The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3

by Holmberg, D. K.

  “I didn’t really do anything. I just tapped into my core reserves.”

  “Ah.”

  “Don’t say it like that,” Gavin said.

  “Say it like what? You were borrowing from the strength within you.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you don’t even question what that strength is from?” Wrenlow asked.

  “I realize where it’s from.”

  “Do you?”

  “I do well enough,” Gavin said and headed toward the door of the room.

  He glanced back at Wrenlow. His friend watched him, his eyes flicking from one spot to another. He was worried.

  “I still don’t know what to make of all of it,” Gavin said, starting slowly. Wrenlow glanced over to him. “If this is all El’aras, I don’t know how I’m going to control it.”

  Wrenlow watched him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Gavin smiled tightly, appreciating Wrenlow and his concern for him. He was a real friend and had been from the moment they’d met. “About how I’m El’aras? I don’t even know what happened to my parents. I have flashes of memory. Fire. Screams.” Gavin squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know how much of it is from when they were lost.” Gavin was sure that they were lost, though Tristan had never talked to him about it. He had said there was no point in doing so. He had said that he needed to move on, and that Tristan would help. “I was brought to Tristan’s facility, where I was trained.”

  “I know,” Wrenlow said.

  “I just wish I knew why.” He looked up, meeting his friend’s eyes. “There has to be more of a reason. He taught me how to access that part of me. He made me something more than just a skilled fighter.”

  And Gavin was. His training with Tristan had taught him various fighting styles, techniques he could call upon when it came down to survival.

  It was more than that, though. Gavin wouldn’t have been able to become the Chain Breaker had he not. As he thought about it, he had to believe Tristan had known. And if he had, then what had Tristan hoped to accomplish?

  Gavin looked into an expansive room. He recognized it from his last time through here, and knew it was on the main level. Tables occupied much of it, with chairs all around. There were several hearths along the walls, all of them crackling with warm flames that put out heat. A gentle smoke drifted into the room, and Gavin breathed it in, welcoming that aroma. In addition to the smell of smoke, there was a hint of incense and spice, along with a few more exotic aromas that he couldn’t quite place.

  Tristan would be disappointed that he couldn’t recall the various smells around him. He had always wanted Gavin to be able to identify smells to detect any threat within them. Here, with the enchanters, the constables, and people he would otherwise consider friends, he didn’t think there were any dangers. Perhaps that was a mistake.

  Gaspar sat at a table, talking quietly with Zella.

  In one corner, there were three constables. Two of them stood with hands clasped in front of them, and Davel sat at a table, his gaze surveying everything around him.

  Gavin waited.

  Wrenlow pressed up behind him. “Are you going to go in?”

  “In a minute,” Gavin said.

  “They’ve been doing that.”

  “They’ve been doing what?”

  “Watching each other,” Wrenlow said, stepping forward. He nodded toward the constables. “You can see them in one corner, but there are two others over there,” he said, motioning to the opposite corner.

  Gavin looked to where Wrenlow pointed. Two more constables stood in the corner. They didn’t make any movement, but Gavin had little doubt that they were some of the most enchanted of the constables.

  “Then there are the enchanters,” Wrenlow continued. “There are several different groupings, and all of them seem to be casual. But the longer they’re watched, the less it seems that they are as casual as they want everyone to believe.”

  “Everybody’s sizing each other up,” Gavin said.

  “That was my thought too.”

  “Everybody other than Gaspar,” Gavin said, nodding to the old thief.

  “He’s been talking to her for most of the time he’s been here.”

  “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

  “No,” Wrenlow said. “Gaspar won’t let me get close enough to listen. I think he knows I’m trying to overhear him, and he’s keeping his voice down.”

  “He probably has an enchantment that prevents you from hearing him too,” Gavin said.

  “When he was at the Dragon, Gaspar never carried enchantments with him.”

  “That we know of. It’s possible that he’s had enchantments all along.”

  Gavin glanced over at Davel, nodding to him before sauntering through the room.

  Zella looked up as Gavin joined them, and she smiled at him tightly. “You were the reason we moved, and now you’ve brought this upon us.”

  “It’s nice to see you again too,” Gavin said. “If you find that enchanted memory necklace, I still get paid.”

  She shook her head. “It’s been recovered.” When he held his hand out, she shook her head. “What do you think you’re doing here? It’s not about the necklace.”

  “I’ll tell you once I have the necklace. I took the job. I’m going to complete it.”

  Zella glowered at him a moment and seemed to realize he wouldn’t change his mind. She headed to the far side of the room, digging into a drawer, before coming back to him and holding out a simple silver necklace with a circular charm hanging from it. Gavin stuffed it into his pocket.

  “Now. Tell me what you’re doing here.”

  Gavin looked over at Gaspar. “I sort of thought Gaspar would’ve filled you in by now.”

  “Gaspar has shared some of what’s going on, but I find it difficult to know just how much of it to believe. It seems a bit fantastical, if you ask me.”

