“What is it?”
“A way for them to know if somebody who has magic has come through.” Gaspar looked over at him. “So, knowing what we do about you, I’m not surprised you felt something.”
“What about you? Did you feel anything?”
“No,” Gaspar said. “Now keep moving.”
“What are you worried about?” Gavin said.
“There are other defenses they placed here.”
“What sort?”
“The kind that will prevent you from getting much farther, so keep moving.”
They neared a small doorway near the wall. Gavin glanced behind him, and he started to turn back toward the doorway when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He turned back. “Move,” he said to Gaspar.
“I am moving, so just wait a second.”
Gavin reached into his pocket, pulling out one of the enchantments. As he looked at the faint trace of smoke in the distance, he wasn’t sure if one enchantment was going to be enough. The cloud appeared to be larger than the other ones he had seen. Gavin pulled out another enchantment.
He pushed Gaspar, but Gaspar only glanced back at him.
“It’s time for you to get moving before you find out whether or not that smoke creature is really going to come after you,” he said to Gaspar.
He prepared for the attack. He had to figure out some way to draw the smoke creature into the enchantment, though Gavin wasn’t sure how to do that. He might’ve gotten lucky in the constables’ barracks.
Gavin pushed Gaspar forward again. “You need to keep moving.”
“What do you think I’m trying to do?”
“I can’t really tell. You’re just standing there,” Gavin said.
“Because I have to wait for the others to come out.”
“I don’t know if we have enough time for that.”
Gaspar looked past him, his eyes going wide. “What is that?”
“That’s the smoke creature.”
“What’s within the smoke?”
Gavin turned back, and his breath caught. Within the smoke was what appeared to be a face. That face opened a massive mouth, as if it were trying to swallow them.
Chapter Eighteen
Gavin hurriedly held out the enchantment. He jammed it toward the smoke creature, unmindful of what might happen if it were to clamp down on his arm. The creature swirled around, but the enchantment took hold, swallowing the smoke. Gavin hurriedly added another enchantment.
Given the size of this smoke creature, he had to try something more.
The smoke creature screamed. The sound was a horrible shriek, and Gavin wanted nothing more than to cover his ears. He had to keep his hand out, forcing the enchantments toward the creature.
“What is it?” Gaspar asked.
“Get moving!”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to be fine. I have the enchantment that repels magic.”
The smoke creature slammed toward him, trying to force its way through. Gavin ignored it, holding on to the enchantments, prepared for the possibility that the creature might come toward him with a renewed violence. He might need the sword, if it would work.
Gavin pushed Gaspar back, and Gaspar crashed into something behind him. Gavin hazarded a glance over his shoulder. Gaspar struggled getting to his feet and tried to unsheathe one of his knives.
Gavin shook his head. “Weapons aren’t going to work against it. I’ve tried already, and even the El’aras dagger and sword haven’t done anything to them.”
“The enchantment?”
Gavin nodded. He turned his attention back to the smoke creature. As he held the enchantments out, he could feel them vibrating as if they were trying to pull power.
He glanced behind him.
There was nothing but the wall. Gaspar was gone.
The enchanters must have let him in.
There was something more dangerous about this smoke creature than the others he’d encountered. Gavin felt his heart racing as he stood close to it, fear building within him. He had to ignore that sense. The creature pressed out at him with its strange magic, forcing those emotions upon him.
They should have been careful—and Gavin should have known better.
The smoke creatures had been following him. The Fate was using Gavin to find others.
They weren’t helpless, though. He knew the smoke creature could be captured.
He leaned forward, and the smoke creature bounced off the magical protection that he held.
“Wrenlow?” he said into his enchantment. For a moment, Gavin worried the enchantment was no longer working.
Wrenlow’s voice crackled. “What is it?”
“I need you to get word to the constables.”
“What kind of word?”
He told Wrenlow where they had traveled. “Send them to the Captain’s fortress.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s not about attacking the enchanters,” Gavin said. “It’s about saving them.”
His arms started to grow heavy. Still, the smoke creature fought against the enchantments, struggling within the power Gavin pushed at it.
Gavin took a step toward it. He had to count on the fact that his enchantment that pushed back magic would be enough to protect him.
The smoke creature started to shriek even louder. He stepped forward again, holding on to the power within the enchantments, and moved closer to the smoke creature.
All he had to do was push.
He took another step.
The smoke creature swirled closer.
That was new.
Gavin reached into his pocket, pulling out one that was another magical barrier. The smoke creature was repelled farther, though it started to crash toward Gavin, as if it were suddenly aware of how things had changed.
He forced the smoke creature forward, ignoring the shrieking.
What he needed was more power for the trap.
“Hold on, Gavin. We’re coming toward you.”
He felt a surge of relief at hearing Wrenlow’s voice. The irony was not lost on him that, after everything he’d gone through in Yoran, he wanted the constables coming in his direction.
He pulled out another enchantment and used the combination to hold the smoke creature. He needed to trap it. Gavin took another step. Violence within the smoke creature intensified.
