The Dark Ability

by Holmberg, D. K.

  Thenis looked at him and started to open his mouth but bit back whatever he had intended to say, turning his attention back to his project.

  Rsiran stared at the fire burning in the forge. He didn’t blame Thenis for turning away from him. Angering Rsiran’s father only risked his journeyman status. Better to pretend not to have heard.

  Long moments passed before Rsiran finally managed to get himself moving.

  Chapter 5

  Rsiran ran from the smithy and spent much of the day wandering. He had walked aimlessly, letting his feet and the sounds of the city pull him. Somehow, he ended up making his way into Lower Town, toward the tavern from the night before. It was a mistake coming this far, especially as it risked him running into Brusus or Haern again. He couldn’t get caught up in what they were doing.

  Maybe it was best he was sent to Ilphaesn. At least he wouldn’t be able to make any more of the knives that could get his father into trouble, and risk whatever Brusus might have in mind for him now that he knew Rsiran made knives of lorcith.

  He had no one he could go to. Not his mother—she would side with his father, never speaking against him even when Rsiran saw in her eyes that she knew his father was being unreasonable. Not his sister either—she had made it quite clear she would be happier were he to live elsewhere. His time spent as an apprentice had separated him from any of the friends he had as a child, but even those were few. He had always struggled with opening himself to others, always fearing they might turn on him as his father had.

  He thought of leaving Elaeavn, leaving the comfort—such as it was—of his home, to live and work in the mines of the Ilphaesn Mountain. There were stories of what it was like from those who had been sent to work and returned to Elaeavn. Most were surprisingly tight-lipped, probably fearing to do anything that might get them banished to the mines again.

  He paused at the tavern and glanced in the window. A few people sat at the tables but none he recognized. One of the servers spotted him and motioned him in, but he shook his head and started down the street. The buildings in this part of town were smaller, more compact. Most appeared somewhat run down. Large cracks ran up the sides of many, and the once-white stone now appeared grey and dirty. A few had vines creeping along the face of the building, the leaves at this time of year brown and falling off.

  Other people began filling the street. A stream of wet and dirty men smelling of fish went past, likely returned from one of the fishing vessels. Women wearing high-necked dresses more tattered and worn than those found in the upper city wandered past. Children ran by screaming as they raced toward the shore. Others, obviously finished with their labor for the day, wandered the street with a bit more direction than he had.

  It wasn’t until Rsiran reached the edge of the Lower Town that he stopped. The road he followed took him to the southern edge of the city where it abutted the bay. The Lhear Sea stretched out before him and huge rock cliffs towered on either side, framing the bay. Water splashed steadily along the rocky shore. Tall-masted ships moored out in the bay, and smaller boats slid through the water, ferrying people to and from the ships. To the north, the docks were busy with workers helping with the day’s catch or moving crates off a few of the shallower-keeled boats. Past the docks, beyond the sheer cliff wall rising above the water, Rsiran saw the snow-white peak of Ilphaesn Mountain.

  He climbed down onto the rocks and crept carefully toward the water. There, he sat close to the edge of the bay as salty spray splashed against him. Sunlight glittered off the water, sweeps of color stranding across the sky as the sun faded behind the horizon. He could leave Elaeavn, simply disappear like one of the Forgotten, and start anew in one of the lesser cities. With his abilities, there were other things he could do, skills he could learn. Maybe he could even continue working as a smith. No lorcith was found outside the city, so the temptation would be lessened.

  Except, Rsiran was not sure he could leave Elaeavn. Only the Forgotten, those banished by the Elvraeth, ever really left the city. He might not be blessed by the Great Watcher, but he was still of Elaeavn. More than that, though. He was a smith. His father was right—the lorcith called to him, demanding that he shape it. And when he stood before the forge…everything felt peaceful. For him to learn what he needed left him with one option—doing as his father demanded, working in the mines alongside criminals, and returning to Elaeavn to prove that he could be trusted again as an apprentice. Only then would he be able to become the smith he wanted so badly to be.