  “Which part? The Fate coming to visit? Seeing as how you were there when they came, I would think you believed that part of it.”

  “Not the Fate,” she said.

  “Then the smoke creatures,” Gavin said. “I’ll admit that it’s a bit strange, but it is what it is.” He’d learned practicality from Tristan as well. He’d never seen anything like the smoke creatures before, but he knew he had to deal with them. “That’s why Gaspar and I were coming here until we were attacked.”

  She leaned forward, locking eyes with him. “You wanted to bring them here?”

  “Not exactly. From what I can tell, the creatures chase those with magical abilities.”

  “How do you know that?” Zella asked.

  Gavin glanced over at the constables. “Because they chased me. And they attacked the constables.”

  Zella grinned.

  “See?” Gaspar said.

  “I do see,” she agreed.

  Gavin looked at Gaspar. “You told her.”

  “I told her, mostly because I can’t believe it would even be possible,” Gaspar said.

  “Even after your experience?”

  “Especially because of my experience.”

  Gavin started to wobble. He needed to focus more on his core power, letting it fill him. If he didn’t, then he would fade even more.

  “He just doesn’t want to acknowledge he might have a hint of enchanter magic,” Gavin said to Zella. “Most of them have it.”

  “Most of them?”

  Gavin nodded. “Enough of them, at least. Now, whether that’s true is a different matter, but from what I’ve been able to determine…”

  Zella watched him. “What makes you think this?”

  “What I saw taking place when Davel was making enchantments. But it was more than that. It was the way the smoke creatures were coming at those constables. They wouldn’t have unless there was some reason.”

  “You don’t know that,” Gaspar said.

  “I don’t. But I suspect it.”

  Gaspar leaned back, laughing. “Just because you sus
pect something doesn’t make it true.”

  Gavin shrugged. “No, it doesn’t, but it’s most likely true.” He leaned on the table, looking at Zella. “As to why I came here, I wanted to warn your people, but I think we also need your help.”

  “To combat these smoke creatures.”

  “That, and to stop the Fate. Together.” He looked to the constables briefly before turning his attention back to Zella.

  “From what I understand, when you faced one of the Fates, you were very nearly killed.”

  “Very nearly,” Gavin agreed.

  “What makes you think you would fare any better with our help?”

  “Nothing, I guess. All I know is that there is a way to harm them. I’ve done that. And with the right enchantments, I think we can kill him.” That had to be the reason the Fate had turned away when Gavin had gone to Zella and the others.

  “They don’t fear us,” Zella said, looking away. “They view us as less than them. The same way the sorcerers always did. We have always been less.”

  She turned away, and Davel watched her, though Gavin couldn’t read the look in his eyes. Could that be the reason for the attack? Not just revenge, but removing some element of magic the Fates didn’t approve of?

  “When I first came across him here, he was after something,” he said. “I’ve been trying to figure out the reason the Fates would have suddenly started paying attention to Yoran. They had ignored the city up until now, ignoring the fall of the Triad. They hadn’t been concerned about anything else that had happened, so why now?” He looked at the others. “There are only two things I can think of—the sword and the egg. The sword is an El’aras creation, so I don’t know that they would care about it so much.” It still didn’t explain why the sword would open the connecting chamber to the lairs beneath the city, but that was a different matter. “But given what we’ve seen from the smoke creature attack, I have to think it’s the egg.”

  He turned, looking across the room.

  “Davel,” he shouted.

  The constable sat up straighter.

  “I need you to come over here,” Gavin said.

  Davel glared at him. “I don’t do what you ask.”

  “Fine. Come over here so that we can talk about the jade egg.”

  Davel continued to glower at him, and Gavin smiled to himself.

  Davel got up and took a seat across the table from Gavin, positioning himself in such a way that he could look at everybody else around the table.

  “I need you to tell me exactly how you acquired the jade egg,” Gavin said.

  “Do you really still think this is tied to events that are decades old?”

  “At this point, nothing would be altogether surprising, especially when it comes to the type of magic here and the kind of magic you’re trying to hide.”

  “The jade egg was given to us by the enchanters when they aligned with us. They told us that it was something they made.”

  “They did make it,” Zella said.

  “Are you sure about that?” Gavin asked.

  “Why?”

  “Because, for a long time, the jade egg was protected by the constables.” Gavin looked over at Davel, watching him. He thought about the lower level of the barracks, a place where magic could be concealed. The constables essentially had a sorcerer’s lair. “When you moved it,” he said to Davel, “or when you reached out to the Mistress of Vines,” he said to Zella, “I think it drew their attention.”

  “We drew their attention?” Davel said.

  “Yes. I think the Fates thought the jade egg was lost—or destroyed. Knowing it survived…”

  Knowing it survived would have granted them a particular type of power.

  Now they could either give it to the Fate—or protect it.

  “I don’t think that fits,” Davel said.