What if he added his core energy to the traps? Gavin hadn’t tried that before. He hadn’t even tried using it to help with the magical repellant. Now was the time to attempt it.
Gavin called that power up from within himself. When he had used it before, he had usually used it to replenish his own strength. There had been a few times where he had learned to use that power to help break the bonds around him, and Gavin had come to know that he could use that power to shatter those bindings.
But this was something different. This was a matter of trying to pour power out from him in a controlled way.
Gavin pushed that power through him and into the enchantments. All of them surged. Strangely, symbols formed in his mind. El’aras symbols.
The creature shrieked.
Power was there, and he let it flow—but there was a limit to it. He had used enough already—maybe too much—but, for now, he let energy flow outward. It struck the enchantment, and the enchantment struck the smoke creature.
Gavin could practically see a barrier form. Rather than pouring out of multiple enchantments, it poured out of only one of them, flowing from him to the smoke creature. The barrier wrapped around the smoke creature, trapping it. The creature shrieked, rising within that barrier, and Gavin struggled to keep his hand firm. Everything within him trembled as he tried to maintain his grip, holding on to the power within him, knowing the energy was still there.
His strength started to wane, but he refused to let go of it.
Gavin cried out. Power flowed from him, and weakness began to overwhelm him. He was using t
oo much of his core reserves. Too much of the magic within him. If only he had some way to call upon more.
Fatigue dropped him to his knees, and he looked up. He was so close to the fortress, but if he drew the creatures in, the enchanters would be in danger. The creature shrieked at him, the massive mouth of smoke stretched open and wide, looking as if it were trying to consume him.
Gavin ignored it. Power continued to flow, and then it swallowed the smoke creature, pulling it down into the enchantment.
He sank down, dropping to his hands and knees. He took a gasping breath. There was no further sign of the smoke creature. It was gone.
“What was that?”
Gavin looked up. When had Davel arrived?
“What was what?” Gavin asked, dragging himself to his feet. He could barely stand, and it took everything within him to try to focus on keeping his eyes open.
“Where did you get the sorcerer’s trap?”
Gavin looked at the enchantment. “What?”
“The sorcerer’s trap. Where did you get it?”
Gavin shrugged. “I don’t know.” It was too much to answer now. He could barely think. He needed to rest. “This one was harder to trap than the others.”
“I saw it. I felt the power.”
“You felt it?” Gavin asked, smiling.
Davel shook his head. “Not like that.” He slipped an arm around Gavin’s shoulders, helping him to his feet. “I have ways of detecting magic.”
“I know you do. I was there when you made one of them,” Gavin said.
He looked past Davel, and he made out several of the constables arranged in a line nearby. Gavin surveyed them, noting their swords and looking for signs of enchantments, but he didn’t see anything.
“Where’s Wrenlow?” Gavin asked.
“Your friend? He sent word, but he said he was going to watch from a different vantage.”
“Where is he?” Gavin took a deep breath, tapped on the enchantment, and called out, “Wrenlow?”
There was silence.
Why had Wrenlow suddenly gone silent on me again?
“He’s fine,” Davel said.
“I’ll believe it when I see him,” Gavin said.
“Fine. You can be my guest.”
Davel nodded toward the street, and several of the constables disappeared. It wasn’t long before they returned, Wrenlow with them. Wrenlow glanced in Gavin’s direction, his brow furrowed. All this time, Wrenlow had wanted more excitement, but Gavin suspected he never really intended to come out into the city. Certainly not when there were dangerous sorcerers involved. Hopefully, Olivia had provided him with an enchantment or two that would offer him levels of protection. But if not…
Gavin hurried toward the end of the wall surrounding the Captain’s house where Wrenlow stood.
“I think it’s something around here. Something is interfering with the enchantment,” Wrenlow said.
“Either the smoke creatures or the Fate.”
“I suppose, though it might be something else,” Wrenlow said. He looked over at Davel. “I found the constables… Where’s Gaspar?”
Davel looked over at Gavin sharply. “Gaspar is with you? “Why did he bring you here?”
“I thought it was because we were going to warn the enchanters of the danger of the smoke creatures.”
“They came here?” Davel asked, looking up at the Captain’s fortress.
“They figured he owed them for what he took from them.”
Davel’s eyes narrowed. Gavin wondered how he would react to that news.
“Why would you want to warn them?” he asked.
“Because of what I learned at your barracks. I think the smoke creatures feed on magic.”
“I’ve already told you—”
Gavin sighed, shaking his head. “I know what you told me, but I also know what I saw. And I know what I felt.” He ignored the way that Davel looked at him. There was a question in his eyes, but it was a question Gavin wasn’t going to answer, not now. As he looked past Davel, he shrugged. “Anyway, Gaspar left. For whatever reason, he decided to abandon me.”
“He didn’t abandon you,” a voice said from nearby.
Gavin turned. Gaspar was stepping through what appeared to be a solid section of the wall. Not a wall at all, but an enchantment.