  He shuddered to think of what the mines would be like. His father spoke about learning to control the lorcith, but from what Rsiran had seen, he was barely aware of what he was doing when forging something with lorcith. The knives and the blade simply came into being. How did he know how much was him and what was from the metal? And did he care?

  Rsiran sat staring at the water until the sky had darkened completely. Flickers of light sprang up behind him from candles and lanterns set into windows. A few lanterns flickered out on the ships, though most remained dark. Stars twinkled into being, bedazzling the sky like the sea spray reflecting the sunlight. A pale sliver of moon appeared in the west, high and distant.

  He finally stood and made his way back toward town. Perhaps in returning home and facing his punishment he would find his father had changed his mind, though he did not have great optimism.

  In the darkness, he considered Sliding home rather than walking all the way back up the sloping streets, but decided against it. The cool air cleared his mind, and he would need a clear and calm mind when he returned home. Besides, if he was going to do as his father commanded, as hard as it was, he had better start by ignoring that particular ability as well. He would show that he had control of himself.

  So it was that the street again led him past the tavern where he had diced with Brusus and Haern the night before. A dark shadow separated from the street as if it had been watching him, and approached. “Do you normally make it down to Lower Town daily?”

  Rsiran stared through the darkness, shadows shifting and lightening enough for him to see that Brusus stood in front of him. He wore a heavy brown cloak of fine quality, almost too warm for the weather, and his hair was wet and slicked back atop his head like the first night he met him, only then it had been raining. Moonlight bounced off the stone on his ring.

  Had Brusus been watching him? Worse, had he followed him? “Not usually,” he said carefully.

  Brusus smiled and nodded toward the tavern. “You don’t have to have permission to enter. Besides, there are other things we need to talk about.”

  Rsiran’s heart fluttered. Brusus would want more knives, but now that he’d been exiled to Ilphaesn, that was one thing he couldn’t do. “I shouldn’t be out late again.”

  “Trouble?” Brusus watched him with pale eyes. “We can’t all be blessed like those who live in the palace, Rsiran. The rest of us have to make our own way.”

  The comment made it even more likely that Brusus was a part of the rebellion. He needed to be careful about what he said to Brusus. “Some of us aren’t blessed at all,” Rsiran muttered.

  Brusus looked at him strangely, and Rsiran realized his mistake. With his pale eyes, Brusus would not have much strength in whatever ability he possessed. Discussing strength in one’s ability was considered taboo. He should not have said anything.

  “I’m sorry,” he began. “I didn’t mean—”

  Brusus shook his head. “No offense taken. I have lived within Elaeavn my entire life as one of the palest-eyed people here. There is more to a person than their ability, more to me than my weak Sight.” He shook his head and smiled. “Besides, I like to think I have other unconventional abilities.”

  Rsiran nodded carefully. Though Brusus said he did not take offense, he should step lightly. Now that Brusus had admitted to his Sight, would he expect Rsiran to share his ability? With as angry and suspicious as his father was of Sliding, he dared not say anything about it to a virtual stranger.

&nb
sp; Besides, what did he really know about Brusus? He wanted the knife Rsiran forged and knew how to sell it. Did that make him some sort of smuggler, the sort of criminal the ability to Slide would lead him to become? But the conversation he’d overhead made him wonder what else Brusus and his friends were. How would his father react if he knew Rsiran had somehow gotten caught up in something more?

  “And one of my abilities is the capacity to hold my ale. Come in, Rsiran, and see if you have an unconventional ability.” Brusus smiled again, draping an arm around his shoulders and steering him toward the tavern.

  As much as he didn’t want to get tangled in whatever Brusus planned, Brusus knew too much of him. What choice did he have but to be guided into the tavern?