  “No? What if I showed you the sorcerer’s lairs for the Triad?” Gavin knew he was reaching. He still wasn’t sure that the places he’d found were truly the Triad’s, but if they were…

  That might explain much more than what he already understood. He might be able to see if there was some reason for the jade egg, which might tie back to what Cyran had been after. Knowing Cyran, Gavin couldn’t help but wonder if it was all part of some grander scheme.

  Had I played into that? Perhaps I had been used all this time.

  “We’ve not been able to find them,” Davel said.

  “And you said you’ve looked?” Gavin asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And you haven’t found anything.”

  “Did you hear what I said?” Davel asked.

  “I’m just trying to get the point across that you claim you looked for them for how long? Twenty years? And in that time, you haven’t found anything?” He glanced from Gaspar to Zella. Zella watched him, saying nothing, but Gaspar was shaking his head slightly.

  “If you know something, then let it out,” Davel said.

  “I might just stay here and enjoy this feeling for a while longer,” Gavin said.

  “Careful,” Gaspar whispered. “If you reveal what you know, you lose the advantage.”

  “What advantage is there to those locations?”

  “I don’t know,” Gaspar said.

  “Listen, if the constables and the enchanters are all descended from the same sort of people”—Gavin smiled at Davel as he said it and turned to Zella—“then it seems to me we need to work together to better understand everything going on within the city. And as much as you might want to claim that the events from decades ago don’t matter, I believe they do. I think it’s merely a matter of timing.”

  “What sort of timing?” Davel asked.

  “I don’t really know, but I have to question what happened to the Triad.”

  “What?” Davel asked.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Zella questioned.

  “All those years ago. The Triad were powerful sorcerers, were they not?”

  “They were. Incredibly powerful,” Davel said.

  “And because of the enchanters and the constables, you were able to overthrow their oppression.”

  “We were.”

  “Did you kill them?” Gavin asked.

  “What does that have to do with it?”

  “It’s a matter of understanding just what happened. Did you kill them?”

  “No,” Davel said. “They were banished from the city. They left. There was no further danger from them, and there would’ve been great danger had we gone after them.”

  Gavin looked over at Gaspar and watched him for a moment.

  “What are you getting at?” Gaspar asked him.

  “It seems the enchanters believed the sorcerers were destroyed, and the constables were content with them being sent from the city.”

  “And?” Gaspar said.

  “And that’s it.”

  “They haven’t returned,” Davel said. “They won’t return. It would be too dangerous for them, especially knowing what they do of our ability.”

  “But it’s not your ability, is it? You’d borrowed that ability in working with the enchanters, and since you betrayed them, whatever protection the enchanters offered you is no longer there. Wouldn’t you say that’s true? Listen,” Gavin went on, “if the sorcerers were expelled from the city but not killed, it’s possible the Fates wanted revenge.” He leaned forward. “Why haven’t the Fates come before now?”

  “Because we’re at the edge of the forest. There isn’t anything here,” Gaspar said.

  “And because the constables have prevented any danger from occurring to others within the city,” Davel said.

  Gavin looked from one to the other. “Or because they waited.”

  “Waited for what?” Davel asked.

  Gavin shook his head. “I don’t know. The right time to come after the egg?”

  “If they wanted the egg, they could have come for it at any time,” Davel said.

  “Fine. There’s another reason they
might have waited.” They looked at him, and he made a point of meeting each person’s gaze, so what he said next would have a more significant impact. “Maybe they waited until now for revenge.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Gavin led Davel, Gaspar, Zella and a few other constables and enchanters through the city, keeping an eye out for the smoke creatures. It was almost as if the people were aware of the crowd making their way through the streets and were avoiding them. They passed businesses with storefronts darkened, homes with an occasional lantern glowing, and chimneys that spewed comfortable smoke out of them—nothing like the terrifying smoke creatures that had chased him through the city.

  With as many enchanters as there were with them, along with constables who he suspected had power, Gavin worried that they were putting themselves in danger by venturing out here like this. Another part of him wasn’t nearly as concerned about the possibility of an attack as he had been before. If there was going to be a smoke creature attack, he would have to be at the forefront of stopping it, using the enchantment he and Davel created. So far, there’d been no sign of the smoke creatures.

  Gavin held the El’aras dagger regardless, watching for it to glow as they moved through the streets.

  “Here?” Gaspar asked as they approached the building. The awning loomed in front of them, shadows around it.

  Gavin couldn’t help but feel as if the shadows were somehow significant. “Here. This is where I followed the Fate,” he said, glancing over at Davel and then at Zella. “It’s similar to what I found after Cyran attacked.”

  “Have you given much thought to the targets he gave you?” Gaspar asked, pulling off to the side of the street. “Presuming your theory is correct, after all. What did those targets have in common?”

  “I’ve been trying to figure out the connection between them. So far, I can’t piece it together, but I am concerned that you’re right. That there is something that links all of them together. Perhaps he was going after the egg, the same as the Fates, but I don’t really know.”

  Gaspar studied him. “What can you remember about the targets?”

  “You were there for some of them.”