting down notes, though nothing in the book would probably help when it came to what they needed to do.
“I’m just trying to come to terms with something I resisted over the years,” Gavin said softly.
“What’s that?”
Gavin looked over at his old friend, who watched him with concern in his eyes. He suspected Wrenlow knew just how dangerous this was going to be, though they’d gone into dangerous situations before and come out on the other side just fine.
“I’ve resisted taking enchantments with me.”
“You have not,” Wrenlow said, shaking his head. “You’ve taken as many as you think you need.”
“You mean this?” He tapped on the earpiece and shook his head. “This is as far as I’ve gone. I’m talking about a different kind of enchantment.”
It was a measure of the difficulty they faced that Gavin was willing to take one now. Wrenlow didn’t even see that from him.
Maybe it was for the best.
“What kind?”
“Similar to the ones the constables have used.”
“The… no. Gavin, you can’t go back there.”
“I know I shouldn’t,” he said, though maybe he should. There was no reason that he couldn’t break into Zella’s home and take some of her enchantments. They would be a challenge to get to again, but the issue wasn’t so much about what he could do as it was knowing whether or not they would even work. He’d have to figure out what the enchantments did. He didn’t have enough information, which put him in danger. “There might be another way for us to get the enchantments we need.”
Gavin didn’t know if the enchantments in Cyran’s sorcerer’s lair would be useful, but doubted it. Not unless he knew what they were for.
“What, then?” Wrenlow asked.
The door opened and Gaspar slipped back in and headed over to Gavin. “Time to get moving.”
“Now?”
“She’s making her play. The fortress.”
Gavin squeezed his eyes shut. “She didn’t even wait. After getting Alex back, she’s going to go straight at him.”
Gavin got to his feet, and he walked over to the table where Olivia sat with Desarra.
“This is going to be a break-in,” he said, looking to Gaspar. “Your kind of plan.”
“We’ve already done that,” Gaspar said.
Gavin nodded. “Right, which as we know is a bit dangerous, but this time we’ll know a sorcerer is there.”
“I seem to remember you thinking the girl was the sorcerer.”
“I’ve thought many different things during this whole scenario. None of them have been accurate, but that hasn’t been my fault. I’ve gathered as much information as I can to try to get through this.”
Gavin took a seat at the table, looking over at Desarra and Olivia. Both of them watched him. He couldn’t shake the resemblance, but given what he knew about enchanters, he wondered something.
“Why do all enchanters look younger than they are?” he asked. They needed to prepare, but this was a question he wanted answered.
Gaspar frowned at him. “What?”
Gavin nodded to Olivia. “Her. I suspect all of the enchanters that I’ve met, including Zella, look like they’re still in their teens. They appear young, though I have a feeling that none of them are quite as young as they seem.”
Desarra shook her head. “They are young,” she said.
“I don’t know. Something about it isn’t quite right.”
“It’s tied to the war,” Olivia said softly. She glanced at Desarra, then stared off into the distance. “During the attack, something happened. Nobody really knows, but all enchanters found that we were stuck in time.” She swept her hand down from head to toe and shook her head slowly. “Not that we really understand it. Even now, we still don’t.”
“So you’re stuck as you were?” Gavin asked.
Desarra shook her head softly, but Olivia nodded.
“Yes. It gives us the opportunity to move places where we wouldn’t otherwise.” She smiled tightly. “Many saw us as less of a threat.”
Gavin frowned. “Which means you are sisters.”
Desarra’s eyes twitched slightly, and Gavin knew he was right.
Gavin turned to Olivia. “For us to do this job, I need your help.”
“She’s not coming with us,” Gaspar said.
“I’m not asking you,” Gavin said to him. “And I’m not asking her to come with us. I just need her help.”
“What do you need?” Olivia’s voice was soft.
“I assume that your parents were enchanters as well,” Gavin said. He glanced from Desarra to Olivia, and the slight tension in the corners of their eyes told him all he needed to know. “Which means they poured part of themselves into this jade egg, no differently than any of the other enchanters.”
Olivia nodded.
“Why them, and not anyone else?” Gavin asked.
“What do you mean?” Wrenlow asked. He got up from where he was seated and sat down next to Gavin, watching him for a moment before turning to look at the other two. “Who
else are you concerned about?”
“It’s not so much a concern,” Gavin said. “It’s more about understanding.” He rested his elbows on the table, looking from Desarra to Olivia. “If your parents were enchanters, why is it that they were pulled into creating this egg, but not anyone else?”
“They protected us,” Olivia said. She looked over at Desarra. “And they wanted us to protect the others, but…”
“But there was only so much you could do,” he said, looking at Desarra.
She nodded slowly.
Gavin turned to Gaspar, but the old thief was looking away from him. There were answers here, if only Gavin could dig into it and figure out what they might be. He had a feeling Gaspar wouldn’t share anything with him anyway, but that didn’t change a whole lot for him.
“So when Olivia was captured…”
“It was my responsibility to get her back,” Desarra said.
“I see.”
“What do you see?” Wrenlow asked.
Gavin shook his head. “Nothing clearly, and I get the sense that they don’t know either. Only that those who have enchanter abilities found themselves stuck as children when their parents created the jade egg.” Whatever magic had been used had shifted things for them. He had no idea what to make of it, only that it had been powerful enough to keep them from progressing in age or appearance. “What about those who have been born since?”
“There haven’t been many,” Olivia said.
“Why?”
“Look at us,” she said, looking down at herself. “We look like children, and yet…”
Gavin smiled at her. “I know what I was doing when I was a teenager.”
Gaspar swung his gaze over to him. “What were you doing?”
“Training mostly, but I did have breaks in my training. A growing boy has needs, you know.”
“I know too much about your needs,” Gaspar said.
Now the enchanters weren’t growing anymore. It fit with what he’d seen, though, and it helped him feel better about his attack on people like Kegan and Mekal. They weren’t children. Not really. They looked young, but he had to tack on years since the war to help him recognize just how old they might actually be.
“What about this egg?” Gavin looked over at Desarra before turning his attention to Olivia. “Will the Mistress of Vines use it to start a new war? If you brought in a sorcerer to deal with all of this…”
The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3 Page 52