  * * *

  The following morning, he awoke early, nearly shaking with nerves. In spite of knowing that he should not, he had Slid home from the tavern, smelling strongly of ale, with pockets slightly heavier after winning his share at dice. Haern had welcomed him to the table as if he were an old friend. Even Jessa seemed nonplussed that he had returned, this time wearing a blood red flower, the color practically dripping from the petals. Two others joined, Tagus and Nesin, both fresh off their ship, and both treated him warmly. Brusus might have watched him carefully, his gaze every so often drifting to Rsiran’s pockets, but he’d always smiled at him, and made him feel welcome. Strangely, for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt welcome in Elaeavn as he was about to be sent from the city. If they were criminals—or something worse—they were at least friendly criminals.

  He arrived home after his father, and by Sliding into his room, he bypassed any possibility for encountering his sister. Too often she slept by the door, as if hoping to catch him to report to their parents and raise herself even higher in their eyes. In spite of that, he could not bring himself to hate her.

  Dressing quickly, he decided to stuff the lorcith knife and his growing coin purse into a small hidden section of his trunk. He looked around the room, considering what he would bring with him to the Ilphaesn mines. Other than the trunk, his room consisted of his bed and a small shelf. A few books were stacked on shelves from his earliest school days, a time before he disgusted his father. He realized he probably would not even take his trunk with him. That meant that he would have to hide the knife and coins somewhere else while he was gone.

  He left his room and went into the kitchen, feeling the growing fluttering of nerves in his stomach, fearing what his mother and father would say to him this morning. Would they even acknowledge that he had returned home late again last night? Would that even matter?

  In the small kitchen, there was only his sister. She stood beside a counter, rolling bread, a strand of her dark hair hanging in her face. The aromas of flour and yeast brought back pleasant memories of when he had helped his mother as a child. The oven radiated a warm heat in the corner. A tub of water sat along one of the counters.

  Alyse looked up as he entered but did not say anything. He stepped up to the counter and helped her knead the dough, pressing on it and rolling it as his mother had once taught him. His sister watched a moment before stepping away and turning toward the oven. They worked silently together as they prepared breakfast, and soon the kitchen was full of the sweet aromas of baking bread and the spice of cooked sausages.

  “Father told me that he plans to send you to the mines. I am sorry, Rsiran,” Alyse said. She stood in front of the oven before a pan simmering with the sausages, her back to him.

  He leaned against one wall, watching her. “The fault is my own.”

  She nodded. “Still.”

  He sniffed. The response was typical of Alyse.

  “Perhaps you can use the opportunity he has given you to—”

  “Opportunity?” Rsiran stepped away from the wall.

  Alyse turned to face him, her eyes flaring green. Rsiran strengthened his barriers to keep her from Reading him.

  “Yes, opportunity.” She stood with her back straight as she chastised him, looking so much like their mother that it nearly unnerved him. “Without him, you would not even have your apprenticeship. Then what would you do? Work in Lower Town on the docks? Learn to fish? Use your ability to become some sort of thief?” she finished, lowering her voice.

  With each question, his irritation with her faded. As usual, she was right. There was nothing else for him to do, nothing that he could do. Soon he would travel to the mines, repress his ability to Slide, and focus on whatever his father wanted to earn back his apprenticeship. Alyse only reinforced that decision.

  “I don’t want to go to the mines,” he said softly, pulling a chair from along the wall and sinking into it. There was no argument left in him, only sadness.

  Alyse came and stood behind him, setting a hand that smelled of flour on his shoulder. She squeezed once and let go. “I know.”

  Chapter 6

  The journey to Ilphaesn took the better part of three days. Rsiran could have Slid in a heartbeat. The only advantage of leaving the city, as far as Rsiran could tell, was that he didn’t have to fear Brusus demanding more knives from him. During his last night at the tavern, Brusus had alluded to needing more knives. At least away from the city, he didn’t have to fear what would happen if he didn’t make them for him.