“Gaspar,” Davel said, nodding to him.
“Davel Chan,” Gaspar said. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “What are you doing here?” he asked Davel, then shot Gavin a look that was ignored.
“We received word we were needed,” Davel replied.
“Really. And what would make you think that?”
“Your friend,” Davel said, glancing at Gavin and smiling, “ran into a little bit of trouble. It’s not the first time he’s involved us.”
“I’m all too aware of that,” Gaspar said.
“Yes, well, being that as it is, we came to offer whatever help we could. You know how we feel about magic in the city.”
He needed the constables and enchanters to find peace.
Gavin would have to be the one to force the issue.
He turned, then sagged and nearly collapsed. He tried to stay on his feet, attempting to keep moving, but he couldn’t. Not easily. As much as he wanted to, he could feel the weakness within him and how the energy was fading from him.
He looked over at Gaspar. “Don’t be fighting over me.”
“What?” Gaspar asked.
“Don’t be fighting over me,” he muttered. “Find a way to hold this damn thing.” He held out the enchantment the smoke creature was in.
With that, Gavin collapsed.
Chapter Nineteen
When Gavin awoke, everything was dark around him. He listened for a moment.
Something throbbed within him, and it took a moment to realize it was his head. He got up, and everything started to spin. There was enough light for him to make out some details around him. The dresser across the room looked like a hazy shadow. There was a window, though the blinds were closed, and the curtains were pulled mostly shut. He moved carefully so that he didn’t kick and spill the washbasin on the table near him.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and he looked around the room. He expected to be in the Dragon, but he realized this wasn’t it. He should have noticed that the window was a little bit off, the angle of sunlight coming in casting faint bands of light along the floor in ways that his window at the Dragon never did.
“Easy,” Wrenlow said.
“Where are we?”
“The enchanters put you up in the fortress. From what I’ve heard, they placed enchantments around it to protect themselves from the Fate—and the smoke creatures.”
“Hopefully, that will work better than the ones the constables used on the barracks.” He breathed out slowly. “How long was I out?”
After having used that much of his core reserves, Gavin worried. One of the things that Tristan had loved about him was his willingness to push beyond where he should have, to fight beyond the point of sensibility, and to overwhelm weakness within him.
“As far as I can tell, the better part of three hours.”
Three hours. Not so long.
“Why?” Wrenlow asked.
“When I’ve spent myself like that, I’ve slept for days.”
“I’ve never known you to sleep for days,” Wrenlow said.
“It’s been a while.” Gavin tensed every muscle, releasing each one slowly. It was his way of testing and preparing for anything.
Wrenlow rested his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t get up. At least, don’t get up too quickly. What happened there? Davel said you were doing something,” Wrenlow said.
Gavin leaned forward, ignoring the throbbing in his head and pushing it away. He checked and realized he was still wearing the enchantments. The one for increased strength and speed was there, as was the magical barrier.
Taking a deep breath, he started to stand.
“I’m go
ing to be fine,” Gavin said.
“I’m sure. I’ve never seen you really hurt.”
Gavin shrugged. “I’ve been hurt.”
“Like I said, I’m sure. I’ve just never seen it.”
When he stood, Gavin stayed still. It took a moment, but he gathered himself and pushed back the pain, dizziness, and everything else. Three hours of rest was enough to replenish his core of energy.
His magic.
As much as he was giving Gaspar a hard time about the enchanter abilities he thought the constables had, he had to deal with his own magical ability. The core reserves of strength he possessed were tied to something else. Gavin didn’t know exactly what it was or how he could use it, only that what he had was more than just simply strength.
Gavin hovered there for a moment, wobbling in place, and took a few steps.
“Easy,” Wrenlow said.
“I’m fine.” Gavin took another step, then he stumbled.
Wrenlow slipped his arm underneath Gavin’s and lifted him. He started to steer him back toward the bed.
Gavin shook his head. “Not yet. This isn’t over.”
“You can’t fight in this condition,” Wrenlow said.
Gavin chuckled. “Most of the time when I fight, I’m in this condition.”
“You look like you’ve been beaten up.”
“Do I?”
“Not much from the bruising or anything like that, it’s just that you have this hollow expression in your eyes,” Wrenlow said. “And… I don’t know how to describe it. You just look like you’ve been beaten.”
“I feel like it too,” Gavin said.
He took a deep breath and then tapped into his core reserves again. It was dangerous to do so this soon after waking, but he needed to gather energy and strength and figure out how to fight off the Fates and the smoke creatures.
When he stabilized himself, he took another deep breath and then held his hands up. He’d strengthened himself, but there had been a cost. “I’m fine.”
“What did you just do?” Wrenlow asked. “I felt something. It was like a tingling along my skin.” He held out an enchantment, though this was different than any enchantment that Gavin had seen from him before. Probably something new from Olivia or one of the other enchanters. Obviously, something that detected magic.
The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3 Page 74