  The white peak of the rocky mountain rose high overhead, contrasting with the overcast sky. A winding trail led to a darkened cavern mouth. The bitter scent of lorcith hung on the air, so thick Rsiran could taste it. Only when they reached the mouth of the mines did the man leading them speak.

  “Your entire sentence will be served here,” he said. His voice was thin and high, as if rarely used. “Davin will show you where you will sleep.” He nodded toward a man emerging from the wide mouth of a cave on the side of the mountain. “You earn one percent of all that is mined. No more than that.” He grunted. “Work harder, and your time here is shorter. Work slower…” He shrugged. “Food will be brought in twice a day and members of the mining guild will be present, but unseen.”

  “Didn’t say anything about luck,” one of the convicted men muttered.

  “There is always an element of luck. The Great Watcher gives what he gives. Lately, he hasn’t given all that much,” the other guard said, waiting until Davin neared to turn and started back toward the village.

  Davin looked at them carefully. His eyes widened when he saw Rsiran wore no bindings on his wrists. “What is this?”

  Rsiran glanced at the other men. “My father sent me here to work,” he answered softly.

  One of the convicted men from Elaeavn snickered. He was thin, his eyes a pale watery green, and his hair shorn close, revealing a long scar along his scalp that he seemed to wear with pride.

  Davin frowned. “Neran sent word,” he said. “Didn’t think he was serious that he was sending his apprentice to work in the mines. Didn’t know you were his son too. Did he tell you how much you needed to earn?”

  Rsiran shook his head, confused.

  “Gryn told you one percent is earned,” Davin said, nodding toward the man walking back toward the village.

  Rsiran stared ahead. His father had said nothing about how long he would need to serve, saying only that he needed to learn to control the lorcith. Perhaps when he managed that he could return.

  The thin man snickered again.

  Davin shot him a look. He had eyes of a medium green and an intense stare that dared the other man to challenge him. “Then you’ll work until we hear from him. Don’t expect special treatment. Neran was clear about that. You’ll work the same as the others. Share the same sleeping quarters. Eat the same food. The mines are meant to be punishment.”

  Rsiran only nodded.

  * * *

  The sleeping quarters turned out to be a large hollowed out section within the mountain. The stone along the walls was rough and damp, and the air smelled heavily of the bitter lorcith mined deeper below. A single lantern glowed with a soft orange light somewhere in the cavern, but Rsi
ran could not see where it was. Shadows shifted around the edges of the cavern, strange and twisting, and—not for the first time since leaving Elaeavn—an uncomfortable feeling worked through him.

  They were given a pair of thin blankets to sleep upon and a battered metal bowl and cup. Other blankets were scattered across the floor of the cavern, clustered most heavily near the single light, almost overlapping. Rsiran took his blanket and set it down away from many others, unwilling to sleep so close to men he had not met. He set his bowl and cup next to him.

  He looked around, taking a quick count of the people. Nearly one hundred men moved around the cavern. Supper had recently been served, and most still ate, sitting atop their blankets. His stomach grumbled at the sight of the bread and the bowls of stew, but he tried to ignore the sensation. They had not been fed well while traveling, mostly jerky and stale rolls. The last good meal he had eaten had been the breakfast with Alyse. Strange that he should have a fond memory of her.

  The floor was dry and dusty as he unrolled one of the blankets. He had not brought anything with him other than his clothes. His father had made it quite clear that was not allowed. In the darkness, surrounded by others he knew to be criminals and thieves, it was the lorcith-forged knife he missed the most.

  The walls of the cavern seemed to press in on him, squeezing him, and he closed his eyes to distract from looking at his surroundings, trying to imagine open skies and water stretching as far as he could see. He could not shut out the sounds.

  The other men who had come with him made their way toward the lantern. Rsiran heard them greeted as if recognized by others already there. A few men laughed.

  “Finally got caught?”

  “Damn Elvraeth,” someone said.